Review Category: Books

For many of us the iconic image of Patrick McGoohan, in almost any still from the TV series The Prisoner, is the epitome of British Telefantasy. It is possibly the most important, and influential fantasy show ever made. To this date there have been countless books, graphic novels, a dreadful reboot, and even an ‘official’ continuation by DC Comics. It is a series that poses as many questions today, as it did back in the swinging sixties. There is no doubt that the most essential component of this psychedelic examination of society is the star himself – Patrick McGoohan. The graphic novel Everyman takes on the challenge of decoding this conundrum of a man.

Everyman is written by Manchester-based playwright and artist Brian Gorman, and based upon his play of the same name. Having caught the play a few years back I was impressed, but I must admit to scepticism when I heard of its transition to graphic novel. I need not have been concerned. If anything, Everyman adds more weave to the tapestry that was the enigmatic persona of Patrick McGoohan.

It is obvious from the first page that Gorman is a massive fan of the man and his works, and this attention to detail is evident within the superb dialogue, and the moody, atmospheric style of the artwork. The art is striking, vivid, and engrossing, with panel after panel of shadowy and iconic motifs carrying us forward on a journey through the great man’s life. As a biography it’s second to none, which is no mean feat as McGoohan himself was as shadowy and enigmatic as the panels that seek to tell us his story. It’s the sort of overview that one can imagine McGoohan would have approved of. Instead of glamorising, and over sensationalising, Everyman merely allows the great man himself to wistfully reflect on an extraordinary life born of strict Catholicism, and a constantly uprooted childhood. Even if you already know this stuff, it is presented in such an invigorating manner that it manages to pull all of the strands of his life together into what feels like THE definitive story of Patrick McGoohan.

For most of us the story of McGoohan’s life is also important as a lead in to the creation of The Prisoner. This is where Everyman excels managing to explain how his life and experiences were almost certain to lead to the creation of something outlandish. The creation of The Prisoner comes across as almost inevitable. Everyman does a superb job of conveying how the coming together of this extraordinary man, and ITC mogul, Lew Grade, was a seismic convergence that allowed McGoohan finally off the leash.

Any shortcomings are few and far between. It would have been nice to have some insight into the period of his forced exile after the final episode of The Prisoner caused such a public backlash. Also the high standard of art can be slightly variable at times with the odd panel standing out as a little less refined. These, however, as minor quibbles. Everyman is an essential piece of insight into one of the most iconic actors of the twentieth century. For any fan of The Prisoner this is literally a must have item.

EVERYMAN – THE STORY OF PATRICK MCGOOHAN – THE PRISONER / AUTHOR & ARTIST: BRIAN GORMAN / PUBLISHER: FBS PUBLISHING / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

Prepare yourself for a tale of mystery and intrigue, as we enter the dark and theatrical world of Victorian magic, but something is quite amiss, and it’s far more sinister than any séance, as detectives Jesperson and Lane are about to find their most mysterious case yet.

The Somnambulist and the Psychic Thief takes us into a world of dark Victorian magick and the psychical led along the way by London’s finest detective duo Jesperson and Lane.

A series of unexpected events leads our canny detectives to their newest, and most unusual case yet, but what could the case of a perilous somnambulist have to do with a string of sudden supernatural disappearances? Jesperson and Lane are about to find out, that is after they’ve helped a cat stuck up a tree and hypnotised a thief… just an ordinary day at the office for these crime-solving sleuths!

Something is certainly stirring in London’s psychical community and our detective duo finds themselves caught in the middle of a most curious case, one that will certainly stir up far more than they had bargained for, as detective Lane finds her past catching up with her as they cross paths with the mysterious Miss X and her latest client.

But what do a missing cat, a somnambulist and the disappearance of several mediums have to do with our detectives’ latest mystery? They’ll certainly get to the bottom of it as they embark on a thrilling case that unveils a rather sinister and dastardly plot that they couldn’t have dreamt of.

A fitting tale of intrigue that makes for a thoroughly enjoyable read, author Lisa Tuttle has helped to perfectly recreate the mysterious world of Victorian magick in all its wonderment, making for a thrilling and entertaining story as we follow the detectives hot on the trail of their latest mystery, one that will certainly be a head turning read!

