What do you think?
Les Vacances
Monasteries rising and falling. Heretics and stakes and fire. There were rebellions and revolution and tales of abundance and happiness and new beginnings. Within the book there were also lies and omissions and fallacies all designed to gloss over a dark past many had long forgotten. Many but not all. The vacation of a lifetime.
- GenresHorror
90 pages, Paperback
Published April 30, 2020
About the author
Phil Sloman
25 books14 followersPhil Sloman is a writer of dark psychological fiction. Phil is a three-time finalist at the British Fantasy Awards in the categories of Best Newcomer for his novella Becoming David (2017), Best Anthology for The Woods in 2020 as editor, and for Best Collection for his second collection No Happily Ever After in 2024. Phil was also part of Impostor Syndrome from Dark Minds Press shortlisted for British Fantasy Award Best Anthology in 2018. Phil regularly appears on several reviewers' Best of Year lists.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 26, 2020
Yup, I know what you’re thinking. Posting a review on Christmas Day. Bit much, yeah?
The truth is, I was going to wait until tomorrow, but I got a block of free time right now and wanted to dive in and get this posted while I had it fresh in my mind. A bonus – a lot of folks get Amazon cards as gifts for Xmas, so I figured maybe my review can sway a few folks to snap a copy of this.
Truthfully, this book wasn’t on my radar until a few days ago. I’d not even heard of this release, as shameful as that sounds, but Dave Jeffery has been posting his Top Ten reads of the year list, one each day, and this one was featured the other day. If Dave loves it, I wanna dive in.
What I liked: ‘Les Vacances’ is a very fast story (I read it in about 45 minutes) about a married couple who, having gone to the vacation spot for a number of years, decide to mix things up. Where usually they’d head to the English countryside, Frank suggests that they stay at a small villa in France. Lizzy reluctantly agrees and off they go.
Sloman has a way with words. I believe it’s listed at 60 pages and not a single word or paragraph his wasted. We get whisked away to the French countryside and arrive at a small farm.
As you’d expect – this is horror after all – things go horrible wrong soon after. They discover some grave stones, Lizzie sees some things and before you know it you’ve finished reading this thing. And then all of the depravity sets in and you can’t fathom what’s just occurred. It truly is like a car crash. You see it happen, you can’t believe it and then a few hours later more insane details pop up.
I really enjoyed the setting here and while Sloman gives us a small peck on the cheek of history, we can connect the dots as to how horrible this little village truly is.
What I didn’t like: God, I hope Duncan Ralston doesn’t read this. Because I HATED the character of Lizzie and he’s convinced I always hate one of the significant others in each book I read. NOT TRUE RALSTON. But, in this case, I did! I just didn’t enjoy how Lizzie immediately resorted to thinking Frank had the hots for the hostess and how irrational she acted from the second they arrived. The set up suggested she was excited to go, but then it came off as she never wanted to go and that Frank wasn’t the love of her life. Irksome but definitely needed to show how the area hooked its tentacles into the psyche.
Why you should buy this: As I said, this is a very fast, brutal read. If you enjoy my own works, you’ll dig this. But more than that, Sloman is a very talented writer and he’s crafted a story that could easily be taken as a relative of something Adam Nevill would create. The setting in here is divine and the way the finale rolls out was spot on. Sloman has really delivered the goods with this novella and you really should dive in and see just how creeped out this book will make you.
The truth is, I was going to wait until tomorrow, but I got a block of free time right now and wanted to dive in and get this posted while I had it fresh in my mind. A bonus – a lot of folks get Amazon cards as gifts for Xmas, so I figured maybe my review can sway a few folks to snap a copy of this.
Truthfully, this book wasn’t on my radar until a few days ago. I’d not even heard of this release, as shameful as that sounds, but Dave Jeffery has been posting his Top Ten reads of the year list, one each day, and this one was featured the other day. If Dave loves it, I wanna dive in.
What I liked: ‘Les Vacances’ is a very fast story (I read it in about 45 minutes) about a married couple who, having gone to the vacation spot for a number of years, decide to mix things up. Where usually they’d head to the English countryside, Frank suggests that they stay at a small villa in France. Lizzy reluctantly agrees and off they go.
