John Frederick Burke (1922–2011)

When I picked up this mass-market paperback in a used book store, it looked like a cheesy contemporary occult thriller from the 1970s. I was mistaken, and the book amply exceeded my expectations for it. It is in fact a Victorian period piece featuring a stage magician who is a skeptical member of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) along with an actually telepathic Welsh photographer. They meet in the rural village of Hexney, where the "Devil's footprints" of the title are a show more parapsychological manifestation and there's something sinister about the local traditions.

Although more contemporary in its pacing and voice, this book has distinct commonalities with Arthur Machen's better work (e.g. "The Shining Pyramid") and Dunsany's Blessing of Pan. A cinematic comparandum might be the original Wicker Man. It most reminded me of the later and longer novel by Ramsey Campbell The Hungry Moon.

The magician Doctor Caspian also turns out to be something of a kabbalist, having had some mystical initiation in Prague, although the emphasis on seven sephiroth was a little peculiar. (The narrator names only five: Kether, Chokmah, Binah, Hod, and Yesod.) A couple of chapters near the middle of the book detail Caspian's competition with and exposure of some mercenary Spiritualists in London; these events are mostly by way of character development, but they were a high point of the tale for me.

The photographer character is a woman who has taken on her father's intellectual pursuits, and she struck a note similar to that of the young Amelia Peabody in the mysteries by Elizabeth Peters. A significant arc of the book is the development of a romantic interest between the two protagonists. There are two sequels in which these two continue a joint career as "psychic investigators," awareness of which does take a bit of the tension out of the mortal peril into which this story puts them.

Some of the representations of metaphysical evil in this book show influence of yog-sothothery, but none of the telltale names of entities or tomes occur to subordinate it to that "mythos." All in all, it was a solid little novel of weird horror. show less

A charming if unspectacular novelisation of the Beatles' first feature film, A Hard Day's Night. Alun Owen's adapted screenplay has some spice, and John Burke seems to be a talented writer who produces one or two flourishes of his own. As a bonus, it re-introduces Paul McCartney's solo scene, which was removed from the final cut of the film. Moving the perspective more towards the point-of-view of Grandfather McCartney (and occasionally Norm the road manager) also gives this short novel show more enough of a character to stand somewhat apart from its source material. That said, absent the music and the on-screen charisma of the Beatles themselves, this novelisation is only of limited merit, remaining only a pleasant curiosity for fans. show less

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/moon-zero-two-by-john-burke/

The novelisation is by John Burke, author of over a hundred books (mostly novelisations and tie-ins), of which the best known is his treatment of the Beatles film A Hard Day’s Night. I was very pleasantly surprised. Where the film stuttered a bit in terns of style and tone, Burke has gone for a relentless noir vibe in the novelisation, which also enables him to smoothe over some of the awkward bits in the story. I thought it came show more across much better on the page than on screen. show less

John Burke wrote an intriguing and thrilling mystery that will have you guessing from the beginning. It undoubtedly provides a unique plot that will have even the reader questioning what they thought they knew as they try to figure things out along with Rachel.

The plot was well-written with a fast pace, credible and great story line that will rouse your interest as Burke unravels Rachel’s mystery with his very proficient talent. He has created some realistic and striking characters show more encasing their development in chilling and suspenseful twists.

We all know life is full of unexpected turns but Burke makes you seriously question the old phrase “truth will set you free” in this book especially when the truth could imprison you more. show less