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White and Other Tales of Ruin
From Jack Ketchum's introduction: "These stories are meant to chill you, to hurt you, and they will. But they’ll do so for the right reasons. They’ll do so because of the people ... In each one all hell’s broken loose, something terrible has happened and something in the world is winding down. But that doesn’t mean the human spirit’s winding down. Far from it. That’s where the stories get their teeth from and why they hurt ... He will not insult your intelligence. He will not betray you with cheap tricks just to force you to follow in his direction. And most importantly, he will honor your heart ..."
344 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 1999
7 people are currently reading
494 people want to read
About the author
Tim Lebbon
298 books1,547 followersI love writing, reading, triathlon, real ale, chocolate, good movies, occasional bad movies, and cake.
I was born in London in 1969, lived in Devon until I was eight, and the next twenty years were spent in Newport. My wife Tracey and I then did a Good Thing and moved back to the country, and we now live in the little village of Goytre in Monmouthshire with our kids Ellie and Daniel. And our dog, Blu, who is the size of a donkey.
I love the countryside ... I do a lot of running and cycling, and live in the best part of the world for that.
I've had loads of books published in the UK, USA, and around the world, including novels, novellas, and collections. I write horror, fantasy, and now thrillers, and I've been writing as a living for over 8 years. I've won quite a few awards for my original fiction, and I've also written tie-in projects for Star Wars, Alien, Hellboy, The Cabin in the Woods, and 30 Days of Night.
A movie's just been made of my short story Pay the Ghost, starring Nicolas Cage and Sarah Wayne Callies. There are other projects in development, too.
I'd love to hear from you!
I was born in London in 1969, lived in Devon until I was eight, and the next twenty years were spent in Newport. My wife Tracey and I then did a Good Thing and moved back to the country, and we now live in the little village of Goytre in Monmouthshire with our kids Ellie and Daniel. And our dog, Blu, who is the size of a donkey.
I love the countryside ... I do a lot of running and cycling, and live in the best part of the world for that.
I've had loads of books published in the UK, USA, and around the world, including novels, novellas, and collections. I write horror, fantasy, and now thrillers, and I've been writing as a living for over 8 years. I've won quite a few awards for my original fiction, and I've also written tie-in projects for Star Wars, Alien, Hellboy, The Cabin in the Woods, and 30 Days of Night.
A movie's just been made of my short story Pay the Ghost, starring Nicolas Cage and Sarah Wayne Callies. There are other projects in development, too.
I'd love to hear from you!
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 6, 2015
Jack Ketchum introduces this collection and serves us up some fine opening lines by Lebbon. I could not wait to read this collection! While most of these stories could be considered horror, they all surpass genre expectations.
"White" begins with the line, "We found the first body two days before Christmas." This first long story, an ode to the apocalypse, to claustrophobia, to sorrow, to humanity's past, opens as 5 people fight strange and deadly creatures who don't just inhabit the snow but seem to be made of it.
In "From Bad Flesh" Lebbon navigates us through a tale of disease and violence in a Ruined world, and one man's journey to an impossible cure as he watches everything fall apart. Very well done--I loved this story! I loved the hope and the nonhope. I loved the ruin and the regeneration.
In "Hell", a man searches for horror in others' lives in order to feel better about his own. The plot features a really interesting idea I haven't seen done before. Very satisfying read.
From "The First Law": But there was nothing other than the island, and the strange, inbred mutated things living here. Survival of the fittest, Max had said. Perhaps God had been here and found himself severely wanting. Here, something else reigned supreme.
"The Origin of Truth" and "Mannequin Man and The Plastic Bitch" are more scifi but with all the same tones of a Ruined world.
All in all, Lebbon's writing is engrossing and he has the ability to create a total vision of whatever it is he's writing about. They all worked as short stories but I feel like they were all fleshed out and dynamic enough to have been full-length novel works as well.
This is some damn fine writing.
"White" begins with the line, "We found the first body two days before Christmas." This first long story, an ode to the apocalypse, to claustrophobia, to sorrow, to humanity's past, opens as 5 people fight strange and deadly creatures who don't just inhabit the snow but seem to be made of it.
In "From Bad Flesh" Lebbon navigates us through a tale of disease and violence in a Ruined world, and one man's journey to an impossible cure as he watches everything fall apart. Very well done--I loved this story! I loved the hope and the nonhope. I loved the ruin and the regeneration.
In "Hell", a man searches for horror in others' lives in order to feel better about his own. The plot features a really interesting idea I haven't seen done before. Very satisfying read.
From "The First Law": But there was nothing other than the island, and the strange, inbred mutated things living here. Survival of the fittest, Max had said. Perhaps God had been here and found himself severely wanting. Here, something else reigned supreme.