Sloman has a way with words. I believe it’s listed at 60 pages and not a single word or paragraph his wasted. We get whisked away to the French countryside and arrive at a small farm.
As you’d expect – this is horror after all – things go horrible wrong soon after. They discover some grave stones, Lizzie sees some things and before you know it you’ve finished reading this thing. And then all of the depravity sets in and you can’t fathom what’s just occurred. It truly is like a car crash. You see it happen, you can’t believe it and then a few hours later more insane details pop up.
I really enjoyed the setting here and while Sloman gives us a small peck on the cheek of history, we can connect the dots as to how horrible this little village truly is.
What I didn’t like: God, I hope Duncan Ralston doesn’t read this. Because I HATED the character of Lizzie and he’s convinced I always hate one of the significant others in each book I read. NOT TRUE RALSTON. But, in this case, I did! I just didn’t enjoy how Lizzie immediately resorted to thinking Frank had the hots for the hostess and how irrational she acted from the second they arrived. The set up suggested she was excited to go, but then it came off as she never wanted to go and that Frank wasn’t the love of her life. Irksome but definitely needed to show how the area hooked its tentacles into the psyche.
Why you should buy this: As I said, this is a very fast, brutal read. If you enjoy my own works, you’ll dig this. But more than that, Sloman is a very talented writer and he’s crafted a story that could easily be taken as a relative of something Adam Nevill would create. The setting in here is divine and the way the finale rolls out was spot on. Sloman has really delivered the goods with this novella and you really should dive in and see just how creeped out this book will make you.
November 17, 2024
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
And I think you will too, if small-town folk horror is your jam. It's creepy as f***
And I think you will too, if small-town folk horror is your jam. It's creepy as f***
January 24, 2024
2.5/5
Not my cuppa.
Not my cuppa.
June 25, 2020
This is a perfect example of why the Novella length is perfect for horror stories. Sloman is able to build the tension and creepiness without events and character reactions becoming implausible. Several genuinely creepy, claustrophobic scenes raise the goosebumps and the denouement is supremely chilling. Superb.
November 17, 2024
Full review at Happy Goat Horror:
https://happygoathorror.com/2024/12/2...
One of the easiest, rare 5 stars I've given this year. A couple go for a little French country getaway, but the trip isn't what they hoped for. Wifey is experiencing some weird stuff, and hubby thinks she's imagining it. I was infuriated and beyond frustrated for her, but could understand where he was coming from, which made for very compelling reading just with the relationship aspect alone. And then came the folk horror, cementing this story as a definite favourite.
https://happygoathorror.com/2024/12/2...
One of the easiest, rare 5 stars I've given this year. A couple go for a little French country getaway, but the trip isn't what they hoped for. Wifey is experiencing some weird stuff, and hubby thinks she's imagining it. I was infuriated and beyond frustrated for her, but could understand where he was coming from, which made for very compelling reading just with the relationship aspect alone. And then came the folk horror, cementing this story as a definite favourite.
August 1, 2020
Phil Sloman is great at writing realistic characters and then doing unspeakable things to them. This novella is no exception to that rule: Frank and Elizabeth decide to go on holiday to France for a change. Their relationship is strained, especially from Elizabeth's point of view, but is also entirely believable. I won't go into the details of the story here, but I really enjoyed this novella. It is fast paced and by the end, horrific, just as all good (horror) novellas should be.
In short: Sloman is a great writer and if you've not read any of his stuff, then this would be a great place to start.
In short: Sloman is a great writer and if you've not read any of his stuff, then this would be a great place to start.
November 21, 2020
Capturing the fear of the alien
There's something intrinsically threatening about going on holiday to a different country where the language is unknown and the customs are alien, and Sloman captures that perfectly.
There's something intrinsically threatening about going on holiday to a different country where the language is unknown and the customs are alien, and Sloman captures that perfectly.
June 29, 2020
Horror works so well in novella form and Phil Sloman hits the spot with this creepy tale of continental shenanigans!
April 28, 2022
In "Les Vacances" we have brutal historical events encroaching on the modern day. We have the unwitting who stumble in their clumsy, very English way into a nightmare way beyond their narrow-minded, unimaginative world view. We have a couple long past the first flush of love who spend most of their time arguing, sniping and making each other miserable. You settle in, you enjoy the view, but you know you shouldn't be here.
"Les Vacances" is a short, sharp, thoroughly enjoyable novella that takes us into familiar territory but with two unfamiliar passengers. Familiar is not intended as a criticism. There is nothing wrong with taking another look at an idea that others have explored before. It's how it is done that makes or breaks the story. In "Les Vacances" Phil Sloman makes the trope his own. He creates distraction and diversion. Although we know that things are amiss in the beautiful, history-drenched place, our attention is on the fully-formed, vividly-drawn protagonists which means that the shadows creeping over the page are almost unnoticed at first.
"Les Vacances", a well-written, compelling, fun-yet-unsettling read from an intelligent writer who knows his craft, "Les Vacances" is the book for you.
"Les Vacances" is a short, sharp, thoroughly enjoyable novella that takes us into familiar territory but with two unfamiliar passengers. Familiar is not intended as a criticism. There is nothing wrong with taking another look at an idea that others have explored before. It's how it is done that makes or breaks the story. In "Les Vacances" Phil Sloman makes the trope his own. He creates distraction and diversion. Although we know that things are amiss in the beautiful, history-drenched place, our attention is on the fully-formed, vividly-drawn protagonists which means that the shadows creeping over the page are almost unnoticed at first.
"Les Vacances", a well-written, compelling, fun-yet-unsettling read from an intelligent writer who knows his craft, "Les Vacances" is the book for you.
December 2, 2020
Sometimes true horror is not the killings, bloodshed, torture, or things of that nature.
In this story we read about a relationship that had probably gone south decades prior, but the couple keeps at it because of habit more than anything. The monotony of the relationship is made quite clear from the very beginning. The relationship is safe but dull.
The husband suggests a break from the routine when instead of going on their usual annual vacation, they head to France. That's where things go bad.
Throughout the story, you hear the couple bicker and complain. They seem tired of each other, but the wife is more tired. Oddly, she's the one who really didn't want to break from their routine. Ultimately, it's this habit of not wanting to break routine that brings her to her miserable end.
If she had broken away from a marriage she was no longer happy in to a husband she no longer loved long ago, they may not have suffered this demise. That to me is what is truly horrifying. If she had only ventured to truly live, she ... well I don't want to spoil the ending.
In this story we read about a relationship that had probably gone south decades prior, but the couple keeps at it because of habit more than anything. The monotony of the relationship is made quite clear from the very beginning. The relationship is safe but dull.
The husband suggests a break from the routine when instead of going on their usual annual vacation, they head to France. That's where things go bad.
Throughout the story, you hear the couple bicker and complain. They seem tired of each other, but the wife is more tired. Oddly, she's the one who really didn't want to break from their routine. Ultimately, it's this habit of not wanting to break routine that brings her to her miserable end.
If she had broken away from a marriage she was no longer happy in to a husband she no longer loved long ago, they may not have suffered this demise. That to me is what is truly horrifying. If she had only ventured to truly live, she ... well I don't want to spoil the ending.
July 20, 2020
In Les Vacances, a middle-ages couple, Frank and Elizabeth, inspired by watching John Thaw on television in 'A Year in Provence' decide to forego their traditional holiday to Camber Sands in favour of a break in France, and it's a decision they will regret for the rest of their lives.
At just under 90 pages, it's a quick read, and as such, Sloman wastes little time in getting the protagonists on their way and quickly an unsettling feeling is generated.
With each of their experiences, a sense of dread grows through their time at their holiday let and in the local area until a quite brilliant scene in which they have dinner with their hosts.
The relationship between Frank and Elizabeth is strained and grows only more strained until the novel reaches its climax. It's well-plotted, so you can see it coming which makes it all the more effective.
Very enjoyable.
At just under 90 pages, it's a quick read, and as such, Sloman wastes little time in getting the protagonists on their way and quickly an unsettling feeling is generated.
With each of their experiences, a sense of dread grows through their time at their holiday let and in the local area until a quite brilliant scene in which they have dinner with their hosts.
The relationship between Frank and Elizabeth is strained and grows only more strained until the novel reaches its climax. It's well-plotted, so you can see it coming which makes it all the more effective.
Very enjoyable.
August 6, 2021
Some books don’t have a happy ending. Some books aren’t meant to. This is one of those books. But, oh, it is a glorious read. You may know the couple is doomed from early on, but reading as they blindly head to their tragic fate is macabre fun.
These characters are often frustrating, but in the end there deaths are as tragic as they are inevitable. The reader spends a long time wondering what exactly is going to happen, how these characters are going to meet their inevitable end, but when the truth is finally revealed, it’s still a sucker punch in the gut.
This is good reading, so long as you like your reading dark and gruesome. I do. Do you?
These characters are often frustrating, but in the end there deaths are as tragic as they are inevitable. The reader spends a long time wondering what exactly is going to happen, how these characters are going to meet their inevitable end, but when the truth is finally revealed, it’s still a sucker punch in the gut.
This is good reading, so long as you like your reading dark and gruesome. I do. Do you?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 7, 2020
Fantastic short read
I think we all know a Frank and Elizabeth. If only they used Trip Advisor!!
Seriously creepy, eerie and fast paced. With frustrating yet familiar characters. This is a great read laced with tension and a mob of French farmers.
I think we all know a Frank and Elizabeth. If only they used Trip Advisor!!
Seriously creepy, eerie and fast paced. With frustrating yet familiar characters. This is a great read laced with tension and a mob of French farmers.
October 12, 2024
A perfect bit of horror capturing the awkwardness of Brits abroad and the distrust of outsiders.
Full review to come on the BFS website
Full review to come on the BFS website
June 14, 2023
Being that I love horror novellas, when I was provided the opportunity to read this one, I jumped on it.
Frank and Elizabeth decide to take a holiday. Well, mostly Frank decides and Elizabeth comes along. She's not interested in old chapels and history, she just wants to relax. When they arrive at their vacation cottage, Elizabeth is even less pleased. It's not really private as there is a family there in the main house. As you may have guessed, Frank and Elizabeth's marriage gets even more strained. Then Elizabeth sees what she thinks are people with torches outside and the course of their trip changes forever. What did Elizabeth really see? Will the marriage of Frank and Elizabeth survive this trip? You'll have to read this to find out!
This novella was fun as it took a vacation trip and turned it into a folk horror nightmare. I freakin' loved it! The novella form is tight and every word counts and that is true here. Most horror fans are familiar with this trope, but it's what Phil does with it and the interplay between the characters that makes this tale special.
I've been reading Mr. Sloman's work for a few years now, this being my....third? Or fourth from him. I've not yet been disappointed. He has the writing chops and the ability to make you like characters that are initially unlikable. And then he drags them through the fiery depths of hell. I'm here for it!
This was a fast paced, quick read of a novella and I highly recommend it!
*Thank you to Phil Sloman for the eARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it! But since Amazon bounced my review, (again), I bought a copy and reposted the review. That's how much I liked this tale!*
4.5/5 stars, rounded up for Goodreads.
Frank and Elizabeth decide to take a holiday. Well, mostly Frank decides and Elizabeth comes along. She's not interested in old chapels and history, she just wants to relax. When they arrive at their vacation cottage, Elizabeth is even less pleased. It's not really private as there is a family there in the main house. As you may have guessed, Frank and Elizabeth's marriage gets even more strained. Then Elizabeth sees what she thinks are people with torches outside and the course of their trip changes forever. What did Elizabeth really see? Will the marriage of Frank and Elizabeth survive this trip? You'll have to read this to find out!
This novella was fun as it took a vacation trip and turned it into a folk horror nightmare. I freakin' loved it! The novella form is tight and every word counts and that is true here. Most horror fans are familiar with this trope, but it's what Phil does with it and the interplay between the characters that makes this tale special.
I've been reading Mr. Sloman's work for a few years now, this being my....third? Or fourth from him. I've not yet been disappointed. He has the writing chops and the ability to make you like characters that are initially unlikable. And then he drags them through the fiery depths of hell. I'm here for it!
This was a fast paced, quick read of a novella and I highly recommend it!
*Thank you to Phil Sloman for the eARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it! But since Amazon bounced my review, (again), I bought a copy and reposted the review. That's how much I liked this tale!*
4.5/5 stars, rounded up for Goodreads.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews