What do you think?
Rate this book
You Come When I Call You
The high desert town of Palmetto, California, has turned toxic after twenty years of nightmares --
In Los Angeles, a woman is tormented by visions from a horrifying past, and a man steps into a house of torture...
-- On the steps of a church called The Sacrament of the Sacred Heart, a young woman has been sacrificed in a ritual of darkness...
-- In New York, a cab driver dreams awake of the territory of demons -- And an old friend who calls himself the Desolation Angel has returned to draw them back to their hometown...
Where, two decades earlier, three boys committed the most brutal of rituals, an act of such intense savagery that it has ripped apart their minds -- where an entire town burned against a scarlet sunset -- And where, in a cavern in a place called No Man's Land, something has been waiting a long time for those who stole something more precious than life itself.
In Los Angeles, a woman is tormented by visions from a horrifying past, and a man steps into a house of torture...
-- On the steps of a church called The Sacrament of the Sacred Heart, a young woman has been sacrificed in a ritual of darkness...
-- In New York, a cab driver dreams awake of the territory of demons -- And an old friend who calls himself the Desolation Angel has returned to draw them back to their hometown...
Where, two decades earlier, three boys committed the most brutal of rituals, an act of such intense savagery that it has ripped apart their minds -- where an entire town burned against a scarlet sunset -- And where, in a cavern in a place called No Man's Land, something has been waiting a long time for those who stole something more precious than life itself.
363 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2000
143 people are currently reading
672 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
January 1, 2013
By far my favorite Clegg book, and one of my favorite horror books of all time. I was kind of stunned to see how many people didn't like it here, but that's what personal taste is for I guess. It IS dark, very dark, and oh so harsh, but it doesn't put me off like "torture porn" movies or books do- the gore and violence came out of story and characters here for me, so I didn't see it as gratuitous. To each his own, but I recommend this book all the time, and am doing so again here.
September 17, 2010
I can deal with a good amount of nasty guts and gore when I am interested in a story, or if a book is particularly imaginative and well written. Sometime during the first hundred pages I had guessed the ending, so there wasn't suspense to keep me interested. This is my first, and probably only Clegg novel, so I don't know how well written his other books are. In this book he seemed to employ a stream-of-consciousness writing style that I tire of very quickly and makes me think "Holy run-on sentences, Batman!"
If you want to read a nasty book that's imaginative and well-written, pick up a Clive Barker novel. If you like the "kids dealing with evil in a small town" idea, pick up Summer of Night by Dan Simmons. I wouldn't really recommend this unless you are just a huge fan of demon stories with cannibalism.
If you want to read a nasty book that's imaginative and well-written, pick up a Clive Barker novel. If you like the "kids dealing with evil in a small town" idea, pick up Summer of Night by Dan Simmons. I wouldn't really recommend this unless you are just a huge fan of demon stories with cannibalism.
January 22, 2018
Unfortunately, I found this a chore to read.
January 1, 2016
Too long
I found myself losing interest in this book rapidly. I became quite bored with the whole thing. I just kept on looking at how much I had left to read. I've been reading and watching horror movies for 40 some years and this wasn't horror to me. If I would have been frightened from it I could tell you why it frightened me, since I was so bored by it it's hard to explain why. I guess too much "drooling" was going on. Somebody somewhere was drooling, then there were the lizards, here there and everywhere. I couldn't picture any of his characters. In fact, I kinda lost track of them. Could be perhaps I've become a bit jaded. I'm glad others enjoyed it though!
I found myself losing interest in this book rapidly. I became quite bored with the whole thing. I just kept on looking at how much I had left to read. I've been reading and watching horror movies for 40 some years and this wasn't horror to me. If I would have been frightened from it I could tell you why it frightened me, since I was so bored by it it's hard to explain why. I guess too much "drooling" was going on. Somebody somewhere was drooling, then there were the lizards, here there and everywhere. I couldn't picture any of his characters. In fact, I kinda lost track of them. Could be perhaps I've become a bit jaded. I'm glad others enjoyed it though!
April 15, 2016
Better than I expected. The novel's flaws turned out to be mostly the result of poor copy editing and typesetting (many, many typos throughout in the paperback edition I read). Clegg sprinkles the story with lots of pop-culture references preceding chapters, and in many other ways Stephen King's influence shines through, but when you get down to the actual story, it's pretty good. This is a horror novel through and through; there is very little page space given to any aspect of the characters' lives other than the horrific events they have in common. For that reason, characterization suffers a bit; the characters are serviceable, but not as three-dimensional as I would have liked.
October 27, 2014
It was a horror novel alright
Actually it was a horror OF a novel. I must not be bright enough to follow books about spirits and demons and death.(although I have read Koontz, Crouch, King, and many, MANY others) maybe I should adapt what my AMAZING grandmother taught me and if I can't say something nice, not to say anything at all. But she would have hated this book too.
Actually it was a horror OF a novel. I must not be bright enough to follow books about spirits and demons and death.(although I have read Koontz, Crouch, King, and many, MANY others) maybe I should adapt what my AMAZING grandmother taught me and if I can't say something nice, not to say anything at all. But she would have hated this book too.
April 18, 2016
I hated this book, but finished it to the end, had to see how it wrapped up. Had this been the first Clegg book I read, I would have never picked up another by this author. I guess we all have good days and bad days.
January 28, 2017
Was excited about this book because I have liked cleggs other books but it didn't pass my 10% rule (if I don't care about any of these people and/or don't know what is going on by 10% through, I'm out). I just couldn't get into it.
January 31, 2017
I forced myself to finish this book. Too many characters, none of which I liked, and a back-and-forth plot that just dragged on and on. And enough with the green goo; it wasn't scary.
November 17, 2018
Some authors can be dark and visceral in their writings and I am all for it as long as it serves to further the story. Clegg knows what buttons to push and what will make you squirm, but this one is rife with typos and could be a little shorter. Some of the chapters seemed to drag on with no point but to serve some possible lead into a sequel. I will give him my "second book chance" and maybe a re-read later on but overall a solid three stars for the dark theme that is not for the squeamish.
March 5, 2017
Content-wise, this is a very fun horror story. Clegg mixes some old tropes with novel ideas and tells a compelling story.
I do have some issues with how the Kindle version was put together. It's pretty clear that the original text was just scanned in with little proofreading, because there are numerous errors that no proofreader worth their salt would allow to slip through. While I can forgive the occasional typo or grammatical error, the frequency with which they occur here, and the fact that the problem is clearly in how the book was turned in to an ebook (rather than issues with the original text), really drags me out of the story.
I do have some issues with how the Kindle version was put together. It's pretty clear that the original text was just scanned in with little proofreading, because there are numerous errors that no proofreader worth their salt would allow to slip through. While I can forgive the occasional typo or grammatical error, the frequency with which they occur here, and the fact that the problem is clearly in how the book was turned in to an ebook (rather than issues with the original text), really drags me out of the story.
September 2, 2007
This book was one of the most unique, individual, and bizarre things I've ever read. You don't find the typical vampires, werewolves, or ghosts in this one, nor do you find the average demon or demonic-possession. The first time I read it, I went through fast, and I thought, "Hm...it was okay." But I went through it again recently, and it really took me by surprise of how deep it is. The pain the four main characters endured, how reality, dreams and insanity blended into one, and the craziness of humanity's greed and want that brought an end to an entire town...this book is really intense!
July 25, 2010
Clegg is a good writer, great at atmosphere. While I enjoyed what he did with this book, the themes he played with, I imagine many readers never finished it. This book started out very confusingly, slipping between various characters who weren't always named and jumping time periods. Honestly, I had no idea what was going on until about halfway through the book; but then I was hooked.
If you tried to read this and gave up, give it another go.
If you tried to read this and gave up, give it another go.
May 15, 2017
Quite gruesome
Douglas Clegg is a terrific author. He is very imaginative, and his way with words is absolutely beautiful, even when describing hideous things. I am a great fan of his. However, this particular book I did not really care for. I thought is was rather drawn out, and I did not really care for the plot. Also for an extremely talented author, I thought there were far too many typos.
Douglas Clegg is a terrific author. He is very imaginative, and his way with words is absolutely beautiful, even when describing hideous things. I am a great fan of his. However, this particular book I did not really care for. I thought is was rather drawn out, and I did not really care for the plot. Also for an extremely talented author, I thought there were far too many typos.
January 21, 2015
I was confused the entire way through this book. I continued to read it because I don't believe in not finishing what I start (unless it is really bad) I would think I had it figured out and NOPE I was wrong! So I thought at the end of the book it would clear everything up and I could wash my hands of it. It didn't. Sorry Mr Clegg but this is not one of your better reads!!
October 9, 2017
Not a fan. Difficult to follow.
Much of the narration was intended to be the thoughts and observations of the characters whose minds are being infiltrated by demonic forces. However, it was done in such a way that it was a challenge to follow what was going on. I had to read slowly and often re-read to stay on track and sometimes I was still lost.
Much of the narration was intended to be the thoughts and observations of the characters whose minds are being infiltrated by demonic forces. However, it was done in such a way that it was a challenge to follow what was going on. I had to read slowly and often re-read to stay on track and sometimes I was still lost.
November 25, 2012
This is the second Clegg book I've read, and while I dig his style of storytelling, I thought this book started out strong, but kind of lost its way, as did I, as the plot unraveled. And there's a lot of talk about "demon juice" which is just odd.
June 17, 2013
Could not even finish this after making it two-thirds of the way through... Forcing myself to continue.... Just a horribly written story.
December 13, 2015
Dull
I found this book to just drag on and on with no real plot. Maybe it gets better further in but I only got to 12%
I found this book to just drag on and on with no real plot. Maybe it gets better further in but I only got to 12%
July 14, 2017
Fairly Formulaic Horror
I'm had a hard time finishing this one, and I'm normally a fan of Clegg's work. Overlong, and a bit cliched, this is one of his least enjoyable novels.
I'm had a hard time finishing this one, and I'm normally a fan of Clegg's work. Overlong, and a bit cliched, this is one of his least enjoyable novels.
November 16, 2018
TRIGGER WARNING: There are descriptions of extreme horror that are not suitable for all readers. Not everyone is comfortable with humans consuming or killing other humans in explicit very detailed ways. Even when sometimes the humans are or might be demons. And what do demons look like? This novel has descriptions of demons that should not be read close to meal times although snacks during reading are up to a reader’s queasiness quotient. Sexual language is surprisingly minimal; horror, gore, and violence are at maximum throttle.
You Come When I Call You by Douglas Clegg is described as a novel of supernatural horror. That is the author’s description. I think it is a novel of extreme supernatural horror and is one of the best novels of this genre that I have read in many years (and this is my favorite genre). It has many recommendations from well-established authors in this genre which, strangely, kept me from reading it earlier. I hate to be disappointed when a novel does not live up to recommendations from my favorite authors. This novel does not disappoint. I gave the novel five Amazon stars and highly recommend it. It is good on so many levels it was hard for me to review.
I highlight items I know I want to comment on in a review. With this novel, I may have highlighted one-quarter of the book. I marked interesting characters, scene descriptions, plots and subplots, humor, reflections on the nature of existence, and writing excerpts I thought were exceptionally well done. In parts of the novel, scenes shift rapidly between characters or between past and present. Some “segments” may only have five to ten lines before moving on an entirely different setting. This makes for a fast-paced novel that is not confusing if the reader pays attention. I found the high level of suspense as I waited for humans to morph into demons and vice versa exhausting. I could not finish this in one day, something I normally do for a novel of this size. When I read something exceptional, I would stop to appreciate it. It took me three days to read this story.
This novel has so many twists and turns that almost everything could be considered a spoiler. Here is the briefest description I can come up with that I think doesn’t contain spoilers:
The time is the teenage years. Wendy is beautiful and voraciously promiscuous because she feels once she has had sex with a boy, she owns him. The ownership is complete and includes the soul because Wendy is part human and part demon. Once under Wendy’s control, the boy (and later, the man) will always feel compelled to answer her call and perform whatever actions she requires. A lot of what she requires involves human sacrifice so all the males she enslaves must kill people like their friends, family, and neighbors. Any women friends her male captives might be involved with are also under Wendy’s control, such as the almost innocent Alison, girlfriend of Peter, and co-conspirator in a plot with Charles and Nathaniel (Tan) to either kill Wendy or eliminate her power to control them.
Wendy’s ambition goes further than the control of a few individuals. She is not an independent actor. She may be a lead element in a world domination scheme. Where did Wendy come from? The answer to this question is one of the fascinating subplots of the novel. It is also why the novel ranges in time from the origins of each of the main characters, their teenage years, and then their adult years when they are called by Wendy to return to her and give back something they had stolen from her. The novel has grim stories of dysfunctional families in abusive relationships, incest, matricide, fratricide, suspected and real mental disorders, wayward priests, and unbelieving (but wanting to believe) doctors.
The Epilogue deserves a note of its own. One would think the horror had run its course. There was some sort of a conclusion. The epilogue is there to make us feel good. Readers know that this is not quite true as “the old man” makes an off-the-cuff- remark, “We never find what we look for, Peter. That would mean death. The journey never ends.” (Kindle Location 6372). At this point, readers should read further.
The novel is 486 pages and I suggest readers who like this genre check out the Amazon page for recommendations by other authors. The list is impressive. The number of characters at the beginning of the novel might be a challenge but the Kindle edition has the X-ray feature which is quite helpful in keeping the relationships straight.
This is one of my favorite novels of this reading year. Given that it is November, it ranks high among a lot of reads.
You Come When I Call You by Douglas Clegg is described as a novel of supernatural horror. That is the author’s description. I think it is a novel of extreme supernatural horror and is one of the best novels of this genre that I have read in many years (and this is my favorite genre). It has many recommendations from well-established authors in this genre which, strangely, kept me from reading it earlier. I hate to be disappointed when a novel does not live up to recommendations from my favorite authors. This novel does not disappoint. I gave the novel five Amazon stars and highly recommend it. It is good on so many levels it was hard for me to review.
I highlight items I know I want to comment on in a review. With this novel, I may have highlighted one-quarter of the book. I marked interesting characters, scene descriptions, plots and subplots, humor, reflections on the nature of existence, and writing excerpts I thought were exceptionally well done. In parts of the novel, scenes shift rapidly between characters or between past and present. Some “segments” may only have five to ten lines before moving on an entirely different setting. This makes for a fast-paced novel that is not confusing if the reader pays attention. I found the high level of suspense as I waited for humans to morph into demons and vice versa exhausting. I could not finish this in one day, something I normally do for a novel of this size. When I read something exceptional, I would stop to appreciate it. It took me three days to read this story.
This novel has so many twists and turns that almost everything could be considered a spoiler. Here is the briefest description I can come up with that I think doesn’t contain spoilers:
The time is the teenage years. Wendy is beautiful and voraciously promiscuous because she feels once she has had sex with a boy, she owns him. The ownership is complete and includes the soul because Wendy is part human and part demon. Once under Wendy’s control, the boy (and later, the man) will always feel compelled to answer her call and perform whatever actions she requires. A lot of what she requires involves human sacrifice so all the males she enslaves must kill people like their friends, family, and neighbors. Any women friends her male captives might be involved with are also under Wendy’s control, such as the almost innocent Alison, girlfriend of Peter, and co-conspirator in a plot with Charles and Nathaniel (Tan) to either kill Wendy or eliminate her power to control them.
Wendy’s ambition goes further than the control of a few individuals. She is not an independent actor. She may be a lead element in a world domination scheme. Where did Wendy come from? The answer to this question is one of the fascinating subplots of the novel. It is also why the novel ranges in time from the origins of each of the main characters, their teenage years, and then their adult years when they are called by Wendy to return to her and give back something they had stolen from her. The novel has grim stories of dysfunctional families in abusive relationships, incest, matricide, fratricide, suspected and real mental disorders, wayward priests, and unbelieving (but wanting to believe) doctors.
