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borrowedbooks's review against another edition
1.0
It's too long, which diminished the suspense and makes it a really slow read.
countkarnstein's review against another edition
1.0
A terribly slow driven, painfully plodding story that only takes a slightly interesting shape more than two thirds into the novel.
If you like slowly paced and atmospheric reads then you may like this a lot better than I. I am more of a fast-paced reading kind of a guy. I don't need a hundred or two pages describing trees to set the background scenery up.
I've read only one other book by Ramsey Campbell and liked it, Far Away & Never, but that was just some loosely tied together fantasy short stories. I WISH this was stripped down to a short story.
It took me about ten years to get through this book. I randomly bought it at a store back then, have picked it up a few times since then, started reading it then gave up almost immediately. There just is nothing to keep you going in the beginning. Plus, the font that the publisher TOR used is so tiny (and the margins so wide the left side is almost covered by the binding) that reading this wasn't even relaxing. This made it doubly difficult for me this time since now I am spoilt by my Kindle. No matter who sets up even the most tiniest or ugliest font, I can change it to a nice leisurely looking size that is just for me.
I am glad I finally finished this sucker (and can now donate it to some book collection charity) since I am a big Lovecraft fan. The completist in me made me finish this thing so I can honestly say I know what Ramsey Campbell's Severn Valley mythos tales are about. Maybe, and that's a huge maybe, if I want to continue reading stuff in Campbell's mythos setting I'll check out some of his short story collections or his 'tribute' book Made in Goatswood.
I dunno. I didn't really feel like a 'complete' horror fan by not ever reading Campbell. Now I just don't get it, this guy is so celebrated what the heck? After a looooong break from this, perhaps I'll try out one of the top two rated books of his on Goodreads to give him another chance. Perhaps this one is just not for me (Lovecraftian, How?). If his stories dwell on setting like this all the time, forget it.
If you like slowly paced and atmospheric reads then you may like this a lot better than I. I am more of a fast-paced reading kind of a guy. I don't need a hundred or two pages describing trees to set the background scenery up.
I've read only one other book by Ramsey Campbell and liked it, Far Away & Never, but that was just some loosely tied together fantasy short stories. I WISH this was stripped down to a short story.
It took me about ten years to get through this book. I randomly bought it at a store back then, have picked it up a few times since then, started reading it then gave up almost immediately. There just is nothing to keep you going in the beginning. Plus, the font that the publisher TOR used is so tiny (and the margins so wide the left side is almost covered by the binding) that reading this wasn't even relaxing. This made it doubly difficult for me this time since now I am spoilt by my Kindle. No matter who sets up even the most tiniest or ugliest font, I can change it to a nice leisurely looking size that is just for me.
I am glad I finally finished this sucker (and can now donate it to some book collection charity) since I am a big Lovecraft fan. The completist in me made me finish this thing so I can honestly say I know what Ramsey Campbell's Severn Valley mythos tales are about. Maybe, and that's a huge maybe, if I want to continue reading stuff in Campbell's mythos setting I'll check out some of his short story collections or his 'tribute' book Made in Goatswood.
I dunno. I didn't really feel like a 'complete' horror fan by not ever reading Campbell. Now I just don't get it, this guy is so celebrated what the heck? After a looooong break from this, perhaps I'll try out one of the top two rated books of his on Goodreads to give him another chance. Perhaps this one is just not for me (Lovecraftian, How?). If his stories dwell on setting like this all the time, forget it.
jayrothermel's review against another edition
5.0
A brilliant, brooding novel in which family tragedies and imminent cosmic catastrophes are braided.
woowottreads's review
2.0
Now, I love me a good slow, wordy book. I'm thoroughly enjoying Moby Dick, and I loved The Terror. And I had a hard time debating on a rating for this book. But I had to go with two stars, even though I didn't hate it. It was all right. But the creepy description is basically a one-trick pony. By which I mean that, at least in this novel, Campbell builds suspense by using the same descriptors for the same things numerous times, and he makes phrases and clauses needlessly awkward and difficult to interpret. It might be a writing quirk, but an editor should look out for it.
As for the characters, they're fine. I think Sam was almost the best-rendered of any of them.
I found some of the action dissatisfying, however. Almost anti-climactic in the end, which is a pity, because there was a lot of potential, and I love the scenes where Sam and Sylvia are going into the cavern of Selcouth. I just wish more of the book could have been like that.
As for the characters, they're fine. I think Sam was almost the best-rendered of any of them.
I found some of the action dissatisfying, however. Almost anti-climactic in the end, which is a pity, because there was a lot of potential, and I love the scenes where Sam and Sylvia are going into the cavern of Selcouth. I just wish more of the book could have been like that.
archergal's review
3.0
It took me a while to get through this book. The inital story, of a family with a father beset by obsession and (possibly) madness, was a little slow and uninvolving for me. The hints it dropped of mysterious goings-on in the nearby Goodmanswood (the forest) were intriguing though, so I soldiered on.
My persistence was rewarded by the slowly building sense of dread and worry that the story built up as it went on.
Now I'm going to worry every time I go into a spooky wood. Thanks, Mr. Campbell. O.o
Seriously, it's a horror novel that is more effective as it goes on. There's no gore, no physical violence, but the emotional toll taken on the characters is pretty heavy. The writing is a bit slow in parts, and I had a bit of trouble really loving the characters. But as an evocation of that feeling you sometimes get in the wild, of forces that are large and possibly malevolent lurking just out of site, full marks. Very effective at that.
My persistence was rewarded by the slowly building sense of dread and worry that the story built up as it went on.
Now I'm going to worry every time I go into a spooky wood. Thanks, Mr. Campbell. O.o
Seriously, it's a horror novel that is more effective as it goes on. There's no gore, no physical violence, but the emotional toll taken on the characters is pretty heavy. The writing is a bit slow in parts, and I had a bit of trouble really loving the characters. But as an evocation of that feeling you sometimes get in the wild, of forces that are large and possibly malevolent lurking just out of site, full marks. Very effective at that.
starship's review
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
michaelsellars's review
5.0
Far and away my favourite Ramsey Campbell novel, and one of my favourite horror novels, period. The extraordinary patience with which Campbell crafts his stories borders on the supernatural itself, and here he takes that patience and craftsmanship to a new level. Hardly a page goes by without the author conjuring up dark, woodland imagery, even in the most unlikely places. The woods seep out, infecting everything, including the reader. This is not an easy book to read but it is extremely rewarding. So long as your idea of a reward is a few nights of broken sleep and an inability to go for a woodland walk ever again without feeling deeply uneasy.
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