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December
In the twelfth-century ruins of the Abbey, it is said every stone was cemented in blood. On December 8, 1980, that blood will run again...
In the ruins of a haunted medieval abbey, four musicians hope to tap into the site's dark history. The experience almost destroys them. Years later, the original group is forced to return to the abbey, to confront the old evil they discovered.
Thirteen years ago on a cold December night, a rock band called The Philosophers Stone gathered in the ancient ruins of an abbey to record their new album.The evening ended in bloodshed and death. Now, the tapes from that fateful recording session have been released as The Black Album, and the scattered members of the band know it's time for a reunion. Time to return to that dark December night—for one final performance.
In the ruins of a haunted medieval abbey, four musicians hope to tap into the site's dark history. The experience almost destroys them. Years later, the original group is forced to return to the abbey, to confront the old evil they discovered.
Thirteen years ago on a cold December night, a rock band called The Philosophers Stone gathered in the ancient ruins of an abbey to record their new album.The evening ended in bloodshed and death. Now, the tapes from that fateful recording session have been released as The Black Album, and the scattered members of the band know it's time for a reunion. Time to return to that dark December night—for one final performance.
678 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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1006 people want to read
About the author
Phil Rickman
58 books805 followersPhil Rickman, also known under the pen names Thom Madley and Will Kingdom, was a British author of supernatural and mystery novels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
December 29, 2018
I discovered Phil Rickman, relatively recently, and thought the month of December would be the perfect time to listen to this stand alone book; particularly as it is read by Sean Barrett, one of my favourite Audible narrators (he reads the excellent Jackson Lamb/Slough House series, among other titles).
This begins on a December evening in 1980, when cult band, The Philosopher’s Stone, gather at a recording studio, based in the ruins of an Abbey to record an album. All of the member of the band have paranormal or ‘special’ qualities. The evening ends in horror and death, with one member of the band, Dave Riley, having a horrific vision of the murder of John Lennon, while another musician, Tom Storey, is involved in a car accident, in which his pregnant wife is killed.
The story then moves on to 1994, where all of those involved that evening, have separated – believing the tapes made that night have been destroyed. It is soon apparent that some of those involved have moved on better than others. Drummer, Lee Gibson, has found fame, while Dave Riley yearns for singer, Moira Cairns, and is followed by the spirit of Lennon, Tom Storey has retreated to a reclusive life in the country with daughter, Vanessa, and new wife, Shelley, and Simon St John has joined the Church and finds himself under the shadow the Abbey once again…
However, the nightmare of that night is about to re-visit them. The tapes still exist and their re-emergence causes horror, and destruction, to be unleashed. Gradually, all of those involved with the Abbey are pulled back into its orbit and the band are convinced to try to re-record the album again, under similar conditions. Will the results be as devastating as they were, the first time around?
This is a long, winding story, with lots of different characters, but Rickman is deft at keeping all of the various strands interesting – while Sean Barrett does a wonderful job at keeping all the characters separate and instantly identifiable. He also does an excellent John Lennon impression and, as a Beatles fan, I was pleased that Lennon’s character, and the events around his murder, was handled sensitively.
Rickman is a great writer, combining horror with humour – Simon St John, on viewing Tom Storey again, thinks his, “face looked like crumpled chip paper,” for example. The author cleverly combines scepticism about mysticism, with the real horror of dabbling in things not fully understood. One character, who delights in believing she has a ghost in the house, is struck almost dumb when she witnesses horrific images, after a dinner party with Tom Storey – yet, as an almost psychic groupie, is fascinated by the power of the events.
This is a novel in which there is real danger, real death, and fear, and in which most of the characters who are psychic (or whichever term you wish to use) would definitely prefer not to have these powers. These powers ruin relationships, lives and sleep. This is a dark, creepy listen; interspersed with snatches of music (in the Audible version) which gives a real flavour to the story. Overall, a great listen and I look forward to reading/listening to more Phil Rickman titles in 2019.
This begins on a December evening in 1980, when cult band, The Philosopher’s Stone, gather at a recording studio, based in the ruins of an Abbey to record an album. All of the member of the band have paranormal or ‘special’ qualities. The evening ends in horror and death, with one member of the band, Dave Riley, having a horrific vision of the murder of John Lennon, while another musician, Tom Storey, is involved in a car accident, in which his pregnant wife is killed.
The story then moves on to 1994, where all of those involved that evening, have separated – believing the tapes made that night have been destroyed. It is soon apparent that some of those involved have moved on better than others. Drummer, Lee Gibson, has found fame, while Dave Riley yearns for singer, Moira Cairns, and is followed by the spirit of Lennon, Tom Storey has retreated to a reclusive life in the country with daughter, Vanessa, and new wife, Shelley, and Simon St John has joined the Church and finds himself under the shadow the Abbey once again…
However, the nightmare of that night is about to re-visit them. The tapes still exist and their re-emergence causes horror, and destruction, to be unleashed. Gradually, all of those involved with the Abbey are pulled back into its orbit and the band are convinced to try to re-record the album again, under similar conditions. Will the results be as devastating as they were, the first time around?
This is a long, winding story, with lots of different characters, but Rickman is deft at keeping all of the various strands interesting – while Sean Barrett does a wonderful job at keeping all the characters separate and instantly identifiable. He also does an excellent John Lennon impression and, as a Beatles fan, I was pleased that Lennon’s character, and the events around his murder, was handled sensitively.
Rickman is a great writer, combining horror with humour – Simon St John, on viewing Tom Storey again, thinks his, “face looked like crumpled chip paper,” for example. The author cleverly combines scepticism about mysticism, with the real horror of dabbling in things not fully understood. One character, who delights in believing she has a ghost in the house, is struck almost dumb when she witnesses horrific images, after a dinner party with Tom Storey – yet, as an almost psychic groupie, is fascinated by the power of the events.
This is a novel in which there is real danger, real death, and fear, and in which most of the characters who are psychic (or whichever term you wish to use) would definitely prefer not to have these powers. These powers ruin relationships, lives and sleep. This is a dark, creepy listen; interspersed with snatches of music (in the Audible version) which gives a real flavour to the story. Overall, a great listen and I look forward to reading/listening to more Phil Rickman titles in 2019.
March 7, 2010
5++ stars
*All Time Favorite Book List*
On December 8 1980 a young band named The Philosopher's Stone gather inside the ruins of a 12th century Abbey, to record their debut album. But after one night, and a horrifying turn of events, the band members agree to never let the music they recorded there see the light of day...and to never see each other again.
13 years later, the story of that recording session has become the stuff of legend. And then those supposedly destroyed Abbey tapes...known as the Black Album...are discovered. Slowly, the scattered members of The Philosopher's Stone decide that they need to reunite for one more performance. Deciding to return to the Abbey and finish the album. But, the same sense of horror and dread that found them in 1980, is waiting for them.
This was the first book I ever read by Phil Rickman, and still (in my opinion) by far his best. The sense of dread and prickly fear that he creates in this book, is incredible. Having been a long time fan of horror novels, I can honestly say that I have never been so thoroughly unsettled and creeped out, as I was while reading this book.
I still can't understand why Phil Rickman is not more well known here in the states. He's definitely one of the best horror/thriller writers out there. Period. His great (but much more mainstream) Merrily Watkins mystery series is also worth checking out, but if you enjoy a good, old-fashioned scary story, you can't go wrong with this one.
*All Time Favorite Book List*
On December 8 1980 a young band named The Philosopher's Stone gather inside the ruins of a 12th century Abbey, to record their debut album. But after one night, and a horrifying turn of events, the band members agree to never let the music they recorded there see the light of day...and to never see each other again.
13 years later, the story of that recording session has become the stuff of legend. And then those supposedly destroyed Abbey tapes...known as the Black Album...are discovered. Slowly, the scattered members of The Philosopher's Stone decide that they need to reunite for one more performance. Deciding to return to the Abbey and finish the album. But, the same sense of horror and dread that found them in 1980, is waiting for them.
This was the first book I ever read by Phil Rickman, and still (in my opinion) by far his best. The sense of dread and prickly fear that he creates in this book, is incredible. Having been a long time fan of horror novels, I can honestly say that I have never been so thoroughly unsettled and creeped out, as I was while reading this book.
I still can't understand why Phil Rickman is not more well known here in the states. He's definitely one of the best horror/thriller writers out there. Period. His great (but much more mainstream) Merrily Watkins mystery series is also worth checking out, but if you enjoy a good, old-fashioned scary story, you can't go wrong with this one.
October 27, 2023
Several of Rickman's early novels are set in what could be called 'enchanted Wales', or what he calls the "Unseen world," and share some of the same characters, but they are not sequels. The plot of December revolves around one Max Goff, something of a cross between Richard Branson and Malcolm McLaren who made a lot of money producing punk albums in the 70s and 80s before turning to 'New Age' type things. He was the main character in his Curfew.
In December of 1980, Max Goff put together another band called The Philosopher’s Stone and had them record an LP in an old, ruined abbey in Wales. The 'catch' of this band was that all the members had some psychic ability; the only thing they really shared. The recording ended in total disaster, with some members freaking out and the most famous of them, Tom, the lead guitarist, accidently killing his pregnant wife in a car wreck as he fled the abbey studio. Needless to say, they never finished the project and went their own separate ways. After a brief (and mildly confusing) prologue of the 1980 recording session, the story picks up 14 years later.
Over the next 600 pages or so, Rickman oscillates among the four band members, with the stories of what they are doing now interspersed with flashbacks, both to the recording session and what they have done since then. Max Goff passed away (see Curfew for his story) and his recording empire was subsumed by another giant of the music industry. Some VPs in the new company obtained the tapes of the ill-fated Philosopher's Stone abbey sessions and essentially want to put the band back together to finish the session. Why exactly only becomes clear later on in the story, but at first, none of the band members want anything to do with it. All of them sensed something 'traumatic' to say the least at the abbey, something that occurred centuries ago (circa 1175) that reshaped their lives. Yet, in the end (and this is mildly spoilerly) they all agreed to give it another go. Why? They all thought they had to put something to rest to move on with their lives.
Pretty classic slow burn for sure as Rickman builds up the tension and introduces a large cast of supporting characters; besides the band members, we have several people from the record company, the families of the band members, the townies in the village close to the abbey and so forth. A big, complex tale for sure that ends in a bang. Although not as bad as, say, Irvine Walsh, the dialect takes some getting used to and can be hard going at times. While I liked this, it took quite a while to unfold. Also, one of the band members, Dave, seems haunted by John Lennon, believing he somehow foresaw his murder during the recording session and guilt tripped that he did not warn him. This side plot got really old after a while (the endless conversations between John and Dave). Still, if you like Rickman, you will enjoy this. I have given several of his novels a go, but have yet to be blown away. 3.5 slow stars!
In December of 1980, Max Goff put together another band called The Philosopher’s Stone and had them record an LP in an old, ruined abbey in Wales. The 'catch' of this band was that all the members had some psychic ability; the only thing they really shared. The recording ended in total disaster, with some members freaking out and the most famous of them, Tom, the lead guitarist, accidently killing his pregnant wife in a car wreck as he fled the abbey studio. Needless to say, they never finished the project and went their own separate ways. After a brief (and mildly confusing) prologue of the 1980 recording session, the story picks up 14 years later.
Over the next 600 pages or so, Rickman oscillates among the four band members, with the stories of what they are doing now interspersed with flashbacks, both to the recording session and what they have done since then. Max Goff passed away (see Curfew for his story) and his recording empire was subsumed by another giant of the music industry. Some VPs in the new company obtained the tapes of the ill-fated Philosopher's Stone abbey sessions and essentially want to put the band back together to finish the session. Why exactly only becomes clear later on in the story, but at first, none of the band members want anything to do with it. All of them sensed something 'traumatic' to say the least at the abbey, something that occurred centuries ago (circa 1175) that reshaped their lives. Yet, in the end (and this is mildly spoilerly) they all agreed to give it another go. Why? They all thought they had to put something to rest to move on with their lives.
Pretty classic slow burn for sure as Rickman builds up the tension and introduces a large cast of supporting characters; besides the band members, we have several people from the record company, the families of the band members, the townies in the village close to the abbey and so forth. A big, complex tale for sure that ends in a bang. Although not as bad as, say, Irvine Walsh, the dialect takes some getting used to and can be hard going at times. While I liked this, it took quite a while to unfold. Also, one of the band members, Dave, seems haunted by John Lennon, believing he somehow foresaw his murder during the recording session and guilt tripped that he did not warn him. This side plot got really old after a while (the endless conversations between John and Dave). Still, if you like Rickman, you will enjoy this. I have given several of his novels a go, but have yet to be blown away. 3.5 slow stars!
December 28, 2008
Rickman's books, especially the early ones, are somewhat hard to find here--I have to order used copies through Amazon Marketplace--and I don't know why. They're addictive. In this, I think his third novel, a promising rock band called The Philosopher's Stone tries to record an ambitious album in a ruined medieval abbey in Wales but tragedy and terror interrupt, the band breaks up, and 14 years later the record company rediscovers the tapes and tracks down the original band members to complete the project--in the same haunted abbey they had fled on Dec. 8th, 1980. That night is, of course, also infamous for the shooting of John Lennon, an event that obsesses one of the band members. Much of the horror is just that--the power of obsession, dreams and hallucinations heightened by the characters' fixations and their innate hyper-sensitivity. For the (rapacious, of course) music execs originally assembled these four musicians because of their psychic "powers," out of the hypothesis that their art would be far more intense than that of normal prosaic musicians, would absorb or channel the ancient studio's mystic atmosphere. But the abbey's stones are saturated with a history much more complex and violent than anyone would expect from an ordinary if holy monastic site, beginning with the legend of its founder, a monk converted from a life of crime after a divine vision.
OK, that's the premise. But the driving theme is (especially in metal and prog) rock music's own obsession with the occult, myth and legend, the morbid, macabre, and gothic--often campy or corny (even if not intentional--think of the lampoon "This Is Spinal Tap"), sometimes quite resonant, and occasionally provocative. While on the surface Rickman's novel is a horror thriller, an excuse to titillate the reader with new twists on the usual conventions--haunted ruins, conflicted priests, sinister and magical landscapes, pursued damsels, etc.--plus an opportunity, in Rickman's case, to ridicule naive New Age assumptions about the ancient past and the supernatural (or "spiritual," the favored term), it is also a vehicle for posing serious questions about art and ritual, the creative process and the psychological effects of both making and consuming music. Sure, it's only rock'n'roll, but if they, and we, like it, and strongly believe it--say, all that Cannibal Corpse, My Dying Bride, Megadeth stuff, with its apparent sincerity--then where does all that believing go? Is it restricted to contemporary metal bands, or has there always been such art, and audiences? And how was/is it separated from "reality"? These are blurry thresholds--one thinks of alchemy (the philosopher's stone...), necromancy, Aleister Crowley's little drugs-and-devil-worship club, the Satanic day care hysteria, and so on, and wonders just where the lines can be drawn.
Anyway, I like Rickman (can you tell?) because he can provoke philosophical responses while having a hell of a lot of fun with both traditional gothic and modern horror tropes.
OK, that's the premise. But the driving theme is (especially in metal and prog) rock music's own obsession with the occult, myth and legend, the morbid, macabre, and gothic--often campy or corny (even if not intentional--think of the lampoon "This Is Spinal Tap"), sometimes quite resonant, and occasionally provocative. While on the surface Rickman's novel is a horror thriller, an excuse to titillate the reader with new twists on the usual conventions--haunted ruins, conflicted priests, sinister and magical landscapes, pursued damsels, etc.--plus an opportunity, in Rickman's case, to ridicule naive New Age assumptions about the ancient past and the supernatural (or "spiritual," the favored term), it is also a vehicle for posing serious questions about art and ritual, the creative process and the psychological effects of both making and consuming music. Sure, it's only rock'n'roll, but if they, and we, like it, and strongly believe it--say, all that Cannibal Corpse, My Dying Bride, Megadeth stuff, with its apparent sincerity--then where does all that believing go? Is it restricted to contemporary metal bands, or has there always been such art, and audiences? And how was/is it separated from "reality"? These are blurry thresholds--one thinks of alchemy (the philosopher's stone...), necromancy, Aleister Crowley's little drugs-and-devil-worship club, the Satanic day care hysteria, and so on, and wonders just where the lines can be drawn.
Anyway, I like Rickman (can you tell?) because he can provoke philosophical responses while having a hell of a lot of fun with both traditional gothic and modern horror tropes.
December 25, 2023
I would have rated this even higher but Rickman didn’t quite stick the landing in my view. That said, this is a hell of a good read with excellent characterization for a large cast of characters. The setting is excellent and the whole concept is a unique one. Rickman creates an outstanding villain here as well, that I really wanted to see get what was coming to him. I’ll definitely be reading more from him in the future.
August 4, 2017
I'm a huge fan of Rickman's Merrily Watkins series. This is a standalone creation and really rates 3.5 stars from me. The novel lost half a star for me as it did not wrap up as satisfactorily as I would have liked. The first 3/4 of this book was fabulous. Although lengthy, it sets such a creepy and compelling stage that you don't want to put it down. Focusing on a group of musicians with special psychic powers, Rickman effectively draws you in with a fabulous sense of time and place and in depth development of the key characters. Set in Wales in the early-nineties, the story deliciously unfolds as to what happened to these artists at a Godforsaken twelfth century abbey during a recording session in December 1980. Slowly and creepily the tale evolves as does the glimpses into these damaged characters and what got them to the pitiful state they are in. Described as a horror by other readers, I guess it is, however it's more psychological than bloody although for sure, some scenes are disturbing and unsettling. These scenes work effectively to cement the plot and are not gratuitous in the least. The confusing and chaotic last quarter of the book dropped it down half a star for me as I said. There was just too much going on all at once making the threads of each subplot difficult to pick up. If you're a fan of psychological horror with a twist of history and pure evil and can manage some violent turns of events then I highly recommend this read.
March 6, 2014
From the author note: The Holy Mountain, Ysgyryd Fawr - the Skirrid - noses out of the lushly mysterious area where Gwent blends with Hertfordshire beyond the friendly market town of Abergavenny, scene of the notorious massacre of December 1175.
Scene setting: December 1980 as Lennon is shot, a band is set to record an album at the Abbey Studios, North Gwent, between midnight and dawn.
PAGE COUNT IS 648 - thanks
wales> north gwent> skirrid
welsh gothic
page 30: "[..] I started playing 'Julia', the Lennon song off the White Album, the one
introducing Yoko to his dead mother." http://youtu.be/iiSb41sFNlI
page 306: "Married to a good, steady breeder. My six older bruvvers was already grown-up, one had a kid. Here he was a bleeding grandad."
