Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Leaping (Fell House #1)

by Tom Fletcher (Goodreads Author)

2.88 of 5 stars 2.88 · rating details · 78 ratings · 10 reviews

Jack finished university three years ago, but he's still stuck in a dead-end job in a sinister call-centre in Manchester. When the beautiful (and rich) Jennifer comes into his life he thinks he has finally found his ticket out of there. Trouble is that his boss is interested in Jennifer as well, and there's something strangely bestial about him...So when Jennifer buys Fell...more

Paperback, 441 pages

Published September 1st 2011 by Quercus (first published April 29th 2010)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell

Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson

Not the Booker Prize 2010

58th out of 86 books — 144 voters

Some of My Favorite Covers

154th out of 232 books — 43 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 216)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Apr 29, 2010 Desolation Culture rated it 4 of 5 stars

It starts in Manchester where a group of five twenty-somethings flat share, and work together at a mind numbingly dull call-centre. The narrative is divided into two first person accounts, that of a guy named Jack who is very much into folk tales and mythology, a fantasist who dreams of other worlds, and Francis, an awkward and neurotic young man who obsesses over all the bad things in the world, and is paranoid about dying of cancer. The vast majority of the book alternates a chapter at a time...more It starts in Manchester where a group of five twenty-somethings flat share, and work together at a mind numbingly dull call-centre. The narrative is divided into two first person accounts, that of a guy named Jack who is very much into folk tales and mythology, a fantasist who dreams of other worlds, and Francis, an awkward and neurotic young man who obsesses over all the bad things in the world, and is paranoid about dying of cancer. The vast majority of the book alternates a chapter at a time between their two accounts. The building up of the story this way, in alternating layers, works really well and contributes to the atmospheric intensity of this novel. Having these two perspectives also serves to draw out a resounding thematic element of the story, that of media fuelled paranoia, consumerism, and soul destroying nine-to-fives; versus dreams of a rural idyll, self sufficiency and creative freedom. Very cleverly done!

When Jack encounters at work, a free spirited young woman named Jennifer, and decides to move with her to the Lake District, an interesting triangle of affection develops which includes Francis. Jack and Jennifer move into an old abandoned building, which they discover seemingly by accident, overlooking one of the lakes. Fell House is strange and brooding, it comes with a wonderful view, but there is something peculiar about it. Jack and Jennifer both have strange dreams there, and large scratch marks are visible at odd angles all over the floor. For Jack in particular the place fills him with a growing sense of unease.

Whilst Jack has moved out to Cumbria with Jenny, Francis loses his job at the call-centre, and begins to head deeper into a spiral of insular obsessiveness. He finds that he cannot stop thinking about Jack's "girlfriend" Jenny, and her strangely alluring ways.

Jack meanwhile begins to wonder if any of his feelings could be related to a strange encounter he had in an alley with a former work colleague, back in Manchester. The brilliantly creepy Kenny provides the reader with an early indication of the dangers the young friends will soon face. The depiction of the call-centre, and of the lives of the protagonists in Manchester provides a great counter to the events that happen later amongst the rugged beauty of the Lake District. The time spent in the beginning drawing the reader into the lives of the characters also pays dividends in terms of emotional impact later. I really enjoyed the attention given to the little things, and there was a lot I could very easily relate to. The fact that Francis remarks on their frequent Mario Kart competitions as the glue that binds them together, made me smile. Francis' habit of categorising people according to their taste in books, films and music is funny, and a brilliant way of building the backbone for the further development of the characters.

Another thing that I found remarkable about this novel was how riveted I was by it, even though the actual horror elements as such, don't occur until quite late into the story. A long time is spent setting up the events that will come to a head further down the line, but it doesn't feel like a long drawn-out process. On the contrary, it's a delight. The characters are so well developed, the narrative so wonderfully absorbing, the time just flies by when you're reading it. I stayed up until 3am reading the first half because I literally couldn't put it down. It draws you deeply into its oppressive atmosphere. I love the build-up of menace, and when eventually the gear changes, and the book unleashes its horror, the brutal events are emotive and dynamically depicted.

