Valley Of Lights by Stephen Gallagher
01/11/2005 . Source: Sue Davies 
pub: Telos. 298 page enlarged paperback. Price: £ 9.99 (UK), $ 9.95 (US), $14.95 (CAN). ISBN: 1-903889-74-X. Numbered limited hardback. Price: £30.00 (UK), $59.95 (US), $64.95 (CAN). ISBN: 1-903889-75-8. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.telos.co.uk and www.stephengallagher.com
There are plenty of detective
stories in the best-seller lists. Particularly popular are those featuring gruesome
excavations or ones that involve creative-corpse cracking. The reading public
just can't get enough of the insides of others.
To some extent 'Valley Of Lights' is in this tradition. It also has an additional
quirk as an ancestor of 'The X-Files' in its subject matter being first published
in 1987. Stephen Gallagher has since made his name with some SF TV but this
one never made it to the screen.
Starting as a traditional detective tale about a maverick cop and his loner
tendencies, we might think we've seen Alex Volchak and his case before. But
this murderer has an unusual skill and Volchak finds he is dealing with someone
or something extraordinary when he discovers a room full of peacefully sleeping
brain-dead zombies. The case gets very personal before a showdown in a desert
location.
It is a suitably tense production with a will-they/won't-they scenario but it's
not too gruesome compared to other 'tec novels. Gallagher manages to condense
a good sense of place and some colourful description into a shorter-than-average
narrative at only 211 pages. As a non-American, I cannot judge if this sense
of location is accurate but it worked for me. I really enjoyed the way the tale
was constructed and found the characters normalcy cut through the supernatural
elements making the whole thing more grimly real.
As a special edition directors cut, this is a nice little package. There is
an extra novella 'Nightmare, With Angel' which contains the germ of the fully
expanded idea. There is an author's introduction and an after-word which subs
for the director's commentary. To add to the film-like feel, Gallagher has included
his writer's diary of the abortive attempt to sell the movie idea in the US.
It's also very enlightening to read how Gallagher feels about his own work and
what he would do differently a few years and a lot of experience down the line.
All in all, an enjoyable novel which deserves to reach a good size audience,
possibly potential for the return of detective Volchak at some point and lots
of 'extras' to enhance your reading pleasure.
Sue Davies
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