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Post by erebus on Jan 18, 2014 19:24:15 GMT
Peter Tremayne - The Curse Of Loch Ness (Sphere, 1979) Terry Oakes(?) Peter Tremayne has always been a bit hit and miss for me. Mainly Miss to be honest. I really liked Angelus, and had a good time with Morgow Rises, but his others sadly didn't hit the mark. So after having this book a while now I decided to give it the benefit and jump in. And also I find the cover art eyecatching and amusing too ( sorry for lack of pic ) So lets see how it goes. We begin with a frightened old man running in blind terror alongside the Loch, something scares him to death and he perishes there on the shores. From there we are introduced to our main character Jeannie Millbuie who has driven up to Inverness from London as she has..unbeknown to her ..inherited her family estate and castle up by Loch Ness. It appears the chap who died on the shores was in fact her cousin Donald. Her Solicitor is very unhelpful with her and basically tells her to sell the property immediatly and go back South. Sod that she says and of she goes in her Volkswagon on up to the Castle. On route she notices how desolate the places is, then lo and behold she pops a tyre. Luckily a tatty looking rambler helps her out. We later learn this mans name to be Lachlan Mcvey. He nearly shits a brick when she tells him she is a decendant of the family from the castle and he tells her to go back whence she came, its unlucky and evil, and off he goes back into the gorse. A local PC also is less hospitable and gives her the same tirade. On arrival at the castle the housemaid there .Mrs Murdo. begrudgingly lets her in. After we establish shes a pompous snotty cow and the castle has no leccy Jeannie hits the sack. Only to awaken in the earlier hours to strange wailing sounds coming from outside. Or inside. it never clearly states this. Next day we tour the building and grounds. Mrs Murdo takes her down into the cellar to show her the generator, here she warns her never to venture any deeper than this as there are many dangers. Outside Jeannie finds a strange small stone structure in the middle of the forest. Inside is a small and seemingly bottomless well, again she hears the eerie wailing rising from the pit below. After telling a irritated Mrs Murdo this the housekeeper tells her to stay away from there, and also to keep out of the Lairds bedroom quarters, and with that open invitation Jeannie ventures within them and finds and old diary which tells us many a history of the forefathers and of a strange creature. And interludes occasionally pop up in the proceedings in the book from the creatures point of view, of how he and its mate faught amongst the manthings and how they destroyed its offspring. The spooky wailing returns again that night, next morning Mrs Murdo fobs her off and is saved from more questions when a snidey Priest called Telston turns up at the castle. Jeannie is unimpressed by him. Her stroll in the forest that day is eventful. She again bumps into Lachlan Mcvey who again tells her to sod off back home, and she is almost shot by her neighbour who mistakes her for a RABBIT !!!! Easily done I imagine. Anyway he seems a decent old bloke and she accepts his invitation to dinner that evening. Here he tells her of her long ancestors and one in particular called Cathan who made a pact with a creature named the Kelpie who aided and protected him from enemies, enlightened she heads off back home to the castle. Not before seeing some disturbance of the surface of the Loch ( Hello ) and she bumps into Lachlan again...does this guy ever sleep... he's pissed as a f*rt and gives her a final warning, and then flees in terror when he hears the sounds again. That night in bed Jeannie hears Mrs Murdo talking to some strange voiced annoymous stranger in her quarters. All she picks up is that Jeannie will be suitable. When she waits a moment and enters the room nobody is present. Enough is enough its time she got her boyfriend to drive up as shes getting the willies up her now. When she ask Murdo the next day for the phone she says there never was one here, the post office in the village may have one. So off she goes again on her journeys. The village is a proper ransacked decrepid empty shit hole. All the properties are rundown save for one inn. Inside she encounters a strange mute scruffy child who can only make animal noises , her name is Rhona, shes the child of Lachlan Mcvey. The landlord of the dive has a striking similarity to Mrs Murdo, it is in fact her sister. Here Jeannie finds no phone either. In fury at Mrs Murdo stitching her up and sending her on a wild goose chase she tries Telstons church, this too is rundown. Meanwhile she spys Murdo's sister looking for her. Jeannie evades her and sneaks back to the Inn after seeing a telephone line connects to the property. Inside she finds the hacked up remains of Lachlan...guess we won't be bumping into him again. And with Rhona she flees after hearing more strange discussions below about her. Rhona flips out when the get near the Loch, she speaks in some unknown Gaelic dialect and after repeating... he is waiting for you , you must come. She throws herself over a cliff. Terrified Jeannie runs and eventually finds a pub with a phone and rings her boyfriend up. Outside she tries to hitch a lift, successful she climbs into a Morris only to see Telston the Priest at the wheel. A further Interlude from the monster brings Part 1 of the book to a close.. I can see where this is going ( Lair of the White worm anyone ?) To be truthful I'm quite enjoying it. Its a fast paced read, and although its a little labourious at times your interest is still piqued. Although that being said I'm also reading through Stephen King's 7th Dark Tower book, so if you can understand and keep going with that everything else is a doddle.
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Post by killercrab on Jan 18, 2014 20:19:30 GMT
It's been a long time since I read this but I quite enjoyed it. I've never had a problem with Tremayne - his Dracula books are worth a look.
KC
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Post by dem bones on Jan 19, 2014 7:22:32 GMT
It's been a long time since I read this but I quite enjoyed it. I've never had a problem with Tremayne - his Dracula books are worth a look. KC I've never read Dracula In Love, but liked the first two very much. From memory, Dracula Unborn is like an extended rewrite of Radu R. Florescu & Raymond T. McNally's researches which would eventually result in the biography, Dracula: Prince Of Many Faces(Mr 'Tremayne's version is more fun). Weird thing about the Signet Omnibus is that it's promoted as a "TV Tie-in edition" Were the novels filmed/ broadcast overseas? Peter Tremayne - Dracula Lives! (Signet, 1993) Cover photograph courtesy of the Ronald Grant Archive Three terrifying chronicles-of the charismatic but deadly ruler of Wallachia, Vlad Tepes, more widely known as Count Dracula.
DRACULA UNBORN A document is discovered in mysterious circumstances: written by Mircea, son of Dracula, it tells of the monstrous power of the Undead and how he came to scourge the living for centuries.
THE REVENGE OF DRACULA An enigmatic jade figurine brings nightmares to its owner, Upton Welsford. Then the woman he loves seems possessed. How does the ancient relic connect him with the Vampire's quest for immortality?
DRACULA, MY LOVE Following the death of her lover, governess Morag MacLeod travels to Transylvania where she is employed by the evil Count. Soon she is under his spell and must choose between love and life itself.
Born in the year 1431, violently put to death in 1476, Count Dracula remains horribly Undead in these three chilling, unforgettable tales.
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Post by erebus on Jan 25, 2014 18:28:47 GMT
I will certainly keep an eye out for the Dracula books of Tremayne. As for Curse of Loch Ness, well its a simple yarn, and you can see what is happening and the outcome a mile off, but its a good little read that keeps at a steady pace and has your interest at all times. So this is in the thumbs up section. Maybe an older wiser me should go back to ANTS, ZOMBIE, SWAMP etc and see if I like them now. Never did read TROLLNIGHT ( has anyone ? ) And did he do a novel titled SNOWBEAST ?
Thank You Dem for putting up the cover scan. And although that fella on the cover does look a little pokemon style daft, it is a fairly correct drawing of the titular beast in the book.
