SubscribeThis is the perfect book to read right before Halloween! Its scary, its creepy, its the type of book that would make a great movie. The special effects alone would be really interesting to check out.
The story is about four people in the town of Leppington, (which is supposed to be somewhere in England). The town was founded by a family of the same name, who had a dark and mysterious history. Once, the town was prosperous, and many people were employed at the local slaughterhouse that sits in the middle of town. By now, however, the town is past its prime, and no one there is happy to be there.
There are four people who are the main characters of this story. None of them know each other when the story starts. They soon find themselves drawn together and involved in a prophesy that gets revealed in parts and pieces as the story goes on. It all ties together really well! I won’t say much, so as not to give away anything.
Bernice works in the leech farm in town, and is staying in the one hotel in town. She has become obsessed with a video tape she found in the hotel that shows an American man who is doing a documentary about the town. He disappears, and Bernice is constantly thinking about him, and wants to find him.
Electra owns the hotel, which is seems to be the place where people go to kill themselves. Both her parents died while living and working in the hotel. There also seems to be something wierd going on in the basement. Its a really dark, damp, creepy cellar. There is a giant door with several padlocks on it at the back. Electra’s mom claimed she heard people behind that door right before she died. Now, Electra is hearing voices and noises from back there too.
Jack Black, whose name could be anything at all, is basically a thug. He yells, breaks things, beats people up. He seems hell bent on just stealing stuff, and is in the process of doing so when he finds himself drawn back into the town of Leppington. Hes a scary guy with scars and tattoos on his face. He has a superhuman pain tolerance, and also reads minds.
Then there is David Leppington, last ancestor of the Leppington line. He has come back to town to visit his uncle, who he has not seen since he was six. The uncle reveals some really strange things about the family history to him, which David vaguely remembers some of from when he was tiny. I won’t go into details, so as not to ruin the book. David decides he really does not believe in any of what he is told. And then, people start to go missing, and turn up “dead”, leaving David to wonder just what he should be doing now.
Much of the book is about thinking the monster is about to jump out and get the characters. Its scary! Its also very creepy, and also really bloody. The only difficulty with this book is that is is very British. Being an American, it took me a little while to adjust to the different word choices. Its “the lift” instead of the elevator. Its “A Chinese Bringing Back”, instead of Chinese carry out. Once you get used to that, it gets better.
The book is way more detailed that I ever expected it to be! The family legend is brilliant, and the way the characters get tied together is perfect. Its also what I think of as “A Real Horror Book”, which means scary and gorey, and NOT a love story thing, and at the same time really really creepy! If you enjoy some of Stephen King’s older stuff, or some of Clive Barker’s work, you will enjoy this book too. There are vampires in this book, and they are not like the Vampires in other books that I have been reading lately. Some are zombie like, some are more traditional, and some seem to be possessed by a darker force. Really interesting!
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A fantastic book if you’re into the vampire genre. Found this book quite by accident and have probably read it upwards of 20 times. Simon Clark has the ability to draw you in and keep you there on the edge of your seat. A definite spine tingler. Read this and then the follow up novel Vampyrrhic Rites and you’ll be hooked to this writer forever. Genius!
Comment by G Wales 11.20.06 @ 6:58 am