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246th out of 637 books
—
634 voters
December
by
Phil Rickman
Thirteen years ago, on a cold night in December, a rock band called The Philosopher's Stone gathered in the ancient ruins of an abbey to record their new album--the evening ended in bloodshed and death. Now, the tapes have been released as "The Black Album", and the scattered band members know that it's time for a reunion. Time to return to that dark December night--for on...more
Paperback, 678 pages
Published
July 1st 1996
by Berkley
(first published 1994)
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From the author note: The Holy Mountain, Ysgyryd Fawr - the Skirrid - noses out of the lushly mysterious area where Gwent blends with Hertfordshire beyond the friendly market town of Abergavenny, scene of the notorious massacre of December 1175.
Scene setting: December 1980 as Lennon is shot, a band is set to record an album at the Abbey Studios, North Gwent, between midnight and dawn.
PAGE COUNT IS 648 - thanks
wales> north gwent> skirrid
welsh gothic
page 30: "[..] I started playing 'Julia',...more
5++ stars
*All Time Favorite Book List*
On December 8 1980 a young band named The Philosopher's Stone gather inside the ruins of a 12th century Abbey, to record their debut album. But after one night, and a horrifying turn of events, the band members agree to never let the music they recorded there see the light of day...and to never see each other again.
13 years later, the story of that recording session has become the stuff of legend. And then those supposedly destroyed Abbey tapes...known as t...more
*All Time Favorite Book List*
On December 8 1980 a young band named The Philosopher's Stone gather inside the ruins of a 12th century Abbey, to record their debut album. But after one night, and a horrifying turn of events, the band members agree to never let the music they recorded there see the light of day...and to never see each other again.
13 years later, the story of that recording session has become the stuff of legend. And then those supposedly destroyed Abbey tapes...known as t...more
This is an oldy but goody, one of the first Rickman novels. It had been so long since I’d read it, I had forgotten most of the ending. A great story concerning a “psychic” rock band, the Philosopher’s Stone, commissioned to record an album in an abbey turned recording studio in Wales. The dark power of the Abbey paired with the unusual abilities of each of the individual band members creates a dangerous and deadly cocktail, resulting in an unfinished album and 4 very badly damaged musicians. The...more
December was a well written and original novel albeit one in need of an editor. 1980 and 4 psychic musicians are brought together to record in an old Abbey in Wales with a bad history. They spend the next 14 years mentally tortured by the experience. 1994 and they are brought together again at the Abbey to finish the recording. They are all frightened but know they must finish it to dispel their personal demons. There's a lot more to the story and a lot more characters which is part of the probl...more
The first Rickman I read, Candlenight, was exceeding well-written, full of interesting and believable characters, and introduced me to a fascinating regional culture -- but it really wasn't creepy or eerie at all. December has all the virtues of Candlenight, combined with a genuinely spooky storyline about a recording studio in an unholy abbey near the Welsh border. Rickman really nails rock culture in addition to giving us another well-realized small town -- I wonder whether he's been in a band...more
A good book with some really solid characters. I appreciated how Rickman was able to write accents believably. He also was great at making me feel the realness of the locales. The story had some spook to it.
I've got a few gripes. This was a slow-starter, with tons of exposition. Unfortunately, this made the story really drag for me. I felt that 100 pages could have been discarded without any negative effect. I was also annoyed with the main characters. They were so neurotic, whiny and pathetic t...more
I've got a few gripes. This was a slow-starter, with tons of exposition. Unfortunately, this made the story really drag for me. I felt that 100 pages could have been discarded without any negative effect. I was also annoyed with the main characters. They were so neurotic, whiny and pathetic t...more
Long one of my favorite books by Rickman who is awesome at weaving music, ghosts, blood, Celtic legend, great characters and mystery into a cracking good read. The fab psychic four assemble at a haunted Welsh abbey to record an album on the night that John Lennon is murdered - and their lives are never the same. They come back together 14 years later to record again. Even better, Rickman and some talented musician friends have now completed the songs and put out an album, Abbey Tapes: The Exorci...more
Southeastern Wales, December, 1980. A newly constituted progressive rock band, Philosopher's Stone, gathers for a recording session in a new, purpose-built studio in the ruins of a spooky medieval abbey. Each of the members has a bit of renown, and each possesses more than a modicum of psychic ability. This recording session promises to deliver great, dramatic results, and it does. And then it ends badly, very badly.