"The Origin of Truth" and "Mannequin Man and The Plastic Bitch" are more scifi but with all the same tones of a Ruined world.
All in all, Lebbon's writing is engrossing and he has the ability to create a total vision of whatever it is he's writing about. They all worked as short stories but I feel like they were all fleshed out and dynamic enough to have been full-length novel works as well.
This is some damn fine writing.
December 13, 2010
Very good but very depressing sextet of mostly apocalyptic tales. They are long and unrelenting and I had to take breaks after some of them to read other things. This was the second time I had read the title story; it's a modern classic.
February 1, 2010
There are two stories in here that will no doubt pop up in my nightmares at some point, one story that I loved and couldn't put down, and the rest are solid post apocalyptic fantasy/sci-fi tales. To me, this book is much scarier than more gory fiction that sets out to be horrific. Man.
February 10, 2008
"White" is one of the best novels I have ever read. I love the way the dread keeps mounting, page after page.
Joe McKinney
Joe McKinney
July 31, 2019
This book is a collection of six novellas, all by Lebbon. The stories are each centered around the disintegration of society and the sources of hope which people find. "White" and "From Bad Flesh" both exist in the same continuity, a world where the devastation is called the Ruin. Hence the title of the book. All of the stories are excellent, extremely well told. The chaos and horror of "Hell" and "Mannequin Man and the Plastic Bitch" was a bit much and could be considered overdone, but at the same time Clive Barker has described worse. I think they stand out because the other stories aren't quite as severe. If all the stories had been equally intense, I wouldn't have noticed.
"White" - A group of people are stuck in a house by never-ending snow and something out in the snow.
"From Bad Flesh" - A man hunts for a cure to a deadly virus while trying to keep his morality.
"Hell" - While trying to escape his feelings and depression over losing his daughter, a father finds his daughter.
"The First Law" - Five survivors of a boat crash land on an island that epitomizes Darwin's law.
"The Origin of Truth" - A family tries to escape the end of the world but discovers the knowledge of humanity.
"Mannequin Man and the Plastic Bitch" - Two artificial beings seek out love.
"White" - A group of people are stuck in a house by never-ending snow and something out in the snow.
"From Bad Flesh" - A man hunts for a cure to a deadly virus while trying to keep his morality.
"Hell" - While trying to escape his feelings and depression over losing his daughter, a father finds his daughter.
"The First Law" - Five survivors of a boat crash land on an island that epitomizes Darwin's law.
"The Origin of Truth" - A family tries to escape the end of the world but discovers the knowledge of humanity.
"Mannequin Man and the Plastic Bitch" - Two artificial beings seek out love.
October 1, 2008
What most people, myself included, forget is that even though there may be monsters, demons and boogeymen, horror is really just a mirror. Hold up any frightening tale or poem, examine it and what you get is the heart of mankind. The only difference between the works is the mirror’s clarity. Though all creators have their way with us, a really great author is not only able to tell a story, but can simultaneously reflect our own hearts. Tim Lebbon is not only an author, but he’s also a great writer.
Each plot is brutal and repugnant, yet beautiful and inspiring. All are distinctively original and as addictive as candy, but twice as dangerous. Perfect! The atmosphere suffocates you with the feel of madness and desperation. Weighing you down with a sense of complete annihilation. Lebbon’s style of writing is intimate, refined and above all else –cryptic. Instead of laying it all on the line, he gives you only enough to provide the blueprints, allowing the reader to create and build around their own aversions and fears.
The characters are by far Lebbon’s true gift. Besides giving his cast flesh and bone, he grants them emotional depth and fallibility. Creating players that you can identify with, envision in your life and just simply, understand. Each one seeming to represent an aspect of the author and the people close to him or at least that’s the image you get while reading. Each character is written as though the familiarity were expected, and should be received without question.
My rating? I give it a 5. Buy this book new … Now!!!
-As reviewed for Horror-Web.com
Each plot is brutal and repugnant, yet beautiful and inspiring. All are distinctively original and as addictive as candy, but twice as dangerous. Perfect! The atmosphere suffocates you with the feel of madness and desperation. Weighing you down with a sense of complete annihilation. Lebbon’s style of writing is intimate, refined and above all else –cryptic. Instead of laying it all on the line, he gives you only enough to provide the blueprints, allowing the reader to create and build around their own aversions and fears.
The characters are by far Lebbon’s true gift. Besides giving his cast flesh and bone, he grants them emotional depth and fallibility. Creating players that you can identify with, envision in your life and just simply, understand. Each one seeming to represent an aspect of the author and the people close to him or at least that’s the image you get while reading. Each character is written as though the familiarity were expected, and should be received without question.
My rating? I give it a 5. Buy this book new … Now!!!
-As reviewed for Horror-Web.com
November 7, 2016
https://anaslair.wordpress.com/2016/1...
White is a very bleak, end of the world novella.
For the most part, I felt the prose engaging. Some descriptions were beautiful, even if sad.
As events begin unfolding, I thought it odd that the main character would not be more horrified,but on the other hand it makes sense if you consider the resignated frame of mind he was already in by that point. Still, I wish I could have felt more connected to him and the other characters.
Some things did not make much sense though, like
I could not help feeling disappointed about the ending but I suppose it was fitting.
White is not a tale for everyone. There is horror, sadness and despair, and hope and happiness are distant notions. If you feel you can deal with the desolate feeling it will imbue in you, I recommend it.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
White is a very bleak, end of the world novella.
For the most part, I felt the prose engaging. Some descriptions were beautiful, even if sad.
As events begin unfolding, I thought it odd that the main character would not be more horrified,but on the other hand it makes sense if you consider the resignated frame of mind he was already in by that point. Still, I wish I could have felt more connected to him and the other characters.
Some things did not make much sense though, like
I could not help feeling disappointed about the ending but I suppose it was fitting.
White is not a tale for everyone. There is horror, sadness and despair, and hope and happiness are distant notions. If you feel you can deal with the desolate feeling it will imbue in you, I recommend it.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
December 1, 2007
A group of short stories that were wonderful! Perfectly macabre and intense. I read a lot of horror and it takes a lot to impress me, this book succeeded.
January 30, 2008
White is one of the best horror novellas ever written. Right up there with stuff like The Mist.
March 26, 2008
Meet Tim Lebbon, he'll scare the crap out of you...sometimes.
February 8, 2018
Signed (Lebbon, Ketchum, Caniglia) limited (150 copies) edition ISBN: 1892389312
Six novella-length stories, mostly linked to 'the Ruin' (a somewhat vague amalgam of environmental, psychological, health catastrophes busily destroying civilisation) but with a couple that are more distanced. The title story has possibly supernatural elements; the last story is set in a future (walled) city inhabited by people with extreme body modifications, together with artificial people.
Some disturbing ideas here, not entirely implausible in the main. Not too comfortable but the writing is clear and readable.
Six novella-length stories, mostly linked to 'the Ruin' (a somewhat vague amalgam of environmental, psychological, health catastrophes busily destroying civilisation) but with a couple that are more distanced. The title story has possibly supernatural elements; the last story is set in a future (walled) city inhabited by people with extreme body modifications, together with artificial people.
Some disturbing ideas here, not entirely implausible in the main. Not too comfortable but the writing is clear and readable.
February 10, 2017
This short story collection starts of with a bang in "The White". This is a very cinematic story that details a group of people huddled up in a snowed-in house, while the earth is dying off by a plague. It's a fun action ride. The imagery from this story is top notch, and I still think about this story even a couple of weeks after I have read it.
The other stories, mostly all horror, all follow along the same path: ruin, death, and hopelessness. One story was out of place in this collection "Mannequin Man and the Plastic Bitch", but it didn't matter as this was great fun; and I felt like I was in a Blade Runner movie. And I''l admit I fel that there was one bad story, because the plot was very weak in "The First Law." But, the atmosphere of the story was still fun, so it wasn't a total waste.
I can say without question, though, this is a great read. There were some pretty original ideas in this collection, and all of the stories are very memorable. Thumbs up!
The other stories, mostly all horror, all follow along the same path: ruin, death, and hopelessness. One story was out of place in this collection "Mannequin Man and the Plastic Bitch", but it didn't matter as this was great fun; and I felt like I was in a Blade Runner movie. And I''l admit I fel that there was one bad story, because the plot was very weak in "The First Law." But, the atmosphere of the story was still fun, so it wasn't a total waste.
I can say without question, though, this is a great read. There were some pretty original ideas in this collection, and all of the stories are very memorable. Thumbs up!
March 1, 2014
What? Only 9 reviews and 76 ratings? This collection is amazing, AMAZING, and sadly not very known.
6 stories that are all more or less post-apocalyptic and more or less connected to a devastating event named the Ruin, and they are all incredibly imaginative, disturbing, shocking, insightful and a pure pleasure to read. You might need to take breaks between them since they will get to you but there is nothing wrong with breathing this book in slowly and deeply.
I want to praise this collection so much and have a hard time finding the right, appropriate words, simply, more people need to read this, you guys are all depriving yourselves of some terrific writing and storytelling by not knowing about Lebbon. Because he is that good, his words are so beautiful and his tales so fascinating, they are scary but not in the hide-under-covers sense scary (though there are moments of that), they will stir up the dark, elemental fears in you. Yes, read them.
