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'Set
This book is now out of print. It has been republished as DEAD SUN.
- GenresHorror
309 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 21, 2013
42 people want to read
About the author
Luke Walker
54 books77 followersLuke Walker has been writing horror and dark thrillers for most of his life. His horror titles include the new novel Burn as well as The Ninth Circle, Winter Graves, The Nameless, The Day Of The New Gods, The Mirror Of The Nameless, The Kindred, Pandemonium and The Dead Room and others. Several of his short stories have been published online and in magazines/books. His speculative thriller Terminal State, written under the name Rob Harrison, is out now. Luke's next novels Chaos and The Fall will be published by Baynam Books Press.
Luke's Bluesky page is @lukewalkerwriter.bsky.social
Sign up to his newsletter at
https://substack.com/@lukewalkerwriter
Or find him at https://lukewalkerwriter.wordpress.com
He is forty-eight and lives in England with his wife and cat.
Luke's Bluesky page is @lukewalkerwriter.bsky.social
Sign up to his newsletter at
https://substack.com/@lukewalkerwriter
Or find him at https://lukewalkerwriter.wordpress.com
He is forty-eight and lives in England with his wife and cat.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 20, 2013
Emma Cooper is still grieving over her stillborn daughter when a day that will change her world arrives. An angel turns up on her doorstep, and takes her off to the world of Sunset – otherwise known as ‘set – a world halfway between the living and the dead. Emma’s daughter is trapped in this world, and Emma has to help her move on or else the world of the dead will bleed into the world of the living, and threaten the human race’s very existence.
The world of ‘set is described as looking like the real world, with the same landmarks and buildings. It is populated by two types of beings. Souls are like ghosts; the departed souls of people who have died. Ordinarily they would move on to what in this book is referred to Above (Heaven) or Below (Hell), but the crisis in ‘Set means that souls are not moving on. There are also deads, who are people who have died but are still moving around. I assumed they were like zombies. I had a hard time getting my head around the laws of ‘Set, including why it seemed to be possible for the main characters to kill the deads, when these were people who were already dead.
The book is populated with a great deal of angels and demons – possibly too many, as I was having trouble keeping track of them all.
That said, there is a lot to like in this novel. It is a competently written story with a complex plot, and an ending that I really didn’t see coming. Emma Cooper is a likeable and well-drawn character, and her grief over her lost baby is very believable.
In the emerging generation of British horror writers, Luke Walker is definitely a name to watch out for.
The world of ‘set is described as looking like the real world, with the same landmarks and buildings. It is populated by two types of beings. Souls are like ghosts; the departed souls of people who have died. Ordinarily they would move on to what in this book is referred to Above (Heaven) or Below (Hell), but the crisis in ‘Set means that souls are not moving on. There are also deads, who are people who have died but are still moving around. I assumed they were like zombies. I had a hard time getting my head around the laws of ‘Set, including why it seemed to be possible for the main characters to kill the deads, when these were people who were already dead.
The book is populated with a great deal of angels and demons – possibly too many, as I was having trouble keeping track of them all.
That said, there is a lot to like in this novel. It is a competently written story with a complex plot, and an ending that I really didn’t see coming. Emma Cooper is a likeable and well-drawn character, and her grief over her lost baby is very believable.
In the emerging generation of British horror writers, Luke Walker is definitely a name to watch out for.
April 27, 2013
More reviews on my blog
Double special today: Not only was ‘Set provided to me free by Luke Walker, but Luke and I know each other from online. I do not intend this to bias my review, but it’s possible I will subconsciously treat this more kindly than a book from a stranger, so be aware.
Originally posted on In Case of Survival
I really enjoy Luke Walkers work. The Red Girl was one of the best Horror debuts I’ve read in a while. ‘Set is good too, but there was something off about it that disrupted my enjoyment of it a little.
It took a while to work out what it was – was it the writing? No, Luke writes tight, straitforward prose with an impressive degree of profanity. Was it the story? No, that was great. There were no plot holes, everything made sense, characters stayed in character. The ending was bitter sweet, but satisfactory. In terms of apocalyptic elements, this had some good, solid ones that were a bit more unusual – the tearing apart of our own world because the underworld is getting full up.
I worked it out, in the end. It was the pace. Pace is very difficult to get right, especially in horror novels, and doubly especially in horror novels that are only 300 or so pages long. You need to balance the shortness of the work with building things up. And, much as I love Lukes work, I’m not sure he got the pace right in this. Everything seemed to happen too fast. The main character agreed to thigns too quickly, and had no real problems with what was happening. She was bright and breezy the whole time, and it didn’t seem ‘real’.
It’s rare that I say a book could have done with being longer, but I’ll say it here. Luke Walker could have done a lot with more space – more to build characters and tension, more to create the creepy, awful feeling that The Red Girl was so full of.
But that’s the only real flaw in an otherwise excellent piece of work.
4 OUT OF 5.
Double special today: Not only was ‘Set provided to me free by Luke Walker, but Luke and I know each other from online. I do not intend this to bias my review, but it’s possible I will subconsciously treat this more kindly than a book from a stranger, so be aware.
Originally posted on In Case of Survival
I really enjoy Luke Walkers work. The Red Girl was one of the best Horror debuts I’ve read in a while. ‘Set is good too, but there was something off about it that disrupted my enjoyment of it a little.
It took a while to work out what it was – was it the writing? No, Luke writes tight, straitforward prose with an impressive degree of profanity. Was it the story? No, that was great. There were no plot holes, everything made sense, characters stayed in character. The ending was bitter sweet, but satisfactory. In terms of apocalyptic elements, this had some good, solid ones that were a bit more unusual – the tearing apart of our own world because the underworld is getting full up.
I worked it out, in the end. It was the pace. Pace is very difficult to get right, especially in horror novels, and doubly especially in horror novels that are only 300 or so pages long. You need to balance the shortness of the work with building things up. And, much as I love Lukes work, I’m not sure he got the pace right in this. Everything seemed to happen too fast. The main character agreed to thigns too quickly, and had no real problems with what was happening. She was bright and breezy the whole time, and it didn’t seem ‘real’.
It’s rare that I say a book could have done with being longer, but I’ll say it here. Luke Walker could have done a lot with more space – more to build characters and tension, more to create the creepy, awful feeling that The Red Girl was so full of.
But that’s the only real flaw in an otherwise excellent piece of work.
4 OUT OF 5.
June 6, 2013
I adore books about Heaven and Hell and angels and demons, books that play with the afterlife and religion in general. That's what led me to 'Set. And I was quite satisfied with what Walker did in that way. The way 'Set was described--the world of the dead, permanent sunset--was outstanding. As was the way he summed up Heaven and Hell, Above and Below, etc. It was all different enough from what I've read elsewhere to make it unique and interesting, but still familiar enough that I knew what was what.
Lots of action in 'Set, you should know that going in. And I had a hard time coming up with a succinct way to describe what it felt like when reading it. I am tempted to say it was a roller coaster read, but it wasn't up and down like that. It was more like a bullet train that left the station with a quiet introduction to a couple of key characters, and then quickly gained speed--rocketing forward--catapulting the reader into a page-turning frenzy to find out what would happen in the end.
In many ways, I think the reader's experience mirrors the experience of 'Set’s main character Emma, who is similarly catapulted into a series of world changing events.
'Set is filled with snappy dialogue (which is part of why the pace is so fast, I think). So if you like lots of pauses for explanations, you won't necessarily find that here.
I guess what I'm saying is that it's not a leisurely read. ;) In fact, I think it’s best read in one sitting, or as few as possible, because the plot and world is very detailed and complex. Long breaks between reading may mean you have to stop and reorient yourself. Honestly, though, it's hard to put down once you start. Once you're on that bullet train, you don't want to get off until you see how it turns out!
Lots of action in 'Set, you should know that going in. And I had a hard time coming up with a succinct way to describe what it felt like when reading it. I am tempted to say it was a roller coaster read, but it wasn't up and down like that. It was more like a bullet train that left the station with a quiet introduction to a couple of key characters, and then quickly gained speed--rocketing forward--catapulting the reader into a page-turning frenzy to find out what would happen in the end.
In many ways, I think the reader's experience mirrors the experience of 'Set’s main character Emma, who is similarly catapulted into a series of world changing events.
'Set is filled with snappy dialogue (which is part of why the pace is so fast, I think). So if you like lots of pauses for explanations, you won't necessarily find that here.
I guess what I'm saying is that it's not a leisurely read. ;) In fact, I think it’s best read in one sitting, or as few as possible, because the plot and world is very detailed and complex. Long breaks between reading may mean you have to stop and reorient yourself. Honestly, though, it's hard to put down once you start. Once you're on that bullet train, you don't want to get off until you see how it turns out!
July 23, 2013
'Set - the Sunset where all souls go after their lives have ended, the place where those souls are led Above or Below by someone they've trusted throughout their mortal life.
Every soul has to move on. Whether they're headed Above or Below, they must go. Otherwise, 'Set will become a bottleneck and eventually new souls will not be able to enter.
Sometimes, a soul rejects the natural order and rebels against a system that allows people to die early or unfairly. In this story, George Bryson is one such soul who does not accept the natural order and stages a rebellion in 'Set.
It is up to Emma Cooper to set it right. Led by an angel and a demon, she embarks on a quest to convince George to give up his rebellion and accept fate.
I enjoyed the concept and story behind 'Set a great deal. What the author has presented has great depth, and although he has written it in a very modern, quirky style, the book still leaves you thinking about bigger issues after you've finished it.
There is a great deal of action and quick, snappy dialogue that keeps the story moving along at a fast clip.
As far as character development in the story, I would have liked to know more about Emma and George. I felt like I was only able to scratch the surface of who they were. In the end I was more vested in the outcome of the story as a generality than I was in what happened to the characters. This may have been intentional by the author, but (for me) I like sink into the characters of a story and really get to know them.
'Set is a unique and original take on the concept of Heaven, Hell, and the idea that life isn't always fair.
I would recommend 'Set to anyone who enjoys a quick read in the action/horror genre.
Every soul has to move on. Whether they're headed Above or Below, they must go. Otherwise, 'Set will become a bottleneck and eventually new souls will not be able to enter.
Sometimes, a soul rejects the natural order and rebels against a system that allows people to die early or unfairly. In this story, George Bryson is one such soul who does not accept the natural order and stages a rebellion in 'Set.
It is up to Emma Cooper to set it right. Led by an angel and a demon, she embarks on a quest to convince George to give up his rebellion and accept fate.
I enjoyed the concept and story behind 'Set a great deal. What the author has presented has great depth, and although he has written it in a very modern, quirky style, the book still leaves you thinking about bigger issues after you've finished it.
There is a great deal of action and quick, snappy dialogue that keeps the story moving along at a fast clip.
As far as character development in the story, I would have liked to know more about Emma and George. I felt like I was only able to scratch the surface of who they were. In the end I was more vested in the outcome of the story as a generality than I was in what happened to the characters. This may have been intentional by the author, but (for me) I like sink into the characters of a story and really get to know them.
'Set is a unique and original take on the concept of Heaven, Hell, and the idea that life isn't always fair.
I would recommend 'Set to anyone who enjoys a quick read in the action/horror genre.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews