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Post by dem bones on Jul 29, 2008 14:23:08 GMT
'Errol Lecale' - Castledoom; Specialist #2 (Nel, Jan., 1974) A ghoul is unleashed - only the Specialist can destroy itBlurb: The great hulk of Castledoom glowers over a, misty glen in Scotland. Home of the MacGlennies for many hundreds of years, it has seen terrible deeds in the past, both within its walls and in the small Highland village huddling in its shadow,
But the castle had kept its secrets well. In the sixteenth century a reiving MacGlennie had been walled up In the dungeons for his foul deeds - and there he remained until workmen unwittingly unleashed his ghoulish ways upon the world again.
The Specialist is the only man who can rid the world of this ghoul. "He shall be quartered and each quarter shall be buried in a different parish". Glenballoch, Scottish Highlands. In the sixteenth century, Chieftain Red Rory MacGlennie was duped into selling his soul to the Devil. From that day forth he was accompanied by an all-seeing raven, Clootie, and his already brutal nature took a turn for the sadistic. When Clootie informs him that his wife, Fiona, is having an affair with inoffensive young scholar Donald Og he demonstrates his cruelty, blinding the boy with his sword then falling upon his wife and hacking her down, cutting off a breast and toasting it on the fire for he and his familiar to share. With her dying breath, Fiona curses her husband that he will never know rest until he has been quartered and the pieces buried in four separate parishes. Donald Og survives his mutilation to tell the MacLeans what Red Rory of the abominations Red Rory has performed on their kinswoman. They retaliate by drugging the Chieftan's drink, tying him to a chair and walling him up alive in the dungeon of Castledoom, lobbing in his infernal bird before the last brick is laid. Cut to the present day (it's difficult to tell when that is supposed to be: it doesn't seem to be the nineteen-seventies) and Ewan MacGlennie, Laird of Glenballoch and master of Castledoom is preparing to wed the haughty, schooled Lady Morag MacLean. During construction work at the castle, the sealed room is opened and out burst Red Roger and his cawing sidekick. Within a short time of their escape three young women - all of them MacLeans - are set upon, and in the worst instance, one of the victims is left with a red scar that encircles her breast. Red Rory is gaining in power the longer he remains at liberty. What is there to be done? Laird MacGlennie wisely travels down to London and seeks the assistance of - the Specialist! I'll say this for Mr. 'Lecale'. He gives good gruesome murder. Once Red Rory is reacquainted with his magical brooch and dagger he makes a terrifying adversary, tearing open bodies and ripping out the internal organs whenever he feels peckish. After his beard and kilt are set ablaze he's more disgusting to look upon than ever - which is bad news for Lady Morag, him having taken such a shine to her that he's hellbent on a quick snog before her tears out her intestines and feeds her eyes to Clootie! On this performance, Eli Podgram is the ego-tripping glory seeker of the trio as he makes as many bad calls as good and without Hugo's bravery and resourcefulness the ghoul would have decimated the village population to just himself and Clootie. Mara twice saves Morag's life, on the first occasion grabbing her by the hair and yanking her back into the room when the fiend has nearly enticed her to jump from the window (the spookiest moment in the novel).
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Post by killercrab on Nov 19, 2008 14:07:52 GMT
Castledoom - journal entry one.
Ewan Macglennie , the present laird of Castledoom enlists the help of Eli Podgram ( THE SPECIALIST) because Ewan's ancestor , the 6ft Rory Macglennie and his pet semi bald raven are back from the dead - a man who toasts a women's breast like a marshmallow in the prologue and you thought The Witches was rough...
I really like how amidst the opening storyline we dovetail off to find out the origin of The Specialist. That he was a vampire but a transfusion with a dying priest saves him from being one of the undead and he gets a nifty white cross symbol in his hair! He dedicates his life to fighting the twilight zone ... world. Good pulpy fun so far - but who is writer Errol Lecalle?
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Post by severance on Nov 19, 2008 15:01:21 GMT
but who is writer Errol Lecalle? Here we go again  IIRC Lecale was Wilfred McNeilly, who wrote some Peter Saxon's and Sexton Blake's, though in Dem's initial post he's put W. Howard Baker - it's all so confusing... I've got Blood of My Blood around here somewhere, lord knows when it'll get get read mind you. |
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Post by dem bones on Nov 19, 2008 18:46:17 GMT
Oops! Sorry Sev *blush*. I'll go fix that. Chances are it's a boob imported from the old board.
BTW, in case anyone's at the point of complete nervous collapse wondering where the smileys, icons and loads of the covers have disappeared to, I had a bandwidth exceeded message from one of the image hosts earlier. It should all be back to "normal" tomorrow.
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Post by killercrab on Nov 20, 2008 15:00:39 GMT
Castledoom - journal entry two.
Who is the mysterious virginal teetoller Mara ? Her telepathic connection to the Specialist is other weirdly - very typical of books of this era. Did she first meet Eli in the Tigerman affair? The mystery of the walking dead laird and his pet raven continues - though the Specialist is in no race to uncover things just yet prefering to sip a fine malt or two whilst his french servant is *downstairs* gathering information.
A brisk walk finds the Specialist entering a cave - could our zombie reiver be in waiting ...
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Post by killercrab on Dec 2, 2008 3:36:56 GMT
Last Journal entry.
The plot is as complex as the characterisation is original ( or should that be the other way around) . Why do these occult johnnies always have a mute virgin telepathic slave? And a hulking strongarm french servant? Feels like Lory's Dracula a bit. Alot in fact.The back-from-the-dead laird is great - he's a ghoul with a pet raven who turns out to be some mystic! His kilt gets set alight and as his sporan goes towering inferno he runs off . The villagers then have a break with tea and sandwiches .
Really ...
Only in a british occult book...
The raging zombie of the glen is destroyed by sunlight and the Specialist can go onto other cases and no doubt cups of darjeeling. The End.
Not bad. Not great either - but then this is pretty much what early Nel occult novels tend to be like and we love 'em for that disappointing edge as much as the promise they hold.
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Post by dem bones on Dec 2, 2008 18:04:08 GMT
we love 'em for that disappointing edge as much as the promise they hold. That is the most astute explanation of their appeal i've read to date. Vault's work on earth is now truly done. Castledoom - journal entry two. Who is the mysterious virginal teetoller Mara ? Her telepathic connection to the Specialist is other weirdly - very typical of books of this era. Did she first meet Eli in the Tigerman affair? Mara met Eli even before the Tigerman Of Terrahpur affair, when he was temporarily a vampire. You know that trendy white cross scorched into his hair like he's looking to become a Cramps roadie? Well, he got that because a doctor exchanged his contaminated blood with that of a dying priest. Anyway, while he was still a vampire, he attacked Mara and she's been mute ever since. It's all perfectly logical really. |
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Post by H_P_Saucecraft on Jul 17, 2009 18:34:45 GMT
Finished this one last night, a great read. What amuses me is the variation of the vampire story, that part is told slightly differently in Zombie (does it feature in the other books in slightly varied form each time?)
I'm with dem on the time period, it really isn't clear when this is set, mention of a lot of oil lamps, no real references to 70s technology, it's hard to say. It does mention a battery powered lamp (but, as if it's a new invention, not sure when they came in).
On the minus side, Rory Macglennie does seem defeated a little too easily, but that can be forgiven, as it only has 128 pages to do its thing. The book also seems to have a bit of Hammer, & Smith's Return Of The Werewolf about it in atmosphere to me; am I completely off the mark here?
In summary, after 2 books I'm certainly a Lecale convert, he deserves the recommendations.
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Post by Steve on Jul 18, 2009 20:14:16 GMT
I'm with dem on the time period, it really isn't clear when this is set, mention of a lot of oil lamps, no real references to 70s technology, it's hard to say. It does mention a battery powered lamp (but, as if it's a new invention, not sure when they came in). Read this not so long ago myself and it definitely struck me as a 'period piece' rather than having a contemporary setting (i.e. 1974). It mentions the "Victorian elegance" of Eli's drawing room early on, which admittedly could refer to the style rather than the time period. However, they travel up to Scotland on a steam train and then resume their journey in a horse-drawn carriage. On the trip Podgram ponders the "wonders of modern science", reflecting how fifty years earlier nobody would have dreamt that horses would one day be replaced by trains and that the conquest of the air can't be too far away. Now, I don't know if all this places Eli in the late Victorian era or makes him early Edwardian or what, but I think your reference to the book having something of the atmosphere of a Hammer film is spot on. The setting here is really that timeless, gas-lit, fog-shrouded, cobble-stoned era of 'Gothic' pulp horror - you know, it's... Hammer time. |
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Post by killercrab on Jul 19, 2009 0:23:54 GMT
Very much a period piece to me also - though I'd see this as a Tigon horror like The Creeping Flesh ! I've not read Lecalle's The Severed Hand yet but it's swiftly climbing the to read list on the disreputable bookshelf.  KC |
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Post by fullbreakfast on Aug 9, 2009 21:03:05 GMT
"Eli Podgram" is such a weird name that it feels like it ought to be an anagram for something.
Buggered if I can work out what though. "A mild grope" doesn't seem likely!
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Post by helrunar on Jan 19, 2021 16:19:43 GMT
Excellent thread. Of course we must break for tea and sandwiches at 4 as the singed ghoulie goes wandering off to some Hellhole or other...
cheers, H.
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IIRC Lecale was Wilfred McNeilly, who wrote some Peter Saxon's and Sexton Blake's, though in Dem's initial post he's put W. Howard Baker - it's all so confusing...