The group burns their session tapes and disbands, and the first half of December...more
The group burns their session tapes and disbands, and the first half of December...more
I listened to the audiobook version of this, and I would highly recommend that if you can, you do for two reasons: the audiobook version contains a lot of contextual music that brings the importance of the music to its rightful place in the story and because the regional accents add a greater dimension to the narrative's voices.
I really enjoyed December. I'm not going to spend time synopsizing the novel, because others have done that. But it is a complex, nuanced, well written novel with vibran...more
I really enjoyed December. I'm not going to spend time synopsizing the novel, because others have done that. But it is a complex, nuanced, well written novel with vibran...more
Rickman's books, especially the early ones, are somewhat hard to find here--I have to order used copies through Amazon Marketplace--and I don't know why. They're addictive. In this, I think his third novel, a promising rock band called The Philosopher's Stone tries to record an ambitious album in a ruined medieval abbey in Wales but tragedy and terror interrupt, the band breaks up, and 14 years later the record company rediscovers the tapes and tracks down the original band members to complete t...more
Brilliant intro to this novel from http://brightjul.wordpress.com/tag/ab...
Without giving away too much of the story, here’s the gist: In December of 1980, four musicians were invited to the ancient Black Abbey in Ystrad Ddu, Wales, near the Skirrid (a mountain) to record an album as the band Philosopher’s Stone. It turned out to be an almost cruel trick by the record producer to exploit these sensitive, psychic artists. The Abbey itself had been haunted since the 12th century when the Welsh bar...more
Without giving away too much of the story, here’s the gist: In December of 1980, four musicians were invited to the ancient Black Abbey in Ystrad Ddu, Wales, near the Skirrid (a mountain) to record an album as the band Philosopher’s Stone. It turned out to be an almost cruel trick by the record producer to exploit these sensitive, psychic artists. The Abbey itself had been haunted since the 12th century when the Welsh bar...more
December centres on a group of musicians with psychic abilities, who were brought together by an unscrupulous record company to make a very special album. Their recording studio was at a haunted abbey in Wales, and the band had a terrifying experience there one night in 1980, which resulted in a death and the break-up of the group. Fourteen years later the old tapes of that recording are unearthed and the members of the group find themselves forced to revisit the experience that has haunted them...more
I read this absolutely years ago and thought it was a total pile of tosh. Then read pretty well all of Rickman's other books and, the other day, thought I'd revisit it. And, guess what? I thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, the POV shifts are dizzying but I had forgotten how much stronger Rickman is when he sticks to the supernatural, rather than in the later Merrily Watkins books where pretty much everything is explained away as crime.
There's a rather lovely redemptive quality about this book too. Yes,...more
There's a rather lovely redemptive quality about this book too. Yes,...more
Apr 19, 2013
Helen
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
big-fat-books-to-read-in-2013
I can't say I really enjoyed this book but its possible this was down to my copy being a HUGE, heavy beast of a volume. I therefore couldn't take it on the train, fit it in my handback, hold it for very long etc etc (I know, this all seems irrelevant but is it?) which meant I spent 4 weeks reading only a few pages at night. It also had enormous print and put me completely out of my normal reading kilter. I wanted to enjoy it and it was recommended by someone who's opinion I regard but I was plea...more
I'm afraid I've got to quit this one before giving it much of a chance. I just don't have the energy to plod through the initial chapters, not really knowing what's going on other than "something". I'm not optimistic that this is going to get much better, despite the rave reviews on GR. I prefer my eerie atmosphere in film - horror novels need to get up and running far quicker for me.
I loved December. The characters are well-drawn, which is rare in horror. It is genuinely creepy, with actual evil, and yet has a mostly happy ending. Phil Rickman should be as successful as Stephen King, or Dan Brown.
