In his fascinating ‘Story Notes’ at the end of this spectacular novel, Adam Nevill talks about “pure horror of the most sublime type, that involves equal parts terror and wonder.” He understands intuitively that dread and curiosity go hand in hand. Thus, while Nevill’s hapless protagonists are subjected to the most horrific events in The Reddening, the reader is compelled to turn the page. And the next.While Lost Girl and Under A Watchful Eye were both set in South Devon, where Nevill actually l...

5 ++++ stars!“But, alas, in such places where hell is made on earth one can never look away from the business of depravity.”- The ReddeningAll the stars. This book, THE REDDENING by Adam Nevill gets all the stars from me because this is the kind of horror I want to read all of my days. This will definitely make my Best Books of 2019 list. First, as a writer, Nevill checks all the boxes for me. His storytelling voice is seasoned with intention and care for the reader; he knows where the story is

It pains me to say this because I have a lot of respect and admiration for Adam Nevill and I have enjoyed every other book I have read by him, but this is a boring, pale representation of what he is capable of. I loved the first 20% when the bones are discovered and we get the history of the area and what actually happened deep in those caves but as the story evolved I lost interest more and more and by the time everything came to a head I really couldn't have cared less. Even the last chapter w...

The south Devon area of England is well known for its rugged and natural beauty; its stretching coastlines and meandering paths loved by ramblers, however, after reading Adam Nevill’s outstanding new novel The Reddening you may well decide to book your next holiday elsewhere. The author has been a south coast resident for a few years now and, although his last two novels have also been set roughly in this area, this ninth outing is dominated by its locality. Highlights include threatening landsc...

THE REDDENING, by Adam Nevill, is another richly atmospheric novel by this veteran horror writer. Nevill is able to consistently amaze me with the unique ideas he brings to this field. At times, his descriptions are almost poetic in nature, despite the subject material. ". . . the only thing stranger than fiction were the people who inhabited reality." The action starts out stark and brutal, giving us multiple scenes to contemplate and file away in order to piece together later. Like a monstro...

What a novel! You have some old bones and references to a cannibalistic tribe in the past (great description) on the one hand and some mysterious murder cult on the other. Helene gets in contact with the group since she wants to visit all the locations her brother went to. He is dead, allegedly committed suicide. Before he died he recorded strange noises at the area of the Red Farm area. Kat is a journalist who is also drawn into the evil cult full of madness of drugs. Who is behind this murdero...

So guess who is going to be reading a lot more from Adam Nevill? I want to start by talking about the actual book, because presentation means a lot to me. Of course that jacket art is amazing, but I always remove the dust jackets when I read a book, and the cover underneath is a brilliant red with a pleasant grainy feel. My copy was sent straight from the author, and he included a bookmark with the title on it, and a very cool inscription in Latin. The book is the perfect size for holding a hard...

This is a captivating and frightening novel that captures our sense of dread and refuses to let go, shaking us within the jaws of historical menace and its threat of eternal continuity. Surrounded by a barren and inhospitable landscape, the unknowing are caught up in appalling rituals and ancient cult activities that are animalistic and merciless. Cosmic horror melds with unrelenting group mentality as crimes against outsiders become increasingly brutal and horrific. Undercurrents of supernatura...

This book is basically about a cannibalistic cult and the poor souls that cross their path. Horror stories are what really ignited my passion for reading when I was a teen. I love the feeling of goosebumps and shivers up the spine that good spooky storytelling can evoke. I have noticed over the years that my taste in horror has evolved. I enjoy more quiet, literary horror now. Blood, guts, and gore do little to entertain me anymore. Anyhoo, I have loved every Nevill book I have ever read until t...

Kat clenched her teeth and raised the wooden club in her hand. We’re all monsters here. We’re all red now.I enjoyed a lot my first read from author Adam Nevill.Ghoulish archaeological discoveries, creepy noises audible inside a suicider found footage recording, (view spoiler)[a folk band frontman turned to black metal founding a Manson Family style sect of painted red cannibals worshipping something ancient and hungry buried under an isolated farm, (hide spoiler)]well fleshed characters, two st...

