My Rating
“The Keening”
The afternoon grows warmer as two more Chicago police cruisers arrive at the scene of a developing hostage situation. Inside the New Kingdom Baptist Church, an Irish immigrant named Declan Banbridge holds several choir members at gunpoint. Marlon Corbet of the Challengers of the Unknown has managed to sneak inside the building in hopes of rescuing his fiancée. Unfortunately, his rescue attempt has gone sideways, and Marlon now finds himself among the hostages.
Declan’s eyes dart nervously from stained-glass window to stained-glass window. Something has followed him into the church.
No one else can see the mysterious stalker. No one except Marlon.
Declan has fled from one side of the Atlantic Ocean to the other, but distance hasn’t saved him. Whatever pursues the frightened Irishman has finally cornered him inside this house of God. Then the hostages begin hearing it—a terrible, ghostly wail growing louder by the second.
Something is coming.
Without warning, a huge section of the north-facing stained-glass windows explodes inward! Glass rains across the church as the supernatural presence finally reveals itself. Declan’s past has caught up with him, and neither guns nor locked doors will keep it outside.
What terrible secret does the Irishman hide that could trigger the wrath of an elder god? Does the power of Christ hold any authority over the ancient laws of the Old Ways? What exactly is the terrifying woman who followed Declan across an ocean? And can Marlon save his fiancée before supernatural vengeance—or a hail of bullets—claims everyone inside the church? Collect the series to find out!
Review
Wow! Steven Grant knocks another one out of the park with “The Keening.” After exploring time displacement, ghosts, strange lights, and parallel realities, Grant turns his attention toward Irish mythology and delivers one of the most entertaining supernatural stories in the series so far.
I really enjoyed the contrast between Christianity and the ancient beliefs Declan brought with him from Ireland. Setting the entire confrontation inside a Baptist church makes that clash even more effective. Declan may have crossed an ocean and sought refuge inside a Christian house of worship, but the Old Ways don’t particularly care where he’s hiding. Once those stained-glass windows explode, you know whatever has been hunting this man isn’t stopping at the front door to ask permission.
The hostage situation also gives the supernatural story some real-world tension. Marlon isn’t simply investigating another strange occurrence from a safe distance. His fiancée is trapped inside the church, an armed and increasingly terrified man controls the room, and Marlon has willingly put himself in the middle of everything. Add a screaming supernatural entity to the situation, and things can go bad in about fifty different ways.
We also have a new artist this issue, but thankfully the quality remains top notch. Changing artists this far into a series can sometimes be distracting, especially after I had finally grown accustomed to John Paul Leon’s work. Here, however, the different artwork fits the standalone nature of the story and handles the supernatural elements particularly well.
At this point, this incarnation of Challengers of the Unknown is becoming what I wanted Marv Wolfman’s Night Force to be. Both series play with horror, supernatural mysteries, ancient beliefs, and characters investigating things that shouldn’t exist. For me, however, Steven Grant has found a better balance between character development, mystery, science fiction, and outright horror. Even when the explanation gets weird, I want to know what happens next.
Ghostly women, Irish mythology, elder gods, ancient traditions, a church full of hostages, and another mystery for the Challengers to unravel—what else could I ask for? Another five out of five stars.