In The Winter Dark by Tim Winton Reviewed by Steve Rudd

A menacing short story from the ever-interesting Australian writer Tim Winton, this is a thrilling venture into dark and macabre territory that focuses on a few people who live in a secluded valley that seems to also be inhabited by a mysterious creature that preys both on their animals and their worst fears. The night is full of stories. They float up like miasmas, as though the dead leave their dreams in the earth where you bury them, only to have them rise to meet you in sleep. Mostly the scenes are familiar, but sometimes everything is strange, the people unknown.

In a remarkably short space of time and pages, Winton (who was born back in 1960) creates a stunningly eerie atmosphere that wickedly wafts of the menacing nature that so deliciously defines Joe R. Lansdale's masterpiece novel The Bottoms. In The Winter Dark isn't just a thriller, but also a well-executed drama that deftly explores the relationships between the people who live in the valley as they quickly realise that they have to band together in their fight for survival. Whether they like it or not. Tim Winton is an exciting writer who has won numerous awards for his work, with his Dirt Music novel also being well worth checking out. ISBN 0-33-41259-0 (PICADOR) www.picador.com

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	After I had walked around the winery, I climbed back in my truck and continued driving farther up into the foothills, and some nights I did make it as far as the mountain road. I wanted to cross the Diablo range. I wanted to keep driving clear across the state and into the desert, deep into the American vastness, where I knew no one and no one knew me. Read more...

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