Owl Goingback

When I bought my first computer and hit the internet, one of the places to which I was drawn was GEnie. This Internet service offered free stuff to members of HWA (Horror Witers of America) and SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America) and it was an absolutely wonderful place to congregate for writers and enjoy real-time conversations with other professionals, including big-names like Neil Gaiman. It was a truly rare place to log on and talk shop.

One of the people I “met” on GEnie was Owl Goingback. It’s weird that I’ve met Owl online, but have never met him in person. We’ve exchanged emails and had conversations in the ether, but have never met face to face. Which is a real shame because he’s a very talented writer and I’ve enjoyed his work immensely. Two of my favorite 90s-era horror novels were by Owl: CROTA and DARKER THAN NIGHT. Both books are pure fun, with CROTA being a classic giant critter book, and DARKER THAN NIGHT a true supernatural chiller. DAKER THAN NIGHT especially effected me, as it is one of the few horror works that I’ve read that actually produced a sense of dread in me. Which places it with King’s THE SHINING and Jeff Osier’s ENCYCLOPEDIA FOR BOYS in that unique respect.

Another exceptional aspect of Owl’s work is that it gives the average reader a new perspective. If you’re accustomed to looking at the world from a Christian point of view, or a Eurocentric stance, then Goingback’s work offers a different eye into the way things work. Yes, it’s fiction, but it’s suffused with a way of seeing the workings of the World from a stance not dictated by what is known by most Americans.

I have nothing but praise for the work of Owl Goingback, and urge readers of fantasy and horror to seek out his books.