 | EUROPE'S MOST VISITED SF/F WEB SITE |
| Banquet
For The Damned by Adam L.G. Nevill check out website: www.pspublishing.co.uk
All the darkest roads lead to Professor Eliot Coldwell, disgraced author
of 'Banquet For The Damned', infamous magician and now a potential link to an
ancient evil. Along side his possible involvement has to be noted the disturbing
character of Beth, a beautiful seductress who seems to be closest to the old darkness
drawing in. Dante, one of two remaining members of the unheard-of rock band Sister Morphine, is making a break from Birmingham to do a concept album in homage to his hero and author of his inspiration, Eliot Coldwell.
Simultaneously, Hart Miller, an American anthropologist, has come to St
Andrews to continue his international research into night terrors. After meeting
some of the students who are suffering and realising they are disappearing before
he can get a second interview from them, Hart concludes that all is not what it
seems and something disastrous may well be gaining strength for an apocalyptic
finale. Adam Nevill has written seven titles as Lindsey Gordan writing
erotic novels published by Nexus. 'Banquet For The Damned' is one of the few novel
length titles that PS Publishing has started to produce. Nevill writes
his characters as easily accessible individuals - a little idiosyncratic at times
but subtly done. Even the ones that are only involved with the story for a very
short period of time stick out in my mind. For example, the golfer with the heart
condition made an impression, not letting the ball that got away, get away with
it! The horror is very much like classic British horror. Building the
pressure cooker up and up until at the end the only way to wrap up the whole thing
is in an apocalyptical manner. I was a little let down by the ending. Baptism
by fire seems to be an over-used and tired way of finishing off the nasties. Maybe
it was me, but I kind of liked the possessed women witches. Especially their strong
liking for dealing out retribution to adulterous husbands and sometimes vile student
pond-life. The overall idea of the book is an old one. The Brown Man
and all his witch followers stealing peaceful sleep and rendering their victims
vulnerable to attack worked horrifically well. We all fear that something or someone
will attack us in our sleep - it plays on every human being. It's quite
a long book, but Nevill never really gives you a chance to breathe, dangling carrots
and then giving payoffs to keep you interested. In this way the storytelling worked
well, but at times the information was either repeated or merely elaborated on
with more embellishment. The weird relationship between Coldwell and
his research student Beth works very well. Taking the eerie to new heights and
totally freaking you out when she interacts with Dante - who generally gets pasted
by her! Dante's mate, who has accompanied him to Scotland, seemed a little neglected by the storyteller, to a point that you couldn't honestly say that his involvement was necessary. The conversations between them in the
old 1969 Landrover on the journey from Birmingham to St Andrews were inspired
though. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys horror. It has
a haunting majesty that flows throughout the book, this comes more from the place
in which it is set than any other element. Granted this book is above the normal
price of one you could pick up at your bookshop, but it's well worth it if only
to buy an Adam Nevill book under his own name! Donna Jones
|
OTHER REVIEWS - August 2004
| ||||||||
The picturesque university town of St Andrews lies in wait
for a new influx of students at the start of the autumn term. But those that have
stayed over the summer are not necessarily safe. Disappearances have been occurring
throughout the St Andrews' area and grisly deaths that have disappearing evidence.
 | |
| nest home | search engine | site directory | library | tools | about us | | |
| |
... www.sfcrowsnest.com © 2004 CWant a ? Then send an e-mail to: hologramtales-subscribe@topica.com