Adam L.G. Nevill's Blog, page 12
November 1, 2022
THE VESSEL REVIEWED - GINGERNUTS OF HORROR
"‘The Vessel’ delivers another thrilling ghost train ride through modern folk Horror, resulting in a novel that will (again) easily stand among his finest work, and as one of this reader’s favourite Horror novels of the year."
Saluting Gingernuts & James Bennett with our withered, bog preserved hands!Full review here.
Saluting Gingernuts & James Bennett with our withered, bog preserved hands!Full review here.
October 31, 2022
THE VESSEL - PUBLISHED TODAY!
You may have seen her face around but today is the day when "she" comes out! The Vessel, my 11th horror novel, manifests on Halloween 2022.There have been rumours that she's climbing out of the cover and sitting on the chests of the sleeping! At the very least, she's nestling inside minds.The hardback sold out in 4 weeks - our fastest selling limited edition hardcover at Ritual Limited. But the paperback and eBook editions drop today and the audiobook isn't far away (Ebook only at Amazon and enrolled in Kindle Unlimited).For those who embrace her, we thank you.Happy Halloween, folks! And keep those horns raised.The Vessel'A watcher may remark that after sleeping for so long, the building appears to have been roused.'Struggling with money, raising a child alone and fleeing a volatile ex, Jess McMachen accepts a job caring for an elderly patient. Flo Gardner – a disturbed shut-in and invalid. But if Jess can hold this job down, she and her daughter, Izzy, can begin a new life.Flo's vast home, Nerthus House, may resemble a stately vicarage in an idyllic village, but the labyrinthine interior is a dark, cluttered warren filled with pagan artefacts.And Nerthus House lives in the shadow of a malevolent secret. A sinister enigma determined to reveal itself to Jess and to drive her to the end of her tether. Not only is she stricken by the malign manipulation of the Vicarage's bleak past, but mercurial Flo is soon casting a baleful influence over young Izzy. What appeared to be a routine job soon becomes a battle for Jess's sanity and the control of her child.It's as if an ancient ritual was triggered when Jess crossed the threshold of the vicarage. A rite leading her and Izzy to a terrifying critical mass, where all will be lost or saved.An eerie folk horror novel from the author of Cunning Folk, The Reddening, The Ritual, No One Gets Out Alive and the four times winner of the August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel.
September 14, 2022
6 UNDERRATED HORROR MOVIES - THE RITUAL AT MOVIE WEB.
Not entirely sure The Ritual is underrated but I'm grateful for this inclusion.
And I liked Haunt, Hell House LLC and Creep too.
RUSSIA ON MY MIND - SUMMER READING.
Why couldn't I just enjoy the summer and idle a bit? Maybe read a few entertaining thrillers? Not made that way.I've had Russia on my mind of late. And though I've read a lot of 20th century history, particularly military history (every new Beevor a must, and the Battle of Stalingrad has haunted me for years), I felt compelled to read these two tomes this summer. I've had the Conquest on my shelves for years and just the sight of it winded me. But it was time.Hell existed and it was a place that not even the mediaeval poets, painters and theologians could have imagined. I've waded through 1000 pages of encyclopaedic depictions of terror, cruelty, oppression, injustice and suffering, that is barely calculable to a modern Western mind (born postwar).I stretched my comprehension but still only received little more than a ghastly impression of 20th century Russia. Swathes of the population dying horribly in a mere sentence. And it was hideous for most people before the revolution, and it's no picnic for most now. At times I could read no more than 30 pages of each book at a stretch, and I balk at nothing when it comes to reading. But these were best read in the sun, at the top of the garden.12 million in the civil war, another 10 million + through Stalin's repressions ... though Conquest puts that figure as high as 20 million, will the exact figure ever be known? Bookended by nearly 3 million in WW1 and 20 million in WW2. And no one died easily. The details of torture during the civil war and purges are infernal in design and intent.To top it all, the malignance of Stalin's state sponsored falsehood and terror, was an attempt to destroy the intellect and any possibility of opposition to him or the party. He drilled down that far. A broken, abused, imprisoned, half mad bear survived.The answers to what is happening now lie in the past. I love Russian writers but it's hard to equate Russia's past with much beside perpetual suffering. A legacy affecting much of the world again, not least its immediate neighbours (the history of Ukraine from Tsarist Russia, through the Revolution and onwards explains a great deal).Essential reads that rightly leave you feeling helpless, sad and a bit terrified. Despite it all, I'd love to see the country finally saved (from those who always seize power).I move on now to Applebaum, more Solzhenitsyn and more Vassily Grossman ... though I am hoping for some light in Isaac Babel.Ultimately, I'm grateful to have been born in England in 1969. And that is one of the great lessons that history teaches me: to feel grateful.You're welcome.
PETER STRAUB - SOME THOUGHTS.
Adding my own belated recognition of the passing of Peter Straub. I've been ill for a couple of days (for the first time since 2019 bizarrely), so when the news broke, I didn't manage to lower my black horror flag to half mast.As a horror writer, it's particularly sad to consider that Straub, Blatty and Herbert have all left the field now. Pillars in the youthful reading of my generation.A fabulous writer and his Houses Without Doors is one of the best collections I've read, across all genres. If the house was ablaze, I'd grab this on my way out the back door. I think A Dark Matter, his last novel, is particularly under appreciated too.He was, simply, a great writer. One of the fields finest, whose books often took me a while to finish, because I'd continually pause to marvel at a sentence, turn of phrase, description, or insight.
EREADS TOP 10 OF MY BOOKS
An interesting ranking of my horrors by ereads, and a kind appreciation of them too.
"let’s dig deep into his dark world of grotesque creatures and terror…"
NEW AUTHOR PHOTOS
New author pictures. A more accurate representation of the grizzled visage of me in my 50s.Taken by Alberto Cristofari in Turin. It was pushing 34 degrees and the shoot was impromptu, and unexpected enough for me to have pens in my pocket for signing copies of 'Il Popolo Rosso' ('The Reddening'). But, though I was hot and crumpled, I'm going with them.If you find yourself swooning and requiring smelling salts, you're only human.
September 9, 2022
CUNNING FOLK EBOOK - 99P IN AMAZON UK PROMOTION
Amazon UK is promoting Cunning Folk in eBook at 99p.You can dance around the Sow for less than a quid.
August 19, 2022
THE VESSEL - NEW NOVEL. SHE WANTS TO COME OUT!
Hey, look who showed up!She's coming out soon.Strangely, as I began opening the boxes, I was pleased to observe that her facial expression is marginally different on each jacket ... momentarily.The ritual worked! Her expression will be subtly unique on 599 covers! On #600, the cover will be blank, and that lucky reader, immediately on opening their parcel, will hear the creak of a door, of an unoccupied room, in their very home ... followed by little footsteps.But don't let that deter you from ordering one. It'll be someone else's copy. The odds are in your favour.You're welcome![Ritual Ltd limited edition hardbacks are sold exclusively from my website. Preorder available soon. And quite frankly, I need to get them out of my office ... she's getting restless].