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Post by dem bones on Jan 25, 2014 19:39:01 GMT
I will certainly keep an eye out for the Dracula books of Tremayne. As for Curse of Loch Ness, well its a simple yarn, and you can see what is happening and the outcome a mile off, but its a good little read that keeps at a steady pace and has your interest at all times. So this is in the thumbs up section. Maybe an older wiser me should go back to ANTS, ZOMBIE, SWAMP etc and see if I like them now. Never did read TROLLNIGHT ( has anyone ? ) And did he do a novel titled SNOWBEAST ? Thank You Dem for putting up the cover scan. And although that fella on the cover does look a little pokemon style daft, it is a fairly correct drawing of the titular beast in the book. For what its worth, a much younger dem thought Zombie! was DREADFUL. reread it last year and really enjoyed it, a B movie in print if ever was. Ants!, more of the same, is better still, IMO, like a novelisation of a Hammer film that never was. Neither book is the least gory, but if it's a pacey, trad. horror ripping yarn you're after, on the evidence of this pair - and the charming Hound Of Frankenstein - Mr. 'Tremayne' will see you alright. His short stories, many based in his beloved Celtic folklore, are very worthy of your time. On the strength of a letter to Paperback Fanatic, fans of his Sister Fidelma crime novels think little of his work in our genre, regarding it as the hackwork it likely was, but i'm well up for reading more should it show up in this neck of the woods. And yes, there was a Snowbeast! (Sphere, 1983).
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jan 27, 2014 16:19:27 GMT
His short stories, many based in his beloved Celtic folklore, are very worthy of your time. I strongly second this--his collection of Celtic-themed short stories, Aisling, is solid. I've never read any of his novels, though I've been tempted by the likes of Snowbeast, Trollnight, and The Morgow Rises! I gather they're rather ... different than the Celtic stories?
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Post by dem bones on Jan 27, 2014 19:44:56 GMT
His short stories, many based in his beloved Celtic folklore, are very worthy of your time. I strongly second this--his collection of Celtic-themed short stories, Aisling, is solid. I've never read any of his novels, though I've been tempted by the likes of Snowbeast, Trollnight, and The Morgow Rises! I gather they're rather ... different than the Celtic stories? Can't say with any certainty as I've not read any of them, but - from KC's review - The Morgow Rises! may well be in the same tradition, and it's possible that Nicor! is, too?
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Post by erebus on Jan 31, 2015 19:25:52 GMT
Managed to snag a copy of Snowbeast recently. The old Star paperback. Very happy to give it a prioritised read through and quicky review if anybody is interested
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Post by dem bones on Feb 2, 2015 15:28:31 GMT
Managed to snag a copy of Snowbeast recently. The old Star paperback. Very happy to give it a prioritised read through and quicky review if anybody is interested Please do! Managed to nab a copy of Curse Of Loch Ness before Christmas, so hoping to get around to it in about four novels time.
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Post by erebus on Feb 3, 2015 13:34:34 GMT
Ok, I'll tie up a few loose ends, then have a crack at Snowbeast. In that time you'll be tackling Curse of Loch Ness I imagine. Could this Cryptozoological read through theme be a Vault first ?
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Post by dem bones on Feb 3, 2015 16:06:44 GMT
Ok, I'll tie up a few loose ends, then have a crack at Snowbeast. In that time you'll be tackling Curse of Loch Ness I imagine. Could this Cryptozoological read through theme be a Vault first ? Curse of Loch Ness is a good few books down the line for me. I've too many of the fuckers on the go, just for a change.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Feb 3, 2015 21:13:23 GMT
Managed to snag a copy of Snowbeast recently. The old Star paperback. Very happy to give it a prioritised read through and quicky review if anybody is interested Please do! I second this. I'm still intrigued by this one, The Morgow Rises!, and Trollnight.
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Post by doomovertheworld on Feb 13, 2015 17:43:52 GMT
I second this. I'm still intrigued by this one, The Morgow Rises!, and Trollnight. I have never read either The Curse of Loch Ness (love that cover BTW) or Trollnight, but I have read The Morgow Rises! I loved it. It reads like an updated version of those old 50s B movies. If that sounds appealing go for it. However, if you go in to wanting Rats-esque levels of gore you will be sadly disappointed.
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