Simon Clark (1)

While this book appears at a glance to be either a historical fiction novella (it takes place in war-torn London during World War 2) or a mystery story (the subtitle is "A Sherlock Holmes Enigma"), I must warn you that it is neither. It's a science fiction horror novella, about demon possession and death. It fails to state that little fact in most of the descriptions of the book that I have seen, which I find to be very deceitful.

The story is about a poet and screenwriter of short wartime show more propaganda films, named Jack, who had his life threatened by multiple people with the words, "I'm going to be your own personal monster. I'm going to make you suffer. And suffer you shall before you die." When watching a video in which Joseph Goebbels utters this in English, looking directly at Jack, and nobody else hears it, he begins to think he is crazy. Seeking refuge at a bar, he meets a tall, thin man and a short, thickset man who claim to be Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, and who insist that for a bottle of whiskey a day they can 'take on his case'.

There is a lot of psycho-babble and pseudoscience going on in this book, with the author taking things that people such as Freud and Jung have said and turning them into something completely different. Here is the explanation on the strange threats, as spoken by Sherlock Holmes:

"Doctor Sigmund Freud tells us that we possess something called Eros. Eros is our love of life - Eros is the instinct to survive, to have children and continue the human race. He also identified another part of our mind which he named the Death Drive. In his native German that is known as Todestrieb. Picture that section of your mind being like a powerful, vicious dog. Normally, your civilized instincts will restrain the Death Drive, but like a vicious dog that has slipped its collar and run amok, biting people, so your Death Drive has broken free. No longer restrained by the good side of your nature, the Death Drive is harming the people you know and, ultimately, that part of your own mind will force you toward your own self-destruction."

Later on, Holmes says that the Death Drive is Satan itself. The book has bombs following Jack and trying to kill him, dead people reanimated (some without heads and with other disfigurements) following Jack and trying to embrace him, and other bizarre things. If you like strange horror books, maybe you'd like this book, but I don't, and I didn't. show less

While this isn't quite as good as his amazing Stranger, In This Skin kept me glued to the couch, lounging around and being lazy all day as I read. (Like that's anything new but hey, saying this book is good gives me a believable excuse)

The plot is complex, unsettling, covered with a mysterious, dreamy-like atmosphere. Wiggling around in this foggy soup are characters that stand out, with credible motives for their actions, realistic goals, and I cared about each. The 'creatures' were shivery show more and unique.

As for the pace, In This Skin started out with swift, hard kicks, never letting up, ending with a final bang that could be

felt through the entire length of my spine. Clarks writing style is not weighed down by unneeded 'pretty phrases' - instead he's focus, determined, and powerful.

The only real flaw I can see is that sometimes the characters are a bit dumb, but hey, not much is perfect. This one tantalized my mind and kept my blood roaring through my ears - what more could a horror reader ask for? show less

Nailed by the Heart is the first Simon Clark book published in the U.S. This English writer impressed me with Strangers and since then I have been picking up his novels whenever I find them. He can be a bit hit and miss and the main thing that suffers with his writing, from the three books I’ve read, is that sometimes plot holes can be ignored and things don’t always sum up well, but he gives his all in dishing out the goods in the horror genre. Here the plot is outlandish and fun, show more different enough to work for sure, and in the end almost everything is answered, yet a little mystery is left to let the imagination roam.

The novel is set in a small New England town where a close family ­ Chris, Ruth, and their six year old son David ­ have bought an old sea fort to convert into an inn for the tourist force that’s about to take grip of the town. Immediately they’re captivated by the place and its residents, feeling they’re welcomed with open arms. What they don’t know, though, is that the town is aware of an old religion around the fort that never quite died out, one where an ancient god is about to resurface. By the middle of the book, everyone is packed together trying to fight away forces of unrelenting terror ­ pale, sadistic warriors that live in the sea and have now come to claim the power of the gods for themselves.

The plot is nothing rehashed and familiar, but instead is actually different and refreshing. The sea is used in horror lots of ways, but usually not quite like this. Having the small coast serve as a smorgasbord for undead killers and blood thirsty gods always makes unsettling reading. It starts strong and ends just as harshly, keeping the pace going. All characters are well written and enjoyable, where one cares what happens to them, especially the family with the sweet, endearing boy that doesn’t annoy. It’s filled with strange little clues of things to come, all ominous symbols of terror just beneath the surface, things the reader can’t possibly understand but that will all be explained eventually. By the center of the book, everyone is gathered together to try and fight the superhuman force, losing the battle every step of the way, with the outcome of losing equaling something much more horrible than just losing their lives.

Clark seems to love writing about end of the world scenarios, and his writing style is professional, eerie and unique. The atmosphere is fresh at times, you can almost breath in the New England air, but creepy as hell at other parts, with the white faced beings representing a mind-numbing threat. Clark does the wise thing by keeping the assailants mysterious and slow, even to the characters in the novel, and by only letting small smudges of information leak out about it, rather than immediate revelations. He also doesn’t focus only on the villains, but also on the god, the fort, the symbolism of dreams, the family structure, the hostility of differences between the townsmen, and of course growing friction erupting from claustrophobic surroundings. These always work together wonderfully to produce a powerful situation where one roots for the survivors more than anything else.

When violence does occur, it’s brutal and terrible, with the body count on the medium side. This book didn’t need more corpses, but it never shied away from the horrible encounters either. Suspense is greatly build in select scenes, with the characters portraying the right amount of terror, emotion, and grief. The end has a neat little twist that made me smile, wrapping up the book in an almost perfect way. The book combines mythology, religion, superstition, and modern day survival skills with a glowing result. If I had to say something bad about it, I’d say that sometimes a few things seemed forced along the way, but nothing that hurts the plot enough to bring it down a star. If you want to read a truly strange, wonderfully eerie creation, Nailed by the Heart is it. show less

Vengeance Child contains a myriad of elements which, thankfully, when mixed together produce an interesting approach to horror fiction. It's refreshing to have a malevolent child at the centre of a horror yarn which doesn't originate from Oriental fiction. Clark's demon child is far more akin to Damien, offering a haunting undertone, which may not be equal to that of Seltzer's Omen, yet is engaging enough. Add to that a desolate island and a power hungry and ruthless mayor, and there is show more enough for a TV mini-series. This is a pacey book and although the characterisations are somewhat two-dimensional, it's easily forgiven since it moves so fast. The breakneck speed continues in to the conclusion, which is somewhat predictable and rushed, however getting there is pleasurable enough. It's reminiscent of older school horror and although it could have been darker, the terror escalated further, Vengeance Child is still a horror story worth reading. show less