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Post by andydecker on Aug 11, 2023 10:13:36 GMT
Ken Eulo – The Brownstone (Pocket Books, 1980, 336 pages, this edition Coronet, Hodder & Stoughton, 1982)
 Cover found on the net. Thanks to the original scanner.New York City. Winter. Chandal Knight is a failed actress and married with Justin, a theatre director. As good as broke they get the chance to take over the entire ground floor of a brownstone rent free for six months. The house belongs two old sisters, terminally sick Magdalen and Elizabeth who live on the first floor. Unknown to the married couple the sisters are worshipping the demon Ahriman, and Magdalen is desperate to get a new body. Soon the pregnant Chandal sees ghosts in the house while their marriage disintegrates because Justin has trouble directing a new play and becomes obsessed with Magdalen. Chandal loses her child, a colleague and her mother gets killed through supernatural means and she is being haunted by the ghost of a little girl. All in preparation for the night of the sacrifice. This novel sold a lot of copies and spawned 2 sequels. Basically all elements would have been known to the genre reader of its time, from Rosemary‘s Baby to Burnt Offerings. That the thing with the demon and the sisters is told to the reader in the first pages kills a lot of suspense, which makes this pretty dull at times. The writing is often sloppy and confusing, which especially robs the twist at the end much of its impact. The theatre stuff has a more convincing vibe than the rest, which may be due to Eulo being a play-wright in the first place. This was a disappointment. Despite its (too) familiar elements it could have been a better horror novel with some tighter writing. Here is the American edition: |
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