John Blackburn - Children Of The Night

[dem bones]

John Blackburn - Children Of The Night (Jonathon Cape, 1966, Panther, 1968)

"The Children of Paul withdrew from the world because they hated the rest of humanity which they considered tainted and evil ... they are now waiting for the day of judgement when they will come forth and assist in the destruction of mankind."

1966. Dunstoneholme villagers are in a state of near panic after several gruesome deaths in the locality. The village has a history of such tragedy's dating back to 1300 when a religious sect, the Children Of Paul Of Ely, arrived on their way to the Feyne islands. Refused transport, they massacred the locals and the small garrison at the castle, then set to sea in stolen boats which promptly capsized.

The Priest, Ainger, believes that, rather than drown as is universally believed, the sect took refuge in the pot holes on the moors, where, having adopted the Sawney Beane approach, they've lived on for 666 years. According to him, the Children have also perfected telepathy and cultivated the ability to drive people and animals insane. He cites previous mysterious incidents as being accountable to the sect: the abandonment of a railway-line in 1847 and that of a lead mine three decades later. More bizarre deaths than you can shake a stick at: "It appears that these manifestations of terror, or madness, ... only take place after the earth has been disturbed."

You've probably already sussed that the 666th anniversary is one the Children are keen to commemorate.

"Fast paced" doesn't begin to do this one justice, and neither does "busy". Weighing in at a mere 150 pages, Blackburn has his work cut out to fit everything in and, with a huge body count to accommodate, at times he makes Robert Lory seem like M. R. James. That said, he makes a great fist of it, even if the ending seems slightly rushed. The deaths are spectacular, as is the state of the 'Children when we eventually get to meet them. Not that they're the only Religious nutters involved: Reverend Fenge seems to have got it into his head that they're misunderstood and is planning a reception for them! I should also mention the nominal heroes, Molden Mott - explorer, man of letters, ego-maniacal pain - and doctor Tom Allen as these are the only men who have any idea how to prevent catastrophe. But will they succeed?

[normanghast]

Hi I'm new to this forum and read this review and suddenly remembered a story of a civilisation of what I thought were Romans underground. Same title so I'm guessing I'm remembering wrong! I'll start trawling the Net for a copy to read (or re-read!)

[Dr Strange]

Picked up a copy of this the other day, but with a different cover - see attachment.

Attachments:

[samdawson]

This is another recovered from the attic, not read since 70s book. I have it with the above smudgy troglodytes cover rather than that rather marvellous one with the worms and face. Must say it gallops along at quite a pace. Having just read several collections by Robert Westall and Keith Roberts it is quite nice to have a book length English horror written in the 60s, when doctors smoked and a pint of bitter, a brandy, a large pink gin and "a dry sherry for madam" came to 12/6.

[cauldronbrewer]

Aug 4, 2021 13:53:20 GMT samdawson said:

This is another recovered from the attic, not read since 70s book. I have it with the above smudgy troglodytes cover rather than that rather marvellous one with the worms and face. Must say it gallops along at quite a pace.

I have the recent Valancourt edition. I remember the book as being fast-paced and entertaining, if maybe a little stodgy. I think the Valancourt cover by M. S. Corley suits the story well.