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Post by dem on Aug 26, 2012 16:19:44 GMT
Peter Tremayne – The Ants (Sphere, 1978) Blurb THE HUNGRY HORDES ARE ON THE MARCH…
When Jane Sewell returns to the Brazilian jungle to help her anthropologist father in his work, it is not the happy reunion she is expecting. She doesn’t find the thriving village she remembers. Just a pile of bones. Human bones. Picked clean.
And then the ancient steamboat Falcão chugs cheerfully into sight, carrying a ghastly cargo of grisly death. And, for Jane, the horror really begins.
Somewhere, out in the seething jungle, a remorseless army is on the move. And it seems as though nothing can stop its savage, merciless drive.
Relentlessly, inexorably, tearing, rending and consuming everything in their path
…THE ANTS ARE COMING!Ants bored the hell out of me to be honest. I wasn't too struck with Zombie and Swamp but for some reason I still want to read Angelus. Erebus, I read Angelus yonks ago. It's a pretty good story (loads better than The Ants which I gave up on early on) Been ages since i found one of these - think the last was Peter Brennan's Razorback - and, despite exciting blurb, this might be another miss. If even Franklin can't finish it ....
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Post by erebus on Sept 9, 2012 18:02:52 GMT
I still stand by what I said about this many moons ago. Shame really a good idea wasted .
But Angelus was a good book.
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Post by dem on Aug 13, 2013 13:52:50 GMT
"The whole thing becomes insane. Mesmerism by ants!"
Zombie! didn't work for me at all, but this was miles more fun than expected, very Lenningen versus The Ants/ The Naked Jungle, but with added witch-doctors and a far higher body count. Along with an insatiable appetite for human flesh, The soldier ants have developed strong telepathic powers by which they lure unsuspecting humans to do their bidding - and then eat them. It's all the fault of a radiation leak from a crashed nuclear aircraft.
In short, if Hammer had attempted a 'Carry on Up The Brazilian Jungle' extravaganza, chances are it would have been The Ants. Heroine Jane is too Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman for my tastes - she even adopts Uuatsin (aka, 'Chuck'), a little native boy struck dumb by the horrors he's witnessed - but Consuelo, Xavier the plantation owner's beautiful, ultra-spoilt young wife more than makes up for her, copping off with swarthy plantation manager Juan Lopez, and throwing tantrums whenever she's not being paid enough attention. Jane's love interest is provided by dashing American air ace Hugo Martin, whose ancient plane crashes at her feet as she's examining what's left of her father among a pile of gleaming skeletons. I think you can fathom from that very short note who will survive and who will go down screaming under the hordes of hungry insects - and you are right.
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Post by DemonSpawn on Aug 13, 2013 20:27:40 GMT
As it happens, this is at the top of my TBR pile.
I've been putting it off as I know that a lot of folks don't like Tremayne's novels.
Really need to contribute more here, but like I said before, you all know so much more than I do...
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Post by dem on Aug 14, 2013 10:17:43 GMT
As it happens, this is at the top of my TBR pile. I've been putting it off as I know that a lot of folks don't like Tremayne's novels. Really need to contribute more here, but like I said before, you all know so much more than I do... Most of us really don't, you know. It's mostly just a load of blabbering on about nothing. Am looking forward to your verdict on Ants, mr. Spawn. "It sounds like something out of H. G. Wells to me. Pure science fiction!" just found intruder2k's definitive review, dated 31st March 2006 (!), from killercrabs original Tremayne Horror Reviews thread on Vault MK I Hi guys, Here's a short review of THE ANTS (in a nutshell, it's not as great as I had hoped): The Ants By Peter Tremayne. First published in Great Britain by Sphere Books Ltd. 1979. “THE HUNGRY HORDES ARE ON THE MARCH… When Jane Sewell returns to the Brazilian jungle to help her anthropologist father in his work, it is not the happy reunion she is expecting. She doesn’t find the thriving village she remembers. Just a pile of bones. Human bones. Picked clean. And then the ancient steamboat Falcao chugs cheerfully into sight, carrying a ghastly cargo of grisly death. And, for Jane, the horror really begins. Somewhere, out in the seething jungle, a remorseless army is on the move. And it seems as though nothing can stop its savage, merciless drive. Relentlessly, inexorably, tearing, rending and consuming everything in their path… THE ANTS ARE COMING! It’s everyone’s creeping nightmare – when the ant millions teem in for the kill…” One of Tremayne’s earlier ‘nature runs amok’ novels, this is a pretty entertaining read that clocks in at only 182 pages, so it shouldn’t take longer than a week to finish for most readers. It’s a fast-moving adventure that does away with heavy characterisation or plotting; instead, this is a lean, mean and focused story that remains straightforward throughout. As is the case with many books by Tremayne, the strength of the book lies in the meticulous research that has been done to support it; not only are the titular menace realistically depicted, but the various native superstitions and gods also sound authentic and true to life. Surprisingly, for a noted scholar, this book has quite a lot of typographical errors – for example I lost count of the number of times that “loose” was substituted for “lose”. Still, it was early in Tremayne’s career as an author, so we can’t complain too much. Gore lovers should look elsewhere, however, as Tremayne is no Guy N. Smith; there are only a handful of deaths here and they typically skimp on explicit detail. Still, the suspense is strong and the action quite tense, recalling the good old days of pulp adventure by stirring up the excitement. The major problem with this book is that the second half is quite obviously based on the Carl Stephenson short story, LEININGEN VERSUS THE ANTS, which was originally published in the 2nd Pan Book of Horror Stories. Although a few elements have been mixed around (as well as the inclusion of a cellar sequence inspired by NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD), Tremayne follows Stephenson's tale very closely indeed – surely it couldn’t have been hard to come up with a more original premise? Additionally, characterisation is a bit clichéd, there’s a romantic sub-plot that reeks of Mills & Boon, and not enough people die, aside from the obvious contenders. The first half of the book is the strongest, building up a really eerie atmosphere in the jungle through the inclusion of great plot points like deserted villages, creepy silences, strange trails and gleaming skeletons. Unfortunately, as with many books like this, the lead characters are overwhelmingly dense in working out where the threat is coming from – they have to actually see a guy getting eaten by ants before they realise that insects are behind it all! Rating: 3/5 Cheers Graham Next up for me is a rematch with the much-maligned Zombie!. |
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Post by DemonSpawn on Aug 14, 2013 11:48:17 GMT
So far, seven chapters in, I am quite enjoying it but some of the language is a bit repetitive.
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Post by dem on Aug 14, 2013 12:07:00 GMT
Zombies is more of the same. You only have to compare blurbs to see he worked to a template for this kind of thing. Peter Tremayne - Zombie! (Sphere, 1981) LET THE LIVING DEAD RISE UP AND WALK ....
When June arrives in St Miquelon, the Caribbean island is far removed from the tropical idyll she imagined. The exotic estate owned by her grandmother has become a barren ruin. And Marie Lasneque, the grandmother she never knew, is rumoured to be dead.
But within the heart of that lonely house, a legacy of living death is waiting for nightfall. And the moment when June will learn the horrifying truth about the voodoo island and its hideous cult of bloody sacrifice to their black magic woman.
... Marie Lasneque.North London, late 'seventies. Jane, 24, is married to Steve Lambert, 27, a journalist on the local paper. Steve's a white lad from Devon, Jane's parents were West Indian, and this does not sit well with their neighbour, Mrs. Hazel, who leaves National Front leaflets in the hall and complains about the couple to their landlord at the least opportunity. Of late, Jane has been plagued by nightmares. Meanwhile on the Carribean island of St. Miquelon, the voodoo Mambo Queen has died. Snake-face the High Priest calms the distraught worshipers by announcing that very soon she will rise again. Five years ago, Jane lost her parents in a car accident. They never spoke of home, so to learn that she has any living relatives comes as a surprise. The letter from a St. Miquelon solicitor informs Jane that her grandmother is nearing death and wishes to see her. Enclosed is a very generous cheque to cover her airfare and expenses. Steve thinks its Christmas come early. No sooner have they booked into their hotel than the Lamberts are paid a visit from Captain Carreau, Special Branch of the State Police. It is Steve's profession that concerns him, as St. Miquelon is no tourist hot spot. Carreau explains that they are living in a politically charged climate. Three years ago, Colonel Gum was ousted. A fascist group, the National Resurgence Movement, are demanding the reinstatement of their beloved Military Dictator. Their are frequent clashes with supporters of the ruling, Democratic People's Popular Union, and it is well that the Lamberts get their business settled swiftly and return home. Captain Carreau hands them his card, insists they call him should they meet with any difficulties. We think they are likely to need it, especially as we've just spotted old Serpent features spying on them from the bushes ....