THE SOMNAMBULIST AND THE PSYCHIC THIEF (THE CURIOUS AFFAIR OF) / AUTHOR: LISA TUTTLE / PUBLISHER: JO FLETCHER BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: JUNE 16TH

 

Before we get in to the nitty-gritty of this review, let us just put this out there: to us, Season 2 of The CW’s Arrow was one of the very best seasons of genre TV in recent memory. So, with Arrow: Vengeance set in and around that very same time period, could Oscar Balderrama and Lauren Certo’s tale live up to the high standards set by its televisual relative? Let’s find out.

To put it in the most basic of terms, Vengeance looks to tell the journey of how Slade Wilson, played so masterfully by Manu Bennett in Arrow, got from the island of Lian Yu to eventually ending up in Starling City. To fans of The CW’s Emerald Archer-centric series, we pick things up at the moment Oliver Queen and Slade do battle on “the island”; the same battle that resulted in Oliver taking the eye of his BFF-turned-nemesis. From that moment on, Wilson swears to himself that he will get his revenge on Ollie, with his plan to punish Starling City’s favourite son by targeting everything closest to him. That’s a narrative that we’ve already seen play out on Arrow, but here we get to fill in the blanks of just how Slade Wilson went about his task and how the puzzle pieced together in terms of Slade turning up to torment the present-day Oliver Queen.

Make no mistake about it, this is very much Slade Wilson’s story and he is indeed the star of the show, but that’s not to say he’s the sole focus of this tale. In addition to Wilson’s journey, we also get to see the TV characters of Summer Glau’s Isabel Rochev and Kevin Alejandro’s Sebastian Blood fleshed out and explored. We learn how Rochev was an intern at Queen Consolidated who quickly became obsessed with Robert Queen, and then we get to see the tormented and turbulent backstory of Sebastian Blood and his ascension to becoming the ominous “Brother” Blood. Together, the threesome of Wilson, Rochev and Blood all have their joint goals of causing chaos in Starling City, yet all also have strong enough motives and aims of their own that help prop up the story when these facets are explored singularly or even when simply used as supporting elements of the greater narrative.

To us, there has been no greater live-action depiction of a comic book villain than Manu Bennett’s Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke. Where Rochev and Blood were concerned, however, whilst they were delivered well enough on the small screen, it was great to see so much attention given to them here, with them both painted in new lights and given added purpose as to why they acted how they acted in TV land. For Slade, though, we see his descent into madness, the Lian Yu-discovered Mirakuru swarming his system and changing him from loving family man to an obsessive, cold warrior who lives only for some semblance of misguided vengeance.

To fans of Arrow, this novel is simply a must-buy. Not only does it give you more of what you love, but it also goes above and beyond to provide far greater insight into some truly great characters, all whilst brimming full of Easter eggs and references that will put a smile on the face of longtime DC fans. It’s no stretch of the imagination to say that Arrow: Vengeance could essentially serve as a whole extra season of Arrow, such is the quality, depth, and remarkably strong storytelling of Balderrama and Certo’s work here.

When it comes down to it, Arrow: Vengeance unequivocally hits the bullseye.

ARROW: VENGEANCE / AUTHOR: OSCAR BALDERRAMA, LAUREN CERTO / PUBLISHER: TITAN BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: JUNE 29TH

George Mann’s The Ghost series has always been an ambitious and intoxicating blend of separate genres – part-superhero adventure, part-pulp fiction thriller, the books also have lashings of steampunk, alternate history, and urban fantasy. This third instalment goes even further, however, and adds in yet another element – Egyptology.

In Ghosts of Karnak, New York’s vigilante hero The Ghost (otherwise known as wealthy socialite Gabriel Cross) is on the hunt for an evil cult at work in the city who are out to resurrect the ancient Egyptian gods. What’s worse, they have Gabriel’s old friend and lover, Ginny Gray, caught right in the middle of it…

Thankfully, this new ingredient doesn’t sour the concoction and Karnak is just as much of a blast as the previous two. With the narrative split between The Ghost’s vigilantism, his detective ally Donovan’s investigations and Ginny’s expedition to Egypt, each facet of the plot is held in check – the police procedural mystery, the Indiana Jones-type tomb raiding and, the one you’re reading for, rip-roaring (and ultra-violent) superhero action. Seriously, it is hard to make one squeamish through prose but Mann often manages it with his unflinching descriptions of The Ghosts’ no-holds-barred methods.

Though the novel is mainly concerned with moving the story forward, there is a certain amount of deft character work, as well. The Ghost has come a long way from the tragic loner he was in the first book, Ghosts of Manhattan, as he has now mostly come to terms with his past and has surrounded himself with allies (some with their own superpowers). Hopefully, we will see more of Team Ghost in the upcoming fourth book, Ghosts of Empire.

There isn’t too much you haven’t seen before in this novel, and so some of the twists can be seen coming, but the trick Mann pulls off is to retell these familiar elements in such a way that you don’t mind. Karnak is probably the biggest Ghost book yet in terms of the scope and scale of the story, as it fully embraces the supernatural side of things that had previously been bubbling under the surface. As such, this one is heartily recommended for any fan of Mann’s other works (Newbury & Hobbes, various Doctor Who books and audios) and those fond of pulpy superhero fiction in general.

GHOSTS OF KARNAK / AUTHOR: GEORGE MANN / PUBLISHER: TITAN / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

The opening of the novel really portrays James’ approach to this story, which is to make a brutally shocking and fast-paced novel. The very beginning of the novel will get the readers hooked straight away, but the pace does slow down to enable tension and characterisation. The short chapters throughout the novel enable the tension to be built slowly and allows the delivery of a few shocking supernatural moments.

The characters in the novel can both be likeable, but at times frustratingly unaware of all the events that are going on. Ollie and Caro Harcourt are the main characters that move into the house. James effectively uses these characters and their occupations to weave in the supernatural elements of the story. This allows the horror elements to also take place outside of the confines of the house. The character of Jade, Ollie and Caro’s younger daughter, does come across as the stereotypical youth in this novel, and unfortunately her moments in the story can slow down the pacing.

Overall, The House on Cold Hill does have some new elements to the classic haunted house tale, but it is unable to go beyond these confining walls. The novel is a fast-paced tale, and although it is a predictable read, it is a well written classic haunted house story, with a few twists and turns that are a welcome addition to a haunted house novel. This is a good ghost story, with some spine chilling moments and a few intriguing twists that enable it to be distinguishable from other, similar titles.

 

Following on from Timebomb, Second Lives continues the adventures of Jana, Kaz, and Dora, a time-travelling trio of teenagers tasked seemingly by fate to avert a devastating war in the future, while also attempting to end their battle across time with the mysterious madwoman Quil before it has even begun.

As entertaining a read as it was, Timebomb was somewhat directionless in its plot and ultimately served as little more than setup for the main story, its abrupt termination leaving events hanging at a crucial moment. Addressing this, the beginning of Second Lives swiftly clears up the narrative and temporal clutter left by the ending of its predecessor – such as Dora’s 11th-hour transformation from a meek scullery maid to a black-clad ninja warrior – and allows events to get underway in full force.

Stretching from a rural estate in 17th century Cornwall to the capital city of a Martian colony 150 years in the future, the teens leap back and forth as they search for answers to a series of mysteries, occasionally revisiting moments from the previous book when they saw themselves at a future point, each making much more sense this time around. Despite all the time jumping shenanigans, the advancing plot extends in a constant flow as though it were a fixed course along which the teenagers must navigate. Regardless of how much time they each live out else when for various reasons, the narrative timeframe will always continue in an inexorable advancement that they are drawn back to; the Time in San Dimas if you like.

As the plot largely deals with events of the past affecting the future, the discussion of the possible results of altering the timeline call to memory some classic explorations of the subject, such as H. G. Well’s novel The Time Machine or Ray Bradbury’s short story A Sound of Thunder. Since nobody is aware of the full ramifications of meddling with the timeline or creating paradoxes, an added level of danger is added from no one being sure of the full outcome of their decisions, regardless of whether they take action in a situation or not. The book acknowledges how annoying expository reticence can be, and while some characters still intentionally hold back key revelations until suitably dramatic junctures, they do so out of wariness about creating temporal issues rather than the author intentionally withholding information to appear cleverer.

It takes a little concentration to fully follow the plot’s twisting, looping and occasionally repeating structure, but it all eventually makes sense, and by the end of the book the mystery behind the ultimate cause of the travails of the central trio is revealed, ending things on another cliff-hanger but also setting things up nicely for the concluding chapter of the trilogy.

SECOND LIVES / AUTHOR: SCOTT K. ANDREWS / PUBLISHER: HODDER & STOUGHTON / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

This first volume of Wolf Country collects the ongoing saga’s first four issues along with a previously unavailable introductory tale, telling the tale of a group of vampire colonists eking out survival in the heart of the titular wasteland that they consider holy ground for some as-yet unspecified reason, fending off regular assaults by tribes of werewolves.

Although vampire tales are well on the way out what with everyone now being over Twilight and True Blood getting a bit shit long before its languished death throes, Wolf Country proves that there is still life in stories about the undead. The story first begins as a simple vampires vs werewolves tale within a Western setting, but soon develops into something far greater as its myriad intricacies become revealed.

Through following a diverse assortment of characters such as Luke, a boy who became an overnight pseudo-messianic celebrity after killing a wolf barehanded while still a teenager; Carmichael, a tracker who appears to be some kind of vampire nobility; and Halfpenny, leader of the Settlement and a hardened werewolf slayer, the tale of the vampires’ eternal war against their lycanthrope enemy is slowly expanded.

The action jumps between the isolation of the Settlement and the true heart of vampire civilisation, the vast metropolis of the Kingdom. The events in each setting give us a compelling overview of vampire society and ideology, and it’s a testament to Alexander’s talent at world building that an outpost fort in the heart of enemy territory feels in no way at odds with being a colony of a sprawling and vastly populated city-state. Indeed, as much disregard as the populace of each have for those of the other, the varying levels of puritanical zealotry is really the only difference between them. Additionally, small details dropped into dialogue give us further details without appearing as jarring infodumps, developing the wider scope of the setting at a measured and organic pace.

Various themes run through the story such as class divisions within society and the self-righteousness of religious fundamentalism, but they are presented in such a way that they avoid being mirrors of any specific real-world ideal, instead remaining open to the interpretation of the reader and can be ascribed whatever significance is deemed appropriate. Once the end of the book is reached it becomes apparent that the story is only just getting started, and that there are many more developments and revelations to come. 

WOLF COUNTRY / AUTHOR: JIM ALEXANDER / ARTIST: WILL PICKERING, LUKE COOPER / PUBLISHER: PLANET JIMBOT / RELEASE DATE: JUNE 11TH

 

Genre fans really need to take note of Stephen Graham Jones. He has a way with his prose that makes the words dance across the page and now he has turned his attention to the world of werewolves, we should be pricking up our ears.

Mongrels follows a family of werewolves – grandfather, grandson and his auntie and uncle – as they exist nomadically, roaming like a literal pack across the southern states of North America, so as to avoid leaving tell-tale tracks in the snow at winter time.

The grandson, who is deliberately unnamed, acts as our guide and storyteller as we follow this family from one event to another as they try to stay one step ahead of hunters and the law. Although the events within the story are never totally bombastic, it’s understandable due to the fact that the main characters are doing their best to stay under the radar and survive.

There are plenty of humorous moments throughout, especially as our narrator doesn’t know whether he will actually end up turning into a lycanthrope at any point in his life, and the story cracks along at a great pace. The grandson is told tales from the family’s past, even though the proceedings seem to change each time he is told them, but this helps the reader as a little bit more information is offered to you due to this.

It’s nice to have an understated tale in this sub-genre that highlights just how difficult it must be to try and live your life day to day, cent to cent as you keep your ravenous and naturalistic tendencies out of the peeping eye of others, even when they suspect the truth.

It is a tale with family at its very core as the outcasts do everything they can to protect each other, even as events escalate and hiding doesn’t seem such a viable option anymore. There is a real Near Dark vibe to it and it is interesting to see that the author has chosen to write the novel in the way that he has, alternating chapters being told in first person and then third person to break up the narrative.

We suggest that you stop prowling your local bookstore and just buy this already.

You’d be howling mad not to!

MONGRELS / AUTHOR: STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES / PUBLISHER: HARPER VOYAGER / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

A female vampire emerges from a grandfather clock at the stroke of midnight. This iconic moment from Le Frisson des Vampires (1970) may be the ‘master image’ of the late, great French surrealist, Jean Rollin. Often derided as a Eurotrash director, or confused with Jess Franco, Rollin is much maligned and misunderstood. As David Hinds explains in this marvellous study of Rollin’s work, partly this is because Rollin’s career has fallen into two very distinct categories.

