The Magic Cottage (1986)

The cottage was so peaceful; maybe a little rundown, but so magically quiet. But then there was an alternate side; the bad magic. I loved this book and give it an A! ( )

Among the cast is Rumbo; a squirrel from Herberts book Fluke; which was about reincarnation; a nice touch i think :)
It made me wish that this was a sequel as there seemed to be enough history. ( )

My first and only horror (or dark) read. I enjoyed it and found Herbert quite easy to follow. In fact, I found myself quite at home with such a theme. I can pretty much guess that this is just a light-weight read upon the shelf of Horror etc.

I read this book for the first time when I spent a night in hospital: my doctor was going to operate early in the morning and insisted I spent the night before in the surgical ward so I could 'get some rest'. An old woman in an alcove off the ward suffered from some sort of alcohol related mania and spent the whole night screaming. Literally. The nurses were used to it and basically ingnored her.

So much for rest. I did manage to finish the book however and must admitt to being a little disappointed. The magic cottage is obviously too good to be true and the experienced reader knows it is just a matter of time before things start to go horribly wrong and the idyllic surroundings tranform from enchanted forest to sinister Gothic wood.

The sudden physical deterioration of the house matches the mental and psychological deterioration of the characters as they become more and more isolated, more and more removed from their London life and friends, and more and more trapped in trapped in a menacing and claustrophobic web.

Their relationship also deteriorates and the artist wife is ripe for plucking by the cult who are terrified but at the same time fascinated by their home. The husband, a musician and by no means a strong character, has to fight to save his wife, their relationship, their sanity and ultimately their lives.

The story discomforted rathwer than frightened me and I did not enjoy reading it nearly as much as I expected: on the other hand, sitting under the meagre glow of a hospital bedside light in a crowded ward, kept awake by the shrieks of a mad woman, and anticipating an operation, the conditions were perhaps not ideal. ( )

A very spooky book about two lovers. One a passionate painter and the other a dedicated guitarist. The book starts quite plainly and it takes a while to get to the spooky stuff. But i would reccomend it to lots of people. Great if you want to read a thriller story. A fab story that will keep you guessing! ( )