Awe I love the way Phil Rickman writes! It's a great read. The characters are great, and they have a wonderful dynamic. A little disturbing, a little creepy, definitely one of my favorites.
4 stars...but feeling totally ambivalent towards the book. Good triumphs over evil? A bunch of rockers going off their rocker?? Roman Catholicism being mocked?? Religion in general being made a mockery of? Oh and the suffering, the terrible suffering (yawn)...really?
It held my attention therefor the 4 stars, but no...I can't say that I would recommend it to anyone...
It held my attention therefor the 4 stars, but no...I can't say that I would recommend it to anyone...
I like Phil Rickman but I did struggle to get through this one. It is pretty long and drawn out. I'm not sure i would have persevered if it wasn't for the fact that I knew some of the characters from Rickman's later series of Merrily Watkins books, although this was an earlier stand alone novel.
The plot involves the reformation of a music group 14 years after a tragedy which happened during the recording of an album. They are all reluctant to return to the studio but think it may be cathartic to...more
The plot involves the reformation of a music group 14 years after a tragedy which happened during the recording of an album. They are all reluctant to return to the studio but think it may be cathartic to...more
I love Phil Rickman. This was my first Phil Rickman novel and I really liked it. Loved the setting, liked the story and the characters.
Slightly confusing at first and struggled with it a bit but glad I stuck with it. As with other Phil Rickman books I've read, once everything starts to come together it's a roller coaster of a ride. Really enjoyed it.
It has been awhile since I read this book and I'm enjoying it very much. Spooky and complex, like all Phil Rickman books. A real treat if you like supernatural, dark emotions and music lol
This was the first non-Merrily Watkins book I had read by Phil Rickman. I enjoyed it. Partly because I had already seen a couple of the characters in The Cure of Souls. December was a backstory that was lightly referenced in the Merrily book. December is about a band put together because they were all slightly psychic, or sensitive. They were set up to record in an old Abbey. Things went wrong and it left marks on all of them. I liked this book a lot and will probably read more Phil Rickman book...more
the book that made me fall in love with Rickman
This book was my introduction to Phil Rickman and drew me in immediately - it is the reason I now own all of Phil Rickman's books. It has music, mystery and spooks galore and is compelling from page one.
The ghostly recording session and the impact on the rest of the lives of the group is practically addictive.
Rickman is a genius not to be missed and readers shouldn't let his placement in the crime aisle put them off - there's so much more to Rickman's novels.
The ghostly recording session and the impact on the rest of the lives of the group is practically addictive.
Rickman is a genius not to be missed and readers shouldn't let his placement in the crime aisle put them off - there's so much more to Rickman's novels.
This is the second novel I have read by this author. Luckily it was just as good. The beginning started out a little slow for me. I just had to find out what was going on and happening in the Abbey's tower house to the psychic band from the early 80s. This book was a complex and enjoyable read. I recommend to all fans of the horror genre.
Welsh psychic prog rock band vs. the spirit of an evil monk! Phil Rickman is excellent at evoking a sense of atmosphere, and the book is scary enough that the plot isn't nearly as silly as it could be.
It's a horror story. I couldn't believe I read it. I don't like horror movies, horror stories, and all that related to horror family member, but still I read this book :)
as with all his book, Rickman has a true sense of supernatural horror, but the welsh undertones make the read harder for those not familiar with such heritage.
Good, confusing, spooky...blah blah blah
It stayed in my memory long enough to add it in here, must have been decent enough!
It stayed in my memory long enough to add it in here, must have been decent enough!
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aka Will Kingdom, Thom Madley.
Phil Rickman, born in Lancashire, has won awards for his TV and radio journalism. After five acclaimed novels, he introduced the fascinating Merrily Watkins series with The Wine of Angels. He is married and lives on the Welsh Border.
More about Phil Rickman...
Phil Rickman, born in Lancashire, has won awards for his TV and radio journalism. After five acclaimed novels, he introduced the fascinating Merrily Watkins series with The Wine of Angels. He is married and lives on the Welsh Border.
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And Rickman can spin...more
Dec 20, 2012 06:06am
:O)
Dec 31, 2012 11:31am