On the one hand, there are the personal works, those that are imbued with Rollin’s poetic sensibilities; strange, beautiful films that can only be described as art-horror. Rollin’s first film Le Viol du Vampire (1968) caused a riot in the Paris cinema where it was first shown because it broke the conventions of the Hammer vampire film, replacing them with Rollin’s own idiosyncratic thematic preoccupations and striking visual sense. Other films in this category include Requiem pour un Vampire (1971), and his later Fascination (1979) and La Morte Vivante (1982). Hinds aptly describes Rollin’s personal films as ‘gentle, romantic and playful. They often embody an innocent fairytale ambience. They do not aim to directly shock the viewer, but immerse them in another world – a world of the fantastique’.

On the other hand, there are those films on which Rollin worked only as a director-for-hire; impersonal projects that Rollin made under pseudonyms. Rollin made them for the money and put very little of himself into these films, which are shoddy affairs, and include hardcore pornographic titles. Unfortunately, these crassly exploitative films have tended to overshadow his personal work. Amongst these jobbing titles is perhaps his best-known film, the atrocious Le Lac des Morts Vivants (1981), aka Zombie Lake, upon which much of Rollin’s reputation is regrettably based.

Written with the full cooperation of Rollin before his death in 2010, Fascination will do much to reset the balance and help restore Rollin’s reputation as one the most original European horror directors. Hinds devotes careful evaluation both to the personal works and the hack jobs, to those like Lèvres de Sang (1976) and Raisins de la Mort (1978), that fall somewhere in between. Hinds takes each film in turn, provides a full production background and discusses in detail how each fits into the Rollin oeuvre. Illustrated with rare behind the scenes stills and rounded off with an in-depth interview with Rollin himself conducted in 2005, Fascination serves as wonderful introduction to the master’s work. In his attempt to recuperate Rollin as a key figure in horror cinema, Hinds is bound to make you want to seek out at least some of the films of this hitherto underrated artist.

FASCINATION: THE CELLULOID DREAMS OF JEAN ROLLIN / AUTHOR: DAVID HINDS / PUBLISHER: HEADPRESS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

The horror film reveals as much – if not more – about the British psyche than the more ‘respectable’ traditions of social realist drama and heritage cinema and yet it’s often relegated to a footnote in British cinema textbooks. At any rate, very rarely is its cultural resonance explored as deeply as it is in this thoroughly researched, enjoyably written and comprehensive book.

Author Ian Cooper works from the central premise that British horror is characterised by a very English fascination with gruesome murder (as best exemplified by the films of Hitchcock), and is distinct from the American tradition of ‘the carny, the freakshow and the EC Comic book’: British horror cinema is a potent fusion of the Gothic and the gory.

Cooper divides his study into six time periods. In ‘‘It’s Alive’: The Birth of Home Grown Horror’, he traces the early years of the British horror film from the quota quickie, through Amicus via Dead of Night (1945). Any survey of British horror has to acknowledge the primacy of Hammer; Cooper devotes his second chapter the studio’s work in detail, arguing that Hammer is itself an ‘auteur’, whilst also acknowledging the importance of key figures like Terence Fisher, Robert S. Baker and Monty Berman. Chapter Three focuses on the American influence via directors like Roger Corman (with his Poe series) and actors such as Vincent Price. This leads into ‘soft sex and hard gore in the savage seventies’, as Cooper discusses the works of Pete Walker, Anthony Balch, and other 1970s shockers that took British horror out of the Victorian past. The final chapter concentrates on British horror’s rise from the grave in the last ten years, with directors like Neil Marshall, James Watkins and Ben Wheatley continuing to push the boundaries of British horror whilst also respecting its traditions.

It is often when Cooper goes off the beaten track that the book is at its most rewarding: in Frightmares Andy Milligan gets to rub shoulders with Tony Tenser at Tigon (in the chapter ‘Bloody Foreigners – New Perspectives’), Sidney Lumet’s The Offence is studied as a variation of the 1970s cycle of excessive thrillers, and Robert Hartford-Davies’s The Fiend (1972) is given detailed consideration in terms of its ‘gospel sounds and sex murders’. Cooper’s discussion of lesser-known directors like Peter Collinson is equally insightful. Frightmares is witty and engaging throughout, with at least one laugh-out-loud moment (the way that Cooper describes Johnny Alucard’s demise in Dracula AD. 1972 is hilarious).

Frightmares is a more-than-worthy addition to the growing list of books on Brit-horror; and for the devoted fan, it’s a must-read.

FRIGHTMARES / AUTHOR: IAN COOPER / PUBLISHER: AUTEUR PUBLISHING / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW