L'ivresse du démon

by Andrew Klavan

"Trolls, he thought. That's what it was. Religious people believed God ran the world. Atheists figured it was indifferent nature. But it was trolls. Sadistic little homunculi in leather jackets with lots of zippers. Hiding behind the scrim of being. Working the machinery to maximize human suffering for their own amusement."

A wealthy Hollywood cowboy-cum-movie-producer travels to England in the hope of seeing a ghost, or a voice from beyond: "Something uncanny, you know. Anything. One lousy uncanny thing." He hangs out with a marvelous old woman--a professional skeptic armed with a sword cane and an ever-puffing pipe with a skull-shaped bowl--and the other staff of a semi-tabloid rag called Bizarre! He meets the woman of his dreams, who is billed as being utterly inaccessible and frigid to boot. Then before you can say "conspiracy theory," Andrew Klavan has whipped all of them into a humorous confection with elements of German romantic art, English Gothic architecture, 19th-century ghost stories, Norse mythology, South American cult leaders, Nazi witchcraft, and the Holy Grail. Even the ghost of M.R. James has a key role in the plot.

It's not a deep novel--you get the sense that Klavan doesn't take one iota of it seriously--but it's good supernatural fun. --Fiona Webster

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Ghosts, Mystery, Paranormal, Fantasy

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Reference for now:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_K...

Reviews

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars--I really liked it.

What a fun little horror novel. I thought it was going to be a ghost story--and it was--but it was also about horror movies and cults and family and love and loss as well.

I really enjoyed the "vintage" ghost stories interspersed in this novel, and also enjoyed the hunt for and descriptions of magical artifacts (adding an element of DaVinci-Code type thriller to this book).

Though some of the dialogue is dated in parts and you have to suspend a lot of disbelief, overall I had a good time reading this book.

[Matt Schiariti · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up on a whim while looking for a book by another author who, by the laws of alphabetical order was right next to The Uncanny. The title seemed interesting as did the cover.

NEver judge a book by its cover, isn't that what they say?

Whoever the mysterious 'they' are who uttered that phrase, they're completely correct.

I don't always write reviews, more often than not I do, but I felt compelled to say just how bad this book was.

It DID have potential. A mystery wrapped around famous old paintings and ghost stories, secret societies performing black masses, people killed in horrible ways, an american in England...totally the fish out of water. But as time goes on it just spirals more and more out of control.

I don't want to give away too much, but this almost seems like a tongue in cheek homage to bad and very cliched horror movies. Even the protagonist goes so far as to say that the situations he's finding himself in are so cliched, even movie studios wouldn't commit them to film.

I don't mind suspending disbeleif, but with some very annoying characters, a villain who summons a mental image of a bad guy in a black hat, twirling his moustache in an evil way while standing over a damsel in distress and some very campy dialogue..well, you get the picture...

actually, the best parts of the book are the old ghost stories that they find on the course of their investigation...those were actually pretty good little reads...

the rest of the book however? Disappointing...

[Wendi WDM · Rating 2 out of 5]

Then before you can say "conspiracy theory," Andrew Klavan has whipped all of them into a humorous confection with elements of German romantic art, English Gothic architecture, 19th-century ghost stories, Norse mythology, South American cult leaders, Nazi witchcraft, and the Holy Grail.

OOooohh! I had no idea it was supposed to be funny!

From his website: A modern re-invention of the classic English ghost story. Horror movie producer Richard Storm comes to England on a mission: to find evidence that the human spirit lives on after death. Linking up with Harper Albright, an eccentric pipe-smoking old woman who runs a magazine devoted to the paranormal, he begins an attempt to uncover the truth behind a series of classic ghost stories.

But Storm’s nightmares are about to step down off the screen into real life. He’s about to begin a journey through his deepest passions and his darkest fears, through a love stronger than death to a mystery older than time, down a path formed by the classic tales themselves into the very heart of the uncanny.
"Klavan pulls out all the stops . . . .The suspense is high, the fun factor higher." --Publishers Weekly

Yeah...it's amazing to me that two of his books have been turned into movies (Don't Say a Word with Michael Douglas and True Crime with Clint Eastwood - I've seen the first but not the latter, and now probably won't!)

This book was so lame and yet, like a trainwreck, I kept on watching/reading, whatever. The whole time I kept thinking that I was missing something, as if I had come into the middle of a series of books about one character - Harper. She keeps talking about this thing called The Uncanny, but we're never really told what the Uncanny is. (and yes, Uncanny is spelled with a capital U.) The St. Pete Times hailed this book as a sort of upscale X-Files. Sort of being the operative word, 'cuz it ain't nothing like the X-Files, unless you count the latest X-Files movie in which most of us X-Files fans were like, "WTF?"

Maybe if I had realized the book was all tongue in cheek I would have enjoyed it more, but I got it because I wanted a good ghost story. I got neither: good or a ghost story, just some lame folks running around after a bad guy named Iago. There was even some brief intro into some cult and grail stories, which got me excited only to be let down again.

This book was bad. I should say Bad, not Uncanny at all.

[Stephen Gallup · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got to The Uncanny about a month too early, as it's a great story for Halloween season. It's also one that cries out to be made into a movie--so much so that I'm tempted to try and write a screenplay for it, just as an exercise. The main character is a retired filmmaker, so perhaps he has something to do with the fact that that task feels already half-done (not that it's told exclusively from his point of view).

This is the fourth Klavan title I've read, and it helps clarify his focus. Previously I'd thought Klavan was motivated mainly by politics. His Empire of Lies has a celebrity figure, coddled by the media and academe, who spews cultural poison. The Identity Man has a despicable demagogue en route to high office. And having seen a few of Klavan's short written and video efforts, I knew that he attacks the same phenomena in real life. But, fairly early in The Uncanny, one of the characters comments that the problem goes way beyond politics. The real adversary is naked evil, recognizable by what it does to us (i.e., never mind good intentions, if something causes genuine harm then it's evil). Klavan's other novels provide glimpses of the kind of evil that makes you recoil in horror or disgust, but here it takes center stage.

Life is very much an imperfect proposition, which we see in the conclusion of this one: The heroine's father has just died, and the man she now realizes she loves is dying. But there is a danger in attempting to improve on or overcome basic realities.

I really don't know how this book could have been better.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has so much potential . . . which remains un-achieved. I think the short stories that begin each chapter are actually more confusing than helpful. Having read the book jacket, I thought the first short story was supposed to be one of Storm’s (the main character) movies. Eventually I realized those were meant to fill us in on the stories that Harper and Storm and Iago were familiar with. It could be that this story was too modern in tone for me. It was apparently supposed to be a twist (by using the uncanny) on the usual ill-fated romance with some action-adventure.

I wish I could have liked Harper, a female paranormal/occult investigator, but I couldn’t connect with her. Maybe because she wasn’t the main character? Or maybe because to me she felt like the stock “weird character” without anything meaningful behind that. I think she was supposed to be unique and cool, smoking her pipe, checking out paranormal leads, but I felt nothing while reading about her.

I had pages tabbed for commenting on when I wrote this review, but upon re-reading them, I cannot figure out what was supposed to be interesting, relevant or even a good quote.

(although I did like the cannibal joke in the beginning)

[Deanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

After 146 pages I finally decided to give up and move on to another book. Just didn't find this one to be all that interesting. :S

[Gerard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Almost a movie script. Scare, so rare.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was almost a 3 rating, but I did keep checking how many pages were left before it would end. Every once in a while it would spark so I kept on, finally to the end.

[Scott Marks · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible writing, clunky and childish. Plus the writer is a misogynist, anti-feminist and it comes across quite strongly in how he writes about women.
Red flags guys, avoid this novelists books.

[Phil]

DNF @ 140 pages in; one of the most boring books ever.

[David Downum · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know where to start with this book. I don't even know how to give a description of the plot of the book because I don't think the author knew. I will also warn light spoilers of the book.. Apparently it's about Richard Storm Hollywood producer of horror movies, who has been diagnosed with a terminal disease. Richard has traveled to England ostensibly to work for Harper Albright at her magazine Bizarre! but really to die in peace I guess. He meets a beautiful girl named Sophia and gets pulled into a mystery about a serial killer who wants to live forever. If that sounds like it is an interesting premise believe me when I tell you the execution was awful.

First let me say some of my problems for this book may be a case of it not aging well. The book was first published in 1998 and some of the gender dynamics do not age well at all. That being said there really is no redeeming quality to this book.

Let's start with the writing itself. I have never read a book so overwritten in my life. I think that the author thinks if he can throw enough big words, and metaphors he can on the page that a good book makes. He is wrong. I found myself missing huge chunks of the book because my brain wandered which doesn't speak highly for the writing, but then to find out that I didn't miss anything important to the story just shows how much filler is in the book. I am curious to know if the author writes YA books because his characters come younger than they should. Richard is in his 40s but I thought he was much younger than that.

The characters were 1 dimensional in this book, so if you like character work this is certainly not the book for you. Richard spends a lot of the book talking about regrets he has, which introspection because of i.pending death is a good thing so maybe you can make amends. The problem is we never actually hear about the regrets just him whining about them. What the hell is the point. Sophia starts the book being described as kind of an ass kicking business woman, which lasts all of the description page.

Sophia is the biggest disappointment because the author could have done so much with her, bit she fades into the background and becomes a weak simpering nothing character. The only reason she is seemibgly in the book is to introduce us to the family. This is also disappointing because her whole backstop is so clichéd English upper Crust. Wow her dad worked his way up from nothing to a respected art dealer. The whole family never speaks about anything because you know the English don't talk about feelings.

The only character with any depth is Harper, who is really the main driving force of the book in my opinion. The book is supposed to be Richard's but I would say the focus is on Harper for over half. The only movement of plot forward happens with Harper's story. Spoilers ahead. Harper was in a romantic relationship with the main antagonist 20 years before the book, when he was the leader of a cult. Harper sees him perform a ritualistic killing of a baby one night, and runs away with her own baby. She spends the rest of the book chasing after the main villain (Iago) to stop him from killing again. She has the most knowledge of what is going on and how high the stakes are. She is funny,smart, courageous if somewhat prone to making foolish decisions. I liked her and she redeemed the book slightly for me .

I guess my biggest issue with the book is the gender dynamics in the book. While not the biggest problem Richard is significantly older than Sophia, and while not illegal it is just icky for parts, especially because she is written like a teenager while actually being in her early twenties. The way Richard sometimes thinks about her is incredibly problematic. Sophia has trauma surrounding suppressed memories of her mom's death, and at numerous points throughout the book he thinks of her or calls her crazy. This woman has actual trauma and for the author to use that trauma to make her come off as "crazy" is gross. For sometime in the middle of the book the relationship gets somewhat better but at the end some stuff happens and she isn't ready to confront this yet and he forces her to. Without thinking of the effects on her mental health.

I literally can't write anymore because it is making me angrier and angrier that this book was published. The last thing I will say is that this book is categorized as horror and I don't think it is, maybe a thriller. This is academic I guess because who really cares, what I am hoping is that this review will save you the time of reading this trash and go find a better book.

[Victoria · Rating 1 out of 5]

After loving Klavan’s most recent release, A Killer in the Wind, I dug through my to-read-pile and pulled out this older title of his that I had bought and not yet read, some time ago. With my hopes held high (and the night growing late), I began. And at about 100 pages in, my disappointment became well settled in. Though I did finish the book, it was with no where near as much pleasure as I had devoured his 2013 release.

The slow pacing and the surprisingly flat and unrealistic characters made this book at times more of a chore than a pleasure to read. Coincidence played a role thematically, and shaped the actual storyline, which added to my overall dissatisfaction. The plot became a bit more interesting towards the climax, but even one of Klavan’s own characters (Bernard) remarked upon the quality of the ending. And he was right... the book ended with an unfinished, and rather unsatisfying quality. The great lack of an ending suggested a set-up for a conclusion, but from the descriptions, none appear to have emerged since this 1998 release. Other than a few moments of humour in the dialogue, this did not even feel like it was written by the same author... Which was such a shame considering how much I loved reading A Killer in the Wind. I guess I will be proceeding with caution into the remainder of Klavan’s canon.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

When American horror film director Richard Storm first arrives in London, he has his own secret mission. Part vacation, part research, he finds renewed purpose in working at a magazine which features weird phenomena - Bizarre. The owner and editor is herself a curiosity and opens up a whole new world to Richard - a world of strange but true hauntings, ghost hunts and spirit worship. When Richard is first introduced to beautiful heiress Sophia Endering, he finds himself helplessly in love with her.

But Sophia is as dangerous to herself as she is for those who love her - for she has an almost unstoppable death wish. The smitten Richard follows Sophia through the labyrinth of her family's madness and their involvement in Nazi art thefts, down a trail formed by ghost stories more chilling then any that Richard could create for his movies.

This book was very good in parts, but I have to say that it was not one of my favorite books. I had some trouble following the plot and must say honestly that I'm still not entirely sure about certain parts of the story. Mareena got this book for me because she knew how much I had enjoyed True Crime, which is also by Andrew Klavan. I give this book an A!

[Carmille · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was better than what I've expected. I like the fact that even if it was a mystery novel, it didn't go down the typical hole wherein it treated it treated its readers as dumb creatures who needs everything spelled out to them. The characters were good, if not a little bit cliche. Harper was very funny and likable while Storm was very relatable. I liked the way that it ended though I have a minor peeve regarding the addition of the supernatural aspect. It could have gone on with its mystery angle but the addition of that one seemingly impossible aspect sort of tripped the whole experience for me. However, as I've said earlier, I liked the way it ended and I guess it wouldn't have gone that way if it weren't for the supernatural take.

All in all it was an enjoyable read and I am glad that I have accidentally picked this book.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a little bit of a hard time getting into this book, but once I did, I enjoyed it and had trouble putting it down. It's an interesting blend of horror and thriller. The characters are memorable and the writing is spot-on.

I especially liked the literary ties Klavan concocted, on which the entire plot is based. It speaks to the power of the written word, in this case classic Victorian ghost stories.

This was my first Klavan novel, and I'll probably start reading more of his.

[Frederic Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really, really liked this book. The characters are unique and engaging (well, most of them anyway), and the premise hooked me early on. It didn't tale long for this offbeat ghost story centered around the eccentric publisher of a barely-alive paranormal magazine to turn into an addictive page turner. Everyone has a secret, and enough of those secrets caught me by surprise to keep it interesting.

[KeenReader]

This seemed to circle around and around a mystery and kept promising to become intriging. However, I'd got nearly half-way through the book and it was still trudging round and round in circles going largely over the same ground. It didn't help that I found the main character annoying and poorly described. I decided to put it to one side and see if I wanted to pick it back up again, but I forgot all about it, so I moved onto something else.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea at all, I couldn't get into it during any of the book. The only reason it's getting stars is because I liked the ghost ties in it. I would not reread this book if I was paid money to do so sorry for those of you who liked it I say what ever floats your boat cause this book did nothing for me.

[Debra Dufrene · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, it's still on my phone but the only time I even attempt is when I'm waiting on a appointment and don't have my tablet and don't feel like playing a small game. Story seems so interesting but moves "uncannily" slow. I just got tired of waiting for something to happen. There is tons of atmosphere in the book though.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a good ghost story and detective story all rolled up into one good book.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about finding and keeping love in your life...with help from a band of strange people and a couple of ghosts!

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scariest ghost story and most loving romance I've ever read. Not gothic romance, real romance.

[Shigaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything was good, exept the 4 line between period and period. xDD That was HELL. xDD

[Foxytocin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not particularily "thrilling," but very entertaining as an hommage to gothic horror. Fun, even.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!!

[Jessie Salmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful

Having read other Klavan novels, I was surprised. This one is a happy combination of wonderful characters and compex plot.

[Geoffrey Greeley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't stop reading...until the end.
Entertaining and unexpected

[Maegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not my usual genre at all, but I loved every chilling chapter! Brilliantly written.

[Brad Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suspenseful

I am not a reader that gravitates towards supernatural ghost stories, but this was a fantastic read. The last quarter of the book I could not put down, well done.

[Justine Olawsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, here is an unusual contribution to the Klavan Oeuvre. It is, in many ways, a love letter of sorts to the spooky tales of England's Golden Age of ghost stories, and Klavan really makes it interesting by weaving a series of stories and ballads that are variations on the same story of the betrayal of Annie and the sacrifice of her child told in different styles and different voices into his own narrative to advance the mystery and surround the whole experience in Gothic gloom. There was much to like here, and I really honor the creativity of vision in attempting to pull this off.

Alas, it all did not quite fit together for me in the end. Usually, Klavan is meticulous about clicking all the plot points into place and making them believable to the characters and story, and that sense of spit and polish just seemed to be missing from the finished novel. By the end, I did not really care what happened to any of the main characters. I did not even care what happened with the leading man, Richard Storm, and his leading lady, Sophia Enderling - and that is almost impossible in a Klavan novel as he writes so well and realistically and beautifully about men and women and the ways they are with each other that I am always wrapped up in the romantic relationships by the end. Seriously, I cried at the end of The Identity Man because I was so invested.

Harper, the old woman with a mission who is the driving force of the narrative - no matter what Richard Storm might think - left a lot of loose ends for me with her personality and motivations and especially the unexplained premature aging she seems to have undergone. The supernatural villain's backstory was confusing, too. And, while I respect the use of the providential (or demonic) confluence of events as a catalyst of plot progression - called "The Uncanny" in the book - it seemed a bit arbitrary and tacked on without at all inducing the sort of hair-raising creepiness and otherworldliness that would seem to surround such an idea.

All this to say, it's Klavan so it's better than 95% of the other books out there you could read, if you're looking for a fast-paced thriller. His signature humor is present, especially in Richard Storm, but more subdued in this novel. A fun read for Halloween month.