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Post by dem on Aug 16, 2013 5:38:49 GMT
"Take heed of me, Mister. Ain't no Madam Lasneque here. You leave these parts. Ain't a townsfolk place, ain't for tourists. Hear me now?"
It's soon glaringly apparent to June and Steve that the Islanders are a miserable bunch of gits. Deuville the lawyer, having dragged June all this way, is extremely put out to learn that she's married, and an old crone in a bar refuses to read her fortune despite being the one to suggest it in the first place. Then there's the jolly singing taxi-driver who, on learning of their destination, unceremoniously dumps them in the forest halfway up Hanging Tree Mountain, like he was understudying a coach driver in Dracula. Smart "holiday" this is going to be. Might just as well have booked a fortnight in fucking Romford.
Taking the first available dirt track, they eventually arrive at a particularly decrepit Shanty town. "The Naples slums would look like the last word in modern luxury housing compared to this lot," reckons Steve. At least there's a BAR, so all is not lost. The barman, another superbly surly specimen, grudgingly pours them each a lager. When Steve asks if he can tell them where Madam Lasneque lives, he replies "Nope."
By now thoroughly fed up with the discourtesy of their hosts, the Lamberts slip through the iron gates of the first plantation they arrive at, only for Steve to be set upon by two Alsatians. Luckily for him, an angry fellow on horseback arrives in time to call them off before the journo is torn to pieces. 'Boss' Proctor is the main man in these parts, according to his no 1 hired hand, Saul. Proctor - who doesn't seem such a hostile chap once you get to know him - informs the couple that Madam Lasneque, died six-seven weeks ago - i.e., before Deuville wrote on her behalf, requesting the grand-daughter's presence. He has an extremely reluctant Saul lead them on to the old girl's estate which, of course, now belongs to June. Proctor's parting advice to the couple is that they forget they ever heard of St. Miquelon and leave for Trinidad at the earliest opportunity. When they arrive at the desolate mansion of the late M. Lasneque, Mrs. Lambert moans for the umpteenth time that she feels creepy. "Come on Jane' sighed Steve. "This is getting a bit like something out of a cheap novel."
Meanwhile, Mama Mambo (or somebody very like her), has dispatched one of her under-performing minions with a machete .....
It's like my bloody mantra these days, but here's yet another novel that is far more entertaining than i remember it.
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Post by dem on Aug 22, 2013 9:30:49 GMT
"This whole trip had turned into quite a nightmare. In fact it seemed like this was one badly constructed 'B' movie. He felt a total lack of reality."
June is terrified when the glaring face of an old woman appears at the window after dark. It is the last straw. This excursion has been the worst, and tomorrow they'll act on the police chief's advice, board the ferry to Trinidad and salvage something from their 'holiday'. Problem is, no transport. As if in answer to their prayers, an English Priest, Father Pat Taylor pays a visit. He can take them to the harbor in his old banger, but duty calls and they shall have to wait another day. There's nothing for it but to spend a second night in the gloomy Lasneque bungalow, which, of course, now belongs to June. She plans to put it on the market immediately she's spoken to Deuville the lawyer. Good luck with that one.
Hanging Tree Mountain is a supposedly dormant volcano although, according to the strange girl in the shrieking red bandanna, "now and again she just let out a holler to say she's still with us." As with everyone they've encountered to date, The girl, Sviebel O'Malley, has taken to warning the Lamberts to git from the island at the earliest opportunity. Steve takes her for the local lunatic, but Sviebel is actually an undercover agent and trusted colleague of Captain Carreau.
Drums and chanting in the night, coming from the direction of the village. Steve reckons it 's a festival and imposes upon his wife to come with him, experience some local culture. Sviebel and Carreau intervene before they can land themselves in trouble with the voodoo cultists, but the High Priest has already sensed the presence of eavesdroppers and they're forced to beat a hasty retreat through the swamp forest. The High Priest isn't the least bothered, as he's recognised she who is to become the latest incarnation of Mama Mambo among the snoopers.