I'm really genuinely impressed with this novel, way beyond what I was expecting. It develops into something like a dark fairy tale and reminded me in places of something by Charles De-Lint, but a very dark version. Fletcher has this way of drawing out the underlying mythic quality of his environments, not just the Lakes, but even the call-centre and Manchester. It's like he's seeing the archetypal quality of his settings, and using his characters to impress this upon the reader. The narrative is imbued with a grim cynicism, and a remarkably mature insight, even more so when you consider Tom Fletcher is himself only twenty four.

I truly cannot find much to criticise in this novel, and so I'm not inclined to nitpick for the sake of it. On all counts this novel hits the spot in what it apparently sets out to achieve. Character, pacing, plot, prose, impact - all are handled deftly to my mind. It even scores some points for originality, as the werewolves, and the explanation around them are not what I expected. I'm feeling very spoiled at the moment with the sheer quality of new dark fiction that is emerging. The Leaping is for me a contender for debut of the year so far, and I'm really looking forward to Fletcher's next book.

In summary, The Leaping is an insightful, moody and truly engaging novel. Just when you think you cannot bear the tension anymore, it cranks it up another notch before finally unleashing a blood soaked torrent of visceral horror. Werewolves have never been this captivating. Highly recommended!

The Leaping
By Tom Fletcher
441pp, published by Quercus, UK Paperback 7.99(less)

like 1 like · see review

Aug 29, 2012 Bandit rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was quite a mixed bag, lots of good things about it, but overall I'm not sure it worked. The writing was pretty good and very competent for a new and very young author, strong character descriptions and development, engaging storytelling, but this book read like ti couldn't quite make up its mind as to what it wanted to be. I'd say the main problem was the pacing, for example for 439 page horror novel the horror of any kind didn't start till about page 256. The build up for so incredib...more

like 1 like · see review

Mar 24, 2012 Jason rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-books, read-2012

2 Stars

"When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth."
--George Romero

The Leaping by Tom Fletcher is an interesting supernatural thriller that just never fully realized its potential. This is an urban fantasy that is simply too short, has too little world building, and has an unsatisfying ending to be a good read. Fletcher does a great job at slowly building tension and suspense. He takes the reader through a slow burn as things that seem...more

like 6 likes · see review

Jun 17, 2010 David Hebblethwaite rated it 4 of 5 stars

Reading Tom Fletcher’s short story ‘The Safe Children’ was all it took for me to place his novel The Leaping on my to-read list. Now that novel is here, and it was worth the wait.

The Leaping centres on a group of twenty-something housemates who all work in the same call centre in Manchester, and particularly on Jack, who also has a sideline in writing articles about the paranormal. One day at work, Jack meets – and falls in love with – the beautiful and enigmatic Jennifer, though she warns him t...more Reading Tom Fletcher’s short story ‘The Safe Children’ was all it took for me to place his novel The Leaping on my to-read list. Now that novel is here, and it was worth the wait.

The Leaping centres on a group of twenty-something housemates who all work in the same call centre in Manchester, and particularly on Jack, who also has a sideline in writing articles about the paranormal. One day at work, Jack meets – and falls in love with – the beautiful and enigmatic Jennifer, though she warns him that it’ll be an open relationship, as she believes in the free-love ideals of the Sixties. This leads to certain complications involving Jack’s housemate, Francis (who shares the book’s narration with Jack).

Jennifer has recently come into some money after her mother died, and uses it to buy Fell House, a creaking old mansion in Cumbria, where she moves in with Jack. Back in Manchester, the remaining housemates plan a surprise birthday party for Jack – but some uninvited guests turn up, and everyone discovers that there’s some truth to the old tales of werewolves, after all.

One of the first things I noticed about The Leaping is how good a writer of voice Fletcher is. I like the narrative voices to be differentiated in stories with multiple first-person narrators, and Fletcher does this very well indeed. Francis’s voice is particularly striking, revealing an earnest personality and an obsessive eye for detail (he lists all his friends’ favourite books, films and music because, he says, ‘the only way of working out the true personality of a person, their true soul, is by their taste’ [42:]). Those same character traits are used to brilliant effect later in the novel, when events take a horrific turn.

And it’s the horror where Fletcher’s prose shines its brightest. The best of his passages about the werewolves are as good as one could wish horror writing to be, as Fletcher captures both the profound horror of having one’s very self undermined and transformed, and the primal attraction of the lycanthropes’ existence. He also gives his werewolves an air of genuine strangeness, which makes even this hoary old staple feel fresh – no mean feat.

Where I think The Leaping is less successful is in its treatment of the larger dichotomy it seemingly aims to dramatise – broadly speaking, that of modern life versus nature. Jack expresses disillusionment with urban life – and, with what he and his colleagues have to put up with at the call centre, it’s no wonder – but the ‘push’ of this doesn’t seem to me to be as strongly felt by the novel as the ‘pull’ towards the wildness of nature. When Jack talks about wanting to run with the werewolves, he does so with a deep yearning that’s woven into the very fabric of his words. But Jack’s comments about city life don’t come close to that, and this imbalance dilutes the impact of the theme.

Even taking this into account, though, The Leaping is still a very good piece of horror fiction. That puts an interesting spin on a venerable motif. After years in the wilderness, horror currently seems to be undergoing something of a resurgence; as long as there are writers like Tom Fletcher working in it, the field is in good hands.(less)

like 1 like · see review

Aug 22, 2010 Lee Pletzers added it

The Leaping by Tom Fletcher
Published by: Quercus
439 pages (c) 2010
Review based on UK edition

I first heard about this book on a Facebook group, British Horror Novels. I heard it was about werewolves (a favourite of mine. My first novel was about werewolves--more lycanthropy of the mind than changing...until the end) and I was keen to try a British werewolf story as opposed to the US band I’ve been enjoying.

The leaping is an engrossing book, but I wouldn’t really class it as horror, though it does...more The Leaping by Tom Fletcher
Published by: Quercus
439 pages (c) 2010
Review based on UK edition

I first heard about this book on a Facebook group, British Horror Novels. I heard it was about werewolves (a favourite of mine. My first novel was about werewolves--more lycanthropy of the mind than changing...until the end) and I was keen to try a British werewolf story as opposed to the US band I’ve been enjoying.

The leaping is an engrossing book, but I wouldn’t really class it as horror, though it does have all the lovely trappings of a horror novel: a Lord of Hell, werewolves, people attacked and eaten, blood, guts, intestines, a sinister game, ghosts and a violin. It also has: strong characters, drama, friendship, loss, heartbreak and torment.

The book is told in first person by two characters: Jack and Francis (although the book is opened by Erin, for reasons I can’t understand). They are friends that share a house with three others; Graham (your typical hardcore partier, Erin and Taylor (who become a couple). They all work in a call centre and hate their job and supervisor, a sicko by the name of Kenny (kudos on creating this character, he came off very well).

Francis is a complex character who worries about everything, mainly cancer and all the ways of catching it. His father has cancer of the throat and that compounds his fears. He has it, he is sure of that fact and he worries about his flatmates. Jack is your normal everyday guy with a fascination about the history or truth behind lore. Then he meets Jennifer. She is everything he’s wanted in a person. But unfortunately for him, she doesn’t believe in belonging to anyone or having one mate for life. She comes across as a new-age/hippy chick who believes in free love.

It takes a long time for the story to really get going. A very long time, like over 200 pages. But the build up and small hints really enhance the characters and give them a life and a reason for the actions performed. Graham needed a better send off (there wasn’t one, he was just dead). Think of Graham as the hunter with the axe in Little Red Riding Hood.

There are many characters in this book but it is fairly easy to keep track of them. I think only having two characters tell the story works wonders and keeps the reader interested. The many threads in this story is what keeps it going, but the main theme is the party that is thrown for Jack at Fell House—deep in the mountains. It is here that the story kicks into third gear. It’s the time of the Leaping. Werewolves abound. Jennifer kidnapped. Francis is bitten. Graham grabs the axe. The lord of Hell is here with his violin. The time is upon them. The night is long.

82%
(less)

like 1 like · see review

Aug 20, 2010 Lynda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fantastically atmospheric and extremely realistic (yes, I know it's a werewolf book, but you know what I mean!) I was a little disappointed by the ending, but I think this is purely because the quality is so consistently high and inventive throughout the ending just fell a little flat. Don't let that put you off though - it's an excellent read. Great to see a British horror writer embracing his Britishness rather than trying to copy successful American authors.

like · see review

Apr 14, 2013 Ben rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, library, read-dnc

Couldn't get into the story or find the main characters appealing. When I found myself wading through too much philosophical musings with no action in sight, I dumped the book in favour of something more enjoyable.

like · see review

Jul 06, 2010 Quercus Books rated it 5 of 5 stars

Great interview with Tom here: http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/i-am-t...

like 1 like · see review

May 24, 2010 Wolf rated it 1 of 5 stars

This book was a total waste of time and money.

like · see review

Mar 22, 2013 Henrik rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, thriller

I really wanted to like this book, but I didn't. There are some okay ideas, and some of the scenes are fairly well executed -- hence the two star rating -- but on the whole I found the prose dull and the story not engaging at all.

like 2 likes · see review

Feb 05, 2012 Silvia rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

May 19, 2013 Nick Sheridan rated it 5 of 5 stars

May 14, 2013 Jared Shurin added it

May 13, 2013 Shaun rated it 3 of 5 stars

May 10, 2013 Dannii rated it 2 of 5 stars

May 04, 2013 Shawn Russmen marked it as to-read

May 02, 2013 Jo marked it as to-read

Shelves: fiction, horror

Apr 14, 2013 Kayla Briden added it

Apr 08, 2013 Emmas rated it 2 of 5 stars

Mar 30, 2013 Kylie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Mar 30, 2013 Debbie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Mar 24, 2013 Kimi Shetty rated it 2 of 5 stars

Mar 19, 2013 Ainslie Birthisel marked it as to-read

Shelves: thriller

Mar 18, 2013 Renuka rated it 2 of 5 stars

Mar 17, 2013 Caitlin marked it as to-read

Shelves: owned

Mar 13, 2013 Sarah Elizabeth marked it as to-read

Mar 12, 2013 Lexi added it

Feb 27, 2013 Kevin Marshall marked it as read-next

Shelves: horror

Feb 26, 2013 Andre Simpson marked it as to-read

Feb 23, 2013 Shari-ella rated it 2 of 5 stars

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Contemporary Brit...: The Leaping	1	1	Feb 23, 2013 11:55pm

combine
Other Editions (2)

Genres

Horror

14 users

Thriller

3 users

Shapeshifters > Werewolves

3 users

Fantasy

2 users

See top shelves...

About Tom Fletcher

Born in 1984, now living in Manchester with my wife and son.

More about Tom Fletcher...

Books by Tom Fletcher

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Leaping

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: The Leaping
avg rating	preview: The Leaping Goodreads rating: 2.88 (78 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7897941-the-leaping?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328705794l/7897941.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7897941-the-leaping?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Leaping by Tom Fletcher[/url]

The Leaping (Fell House #1)

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

combineOther Editions (2)

Genres

About Tom Fletcher

Books by Tom Fletcher

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About The Leaping

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (2)