Published October 20, 2015
Harper Perennial
The first thing I did when I returned from my Library Association’s spring conference this past April was riffle my notes looking for the email to request a “Welcome to Night Vale” galley. I was thrilled when I heard in a Book Buzz session that one of my favorite podcasts (and how could it not be, with its formidable public library and ferocious librarians?) was branching into a novel.
Set in the world of the deliciously weird podcast from which it gets its name, WtNV the novel focuses on two minor characters who are in search of the mysterious King City: Jackie, who has been 19 for a very long time, and Diane, the PTA officer struggling to connect with her shape-shifting teenage son.
One of the delights of WtNV is the sly surreality and dry humor that seems effortless. Fink and Cranor have built a sizable world by putting a strange, sometimes macabre, little twist in the day-to-day occurrences of mundane small-town civic life. Throughout the novel the more prominent characters from the podcast (most notably Cecil and Carlos) are peppered in, in settings that will be familiar to fans. Some questions are answered, or at least addressed. Overall it is a good addition to all things Night Vale. Is it accessible for readers who have never heard a single episode? I kept asking myself that as I was reading and finally settled on, “I don’t know.” Give it a try. Or give the podcast a try then try the novel.
Happy reading!
An advance galley of this book was kindly provided by the publisher with no expectations other than an honest opinion.
