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A Cold Blue Light #1
Lumière Froide
Aubrey House est vide désormais. Personne ne veut l'acheter. C'est pourtant une belle demeure, vieille de plus d'un siècle et qui ferait les délices d'un antiquaire. Mais Aubrey House cache aussi un terrible secret : « l'effet Aubrey ».
Ce soir-là, cinq personnes s'y retrouvent pour percer ce secret. Les voilà réunies autour de Merlyn Aubrey, ravissante femme-enfant, dont le regard est fasciné par le portrait de sa grand-mère Charlotte, au visage figé et indéchiffrable de poupée ancienne.
Et voilà que « l'effet Aubrey » va frapper implacablement. Et ce sera la mort par désintégration du cortex, les mutilations atroces, les accidents inexplicables, les phénomènes hypnagogiques et hallucinatoires...
Qui échappera à ce monde de terreur et de violence ?
Ce soir-là, cinq personnes s'y retrouvent pour percer ce secret. Les voilà réunies autour de Merlyn Aubrey, ravissante femme-enfant, dont le regard est fasciné par le portrait de sa grand-mère Charlotte, au visage figé et indéchiffrable de poupée ancienne.
Et voilà que « l'effet Aubrey » va frapper implacablement. Et ce sera la mort par désintégration du cortex, les mutilations atroces, les accidents inexplicables, les phénomènes hypnagogiques et hallucinatoires...
Qui échappera à ce monde de terreur et de violence ?
251 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1983
1 person is currently reading
144 people want to read
About the author
Joscelyn Godwin
70 books80 followersComposer, musicologist and translator, known for his work on ancient music, paganism and music in the occult.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 1, 2018
A bunch of people decide to stay in a legendary haunted house where nothing of much interest happens. The end.
I was in the mood for a good ole' spooky haunted house tale, and what I got was paranormal researchers debating topics like ESP and the latest theories on "psi energy" and whatnot. I'm not a big fan of all that sciency/new agey gobbledygook in my horror; it just causes my eyes to glaze over. I don't need scientific rationale for what's supposed to be strictly fantasy. It can be used to add flavor, of course, but this just went way overboard, with pages upon pages of arguments over psychology vs. spirituality in regards to hauntings, interrupted periodically by some vague supernatural happenings. Happenings that are more of the "hmm...that's peculiar" variety as opposed to the "ohmygod holy shit!" variety.
It does eventually get a bit more interesting, with the "cold blue light" of the title finally making its presence known, but I'd already checked out at that point due to the interminable, unrealistic-sounding dialogue. Rather disappointing considering Kaye's impeccable taste in horror and weird fiction when editing anthologies. But I suppose good taste doesn't always equal good writing (I mean, I probably have the best taste of all time but I know if I wrote a novel it'd just be embarrassing). Co-author Parke Godwin's Darker Places was a decent little occult thriller, however, made better by it's ridiculous cover.
It looks like many others disagree with me on this one. Maybe had I been in the mood for a cozy read as opposed to a frightening one I'd have had better luck here. But I doubt it.
I was in the mood for a good ole' spooky haunted house tale, and what I got was paranormal researchers debating topics like ESP and the latest theories on "psi energy" and whatnot. I'm not a big fan of all that sciency/new agey gobbledygook in my horror; it just causes my eyes to glaze over. I don't need scientific rationale for what's supposed to be strictly fantasy. It can be used to add flavor, of course, but this just went way overboard, with pages upon pages of arguments over psychology vs. spirituality in regards to hauntings, interrupted periodically by some vague supernatural happenings. Happenings that are more of the "hmm...that's peculiar" variety as opposed to the "ohmygod holy shit!" variety.
It does eventually get a bit more interesting, with the "cold blue light" of the title finally making its presence known, but I'd already checked out at that point due to the interminable, unrealistic-sounding dialogue. Rather disappointing considering Kaye's impeccable taste in horror and weird fiction when editing anthologies. But I suppose good taste doesn't always equal good writing (I mean, I probably have the best taste of all time but I know if I wrote a novel it'd just be embarrassing). Co-author Parke Godwin's Darker Places was a decent little occult thriller, however, made better by it's ridiculous cover.
It looks like many others disagree with me on this one. Maybe had I been in the mood for a cozy read as opposed to a frightening one I'd have had better luck here. But I doubt it.
July 21, 2019
A million time told tale and yet each book has something different to reveal.
A Cold Blue Light lays some very interesting and unique cards on to the average table of haunted houses tradition but it falls short of crashing the wall of originality and eulogy.
A refreshingly diverse cast of characters thrown at the reader right from the beginning is a rather welcome start. You do get to follow different viewpoints but again none eventually embark on a full development to be taken as seriously as hoped.
There are moments of recurring banality but very few and far between thankfully. Unfortunately all explanations tend to be rather chaotic and confused me to the point of not being able to appreciate the core of the story. And yet the big finale was such an amazing turning point - away from the repeating themes of similar novels - and elevated the book above the mass market productions of the time, and to a level of sensationalistic pleasure.
A Cold Blue Light lays some very interesting and unique cards on to the average table of haunted houses tradition but it falls short of crashing the wall of originality and eulogy.
A refreshingly diverse cast of characters thrown at the reader right from the beginning is a rather welcome start. You do get to follow different viewpoints but again none eventually embark on a full development to be taken as seriously as hoped.
There are moments of recurring banality but very few and far between thankfully. Unfortunately all explanations tend to be rather chaotic and confused me to the point of not being able to appreciate the core of the story. And yet the big finale was such an amazing turning point - away from the repeating themes of similar novels - and elevated the book above the mass market productions of the time, and to a level of sensationalistic pleasure.
January 14, 2009
Sorry Michael!
I liked this one, but I definitely liked Hell House and The Haunting of Hill House better.
I liked this one, but I definitely liked Hell House and The Haunting of Hill House better.
September 1, 2016
This is my favorite haunted house novel of all time . The only two that even come close are " The Haunting " by Shirley Jackson and " The Legend of Hell House " by Richard Matheson .
my-horror-books
May 8, 2018Read and read but found the writing to be very disjointed. One star for effort.
June 7, 2024
I was in the mood for a spooky novel and picked this up off my shelf. It is a beautiful book that shimmers blue.
I enjoyed the characters and their struggles and successes. Loved the ending! Really good, fun, fast read. Not too scary but nothing really ever is for me. I keep looking!
I enjoyed the characters and their struggles and successes. Loved the ending! Really good, fun, fast read. Not too scary but nothing really ever is for me. I keep looking!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews