Gordon Honeycombe - Neither The Sea Nor The Sand

[dem bones]

Gordon Honeycombe - Neither The Sea Nor The Sand (Pan, 1971; originally Hutchinson, 1969)

Blurb:
'Horror in the best Poe tradition ... Compulsive reading for the hours of daylight. After that, you are on your own.' - Birmingham Evening Mail


When obsessive love animates a no-longer-living body, the result can be gruesome beyond human believing ...
In this wholly original novel, mind-chilling terror is the fruit of a passion that survives beyond the grave.
'Told with a fine macabre flourish by an author well known alike as an ITV newscaster and a BBC dramatist - Daily Mail

Former ITV newsreader writes horror novel. Who could resist? It's a strange one, certainly not pulp and i can't really see where the Poe comparison came from either. What we have here is the bleakest Gothic Romance, with one half of the relationship, Hugh Dabernon, reduced to an animated corpse forty pages into the story, having suffered a heart-attack while frolicking with his lover Annie Robins on the beach at Cape Wrath. Hugh and Annie are on their honeymoon at the time, having rented a caravan in Durness, North West Scotland, specifically chosen as their ideal location for it's remoteness from mankind. The young lovers aren't actually married. "They exchanged rings, but a civil contract to unite them was unnecessary, and a religious blessing could add nothing to a love not made in heaven and already consummated on earth. Love was their religion, and their idols were each other. It was exclusive of all other people and everything that did not share their love." Small wonder then that, within a day of Dr. Irving signing the death certificate, Hugh returns to the caravan. But what's happened to him? He can no longer speak, he lurches drunkenly around, more often than not falling flat on his face, and only a flicker in his eyes gives any indication of life. Annie reluctantly admits to herself that he's dead but at leat he's kept his promise - "I will always love you" - and her one concern is to get him back home to Jersey.

So far, so intriguing! The exchanges between the caravan owner, a staunchly religious battle-axe by the name of Mrs. Murray, and her long-suffering farming husband offer welcome light relief, but it's to Honeycombe's great credit that he treats the story so solemnly. Don't expect a breathless pace - he's not the least interested in clubbing the reader over the head and the first forty pages read like a beautifully written travel brochure - but if you're looking for a sad, even tragic zombie love story, could be that Mr. Honeycombe's your man.

To be continued:

Anyone seen the Tigon film of this starring Susan Hampshire and Michael Petrovitch?

[Johnlprobert]

Of course I've seen it!

Not as good as it should be, and surprisingly devoid of nudity & blood for a 1972 Tigon picture, I actually thought it was a bit dull.

That didn't stop me buying the book though, which is the edition you have up there. I've never read it so I'll be interested in what you think!

[Dr Strange]

Apr 29, 2010 16:59:48 GMT dem bones said:

Anyone seen the Tigon film of this starring Susan Hampshire and Michael Petrovitch?

No, but I have seen "Zombie Honeymoon" (2004), which sounds remarkably similar. Though that had a healthy dose of black humour thrown in. Any idea what the "Werewolf country up-to-date" strap is supposed to refer to? BTW, I know the Durness area quite well - never knew this was set up there.

[dem bones]

The first third of the novel is set in and around Durness, after which we relocate to La Moye, Jersey, where Hugh and Annie live in the shadow of a Lighthouse. The journey home is a nightmare for Annie as Hugh's frightening appearance and utter helplessness draw stares and murmurs from all they encounter, the common consensus being that he's a blind man. Once indoors, Annie realises she needs help and advice but, having made no friends in Jersey, the only person she can think to call is Hugh's elder brother.

George Dabernon, antique dealer, has always been jealous of Hugh's greater height, his good looks, his brain, and disapproves of what he thinks of as his "unfortunate liaison with the Plymouth girl". He's been drinking steadily throughout the night and, confronted by the vacuous, pulse-less shell of a thing sat before him, all his bottled resentment erupts. "Now I'm not a doctor, but ... in the middle ages I would have said he was possessed. And that you were a witch - you were both possessed. and I would have you burnt, burnt! .... When his body lay lifeless on the sand - what spirit of evil could have entered therein? And up there, in that pagan land, old as the hills, the mountains where the Celts worshipped their ancient savage gods ...". You can always rely on an embittered religious fanatic in a crisis. Offended that Hugh is entirely oblivious to him while following Annie's every movement with worshipping eyes, George takes a log from the fireplace and spitefully presses it against his brother's arm. No reaction. Now he has the solution. Hugh must be exorcised! But first he must get him away from Annie before she spots the scorch mark on his flesh. George abducts his brother leaving a distraught Annie chasing the van. But Hugh is not to be separated from his soul mate. As the van passes the church, he lunges at George, the van veers off the road into a stone monument and bursts into flames, it's driver impaled on the steering wheel.

We leave the happy couple for now as Annie leads her burnt, battered, heavily bleeding husband up to the bedroom. It's the closest she'll be to sanity for the remainder of the novel as on learning of George's death the following morning, something inside her snaps when Hugh tries pathetically to embrace her. "Oh don't! It's true - it's true. You're dead, you're dead! ... Lie down. Please die." Perhaps realising that George was right when he warned that Hugh will gradually decompose, she lashes out at him with a hand mirror, and runs from the house. discovered on the beach by a kindly Scot's couple, she's admitted to hospital suffering from pneumonia and a complete nervous breakdown, which renders her mute and virtually catatonic for seven months. But what of Hugh, abandoned in the house all this time? A luckless burglar is about to get the shock of his life and unwittingly trigger the final act of the drama which sees the lovers briefly, morbidly reunited on the beach at St. Ouens Bay.

Must admit, i found the first thirty pages a slog, but Honeycombe shifts gear once Hugh dies and from there on in Neither The Sea Nor The Sand is as creepy as it is compelling. Tigon were probably swayed by the odd terror pulp moments and vaguest hint of necrophilia, but the real horror is not so much what's happened to Hugh but Annie's desperate attempts to cope with a crisis which can only be resolved by the death of them both. Comparisons; for some reason i was reminded of David Case's Fengriffen but .... if you can imagine Wuthering Heights featuring a walking corpse straight out of the pages of an EC comic strip? Very recommended.

[madaboutmonsters]

The relationship of the couple in Neither the Sand nor the Sea reminded me of the returning Simon and extant Adele in the first series of the Returned in 2013. I persevered with the show but neither the French nor the English could keep me watching.

[rob4]

saw the movie many years ago and remember it being cold and bleak and a bit of a slog. strange that someone should mention the lack of nudity as it didn't escape my notice that the bedroom scenes were very dark to point of almost total obscurity - i thought maybe it had been deliberately printed like that; perhaps to get a lower certificate?