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In the Devil's Name
Some of the locals in Ballantrae still tell tales about haunted Bennane Head, the cliffs just up the coast where mythical mass murderer and cannibal Sawney Beane is said to have dwelt with his inbred family during the seventeenth century. Never walk past there at night, they say, or heaven help you. Just a ghost story to give the tourists a thrill.
Phil, Griff, Sam and Cairnsey are local boys who enjoy a smoke, a beer and the occasional tab of mind bending acid, and celebrating the end of high school with some trips and a night’s camping at Bennane Head sounds like a high old time. When their drug fuelled revelry descends into a nightmarish fight for their sanity and survival however, those who make it through the night will know that true evil never forgets unpaid debts.
Phil, Griff, Sam and Cairnsey are local boys who enjoy a smoke, a beer and the occasional tab of mind bending acid, and celebrating the end of high school with some trips and a night’s camping at Bennane Head sounds like a high old time. When their drug fuelled revelry descends into a nightmarish fight for their sanity and survival however, those who make it through the night will know that true evil never forgets unpaid debts.
- GenresHorror
263 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 10, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 26, 2013
In the Devils Name by Dave Watson
Some of the locals in Ballantrae still tell tales about haunted Bennane Head, the cliffs just up the coast where mythical mass murderer and cannibal Sawney Beane is said to have dwelt with his inbred family during the seventeenth century. Never walk past there at night, they say, or heaven help you. Just a ghost story to give the tourists a thrill.
Phil, Griff, Sam and Cairnsey are local boys who enjoy a smoke, a beer and the occasional tab of mind bending acid, and celebrating the end of high school with some trips and a night’s camping at Bennane Head sounds like a high old time. When their drug fuelled revelry descends into a nightmarish fight for their sanity and survival however, those who make it through the night will know that true evil never forgets unpaid debts. . .
I didn’t know what to expect when I first picked this up. And that’s the way I prefer to read nowadays, knowing little or nothing about the story is somewhat invigorating and empowering as you’re reading blind. I’m glad I was ignorant of everything as it made this trip much more worthwhile.
I could find little fault with this at all. It was original, funny, heartfelt and truly horrific in places. What starts as cousin to Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting (complete with colloquiums and dialect borrowed kindly) with four foul-mouthed school friends winding down for the summer holidays in South-West Scotland. Events slowly descend into blood splattered madness as a simple acid trip and a stoney eyed visit to the cave of local legend, cannibal Sawney Beane turns very wrong indeed. To reveal anything would ruin any twists, I could describe this and tell you about that, but I would feel I’d be breaking an ancient curse.
Watson holds his cards close to his chest throughout, gradually revealing more and more of the story, revving the gears up with each subsequent chapter until all the characters and blood-soaked and screaming, the good thing is, the book evolves as you read it and soon becomes much more than what you ever believed it to be. Watson takes the myths of the highlands and blends it in seamlessly with his own tale making the legends very believable indeed. A chilling section near the end involves a flashback to rulers past had me gripped, turning the entire novel on its head, changing my entire perception of everything I’d read. Hero’s aren’t hero’s anymore, and villains aren’t to be believed either.
If I had to pick one weakness it would be the definite lack of female characters, as they only appear to be helpless victims or put upon matriarchs. A love interest would have added another dimension and more moments of peril, but in honesty the damsel wasn’t missed.
All in all this is an exceptional and accomplished debut novel. Wholly original and utterly terrifying. Blood is spilt, friendships tested beyond their limits and body parts fly whilst the story performs corkscrew twists without letting up the pace for a millisecond.
I will warn you now; this won’t be a safe trip. But it will blow your mind.
I think I’ve just found my first favourite read of the year.
5/5
Some of the locals in Ballantrae still tell tales about haunted Bennane Head, the cliffs just up the coast where mythical mass murderer and cannibal Sawney Beane is said to have dwelt with his inbred family during the seventeenth century. Never walk past there at night, they say, or heaven help you. Just a ghost story to give the tourists a thrill.
Phil, Griff, Sam and Cairnsey are local boys who enjoy a smoke, a beer and the occasional tab of mind bending acid, and celebrating the end of high school with some trips and a night’s camping at Bennane Head sounds like a high old time. When their drug fuelled revelry descends into a nightmarish fight for their sanity and survival however, those who make it through the night will know that true evil never forgets unpaid debts. . .
I didn’t know what to expect when I first picked this up. And that’s the way I prefer to read nowadays, knowing little or nothing about the story is somewhat invigorating and empowering as you’re reading blind. I’m glad I was ignorant of everything as it made this trip much more worthwhile.
I could find little fault with this at all. It was original, funny, heartfelt and truly horrific in places. What starts as cousin to Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting (complete with colloquiums and dialect borrowed kindly) with four foul-mouthed school friends winding down for the summer holidays in South-West Scotland. Events slowly descend into blood splattered madness as a simple acid trip and a stoney eyed visit to the cave of local legend, cannibal Sawney Beane turns very wrong indeed. To reveal anything would ruin any twists, I could describe this and tell you about that, but I would feel I’d be breaking an ancient curse.
Watson holds his cards close to his chest throughout, gradually revealing more and more of the story, revving the gears up with each subsequent chapter until all the characters and blood-soaked and screaming, the good thing is, the book evolves as you read it and soon becomes much more than what you ever believed it to be. Watson takes the myths of the highlands and blends it in seamlessly with his own tale making the legends very believable indeed. A chilling section near the end involves a flashback to rulers past had me gripped, turning the entire novel on its head, changing my entire perception of everything I’d read. Hero’s aren’t hero’s anymore, and villains aren’t to be believed either.
If I had to pick one weakness it would be the definite lack of female characters, as they only appear to be helpless victims or put upon matriarchs. A love interest would have added another dimension and more moments of peril, but in honesty the damsel wasn’t missed.
All in all this is an exceptional and accomplished debut novel. Wholly original and utterly terrifying. Blood is spilt, friendships tested beyond their limits and body parts fly whilst the story performs corkscrew twists without letting up the pace for a millisecond.
I will warn you now; this won’t be a safe trip. But it will blow your mind.
I think I’ve just found my first favourite read of the year.
5/5
November 24, 2016
The story I expected to read ended roughly a third of the way into the book. Then it all gets a bit strange.
Watson has managed, better than most, to capture actual madness. Not just in terms of mental illness, but in a world gone completely berserk. While some scenes feel gratuitous for the hell of it, everything is kept consistent and in perfect context.
But what really impressed me is the closing chapters. As a student of Scottish history, it couldn't have been better. Do yourself a favour and have a go.
Watson has managed, better than most, to capture actual madness. Not just in terms of mental illness, but in a world gone completely berserk. While some scenes feel gratuitous for the hell of it, everything is kept consistent and in perfect context.
But what really impressed me is the closing chapters. As a student of Scottish history, it couldn't have been better. Do yourself a favour and have a go.
March 4, 2013
“In the Devil’s Name” is the creditable first novel from Scottish author Dave Watson. The novel revolves around four young Scottish men whose end-of-high-school celebrations go horribly wrong. I came to the novel completely ignorant of the legend of Sawney Bean, but this in no way impeded my understanding of the story. Scottish readers will no doubt enjoy the spark of recognition, as well as appreciate the startling and original twist Watson puts on the old legend. Another strength of this novel is the superb use of setting, and the way the author gradually turns the idyllic Scottish countryside and sleepy small town into places of menace and terror.
Watson takes his time establishing his characters in the beginning, which means that the real action doesn’t set in until about a third of the way through. Readers will probably fall into two camps - they’ll either enjoy the slow build-up, the characters’ banter and the change in tone when things go pear-shaped for the young quartet, and will feel more empathy for the characters because of it, or they’ll get a little impatient with it. I fell into the latter camp, and felt the urge to take to the descriptions of crisp-purchasing and the drunken consumption of home-cooked meals with an editor’s red pen. I also found the first third somewhat misleading in that character that appears to be the main one actually isn’t.
But like I said – personal taste. And that’s not to say that I didn’t engage with the characters. My favourite was the relatively minor player Sergeant Stephen Grace, an everyday hero who is far too familiar with the experience of facing one’s fears.
Slow build-up notwithstanding, this is no “quiet horror” story. Once the first vein is opened, the blood flows in buckets. The violence inflicted by humans and supernatural beings alike is graphic, gruesome, inventive…and integral to the plot and characterization.
In other words, the best kind of fictional violence.
Watson takes his time establishing his characters in the beginning, which means that the real action doesn’t set in until about a third of the way through. Readers will probably fall into two camps - they’ll either enjoy the slow build-up, the characters’ banter and the change in tone when things go pear-shaped for the young quartet, and will feel more empathy for the characters because of it, or they’ll get a little impatient with it. I fell into the latter camp, and felt the urge to take to the descriptions of crisp-purchasing and the drunken consumption of home-cooked meals with an editor’s red pen. I also found the first third somewhat misleading in that character that appears to be the main one actually isn’t.
But like I said – personal taste. And that’s not to say that I didn’t engage with the characters. My favourite was the relatively minor player Sergeant Stephen Grace, an everyday hero who is far too familiar with the experience of facing one’s fears.
Slow build-up notwithstanding, this is no “quiet horror” story. Once the first vein is opened, the blood flows in buckets. The violence inflicted by humans and supernatural beings alike is graphic, gruesome, inventive…and integral to the plot and characterization.
In other words, the best kind of fictional violence.
January 6, 2020
The blurb is nowhere close to telling the full story.
This story starts out the way you're expecting and then it completely goes off the rails. In a good way. If you like that sort of thing, which I definitely do.
It's quite gory/graphic in a few places but no worse than I can conjure in my own imagination. Perhaps don't read it after a meal!
Very much supernatural horror so if you're looking for realism this isn't the book for you.
Scotland has been my home for many years now and I enjoy reading something that taps into the wealth of stories and history of this country. Sawney Bean probably didn't really exist but the legend is used effectively here, and in a way you won't expect when reading the blurb!
This story starts out the way you're expecting and then it completely goes off the rails. In a good way. If you like that sort of thing, which I definitely do.
It's quite gory/graphic in a few places but no worse than I can conjure in my own imagination. Perhaps don't read it after a meal!
Very much supernatural horror so if you're looking for realism this isn't the book for you.
Scotland has been my home for many years now and I enjoy reading something that taps into the wealth of stories and history of this country. Sawney Bean probably didn't really exist but the legend is used effectively here, and in a way you won't expect when reading the blurb!
May 19, 2014
Really enjoyed this:)
May 26, 2015
Read this if you want some super gory satanic slasher horror. One of the most brutal horror books I've read together with KIN from Kealan Patrick Burke.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews