Although definately in the horror genre, I didn't consider this a scary book. Still, it was an excellent book. My only complaint is that although the book was written more than twenty years ago, and although the last line in the story implies another sequel, there has not been one.

Slim Mackenzie is the pseudonym invented by a seventeen year old boy fleeing his home after murdering an evil monster posing as his uncle. He runs away and joins the carnival, where he finds solace and comfort amongst the carnies, a band of outcasts who accept him warmly. There, he discovers that although his Twilight Eyes are indeed unique, he is not the only one able to see the goblins that pose as human begins and permeate human society, seeding it with their evil, plotting schemes too horrible to imagine.

The characters are unique, deep, and deeply likeable. My favorites are an elderly man with a keen sense of smell who is in many ways the stereotypical unflappable New Englander, and a softspoken and intelligent Carnival freakshow man with a deformed face and three eyes, reminscient of The Beast of X-men fame.