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Heathen #2
Hybrid
The good times for writer Christopher Ward are over. Struggling to complete his latest novel, he finds himself sucked into a vicious spiral: the further into the book he gets, the harder it becomes; the harder it becomes, the quicker he slides towards depression and alcoholism.
Then the incidents begin. How is it that he rarely works and yet, day after day, he finds whole chapters of his novel completed? And what of the things he sees at night? Are they dreams or apparitions? Alone in his house, and within the decaying confines of his own mind, Ward is pushed to the very edge of sanity.
As a writer, Ward has always explored the darker side of the human mind. Now it's time for him to experience the darkness for real. For when the final revelations begin, Ward discovers a truth more terrifying than anything dredged from the most twisted imagination...
Then the incidents begin. How is it that he rarely works and yet, day after day, he finds whole chapters of his novel completed? And what of the things he sees at night? Are they dreams or apparitions? Alone in his house, and within the decaying confines of his own mind, Ward is pushed to the very edge of sanity.
As a writer, Ward has always explored the darker side of the human mind. Now it's time for him to experience the darkness for real. For when the final revelations begin, Ward discovers a truth more terrifying than anything dredged from the most twisted imagination...
463 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
7 people are currently reading
176 people want to read
About the author
Shaun Hutson
115 books538 followersBritish horror novelist, including horror and urban thriller novels.
His novella Slugs was made into a movie, although Hutson didn't like the movie. He also appeared in two horror movies himself.
Hutson is a Liverpool F.C. fan.
His novella Slugs was made into a movie, although Hutson didn't like the movie. He also appeared in two horror movies himself.
Hutson is a Liverpool F.C. fan.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 29, 2017
It only cost me 20p. I was feeling nostalgic. I feel almost as bad as when I read his alien abduction yarns.
...st me 20p...it only cost me 20p...it o....
...st me 20p...it only cost me 20p...it o....
March 22, 2018
I enjoyed it fairplay
September 11, 2014
I'm a huge Hutson fan usually, but unfortunately this book really disappointed me. Hutson seems to be grasping as straws in this. It has no real story line, and the "book within the book" is just a repeat of Knife Edge. The ending was just ridiculous.
Very sad to see such an amazing and talented writer publish something so bad.
Very sad to see such an amazing and talented writer publish something so bad.
May 16, 2020
I used to read a lot of Shaun Hutson's books-I enjoyed his war novels and his urban thrillers,
I have to say in recent years I've lost interest in his novels, Compulsion was one of the foulest
books I'd ever read and this is only a marginal improvement.
The story revolves around a washed up writer whose readers have lost interest in
his books, so Christopher Ward hits the bottle (the amount he's drinking, he'd be lucky
to do join the dots) let alone write a book but in between the stupors he decides to write
a book about terrorists in Northern Ireland-this part of Hybrid is the best because it re-
introduces Sean Doyle-one of Shaun's best characters.
We get the story of Ward's fall from grace and one about the book he's writing.
Gradually Ward goes around the twist as he finds parts of his novel written when he
comes out of his stupor, and yes, folks, he becomes involved with the murder of a
prostitute.
I won't spoil the ending because it is rather good but this isn't one of Mr Hutson's best.
Not bad, but not good-just so so.
I have to say in recent years I've lost interest in his novels, Compulsion was one of the foulest
books I'd ever read and this is only a marginal improvement.
The story revolves around a washed up writer whose readers have lost interest in
his books, so Christopher Ward hits the bottle (the amount he's drinking, he'd be lucky
to do join the dots) let alone write a book but in between the stupors he decides to write
a book about terrorists in Northern Ireland-this part of Hybrid is the best because it re-
introduces Sean Doyle-one of Shaun's best characters.
We get the story of Ward's fall from grace and one about the book he's writing.
Gradually Ward goes around the twist as he finds parts of his novel written when he
comes out of his stupor, and yes, folks, he becomes involved with the murder of a
prostitute.
I won't spoil the ending because it is rather good but this isn't one of Mr Hutson's best.
Not bad, but not good-just so so.
November 25, 2018
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3118952.html
This had been on my eventually-getting-round-to list for ages, on the basis that it came up as a possible addition to the list of sff novels set in Ireland. To be honest it barely qualifies. There are two plotlines, set several years apart; in one, a writer in 2002 finds that he is writing a novel without any memory of actually writing it, in what feel to him like alcoholic blackouts; the other plotline is the story of the novel, a thriller set around Good Friday Agreement times, in which a dissident British agent hints down a dissident Republican. I thought the violence was gratuitous and the politics pretty inaccurate, and the supernatural linkage between th two narratives not really accounted for; apart from that, it was quite well written!
This had been on my eventually-getting-round-to list for ages, on the basis that it came up as a possible addition to the list of sff novels set in Ireland. To be honest it barely qualifies. There are two plotlines, set several years apart; in one, a writer in 2002 finds that he is writing a novel without any memory of actually writing it, in what feel to him like alcoholic blackouts; the other plotline is the story of the novel, a thriller set around Good Friday Agreement times, in which a dissident British agent hints down a dissident Republican. I thought the violence was gratuitous and the politics pretty inaccurate, and the supernatural linkage between th two narratives not really accounted for; apart from that, it was quite well written!
August 24, 2021
Тройка, но въпреки това е интересна книга - и основния сюжет, който всъщност е разказ, и книгата в книгата, от която научих супер много неща за тероризма в Белфаст (освен републиканците и лоялистите си имали подобна организация - Ълстърския фронт), а най-вече наблюденията на Хътсън за реалностите в книжния пазар, които ме накараха да цвиля то кеф.
Обемът от над 400 страници обаче идва нанагорно. Подробна рецензия в Цитаделата може да прочетете, като последвате връзката:
https://citadelata.com/hybrid/
Обемът от над 400 страници обаче идва нанагорно. Подробна рецензия в Цитаделата може да прочетете, като последвате връзката:
https://citadelata.com/hybrid/
May 19, 2022
I've tried to read this book a fee times before and its always fallen flat.
This time however something sparked and I found it difficult to put it down. The main story is very good which is the part of the book I found a page turner, but the writing style he has used is very strange. The author has written a story within a story, sometimes I did get a little bored and found it a bit tedious, but stick with it and it picks up.
It's quite cleverly written as it all ties together at the end of the book, and I will look out for more by the author.
This time however something sparked and I found it difficult to put it down. The main story is very good which is the part of the book I found a page turner, but the writing style he has used is very strange. The author has written a story within a story, sometimes I did get a little bored and found it a bit tedious, but stick with it and it picks up.
It's quite cleverly written as it all ties together at the end of the book, and I will look out for more by the author.
January 17, 2024
This was my first novel by Shaun Hutson to read, and I am very disappointed. The book has no definitive storyline, and it lacks that pull factor. The worst part is the ending. The ending was rushed, and it didn't make any sense at all. The whole book feels like it was written by an amateur.
It was just meh
It was just meh
May 6, 2022
Interesting Faustian derivative. The storyline of the book had some merit but nothing to write home about.
August 26, 2022
I loved this book, couldn't put it down.
I had a feeling about the ending, but surprised about the person. Another wee twist to the tale.
I had a feeling about the ending, but surprised about the person. Another wee twist to the tale.
April 22, 2013
I am actually not quite certain just how this book joined my To-Be-Read stacks, but it is definitely a unique novel. It has a quite interesting format. The book has two main plots - the outer frame which is the story of a has-been author, Christopher Ward, and the inner frame is the book that Ward writes throughout the course of his story. It opens with Ward’s struggles with writing, rejection from publishers and his subsequent drinking. This rather depressing stage is nicely balanced with the surprisingly thrilling political novel set largely in Belfast with Sean Doyle, a counter terrorism agent who works to bring down the IRA terrorists responsible for bombings and murder. The two storylines never really connect with one another (except for a very loose connection offered in the ending), and the novel really is a lot more exciting to read than the snippets of Ward’s pathetic life. Those snippets do become mildly more interesting once the creepy things begin to happen - anything to break up the monotony of Ward’s writing schedule, his drinking and surprisingly graphic sex with a hooker.
There is a chapter in Ward’s life that reminds me of Wilkie Collins and his “other Wilkie” worries (the two have similar initials, too), but even this parallel isn’t quite enough to make the Ward parts of the book more interesting. The cast of characters in the novel is really quite built up and a lot more developed, so once the novel ends in the book, it is hard to stay interested in the last quarter of the novel. There is an unpredictable twist to the end - but even that isn’t quite enough to redeem the frame story. If only Hutson had spent a bit more energy developing Ward and tying up his loose ends, this would have been a stronger book... As it stands it isn’t hatable, but it is a far cry from lovable, too.
There is a chapter in Ward’s life that reminds me of Wilkie Collins and his “other Wilkie” worries (the two have similar initials, too), but even this parallel isn’t quite enough to make the Ward parts of the book more interesting. The cast of characters in the novel is really quite built up and a lot more developed, so once the novel ends in the book, it is hard to stay interested in the last quarter of the novel. There is an unpredictable twist to the end - but even that isn’t quite enough to redeem the frame story. If only Hutson had spent a bit more energy developing Ward and tying up his loose ends, this would have been a stronger book... As it stands it isn’t hatable, but it is a far cry from lovable, too.
October 3, 2011
Well, after four reads, I have to resign Shaun Hutson to the category of mediochre at best, at least for now. The final straw was Hybrid which I hear a lot of people
say is one of Hutson's best. Out of the four I have read, Hybrid was the most annoying. Compulsion agrivated me as well, but I have already forgotten why. Hybrid
however seems to demonstrate with pin-point accuracy how you can do one really good thing, or two not so good things. I hated both stories that took place in this book,
especially the one-star crime/conspiracy/killer chaser novel written by the main, main character. The two stories seemed like two novellas that Shaun Hutson thought
would be neat to slam together like a cook mixing ice cream and mayonnaise. I'm sorry, but I find it difficult to enjoy any book where both main characters' dialog can
be summed up with the words "fuck(er, ed, ing, etc) and "cunt." It was like reading a bad British copy-cat writer of Brian Keene or something. The ending, without
giving it away, was a sickening cop-out that almost screamed writer's block in my opinion and oddly enough, that is one thing that drives the main character's story and
adds to the creepiness of it. Don't be afraid though because the second things start to get even slightly scary and interesting, along comes recycled counter-terrorist
Doyle to disrupt what might have been a nice little novella. Uhh, I waited a few days to rant lazily about this book and I am still annoyed. So, if you want to give
yourself a reason to be "agritated," try Hybrid.
say is one of Hutson's best. Out of the four I have read, Hybrid was the most annoying. Compulsion agrivated me as well, but I have already forgotten why. Hybrid
however seems to demonstrate with pin-point accuracy how you can do one really good thing, or two not so good things. I hated both stories that took place in this book,
especially the one-star crime/conspiracy/killer chaser novel written by the main, main character. The two stories seemed like two novellas that Shaun Hutson thought
would be neat to slam together like a cook mixing ice cream and mayonnaise. I'm sorry, but I find it difficult to enjoy any book where both main characters' dialog can
be summed up with the words "fuck(er, ed, ing, etc) and "cunt." It was like reading a bad British copy-cat writer of Brian Keene or something. The ending, without
giving it away, was a sickening cop-out that almost screamed writer's block in my opinion and oddly enough, that is one thing that drives the main character's story and
adds to the creepiness of it. Don't be afraid though because the second things start to get even slightly scary and interesting, along comes recycled counter-terrorist
Doyle to disrupt what might have been a nice little novella. Uhh, I waited a few days to rant lazily about this book and I am still annoyed. So, if you want to give
yourself a reason to be "agritated," try Hybrid.
January 17, 2013
I read this book about ten years ago and I remember it being so-so, not spectacular, but not rubbish. However, it kind of freaked me out because my name is also Christopher Ward, and I'm also a horror (sometimes) author. At the time I read this book I actually had the remnants of blonde hair after dyeing mine the previous summer, so the guy on the front looked uncannily like me. While I was reading it I was super freaked out that something relating to my own life would pop up, but luckily it didn't!
December 30, 2013
Hybrid by Shaun Hutson
Review by Andy Strutt
Very well written if not a little difficult to follow. It took me a while to get the grip of the two stories, one that of the author and the other the book he is writing, or at least believes that he is.
Christopher Ward is a washed out author who has he tries to write his latest book begins to fall into psychosis and madness. He struggles with sanity as pages of his book seem to write themselves.
Excellent read with superb plot twists and characterisation. Highly recommended to the fan of the paranormal thriller.
Review by Andy Strutt
Very well written if not a little difficult to follow. It took me a while to get the grip of the two stories, one that of the author and the other the book he is writing, or at least believes that he is.
Christopher Ward is a washed out author who has he tries to write his latest book begins to fall into psychosis and madness. He struggles with sanity as pages of his book seem to write themselves.
Excellent read with superb plot twists and characterisation. Highly recommended to the fan of the paranormal thriller.
July 25, 2012
What a waste of time and effort. The story stupidly goes back and forth with two totally opposing stories and the end of the book doesn't even fit at all. What a load of Junk. All copies of this Tripe should be gathered up and burned. I was never so bored and never have i nearly given up on a book before. How it got published i have no idea.
February 9, 2012
Weird little double story by Shaun Hutson. An author suffering from writers block starts to hallucinate and take black outs.
During these balckouts he appears to be writing a novel about a security specialist in Northern Ireland.
Great twist to end of story....
Kindle version
During these balckouts he appears to be writing a novel about a security specialist in Northern Ireland.
Great twist to end of story....
Kindle version
December 23, 2015
Awesome
I love Shaun Hutson's novels. I love his style. He always keeps you turning the page. The inimitable Sean Doyle stars in this novel alongside a Hutson like author in a sort of seperate horror story. Hence the title Hybrid. Superb book.
I love Shaun Hutson's novels. I love his style. He always keeps you turning the page. The inimitable Sean Doyle stars in this novel alongside a Hutson like author in a sort of seperate horror story. Hence the title Hybrid. Superb book.
October 12, 2010
For A Hutson book this wasnt too far-fetched.
I loved the story throughout and especially loved the ending!
I loved the story throughout and especially loved the ending!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews