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The Official Christopher Golden Homepage
First impression of Chris Golden: "Oh, Look, It's G.I. Joe, and he's been taking steroids..."
Chris is a big dude. He's muscular, he's tall and he looks like, if the mood struck him, he could probably bench press a tractor trailer. The good news is that he's also a genuinely nice man and a gifted writer to boot. He and I have been at this for almost the same amount of time. He might be beating me by a year or so, but that's all. The differences are monumental in how our careers have gone, but we started around the same time. Chris is also the reason that I spent two years of my life in a special sort of hell granted only to officers in the Horror Writers Association. He suggested me strongly for secretary of that very organization when he had to leave office for personal reasons. Sometimes, late at night, I consider the best way to kill him slowly to show my appreciation for the gesture. But most of the time I realize that he did me a massive favor. He opened the doors for me and let me meet a whole lot of people I'd have never crossed paths with on my own. And I can guarantee I learned a lot more about publishing in those two years than I would have in just about any other way.
But enough of that nonsense. Let's talk about Chris's writing here for a moment. Chris is beyond good. He's phenomenal. Chris Golden writes with the passion that you can only have if you truly love a subject. Chris writes that way on damned near any subject he touches, because that's the way he is. I suspect if he had to do a story about Doctor Doom (TM Marvel Comics) Taking on Barbie (TM Mattel Toys) he would do it and he would make it interesting to read. That's sort of scary when you think about it, but there it is. Chris makes it look easy to be a writer. He's got the magic touch. I suspect, in all sincerity, that Chris could write a book about fungi in locker rooms and the special odors they give off and he could still make it fascinating. And believe me, there is little I find interesting about the subject of locker room smells.
Just to top off his talent, Chris is also funny. Take as an example suggesting me for the secretary of the HWA. Somebody somewhere must have laughed...No, seriously, Chris can get to you with his stories. He can make you care about the characters he writes whether they are his own or someone else's.
What's that? Someone else's?
Yes. Chris does what few writers consider doing. Chris does work for hire. Work for hire, for those who aren't familiar with the term, means writing a story that you don't own. It means you are paid for telling someone else's story to a certain extent. Or, to translate into the plainest of terms, writing what doesn't belong to you. Chris writes comic book scripts, and he writes novels. You've likely run across at least a few of them in your time.
He's written nine Buffy the Vampire Slayer novels to date, as well as the majority of the comics for the same title. He's written five novels based on Marvel Comic's line of comic books. And in addition to writing the only Hellboy novel ever, he has also edited the only Hellboy anthology ever. He's done a few others, too, but frankly I can only spare so much time for writing all of this myself, I'm trying to keep up with Chris Golden, you see, and the boy is dangerously prolific.
And somewhere in the middle of all of that, he manages to keep up with his own original fiction. The Shadow Saga is amazing. He treads on thin ice with several political and religious groups with the writing of that trilogy: Of Saints And Shadows, Angel Souls And Devil Hearts, and Of Masques And Martyrs rank among the top 20 books I've ever read. My greatest disappointment with the books was that they eventually had to end. I didn't want them to. I keep hoping that he'll write another one, but I just don't see where he'll have the time.
Because Chris has also been busy writing young adult books like there's no tomorrow. His Body Of Evidence series (Body Bags, Theif Of Hearts, Soul Survivro, Meets The Eye, Head Games and Skin Deep to date and still counting) has taken off, as well it should. The stories are strong, the central character, Jenna Blake, is memorable and the pacing on this stuff is tight and beautiful.
I haven't read his latest two, Straight On Til Morning or Strangewood, but I definitely want to. They are on my short list. I'm waiting just a bit longer, to stop myself from needing a Golden fix too soon. I like to make myself wait for the really good stuff. Chris Golden is always worth the wait. Chris writes with a voice that is one part Ray Bradbury, one part Stephen King, and maybe just a twist or two of H. P. Lovecraft. Oddly, I think it's perfectly fair top say that his voice in unique. He stands out in a crowd of writers and novels as one of the most memorable. You can't miss his prose once you've read it. Well, that's not quite true. You can miss it. And you can be left wanting more.
Now, despite what anyone might think, Chris is NOT standing behind me and making me write these words. It's not his style. Also, despite the fact that he looks like a beefed up G. I. Joe (and not one of the crappy ones from the 80s, either, I'm talking the real ones with the fuzzy beards here) He just ain't big enough and bad enough. Besides, my wife could kick his butt. Of course, his wife could kick my butt, so fair is only fair....