In the town of Night Vale, there's a faceless old woman who secretly lives in everyone's home, but no one knows how she got there or where she came from--until now.
... an introduction worthy of a middlebrow bestseller, but Fink and Cranor’s book side-steps the popular fiction clichés that lurk at their story’s edges ... a swashbuckling adventure story that ranges across Europe, crossing borders and decades ... Fink and Cranor are masters of the long narrative game. They have a clear vision in mind, and every element of the book builds toward it, with emotionally devastating, sometimes brutally funny, results ... an excellent, absorbing book. For those invested in Night Vale’s history, it’s sometimes frustrating but ultimately satisfying. The paranoia, elegantly, is all in the details. Everything is coming, for the patient, eventually. If you didn’t expect the amount of blood, well, you should have.
While obviously of most interest to established fans of the Welcome to Night Vale podcast and its cast of characters, the distinctly spare and precise weirdness of Fink and Cranor’s writing will please even readers completely unfamiliar with the sinister town and its long-running radio show.
Fink and Cranor do a terrific job bringing the Woman to life (no pun intended) and giving Night Vale fans her backstory. And one need not be an aficionado of the series to enjoy this book ... This is a fun and compelling adventure with plenty of strangeness, and a thoughtful exploration of the kinds of emotions that impact decisions in life...and perhaps beyond. Sweet, smart and sorrowful, funny and bizarre, it is a fantastic contribution to the Welcome to Night Vale universe, and an enjoyable story about morality, mortality, and the powerful and complex connections we humans create.
