Loved it.

Solid book from Laird Barron, his first full length novel for me, which admittedly took a while to get through. Mainly because I am so used to his short horror story format.

I originally started to read this book as his first book, but saw a few negative reviews by readers and booktubers/booktokkers who I align with, and almost the universal chorus was that his shirt stories are almost required reading.

Which I absolutely agree with. If I had read this first I probably would have put this at two or three stars. But the trade-off here is that while I absolutely adore the what, three books of his novella collections I've read, I'd be hard pressed to name two or three other main characters... In the what, maybe 25 to 30ish stories... But I will absolutely carry Don Miller, Michelle Mock, and Uncle Argyle with me from this novel.

I can't really explain why that's important without spoiling it, but it works so well for this novel, and yes it does matter if you've read Laird Barron's other works, not for the characters but the comprehensive and cohesive world(universe?) building.

Read this, but not before his short story collections!

Set between multiple timelines, The Croning is a terrifying yet lyrical novel that is filled with Lovecraftian horror. The novel follows Donald Miller, a geologist who is subjected to unnerving cultists, creatures of the dark, and a marriage to a women with a horrifying secret. Spanning from Don's first occult encounter to the devastating last, The Croning is a thrilling adventure that is steeped with mystery and terror.