Curfew

by Phil Rickman

When record tycoon Max Goff travels to the Welsh village of Crybbe and decides to replace the ancient standing stones that once surrounded the town, he unleashes a centuries-old evil. Reprint.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Mystery, Paranormal, Supernatural, Thriller, Fantasy

625 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 26, 1993

About the author

Phil Rickman, also known under the pen names Thom Madley and Will Kingdom, was a British author of supernatural and mystery novels.

Reviews

[Jonathan Janz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not much time to write a review, but here are a few thoughts:

1. Rickman is an old-school craftsman who really takes care with his word choice and his sentence structure. He's also an impressive plotter who was able to tie together a staggering number of characters and subplots into a whole that wasn't simply coherent, but was consistently engaging as well.

2. There are moments of genuine terror in this book. It takes a great deal to scare me, but this novel accomplished that feat several times.

3. It's long, and if you're like me, it'll take you awhile to read. But for me, that only enhanced the enjoyment. Sometimes you simply want to become lost in another world and another place for a goodly while. If you can get used to Rickman's style--which worked beautifully for me but probably isn't suited for everyone's taste--you'll find this a very rewarding book.

Highly recommended!

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read with a lot of ambiance. Curfew is set in a fictional town Crybbe on the border between Wales and England. A boring town, a sleepy town, a town with a nasty little secret. The story features a wide cast, but the main protagonist is Fay, a late 20s radio reporter, who recently moved to Crybbe to take care of her father, a canon (an Anglican priest?) who is starting to suffer from dementia. Fay hates the town, but manages to find a minor job with the local radio station.

Max Goff is another featured character. He is something of a Richard Branson type of guy (he had to be the inspiration for Rickman) who made a lot of money producing punk albums in the 70s and 80s. Now, he has seemingly been turned on by 'New Age' type things, you know, crystals and such, and sees something in Crybbe; in fact, he wants to put it on the map as a tourist attraction. Why? Crybbe is something of a spiritual nest of power, going back at least 400 years. There is a large 'Tump' or burial mound just outside of town surrounding by a stout stone wall and apparently, there used to be a large number of stone monuments around town on the various 'ley-lines'.

Rickman takes us pretty deep into new age territory here as Goff has been collecting various new age specialists and offering them houses in Crybbe. So, many of the characters are these specialists, like Tarot card readers, mediums, chiropractors, etc.

What I really liked about the book is the feel Rickman gave us of the small town of Crybbe. Located off the major travel ways, young people have been leaving for decades, leaving an aging group of farmers. The town does have a strange tradition of the curfew, when exactly at 10 PM the 8th bell of the church tower is rung 100 times; one family has passed down this task for generations in return for some grazing land deeded by someone 400 years ago. The local dialect takes a bit to sink in, as do the various names for things, but it does give you a rather 'authentic' feel for the town.

I will not go much into the plot here, except to say that 400 years ago, the local sheriff was into some strange black magic stuff and liked to hang people and sleep with their wives. It seems he is largely forgotten today, but Goff knows something about it and the town and it features into his plans...

My biggest problem with this novel is that it was rather long and tangled, that and the ending dragged on for 50 pages more than it should have. Rickman reminds me of Peter Straub-- kinda long winded, many characters and some intense plotting. This came out in the early 90s but I do not think Rickman made it big in the states at the time. Nice gothic feel and story. 3 new age stars!

[Bandit · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like the book. Its size has put me off of reading it for years, but once I got to it I really wanted to like it. Normally I really enjoy british horror. But this one just didn't really work for me. This is a tough book to review, it really is. It didn't have any obvious faults, it had a decent and failry original plot, the writing was pretty solid and the atmosphere was appropriately dark. It was just...so long. So very very mind numbingly long that it left the reader nearly indifferent to what was going on or appreciative of the plot turns. I've looked and this seems to be the case with all of Rickman's fiction, it is written as if the man gets paid by the word or at least he's never met a word he didn't like. I've read large books before that were very enjoyable, most recently the terrific NOS4A2, but seems to me that a story epic in size should possess, well...epicness, should offer more than just a tiny english hamlet on the border haunted by ancient evil and besieged by new agers plot. Epic stories to me should have great awe inspiring wildly imaginative plots, charismatic unique and interesting characters...just...that epic quality that Curfew didn't have. Curfew was just a long long book that was laborious to read. It could have been much better had it been condensed into a novel half its size or at the very least two thirds. Lot of potential here but a soporific execution.

