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Two scary novels for Halloween!

26th October 2018

Two scary novels for Halloween – Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach by Ramsey Campbell, and Night Shift by Robin Triggs.

To put you in the mood for Halloween we thought we’d review two new horror novels. They are both very different, but they are both pretty scary!

Two scary novels for Halloween

Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach is written by Ramsey Campbell, one of the great horror writers of our time. It is set on the imagined Greek Island of Valisema. The island has recently become popular with tourists, and thousands flock to it each year. A family group of three generations of the same English family – grandparents, children and partners, and grandchildren – arrives on the island. They soon discover there is something strange happening – shadowy figures appear and disappear, the natives are sullen, the tourists on Sunset Beach (near where the family are staying) keep well out of the sun under large umbrellas – and look remarkably pallid. The also sleep a lot during the day (but perhaps that’s not so strange on holiday…). Then there are the bites – three of our group are strangely bitten at night (they know not by what) and these three become even more wary of the holiday sunshine.  And what is the connection between a mutilated body found in a cave – and the deserted ruins of an old monastery in the hills above? The grandmother has terminal cancer and she, one of the bitten ones, suddenly begin to feel a great deal better. What is going on?

Horror is not normally my thing, but Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach got under my skin. The atmosphere throughout the book is tense and foreboding. And it certainly makes you think about life and death, and what could be in between. An ideal Halloween read!

Night Shift is totally different. It is set in a post-apocalyptic, resource-starved world. The United Nations is a diminished power and much of the world is controlled by The Companya shadowy organisation that has almost complete authority over the thoughts and actions of its employees. The Company has set up a base in Antartica from where it intends to mine minerals, extract oil and grow food to meet the needs of the diminished world. Anders, not the most experienced of operatives, is sent to the base as security officer. He arrives just as the night shift of the title (six months of darkness) commences. First, the communications tower is blown up (cutting the base off entirely from the outside world) and then there is a series of other facility explosions and murders on the site. The survivors have to bunker down and try and survive the six months until rescue can appear, with only very limited supplies. Anders leads the investigation into what is going on but the others quite naturally suspect him of being involved in the disaster. They are a close knit group who trust each other, and he is the newcomer. The denouement is both surprising and well worked. The fact that this is a horror book might be clue that this is not a straightforward thriller! Again one to make you think.

Two good books to get you in the mood for Halloween. Promise you won’t be scared…!

Tony for the TripFiction team

Follow Ramsey Campbell on Twitter and Robin Triggs on Twitter

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