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Boring and far-fetched

Reviewed in Canada on October 22, 2020

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SPOILERS AHEAD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

"Far-fetched" you say? "Aren't all horror stories, by their very nature, far-fetched?" Well, yes. But do all horror stories have modern-day cults living just miles from popular seaside resort towns in England? No. That was the main setback for this book for me: the setting. If it had taken place in a more remote area, perhaps the CULT LIVING IN A SEASIDE HOLIDAY-MAKER TOWN would have been more palatable. Well, as palatable as a cult of cannibals can be, anyway. I did mention this review contained spoilers.

Aside from that, this narrative is, for lack of a more descriptive explanation, fairly dull. The female characters are fine, but not memorable, and the story's pace is slow. There are some graphically gory scenes that somewhat make up for the tedious foreplay, but seeing as they are few and far between, and a lot further along in the tale than I would have liked (as in, very close to the end), it wasn't enough to make up for the monotonous rambling that came prior. Additionally, I like my Old Gods -- or whatever these things are -- to have a bit more, I don't know, tangability, when they finally are described in all their grotesque glory. Instead, I am gifted with some tall two-legged furry thing that might resemble a dog but could also be a cat or a cow. What?

The writer of this novel decided to paint his murderous Caucasian cult members red to evoke terror within the reader. He also describes them as aboriginal at one point and even likens one to an "old Native American Chief" -- ethnicities that racist tropes will often describe as "red men" or "red-skinned." Excuse me? This is poorly conceived at best and abhorrently racist at worst.

I am happy I only spent $2 on the Kindle version of this book because I'd be spitting with anger if I had spent any more. I expected more from the person who inspired Netflix's wonderful film, The Ritual, but I was sorely disappointed. This was my first experience of this author and, I think, my last.

Steve Stred

Excellent folk-horror!

Reviewed in Canada on August 13, 2020

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I’ve been on a Nevill kick as of late.

But let’s quickly backtrack. When I connected with Gavin here at Kendall Reviews, he continuously pestered me with questions about who my top three authors are and told me I had to read his top three. (KR: Makes me sound somewhat mad, but I’ll let this go) One of those in his top three is Mr. Adam Nevill. (The other two you might’ve heard of? One wrote Bird Box, the other’s last name is Barker.)

I slowly obtained almost all of Adam’s work on my Kindle. I think at this point I’m only missing ‘Banquet of the Damned,’ but I’d need to double-check.

I dove into ‘Last Days‘ which frankly is one of the best horror books I’ve ever read. Loved his ‘Some Will Not Sleep‘ & ‘Before You Wake‘ mini-collections, and devoured ‘The Ritual.’ Safe to say, I’m a Nevill fan.

When Adam announced his release ‘The Reddening‘ I jumped at the chance to pre-order the digital edition. Recently, when I was choosing my next two pleasure reads (I usually have two review reads and two pleasure reads on the go), I decided to either read ‘Apartment 16‘ or ‘The Reddening.’ I went with the second option, but will be diving into ‘Apartment 16‘ shortly.

What I liked: ‘The Reddening‘ is a multi-layered folk horror that at times read like a fast-paced thriller. It opens up detailing a fantastic archaeological find on the UK coast. Weird bones and carvings are found. From there, Nevill adds in some characters who unwittingly become involved in the underbelly of the small town’s history.

Nevill has such a way of making the location as much a character as the people we’re following, much like Andrew Pyper does. In ‘The Reddening‘ we get to see a lot of the inner workings, the layers of corruption and just what lengths the townsfolk will do to keep the secret of what lies beneath.

Interestingly, I found it wasn’t until Chapter 23, for me personally, that the story took off. If you follow Nevill on any of his social media accounts, you’ll undoubtedly have seen his passion for the bay, the water, the land around where he lives. Chapter 23 opens with such a perfect paragraph, describing the landscape that I can’t help but wonder if this paragraph was the first thing Nevill wrote that inspired the rest of the story before and after. It was at this point that the writing goes from a jog to a sprint and action comes fast and furious. It went from an enjoyable read to something I couldn’t put down, which was fantastic.

The ending of this was also well done. It wrapped up a number of key points, filled us in on so many questions I had, but also left a small sliver of light under a door for a possible followup in the future.

What I didn’t like: I kind of alluded to it already, but for the first little bit I found I wasn’t as gripped with the story as I was with ‘Last Days‘ and ‘The Ritual.’ It wasn’t bad or anything like that, it just wasn’t grabbing me that much. I wasn’t a fan of that pesky Steve character (who should’ve been my fav cuz all Steve’s are awesome! ha!) and the abrupt character change in one of the characters was tough to accept at first. It did make sense, and needed to happen, but at first it was odd.

Why you should buy this: Nevill is a stunning storyteller. Layer upon layer of myth mixed with present-day happenings pushed this story along and frankly, even at the start when the pieces were just starting to be introduced, I wanted to know what was happening and just who the red folk were.

I’ve never been disappointed by a Nevill book and ‘The Reddening‘ shows why he’s at the forefront of the horror world.

Once you start reading, you’ll be pulled far into this world. Once there you’ll abide.

Anonymous

Reading this felt like an Acid trip!

Reviewed in Canada on December 29, 2019

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I almost never rate a book so lowly, but Adam Nevill's The Reddening is a story I should never have started reading. I found it hard to keep characters straight, and while the first part of the novel was highly intriguing, I had difficulty figuring out what was supposed to be happening, and for what purpose. Adam Nevill is an author I usually enjoy reading, but this novel was too disjointed and far too gory for me. But fans of gore and slasher fiction might love it.

Sean Nelson

Wonderful

Reviewed in Canada on November 13, 2019

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Wicker Man meets H.P. Lovecraft. Nevill has demonstrated an ability of producing scary tale after scary tale.

The Reddening is an excellent horror story that produces its effect without trying to rely on gore or the torture of innocents as a device to instill fear. While bad things do happen to good people, the novel is able to produce a feeling of imminent dread through crafting a compelling combination of tension and circumstance. This one was hard to put down.

If you enjoyed The Ritual, then you will love the Reddening.

Morgan Kerkhoff

Tedious and slower than an ice age

Reviewed in Canada on January 31, 2020

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I made it half-way through before giving up. It was just way too slow and kind of boring.
I really liked The Ritual, but this was a slog at best and not worth the time for me.
The 2 main characters were uninteresting and unrelatable and the story felt overwritten for something that would have been better suited to a short story.
I'll stick to Scott Thomas, William Holloway, and Brett Talley.

Kindle Customer - Darrell S. in Newfoundland Canada

Superb.

Reviewed in Canada on February 18, 2021

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Suspenseful horror fiction of the highest degree and quality, with the kind of focus on character that makes a story truly compelling. Adam Nevill is a master of his craft and one well worth following, which is what I've been doing since discovering his work around 2007, when I read Banquet for the Damned. I wholeheartedly recommend his writing to anyone who enjoys good, satisfying horror fiction.

Top reviews from other countries

Jonathan Turner

Good ideas - dull characters, dreary pacing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 16, 2019

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I’ve enjoyed some of Adam Nevill’s books in the past and was really looking forward to this one - but it absolutely fails to deliver. Nevill has always struggled to create likeable, engaging characters and once again we have to spend time with some real bores. His now trademark overwriting leads to some jerky, uneven pacing that kills any real sense of threat. A cannibal cult in Cornwall should be a great story for any lover of folk horror - but this one misses the mark by a wide margin.

Ronnie

A really great read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 5, 2019

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This is basically a tale of dark folklore and ancient rites, it is also an extremely good read and very creepy in places. Some of the themes in the book are similar to Neville’s other books No One Gets Out Alive and The Ritual. You can always rely on Adam Neville to write a good horror yarn, and this is my favourite so far.

After heavy storms in a quiet part of Devon, a paraglider notices a fissure in the cliffs. Investigating, he discovers a cave and evidence of an old Neolithic settlement. The discoveries are startling and disturbing; cave paintings of strange animals, cannibalism on a large scale and elaborate burial rites. Strange figurines are discovered of dog headed women; these ancients also had a rather unpleasant habit of recycling old bones as drinking vessels.

Lifestyle journalist, Kat, is covering the story, and afterwards has strange dreams and thoughts of these ancient cave dwellers and their forgotten Gods. She and partner, Steve, also meet up with Helene at an exhibition about the caves. Helene is in the area trying to make sense of her brother’s suicide. He had recorded weird sounds near the vicinity of the caves, shortly before his demise.

It soon transpires that the ancient ways are not totally forgotten in this neck of the wood. Some of the local’s focus is on something that still seems to dwell in the caves below. Something that lived side by side with the early cave dwellers.

The details about the “something” and the ancient settlement are tantalisingly scant. It is pre-history, lost in time and going back aeons.

The story explores the usual tribal elements of humanity, the brutality under the mask of civilisation. I thought it went further than that though and the hard, ruthless, calculating cynicism near the end left me wondering who was exploiting what.

The description of the Devon landscape was also a world away from the usual image of rolling hills and coastline. It was dark, bleak and savage, inhospitable and timeless. Adam Neville did a very good job of making the reader (this one anyway), feel their insignificance against the vast backdrop of time and landscape.

steven

Primordial

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 3, 2019

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Yet another fantastic story created by Adam Nevill. I can truly say once I started reading this latest novel I found I just couldn’t put it down until I’d finished.

Whilst reading the story you know that much of the inspiration comes from Adam Nevill home in South Devon because as always, His descriptive style allows you to actually imagine yourself being in that environment.

For me, the story seems to be based around timeless savage primordial forces within the natural, supernatural worlds as well as the potential barbarity that dwells just beneath the surface of humanity, making the oceans of southern England seem an apt place to place this story.

It was as enjoyable to read this horror from a predominantly female perspective as it was to have read THE RITUAL from a male perspective, which shows the versatility of Adam Nevill as an author. Also apparently whilst just after finishing writing this story there was an archeological discovery and dig a mere few miles from Adams home? I here the strange call of Cthulhu

Nettie Thomson

The future is...red?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 26, 2020

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Good Folk horror speaks to us in a very primitive way. It taps into our collective unconscious and awakens fears we had long forgotten we had. Adam Neville’s The Reddening does this expertly and the images he conjured from the red earth of Devon will stay with me for a long time.

I won’t talk about the story - many other reviews will do that. I’d like to talk about where, for me, the true horror of this story comes from: a closed community with its own rules where the law is meaningless and where incomers are shunned at best. Which one of us has never been the new girl, the guest at a party where everyone knows everyone but you, the new colleague who’s left out of “in” jokes and sits alone at lunchtime? We are a sociable species, not meant for isolation and when being left out is the least worst option in a situation we know we are in trouble.

The Reddening combines the fear of isolation with shared ancestral horror in a very visceral way. Think The Wickerman crossed with an Egyptian death cult and you might begin to understand the horror of The Reddening.

Was it perfect? Well, there were a few places where tightening the prose may have improved the book, but this is the best horror of the year for me. I wonder if there is another out there to beat it? I almost hope not *shudder*

Rick

Don't judge a book by its cover

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 19, 2019

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First of all it's only fair to point out that I bought this book purely on the strength of the phenomenal cover. Seriously, it must be the best horror fiction cover I have ever seen.

I really wanted the cover to do it justice and I was primed to give this 5 stars. I am aware of the author's excellent reputation and loved The Ritual. This book is along the same lines with it's dark mood and ancient cult undertones.

It is exceptionally well written and the basis of the plot is most definitely appealing but if I'm being brutally honest it just never had the big pay off I was hoping for.

There were plenty of dark, creepy moments throughout but I just felt that there were missed opportunities to step it up a notch and really freak you out. That said, this would make an incredible movie and the ability to expand upon the book could result in something visually stunning.

Let's hope the movie rights are picked up on this one.

Sorry for being the first non 5 star review Adam as I know you will read this, I just have to be honest!

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