The following morning, just as the couple are about to leave, a Sergeant Pirogue - who may or may not be in league with the ousted Dictator, Colonel Gum - comes calling. The mutilated corpse of Captain Carreau has been found on the estate, and it is his sad duty to detain the Lamberts for the duration of the murder inquiry, at least until the main police force arrive from the mainland to interview them. Will they never get away from St Miquelon?
He tells a good, unfussy story does Mr. 'Tremayne'. According to one of his entourage - in a letter to Paperback Fanatic - the horror novels are not to be considered among his serious works, and, on the evidence of Ants and Zombie, he certainly didn't trouble to give them a polish once completed, hence a winning, trad pulp mag feel.
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Post by dem on Sept 8, 2013 21:35:06 GMT
Zombie! conclusion: may contain too many spoilers but you probably know how it will end, anyway.
"You are mad" is all he could think of to say.
Steve Lambert returns from reporting Captain Carreau's murder to find a strange, tatty doll with a pin driven through it's head wearing a strip of his wife's dress but - no June! It would be so unlike her to go wandering off somewhere. And then there's the astrological pendant he bought for her birthday discarded on the cellar floor, the chain snapped as though it were torn from her neck. What can it all mean? The reader already knows his wife has been abducted by - well, we're still trying to come to terms with it as it is too horrible, like something out of a cheap horror paperback.
Steve confronts Boss Proctor, who gives a decent impression of not knowing what he's on about, before heading off to see Father Pat Taylor. The title should have acted as a tip-off, but now Father Pat spells it out to us so there can be no room for doubt. "The people of Marecage are practitioners of the cult of Voodoo!" Lambert is initially unimpressed - "Voodoo? That's just a lot of African mumbo-jumbo" - but the Priest is adamant and identifies Proctor as the Houngan sworn to return Colonel Gum to Dictatorship. This last is, in fact, an outrageous slander. Proctor risked his life to organise the revolt against Gum, and he has no liking for the native magic. He is entirely innocent of June's abduction and genuinely worries for her husband as a man way out of his depth who is likely to get himself killed.
Lambert returns to the mansion. A choked cry leads him back down to the cellar where he finds Sviebel, the undercover officer, in a terrible condition. She's been fatally stabbed. As he comforts the poor girl through her final moments, Lambert is attacked by a knife-wielding crone bearing a striking resemblance to the portrait of Madame Lasneque , except this version is a dead-eyed, shambling, rotting corpse. Although he manages to bolt the door on the creature, no sooner has he set off in search of the plantation owner he wrongly suspects of black sorcery, the wood splinters. The zombie is free.
Boss Proctor is entertaining Rosalia, the latest from a conveyor belt of #1 mistresses, when Mama Mambo bursts in on them. Three bullets to head and chest at point blank range have no effect of the zombie who hacks the pair to ribbons. So who, if not Proctor, is the snake-headed, feather-cloaked High Priest of the blood cultists? You'll never guess! - except you already have.
And so to the human sacrifice that will see June's essence fully restore Madame Lasneque to life, Colonel Gum returned to power and a zombie army raised against his enemies. The prospects are looking bleak for the Lamberts until ..... you remember that 'dormant' volcano? Peter Tremayne hasn't forgotten it either.
Like Ants, Zombie! might have been written specifically with Hammer films in mind. On the slim evidence of these, there is a very 'fifties-'sixties horror-adventure-flick-by-numbers feel to his macabre pulp novels. Am certainly hoping to get to grips with more of his work.
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Post by doomovertheworld on Sept 10, 2013 21:20:31 GMT
Like Ants, Zombie! might have been written specifically with Hammer films in mind. On the slim evidence of these, there is a very 'fifties-'sixties horror-adventure-flick-by-numbers feel to his macabre pulp novels. Am certainly hoping to get to grips with more of his work. I would concur with your assessment that there is a very 1950s/1960s vibe to the two Peter Tremayne novels, The Morgow Rises! and The Ants, that I have read. Apart from the gore, and it is not particularly bloody by the standards of the genre they could been lost 1950s B movies. I suspect that this is part of the reason why I have enjoyed reading them quite so much. |
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Post by bobdirehack on May 14, 2019 19:46:53 GMT
As an odd little aside - there's a similar short story by Will F. Jenkins in The Saturday Evening Post Fantasy Stories called "Doomsday Deferred." It also takes place in Brazil and concerns a nest of telepathic army ants. The resembles ends there more-or-less, but the telepathy aspect strikes me as suspiciously coincidental. |
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