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Post by dem on Jul 23, 2018 10:56:49 GMT
"It's going to put us up there, in the trees" Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, Dem. I can't imagine anyone around here not enjoying The Ritual (no pressure there, then). Finished it at the beginning of last week. Got so caught up, I thought sod the note-taking and just let myself ENJOY it. For me, the first half is strongest, beautifully paced and the dark, lonesome woods make for an ideal setting for what author has in mind. This is not to say the rest is a disappointment - initially jarring, Blood Frenzy's collective insanity and devotion to Odin explains why they should make home in the middle of nowhere. The conclusion Luke draws from the experience struck a chord, as did his estranged friend's loathing of his "free spirit." Obviously, Blood Frenzy are a composite, but Loki is maybe Faust or an elongated Varg Vikernes. Haven't a clue who the girl might be based on. Maybe Jinx from 'seventies Black Magic band, Coven? It was torture when Emperor stayed at my house last year. They didn't speak. They acted up being evil all the time. Then, when Faust started talking, he was boasting about killing that gay bloke. It made me think, him sleeping in the next room to me." - Lee Barnett, owner of High Wycombe-based Candlelight records, quoted in Phil Sutcliffe's article Bloody Hell!, Q magazine, April, 1994) |
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Post by peeedeel on Jul 25, 2018 14:46:31 GMT
Some haphazard observations:
As mentioned there are differences between the first and second parts of this book. But I enjoyed it. I’ve always had a soft spot for cliché, myth, and social ambiguity. Mention of the Norse apocalypse, Ragnarök, made this book quite irresistible to me.
Four university friends in the Scandinavian wilderness, straying into a dark forest – which is so like the Iron Wood beyond the walls of Asgard, such a devilish place, where, according to Norse myth, live things part-human, part-beast. Even part demon –
It was Loki’s coupling with Angurboda that caused problems back in the day. She had his children. One of which might have been a goddess or giantess with long spindly legs, unnatural strength, clawed hands, wolf teeth for ripping, and eyes black as tar pools. Fur pelt on pink flesh. Some who glimpsed her claimed half of her was living flesh, and half dead – the moribund flesh of a corpse. And she was named Hel.
Odin hurled her toward Niflheim, that inhospitable land of freezing fogs and icy cold. Nine days she fell, or so they say, into and through the bogs and swamps of Niflheim into Helheim, a realm of terrible shadows, where she was to reign over the dead who had not died in battle.
Odin, of course, was God of the Wild Hunt. He accepted the sacrifice of males in the form of Blood-Eagles. Tied to the branches of a tree the victim would have his chest cavity split open so that the lungs could be torn free of the ribcage and spread like the wings of an eagle.
But I go on, and shouldn’t. I’ll frighten the kiddies.
Adam Nevill’s writing style is cinematic. He sweeps his readers along through a landscape of twisted branches, thorny twigs and terrible menace. His book is really two books, incongruously joined – or so it seems to me. There is a lot of ‘padding’ and the characterisation is both flawed and superficial (of the four friends and their fates, I can’t say I really gave a damn! None of them felt fully realised as characters). After the first 250 pages the book became…well, it became a tad silly. However, that said, it’s worth reading if only for those first pages. To be honest, it was the promise and incisive impression of those pages that enabled me to finish the book.
I’ll now shut up and drift back to Yahell.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jun 5, 2019 18:27:49 GMT
Just started on Adam Nevill's third book, The Ritual. Brilliant start - absolutely no "build up", just straight in there - Four British guys are on an "adventure-trek" through some remote forests in northern Sweden when they first stumble on what appears to be some sort of animal sacrifice strung up in a tree, and then on a creepy old abandoned house. What they find inside the house is very disturbing, and they know they have to get out as quickly as they can... if the forest will let them. It is incredibly fast-paced, and that seems to be heightened by the structure of the book, which has very short chapters (typically just 3 or 4 pages - I am at this moment on Chapter 16, but I've only read 60 pages). In his intro Nevill name-checks Blackwood and Machen, as well as James "Deliverance" Dickey, but he also lists a book about the Scandinavian "satanic metal underground scene" that he used in his research... so something for all tastes, I guess. Made a start proper on this last night, 13 chapters in and hooked. Particularly like that the prologue dumps you straight in at the deep end and The Ritual hasn't let up since. The four estranged college friends are currently holed up at the lonesome stuga in the black wood amidst several wooden crosses and rows of tiny animal bones and skulls piled high. These early chapters have a Blair Witch Project/ Sticks vibe, but am guessing we're headed for a very different horrible experience ... I started this one last night and am hooked as well. No big surprise, given that it blends Blackwood-style wilderness horror with satanic Scandinavian metal. I liked the film, but so far the book is better. |
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elricc
Devils Coach Horse
Posts: 100
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Post by elricc on Jun 5, 2019 19:14:07 GMT
sorry wrong thread
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Post by Dr Strange on Jun 5, 2019 19:14:46 GMT
He's got a new one coming out in the Autumn, called The Reddening. Here's the promo blurb -
"One million years of evolution didn't change our nature.
Nor did it bury the horrors predating civilisation. Ancient rites, old deities and savage ways can reappear in the places you least expect.
Lifestyle journalist Katrine escaped past traumas by moving to a coast renown for seaside holidays and natural beauty. But when a vast hoard of human remains and prehistoric artefacts are discovered in nearby Brickburgh, a hideous shadow engulfs her life.
Helene, a disillusioned lone parent, lost her brother, Lincoln, six years ago. Disturbing subterranean noises he recorded prior to vanishing, draw her to Brickburgh's caves. A site where early humans butchered each other across forty thousand years. Upon the walls, images of their nameless gods remain.
Amidst rumours of drug plantations and new sightings of the mythical red folk, it also appears that the inquisitive have been disappearing from this remote part of the world for years. A rural idyll where outsiders are unwelcome and where an infernal power is believed to linger beneath the earth. A timeless supernormal influence that only the desperate would dream of confronting.
The Reddening is an epic story of folk and prehistoric horrors, written by the author of The Ritual, Last Days, No One Gets Out Alive and the three times winner of The August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel."
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jun 12, 2019 12:36:10 GMT
"It's going to put us up there, in the trees" Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, Dem. I can't imagine anyone around here not enjoying The Ritual (no pressure there, then). Finished it at the beginning of last week. Got so caught up, I thought sod the note-taking and just let myself ENJOY it. For me, the first half is strongest, beautifully paced and the dark, lonesome woods make for an ideal setting for what author has in mind. This is not to say the rest is a disappointment - initially jarring, Blood Frenzy's collective insanity and devotion to Odin explains why they should make home in the middle of nowhere. The conclusion Luke draws from the experience struck a chord, as did his estranged friend's loathing of his "free spirit." Obviously, Blood Frenzy are a composite, but Loki is maybe Faust or an elongated Varg Vikernes. Haven't a clue who the girl might be based on. Maybe Jinx from 'seventies Black Magic band, Coven? Dem sums up my reaction to The Ritual, too. Part of me thinks the book loses a little steam when it shifts gears in the middle, but I get why Neville changes course, and the black metal/Norse paganism element is intriguing in its own right. The "book about the Scandinavian "satanic metal underground scene" that he used in his research" is Michael Moynihan & Didrik Soderlind's Lords Of Chaos: The Bloody Rise Of The Satanic Metal Underground (Feral House, 1998), and it is the most extraordinary read. I haven't read Lords of Chaos (yet), but I recently read Dayal Patterson's Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult (2013) and found it fascinating--it draws on dozens of interviews with many of the key members of the scene (at least the ones who are still alive). |
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Post by Dr Strange on Nov 24, 2019 14:35:57 GMT
He's got a new one coming out in the Autumn, called The Reddening. Here's the promo blurb - "One million years of evolution didn't change our nature. Nor did it bury the horrors predating civilisation. Ancient rites, old deities and savage ways can reappear in the places you least expect. Lifestyle journalist Katrine escaped past traumas by moving to a coast renown for seaside holidays and natural beauty. But when a vast hoard of human remains and prehistoric artefacts are discovered in nearby Brickburgh, a hideous shadow engulfs her life. Helene, a disillusioned lone parent, lost her brother, Lincoln, six years ago. Disturbing subterranean noises he recorded prior to vanishing, draw her to Brickburgh's caves. A site where early humans butchered each other across forty thousand years. Upon the walls, images of their nameless gods remain. Amidst rumours of drug plantations and new sightings of the mythical red folk, it also appears that the inquisitive have been disappearing from this remote part of the world for years. A rural idyll where outsiders are unwelcome and where an infernal power is believed to linger beneath the earth. A timeless supernormal influence that only the desperate would dream of confronting. The Reddening is an epic story of folk and prehistoric horrors, written by the author of The Ritual, Last Days, No One Gets Out Alive and the three times winner of The August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel." Finished The Reddening over the last week. It was good, but not as good as The Ritual. Very violent, very sweary - it comes close to No One Gets Out Alive in its bleak portrayal of modern Britain, but this time with more of a rural setting (Devon) and a vaguely Machenesque take on the prehistorical. There's a strong mix of both the "cosmic" and "folk" horror approaches, and a backstory that this time includes fictional 70s British folk rock group Witchfinder Apprentice, who I imagine playing some weird crossover genre of music, somewhere between Fairport Convention and early Black Sabbath. |
