Reading The Hollow Ones you will be drawn into a crime spree, and find yourself sharing time with a killer who can’t be seen and a killer who has defied the ages. The perfect read for Halloween; reading this will leave you rattled and looking at your friends and colleagues with an extra hint of uncertainty.
The Hollow Ones is the first horrifying book in a new series from Academy Award-winning Director and writer Guillermo del Toro and author Chuck Hogan – the pair also collaborated on The Strain trilogy.
Along with a new series, we’re also introduced to a new protagonist, Odessa Hardwicke, a rookie FBI agent, whose life is changed forever following an incident at a crime scene with her partner. Placed on restrictive duties, she ends up tracking down an elusive occult investigator: Hugo Blackwood. Together, and with the help of retired agent Earl Solomon, they must lure the last Hollow Ones from hiding and put a stop to the horror they unleash.
Initially it took a while to warm to the book. But, after a few chapters, with the back story and premise established it transformed into a page turner; one filled with suspense, magic and sorcery. There’s no shortage of action, and plenty of banter between the main characters too.
There’s, unsurprisingly, a cinematic quality to the writing that I really enjoyed. And, you’ll find yourself playing casting director as you read, working out who should play who if it makes it to the screen.
For me, its main downfall was the shifting back and forth between different timelines. Personally, I felt it impacted the flow of the novel and it left the finale lacking impact and feeling less unexpected than it could have been.
Cinematic, witty and original, The Hollow Ones will undoubtedly appeal to fans of Dean Koontz, James Herbert and Douglas Preston.
THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan’s The Hollow Ones is out now through Penguin Random House. Order your copy from Booktopia HERE.
