Into the Woods

By: Josh Soule / Narrated By: Scott Cluthe

Length: 3 hrs and 32 mins

Pretty good, but not even the twists and turns can make up for questionable narration

Into the Woods is touted as A 16th Century Mystery whereby three friends in the fictional village of Carn team up to figure out who… or WHAT… has been slaughtering livestock in a most bloody and gruesome fashion. The three men, Thomas, John, and Henry, were close as young boys, raised a great deal by the local priest, but who now, as men, have grown apart. The woods where they live are a mysterious place, and Once Upon A Time, now forgotten in their “modern” day, horrific happenings occurred there.

Thomas, an earnest man, reeeeally wants to stop this Thing from more slaughter, enough to speak out about the rumored Creature, stirring all sorts of things up. Henry is angry that his old pal has stirred the pot, and he just wants to stay the heck outta it all: He has a family to raise, a good name to protect. John, closest to Father Michael, is simply goodnatured and wants what’s best for all.

The three come together as Thomas has staked out one of his cows as a lure for the beast, and all three are hailed as heroes as they clash with and kill a diseased and enraged bear. John is hurt during this run-in, but he basks in the glory just as much as the other two, and Henry realizes, after seeing how powerful and crazed the bear was, that it was good to get involved.

Uhm, not so faaaaaast…

Because killings continue, and Henry is hit by a most devastating blow. Now he personally has an axe to grind.

I liked that there was plenty of action to go along with developing our heroes as solid characters so that we care when it all hits the fan, and the men discover that really: Do they know each other at all? Just how much do they? Can the other be trusted?

And just what the heck is going on?

Plenty of twists and turns that are engaging as all get out, but the narration. Oh the narration! I’m quite unsure that Scott Cluthe was the right narrator for a tale that was fraught with as much blood and intrigue that’s written here. From the opening, where the listener is tantalized by promises of no one being safe, of upcoming terror and slaughter by a merciless and unafraid beast, Cluthe delivers it all: A depraved creature spotted, the frantic ringing of the town bell, horrific bloodshed coming up, coming from The Woods—where the Devil himself lives, with flat and even tones, as though he’s only mildly interested in the story he’s telling for us. He does do a bit to distinguish characters but really, it’s soooo disappointing to have a story heavy on mystery and suspense, with growing suspicions and horrors that rise and fall, related in a dull almost monotone.

That said, this is barely 3+ hours, and author Josh Soule crafted a nifty kinda look back into a different time, a different place, where The Woods are DEFinitely not safe and unholy terrors lurk, ready to spring and to slash, disemboweling given the chance.

Do I regret using my time listening to it? Not at all; the end alone is worth the price of admission.

It’s just that I reeeeeally wish the narration didn’t have me sorta dozing even as townsfolk turn into bloody grist for a crazed Beast’s mill…