As regular readers of this blog might remember, I occasionally make mention on here of
books that really strike me, that I feel ought to get as much attention as is
possible. Well, this post is about just
such a book (which, even though I only finished it yesterday, has become my joint favourite read of the year).
When I was at FantasyCon, I went to the Spectral Press
readings (my own Spectral Press chapbook - sold out in advance of publication -
was delivered over that weekend too), which was a two-hander between Simon
Bestwick, a friend of long-standing whose work I admire a great deal and Stephen Volk, a writer I am - to be frank
- somewhat in awe of. He was reading
from a novella called “Whitstable”, which wouldn’t be published until May
2013 and as he described the way his lead character smoked, wearing a glove, I thought ‘that’s
Peter Cushing’ - and it was (May 2013 marks the centenary of his birthday).
The reading whetted my appetite and so when Simon Marshall
Jones, head honcho of Spectral Press, mentioned that the book was available for
pre-order, I put my name down and suggested that if it was possible to read it
beforehand, I’d love to do so. Simon
sent me the ms as a Word document and I read it quickly, enjoying and savouring
every last word.
This is my review, which I posted at Goodreads.
In 1971, a recently bereaved Peter Cushing locks himself
away in his Whitstable home, intending to cut himself off from day-to-day life
in order to grieve privately. For years,
as the star of numerous horror films, he has despatched creatures of the night
with their fake fangs, pelts and blood but after a trip to the beach and an
encounter with a young boy, he quickly discovers that some monsters are
human. With grief weighing heavily on
him but a strong desire to protect the innocent, Peter Cushing now faces a very
real terror.
Using certain real-life events, Volk deftly creates a loving
- if occasionally harsh and unblinking - fictional biography of an actor most
(if not all) genre fans are familiar with and through the strength of his
writing, we come to love Peter Cushing, feeling his immense hurt and pain and
wanting the absolute best for him.
Interwoven with this is a beautifully underplayed horror story - with no
ghosts or ghoulies - where Cushing comes up against Les Gledhill, a man whose
step-son-to-be thinks of as a vampire but is, in reality, much worse. Their two key exchanges, once on the doorstep
of Cushing’s house and another, at the local cinema, are fantastic, with
tour-de-force writing that managed to enthral, terrify and appal this reader. In addition, the latter confrontation takes
place whilst the two men are watching “The Vampires Lovers” and Volk
intersperses scenes from the film in a way I’ve never read before, that is
about as cinematic as it’s possible to be on the printed page.
Richy detailed (1971 is lovingly and painstakingly
reproduced and even if you’ve never been to Canterbury, you have been in that
tea shop), with some amusing exchanges (Carl, the boy who starts it all off,
can’t quite work out what connection this Peter Cushing person might have to
Van Helsing ) and nicely written memories (of Morecombe & Wise and the
personalities he worked with on the Hammer films) this is the kind of book you
wish you could read anew each and every time.
Darkly elegant and full of almost poetic moments (“Cushing
trembled a smile…”), showing the horrors of life and the consequences of losing
a beloved whilst also remaining strong in the belief that love is forever, this
is a truly beautiful book, scary, moving and hopeful in equal measures, that
should be read by everyone who has even a passing interest in the horror
genre. Highly recommended.
If this sounds like your cup of tea, the book can be
pre-ordered direct from the Spectral Press website here
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