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The Dark Masters Trilogy #1
Whitstable by Stephen Volk
1971. A middle-aged man, wracked with grief, walks along the beach at Whitstable in Kent.A boy walks approaches him and, taking him for the famous vampire-hunter Doctor Van Helsing from the Hammer movies, asks for his help. Because he believes his stepfather really is a vampire...In Whitstable - which deftly mixes fact with fiction—the actor, devastated after the recent death of his wife and soul mate Helen, is an inconsolable recluse. In that vulnerable state he is forced to face an evil far more real and terrifying than any of the make-believe monsters he tackled on the big screen. And here he is not a crusader or expert with crucifixes to hand—merely a man. A man who in some ways craves death himself, but cannot ignore the pleas of an innocent child...
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First published May 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
March 31, 2015
I'll start this review off with an admission...I'm not well versed in old horror movies. In fact, when I read that this novella was a fictional story about Peter Cushing, I almost set it back down, because I didn't know who the man was. I mean, I've seen him around, but I'm not familiar with his canon of work.
Anyhow, I decided to keep reading and I'm glad I did, because this was a poignant story about grief and the darkness that we all have inside, as well as the effect that darkness can have on those around us. At the same time, this story was also about hope and in that sense, I found it uplifting. I don't want to say much more because I feel that future readers should find their own discoveries between these covers.
You don't need to be an expert on old films, on Peter Cushing, or on anything else, really, to enjoy this tale. You just have to be a human being that enjoys a beautifully written story that makes you feel.
I highly recommend this novella by Stephen Volk.
Anyhow, I decided to keep reading and I'm glad I did, because this was a poignant story about grief and the darkness that we all have inside, as well as the effect that darkness can have on those around us. At the same time, this story was also about hope and in that sense, I found it uplifting. I don't want to say much more because I feel that future readers should find their own discoveries between these covers.
You don't need to be an expert on old films, on Peter Cushing, or on anything else, really, to enjoy this tale. You just have to be a human being that enjoys a beautifully written story that makes you feel.
I highly recommend this novella by Stephen Volk.
November 29, 2012
In 1971, a recently bereaved Peter Cushing locks himself away in his Whitstable home, intending to cut himself off from day-to-day life in order to grieve privately. For years, as the star of numerous horror films, he has despatched creatures of the night with their fake fangs, pelts and blood but after a trip to the beach and an encounter with a young boy, he quickly discovers that some monsters are human. With grief weighing heavily on him but a strong desire to protect the innocent, Peter Cushing now faces a very real terror. Using certain real-life events, Volk deftly creates a loving - if occasionally harsh and unblinking - fictional biography of an actor most (if not all) genre fans are familiar with and through the strength of his writing, we come to love Peter Cushing, feeling his immense hurt and pain and wanting the absolute best for him. Interwoven with this is a beautifully underplayed horror story - with no ghosts or ghoulies - where Cushing comes up against Les Gledhill, a man whose step-son-to-be thinks of as a vampire but is, in reality, much worse. Their two key exchanges, once on the doorstep of Cushing’s house and another, at the local cinema, are fantastic, with tour-de-force writing that managed to enthral, terrify and appal this reader. In addition, the latter confrontation takes place whilst the two men are watching “The Vampires Lovers” and Volk intersperses scenes from the film in a way I’ve never read before, that is about as cinematic as it’s possible to be on the printed page. Richy detailed (1971 is lovingly and painstakingly reproduced and even if you’ve never been to Canterbury, you have been in that tea shop), with some amusing exchanges (Carl, the boy who starts it all off, can’t quite work out what connection this Peter Cushing person might have to Van Helsing ) and nicely written memories (of Morecombe & Wise and the personalities he worked with on the Hammer films) this is the kind of book you wish you could read anew each and every time. Darkly elegant and full of almost poetic moments (“Cushing trembled a smile…”), showing the horrors of life and the consequences of losing a beloved whilst also remaining strong in the belief that love is forever, this is a truly beautiful book, scary, moving and hopeful in equal measures, that should be read by everyone who has even a passing interest in the horror genre. Highly recommended.
May 11, 2020
Peter Cushing is one of my favourite actors & Whitstable is a novella that sets this real life English gentleman into a fictional world.
Cushing had appeared in many Hammer films as vampire hunter Doctor Van Helsing, & here a young boy mistakes Cushing fort his alter ego & requests his help. I was expecting a light hearted, tongue in cheek tale, but Whitstable was a far more serious venture.
Author Stephen Volk brilliantly captures the real life actor in a dark & unsettling story. The year is 1971 & Cushing is barely coping with the death of his wife, when he realises he must protect a boy from a predator far worse than any fictional one.
Volk references many of Cushing's film roles & captures the actor's persona extremely well. Whitstable is a thoughtful drama for any fan of this much missed legendary star.
Cushing had appeared in many Hammer films as vampire hunter Doctor Van Helsing, & here a young boy mistakes Cushing fort his alter ego & requests his help. I was expecting a light hearted, tongue in cheek tale, but Whitstable was a far more serious venture.
Author Stephen Volk brilliantly captures the real life actor in a dark & unsettling story. The year is 1971 & Cushing is barely coping with the death of his wife, when he realises he must protect a boy from a predator far worse than any fictional one.
Volk references many of Cushing's film roles & captures the actor's persona extremely well. Whitstable is a thoughtful drama for any fan of this much missed legendary star.
March 25, 2017
This is a refreshing and very different novella that is a must for children and youth of the 1970s. It is an insight into a very sensitive period in the life of one of our greatest actors, Peter Cushing. It takes place in the weeks following his wife's death and supposes how he coped with it, bringing the characters he has played on the screen to life. Any fans of the Hammer movies will be particularly drawn to this. Volk obviously is one such fan. There is a mention for almost every film he appeared in.
The book starts on Whitstable beach where a young boy asks Van Helsing to help him defeat a vampire. It is about innocence, and the righteous against the evil. I finished the book somewhat unsure of the place religion had played in it, a necessary one of course. Cushing was a religious man, but my reading of Volk's work is that he is tongue in cheek about it, as with the vampirism.
The book starts on Whitstable beach where a young boy asks Van Helsing to help him defeat a vampire. It is about innocence, and the righteous against the evil. I finished the book somewhat unsure of the place religion had played in it, a necessary one of course. Cushing was a religious man, but my reading of Volk's work is that he is tongue in cheek about it, as with the vampirism.
