BORN TO THE DARK - Ramsey Campbell


It's been a bit more than thirty years since the events of the first book in Ramsey Campbell's The Three Births of Daoloth series (this is the second book in the series). Dominic Sheldrake is now married and has a son of his own and he's hoping he can finally put the incidents with Christian Noble behind him. But his son, Toby, is having nighttime seizures and nightmares, bringing back some terrifying memories.

Dominic and his wife Claudine have found a clinic that addresses the issues which Toby suffers from and it seems his symptoms are becoming more common. Are these shared visions? Is Christian Noble somehow behind this and is he taking aim at the world?

Dominic will need the help of some old friends to confront a familiar, growing evil.

Ramsey Campbell is a powerhouse in the world of horror literature but if you are looking for horror that is aggressive, slasher, or splatter, then you might be disappointed.  Campbell's horror is slow and methodical. Think Lovecraft, not King.

Campbell's horror is based on character - on people - and Campbell really understands what makes people tick, what drives them, and what terrifies them, and then he builds on to intensify each aspect.

What works especially well here is the history. Knowing that Dominic has survived a rough youth and his experiences with the betrayal of a trusted guardian, a teacher, puts the reader on edge immediately, and Campbell plays with this, making Dominic and Claudine's life seem somehow idyllic. But we know the kind of book we're getting in to and we can watch the horror build up, almost painfully slowly. But that in itself builds anxiety.

I wasn't a big fan of Christian Noble in the first book, but here it's Noble's daughter who has taken up her father's mantle and she makes a great foil in the story.

I did find the book a bit slow, but overall I enjoy this 'slow-boil' sort of psychological horror.

Looking for a good book? Born to the Dark is the second book in a trilogy by Ramsey Campbell.  It is methodical psychological horror, which definitely isn't for everybody, but fans of the genre will want to dig in.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

3-1/2 stars

* * * * * *

Born to the Dark

author: Ramsey Campbell

series: The Three Births of Daoloth #2

publisher: PS Publishing

ISBN: 1786361868

hardcover, 287 pages

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MURDLE VOLUME 1 - G. T. Karber

Image
 I enjoy puzzles of many different varieties. I had not heard of 'Murdle' before this but essentially this is a combination of the game of Clue and a Sherlock Holmes micro story. With suspects, possible murder weapons, potential locations, and/or motives plus some very brief hints, readers are meant to combine the logic of what's know with deductive reasoning to identify the killer (or killers?) in 100 different mystery word puzzles. I will admit right off the bat that I did not do all 100.  I didn't even do half of these, but I did so some random sampling through all the categories (Elementary, Occult Medium, Hard Boiled, and Impossible). I did not get any correct in the Impossible category (of course not ... they were impossible!) and only one correct in the Hard Boiled (of five). The Elementary puzzles were, as expected, pretty easy and the Hard Boiled only a little bit more difficult. Each mini mystery comes with a grid printed in the book to help the reader-detecti
Read more

VINYL RESTING PLACE - Olivia Blacke

Image
 Juni Jessup and her two sister, Tansy and Maggie, have gone into business together in their hometown of Cedar River, Texas, opening a combination record store and coffee shop. Vinyl LPs are making a comeback after all, despite critics thinking the medium was dead.  But speaking of 'dead' ... finding a dead body in the supply closet just as they are looking to have a grand opening is not part of the plan.  Juni's life gets more complicated when their uncle, Calvin, already a suspect in the murder, disappears. And the police officer leading the investigation is Juni's EX-boyfriend (who passive-aggressively keeps putting himself back into her life). Convinced that her uncle would never murder anyone, Juni sets out to prove his innocence - which isn't easy since he's making himself look guilty - because Calvin is family and family is EVERYthing to Juni. As readers of my blog know, I'm not a big fan of most cozy mysteries, but the setting caught my eye and my in
Read more

THE RAVEN THIEF - Gigi Pandian

Image
 With Tempest Raj now a member of the company, Secret Staircase Construction (a company who, as their title suggests, builds mystery-themed, secret rooms inside homes) has finished their first job. Their client now wants to celebrate to kick off her new beginning - new home and new life now that she's divorced from her cheating ex-husband, famous mystery author Corbin Colt. First up, a mock séance to remove any trace of Corbin from the property, led by Tempest's friend, Sanjay.   But during that séance, while all those gathered sat in a dark room holding hands, Corbin's dead body crashes the party, falling across the table in front of everyone. There were eight people in the room, and they were all holding hands, but all the evidence points to one of them being the murderer.  Suspicions point to Ash, Tempest's grandfather, because he was the only one with Corbin's blood on him. Of course, as a doctor, he was also the only one who checked on the body - wherein he acq
Read more