My favorite is probably "Hell", my least liked "The First Law" which still catches 3.5* easily, no doubt this a 5* as a whole.
6 stories that are all more or less post-apocalyptic and more or less connected to a devastating event named the Ruin, and they are all incredibly imaginative, disturbing, shocking, insightful and a pure pleasure to read. You might need to take breaks between them since they will get to you but there is nothing wrong with breathing this book in slowly and deeply.
I want to praise this collection so much and have a hard time finding the right, appropriate words, simply, more people need to read this, you guys are all depriving yourselves of some terrific writing and storytelling by not knowing about Lebbon. Because he is that good, his words are so beautiful and his tales so fascinating, they are scary but not in the hide-under-covers sense scary (though there are moments of that), they will stir up the dark, elemental fears in you. Yes, read them.
My favorite is probably "Hell", my least liked "The First Law" which still catches 3.5* easily, no doubt this a 5* as a whole.
January 4, 2013
3.5 stars:
I'm a big fan of Tim Lebbon, so I was really excited about this collection of novellas and short stories. What I didn't know going in was that they all have a common thread centering around The Ruin -- a series of vague events that warp the Earth into a realm of nightmares. The stories are otherwise disconnected, but together they paint a grim and interesting picture of the planet gone bad.
Like most collections, this was a bit hit and miss. The earlier novellas were the best, with "White" and "The First Law" at the top of the list. Sadly, the two stories new to this collection were my least favorite, especially since "Hell" is the longest in the collection. The ideas for all the stories are interesting, but "Hell" and "Mannequin Man" just didn't grab me like the others.
I'd say 2 of the stories were 4 stars, 2 were 3.5, and 2 were 3, so it's definitely worth a read, but it doesn't hold a candle to Dusk.
I'm a big fan of Tim Lebbon, so I was really excited about this collection of novellas and short stories. What I didn't know going in was that they all have a common thread centering around The Ruin -- a series of vague events that warp the Earth into a realm of nightmares. The stories are otherwise disconnected, but together they paint a grim and interesting picture of the planet gone bad.
Like most collections, this was a bit hit and miss. The earlier novellas were the best, with "White" and "The First Law" at the top of the list. Sadly, the two stories new to this collection were my least favorite, especially since "Hell" is the longest in the collection. The ideas for all the stories are interesting, but "Hell" and "Mannequin Man" just didn't grab me like the others.
I'd say 2 of the stories were 4 stars, 2 were 3.5, and 2 were 3, so it's definitely worth a read, but it doesn't hold a candle to Dusk.
September 29, 2016
The copy I received from the publisher only included the story "White" and an excerpt from another story, so this review only pertains to that.
Although the writing was good, I found the storyline a bit predictable. A handful of people are trapped in a crumbling mansion being preyed upon by something scary. The characters were somewhat flat and I didn't feel empathy for them, so I wasn't as affected by the horror as I might have been.
I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Although the writing was good, I found the storyline a bit predictable. A handful of people are trapped in a crumbling mansion being preyed upon by something scary. The characters were somewhat flat and I didn't feel empathy for them, so I wasn't as affected by the horror as I might have been.
I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
October 4, 2016
I received White from NetGalley in return for an honest review. White is part of a larger novella which was NOT part of the NetGalley arc, so I can only review this portion. Several people are snow bound in an old mansion after a major apocalyptic event. One by one, they are being gruesomely killed by an unknown terror that lurks out in the snow. What is it that is just out of sight? A riveting and scary story of something that goes bump - in the white.
October 7, 2016
"We found the first body two days before Christmas."
An amazing, scary novella perfect for a winter's evening.
Five people are holed up in an old house after some catastrophic event that has seen England (maybe the world) covered in snow.
As well as having to cope with all that there seems to be strange shapes swirling about in the snow, then people start dying
A truly unsettling story beautifully written.
An amazing, scary novella perfect for a winter's evening.
Five people are holed up in an old house after some catastrophic event that has seen England (maybe the world) covered in snow.
As well as having to cope with all that there seems to be strange shapes swirling about in the snow, then people start dying
A truly unsettling story beautifully written.
June 14, 2014
An amazing collection of novellas by Tim Lebbon, as always he excels on the shorter format. I particularly enjoyed White, The Origin of Truth and Mannequin Man and the Plastic Bitch although they are all quite good, the Night Shade edition is a beauty, hard to find but worth the effort and money. The title story alone makes the book worthwhile, much recommended.
August 30, 2014
I liked some of the stories more than others; there was nothing completely unexpected, but they are all well written. And I enjoyed the section at the end when the author explained where he got (or didn't get) the ideas for each story.
October 14, 2009
Gripping, poignant, scary and brutal, this is a landmark tale in the career of Tim Lebbon and it works beautifully. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews