What do you think?
Rate this book
Nailed by the Heart
The Stainforth family--Chris, Ruth and their young son, David--move into the ancient sea-fort in a nice little coastal town to begin a new life, to start fresh. At the time it seems like the perfect place to do it, so quiet, so secluded. But they have no way of knowing that they've moved into what was once a sacred site of an old religion. And that the old god is not dead--only waiting. Already the god's dark power has begun to spread, changing and polluting all that it touches. A hideous evil pervades the small town. Soon the dead no longer stay dead. When the power awakens the rotting crew of a ship that sank decades earlier, a nightmare of bloodshed and violence begins for the Stainforths, a nightmare that can end only with the ultimate sacrifice--death.
392 pages, Paperback
First published March 2, 1995
1 person is currently reading
283 people want to read
About the author
Simon Clark
212 books299 followersBorn, 20th April, 1958, Simon Clark is the author of such highly regarded horror novels as Nailed By The Heart, Blood Crazy, Darker, Vampyrrhic and The Fall, while his short stories have been collected in Blood & Grit and Salt Snake & Other Bloody Cuts. He has also written prose material for the internationally famous rock band U2.
Raised in a family of storytellers – family legend told of a stolen human skull buried beneath the Clark garage – he sold his first ghost story to a radio station in his teens. Before becoming a full-time writer he held a variety of day jobs, that have involved strawberry picking, supermarket shelf stacking, office work, and scripting video promos.
He lives with his wife and two children in mystical territory that lies on the border of Robin Hood country in England.
Raised in a family of storytellers – family legend told of a stolen human skull buried beneath the Clark garage – he sold his first ghost story to a radio station in his teens. Before becoming a full-time writer he held a variety of day jobs, that have involved strawberry picking, supermarket shelf stacking, office work, and scripting video promos.
He lives with his wife and two children in mystical territory that lies on the border of Robin Hood country in England.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 30, 2021
"The pumping engine had taken over..." The pumping engine that is life has ignited a new and appalling fecundity in dying, moldering things. The pumping engine that is death has created new forms for those held in its grasp, dead but now moving things. The pumping engine that is an ancient god, returned to its place of worship and sacrifice, ready to give these seaside villagers all that they dream and fear, in a ritual that is transactional, a power exchange between divine and mortal. The pumping engine that is the protagonist, a young father, his ambitions in overdrive, his sexuality accelerating as well, making a single meshing, pounding being of man and wife. The pumping engine that is the author Simon Clark, getting his career started with this first novel, his machinery already in working order, all of the recognizable parts and pieces - the empathy, the casually evocative prose, the excitingly bizarre ideas, pacing that moves from deliberate to jagged - already all assembled, his vehicle running smoothly from start to finish.
3.5 stars
3.5 stars
May 17, 2015
I enjoyed the atmospheric horror in the first half but it devolved into an action/adventure story. That makess two by this author that started well but ultimately disappointed. The first was Blood Crazy.
January 27, 2016
Nailed by the Heart is the first Simon Clark book published in the U.S. This English writer impressed me with Strangers and since then I have been picking up his novels whenever I find them. He can be a bit hit and miss and the main thing that suffers with his writing, from the three books I’ve read, is that sometimes plot holes can be ignored and things don’t always sum up well, but he gives his all in dishing out the goods in the horror genre. Here the plot is outlandish and fun, different enough to work for sure, and in the end almost everything is answered, yet a little mystery is left to let the imagination roam.
The novel is set in a small New England town where a close family Chris, Ruth, and their six year old son David have bought an old sea fort to convert into an inn for the tourist force that’s about to take grip of the town. Immediately they’re captivated by the place and its residents, feeling they’re welcomed with open arms. What they don’t know, though, is that the town is aware of an old religion around the fort that never quite died out, one where an ancient god is about to resurface. By the middle of the book, everyone is packed together trying to fight away forces of unrelenting terror pale, sadistic warriors that live in the sea and have now come to claim the power of the gods for themselves.
The plot is nothing rehashed and familiar, but instead is actually different and refreshing. The sea is used in horror lots of ways, but usually not quite like this. Having the small coast serve as a smorgasbord for undead killers and blood thirsty gods always makes unsettling reading. It starts strong and ends just as harshly, keeping the pace going. All characters are well written and enjoyable, where one cares what happens to them, especially the family with the sweet, endearing boy that doesn’t annoy. It’s filled with strange little clues of things to come, all ominous symbols of terror just beneath the surface, things the reader can’t possibly understand but that will all be explained eventually. By the center of the book, everyone is gathered together to try and fight the superhuman force, losing the battle every step of the way, with the outcome of losing equaling something much more horrible than just losing their lives.
Clark seems to love writing about end of the world scenarios, and his writing style is professional, eerie and unique. The atmosphere is fresh at times, you can almost breath in the New England air, but creepy as hell at other parts, with the white faced beings representing a mind-numbing threat. Clark does the wise thing by keeping the assailants mysterious and slow, even to the characters in the novel, and by only letting small smudges of information leak out about it, rather than immediate revelations. He also doesn’t focus only on the villains, but also on the god, the fort, the symbolism of dreams, the family structure, the hostility of differences between the townsmen, and of course growing friction erupting from claustrophobic surroundings. These always work together wonderfully to produce a powerful situation where one roots for the survivors more than anything else.
When violence does occur, it’s brutal and terrible, with the body count on the medium side. This book didn’t need more corpses, but it never shied away from the horrible encounters either. Suspense is greatly build in select scenes, with the characters portraying the right amount of terror, emotion, and grief. The end has a neat little twist that made me smile, wrapping up the book in an almost perfect way. The book combines mythology, religion, superstition, and modern day survival skills with a glowing result. If I had to say something bad about it, I’d say that sometimes a few things seemed forced along the way, but nothing that hurts the plot enough to bring it down a star. If you want to read a truly strange, wonderfully eerie creation, Nailed by the Heart is it.
The novel is set in a small New England town where a close family Chris, Ruth, and their six year old son David have bought an old sea fort to convert into an inn for the tourist force that’s about to take grip of the town. Immediately they’re captivated by the place and its residents, feeling they’re welcomed with open arms. What they don’t know, though, is that the town is aware of an old religion around the fort that never quite died out, one where an ancient god is about to resurface. By the middle of the book, everyone is packed together trying to fight away forces of unrelenting terror pale, sadistic warriors that live in the sea and have now come to claim the power of the gods for themselves.
The plot is nothing rehashed and familiar, but instead is actually different and refreshing. The sea is used in horror lots of ways, but usually not quite like this. Having the small coast serve as a smorgasbord for undead killers and blood thirsty gods always makes unsettling reading. It starts strong and ends just as harshly, keeping the pace going. All characters are well written and enjoyable, where one cares what happens to them, especially the family with the sweet, endearing boy that doesn’t annoy. It’s filled with strange little clues of things to come, all ominous symbols of terror just beneath the surface, things the reader can’t possibly understand but that will all be explained eventually. By the center of the book, everyone is gathered together to try and fight the superhuman force, losing the battle every step of the way, with the outcome of losing equaling something much more horrible than just losing their lives.
Clark seems to love writing about end of the world scenarios, and his writing style is professional, eerie and unique. The atmosphere is fresh at times, you can almost breath in the New England air, but creepy as hell at other parts, with the white faced beings representing a mind-numbing threat. Clark does the wise thing by keeping the assailants mysterious and slow, even to the characters in the novel, and by only letting small smudges of information leak out about it, rather than immediate revelations. He also doesn’t focus only on the villains, but also on the god, the fort, the symbolism of dreams, the family structure, the hostility of differences between the townsmen, and of course growing friction erupting from claustrophobic surroundings. These always work together wonderfully to produce a powerful situation where one roots for the survivors more than anything else.
When violence does occur, it’s brutal and terrible, with the body count on the medium side. This book didn’t need more corpses, but it never shied away from the horrible encounters either. Suspense is greatly build in select scenes, with the characters portraying the right amount of terror, emotion, and grief. The end has a neat little twist that made me smile, wrapping up the book in an almost perfect way. The book combines mythology, religion, superstition, and modern day survival skills with a glowing result. If I had to say something bad about it, I’d say that sometimes a few things seemed forced along the way, but nothing that hurts the plot enough to bring it down a star. If you want to read a truly strange, wonderfully eerie creation, Nailed by the Heart is it.
May 13, 2019
Simon Clark Nails It Again!!
Unravels at just the right pace and explodes absolutely on point. Great cast of characters, deliciously evil horrors and tension that sends you devouring the pages.
Unravels at just the right pace and explodes absolutely on point. Great cast of characters, deliciously evil horrors and tension that sends you devouring the pages.
February 17, 2010
Well, this was a pretty exciting thriller set on a North Sea beach. Towards the very end, it was definitely keeping me at the edge of my seat! There were, of course, some things that were left loosely explained, but overall it couldn't be done well any other way. I would read another book by this author for sure!
Interestingly, some of the descriptions were reminiscent of Davy Jones' crew from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, which makes me wonder if one of the special effects people read this book first, or if those descriptions originated elsewhere....
All in all, this was a summery beach thriller, and one that I wish that I had read on a beach vacation!
Interestingly, some of the descriptions were reminiscent of Davy Jones' crew from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, which makes me wonder if one of the special effects people read this book first, or if those descriptions originated elsewhere....
All in all, this was a summery beach thriller, and one that I wish that I had read on a beach vacation!
December 17, 2015
It's just ok. Read The Night Boat by McCammon. Much better....
December 12, 2019
I did enjoy this, but I felt the end was a little unrealistic. I guess that's probably not the right word, considering the book had supernatural undead monsters, zombies, a pagan god, and even an undead, mutant goldfish. So the whole thing wasn't "realistic" - In short, you really had to suspend your disbelief. I guess I just can't get my head around a completely happy ending. The "resurrection" of little David just seemed too unlikely. It was like the author wanted a happy ending so he was able to think of way to do that, but it doesn't really seem like it would have been a likely to end that way. The whole build-up of the story and the terrible situation made the ending feel "too good to be true." I kept waiting for a telltale paragraph that would say that things didn't really turn out well. That never came. Maybe I just have a dark mind, but still, the happy ending didn't feel right to me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 15, 2017
I had this book recommended & given to me & as I'm always on the lookout for "new" authors I had high hopes for it....sadly those hopes were dashed! For some reason, from the first chapter I didn't take to David or Chris & consequently didn't particularly care what happened to them.
By the time I reached page 107 (why do I remember that?!) I was ready to jack it in but instead battled to the end, though to be fair I skimmed it rather than "read" it! Not impressed.
By the time I reached page 107 (why do I remember that?!) I was ready to jack it in but instead battled to the end, though to be fair I skimmed it rather than "read" it! Not impressed.
November 18, 2021
I really enjoyed this one eventhough the title and the cover had folks asking me if I was reading a romance. Ha!
dnf
August 8, 2022Ppppffth!
June 13, 2013
Basic idea of this book is pretty simple. Family buys an old seafort located in a small coastal town, their dream is to turn it into a hotel. Needless to say the village is a little odd, populated with some rather eccentric characters. Things quickly start to get a little strange. The son is sacrificing his favorite toys to the waves. Massive plants are growing out of the walls and a chair seems to have sprouted new life. The people in the town start to get stranger, and the misshapen dead are coming forth from the ocean floor.
Actually, I don't care enough to really even go into extensive detail with this one. All you have to know is this, the townsfolk are trying to use the power of this returning god to fix all their problems, but they aren't alone in their desire. A group of terrorists are amongst the group that have arisen from their watery graves, and they too want this power to come back to the land of the living. The two groups face off, one group wins and the other side loses. The end.
Actually, I don't care enough to really even go into extensive detail with this one. All you have to know is this, the townsfolk are trying to use the power of this returning god to fix all their problems, but they aren't alone in their desire. A group of terrorists are amongst the group that have arisen from their watery graves, and they too want this power to come back to the land of the living. The two groups face off, one group wins and the other side loses. The end.
May 14, 2011
Nailed By the Heart is better as far as my Clark experiences go but I still did not find it good. I found it to be mediochre at best. It’s one of those books that has a great beginning but then unravels for me into a giant mess with only a scene here and there being interesting to me. Books involving drowning in any form always creep me out (John Saul’s The Unloved had a horrifying dead body in ocean scene) and this book had some “stay away from the shoreline” stuff, but nothing groundbreaking. Nothing special here but I’m sure fans of Simon Clark would like it. It is his first novel after all.
May 2, 2012
Simon Clark's debut. A sound horror story. I've a signed copy: to Dave 25th May 1995. That long ago? A few years earlier, when he wrote for the small press, I published one of his short stories in my magazine. He fully deserves his success.
May 13, 2010
I enjoyed this book. The "monsters" were creepy. The ending, however, was silly.
December 18, 2015
Clark's small town sea-side horror tale touches on Lovecraft styled traditional horror. Its not as clever or unnerving as Clark classics like 'Stranger' and 'Blood Crazy' yet still quite enjoyable.
April 14, 2008
Horror
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews