The Seven Days of Cain

by Ramsey Campbell

Is anyone really innocent?

On two continents, weeks apart, two people are brutally a Barcelona street performer and a New York playwright are each gruesomely tortured to death. In Britain, photographer Andy Bentley begins receiving mysterious emails. The messages refer to the killings and contain hints that the murderer has a personal connection to Andy. But what is it? Are the emails coming from the killer himself? And what, if anything, does Andy’s past have to do with the deaths? As the answers begin to take shape Andy will be forced to confront not only the consequences of his actions, but also the uncertainly of reality itself. Before that happens, how much that he loves will be destroyed?

Genres: Horror, Fiction

305 pages, Hardcover

First published October 4, 2011

About the author

Ramsey Campbell is a British writer considered by a number of critics to be one of the great masters of horror fiction. T. E. D. Klein has written that "Campbell reigns supreme in the field today," while S. T. Joshi has said that "future generations will regard him as the leading horror writer of our generation, every bit the equal of Lovecraft or Blackwood."

Reviews

[Jonathan Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Campbell’s nightmares are insidious and seductive. A master at building unease, especially through social anxiety and misunderstood words. The social awareness of Campbell’s work is what makes his writing so rich and rooted in place. This dream of identity and the erasure of self is compellingly woven and quietly terrifying.

[Arthur B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though it starts out seeming like a serial killer story - a field Campbell has done fine work in - The Seven Days of Cain proves to be something even stranger, with a twist revealed midway through that utterly transforms it. The end result is one of Campbell's most disorientatingly paranoid visions ever. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/202...

[Clota · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read. Not so much horror as it is closer to a paranormal-ish psychological thriller. For me, at least. Well written - I love Campbell's prose!

[Jay Rothermel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another masterful novel of supernatural mystery and suspense.

Full review:

https://tinyurl.com/yxkd3d9v

[Jason Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Difficult to write about without major spoilers, this thriller focuses on the at first seemingly unrelated stories of a serial killer and a young married couple: she a social worker who finds homes for the homeless and forgotten, he a failed artist who's set aside his dreams and seems set to inherit his father's photography studio. Things soon get very personal, and also very metafictional, as the couple's lives are invaded and boundaries of real and unreal blur. The twist: the killer and several other characters are not real at all, but 'imaginary people' brought to life by dark magic out of real people's fantasies, and now clinging desperately to life in the 'real' world. It's an idea somewhere between cool and ridiculous; luckily, Campbell brings out the heavy psychological impact of the concept, like the fear that your whole life and identity is an illusion, or worse, that the person you love is an illusion. Unfortunately, the balance of scary and silly isn't always perfect; the throwaway plot twists that the magic spell comes from the Revelations of Glaaki seems like a cheesy rather than cool Cthulhu callout, and the idea that the main character somehow invented all these people on a website (!?), and then *forgot* about them, is hard to believe. Missteps like this make it imperfect, but at its best, this book reaches some of the scary awe of Campbell's "Incarnate," only on a more modest personal level, without that book's body horror and apocalyptic implications.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice to see this available as an ebook from Samhain Press, and at a really reasonable price, too. There's a definite revisiting of themes here: plenty of wordplay and hapless protagonist action from The Grin Of The Dark and a set of emails very reminiscent of dear old Smilemime. There's rather a lot of Internet paranoia squeezed in there, too, right down to the main character seeming to be stuck in 2010 and on a dial-up modem. The obstructive, obtuse manner in which the characters speak to each other, something of a Campbellian trademark, whilst boasting oodles of eldritch meaning quickly becomes wearing; everyone seems to be constantly on the verge of an argument and is determined to imbue every conversation with stilted prose and misunderstood ambiguity. Still, it was an entertaining read, although the denouement was a little underwhelming after all the build-up. I'm not sure I'd class it as horror, either, though I certainly wouldn't have wanted to personally experience any of it...

[Catherine Cavendish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ramsey Campbell is unquestionably one of the greatest horror writers of all time and The Seven Days of Cain shows why. This clever tale blurs the lines between reality and unreality so effectively, I was left wondering what - or who - I was! I enjoyed the twists and turns of this story and, as always, the author's elegant style that captures the characters and plot so perfectly. The setting for much of the story is one I am familiar with, having lived in Waterloo (north Liverpool) for some years. The Anthony Gormley beach installation - Another Place - with its identical statues, is used as a dramatic backdrop to some of the book's most memorable scenes. With The Seven Days of Cain, Ramsey Campbell entertained, intrigued and kept me well and truly hooked right up to the conclusion, firmly establishing it as one of my favourites of his. This isn't just a novel for horror lovers, but for anyone who enjoys suspense and a great story, masterfully told.

[susan murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really struggled with this book and didnt really understand the story line I found it not an easy book to read. The characters find themselves not sure if they are real especially at the end with claire his wife unsure of memories it will please most people but not my cup of tea

[Ashley Calcutta-hasting · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story. Not sure if I'd necessarily classify this as horror. The characters weren't always easily relatable, and the dialogues were a little strange at times. All in all it was an interesting story. Not at all bad for a free book!

[Nicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come! :)

[Debbie Rosenbalm · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was OK. Took awhile to get right in to it.

[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A clever deconstruction of the psychopathic killer novel. Kafkaesque.

[Jane Walker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Any attempt to summarise this book shows the daftness of the plot.