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mxsallybend's review
3.0
There is something unique about the British horror novel . . . a certain feel and sound that sets it apart from its North American counterpart. I'm not just talking proper English spelling, barren moors, or rain-slicked cobblestone streets either. No, it's the style of narration, the pacing, the setting, and the atmosphere that all conspire to create that British feel
For its first half, The Summoning: A Supernatural Dark Fantasy does indeed resemble the quintessential British horror novel. In fact, my first experience with F.G. Cottam reminded me very much of my first brushes with the likes of Ramsey Campbell, James Herbert, and Phil Rickman. His telling of the tale is slow and methodical, but dripping with menace and unease. It's like sitting in a darkened room, while the rain falls upon the roof, and the wind lashes branches against the windows, listening to an old ghost story. You can't help but feel the dampness pressing in on all sides, with the chill in your bones only partially from the cold.
It's a remarkably simple set-up. A young archaeological feels compelled to wander away from the team and start his own dig, beneath a mammoth old tree. He hears strange music in the distance (trumpets he only recalls later), and finds his mysterious treasure just two feet down . . . a treasure he feels out with his bare hands, never so much as grazing it with his trowel. Grayling, the professor overseeing the dig, is immediately cautious, suspicious almost, and enlists the young man in a mystery about which he clearly knows more than he's telling. As Adam is sent to consult with an expert in town, the mystery only grows, with obscure warnings about things untouched and places unseen - at least, by most of us.
As talk turns from evil doppelgangers, old magic, and ancient monsters to hidden worlds and mysterious travelers, the story slips from the realm of Campbell, Herbert, and Rickman, and into something more akin to the likes of Neil Gaiman. We find ourselves transitioned into a dark fantasy, part portal and part urban, that remains connected to its horrific origins. The story suddenly becomes bigger and older, encompassing not just Adam and the young woman to who he's entrusted his secret, but their fathers as well. Without ever losing the original thread of the tale, Cottam pulls back gossamer veils and adds one shadowy layer after another, with Martin - the third member of the romantic triangle - bringing it all together the moment he ascends (or is it descends?) the stairs into the forest.
The element of the fantastic really shines through in the second half of the novel, but never so brightly as to extinguish the horror. I wasn't sure how I felt about the transition at first, but once I understood where it all was headed, and saw how deftly Cottam arranged the players and the stories, I was more than happy to follow it all the way down the path. Having said that, it's clearly only a part of the larger tale, and it appears the climax that I was expecting is to be delayed until the next volume. Both monstrous and magical, The Summoning is quite unlike anything I've read in recent memory, and all the more appreciated because of it.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
For its first half, The Summoning: A Supernatural Dark Fantasy does indeed resemble the quintessential British horror novel. In fact, my first experience with F.G. Cottam reminded me very much of my first brushes with the likes of Ramsey Campbell, James Herbert, and Phil Rickman. His telling of the tale is slow and methodical, but dripping with menace and unease. It's like sitting in a darkened room, while the rain falls upon the roof, and the wind lashes branches against the windows, listening to an old ghost story. You can't help but feel the dampness pressing in on all sides, with the chill in your bones only partially from the cold.
It's a remarkably simple set-up. A young archaeological feels compelled to wander away from the team and start his own dig, beneath a mammoth old tree. He hears strange music in the distance (trumpets he only recalls later), and finds his mysterious treasure just two feet down . . . a treasure he feels out with his bare hands, never so much as grazing it with his trowel. Grayling, the professor overseeing the dig, is immediately cautious, suspicious almost, and enlists the young man in a mystery about which he clearly knows more than he's telling. As Adam is sent to consult with an expert in town, the mystery only grows, with obscure warnings about things untouched and places unseen - at least, by most of us.
As talk turns from evil doppelgangers, old magic, and ancient monsters to hidden worlds and mysterious travelers, the story slips from the realm of Campbell, Herbert, and Rickman, and into something more akin to the likes of Neil Gaiman. We find ourselves transitioned into a dark fantasy, part portal and part urban, that remains connected to its horrific origins. The story suddenly becomes bigger and older, encompassing not just Adam and the young woman to who he's entrusted his secret, but their fathers as well. Without ever losing the original thread of the tale, Cottam pulls back gossamer veils and adds one shadowy layer after another, with Martin - the third member of the romantic triangle - bringing it all together the moment he ascends (or is it descends?) the stairs into the forest.
The element of the fantastic really shines through in the second half of the novel, but never so brightly as to extinguish the horror. I wasn't sure how I felt about the transition at first, but once I understood where it all was headed, and saw how deftly Cottam arranged the players and the stories, I was more than happy to follow it all the way down the path. Having said that, it's clearly only a part of the larger tale, and it appears the climax that I was expecting is to be delayed until the next volume. Both monstrous and magical, The Summoning is quite unlike anything I've read in recent memory, and all the more appreciated because of it.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
daemonad's review
1.0
I made it to chapter 2. I dont' mind if the pace is slow, if the plot revolves around nothing, but the voice has to be strong to pull me in, the characters fleshed out, and real to hold me in. The premise of the book is catchy, the writing unfortunately not so.
Try slogging through these lines:
"His appointment with Doctor McGuire was not until six p.m. He thought that there were probably worse places than the famous south coast seaside resort to kill a couple hours. But he was basing that judgement on what he had heard about the city. He'd never visited this part of the country before. There hadn't been the money for childhood holidays.....bla bla bla useless, boring infodump, about a flat shell of a character."
Try slogging through these lines:
"His appointment with Doctor McGuire was not until six p.m. He thought that there were probably worse places than the famous south coast seaside resort to kill a couple hours. But he was basing that judgement on what he had heard about the city. He'd never visited this part of the country before. There hadn't been the money for childhood holidays.....bla bla bla useless, boring infodump, about a flat shell of a character."
jdhobbes's review
2.0
I normally like F.G. Cottam, but this one just didn't work for me. The story plodded on, and I couldn't make myself care about any of the characters, because they were all just such perfect little one-dimensional photographs. The women are all described as being almost preternaturally alluring. The men are all strong and handsome and fast. I was about 85% through when I became increasingly certain that the book was going to end on a cliffhanger, because there was just too much to wrap up and no ending in sight. As annoying as that would have been, I think I would have preferred it. Instead, the ending was reached by essentially yelling, "Poof!" in the last few pages and making everything go away. And then tacking on a not-even-a-little-bit-subtle hint that it's not really over and next week everyone is just going to come back and play the same stupid game all over again. So what was even the point?
yulannu's review
1.0
I made it to chapter 2. I dont' mind if the pace is slow, if the plot revolves around nothing, but the voice has to be strong to pull me in, the characters fleshed out, and real to hold me in. The premise of the book is catchy, the writing unfortunately not so.
Try slogging through these lines:
"His appointment with Doctor McGuire was not until six p.m. He thought that there were probably worse places than the famous south coast seaside resort to kill a couple hours. But he was basing that judgement on what he had heard about the city. He'd never visited this part of the country before. There hadn't been the money for childhood holidays.....bla bla bla useless, boring infodump, about a flat shell of a character."
Try slogging through these lines:
"His appointment with Doctor McGuire was not until six p.m. He thought that there were probably worse places than the famous south coast seaside resort to kill a couple hours. But he was basing that judgement on what he had heard about the city. He'd never visited this part of the country before. There hadn't been the money for childhood holidays.....bla bla bla useless, boring infodump, about a flat shell of a character."
wordg1rl's review
4.0
Another eerily sensual, atmospheric gem. Cottam mines familiar territory (for fans who've read him before) turning up rich, loamy descriptions of austere landscapes, picturesque pre-Raphaelite damsels and fair knights-cum-modern antiheroes, pitted in a desperate world-threatening struggle which promises dear costs to victors as well as the defeated.
gemma7's review
2.0
I really wanted to like this book based on the cover and the blurb, however, the book never really went anywhere. It was a big build up to...nothing.
Following some research, I found out that this book was originally meant to be part of a series but the series never happened. As the 1st book in a series it still needs to work as a great stand alone book, which unfortunately this doesn't.
I liked the style of writing so I wouldn't necessarily be put off reading another book from this author.
Following some research, I found out that this book was originally meant to be part of a series but the series never happened. As the 1st book in a series it still needs to work as a great stand alone book, which unfortunately this doesn't.
I liked the style of writing so I wouldn't necessarily be put off reading another book from this author.
bookishfifi's review against another edition
3.0
I'm a big fan of F G Cottam so I was intrigued when I read about his first novel aimed at YA. He writes excellent fantastical horror and his books have kept me awake reading into the early hours on more than one occasion. However, this time I was disappointed. I still liked the basic premise of the story but it just didn't read like a YA book to me. I felt like I was reading any Cottam novel so only 3 stars this time round.
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