Ramsey Campbell: Ancient Images

[lenny nero]

This one was a lot of fun. It had a definite Wicker Man vibe to it. I loved the creepy stick men that stalked the protag throughout the book. Also loved how she kept unconsciously dismissing them as shadows. Fave scene was when she had finally got to watch the film in the rundown theater, great sense of dread in that scene. Ending was so-so. Picked up The Count of Eleven and Midnight Sun at the used store this past weekend.

 

[Will]

I found Ancient Images quite a lot of fun to read, and very well written at times. Campbell definitely knows how to navigate this horror stuff certainly. That said, this one does lose it a couple of times as it progresses deeper in, and toward the end it's definitely flaking a bit and that spoils an otherwise great concept and good start. Shame really. I reviewed it more fully here.

If you like Campbell's style I recommend that you check out Adam Nevill. His novels Banquet for the Damned and Apartment 16 are very strong supernatural books. The first of those has at times a similar 'nature/wiccan' vibe to that of Ancient Images.