May 1, 2017
‘Whitstable’ is a haunting, beautiful and elegiac tale, where the quiet man of horror movies is brought again to life in wonderful tribute.
It’s a horror story which plays on painful personal reality, but you have to say always with the greatest of respect. In the early 1970s Peter Cushing genuinely did lose his beloved wife and entered a funk so terrible that he considered suicide and went as far as telling the press that he wanted to die.
Into this black void steps a fictional little boy who meets Cushing and mistakes him for the great vampire hunter, Van Helsing. He tells Cushing that his mother’s new boyfriend is a vampire who visits him in his bedroom every single night, and asks Cushing for his help in stopping him . Seeing what truth lies beneath those words, Cushing tries to help the boy and so puts himself – now a frail man, much older than his years – in danger from the predator.
Of course Volk is exploring the difference between movie monsters and real life monsters. In the wrong hands that can be decidedly banal, but here it’s done with such expert skill as to be actually tremendous. Indeed the confrontation between Cushing and the boyfriend at a matinee showing of a Peter Cushing vampire movie is a thing of wonder – even better than the similar Boris Karloff scene in the movie ‘Targets’.
This is a quiet and understated tale, but also one with bite and genuine horror. I read it at Christmas and can state that it's a story which lingers long in the memory. In short, it's a great tribute to a great man of horror.
It’s a horror story which plays on painful personal reality, but you have to say always with the greatest of respect. In the early 1970s Peter Cushing genuinely did lose his beloved wife and entered a funk so terrible that he considered suicide and went as far as telling the press that he wanted to die.
Into this black void steps a fictional little boy who meets Cushing and mistakes him for the great vampire hunter, Van Helsing. He tells Cushing that his mother’s new boyfriend is a vampire who visits him in his bedroom every single night, and asks Cushing for his help in stopping him . Seeing what truth lies beneath those words, Cushing tries to help the boy and so puts himself – now a frail man, much older than his years – in danger from the predator.
Of course Volk is exploring the difference between movie monsters and real life monsters. In the wrong hands that can be decidedly banal, but here it’s done with such expert skill as to be actually tremendous. Indeed the confrontation between Cushing and the boyfriend at a matinee showing of a Peter Cushing vampire movie is a thing of wonder – even better than the similar Boris Karloff scene in the movie ‘Targets’.
This is a quiet and understated tale, but also one with bite and genuine horror. I read it at Christmas and can state that it's a story which lingers long in the memory. In short, it's a great tribute to a great man of horror.
November 2, 2014
Stephen Volk was the screenwriter for GOTHIC, GHOSTWATCH, THE AWAKENING.
This book is about a "fictionalized" incident in the life of Peter Cushing. Volk has created a masterfully powerful tale about the man and his lot in later life, after his wife has died. The story unfolds entirely from Cushing's third person point of view.
PETER CUSHING was one of the handful of actors who defined the horror movie. Whether playing Baron Frankenstein witnessing the awful results of his brilliance or Professor Van Helsing in hot pursuit of Count Dracula, he brought an air of refinement and nobility to the genre. From his first Hammer film in 1956, The Curse of Frankenstein, to his last in 1974 he was an individual and instantly recognisable screen persona. His name on a cast-list was a constant and reassuring guarantee of quality.
Cushing stared in such films as The Brides of Dracula (1960), The Evil of Frankenstein (1964), Dr Terror's House of Horrors (1964), Frankenstein Created Woman (1967), Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969), The Vampire Lovers (1970), The House That Dripped Blood (1970), Dr Phibes Rides Again (1972), Dracula AD 1972 (1972), The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973), Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1973) and House of the Long Shadows (1982). However, he did make other pictures and is still remembered as the big- screen Time Lord in Dr Who and the Daleks (1965) and Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD (1966).
An emphatic, deeply melancholic work.
This book is about a "fictionalized" incident in the life of Peter Cushing. Volk has created a masterfully powerful tale about the man and his lot in later life, after his wife has died. The story unfolds entirely from Cushing's third person point of view.
PETER CUSHING was one of the handful of actors who defined the horror movie. Whether playing Baron Frankenstein witnessing the awful results of his brilliance or Professor Van Helsing in hot pursuit of Count Dracula, he brought an air of refinement and nobility to the genre. From his first Hammer film in 1956, The Curse of Frankenstein, to his last in 1974 he was an individual and instantly recognisable screen persona. His name on a cast-list was a constant and reassuring guarantee of quality.
Cushing stared in such films as The Brides of Dracula (1960), The Evil of Frankenstein (1964), Dr Terror's House of Horrors (1964), Frankenstein Created Woman (1967), Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969), The Vampire Lovers (1970), The House That Dripped Blood (1970), Dr Phibes Rides Again (1972), Dracula AD 1972 (1972), The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973), Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1973) and House of the Long Shadows (1982). However, he did make other pictures and is still remembered as the big- screen Time Lord in Dr Who and the Daleks (1965) and Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD (1966).
An emphatic, deeply melancholic work.
December 27, 2013
I have just finished Whitstable and have been touched, mesmerized and even humbled by such an awesome piece of writing. It is 1971 and Peter Cushing's adored wife Helen has succumbed to emphysema and he does not feel he has the strength to carry on alone. However somewhere deep within him Cushing finds the will to face another lonely day, just as his beloved Helen would have wished. As he strolls along the seafront perchance he meets young Carl Drinkwater who greets him as Van Helsing and as the gentle old man and the boy get into conversation a darkness reveals itself. Carl knows that Van Helsing can save him..."I'm talking about here and now and you're the vampire hunter and you need to help me." "It's your job. It's your job Vampire Hunter. You're heroic. You're powerful." Carl continues to reveal some dark secrets...."My mun's boyfriend. He visits me at night time. Every night now. He takes my blood while I'm asleep. I know what he's doing. He thinks I'm asleep but I'm not asleep. It feels like a dream and I try to pretend it isn't happening, but afterwards I feel bad, like I'm dead inside".
The story evolves with Peter Cushing in his soft and unassuming way attempting to find the truth behind the words spoken by the young man. Stephen Volk has managed to bring the gentlemanly Cushing alive before our eyes, an actor who spent his working life fighting evil is now confronted with the very essence of the devil in the form of Les Gledhill, Carls stepfather,and thus can see the true evil that human beings are capable of. "You see, Peter, real evil is not so easy to spot in real life. In real life, evil people look like you and me. We pass them in the street." An essentially sad, thoughtful story and one that will remain with you for a very long time.
The story evolves with Peter Cushing in his soft and unassuming way attempting to find the truth behind the words spoken by the young man. Stephen Volk has managed to bring the gentlemanly Cushing alive before our eyes, an actor who spent his working life fighting evil is now confronted with the very essence of the devil in the form of Les Gledhill, Carls stepfather,and thus can see the true evil that human beings are capable of. "You see, Peter, real evil is not so easy to spot in real life. In real life, evil people look like you and me. We pass them in the street." An essentially sad, thoughtful story and one that will remain with you for a very long time.
January 2, 2015
“Whitstable" was definitely my “Top Book of 2013”. I’m an enormous Peter Cushing fan and knew a fair amount about his life story, but nothing prepared me for the emotional highs and lows of this beautifully written novella. Stephen Volk really channels Cushing’s despair and mental turmoil after the loss of his beloved wife Helene, yet “Whitstable” is not maudlin in the slightest, just a captivating, imaginative read. Compelling, compassionate and evocative... this haunting tale will stay with you for a long time. Highly recommended.
April 27, 2015
Like everyone else, I was drawn to WHITSTABLE by its portrayal of real-life acting legend Peter Cushing as the main character. I was curious to see what Stephen Volk, a screenwriter for low-budget horror films, would do with a story about Cushing, who was himself a pioneer in B-movie horror.
WHITSTABLE has all the elements of a cult literary classic, though I was initially skeptical as to whether or not Volk could pull it off. I've seen a couple of movies Volk has written (GOTHIC, OCTANE), and they were mediocre at best. So, I was unprepared for what a quality read this turned out to be.
Volk gives a very three-dimensional portrayal of Cushing, who, in the timeline of the story, is still in the early stages of grief following the death of his wife. One day, he is approached by a young boy who believes him to be Van Helsing, a role that Cushing made famous. Seems the boy is having a little vampire trouble...
If you love old horror movies (especially ones produced by Hammer Studios), WHITSTABLE is an essential Kindle purchase. It's well-written, tightly plotted, and relentlessly contemplative. It's also a vampire story of the more realistic, human sort.
WHITSTABLE has all the elements of a cult literary classic, though I was initially skeptical as to whether or not Volk could pull it off. I've seen a couple of movies Volk has written (GOTHIC, OCTANE), and they were mediocre at best. So, I was unprepared for what a quality read this turned out to be.
Volk gives a very three-dimensional portrayal of Cushing, who, in the timeline of the story, is still in the early stages of grief following the death of his wife. One day, he is approached by a young boy who believes him to be Van Helsing, a role that Cushing made famous. Seems the boy is having a little vampire trouble...
If you love old horror movies (especially ones produced by Hammer Studios), WHITSTABLE is an essential Kindle purchase. It's well-written, tightly plotted, and relentlessly contemplative. It's also a vampire story of the more realistic, human sort.
June 22, 2013
There are books that leave you speechless. And then there are books that cause such a knot in your throat that you can't think of speech, lest it profane the thoughts that keep on crowding your mind after the last page has been read. This was such a book. Thank you Stephen Volk. Thank you so much.
June 29, 2014
Elegant, brooding and quietly dramatic. Research into and vivid allusions to Hammer Horror films in which Peter Cushing starred are cleverly woven into this fiction set at the time of his beloved wife's death when the actor is facing demons far more real than those in any film.
April 2, 2013
Review coming soon.
June 5, 2013
The best book of this year so far. Was moved and touched by this story and loved Stephen's prose.
October 23, 2018
I am a fan of Stephen Volk. I had the good fortune to narrate his “After the Ape” for the TalesToTerrify podcast, and the story still follows me around to this day. His short story “Hounded” is one of the best Sherlockian tales I’ve ever read. He has an ability to go for the jugular in all he writes, and Whitstable (2013) is no exception.
A loving tribute to one of my all-time favorite actors, Peter Cushing, Whitstable draws on real history and finds the man a new widower and utterly lost without his beloved wife. Then a young boy who needs a slayer of real-life monsters finds him and mistakes him for one of the characters he portrayed on film, Van Helsing, and Cushing discovers a new reason to live. This is a moving and powerful love letter to the gentleman named Peter Cushing, to Hammer Horror movies, and to the power of the stories we tell ourselves to give ourselves courage and create light in the darkness.
Here is a quote:
“Good gracious,” Cushing said. “You mustn’t take these kind of pictures too much to heart, young man.”
“Pictures? What’s pictures got to do with it?” The abruptness was nothing short of accusatory. “I’m talking about here and now and you’re the vampire hunter and you need to help me.” The boy realised his harsh tone of voice might be unproductive, so quickly added, sheepishly, “Please.” Then, more bluntly, “It’s your job.”
It’s your job – Vampire Hunter.
You’re heroic.
You’re powerful.
Cushing swallowed, his mouth unaccountably dry.
This is a terrible, beautiful, horrifying, affirming story, and I think you should read it.
A loving tribute to one of my all-time favorite actors, Peter Cushing, Whitstable draws on real history and finds the man a new widower and utterly lost without his beloved wife. Then a young boy who needs a slayer of real-life monsters finds him and mistakes him for one of the characters he portrayed on film, Van Helsing, and Cushing discovers a new reason to live. This is a moving and powerful love letter to the gentleman named Peter Cushing, to Hammer Horror movies, and to the power of the stories we tell ourselves to give ourselves courage and create light in the darkness.
Here is a quote:
“Good gracious,” Cushing said. “You mustn’t take these kind of pictures too much to heart, young man.”
“Pictures? What’s pictures got to do with it?” The abruptness was nothing short of accusatory. “I’m talking about here and now and you’re the vampire hunter and you need to help me.” The boy realised his harsh tone of voice might be unproductive, so quickly added, sheepishly, “Please.” Then, more bluntly, “It’s your job.”
It’s your job – Vampire Hunter.
You’re heroic.
You’re powerful.
Cushing swallowed, his mouth unaccountably dry.
This is a terrible, beautiful, horrifying, affirming story, and I think you should read it.
December 29, 2022
A very powerful and also affection horror story exploring a tragic time on Peter Fishing’s life but also a tale of fighting monsters and finding yourself again.
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
June 29, 2013
WHITSTABLE by Stephen Volk (Spectral Press)
Review by Gary Fry
I was born in 1971, a few years later than a number of my peers, and in the horror world, that short span of time seems to make a critical difference. For instance, I didn't get into the Hammer Horror scene in the same way as others, probably through lack of exposure on TV and at the cinema (but also because I was a chicken-shit kid).