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Nov 24, 2019 16:19:21 GMT
There's a strong mix of both the "cosmic" and "folk" horror approaches, and a backstory that this time includes fictional 70s British folk rock group Witchfinder Apprentice, who I imagine playing some weird crossover genre of music, somewhere between Fairport Convention and early Black Sabbath. You are not making this easy to resist, Dr. S. |
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Apr 4, 2020 14:04:07 GMT
Finished The Reddening over the last week. It was good, but not as good as The Ritual. Very violent, very sweary - it comes close to No One Gets Out Alive in its bleak portrayal of modern Britain, but this time with more of a rural setting (Devon) and a vaguely Machenesque take on the prehistorical. There's a strong mix of both the "cosmic" and "folk" horror approaches, and a backstory that this time includes fictional 70s British folk rock group Witchfinder Apprentice, who I imagine playing some weird crossover genre of music, somewhere between Fairport Convention and early Black Sabbath. I recently bought a copy of The Reddening, and though I haven't read it yet I was interested to see that Nevill self-published it. He explains his decision on his website, and seems happy with the outcome, but seeing the author of a book as prominent as The Ritual feel compelled to go this route makes me more pessimistic than ever about the state of traditional horror publishing. |
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Post by cauldronbrewer on May 21, 2020 22:09:46 GMT
He's got a new one coming out in the Autumn, called The Reddening. Here's the promo blurb - "One million years of evolution didn't change our nature. Nor did it bury the horrors predating civilisation. Ancient rites, old deities and savage ways can reappear in the places you least expect. Lifestyle journalist Katrine escaped past traumas by moving to a coast renown for seaside holidays and natural beauty. But when a vast hoard of human remains and prehistoric artefacts are discovered in nearby Brickburgh, a hideous shadow engulfs her life. Helene, a disillusioned lone parent, lost her brother, Lincoln, six years ago. Disturbing subterranean noises he recorded prior to vanishing, draw her to Brickburgh's caves. A site where early humans butchered each other across forty thousand years. Upon the walls, images of their nameless gods remain. Amidst rumours of drug plantations and new sightings of the mythical red folk, it also appears that the inquisitive have been disappearing from this remote part of the world for years. A rural idyll where outsiders are unwelcome and where an infernal power is believed to linger beneath the earth. A timeless supernormal influence that only the desperate would dream of confronting. The Reddening is an epic story of folk and prehistoric horrors, written by the author of The Ritual, Last Days, No One Gets Out Alive and the three times winner of The August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel." Having enjoyed The Ritual--or maybe the better word is "survived," given the book's bleakness--I bought a copy of The Reddening based on Dr. Strange's recommendation and am about halfway through it now. The prehistoric artefacts have been discovered, and the hideous shadow has commenced to engulfing various lives. Finished The Reddening over the last week. It was good, but not as good as The Ritual. Very violent, very sweary - it comes close to No One Gets Out Alive in its bleak portrayal of modern Britain, but this time with more of a rural setting (Devon) and a vaguely Machenesque take on the prehistorical. There's a strong mix of both the "cosmic" and "folk" horror approaches, and a backstory that this time includes fictional 70s British folk rock group Witchfinder Apprentice, who I imagine playing some weird crossover genre of music, somewhere between Fairport Convention and early Black Sabbath. So far, I agree with Dr. S's take here. I like both the cosmic horror and folk horror elements. I also think I'm becoming a fan of novels about fictional rock groups entangled with the occult. Last year I read about the black metal band Blood Frenzy in The Ritual and the Fairport Convention-esque Windhollow Faire in Elizabeth Hand's Wylding Hall; earlier this year, I read about the 90s heavy metal band Dürt Würk in Grady Hendrix's We Sold Our Souls; and now there's Witchfinder Apprentice in The Reddening. |
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