“While trying to distract herself with the BBC news and thoughts of cold white wine, the first red face appeared at the window closest to where Kat sat.”I’ll admit this book has some creepy, unsettling and downright disturbing imagery, but it could easily have been 100 pages shorter if Nevill had dialled back on repeating himself multiple times, as well as cutting the excessive descriptions of nature and other things I did not care for. And that really lessened my enjoyment of this book unfortun...

The Limbo of "It was neither awesome nor awful" 3 stars.Let's begin with the negatives, because that's how I roll: the book was so, so overwritten. Dunno if Adam Nevill was attempting some Romanticism by injecting "lush" descriptions of nature and a lot of emphasis in the "introspective" existentialist musings of this and that character, but it did NOT work for me. There was pretentious/ purple prose-y writing in every single narrative paragraph, like: She must have moved too far from the famili...

Edited: Dec. 9, 2019This book is still on my mind. Adam’s books never quite leave, you see, but I wanted to add that this had archaeology and anthropology. I enjoyed that part immensely. This book reminded me of feelings and experiences I have had reading his other books (The Ritual & Last Days) as well as hiking experiences where I just wanted to put my tail in gear and get the fudge out. It was like I sensed a strange otherness, something other than me watching closely. (No! Going to Comi-con

It's taken me ages to get over my trauma from reading this utterly brilliant and highly disturbing novel from the twisted pen of Adam Nevill.This one grabbed me and didn't let go, even when I wanted to turn my eyes from what was happening on the page. Seriously folks, this is for those who like to go to dark places. The Reddening is set off the coast of Devon in England. A beautiful spot that I have visited on holiday. Never again however. There are THINGS there according to Adam's novel that I

Friendly reminder that two stars on this site means I thought it was "okay". First, a note on the audiobook production by Connor Goff. It's fucking terrible. Worst audiobook I've listened to, hands down. You can hear shit bumping against the mic, him clicking to note where an edit needs to be made, and the dude mispronounces words throughout. You should listen to this solely to chuckle at how he says "crescendo" to rhyme with "mondo" and how he says "ethereal" as "ether real". There's more, but

This book was okay. At first it really grabbed me because the atmospherics were amazing. I could literally feel the near spiritual vibe of the setting, which made the gruesome scenes in the early part of the book inherently disturbing (which is a good thing in this scenario).The plot continued to pull me in with decent characterization. I have been enjoying the British vibe lately in my reading and the author’s insight into wilderness Welsh areas struck me as genuine and authentic. The plot see

Yay! i love reading Adam Nevill cause his stuff actually scares me! From the very start of this one, the mood is bleak and foreboding. That sense of dread continues through this whole book. You just know something bad is going to happen. It could be on the next page or in the next chapter but it's there. There's archaeology, crazy cults & rituals, and lots more to scare you in this book. I really, really liked the ending. i won't spoil it but it's good!

The cover of Adam Nevill’s THE REDDENING first caught my eye on Sadie’s (@mother.horror) Instagram page when she posted her special edition copy. Unfortunately for me the hardcovers were all sold out, but Adam kindly offered to send me a free signed paperback. He is incredibly generous and I am so grateful for my copy because, guess what?!...I loved it.Kat is a lifestyle journalist who escapes her past by moving to a coastal area near Brickburgh in Devon England. Artifacts and remains from thous...

Adam Nevill's THE REDDENING is an extremely well-written bit of folk-horror, but, in the end, it falls victim to its own tropes. If you've seen/read even a little folk-horror, you'll know pretty much where this is headed, who is in on it, and how it will pretty much play out. That said, I was really enjoying the build-up for a while, until I realized that there was quite a bit of build-up. This is a LONG book, and a little bit of this went a long way. You could probably cut a few hundred pages

So boring until the last 20% or so.The discovery of an ancient cave on the British Isles brings scientists and lookey-loos flocking. The cave has paintings of unknown, upright-walking creatures and deep pits full of the bones of ice age animals and primitive humans. The occasional tourist exploring the surrounding land will spot a naked human covered head to toe in red paint, but sightings have never been confirmed.This overlong book is very well written, but not exciting in the least. I thought...