The Epilogue deserves a note of its own. One would think the horror had run its course. There was some sort of a conclusion. The epilogue is there to make us feel good. Readers know that this is not quite true as “the old man” makes an off-the-cuff- remark, “We never find what we look for, Peter. That would mean death. The journey never ends.” (Kindle Location 6372). At this point, readers should read further.
The novel is 486 pages and I suggest readers who like this genre check out the Amazon page for recommendations by other authors. The list is impressive. The number of characters at the beginning of the novel might be a challenge but the Kindle edition has the X-ray feature which is quite helpful in keeping the relationships straight.
This is one of my favorite novels of this reading year. Given that it is November, it ranks high among a lot of reads.
November 9, 2018
I have read Douglas Clegg before. I have enjoyed his books, but this one was awful.
It starts by being confusing, where you are not sure of who is saying what, but obviously something horrible has happened.
Then you jump 20 years into the future. And the sentences and paragraphs run on and on forever.
Their are no characters I liked, the dialogue was terrible and it appears Mr. Clegg got paid by the word her or had a contract to deliver a 75,000 word book, so he dragged on with never ending sentences, that completely killed any continuity
And worst of all... a not scary horror story.
It starts by being confusing, where you are not sure of who is saying what, but obviously something horrible has happened.
Then you jump 20 years into the future. And the sentences and paragraphs run on and on forever.
Their are no characters I liked, the dialogue was terrible and it appears Mr. Clegg got paid by the word her or had a contract to deliver a 75,000 word book, so he dragged on with never ending sentences, that completely killed any continuity
And worst of all... a not scary horror story.
February 27, 2019
Imagine Stephen King's IT set in the high desert.
As teenagers, they fought a horrible evil. They thought they killed it, but were wrong. As adults, it is calling them back to the remains of a desert town to finally finish the battle.
You Come When I Call You bounces from past to present, and even mixes first and third person, present and past tense, to tell a broad but intimate story of an evil that invests a small desert time. Great characters, enough mythology to pull you in but not be overwhelming, and a mounting sense of dread.
As teenagers, they fought a horrible evil. They thought they killed it, but were wrong. As adults, it is calling them back to the remains of a desert town to finally finish the battle.
You Come When I Call You bounces from past to present, and even mixes first and third person, present and past tense, to tell a broad but intimate story of an evil that invests a small desert time. Great characters, enough mythology to pull you in but not be overwhelming, and a mounting sense of dread.
January 4, 2019
What if?
Like no demon story I have ever read, it was a chaotic ride that cannot be explained. It is definitely a book that makes you think and leaves you slightly speechless. I can see why some people found it a hard read, it was but only because it felt like you where entrenched in the darkness right along with the characters. Very disturbing.
Like no demon story I have ever read, it was a chaotic ride that cannot be explained. It is definitely a book that makes you think and leaves you slightly speechless. I can see why some people found it a hard read, it was but only because it felt like you where entrenched in the darkness right along with the characters. Very disturbing.
December 16, 2025
I am not one to stop reading a book after I get at least halfway through it, but this book was the exception to that. This book was so confusing I couldn't follow it. There was so much time jumping back and forth that you could barely tell who was thinking what half the time. I really wanted to like this book. I gave it a really fair chance but at some point its just not worth it to read
January 8, 2019
Found the storyline and characters very confusing at the outset and the jumping back and forth in time even more so. Usually enjoy horror books but found finishing this one a bit of a chore. At least the ending was reasonably satisfactory although predictable. Would only rate this as 4.5/10.
December 21, 2016
I admire what this book was trying to do. It wanted to be a grand work of generational evil. It got close but things just didn't quite jell. Still creepy, gory, and fun!
November 19, 2018
Mighty strange
November 18, 2019
A great horror book. I would recommend this book to anyone.
May 15, 2020
3.5 🌟
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews