The Window: Glenn Rolfe

Reviewed by Steve Stred

It’s very rare to have the opportunity to read a novel from an author, who is known in the horror world, which will firmly cement them in the annals of classic coming of age tales. This is what The Window is for Glenn Rolfe. I have read a few releases from Mr. Rolfe already and to this day, one of his short stories from Land of Bones has never left me (and still makes me cringe when I chat with my friend Simon!).

To put it simply; this is Mr. Rolfe’s IT. This is his Boy’s Life.

The Window is one of those rare releases that is essentially four books in one; the tale of some friends, separated by a move, trying to have one last summer together before they grow up and grow apart. Of course young love is in the air, which aids in the complexity of the summer. The second book within this book is the heart-wrenching display of a family torn apart by divorce, with the son James trapped in the middle. Now living with his mom and her new significant other, he longs to stay with his dad and his dad’s new significant other. It also helps that his dad lives where all of his friends live. Within that is the grief and frustration created by his dad’s continued and excessive drinking. The third aspect to the story is James struggle with his own religious beliefs. This is done fantastically and is never pushed down the reader’s throat. And the last book within the book is the harrowing possession tale, where Domineous and Sanikus try to cross back over into the real world realm.

Each of these singular aspects on their own made this book such a fantastic read, but combined it put it over the top. On their own, each aspect is easily a 5/5 and I truly wish I had more stars to give this book. The beauty of how well each part works and flows, is that you could easily lose any of the parts and the other three on their own would hold this book up.

Throughout the story, Glenn drops references to his own favourite authors, fan-zines etc. In a decade or so, we will be seeing all the references to this fantastic book, much like he did in his own story.

I can’t sing my praises enough for this book. As I said at the start, reading this story will bring a smile to your face. Not because of the hurt, the horror and the gore (which there is plenty of all three in spades) but realizing you are currently in the middle of reading one of the best books of the year and one of the best coming of age books ever written. In chapter 11, you will read a small snippet of dialogue about ordering pizza, and you will realize you are in the throes of a classic book that you are deeply involved with, and your mouth won’t be able to hold back its own smile.

Glenn Rolfe had already arrived in the horror world before The Window. Now he will take a step up into the next echelon of horror greats and it will be completely deserved off of this masterpiece.

Star Rating (out of 5): 5*

What kind of demons await you tonight?

For Richie, life’s constant cheap shots are adding up. When he finds something is watching him, he never dreamed that it would show him everything he ever wanted.

When his son, James, comes to stay for the last month of summer, the changes in his father’s behavior come to the forefront. What is his father doing staring into the window in the middle of the night?
Was the fiery spark in the dark real? Or is Jame’s imagination getting the best of him?

Summer’s almost over.
And life is about to change.
Will James be able to save his father? Or is it already too late?

The Window holds the answers…and the key.

You can buy The Window from Amazon UK & Amazon US

Steve Stred

Steve Stred is an up-an-coming Dark Horror author. Steve is the author of the novel Invisible, the novellas Wagon Buddy, Yuri and Jane: the 816 Chronicles and two collections of short stories; Frostbitten: 12 Hymns of Misery and Left Hand Path: 13 More Tales of Black Magick.

Steve also has a number of works on the go and enjoys all this horror, occult, supernatural and paranormal.

Steve Stred is based in Edmonton, AB, Canada and lives with his wife, his son and their dog Oj.

You can follow Steve on Twitter @stevestred

You can visit Steve’s blog here