It’s an interesting experience to read a book that’s been written by someone you know. I touched on this briefly during my review of Blind Man’s Bluff, but that one was only written by an author I met at the same time I discovered his book. There’s only one book I’ve read entirely because I’d met the author and spoken with them numerous times, before I even knew they’d written anything. Reading that book, it was easy to see the author’s fingerprints on certain elements of the narrative, but there were also things that completely surprised me. Who knew my pocketwatch-toting professor could write this many sex scenes?
The Darkest Clearing was written by one of my English professors at WCU, Brian Railsback. I had him as a creative writing professor before, and he was instrumental to my development as a writer and as a student. When I heard he’d written a book, I thought the least I could do in return was take a look—especially once I found out it was available at the library.
The first class I had Railsback for interestingly combined reading comprehension with environmental activism. As a result, I wasn’t surprised to discover that Railsback’s book was set in a National Park with a conservationist slant. However, the brand of conservation attempted in the book wouldn’t have been encouraged in our class.
The best way I can think to describe The Darkest Clearing is that it’s American Psycho set in the great outdoors. Of course, I say this having never actually seen American Psycho, but I can imagine the main antagonist being played by Christian Bale. Eldred Spell is a stock trader who decides to abandon his cushy life in Manhattan to save his favorite National Park from dirty, annoying tourists—by killing them. His efforts clash with Eli Ware, a local ranger and guide who represents the side of justice. Each chapter switches from being narrated by Eldred or Eli, leading to a dynamic I’m always fond of—the criminal and detective locked in a game of cat and mouse.
As can possibly be expected, Eldred ends up being a much more interesting character than Eli on account of being insane. It’s interesting seeing how his plan develops and how his internal motivations change over the course of the novel. Eli, in contrast, is a much more reactionary character, and most of her chapters focus more on her relationship with her family and coworkers. However, they present excellent opposing viewpoints while sharing an unwavering commitment to their beliefs.
The story progresses largely in increments of increasing violence. The Valley isn’t presented as some beautiful, lush landscape that’s haplessly subjected to human tortures. It’s unpredictable, gruesome, and dangerous, and not just because a yuppie is wandering around with a sniper rifle headshotting people. Perhaps my favorite part was seeing how the rangers and Eldred used nature to their advantage in waging war against one another. It’s clear that Railsback knows a lot about the natural world and how to survive in it, which made me feel like I was learning a lot as I read. In general, Eldred Spell is very smart, so it’s interesting to see him account for every possibility and remain one step ahead of his pursuers.
A lot of the story is dependent on the theme of whether its worth hurting people to protect the environment. The novel never takes a strong stance in either direction. Obviously, the victims of Eldred’s murder spree are innocent and their lives are treated as valuable, but Eli can’t help but admit that once the tourists are scared off, the Valley becomes a lot more beautiful. While I can understand not wanting to make a definite statement on this matter, it feels like the story’s ambivalence weakens the message somewhat. As a result, the ending winds up feeling a little weak, as neither character is entirely victorious in the conflict. Though others might argue that this is the point.
I think I might have liked the story more if Eli and Eldred had met up earlier, but they were interesting enough to carry the story on their own. The individual chapters were full of conflict anyway, not just between Eli and Eldred but between them and the natural world. The environment doesn’t play favorites either; Eldred just as frequently faces an embarrassing death in the wilderness. However, Railsback known when to let the story relax too—one of my favorite chapters is one where Eli holds an impromptu party for a visiting Japanese company, and her entire family gets roped into the revelry.
Railsback also goes through some other perspectives, giving us the chance to see how other people view Eldred and Eli. This actually serves to develop the characters in new, interesting ways. One of my favorite scenes like this involves some random arms dealer whose name I forgot, who views himself as the smartest and coolest man alive before getting easily deceived by Eldred. The scene ends up about as suspenseful as it is funny.
While the story is solid overall, it does have some flaws. One thing that annoyed me was how every male character found Eli attractive and would describe how she looked at every opportunity. It wasn’t your usual “men writing women” fare, but it got a little ridiculous. Secondly, the story spends a lot of time on Eldred’s backstory involving a boys’ camp and a drill sergeant. I was never a huge fan of these scenes, as they interrupted the action without seeming to add too much, aside from explaining why Eldred can survive in the wilderness. It didn’t help that they were hard to get through on account of their brutality.
There’s also the slightly awkward matter that Eldred is present at the first bombing of the World Trade Center—you know, the one before 9/11. The book was written before 9/11, so it seems at first that The Darkest Clearing launches you full-speed into America’s deadliest terrorist attack two chapters in. This isn’t what actually happens, though it took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to realize it. Still, Railsback accidentally foreshadows 9/11 in the narration, to the point that he added an apology at the end of the book. However, I’d argue that the entire scene should have been changed, because there’s no way to read it the same way after the tragedy.
It’s disappointing that the story didn’t become as popular as I feel it should have been. That’s because the book’s publisher High Sierra Books folded almost instantly after releasing The Darkest Clearing, and I think they might have even committed a crime or something. I don’t remember; I just heard this from Railsback after the fact. I can’t find them anywhere on the internet. Unfortunately, the quality of your writing can’t save your book if your publisher implodes on itself.
Either way, The Darkest Clearing is well worth the read, and I’m not just saying that because I know the author. It’s good enough that I’m considering finally buying my own copy, but there appears to be only one left on Amazon, and I doubt I can find it anywhere else. Still, if you’d like to give it a read you can pick up the exact copy I did at the WCU library. Hopefully it will inspire you as it did me, to appreciate the raw power of nature and to spike all the trees in my backyard.
(To any government agent reading this, don’t worry, I’m referring to my house in Minecraft)
Stephen M. Pierce 