A review by olinoel
In the Night Wood by Dale Bailey

2.0

This might have been a perfectly good novel if it weren't for the insufferable main character. Listen, I like flawed and morally gray characters, antiheroes, sympathetic villains, etc. I like to see a hard-won redemption arc, or even a hopeless descent into madness. But there's nothing that interesting going on with this guy. He's an absolute cad in the most mediocre way possible, not even fun to hate. Only the lush prose and the gothic fairytale atmosphere kept me reading until the (unsatisfying) end.