"And you were the seventh son," Meryl said huskily. "it's true then. It's really true."
http://youtu.be/1EngRmYu_vs
Page 334: A very rural area. Other Abbeys were marked. Tintern, Llanthony, Abbey Dore. Two hills outside Abergavveny, the Sugar Loaf and The Skirrid.
Great Welsh Gothic tale here, however overly long at a spit short of 700 pages. Rickman likes to channel-in (hah!) dead classic rock musicians; it was Nick Drake in the Merrily Watkins series:
http://youtu.be/y11X5WljnFA
My favourite: http://youtu.be/R6zCmCIsoAE
------------------------------------
4* The Wine of Angels
4* Midwinter of the Spirit
3* A Crown of Lights
4* The Bones of Avalon
4* December
--------------------------------------
AB A Week in December
4* December
3* Winter Solstice
--------------------------------------
2* A Country Christmas
3* A Killer's Christmas in Wales
December 25, 2023
3.5 very slow burning stars.
November 23, 2011
This is an oldy but goody, one of the first Rickman novels. It had been so long since I’d read it, I had forgotten most of the ending. A great story concerning a “psychic” rock band, the Philosopher’s Stone, commissioned to record an album in an abbey turned recording studio in Wales. The dark power of the Abbey paired with the unusual abilities of each of the individual band members creates a dangerous and deadly cocktail, resulting in an unfinished album and 4 very badly damaged musicians. The only solution is of course to try again, years later with the same people in the same setting.
I think my favorite thing about this book is that it introduces characters (primarily the band members such as Moira Cairns and Simon St. John) who make cameo appearances in later Rickman books. Also, as usual, the author does a great job of incorporating local folklore into the story. As always, I am incredibly impressed by Rickman’s creative plots and their resolution. A great psychological thriller and fun, old fashioned spooky read, complete with a subtle message not to mess about with certain powers beyond your control.
I think my favorite thing about this book is that it introduces characters (primarily the band members such as Moira Cairns and Simon St. John) who make cameo appearances in later Rickman books. Also, as usual, the author does a great job of incorporating local folklore into the story. As always, I am incredibly impressed by Rickman’s creative plots and their resolution. A great psychological thriller and fun, old fashioned spooky read, complete with a subtle message not to mess about with certain powers beyond your control.
March 8, 2025
December falls into that period of slow-burn 90s horror, where it seemed more pronounced in reaction to the fast-paced slasher films and pulp horror of the previous decades. There was a shift toward atmospheric, character-driven horror that emphasised psychological and supernatural dread rather than just gore or jump scares. It's a style of horror I grew up reading. Not to say I didn't read, or still read, other types of horror, because I do. But I do enjoy slow-burn, character driven and psychological horror.
Following four main characters, the members of a psychic rock band, Rickman creates a tale of dread and suspense, where the thing you most fear permeates every moment of each character. Through deep characterisation, the reader is dragged through the psychic quagmire, as each character is funneled back to the place where their lives changed fourteen years before. There, the story solidifies more into a classic good versus evil horror, but still with that dark and deep sense of dread that enveloped the entire story.
What prevents me from rating this book higher is one character, Dave, communicates with the ghost of John Lennon, believing he foresaw and could have stopped his death. This became a regular, but annoying, element in the book. One that could have been used less for greater impact. I also think the ending felt too rushed as Rickman needed to tie up too many threads is a very short space in the book.
Following four main characters, the members of a psychic rock band, Rickman creates a tale of dread and suspense, where the thing you most fear permeates every moment of each character. Through deep characterisation, the reader is dragged through the psychic quagmire, as each character is funneled back to the place where their lives changed fourteen years before. There, the story solidifies more into a classic good versus evil horror, but still with that dark and deep sense of dread that enveloped the entire story.
What prevents me from rating this book higher is one character, Dave, communicates with the ghost of John Lennon, believing he foresaw and could have stopped his death. This became a regular, but annoying, element in the book. One that could have been used less for greater impact. I also think the ending felt too rushed as Rickman needed to tie up too many threads is a very short space in the book.
July 4, 2013
Four musicians met fourteen years ago to record an album in a studio converted from a former abbey. The session ended in tragedy and some very spooky happenings which have adversely affected all four ever since. Now they have been asked to complete the recording.
Various people who were connected with the production of the music have met untimely ends and Prof Levin, sound engineer and alcoholic – has been asked to listen to the tapes of the previous session and to produce the new recording. The tapes have a profound effect on him which he cannot explain.
Readers of other Phil Rickman novels will recognise some of the characters – Simon St John, Moira Cairns, Prof Levin and Tom Storey. As ever the characters are well drawn and the supernatural element is spine chilling. I think this has to be one of his scariest novels and I am still remembering incidents from it some time after I have finished reading it.
I don’t pretend to understand all the music references but it didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the story. I liked the Downs syndrome child – Vanessa – and I thought she was very well done. I also liked the way the non-psychic characters were interwoven with those who have strange experiences so that there are people constantly trying to work out what was going on while only understanding half the happenings. I liked the way John Lennon’s ghost keeps cropping up and he becomes a character in his own right at times.
This is a very well written and truly scary novel and I would recommend it to anyone who wants something a bit different in the mystery line. There are crimes involved as well as supernatural happenings.
Various people who were connected with the production of the music have met untimely ends and Prof Levin, sound engineer and alcoholic – has been asked to listen to the tapes of the previous session and to produce the new recording. The tapes have a profound effect on him which he cannot explain.
Readers of other Phil Rickman novels will recognise some of the characters – Simon St John, Moira Cairns, Prof Levin and Tom Storey. As ever the characters are well drawn and the supernatural element is spine chilling. I think this has to be one of his scariest novels and I am still remembering incidents from it some time after I have finished reading it.
I don’t pretend to understand all the music references but it didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the story. I liked the Downs syndrome child – Vanessa – and I thought she was very well done. I also liked the way the non-psychic characters were interwoven with those who have strange experiences so that there are people constantly trying to work out what was going on while only understanding half the happenings. I liked the way John Lennon’s ghost keeps cropping up and he becomes a character in his own right at times.
This is a very well written and truly scary novel and I would recommend it to anyone who wants something a bit different in the mystery line. There are crimes involved as well as supernatural happenings.
March 13, 2012
A good book with some really solid characters. I appreciated how Rickman was able to write accents believably. He also was great at making me feel the realness of the locales. The story had some spook to it.
I've got a few gripes. This was a slow-starter, with tons of exposition. Unfortunately, this made the story really drag for me. I felt that 100 pages could have been discarded without any negative effect. I was also annoyed with the main characters. They were so neurotic, whiny and pathetic that I was wishing there was a higher body count. The story picks up in the final third of the novel and the characters are easier to deal with when they have something to do. However, the finale is so compressed that it is difficult to understand what happened. The author relies on the characters to explain things in the epilogue.
Overall it was good and I'm willing to try more of Rickman's books.
I've got a few gripes. This was a slow-starter, with tons of exposition. Unfortunately, this made the story really drag for me. I felt that 100 pages could have been discarded without any negative effect. I was also annoyed with the main characters. They were so neurotic, whiny and pathetic that I was wishing there was a higher body count. The story picks up in the final third of the novel and the characters are easier to deal with when they have something to do. However, the finale is so compressed that it is difficult to understand what happened. The author relies on the characters to explain things in the epilogue.
Overall it was good and I'm willing to try more of Rickman's books.
June 27, 2012
This is the second novel I have read by this author. Luckily it was just as good. The beginning started out a little slow for me. I just had to find out what was going on and happening in the Abbey's tower house to the psychic band from the early 80s. This book was a complex and enjoyable read. I recommend to all fans of the horror genre.
June 23, 2014
Some of the reviews I read for this book said that it was a slow starter, but if you bare with it then it gets really good.
Well I gave it till page 320 and its still really boring! I'm giving up
Well I gave it till page 320 and its still really boring! I'm giving up
April 19, 2013
I can't say I really enjoyed this book but its possible this was down to my copy being a HUGE, heavy beast of a volume. I therefore couldn't take it on the train, fit it in my handback, hold it for very long etc etc (I know, this all seems irrelevant but is it?) which meant I spent 4 weeks reading only a few pages at night. It also had enormous print and put me completely out of my normal reading kilter. I wanted to enjoy it and it was recommended by someone who's opinion I regard but I was pleased when the book crashed to the ground for the last time. Had it been a normal mass paperback I would have probably read it much quicker and stayed with the story; you've seen the blurb - a band, The Philosopher's Stone, meet up again in a spooky, deserted abbey near Abergavenny, South Wales, after 14 years to try to finally put the events of that fateful night in December to rest with pretty horrifying results.
August 9, 2016
Long one of my favorite books by Rickman who is awesome at weaving music, ghosts, blood, Celtic legend, great characters and mystery into a cracking good read. The fab psychic four assemble at a haunted Welsh abbey to record an album on the night that John Lennon is murdered - and their lives are never the same. They come back together 14 years later to record again. Even better, Rickman and some talented musician friends have now completed the songs and put out an album, Abbey Tapes: The Exorcism by Philosophers Stone, via iTunes, Amazon mp3 or as a cd via Rickman's website!!! Beautiful and haunting and a bit spooky, these songs are not the notorious Black Album which would melt your stereo, but are from the second healing sessions. December was long out of print but is now republished as a Kindle edition and a special edition from Mansion House Books.
February 15, 2021
For how long this book is, it's oddly immemorable. I mostly remember it being a slog, a whole lot of dread, and a big disappointment for a promising blurb of a haunted house story...hard to believe I only finished it a few weeks ago.
August 6, 2009
Read 100 Pages and everyone was a chore. Gave Up.
December 6, 2023
This is very, very close to being a classic of its kind, but just falls short for reasons that, ultimately, are more than a little ironic. See, one of the main characters here - the tragic Tom Storey - is a prodigiously gifted guitarist in the Peter Green as recluse archetype. Rickman goes to great pains several times to explain that Storey’s genius is that his guitar is intuitive and subtle and the antithesis of technique and superfluous soloing. He is a guitarist who knows exactly the notes to fill a song with and plays them sparingly and soulfully. And, because Rickman’s book is so integrally about music, you can’t help but look at the book through this lens
And as such it’s incredibly frustrating when Rickman dips into technique. It’s not a huge problem, but there’s a good hundred pages here which could be edited quite judiciously but still keep the emotional heft of the book as something weighty and tangible. Rickman’s gift for dialogue with his Welsh characters, as befits someone who lives in Wales, is fantastic with a real ear for rhythm without ever dipping into cliche. Yet whenever Tom or Weasel talk he dips into cliched phonetic spelling which is incredibly jarring. Similarly, sometimes he gets a bit lost in his ideas - which are many and almost all great - and grasps a cliche to haul himself out of the hole he’s found himself in
But so much of it is genuinely brilliant. The Lennon idea is absolutely ridiculous but completely works (and makes the ending incredibly bittersweet), as are many of his big ideas. It’s like Rickman has a big, daft notion and decides he’ll bloody well convince you of it if it’s the last thing he does. And he does almost all of it through character studies (probably why King likes it so much, although Rickman is happier to let the characters express themselves through dialogue rather than the exhausting over description that puts me off a lot of King’s novels). The best characters here feel absolutely real and vivid
And best of all - or maybe that should be worst of all - is the villain. Rickman has a rather nice trick here with Case who feels as if he’s the real bastard behind everything being revealed to just be essentially a company man. It’s Sile who’s the real monster and you can’t help but suspect the idea of a bluesman who would have liked to have sold his soul to the devil for musical brilliance, but upon finding the devil isn’t up for that decides instead to essentially become the devil figure - A&R man of the damned if you like. Sile Copesake is one of the best villains in this kind of novel I’ve ever read, and he’s used sparingly and menacingly. A sinister figure, who when we first encounter him is mistaken for Jesus, whose unpleasantness stems from the fact he’s so matter of fact about the bastardry he commits. He’s a monster but such a judiciously used one to the extent that the book never overdoes his otherness. A truly great all time shit
And as such it’s incredibly frustrating when Rickman dips into technique. It’s not a huge problem, but there’s a good hundred pages here which could be edited quite judiciously but still keep the emotional heft of the book as something weighty and tangible. Rickman’s gift for dialogue with his Welsh characters, as befits someone who lives in Wales, is fantastic with a real ear for rhythm without ever dipping into cliche. Yet whenever Tom or Weasel talk he dips into cliched phonetic spelling which is incredibly jarring. Similarly, sometimes he gets a bit lost in his ideas - which are many and almost all great - and grasps a cliche to haul himself out of the hole he’s found himself in
But so much of it is genuinely brilliant. The Lennon idea is absolutely ridiculous but completely works (and makes the ending incredibly bittersweet), as are many of his big ideas. It’s like Rickman has a big, daft notion and decides he’ll bloody well convince you of it if it’s the last thing he does. And he does almost all of it through character studies (probably why King likes it so much, although Rickman is happier to let the characters express themselves through dialogue rather than the exhausting over description that puts me off a lot of King’s novels). The best characters here feel absolutely real and vivid
And best of all - or maybe that should be worst of all - is the villain. Rickman has a rather nice trick here with Case who feels as if he’s the real bastard behind everything being revealed to just be essentially a company man. It’s Sile who’s the real monster and you can’t help but suspect the idea of a bluesman who would have liked to have sold his soul to the devil for musical brilliance, but upon finding the devil isn’t up for that decides instead to essentially become the devil figure - A&R man of the damned if you like. Sile Copesake is one of the best villains in this kind of novel I’ve ever read, and he’s used sparingly and menacingly. A sinister figure, who when we first encounter him is mistaken for Jesus, whose unpleasantness stems from the fact he’s so matter of fact about the bastardry he commits. He’s a monster but such a judiciously used one to the extent that the book never overdoes his otherness. A truly great all time shit
December 15, 2025
Holy haunted abbey, y’all! This novel, released in 1994, is brilliant! Its slow pace manages to maintain and ratchet up tension all the way through. At almost 600 pages, that is even more impressive!
The premise isn’t exactly new: A band arrives at a studio in the ruins of a 12th century abbey. The album they started was a thing of sheer terror. The masters were destroyed, and the band fled swearing never to see each other again. Fourteen years later, they find themselves back at the abbey to finish the album during a week soaked in blood. This novel is 50% horror and 50% thriller - and 100% entertainment. There were moments that made me gasp, made me hold my breath, and made my heart race.
I bought this novel for the title; I’ve made it a challenge to read a (preferably horror) novel each month with the name of the month in the title. As I said, this one was published in 1994, but luckily it’s available on Amazon Kindle. I can’t recommend it enough. (Things I had to remind myself: no fancy CSI stuff like DNA readily available in 1994, and not everyone had a cell phone. Even if you had one, huge swaths of even populated areas did not have coverage. Ableist slurs were more common.)
The premise isn’t exactly new: A band arrives at a studio in the ruins of a 12th century abbey. The album they started was a thing of sheer terror. The masters were destroyed, and the band fled swearing never to see each other again. Fourteen years later, they find themselves back at the abbey to finish the album during a week soaked in blood. This novel is 50% horror and 50% thriller - and 100% entertainment. There were moments that made me gasp, made me hold my breath, and made my heart race.
I bought this novel for the title; I’ve made it a challenge to read a (preferably horror) novel each month with the name of the month in the title. As I said, this one was published in 1994, but luckily it’s available on Amazon Kindle. I can’t recommend it enough. (Things I had to remind myself: no fancy CSI stuff like DNA readily available in 1994, and not everyone had a cell phone. Even if you had one, huge swaths of even populated areas did not have coverage. Ableist slurs were more common.)
December 10, 2019
Wow! What a book! I am already a fan of Phil Rickman’s books and have had this a while and was eager to read once the right month arrived. It’s everything you expect from Phil Rickman. Creepy, complex and utterly absorbing. I was delighted that a few “old Friends” from other books were prominent here also, although it’s a stand alone. The book starts on 8 dec 1980 when a band prone to psychic occurrences appear to channel the death of John Lennon during the recording of an album in an old Abbey. The events of that night haunt them for the next 14 years and despite this they are persuaded to revisit the album in December of 1994. However strange forces are surrounding the Abbey and history maybe about to repeat itself. This maybe my favourite Phil Rickman so far. If you listen to the audible it’s seriously creepy at points and gives you the benefit of hearing the music as well. Marvellous stuff! I very nearly finished this on the 8th December but decided it would be a good idea to wait another day!!
February 7, 2025
In the thirty years since it was first published this novel has gained quite a cult following. Now that Phil Rickman, the author, is sadly no longer with us it will undoubtedly and totally deservedly attain classic status.
This is a novel best read on cold winter nights, in a comfortable chair, next to a roaring log fire, with shadows lurking in the corners of one's favourite reading room. It has an extraordinary ability to send shivers down the spine with all its tropes of folk horror and pagan lore woven into a complex plot full of myth and dark magic.
The characterisation is exceptional with the author handling a massive cast with apparent ease.
This is British horror fiction at its very best by an author who had few contemporaries capable of producing anything so eerily compelling and utterly chilling.
This is a novel best read on cold winter nights, in a comfortable chair, next to a roaring log fire, with shadows lurking in the corners of one's favourite reading room. It has an extraordinary ability to send shivers down the spine with all its tropes of folk horror and pagan lore woven into a complex plot full of myth and dark magic.
The characterisation is exceptional with the author handling a massive cast with apparent ease.
This is British horror fiction at its very best by an author who had few contemporaries capable of producing anything so eerily compelling and utterly chilling.
June 12, 2017
Intense is a word that comes to mind when describing this book. Also, a bit confusing in places. I started out on audiobook and switched to paperbook because I was having trouble following it. There are numerous and frequent switching of POV. I'm glad that I didn't give up entirely.
December 12, 2018
3.5🌟
A bit complicated and a bit dated but still an enjoyable read from Mr Rickman.
A bit complicated and a bit dated but still an enjoyable read from Mr Rickman.
May 27, 2023
Genuinely spooky, this is the story of a group of musicians, all of whom have some sort of psychic ability, who gather to record an album in the ruins of a twelfth century abbey. The tragedies that follow haunt them all for years until they are persuaded to return and rerecord the album.
August 10, 2013
This is sort of a hard review to write. The biggest problem I had with this book is also one of its strengths in several places. The problem? December takes a really long time to get where it's going.
This is a fairly massive tome. It's not the longest book I've ever read, but it's a little longer than your typical books from that era. Many books that were in the horror genre during the 90s tended to be about 300-400 pages in length, whereas this is almost 700. That might not seem like a big thing here by today's standards, as there's somewhat of a trend with some authors to put out massive 700-800+ page tales. The problem here is that while there is a lot of story- and I mean A LOT of story- to tell, at the same time several parts of this really seemed to drag and sag under its own weight. I couldn't help but feel that December could've been edited down by about 100 pages and been the better for it. I can't exactly tell you where these cuts would be since there is a lot of story here to tell over a rather long period of time, but I do think that a little more editing down would've been good.
Now that aside, the page length does help the aforementioned story unfold, which is why it's sort of hard to criticize the book for being so long at points. This isn't a simple story to just read where things go bump in the night, the main characters have a problem to solve, and some of them ride off into the sunset after a big confrontation. This takes place over at least a 7-14 year time period (and that's not including the stuff from hundreds of years ago) and has a fairly huge cast. We're given a good look at each of the characters and their flaws and good points. I just wish that the entire book could've been as strong as some of the tighter scenes here were.
However when December hits those sweet notes, it's incredibly hard to put down. There are some unbelievably eerie scenes here that will really linger in your memory. I think my favorite had to have been one early on in the book where the band finds a mass of creepy black candles all over everything. All of the earlier happenings in the Abbey are relatively understated, which brings out the creepiness of it all. I think that's one of the scenes that made me wish that this had been made into some sort of visual medium, as it'd look great on camera.
Overall I think I'd recommend this to people who want a horror book that's strays outside of the norms for horror from that time period. It's sort of a shame in a way that this got published when it did, as Rickman's type of horror didn't really fit in with what got published back then. It's not really the cheesy exploitative read that was so common back then and would be more at home with some of the stuff that's getting published nowadays. This book took me a really, really long time to finish (months) since I sort of lost interest partway through, but I'm glad that I stuck through it. The payoff at the end was rather nice.
This is a fairly massive tome. It's not the longest book I've ever read, but it's a little longer than your typical books from that era. Many books that were in the horror genre during the 90s tended to be about 300-400 pages in length, whereas this is almost 700. That might not seem like a big thing here by today's standards, as there's somewhat of a trend with some authors to put out massive 700-800+ page tales. The problem here is that while there is a lot of story- and I mean A LOT of story- to tell, at the same time several parts of this really seemed to drag and sag under its own weight. I couldn't help but feel that December could've been edited down by about 100 pages and been the better for it. I can't exactly tell you where these cuts would be since there is a lot of story here to tell over a rather long period of time, but I do think that a little more editing down would've been good.
Now that aside, the page length does help the aforementioned story unfold, which is why it's sort of hard to criticize the book for being so long at points. This isn't a simple story to just read where things go bump in the night, the main characters have a problem to solve, and some of them ride off into the sunset after a big confrontation. This takes place over at least a 7-14 year time period (and that's not including the stuff from hundreds of years ago) and has a fairly huge cast. We're given a good look at each of the characters and their flaws and good points. I just wish that the entire book could've been as strong as some of the tighter scenes here were.
However when December hits those sweet notes, it's incredibly hard to put down. There are some unbelievably eerie scenes here that will really linger in your memory. I think my favorite had to have been one early on in the book where the band finds a mass of creepy black candles all over everything. All of the earlier happenings in the Abbey are relatively understated, which brings out the creepiness of it all. I think that's one of the scenes that made me wish that this had been made into some sort of visual medium, as it'd look great on camera.
Overall I think I'd recommend this to people who want a horror book that's strays outside of the norms for horror from that time period. It's sort of a shame in a way that this got published when it did, as Rickman's type of horror didn't really fit in with what got published back then. It's not really the cheesy exploitative read that was so common back then and would be more at home with some of the stuff that's getting published nowadays. This book took me a really, really long time to finish (months) since I sort of lost interest partway through, but I'm glad that I stuck through it. The payoff at the end was rather nice.
December 17, 2024
Four members of a rock band called "The Philosophers Stone" split up after a recording session on a December night at Ystrad Duu Abbey in South Wales. It happened to be the night that John Lennon was killed, and one member of the band felt that he was experiencing the event as it was happening. The others all experienced bad things too, so they destroyed the tapes and left without completing the album they were recording.
Fourteen years later a producer tries to persuade them to get back together to finish the uncompleted album. but they have heard that bad things had happened there before, and seemed to happen at seven-year intervals, so they are reluctant to do so, unless they can break the jinx on the abbey, whose history seems to have been less holy than they had thought.
This book is vintage Phil Rickman, first published in 1994 when he was still writing horror, before he started fancying himself as a writer of whodunits, so I liked it a lot better than some of his more recent books, though in this one there are dead bodies and the police do investigate, but by the time all the bodies are counted, everyone knows who did it. It's not that I don't like whodunits. I do, and quite often read them. But there are lots of better whodunit writers out there than Phil Rickman; there are not nearly as many good horror writers.
There are some flaws. One of them was that he rapidly switches viewpoint characters without indicating which character it is, so I often found I would start reading a section, and by the third paragraph realised which character it was, and had to go back and re-read from the beginning of the section to place the scene in my mind. That gets mildly annoying after a while.
He also included too many cliffhangers --something bad happens to one character, and just at the critical point he switches to another, and by the time you get back to the scene you find that something else had happened, and often to a different character. This is OK the first couple of times, but when it is overdone it gets tiresome, and Phil Rickman doesn't seem to know when to stop.
But aside from those rather minor niggles it was an enjoyable read.
Fourteen years later a producer tries to persuade them to get back together to finish the uncompleted album. but they have heard that bad things had happened there before, and seemed to happen at seven-year intervals, so they are reluctant to do so, unless they can break the jinx on the abbey, whose history seems to have been less holy than they had thought.
This book is vintage Phil Rickman, first published in 1994 when he was still writing horror, before he started fancying himself as a writer of whodunits, so I liked it a lot better than some of his more recent books, though in this one there are dead bodies and the police do investigate, but by the time all the bodies are counted, everyone knows who did it. It's not that I don't like whodunits. I do, and quite often read them. But there are lots of better whodunit writers out there than Phil Rickman; there are not nearly as many good horror writers.
There are some flaws. One of them was that he rapidly switches viewpoint characters without indicating which character it is, so I often found I would start reading a section, and by the third paragraph realised which character it was, and had to go back and re-read from the beginning of the section to place the scene in my mind. That gets mildly annoying after a while.
He also included too many cliffhangers --something bad happens to one character, and just at the critical point he switches to another, and by the time you get back to the scene you find that something else had happened, and often to a different character. This is OK the first couple of times, but when it is overdone it gets tiresome, and Phil Rickman doesn't seem to know when to stop.
But aside from those rather minor niggles it was an enjoyable read.
December 16, 2017
December centres on a group of musicians with psychic abilities, who were brought together by an unscrupulous record company to make a very special album. Their recording studio was at a haunted abbey in Wales, and the band had a terrifying experience there one night in 1980, which resulted in a death and the break-up of the group. Fourteen years later the old tapes of that recording are unearthed and the members of the group find themselves forced to revisit the experience that has haunted them ever since that fateful night.
This book began with a slightly confused telling of the events of the 1980 recording session, before fast-forwarding fourteen years to see where the characters had ended up and to begin the story proper. I wasn’t sure I would enjoy the book at first, but it was definitely worth sticking with it because everything became apparent as the book progressed and things began to get exciting. This was a tale full of secrets, and I loved the way revelations about plot and characters were regularly inserted to keep tension and interest high. The plot was great – twisting and turning brilliantly and pulling me along so I couldn’t wait to see how it would all turn out.
The ensemble cast of characters had real depth and their many flaws made them interesting and believable, and I really wanted them all to survive intact until the end of the book. But perhaps the best character in the novel is the abbey itself – a dark, malevolent ruin where ancient spirits seek to lure innocent people to their death. The atmosphere created is genuinely creepy and the action switches between different characters in their various sticky situations, ending each small section on a nail-biting cliffhanger that almost guarantees you won’t be putting the book down until you reach the end.
My only gripe with December is that it’s a little too long. There were several extraneous characters who added little to the overall plot, but increased the book’s length considerably, and there was an awful lot going on at times. If the book had focussed more on the core characters I think it would have been a sleeker, sharper novel altogether. Nevertheless, even as it stands I found it an engrossing read and would definitely recommend it for horror fans.
This book began with a slightly confused telling of the events of the 1980 recording session, before fast-forwarding fourteen years to see where the characters had ended up and to begin the story proper. I wasn’t sure I would enjoy the book at first, but it was definitely worth sticking with it because everything became apparent as the book progressed and things began to get exciting. This was a tale full of secrets, and I loved the way revelations about plot and characters were regularly inserted to keep tension and interest high. The plot was great – twisting and turning brilliantly and pulling me along so I couldn’t wait to see how it would all turn out.
The ensemble cast of characters had real depth and their many flaws made them interesting and believable, and I really wanted them all to survive intact until the end of the book. But perhaps the best character in the novel is the abbey itself – a dark, malevolent ruin where ancient spirits seek to lure innocent people to their death. The atmosphere created is genuinely creepy and the action switches between different characters in their various sticky situations, ending each small section on a nail-biting cliffhanger that almost guarantees you won’t be putting the book down until you reach the end.
My only gripe with December is that it’s a little too long. There were several extraneous characters who added little to the overall plot, but increased the book’s length considerably, and there was an awful lot going on at times. If the book had focussed more on the core characters I think it would have been a sleeker, sharper novel altogether. Nevertheless, even as it stands I found it an engrossing read and would definitely recommend it for horror fans.
August 24, 2013
'December' was my first taste of Phil Rickman. The book was hidden in my local library, back in my home town, way back in my past, amongst the shadows on a shelf beneath a dead light bulb. I visited this place three maybe four times a week for fourteen years. The light bulb was never replaced. I picked books up from other parts of the library, but the books I picked up from this area, where always face down and of a dark nature. I suppose someone may have used up his/her ticket allocation and were merely hiding them till the next day. I however was inclined to a more fanciful idea. That they were infact perhaps offerings from some deranged, diseased God. After-all the first book I turned over was
H P Lovecraft
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
I discovered Clive barker's 'the books of blood', http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32... Clive Barker
Peter Straub
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19...
'December was sitting in the shadows one day at the start of the festive season, another omen. I read the book in three days. It was superb. Rural Wales is brought to life in all its damp, dank, dreary, gory, glory. You are drawn into its storm, it try's to drown you beneath its boggy mud. This book is a great introduction to Phil Rickman. Enter December, Enter its shadowlands.
H P Lovecraft
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
I discovered Clive barker's 'the books of blood', http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32... Clive Barker
Peter Straub
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19...
'December was sitting in the shadows one day at the start of the festive season, another omen. I read the book in three days. It was superb. Rural Wales is brought to life in all its damp, dank, dreary, gory, glory. You are drawn into its storm, it try's to drown you beneath its boggy mud. This book is a great introduction to Phil Rickman. Enter December, Enter its shadowlands.
June 11, 2012
The first Rickman I read, Candlenight, was exceeding well-written, full of interesting and believable characters, and introduced me to a fascinating regional culture -- but it really wasn't creepy or eerie at all. December has all the virtues of Candlenight, combined with a genuinely spooky storyline about a recording studio in an unholy abbey near the Welsh border. Rickman really nails rock culture in addition to giving us another well-realized small town -- I wonder whether he's been in a band himself, he really gives us a plausible mix of personalities and seems to know his way around a studio.
There are some flaws. It ends up seeming to suggest that being gay is some sort of vile perversion -- even though a throw-away comment indicates that that wasn't the intention, that's the general tenor of one plotline and it left a bad taste in my mouth. Also, one of the main characters, Davie, is such a wet smack that I couldn't wait for him to get added to the bodycount, plus it's a HUGE book and takes a good long time to get rolling. With that one exception, though, I found the characters interesting enough that I didn't mind spending time with them over the long build-up, and December packed some impressive chills, if not a lot of surprises (you know the lady who is all gung-ho about spiritualism and thinks she has a friendly ghost living in the house is asking for trouble, right?).
There are some flaws. It ends up seeming to suggest that being gay is some sort of vile perversion -- even though a throw-away comment indicates that that wasn't the intention, that's the general tenor of one plotline and it left a bad taste in my mouth. Also, one of the main characters, Davie, is such a wet smack that I couldn't wait for him to get added to the bodycount, plus it's a HUGE book and takes a good long time to get rolling. With that one exception, though, I found the characters interesting enough that I didn't mind spending time with them over the long build-up, and December packed some impressive chills, if not a lot of surprises (you know the lady who is all gung-ho about spiritualism and thinks she has a friendly ghost living in the house is asking for trouble, right?).
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