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Post by nightreader on Oct 26, 2007 17:29:08 GMT
Another from MFA The Woodsmen (my copy Heywood Books 1989, but originally published 1986 by Robert hale).
Back cover:
Karen Mallon's date was angry with her for rejecting him. Drunkenly he pushed her out of the car in a deserted country lane and drove off. That'd teach her! little did he know the terror that would shortly engulf them both...
For Karen, frightened by the dark and creepy forest, accidentally witnesses the savage sacrificial rituals of the Woodsmen. And after that, they persue her mindlessly - half-dead monsters from another age, filled with demonic strength, lusting for blood, unstoppable...
Plotwise not much to add to that really. This starts off at a cracking pace - there's the Woodsmen doing some very nasty things in the deserted church, they are zombie like but more maliciously aware of their actions and they have purpose. "Soil matted their skin and fingernails as if they had been scratching in the earth... There was something odd too in their walk, something stiff and unnatural." Poor Karen on a date-from-hell stumbles on their handiwork and sets off a cat and mouse chase which spans the rest of the book.
The real stars of this are clearly the Woodsmen, named Oates and Clay, their history is only hinted at - the evil pair were possibly burned at the stake in 1805, supposedly possessed by demons. Thankfully there isn't too much time wasted on explanations, they are mean and vicious and they know Karen saw them in action and they plan on tearing her apart.
Sadly Karen is a bit irritating at times, doing lots of running backward and forwards through the woods and up country lanes. There's not that much more to her. But that's a minor criticism really, she serves her purpose - to be frightened out of her wits and give Oates and Clay someone to chase.
Overall I really liked this book, it was undemanding yet sometimes surprisingly violent and gory at times with strong central baddies. Entertaining.
(Another dreadful cover on this one - bargain books these, but it deserved better)
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Post by dem bones on Nov 26, 2018 21:30:42 GMT
Evil creatures from the past. Engaged in a sacrificial orgy of killingMichael Falconer Anderson - The Woodsmen (Heywood, 1989: originally Robert Hale, 1986) Blurb: Karen Mallon's date was angry with her for rejecting him. Drunkenly he pushed her out of the car in a deserted country lane and drove off. That'd teach her! Little did he know the terror that would shortly engulf them both ...
For Karen, frightened by the dark and creepy forest, accidentally witnesses the savage sacrificial rituals of the Woodsmen. And after that, they pursued her mindlessly - half-dead monsters from another age, filled with demonic strength, lusting for blood, unstoppable ...None of that patient build up nonsense for Michael Falconer Anderson. Reader is delivered straight to a night of blasphemy, desecration, crucifixion and human sacrifice in and around St. Gudrun's Church! Meanwhile, in a Ricksworth restaurant, Karen Mallon, a journalist on The Gazette, is enduring a first and definitely last date with John Leighton, a full of himself salesman who thinks he's God's gift (her usual preference is for hairy blokes in duffel coats, but they're all married). Already drunk, Leighton insists on driving them to a remote spot in the woods under the pretence of taking her home. Karen fends off his lecherous advances with a slap, gets out of the car and marches off into the trees, expecting him to come running after, all apologies. Leighton has other ideas. Plenty more fish in the sea. He drives off home without so much as a backward glance. Hopelessly lost, frightened as she is furious, Karen traipses on through the dark wood until - blessed relief! A light up ahead. She staggers through the vandalised doors of St. Gudrun's just as malodorous, blood-drinking axemen, Clay and Oates, are putting tonight's victim out of her misery .... Already a third of the way through ( The Woodsmen runs to a compact 150 pages). Early indications are Richard Laymon's The Woods Are Dark relocated to the English Countryside. Agree with friend Nightreader that Clay and Oates are the best thing about it, though retarded Roger - who lives with his "sick" mother - has potential. Karen has just spent the night at their cottage having flukily evaded the killers. Leighton, once his hungover wears off, is suitably disgusted with himself for his behaviour. On learning that Karen hasn't shown for work, he drives out to find her ...
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Post by ripper on Nov 27, 2018 8:03:37 GMT
I like the sound of this one--just the ticket for a quick undemanding read. From the description and short length, it sounds as if it would be at home in the paperback horror section of your local bookshop circa 1975. Are there any indications that it might have been written earlier than the 80s?
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Post by dem bones on Nov 27, 2018 20:56:45 GMT
No idea how long it was hanging around before finding a publisher, Rip. It sure belts along, the death toll rising with every short chapter. We've since met Margaret Apps, a dipso who watches TV round the clock between making Roger's life a misery. Karen would rather take her chances at the bus stop then spend another minute in such company. No sooner has she gone than Mrs. Apps orders poor Roger to fetch kindling for the fire as punishment for answering the door to a Townie. Roger doesn't like the woodshed at night. It's dark. Monsters could be hiding in there. How right he is.
As Roger and Clay set about one another with axes, Oates - the red headed one - bursts in on Margaret. He wants to know where she's hidden Karen and won't take "she's gone!" for an answer. "Thee's a fine buxom woman" he drools, ripping away her gown ...
It seems the Woodsmen are not only fanatically sadistic but indestructible. Clay treats a sliced brain as a minor inconvenience, nothing to get worked up about. Karen has done incredibly well to evade them for ten chapters, but can her luck hold out?
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Post by dem bones on Nov 28, 2018 23:43:17 GMT
Second half - essentially the siege of Frank Jamieson (replacement male lead)'s cottage - not quite as dynamic. MFA solves the conundrum of how to kill the unkillable as best he can. Plenty of violence though he's not one to dwell on the gory bits. Mandatory Bad Sex interludes likewise underplayed. Friend Cauldron Brewer recently remarked the outcome of a dismemberment scene in Seabury Quinn's The Mansion of Unholy Magic as reminiscent of the Black Knight's grisly fate in Monty Python's Holy Grail," and here the ginger Woodsman (i.e., the one with half a head) meets with a similar cutting down to size. More Michael Falconer Anderson - God Of A Thousand Faces and (most of) The Unholy - HERE |
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Post by ripper on Nov 29, 2018 9:41:14 GMT
I saw a reasonably-priced copy of The Woodsmen on ABE and couldn't resist ordering it. I can't remember reading anything by the author so am looking forward to checking out The Woodsmen as it sounds right up my alley.
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