Stephen Laws

This was my introduction to Laws, and led me to seek out everything he has written.

It's all based on a great premise... that the main East Coast rail line from London to the North of England is on a ley line that can channel power to the London End, with a view to waking an ancient demon.

Strange deaths abound on the line. Our protagonist, himself a survivor of a strange experience on a train, has to try to stop the energy building up.

The climax is a tour-de-force as the train hurtles to show more London, the demon grows ever more powerful, and the deaths pile up.

Laws has a wild imagination, and he likes to kill people in very gruesome fashions, but if, like me, you like your horror fast and action packed, then he's the man for you. show less

My rating system is really no mystery. I judge a book on my enjoyment factor. I don't delay in writing my reviews after having finished a book because I want to give my honest reaction to the completed read the moment I'm done. Will you give SPECTRE, by Stephen Laws, five stars as well. Probably not, but I had a fucking blast with this book.

Let's list the things that come after our heroes and heroine in this novel, shall we?

Snakes capable of tearing a man apart, a murderous ventriloquist show more dummy, a television possessed by ectoplasm, a reanimated owl and bear that had presently been stuffed and stored in a museum, a Gorgon (yes, like fucking Medusa), living manikins (mannequins, for us Americans) and some weird vampire/zombie bastards that kill an entire nightclub full of people. Come to think of it... this book is like a ultra-violent episode of Doctor Who. Coolness!

Honestly, this book has no idea what it wanted to be. You have Greek mythology, ghosty-goos, shape-shifters, all sorts of junk. Overall, it is the epitome of 80s schlock horror. It's a B-movie with a summer blockbuster's budget. The killings and gore are over the top, the ending is full-on cheese, the bad guy monologues about the whys of his evil plan for six pages (I know some people dislike that, but I'm a fan, in a campy sense), the main character breaks his rib then the author forgets the guy broke his rib and never mentions it again, and one of the good guys gives a last-breath speech as he dies. This book is a pile of stupid, but it's also bloody brilliant. Did I mention that Stephen Laws is an English writer? Well, he is, and I love English horror.

In summation: If you're a fan of horror movies like THE GATE and WITCHBOARD and SUBSPECIES, this is the book for you. Your IQ might drop a few numerals, but you'll fun yourself dumber, and that's what life's all about. Also, I was able to read the entire thing in about five hours, so it must be good, right? show less

This review first appeared on scifiandscary.com: https://www.scifiandscary.com/ghost-train-review/

‘Ghost Train’ was the first novel by Stephen Laws, who published a number of books in the 80s and 90s (and a couple since 2000). He’s more akin to Ramsey Campbell and Clive Barker than many of the other authors featured so far in Carry on Screaming. His books blend gore and psychological horror to great effect, with a Northern (UK) vibe and convincing characters. These are well crafted show more novels written with brain and heart rather than Guy N Smith style schlock-fests churned out to make a quick buck.
‘Ghost Train’ tells the story of Mark, a man haunted by two events from his past. As a child he and a school friend were attacked by the owner of a ghost train and as an adult he fell from a speeding train and suffered severe injuries. Months after the second event he is drawn back to Newcastle station where his unfortunate journey began, desperate to remember exactly what happened. As the plot develops he meets a policeman investigating his accident who reveals that a series of bizarre attacks and incidents have taken place on the same train line.
The book isn’t entirely successful, the mix of folklore and contemporary horror didn’t always work for me and the escalation of events at the end felt a bit rushed. When it’s good, though, it’s brilliant. The scenes of terror are often extremely effective. They’re nightmarishly bewildering, chilling, horrific and wonderfully tense. Laws throws in a number of new attacks with unrelated characters. These aren’t necessarily essential for the plot, but they are chilling and grimly enjoyable. Best of all, he captures the terrible fear of the unknown. Mark knows that bad things have happened to him, but he doesn’t know exactly what they were. His frantic search for the truth is gripping and genuinely scary. Like Mark, you need to know what happened, whilst fearing that the reality will be too much to take. show less

Gediegener Old School Horror aus den Achtzigern, mit dem groben Keil in die Druckplatten gestanzt, erfrischend frei von unnötigem Romanzen- und Rechtfertigungsbohei. Was getan werden muß, wird getan, fertig. Und wenn man sich mit dem uralten Bösen anlegt, das sich in einer der Hauptschlagadern des britischen Schienennetzes verbirgt, dann gibt es auch reichlich Späne (und Kutteln), die dabei fliegen. Für mich als Eisenbahnfan mit Augenmerk auf Dampf und Diesel natürlich ein gefundenes show more Fressen ❤️ show less