[Hunter Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Rickman's best! Give me English country horror any day.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phil Rickman's first novel takes on the clash of romanticized olde Englande, New Age hocus-pocus, the Village Green versus the terminally conservative countryside. A billionaire record company owner chooses the forgotten border town of Crybbe as a center of New Age earth magic, obviously a future tourist mecca, recruiting and bankrolling an assortment of believers, pagans, and cranks. The plan is to restore the ancient standing stones destroyed by the locals, which were supposedly erected along a ley-line (remember the hokey ending of “The Da Vinci Code” and the “rose-line” in the streets of Paris?)—invisible lines crisscrossing Britain that many New Agers imagine connect ancient sites of power (megaliths, etc.). But who knows, they just might have a much more negative, perhaps even terrifying purpose. Besides removing the stones, the villagers have built a wall around the strange burial mound known as the Tump and religiously ring a curfew bell every night, one hundred times. Rickman interweaves the stories of numerous characters and builds the tension in fits and starts to an inevitable climax. Compelling blend of literate horror, psychological drama, social comedy, and pop culture.


Rickman might google as a “horror” writer, but his books turn up in the mystery section of the bookstore. “Horror (or gothic) mystery” without detectives—though in his more recent series, a sort of detective figure exists in the female Anglican priest/ exorcist Merrily Watkins. (The first of these is "Wine of Angels"--very tasty!) All of his novels take place in the Welsh border country, and incorporate elements, both seriously considered and parodic, of the occult, pagan, “new age,” and supernatural. I wouldn’t even include this on my GoodReads page if I weren’t ready to defend this guy as a smart and literate writer of witty and provocative thrillers.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phil Rickman is an author who continues to write the kind of horror novels I like best. This novel managed to keep me from guessing the outcome ahead of time.

Bless you, Phil Rickman, for your sensitive handling of Arnold's storyline and not going for the cheap emotional manipulation so frequently used by the tired hacks of the horror genre. This book earns a Pet Lovers Seal of Approval!

*SPOILERISH*

I do love a story where sweet ladies of a certain age wearing tartan skirts and errant heavy equipment operators can be heroes and possibly hook up for a happily-ever-after ending in the readers imagination.

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to read a book which will give you nightmares – or at the very least keep you awake then try this one. It is a very long book – over seven hundred pages – and the complex storyline will keep you reading and raise the hair on the back of your neck. The main element of the story is the small border town of Crybbe situated between England and Wales. The inhabitants seem very dour and keep themselves to themselves but things are about to take a turn for the worse.

Max Goff – multi-millionaire – has bought the almost derelict Crybbe Court and wants to turn the town into a New Age paradise with lots of alternative therapists and healers. He has been buying up property and inviting people he wants to be part of his project to live in the houses. The people concerned include J M Powys who once published a book about ley lines and Jean Wendle – a barrister turned healer. Fay Morrison, radio reporter, has moved in with her father who has dementia but she is totally perplexed over the whole atmosphere of the town. Why doesn’t anyone have a dog? Why is the curfew bell tolled for one hundred strokes without fail every night?

There is a great deal more going on in this story and many people are not going to come out of the climax alive. I found it compelling reading and I was turning the pages faster and faster as I neared the end. Supernatural, spooky, evil people both past and present, alternative therapies, ley lines, spectral black dogs and a very knowledgeable modern one not to speak of a hill which seems to have a very strange effect on people. This is a potent mix for anyone who likes their reading material a little scary.

The book is well written and interesting and I thought the characters were well drawn and the descriptions brought the atmosphere of the place to life. There is an undercurrent of menace running throughout the book which gradually builds to the horrific conclusion. Yes there is violence and some gory descriptions but the author doesn’t dwell on the gore and injuries are usually described in one sentence leaving the reader to embellish it in their own imagination. Gomer Parry, the plant hire guy, who features in the Merrily Watkins series by the same author makes an earlier appearance in this book.

[The Local Spooky Hermit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty fun read. Some loose ends but its not suppose to be a perfect ending or anything. Liked all the stuff on folklore and fay/fairy. Pretty creepy at parts liked all the stuff about the lay lines. maybe i shouldve kept the book but I gotta make room for others. Its a slow burner I think, but worth it.
Update.. I think I regret getting rid of this. I think about it a ton lol. If you find it. Cherish it. Its a good read.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crybbe is an ancient village, not quite English and not quite Welsh, in which night seems to fall extra early. And each evening, after dark, one of the men of the Preece family must ring the curfew bell at the church, exactly 100 times. The villagers are the introverted, heads down type, and when a millionaire record producer barges in with plans to renovate the mysterious and decrepit old manor house and make a New Age center of Crybbe, they are not well pleased. Author Rickman, best known in America for his Merrily Watkins series, has populated this place with a constellation of compelling characters, few of whom understand fully what lies beneath its surface. As the story plays out, ever so slowly and menacing, two of them, a thirty-ish woman journalist and the writer of the bestselling "The Old Golden Land", take center stage. Among the list of players are several genuine ghosts, a film producer, an elderly minister struggling with senility, two teens steeped in evil, and a black "presence" that is responsible for the eerily malevolent mood that pervades Crybbe. But no dogs, not a one. Looming over the village is The Tump, an ancient "fairy fortress" that in modern times was completely enclosed with a high stone wall.

Phil Rickman is a very talented writer. If you're looking for a novel that bursts with mystery, atmosphere, and very often, genuine creepiness, you won't be disappointed with Curfew. 5 stars, and if I could rate it higher, I would.

[Kevin Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. One of those books that takes a while to read, is a slow burn, but is very much worth it. Kind of book I love to read, and would love to write someday, except I'm afraid if I did, it wouldn't be nearly as engaging. I have two other Rickman novels, so I'll definitely be reading those.

[Joann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slow burn but eventually it became a page turner, or rather compulsive listening to the audiobook. Some excellent insights here, and also writing good enough to give frissons of horror.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love This Author!

"In the centre of the town, patches of night gathered like damp about the roots of timber-framed buildings. They'd been turned into shops now, and offices and flats, but they still shambled around the square like sad old drunks.

Puddles of night stained the boots of Jack Preece..."

How can you pick up a book that starts out with prose like that and not be immediately hooked by the writing?! Phil Rickman writes with a lyrical descriptive voice, and at the same time captures the vernacular speech of his rural Welsh Border characters in such a way that you can hear them speaking. To top it all, his favorite subject is the interplay of energies between ancient Celtic myth/magic/spiritualism and modern... anaesthetised... culture, often to harrowing results.

Check out his Merrily Watkins series. Merrily is a priest (vicar) in the C of E. She is also a specialist: a Deliverance Consultant. That's a fancy late-twentieth century term for "exorcist." If you have any interest in the supernatural, here's food for thought. "Good" vs "evil", but not in any black and white way. Rickman is rarely sensational, and his exploration of the shades of grey is compelling. I read everything of his that I can get my hands on. One of my current favorite authors.

[Jourdemayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Curfew (or Crybbe in the UK) is one of Phil Rickman's earlier works. Because it is closer to Horror than the Merrily Watkins series, Curfew has a nasty quality that the Merrilys lack. I really wanted to be reading another Merrily, and I was rather cross until I get into the book. Once Joe Powys appears (Part II, I think) the book begins running on all cylinders, and is ultimately rewarding and satisfying. Add genuinely creepy AND the introduction of Gomer Parry, and we have a winner.

[Pam Baddeley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book a mixture of good and not so good, perhaps because it is the author's first novel, as I have since learned. In a nutshell, it is set in a small town in the borders between England and Wales: a place where the population are exceptionally dour and inward looking. Though as the story progresses it transpires that there is a good reason for this.

I won't summarise the plot which is long and rambling: the book is over 600 pages long and could probably have benefitted from being edited down somewhat. In one sentence it is about the clash of cultures when a rich man attempts to remake the community as a thriving New Age centre, reviving what he imagines are neolithic features of the landscape, and oblivious to evil forces which are manipulating events.

Of the characters, I didn't warm to the two main protagonists, either male (not introduced until over 100 pages in) or female, although I did like some of the minor ones such as Alex, the female protagonist's father, the dog Arnold, the suprisingly sprightly old lady who at first no one will take seriously when she speaks of darkness emerging from the large burial mound on the outskirts of the town, the retired colonel who is more than a stereotype, and Gomer Parry, the man from outside Crybbe who runs a plant and machinery business. There was another character who would have been a favourite and whose legacy extends through the book, but sadly he is killed off early on.

The writing is of a good standard and there is a good build up of suspense in places and some nastily tactile descriptions of the various supernatural manifestations. However it does take forever to 'get going', the denoument is very long also with various characters caught in limbo in the town square, and there are just too many minor characters - for example, it was difficult to tell the nasty boss of a local radio station - and what did happen to him? - and the TV producer apart. Some characters weren't really in the story for anything, I felt, other than to meet a gruesome end and in at least one case the art gallery owner it seemed completely gratuitous. So given these reservations, I would award this a 3 star rating.

[Heli Rantamaula · Rating 5 out of 5]

To me, this book didn't have the feel of a horror story even though it is officially classified as horror. Perhaps this was due to the way the story was told, or to the fact that I'm not especially afraid of ghosts. I would classify it as a paranormal thriller.

I give this book five stars because it managed to keep me captivated right from the start to the very end. Seán Barrett's narration is very pleasant to listen to, and I think he is the perfect choice for a darkly entertaining, spellbinding tale like this one. He does the voices and different accents very well, making each character distinct from the others. I enjoyed getting to know all the characters, both from the inside (when it was their turn to be the centre of the narrator's attention) and from the outside (when the narrator described how they were perceived by other characters). As others have commented, the pace this story progresses at is by no means fast, but the very realistically and insightfully created characters more than make up for it. Getting to know them and finding out what each of them is really up to was so interesting that there wasn't even one boring moment in the whole 22,5 -hour-long audiobook. The story was good, too, but what really stood out for me and earned this book the full 5 stars were the characters and the way the book was written. Insightful. Spellbinding. Brilliant.

[Siobhan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I brought this book expecting masses of horror throughout the book, only to be let down somewhat. The book takes a while to get into the real spooks and those moments are rather short-lived. The book itself focuses more upon working out about the unnatural nature of the town instead of letting us see what the real horror is.

That being said, I did enjoy parts the book. When there were those moments involving the supernatural aspects they were rather enjoyable. Moreover, whenever the book was focusing on the other aspects of the storyline (the relationships between people in particular) they were always enjoyable to read. Plus you can tell a lot of research went into understanding the reason behind the supernatural. Another great thing is that I quickly found myself attached to some of the characters – and quite often I found myself shocked by the changing tides which occurred around some of them.

As a whole it is a gripping read so long as you’re not expecting the kind of horror where you sleep with your light on for the next month.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Halfway through this, I was going to call it quits. But after reading enough positive reviews at Amazon, I decided to bite the bullet and stick it through to the end.
This novel is over 600 pages, and it really felt like it.

I should say that once I decided to plow through the 300s, I was quite glad I did. Things started to get very interesting, and the creep factor was getting there.

All in all, I guess I'm glad I saw it through to the end. It was a terrific setting, a quaint Welsh village with New Agers moving in, but it was a little longish. I wish the story could have been told in 400 pages or so.
As it was, I was rushing the end so that I could move on to something else. Usually I like to savour the end of a good read.
I can't not recommend it. Rickman has interesting ideas, and the book
was quite fun in parts (he made me laugh a couple of times)

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen King recommended. His blurb says: "Remarkable!"

This is somewhat of a prequel for the Merrily Watkins series as Gomer Parry plays a significant role in this book and in most of the Merrily Watkins books. This one is a LOT more supernatural than the Merrily Watkins books, however. I enjoyed being in a small village bordering England and Wales again, although the folks in this village are not very friendly. Read it and you'll find out why.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm only 1/3 of the way through this book, but I just don't see where all these rave reviews are coming from. Rickman is a good author, but most of the characters seem very two-dimensional, and the story moves at the pace of a constipated snail.
To be honest, so far it just seems like a neverending preamble. I'm quite bored, really. The ominous foreshadowing about the Tump and the evil that lurks beneath Crybbe just goes on, and on, and on. It's repetitive and droning and it shouldn't take 190 pages to get to the first hint of plot progression! As far as I can tell, neither the characters nor the storyline itself are complex enough to justify the length of this book.
Also: NOT SCARY. This is supposed to be a horror story, isn't it? I've read reviews saying Curfew will give you nightmares. Nightmares? Seriously? I'm 300 pages in and it's not even particularly creepy. Hopefully Curfew will pick up some steam soon, but so far I'm extremely disappointed.

UPDATE: I finished the book and it didn't change my original opinion at all. It was disappointing, start to finish. Even the culmination of the plot was drawn out and predictable. Overall: boring.

[Cassandra Glissadevil · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.4 stars!
Superb supernatural Welsh horror.
The Good- Not many horror writers flesh out characters like Rickman. Not just the main characters either. Minor players come alive and remind you of family, friends, and enemies from your past. Rickman animates Wales borderlands for all 5 senses. You can feel the earthy, dreary, stale smells of ancient Wales history on every page of Curfew. The dialog is so good that I read aloud page after page until my voice grew horse.

The Bad- Folks who demand instant thrills may grow tired of the slow motion endless reveals. I loved it! However, gore hounds probably won't like it. Others will suggest Phil get an editor. My only complaint? I'd prefer more terror. But Phil's prose more than makes up for the lack of jump scares.

The Ugly- Nothing ugly about Rickman's prose except the way Rickman describes ugly people and weary buildings. I've never seen such exquisite use of personification for describing buildings! Multiple examples worthy of writing seminars.

I've read 2 of Rickman's 5 Horror novels. I read December twice. I can't wait to read the other 3. Bottom line? Rickman is in the top 10% of living literary horror prose writers.

[Barbara ★ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm wondering if all these rave reviewers actually read something other than what I read. As a horror novel, this book is terrible. There is no suspense at all and not even anything creepy. Oh sure there's the Tump but nothing happens with it for over 450 pages and even that revelation wasn't enough to save this book. I don't think 625 pages was required to tell this story. It just rambled on and on detailing the lives (or lack of lives really) of a bunch of miserable people living "alone" in the town of Crybbe. Of yeah there's over 3000 people in this little burgh but none of them are friends, they all hide in their houses and barely even acknowledge the existence of anyone else. Oh but the Tump is watching. WTF!

I can honestly say that I've wasted the last three days reading this. I understand that this is a debut novel (which really should have been better edited) so I will probably give this author another chance but not anytime in the near future.

[Brian Durfee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love droll English mysteries. I love horror. This book combines the two. Think Elizabeth George meets Stephen King. Loved this. Went and ordered every novel by Rickman on Amazon.uk.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

City-type dangers is something they takes for granted – never questions it. But they never thinks there might be risks in the country, too, as they don’t understand. Well, we don’t understand ’em properly neither, but at least ... at least we knows there’s risks. [p. 639]

Crybbe is a quaint little town on the Welsh border, not really on the tourist trail despite its picturesque town square, its ancient monument the Tump, and its centuries-old traditional curfew bell, rung one hundred times every night at 10pm. The townsfolk are placid, untalkative, relentlessly ordinary. Radio reporter Fay Morrison, who's moved to Crybbe to look after her father the canon (early stages of dementia) finds it an unwelcoming place. Bransonesque music mogul Max Goff wants to turn Crybbe into a New Age mecca, importing tarot readers, mediums and the like. His latest recruit is J M Powys, author of a well-received Earth Mysteries book, who's mourning the death of his friend, the dowser Henry Kettle. Powys -- Joe -- finds that Kettle left him a legacy, a house in Crybbe. But he also begins to realise that there is something very dark about Crybbe, something that the townsfolk tried to keep at bay when they destroyed the ancient standing stones: something that Goff and his cohorts risk awakening.

This, Phil Rickman's first novel, is extremely long -- 700 pages in print -- and somewhat rambling: nevertheless, I raced through it in two evenings, because it's engaging, well-paced and keeps the mysteries coming. There's a nice balance between actual dark horror and gentle mockery of the New Age types, with interesting characters (including plant hire magnifico Gomer Parry, who appears in the Merrily Watkins books but is rather younger here) and some powerful scenes. First published in 1993, so it feels authentically 1990s rather than dated: no mobile phones, no internet to speak of, that pre-millennial new age culture that seems to have either faded away or transmuted into activism.

I bought this in November 2014, and finally read it as part of my 'Down in the Cellar' self-challenge, which riffs on the metaphor of to-be-read pile as wine-cellar rather than to-do list.

[Georgina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked Curfew up from the library after coming it across it on a thread on Facebook where people had posted on their scariest reads. It's a long time since I've read a book that really petrified me and love watching films through my fingers. I admit to binging on Shaun Hutson in my teenage years. Then got into a bit of a silly snobby phase of reading "literature." So left the horror genre behind and never really got back to it.

Now I've read that Rickman doesn't like his early books - of which "Curfew" (originally published as "Crybbe") was his second offering - being caterogised as horror. So he may be happy to read that I wouldn't class it as a horror either. It is a certainly a story with supernatural elements; creepy but not terrifying; violent deaths abound but descriptions aren't playing for shock value gore. What makes it engaging is that Rickman draws his inspiration from British folklore and ritual; you get a sense of the eerie atmosphere of historic and sometimes ancient towns and villages. You certainly get a realistic experience of the distrustful and exclusionary nature of locals towards people from 'off'.

The novel moves with the pace of visiting tourist. It's almost 700 pages but I enjoyed every page. The multiple characters are well drawn and distinct. They are believable and have to be for the reader to accept the supernatural events that slowly build to a crescendo.

Rickman is an author I will certainly read again.

[Linda Burnham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh wow! I am loving reading these older Phil Rickmans that I had formerly neglected, due to being a big fan of his Merrily Watkins series. Crybbe is my favourite so far. So gripping, such a thrilling Welsh border region mystery! I didn't want to put it down till I reached the climax. Loved it!

[alexander shay · Rating 2 out of 5]

How long this book took me to read is indicator enough to me how I felt about it. I only bothered to finish this at all because it was a buddy read and I was intrigued just enough to keep reading. Which didn't stop me from putting it down and reading several other books in between (twice); the writing style itself was so off-putting I needed a break from that more than the story.

This is definitely the traditional 90's horror novel; large cast of characters, a lot of head hopping, very shallow character development and no depth to any characters, lots of stated feelings and -ly adverbs. Rickman's book bothered me more than most I've read from this era because he used probably 10 adverbs per page and many of them made no sense, ex. "fell massively into the crowd", and the similes and metaphors he used didn't really make much sense either. I actively disliked or was disinterested in every single character put on the page, couldn't get into any of their heads enough to understand anything they did (though I had several moments of 'this feels OOC for this person'), and could hardly keep track of who was who because it's a small town where several people have the same last name because they're related. Trying to keep track of what generation each character was from and how they were related to the other characters was harder to follow than The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Each character also sounded the same beyond the accent/no accent and the similes used in both narration and dialogue were the same regardless of the POV character/character that was speaking.

Rickman ahas a habit of writing sentences without a subject, ex "Slinking down the walls." I used to do this but always got corrected by anyone who read my work, and it actually kind of throws me off to read it from other writers now. He also uses very short segments such that a single chapter might have 10-15 sections from 6 - 8 different characters and each section is less than a page, which didn't make it feel fast paced like a thriller, but rather like I wasn't allowed to settle in with any one character, to the point that I honestly can't tell you who the protagonist was.

Maybe because I took so many breaks and they were quite long but it felt like 80% or more of the real paranormal stuff happened in the last 50 pages (my copy was 625 pages) and at least 50% of the book could have been chopped out with no detrimental effects. Horror books generally take a while to build up but this felt like a total flatline until 50%, then a small spike, and then out the cieling at 80%. Too much was figured out/put together at last minute to make it satisfying. Maybe I timed my second break very badly but it seemed they went from knowing nothing in one chapter to figuring out everything in the next. And I think Warren needed way more page time to be the real villain of the book. It felt like ‘here’s this demonic little shit disturber joker for ambiance’ and then 20 pages from the end ‘jk he’s the bad guy’.

I'm only not giving it one star because some of the elements of Crybbe itself and the paranormal happenings that occur there were things I haven't encountered in that form/way in a horror novel before (which is not to say I liked them or though they were done well, but I have to give points for originality that I haven't found copied by other authors since then).

[T. K. Elliott (Tiffany) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is slow-burn horror (very slow, considering it's 680 pages), where you are treated to a slow slide into the dark. I found that it really picked up at about a third of the way through, once all the introductions had been made and people were in position.

As the reader (who has read the blurb) you know that when the townspeople in a horror novel have a seemingly-pointless local tradition, it's going to turn out not pointless at all, and anyone who tries to meddle with the local psychic landscape is going to come a cropper. The characters, however, do not have that knowledge, and you know the resulting slow-motion trainwreck is going to hurt the innocent as well as the guilty (or at least terminally arrogant).

The plot isn't terribly complex, but Rickman has the knack of writing characters that you care about - whether to hope they get to the end of the book alive and in one piece, or whether you hope they'll get their face eaten off by an invisible demon. None of the characters are without flaw, and the varying viewpoints means you get to know them slowly - but it's worth it. Some, you come to like quite early on; others later. In some ways, my favourite character out of the whole book was Jimmy Preece, senior Preece and guardian of the aforesaid "pointless" local tradition. He doesn't get much page time, but what Rickman does with him - especially at the end - is one of the best bits, in its own way.

And, of course, fans of Rickman's Merrily Gentry series will enjoy seeing Gomer Parry Plant Hire and Minnie Seagrove.

Took me a while to read it, but I'll probably read it again.

[Ed Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was interested in this book as it's a republication under another name of a book from earlier in Rickman's career. This is a mixed blessing.

I'll start with the bad. Rickman's writing style isn't fully fleshed out at this point. This most clearly comes through in his rendering of the locals of Crybbe, who are to a man/woman depicted as taciturn, sour-faced yokels. This is partly done for plot reasons but the characterisation stands in stark contrast with that of the "folks from off" (as they're often referred to) who have the lion's share of the main roles in the book. The rendering of the local Herefordshire dialect is also pretty dodgy - Rickman fixes on particular turns of phrase and overuses them so that characters often come across sounding like the Wurzels (pretty much every noun is referred to as either "bloody", "ole", or both).

On to more positive things. Rickman is great at creating a sense of dread and mistrust out of the seemingly idyllic borderlands of the county of Herefordshire on the English/Welsh border, where most of his books take place. Rickman has obviously done a great deal of research on the history of the area, and while the town of Crybbe is fictional, he weaves historical fact and local legends into the story seamlessly. He has an interest in the unique character of border country that comes across well. The "new age" themes (something that Rickman has returned to in other work) initially put me off but are also handled well.

[Deedra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book and did not want it to end! Sean Barret does a wonderful job with all the voices in this novel.The Curfew bell has rung 100 times a night in the village of Crybbe for 400 years.It is tradition that one family is tasked with and passes down the ringers job to the next generation.No one seems to know what will happen if the bell is not rung.Enter a money hungry real estate guy who decides to alter the village by knocking down a wall that was erected hundreds of years ago and setting up new standing stones that were knocked down by locals for reasons better left alone.The towns people are VERY unfriendly to outsiders,they know that the ancient magic is real and is about to be unleashed on the village.
A good old fashioned scarey book!
"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."