Anyway, the main impact this seems to have had is to deny me a substitute father in the form of the fine, venerable, benevolent and all-round good guy Mr Peter Cushing. I have no particular affection for this hero of young men and actually feel a little bereft, as if I've missed out on something. My loss, clearly.
So when I heard that Stephen Volk had written a novella starring Peter Cushing - a roman a clef, if you please - I was drawn more to the fact that it was written by the author of the wonderful Ghostwatch than anything else. What could the novella mean to me above the virtues of its story, I wondered? But in the event, I needn't have worried. It's a fine piece.
The plot basically involves Mr Cushing taking on a very real monster in his everyday life. And that's kind of it, really. But it's what Volk does with this material that counts: his remarkable, heartfelt depiction of grief; his building of tension as Cushing's detection unfolds; his clever intertextual weaving of Hammer films into the narrative, and their thematic relationship with the events of the tale. All masterly done, and leading to such an emotional finale that even a cynical old Yorkshireman like me, who keeps his emotions in a box and lets them out once every two years during a football tournament, was moved.
Material like this always runs in danger of becoming sentimental, but Volk doesn't allow that to happen, juxtaposing his obvious affection for the man with the absolute seriousness of the issue Cushing faces: a delicate trick. I guess there's also a danger of losing the value of old horror movies, when compared to very real horror in everyday life, but again Volk - through Cushing's constant defence of his "art" to cynical modern types - finds dignity in those creaking films, creating a paean to this form of cinema along the way (and who better than Volk to do so?).
The dialogue, as you'd expect from a screenwriter, is superb throughout; whenever Cushing spoke, I could hear the man's voice effortlessly in my mind (so yeah, I've seen rather more Cushing films than I suspected [but too late in life, damn it!]). The prose is typically snappy, and knowing, and literary; Volk has a muscular style that bleeds lyricism, if that isn't an oxymoron (and if it is, it is). If I had one issue with the writing is was with the use of certain stock phrases. Now, some authors I know don't worry about these, but I don't personally like them. So yes, it's a personal thing, but one I make regularly and will continue to do so (having signed up wholesale to Martin Amis's War Against Cliché). One example occurs towards the end of the novella when the phrase "for all the world" is used twice within the space of a page. I wouldn't personally use it even once, but maybe that's just me, and if it is, I apologise. Shoot me.
Production values? Smart, overall. But I was slightly surprised to see a number of words still with their pre-italicised underlines: not sure how they escaped the proof-reader. Also, although I didn't measure them, my jaded eye is convinced that a number of spaces between sentences were doubles and not singles. Do we really need doubles for any form of publication? That's debatable, I guess. But when they're mixed in with singles, that's just a lack of consistency, and one or the other must go. Otherwise, the typesetting (nice and spacey), cover art (oh boy, Ben) and presentation is superb, as good as we've come to expect from Spectral.
In short, a splendid novella, and here's the greatest testimonial I can pay it. After finishing it, I typed "Peter Cushing" into YouTube and started watching interviews with the great man. Hey, it's never too late for a father figure.
Review by Gary Fry
I was born in 1971, a few years later than a number of my peers, and in the horror world, that short span of time seems to make a critical difference. For instance, I didn't get into the Hammer Horror scene in the same way as others, probably through lack of exposure on TV and at the cinema (but also because I was a chicken-shit kid).
Anyway, the main impact this seems to have had is to deny me a substitute father in the form of the fine, venerable, benevolent and all-round good guy Mr Peter Cushing. I have no particular affection for this hero of young men and actually feel a little bereft, as if I've missed out on something. My loss, clearly.
So when I heard that Stephen Volk had written a novella starring Peter Cushing - a roman a clef, if you please - I was drawn more to the fact that it was written by the author of the wonderful Ghostwatch than anything else. What could the novella mean to me above the virtues of its story, I wondered? But in the event, I needn't have worried. It's a fine piece.
The plot basically involves Mr Cushing taking on a very real monster in his everyday life. And that's kind of it, really. But it's what Volk does with this material that counts: his remarkable, heartfelt depiction of grief; his building of tension as Cushing's detection unfolds; his clever intertextual weaving of Hammer films into the narrative, and their thematic relationship with the events of the tale. All masterly done, and leading to such an emotional finale that even a cynical old Yorkshireman like me, who keeps his emotions in a box and lets them out once every two years during a football tournament, was moved.
Material like this always runs in danger of becoming sentimental, but Volk doesn't allow that to happen, juxtaposing his obvious affection for the man with the absolute seriousness of the issue Cushing faces: a delicate trick. I guess there's also a danger of losing the value of old horror movies, when compared to very real horror in everyday life, but again Volk - through Cushing's constant defence of his "art" to cynical modern types - finds dignity in those creaking films, creating a paean to this form of cinema along the way (and who better than Volk to do so?).
The dialogue, as you'd expect from a screenwriter, is superb throughout; whenever Cushing spoke, I could hear the man's voice effortlessly in my mind (so yeah, I've seen rather more Cushing films than I suspected [but too late in life, damn it!]). The prose is typically snappy, and knowing, and literary; Volk has a muscular style that bleeds lyricism, if that isn't an oxymoron (and if it is, it is). If I had one issue with the writing is was with the use of certain stock phrases. Now, some authors I know don't worry about these, but I don't personally like them. So yes, it's a personal thing, but one I make regularly and will continue to do so (having signed up wholesale to Martin Amis's War Against Cliché). One example occurs towards the end of the novella when the phrase "for all the world" is used twice within the space of a page. I wouldn't personally use it even once, but maybe that's just me, and if it is, I apologise. Shoot me.
Production values? Smart, overall. But I was slightly surprised to see a number of words still with their pre-italicised underlines: not sure how they escaped the proof-reader. Also, although I didn't measure them, my jaded eye is convinced that a number of spaces between sentences were doubles and not singles. Do we really need doubles for any form of publication? That's debatable, I guess. But when they're mixed in with singles, that's just a lack of consistency, and one or the other must go. Otherwise, the typesetting (nice and spacey), cover art (oh boy, Ben) and presentation is superb, as good as we've come to expect from Spectral.
In short, a splendid novella, and here's the greatest testimonial I can pay it. After finishing it, I typed "Peter Cushing" into YouTube and started watching interviews with the great man. Hey, it's never too late for a father figure.
June 5, 2013
To the very best of my knowledge, I have never read a short story, novella or novel by Stephen Volk. I do, however, know of him from his columns in bimonthly horror magazine Black Static, as well as his work as screenwriter for the BBC’s seminal Ghostwatch, paranormal TV series Afterlife, and more recently the horror film The Awakening.
So Whitstable is my first encounter with Volk’s prosaic fiction, a hugely ambitious novella from Spectral Press, a small independent publisher which has lately been making big waves with its dedication to publishing high-quality short fiction.
Released to mark the 100th would-have-been birthday of that titanic figure of cinematic horror Peter Cushing, the novella centres around Cushing as the main character, and is a combination of chillingly grounded horror and a sincere homage to the man himself.
It takes place in 1971, in the aftermath of the death of Cushing’s wife Helen. After a chance encounter with a young boy on Whitstable beach, Cushing comes to suspect he is being abused and grapples with the morality of what to do as he copes with his own grief.
This is a powerfully emotionally piece, and Volk introduces us immediately to a despondent and world-wearied man, in the throes of his bereavement. The bleak descriptive language coupled with pointed use (at times verging on overuse) of rhetorical questions places the reader perfectly into Cushing’s mindset, leaving him raw and vulnerable as the story begins to unfold. Purely as a construction on the portrayal of the misery of loss Whitstable would be notable in quality — it would be hard, if not impossible, to remain unmoved by it.
But whilst Cushing as a character and a person is the undeniable focus of the novella, it is — mercifully — more than simply 140 pages of an old man wallowing. The introduction of a child, who sees no difference between Cushing and his signature Van Helsing character, provides the catalyst for the story, but also an interesting insight into the way he is viewed. To Carl, the child, he is the protector, the saviour, the one who fights the dark things in the world and triumphs with a blaze of sunshine.
And so Volk’s Cushing tries to live up to. I found I had to keep reminding myself that this was a character, not the actual Peter Cushing. Volk has created an emotionally authentic and believable version of a famous film star, and propped it up with the scaffolding of very intimate details about his life. The amount of research which went into this must have been breathtaking — indeed, I imagine it took a lifetime of fandom.
But where I felt this came into its own was in how effortlessly it brought together the subject matter of Cushing’s Hammer films with the darkness which walks everyday streets and lurks in ordinary English houses. The parallels drawn between the vampiric and supernatural which Carl perceives and the darker truths which Cushing — and the reader — see are more deeply chilling than a lot more violent, gory or explicit horror novels.
And just to take a moment for appreciation here; Spectral Press have done a fantastic job. Not only have they published an excellent piece of work, but they have done so in a beautiful physical edition, as well as a bargain price Kindle e-book at £2.04. If Spectral Press can repeat this excellent balance of quality and price (which there is every indication that they will) then it can only mean good things for short fiction.
In summary, I found Whitstable an excellent and powerfully moving read. It was a brave decision for Stephen Volk to try and write about such a well-known and -loved individual such as Cushing, and in the hands of a lesser writer he could have ended up either being Van Helsing, or simply coming across as a caricature. But Volk was more than equal to the task, and the result is a lovingly crafted, yet fundamentally honest and believable, profile of the man wrapped in a powerfully and sinisterly creeping story.
So Whitstable is my first encounter with Volk’s prosaic fiction, a hugely ambitious novella from Spectral Press, a small independent publisher which has lately been making big waves with its dedication to publishing high-quality short fiction.
Released to mark the 100th would-have-been birthday of that titanic figure of cinematic horror Peter Cushing, the novella centres around Cushing as the main character, and is a combination of chillingly grounded horror and a sincere homage to the man himself.
It takes place in 1971, in the aftermath of the death of Cushing’s wife Helen. After a chance encounter with a young boy on Whitstable beach, Cushing comes to suspect he is being abused and grapples with the morality of what to do as he copes with his own grief.
This is a powerfully emotionally piece, and Volk introduces us immediately to a despondent and world-wearied man, in the throes of his bereavement. The bleak descriptive language coupled with pointed use (at times verging on overuse) of rhetorical questions places the reader perfectly into Cushing’s mindset, leaving him raw and vulnerable as the story begins to unfold. Purely as a construction on the portrayal of the misery of loss Whitstable would be notable in quality — it would be hard, if not impossible, to remain unmoved by it.
But whilst Cushing as a character and a person is the undeniable focus of the novella, it is — mercifully — more than simply 140 pages of an old man wallowing. The introduction of a child, who sees no difference between Cushing and his signature Van Helsing character, provides the catalyst for the story, but also an interesting insight into the way he is viewed. To Carl, the child, he is the protector, the saviour, the one who fights the dark things in the world and triumphs with a blaze of sunshine.
And so Volk’s Cushing tries to live up to. I found I had to keep reminding myself that this was a character, not the actual Peter Cushing. Volk has created an emotionally authentic and believable version of a famous film star, and propped it up with the scaffolding of very intimate details about his life. The amount of research which went into this must have been breathtaking — indeed, I imagine it took a lifetime of fandom.
But where I felt this came into its own was in how effortlessly it brought together the subject matter of Cushing’s Hammer films with the darkness which walks everyday streets and lurks in ordinary English houses. The parallels drawn between the vampiric and supernatural which Carl perceives and the darker truths which Cushing — and the reader — see are more deeply chilling than a lot more violent, gory or explicit horror novels.
And just to take a moment for appreciation here; Spectral Press have done a fantastic job. Not only have they published an excellent piece of work, but they have done so in a beautiful physical edition, as well as a bargain price Kindle e-book at £2.04. If Spectral Press can repeat this excellent balance of quality and price (which there is every indication that they will) then it can only mean good things for short fiction.
In summary, I found Whitstable an excellent and powerfully moving read. It was a brave decision for Stephen Volk to try and write about such a well-known and -loved individual such as Cushing, and in the hands of a lesser writer he could have ended up either being Van Helsing, or simply coming across as a caricature. But Volk was more than equal to the task, and the result is a lovingly crafted, yet fundamentally honest and believable, profile of the man wrapped in a powerfully and sinisterly creeping story.
October 7, 2013
It's often said that good horror is allegorical, taking real world terrors and recasting them in fantasies that can be safely explored and processed. In this utterly compelling novella, Stephen Volk inverts the idiom at the same time as he illuminates it.
The story stars Peter Cushing, the quiet man of horror and an icon who exuded decency on screen and in real life. It is shortly after the death of his wife Helen, and Cushing is a shattered shadow of himself, hiding away in his home in the seaside town of Whitstable. While out walking, trying to escape the world, he is approached by a young boy who is certain he has found fictional vampire hunter Van Helsing. There is a monster he wishes this hero to tackle. One that comes into his room at night, to suck the life out of him. We're not in the colourful world of Hammer Horror movies though, and this monster is all too troubling and real. Cushing isn't Van Helsing either - he's a tired old man, but one who even in his desolation has too much humanity not to intervene. Thus begins a tense battle of wits between Cushing and a predator. It's a subtle dance, in some ways a grubby, tiny one, but Volk does an extraordinary job of playing it off against the ghost of the characters Cushing has inhabited.
The portrait of the actor is a loving one, and the telling of this tale is deft and extraordinary. While it plays on a tiny stage, it ultimately feels every bit as epic as Cushing's screen roles. It sets the best and worst of humanity at odds and lets them battle, not in vast allegory but in painstaking reality. It's oppressive and terrifying in places, and entirely celebratory in others. Published to mark what would have been the actor's hundredth birthday, the books weaves fantasy and reality together in a way that manages to celebrate both the man and his work in the body of what would be an extraordinary story even without Cushing as a central character.
This is the best of horror fiction, and you should read it.
The story stars Peter Cushing, the quiet man of horror and an icon who exuded decency on screen and in real life. It is shortly after the death of his wife Helen, and Cushing is a shattered shadow of himself, hiding away in his home in the seaside town of Whitstable. While out walking, trying to escape the world, he is approached by a young boy who is certain he has found fictional vampire hunter Van Helsing. There is a monster he wishes this hero to tackle. One that comes into his room at night, to suck the life out of him. We're not in the colourful world of Hammer Horror movies though, and this monster is all too troubling and real. Cushing isn't Van Helsing either - he's a tired old man, but one who even in his desolation has too much humanity not to intervene. Thus begins a tense battle of wits between Cushing and a predator. It's a subtle dance, in some ways a grubby, tiny one, but Volk does an extraordinary job of playing it off against the ghost of the characters Cushing has inhabited.
The portrait of the actor is a loving one, and the telling of this tale is deft and extraordinary. While it plays on a tiny stage, it ultimately feels every bit as epic as Cushing's screen roles. It sets the best and worst of humanity at odds and lets them battle, not in vast allegory but in painstaking reality. It's oppressive and terrifying in places, and entirely celebratory in others. Published to mark what would have been the actor's hundredth birthday, the books weaves fantasy and reality together in a way that manages to celebrate both the man and his work in the body of what would be an extraordinary story even without Cushing as a central character.
This is the best of horror fiction, and you should read it.
March 20, 2013
Stephen Volk has written his novella, “Whitstable,” to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of Peter Cushing’s birth in May 1913, by creating a tale of Cushing’s tortured and self-absorbed life as he grieved the recent death of his wife, Helen. Cushing has fallen in to complete despair, cut himself off from all forms of comfort and support, wanting only to face his own death and joining his love. While on a solitary visit to the beach, He is approached by a young boy, Carl, who recognizes him as the hero Van Helsing, slayer of vampires and all things evil. Carl needs a hero, and in his innocence, begs Cushing to help save him from the abuse of his mother’s boyfriend who he believes to be a vampire, because, after all, this is what Van Helsing does, right?
The boy’s plea awakens something within Peter, who realizes that this ‘vampire’ is a much more nightmarish and vile creature and makes it his mission to save Carl and bring him justice. After a failed attempt to convince the mother, Peter is confronted that evening by Les Gledhill, the man in question, who of course, plays the hurt, yet concerned father-figure, but there is a dark sinister vibe emanating from him. The deeper Peter commits to helping this unprotected young boy, the closer he comes back to the land of the living, finding renewed strength and purpose to his life. With renewed purpose, Cushing challenges Gledhill with the truth, while alone in a dark theatre that just happens to be showing one of his movies. Has he rattled Gledhill enough? Will the truth come out and save Carl?
Stephen Volk has created a dark and unflinching novella, depicting the pain of loss, holding on to love, and realizing there is hope for the future in reaching out to others.
The boy’s plea awakens something within Peter, who realizes that this ‘vampire’ is a much more nightmarish and vile creature and makes it his mission to save Carl and bring him justice. After a failed attempt to convince the mother, Peter is confronted that evening by Les Gledhill, the man in question, who of course, plays the hurt, yet concerned father-figure, but there is a dark sinister vibe emanating from him. The deeper Peter commits to helping this unprotected young boy, the closer he comes back to the land of the living, finding renewed strength and purpose to his life. With renewed purpose, Cushing challenges Gledhill with the truth, while alone in a dark theatre that just happens to be showing one of his movies. Has he rattled Gledhill enough? Will the truth come out and save Carl?
Stephen Volk has created a dark and unflinching novella, depicting the pain of loss, holding on to love, and realizing there is hope for the future in reaching out to others.
August 4, 2014
Whitstable is a stunning character portrait, and a sober meditation on the impact of grief. That the story concerns one of the greats of British Cinema, Peter Cushing, could have been problematic in any number of ways in the hands of a lesser writer. Luckily, Mr. Volk wields his meticulously rehearsed narrative with a truly deft hand, bringing Mr. Cushing to life in a very respectful way that falls short of idolisation or hero worship. instead, we get an achingly real portrait of a man on the edge, desperation warring with a sense of futility, and a conflict that will galvanise him back into action. Adult in the true sense of the term, this is a beautifully written tale of courage and fear.
January 5, 2015
Steven Volk has written a profoundly sensitive portrayal not only of Peter Cushing but also of grief and growing old. Those aspects of the story were a solid five stars for me. I wish I'd liked the plot involving the "real life monster" better, but it somehow felt like it was only a framing device for the real story about Cushing's emotional turmoil. Still, an excellent read and a very touching book. Clearly a labor of deep love for a legend of horror.
June 7, 2013
Touching character portrait of Peter Cushing following the death of his beloved wife Helen on the early 70s. When sat on the beach one day he gets confused for his on screen alter ego Van Helsing by a young boy who wants his help in vanquishing the vampire in his life.
A moving study in grief, despair and loneliness that encourages us to question true horrors the exist is our everyday world.
A moving study in grief, despair and loneliness that encourages us to question true horrors the exist is our everyday world.
June 21, 2013
A thoughtful and beautifully written novella covering grief, the true nature of evil, and what it means to be a hero. In his depiction of Cushing, Volk evokes the spirit of a man who was beloved by many, and manages to make you miss someone you never had the pleasure of meeting. Highly recommended.
August 14, 2014
An odd little book but not unenjoyable. Strange ending though. All the locations are very specific, which is fun if you live in Whitstable, but I imagine might be slightly bewildering for anyone who doesn't know the town well. Looking forward to the inevitable TV adaptation - starring Michael Sheen as Peter Cushing, obviously.
November 21, 2013
A stunning, and incredibly moving portrait of a legendary vanquisher of fictional evils facing a very real and truly sickening one, amidst the greatest of personal losses. Even richer if you know your Hammer / Amicus. I can't recommend this highly enough.
October 29, 2015
"Will you keep fighting monsters?"
His eyes fixed far off, where the sea met the sky, Peter Cushing had no difficulty saying: "Always."
This book was a pleasure.
His eyes fixed far off, where the sea met the sky, Peter Cushing had no difficulty saying: "Always."
This book was a pleasure.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 3, 2014
" You look younger"
Cushing had almost forgotten he'd shaved for the first time in weeks. He rubbed his chin, Dr Terror's salt and pepper was gone.
" I have a painting in the attic"
" What does that mean?"
"Never mind. You'll find out when you're a bit older"
When you have lines like that within a book you know it's a gem of a book!
Of course it's a nod to Oscar Wilde's The Picture Of Dorian Gray which is one of my favourite classics of all time and it's just an example of the wonderful wording of Whitstable by Stephen Volk.
I first heard of Whitstable through a review of the novella in the UK's SFX magazine when the book first came out last year and as soon as I'd read that review I knew it was a book that I just HAD to read. I mean it's a pure fiction revolving around one of my movie heroes, Peter Cushing. I literally grew up on Hammer horror movies, especially the Dracula movies starring Peter Cushing and my other movie hero Christopher Lee (one also gets a few mention during the course of Whitstable) and I still watch them to this day.
It took me a while to get my hands on a copy of the book as for a book as for it's size it's not the cheapest to buy in paperback form but when I got my Kindle I started looking into getting a copy for the Kindle as at £2 for an e-copy versus almost £13 for the paperback it was the more sensible for my measly little budget. As soon as I had my copy I made plans to read the book in my busy reading schedule and when the moment came that I had been waiting for I was just brimming with sheer excitement, if maybe a bit worried that I'd hyped the book up too much in my own head. I remember thinking 'please be the book I want you to be'. Did I let myself down with too much enthusiasm...... I can honestly say that the book didn't let me down or leave me feeling disappointed in the slightest!
I'm not going to structure this review in the same way that I usually do as there is a lot I want to to say about this rather special little book and I just hope I have the writing skill to get across everything I want to say about the what the book gave me, how it made me feel so bear with me and I hope I make a least a little bit of sense.
Okay, we begin the book meeting a sad figure of a man, that man obviously being Peter Cushing. He is living alone in Whitstable after losing his beloved friend, companion and wife of thirty years, Helen. He is in a period of deep and quite dark depression, he seems very lost,extremely vulnerable and more than a little broken. He doesn't seem to have any drive left and is wallowing in his sadness, in his grief when it seems he has little left to live for. He's through about leaving the mortal coil to join his lost love, he's so sad it's heartbreaking but you also get the feeling that despite Helen is obviously gone you still get the feeling that she is ever present, she's always in Peter's thoughts and has left a everlasting mark on his life..
One day while out and about he is approached by a young boy called Carl who is a horror fan and is absolutely convinced that Peter is actually Abraham Van Helsing, one of his most famous movie roles. Carl believes that his mother's boyfriend Les is a vampire and that Van Helsing must help him and his mother by destroying the vampire. As Carl explains to Peter/Van Helsing why he thinks Les is a vampire Peter's suspicions rise as it begins to seems that there is much more to the story than a child's over-active imagination but what is Peter willing, or able, to do about the situation?
This is where the story gets more interesting and complicated.
You often hear from modern celebrities how the public often get confused by the characters they play and the person they really are, of people calling the actor by their characters name that they play on the screen. People often truly believe that the actor really is that person, that they have actually done the things they have seen them do on the TV and this story is a classic case of this. Carl has seen the Hammer Dracula movies and really does believe that Van Helsing lives in Whitstable and that he really does kill vampires for a living.
"I'm talking about here and now and you're the vampire hunter and you need to help me." "It's your job. It's your job Vampire Hunter. You're heroic. You're powerful."
Carl doesn't realise that Van Helsing isn't real and that the man he sees around Whitstable is just a lonely actor living an everyday life while having the extraordinary job of playing Van Helsing on the big screen. At first Peter plays along and doesn't even try to tell the boy that Van Helsing is pure fiction but as I said as Carl tells his story Peter begins to get the suspicion that there is more to the story and that there may be something more sinister afoot, maybe even some form of child abuse happening but what can Peter do to help Carl and should he even try?
"He visits me at night time. Every night now. He takes my blood while I'm asleep. I know what he's doing. He thinks I'm asleep but I'm not asleep. It feels like a dream and I try to pretend it isn't happening, but afterwards I feel bad, like I'm dead inside".
It's provokes real dilemma for Peter about whether he should get involved in something that is technically none of his business and even if he did try to help what in reality could he even do? He can see something is going on with Carl and his words give the impression that Les is behind it all and that Carl is terrified of him, terrified for himself but also for his mother.
The story that follows looks into the heart of being a celebrity and of peoples expectations of actors. It also is a deep look into the dilemma of if you saw someone in need of help would you help? And how could you help? What steps could you take to protect a child you suspect may be being abused. and would anyone believe you if you even tried to help?
Whitstable really is an amazing story that has left quite a mark on me and it's a tale that will linger in my memory for quite some time to come. It touches lovingly on certain real life events in Peter Cushing life and while it is technically a horror book about vampires and vampirism is doesn't actually have any of the paranormal to it, unfortunately the bloodsuckers only exist on the screen but in a way it shows a more real form of vampirism where grown men prey on young boys and suck the life from them by way of abuse and that is even more scary in my view. It highlights the real horrors of this world, the ones people face every day..... loneliness, isolation, dying and death itself along with abuse of all types be it physical or emotional.
Would you recommend it to others?
I really would recommend this book as it is a mesmerizing tale, it's touching and gives you quite the reality check. It is wonderful on so many different levels and its hard to get across the emotional impacts it will have on you unless you read it for yourself. I don't think anyone could be disappointed in a book like this despite it's ultimate subject matter and besides that you get a lovely insight into Peter Cushing himself, who he was and what he was about, the man behind the monster hunter and for me that was the aspect of the book that I loved the most.
February 6, 2020
Let's just get this out the way now.
Whitstable is one of the finest pieces of fiction I've read in any genre.
There, I've said it.
Stephen Volk has written a fictional biography that honours Hammer Horror legend Peter Cushing. In Whitstable, I recognised the man I saw onscreen but was offered fascinating insight to his offscreen life. A life that was overwrought with grief for Helen, his wife that has recently passed.
Whilst on a walk, Cushing is asked by a young boy to help him as his mother's boyfriend is a vampire. Not wanting to embarrass the boy Cushing doesn't correct him that he really isn't Van Helsing the famous vampire killer.
The ensuing conversation reveals that the vampire is making regular night visits to the boys bedroom and it's from this point on that Cushing decides to help.
Volk blends fact and fiction seamlessly. A passage on why Cushing took so many roles, so subtley delivered brought a tear to the eye.
There are two exchanges between Cushing and Les Gledhill (The Boyfriend) that were so tense, I was unaware I'd been holding my breath. Both are brilliant for different reasons. The first is the clash of English gent and thug, expertly written with the swears hitting me as hard as they did Cushing. The second, alternating a conversation in a cinema with action from the big screen was a format I'd never read before and was blown away at how powerful it was.
I want to say so much more, but to do so will spoil what is a masterclass in storytelling.
Even if you know nothing about Peter Cushing, Whitstable still works. His story as captured in this book is utterly captivating, thrilling, heart-breaking and uplifting.
A story about grief and loss, the past and the future, the young and the old, the right and wrong.
A story about hope.
A story about the gentleman Peter Cushing.
Whitstable is one of the finest pieces of fiction I've read in any genre.
There, I've said it.
Stephen Volk has written a fictional biography that honours Hammer Horror legend Peter Cushing. In Whitstable, I recognised the man I saw onscreen but was offered fascinating insight to his offscreen life. A life that was overwrought with grief for Helen, his wife that has recently passed.
Whilst on a walk, Cushing is asked by a young boy to help him as his mother's boyfriend is a vampire. Not wanting to embarrass the boy Cushing doesn't correct him that he really isn't Van Helsing the famous vampire killer.
The ensuing conversation reveals that the vampire is making regular night visits to the boys bedroom and it's from this point on that Cushing decides to help.
Volk blends fact and fiction seamlessly. A passage on why Cushing took so many roles, so subtley delivered brought a tear to the eye.
There are two exchanges between Cushing and Les Gledhill (The Boyfriend) that were so tense, I was unaware I'd been holding my breath. Both are brilliant for different reasons. The first is the clash of English gent and thug, expertly written with the swears hitting me as hard as they did Cushing. The second, alternating a conversation in a cinema with action from the big screen was a format I'd never read before and was blown away at how powerful it was.
I want to say so much more, but to do so will spoil what is a masterclass in storytelling.
Even if you know nothing about Peter Cushing, Whitstable still works. His story as captured in this book is utterly captivating, thrilling, heart-breaking and uplifting.
A story about grief and loss, the past and the future, the young and the old, the right and wrong.
A story about hope.
A story about the gentleman Peter Cushing.
July 24, 2018
An odd little novel. The concept was very good: aging actor (grieving for his newly dead) wife who specialises in playing monster killers in movies is approached by a young lad to help his solve his "monster" problem. Carl, 10 years old, has mistaken the old man for one of his characters on screen. Plagued by nighttime visits from his soon-to-be stepfather, Carl is convinced his mother's boyfriend is a vampire (he takes fluid from the boy nightly and leaves him feeling like death). Aging actor takes on his last, best role.
I would have enjoyed this more if the actor in question hadn't been revealed as Peter Cushing. What is with this current rash of writing fictional accounts of real people? I'm thinking of The Hunger by Alma Katsu about the tragically doomed Donner Party and Dan Simmons' The Terror, Burial Rites by Hannah Kent, Into the White by Joanna Grochowicz. Did Stephen Volk get permission from the Cushing family to write this quite intimate account of the actor and his dead wife? Clearly he is a huge fan, and this was the part of the book I had the most trouble with. I'm not--a fan. I've never watched a Hammer Horror and a lot of the book was a detailed recounting of a Hammer Horror plot, cut with dialogue between Cushing and his real life adversary. As I said, clever idea, but not liking cheesy old movies, this didn't work for me at all. I skipped every movie section and only read the bits pertaining to the boy and his "rescue" which were good.
I'm giving it three stars for effort.
If you do like Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee movies, then I suspect you will love this book. It's a true homage to those actors and the movies they made.
I would have enjoyed this more if the actor in question hadn't been revealed as Peter Cushing. What is with this current rash of writing fictional accounts of real people? I'm thinking of The Hunger by Alma Katsu about the tragically doomed Donner Party and Dan Simmons' The Terror, Burial Rites by Hannah Kent, Into the White by Joanna Grochowicz. Did Stephen Volk get permission from the Cushing family to write this quite intimate account of the actor and his dead wife? Clearly he is a huge fan, and this was the part of the book I had the most trouble with. I'm not--a fan. I've never watched a Hammer Horror and a lot of the book was a detailed recounting of a Hammer Horror plot, cut with dialogue between Cushing and his real life adversary. As I said, clever idea, but not liking cheesy old movies, this didn't work for me at all. I skipped every movie section and only read the bits pertaining to the boy and his "rescue" which were good.
I'm giving it three stars for effort.
If you do like Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee movies, then I suspect you will love this book. It's a true homage to those actors and the movies they made.
January 8, 2019
As a lifelong Cushing/Hammer fan, this sounded right up my street. I'd also read and thoroughly enjoyed The Parts We Play by the same author so I knew this would be a safe bet. It's short, I read it in two sittings. Fictional, but rooted in fact, it tells of a bewildered and frail Peter Cushing, caught up in the throes of grief following the passing of his beloved wife. He encounters a young boy who, mistaking Cushing for his most famous on-screen alter ego, requests that he helps him tackle the real-life vampire who visits him at night, his mother's boyfriend. You don't have to be a child psychologist to know what that suggests. The rest of the book details the showdown between our heroic actor and the antagonist, and without going into further detail, the experience proves cathartic to a lonely man who's at a crossroads in his life. A love letter to Peter Cushing and the Hammer canon, as well as a meditation on bereavement, this is a delicately told, elegant story which I'd highly recommend.
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