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Relics
From the relics of the past comes a new nightmare, a force so powerful, so obscenely evil that it threatens to reach across the centuries and engulf mankind During an archeological dig, a hidden chamber filled with the skulls of children is discovered. At first glance they seem to have been there for thousands of years, but closer examination reveals a more shocking secret. The opening of the chamber triggers a series of horrific murders, each victim mutilated and their entrails used to form a different letter of the alphabet. Who is behind this outrage, and how is it linked to a subterranean chamber thousands of years old? Inspector Stephen Wallace must unmask this crazed killer. Is it the sadistic thug responsible for organizing a series of barbaric dog fights? The mysterious recluse who holds Black Mass orgies for drug addicted teenagers? Or is it, in fact, something much worse? An evil so old, so vile, and so powerful that it threatens to engulf everyone who comes near it. For Wallace, and possibly for the whole human race, time is running out fast. Something evil is waiting. Something monstrous is loose.
266 pages, Paperback
First published July 17, 1986
23 people are currently reading
616 people want to read
About the author
Shaun Hutson
115 books537 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 - 29 of 56 reviews
March 12, 2025
Another fun, trashy read from Hutson, the 'bad boy' of horror fiction. Lots of things going on in Relics, all centered upon an ancient Celtic dig. Some greedy developer discovered the site (on his land, some he had plans for) and let some archeologists explore it until he started the new project destined for it. Lots of grizzly things in the 'pit', some sort of tomb/sacrificial space containing hundreds of skeletons, most of them beheaded, and many children, dating back 2000 years.
Our lead, one Inspector Stephen Wallace, heads up the local filth. Around town, someone is doing some nasty killing, apparently ripping up the victims with their bare hands, taking their eyes and their skin, and also leaving strange messages in their entrails. Some kids are also disappearing, probably kidnapped. What the hell is going on?
Expect lots of turgid members, moistened clefts and raunchy sex (something no Hutson novel would be complete without!). Expect lots of nasty foo as our killer gets to work. Expect some strangeness with the local Baron or something, who keeps lots of kids strung out on smack and does odd rituals in the woods by his house. Finally, we have the lady who works in the local museum who also takes part in the dig and her puzzles over some inscribed Celtic stones, stones that often do odd things themselves. Oh, don't forget about the local baddy who is raising fighting pit bulls and selling smack to the Baron.
There is something about Hutson's novels that appeal to me, although it is difficult to say exactly what. I am down with trashy pulp and that is part of it, but Hutson is the Rock and Roller of this type of stuff. The denouement contained some killer twists and some OTT foo that wrapped things up nicely (or badly). Fun stuff! 3 Celtic crosses.
Our lead, one Inspector Stephen Wallace, heads up the local filth. Around town, someone is doing some nasty killing, apparently ripping up the victims with their bare hands, taking their eyes and their skin, and also leaving strange messages in their entrails. Some kids are also disappearing, probably kidnapped. What the hell is going on?
Expect lots of turgid members, moistened clefts and raunchy sex (something no Hutson novel would be complete without!). Expect lots of nasty foo as our killer gets to work. Expect some strangeness with the local Baron or something, who keeps lots of kids strung out on smack and does odd rituals in the woods by his house. Finally, we have the lady who works in the local museum who also takes part in the dig and her puzzles over some inscribed Celtic stones, stones that often do odd things themselves. Oh, don't forget about the local baddy who is raising fighting pit bulls and selling smack to the Baron.
There is something about Hutson's novels that appeal to me, although it is difficult to say exactly what. I am down with trashy pulp and that is part of it, but Hutson is the Rock and Roller of this type of stuff. The denouement contained some killer twists and some OTT foo that wrapped things up nicely (or badly). Fun stuff! 3 Celtic crosses.
March 7, 2018
I have read a few of Shaun Hudson's books. My two favourites are Erubus and Shadows.🐯👍
June 2, 2025
I last read this forty years ago. And the ending was shocking to my teenage brain. Whilst not shocking the second it was still a stonking read.
November 6, 2023
Insanely graphic, absolutely ludicrous. I loved it.
February 14, 2014
It was on the "horror" shelf of the book shop, it had been reprinted, and was going cheap. I'd never read anything by the author before, So I thought it might be OK for some light bedtime reading. I suppose it does fit into the horror genre, just. It's also a sort of half-baked whodunit (one of the main characters is a detective, though he doesn't do much detecting.
I suppose in that there are some very faint echoes of Phil Rickman, who seems to hover uncertainly between the supernatural horror and whodunit genres, with his more recent works leaning (to my disappointment) to the latter. But Rickman's books have character and plot; this book has neither. And Shaun Hutson seem to try to cover over the lack of such things by playing the grossout card, right from the very first chapter, going over the top with blood and gore. Oh and the obligatory sex scenes with "throbbing members" -- it was, after all, first published in the 1980s, when most publishers seemed to make such scenes obligatory. In this book, however, they are combined with the "fetid stench" of still-throbbing freshly disembowelled entrails. The trouble is that when you have a "fetid stench" in every second chapter (and there are seventy chapters) one's sense of literary smell tends to become a bit jaded.
The book has a bunch of archaeologists who discover a cave with inscriptions and skeletons. Some of them meet with nasty accidents, which apparently serve no purpose in the plot other than to provide the occasion for another grossout. The archaeologists seem to know as little about archaeology as the detectives do about detecting.
I'm eagerly awaiting the next book by Phil Rickman, and now at least I know that Shaun Hutson doesn't fill the gap.
I suppose in that there are some very faint echoes of Phil Rickman, who seems to hover uncertainly between the supernatural horror and whodunit genres, with his more recent works leaning (to my disappointment) to the latter. But Rickman's books have character and plot; this book has neither. And Shaun Hutson seem to try to cover over the lack of such things by playing the grossout card, right from the very first chapter, going over the top with blood and gore. Oh and the obligatory sex scenes with "throbbing members" -- it was, after all, first published in the 1980s, when most publishers seemed to make such scenes obligatory. In this book, however, they are combined with the "fetid stench" of still-throbbing freshly disembowelled entrails. The trouble is that when you have a "fetid stench" in every second chapter (and there are seventy chapters) one's sense of literary smell tends to become a bit jaded.
The book has a bunch of archaeologists who discover a cave with inscriptions and skeletons. Some of them meet with nasty accidents, which apparently serve no purpose in the plot other than to provide the occasion for another grossout. The archaeologists seem to know as little about archaeology as the detectives do about detecting.
I'm eagerly awaiting the next book by Phil Rickman, and now at least I know that Shaun Hutson doesn't fill the gap.
June 15, 2015
Do I have known of the author Shaun Hutson for some time, in fact since my early days of reading when I was working my way through Stephen Kings early books and the first works of James Herbert but I never really got round to trying any of his work. Well I was out on my travels as I do and found a small charity book shop so I thought why not (I later discovered this is in fact also a signed copy).
Well all I can say is that I remember a review years ago coining the phrase "Splatter Punk" - yes it was riding on the back of cyber punk - however all the same I think it sums it up quite succinctly. The book is graphic very graphic and I will admit having read my fair share of horror I still feel uneasy about the abuse of animals especially those that are unable to defend themselves and yes brutality whether it is delivered on animals or fellow humans is not right but I did feel that there could have been other plot devices the author could have used.
That said this book is a product of its times - this edition was 1986 where horror was more for shock and revulsion than fear and terror. As I have commented before it sometimes is easier to gross someone out that to terrify them of the unknown. This is not a bad book, although it is riddled with typos though that is the editors fault not the writers. Would I read any more of his work - well I might do, I see the similarities to James Herbert here, his earlier books like the RATS series are very graphic but his later works a subtle and creative so who knows, maybe on another one of my travels.
Well all I can say is that I remember a review years ago coining the phrase "Splatter Punk" - yes it was riding on the back of cyber punk - however all the same I think it sums it up quite succinctly. The book is graphic very graphic and I will admit having read my fair share of horror I still feel uneasy about the abuse of animals especially those that are unable to defend themselves and yes brutality whether it is delivered on animals or fellow humans is not right but I did feel that there could have been other plot devices the author could have used.
That said this book is a product of its times - this edition was 1986 where horror was more for shock and revulsion than fear and terror. As I have commented before it sometimes is easier to gross someone out that to terrify them of the unknown. This is not a bad book, although it is riddled with typos though that is the editors fault not the writers. Would I read any more of his work - well I might do, I see the similarities to James Herbert here, his earlier books like the RATS series are very graphic but his later works a subtle and creative so who knows, maybe on another one of my travels.
May 21, 2022
I managed to get through this book, but it was bad. There was so much gore for what felt like no reason. Quite a few plot lines all come together in the end but the sheer amount of animal mutilation and violence made this a hard book to read and not one that I liked. Not sure I will get more from this author, but won’t be rushing to try more, that’s for sure.
March 3, 2022
2.5 stars.
A narrative mess featuring a botched whodunnit (I couldn't remember who the revealed culprit was from earlier in the story) and dog fight/heroin subplots that went nowhere, but I found the apocalyptic Lovecraftian horror ending weirdly effective, so take the extra half a star.
A narrative mess featuring a botched whodunnit (I couldn't remember who the revealed culprit was from earlier in the story) and dog fight/heroin subplots that went nowhere, but I found the apocalyptic Lovecraftian horror ending weirdly effective, so take the extra half a star.
August 12, 2012
I really din't like this book. Ok, I liked the whole mystery of finding relics and trying to solve the mystery behind them, but I didn't like that the author made up different stories throughout the book which I think were irrelevant. Also, I didn't like the ending. Come on, really? The character which I liked the most killed a child. And the other one was likely a monster. And in the end the whole world was doomed. I give it two stars for the mystery. Otherwise, I really didn't like this book.
October 16, 2008
I didn't just "not like it", I absolutely HATED it!!!!! It was repetitive in the killings, dis-jointed in the sheer number of story lines it had going on, none of which really connected to the other; there were loose ends and the ending was absolutely ridiculous!!! I actually threw the thing away when I was done so that no one else would have to suffer through this gawd awful swill.
July 29, 2015
Some books purport to be 'extreme' but this guy is the master of extreme indeed! A great, balls to the wall Gore filled read. The story is interesting and the Gore scenes get nastier and nastier as the book progresses, good fun. Plus it's one of thise rare books where the ending is definitely not "happily ever after".....
October 8, 2018
Probably the worst horror book I've ever read. Nothing about this needs to exist, and by writing it the author has added nothing of value to the world. The story could have been excellent, the premise, while unoriginal, could have led to an atmospheric story of ancient fear in England. Instead it's less thrilling than Midsomer Murders, every character is a badly constructed cutout, and the gratuitous splatters of gore do nothing to disguise the nonsensical plot development.
I have kept this book as an example of how never to be, and if I ever feel bad about my own writing, I will read it again just to feel better about myself.
I have kept this book as an example of how never to be, and if I ever feel bad about my own writing, I will read it again just to feel better about myself.
February 27, 2012
I had always considered Hutson to be the poor man's James Herbert prior to reading this book and it did nothing to dispell that impression. While in a similar vein, Herbert's work is much better written and thought out.
The build up is competent if pretty predictable and the very end has a certain bold charm to it but the Twist just doesn't work on any level and had me muttering 'No, no, no!' Never a good sign.
The build up is competent if pretty predictable and the very end has a certain bold charm to it but the Twist just doesn't work on any level and had me muttering 'No, no, no!' Never a good sign.
December 23, 2025
I read this book when I was 18 years old and thought it was a banger. Re-reading it 40 years later, it hasn't stood up sadly. The violence is unpleasant and repetitive and unpleasant for the sake of it. TBH, the violence was one of the reasons I stopped reading Shaun Hutson's books in the late 80's.
January 4, 2014
What a disappointment. I really was looking forward to a good horror. Like others have said, how could the author go and make the lead characters turn into such vile villains. I don't always want a happy ending, but this is such a complete let down. I felt so cheated after giving so much of my precious time to this book.
May 8, 2011
Nonstop gore and mayhem with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. I enjoyed it, but I enjoyed it in the way I enjoy "Friday the 13th" movies. Its horrible, but its fun and a decent diversion. Hutson is the literary equivalent of a Big Mac.
April 22, 2022
Relics is a strange one. The book features sequences that seem to be included for shock factor only. The dog fighting scenes are horrific and their inclusion offer a payoff later in the novel but I'd certainly be cautious if such themes trigger you.
Did I miss something? None of the murders were necessary and they were investigated by the world's crappest detective aided by the world's crappest archaeologist.
Yet this book was still incredibly enjoyable. It was pulpy and nasty, although the narrative was somewhat clunky, I loved how bloody sleazy it all was. Violence, orgies, murder, mayhem and everything else you'd probably expect from Hutson.
Relics won't win any prizes but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It does suffer from some dubious problems due to the time it was written and has a few passages that may well be triggers for some (animal cruelty, sexual and physical violence)
For me, the biggest issue was the raft of spelling and formatting errors in this book. Not book breaking but enough to pull me out the story every now and then.
I'd thoroughly recommend Relics for fans of ultra pulpy, sleazily violent 80s schlock.
Did I miss something? None of the murders were necessary and they were investigated by the world's crappest detective aided by the world's crappest archaeologist.
Yet this book was still incredibly enjoyable. It was pulpy and nasty, although the narrative was somewhat clunky, I loved how bloody sleazy it all was. Violence, orgies, murder, mayhem and everything else you'd probably expect from Hutson.
Relics won't win any prizes but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It does suffer from some dubious problems due to the time it was written and has a few passages that may well be triggers for some (animal cruelty, sexual and physical violence)
For me, the biggest issue was the raft of spelling and formatting errors in this book. Not book breaking but enough to pull me out the story every now and then.
I'd thoroughly recommend Relics for fans of ultra pulpy, sleazily violent 80s schlock.
September 5, 2025
Heavy on gore; light on plot. Shaun Hutson is definitely the Nick Cutter of the 80s era. I saw one reviewer call him "the bad boy of horror" which made me chuckle. Did he lurk at 80s horror conventions chain smoking cigarettes and bullying all the normie writers for not being bloody enough?
August 25, 2025
An addictive, enjoyable and energetic book.
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February 24, 2018I don't understand why people keep calling Shaun hutson a bad writer he's no Stephen King or does he try to be he just does what he does best puts it all on the page depraved sick inning details and wich is why I enjoy hutson if your looking for a suspenfull read and character drivven plot your reading the wrong writer but this doesn't make Shaun a bad writer he does what his readers want and he does it (bloody good ) if you don't like his stuff don't read it in my opinion this is how proper horror should be written !!
June 16, 2020
This was my first foray into Hutson, a man who i'm now dubbing the 'Richard Laymon of Great Britain'.
.
The story is basic. Old Celtic settlement is unearthed on the outskirts of a small English town. A mountain of child skulls are discovered, along with stone tablets that talk of sacrificial appeasement and the end of days etc. This kicks off a spate of grisly murders and kidnapping which the protagonist - an English copper named Wallace - must try to resolve.
.
The book includes a vast cast, all of which are disappointingly 2-dimensional. That was the real struggle here, I found myself caring very little about any of the characters.
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Trigger warning - This one contains a pointless sub-plot involving illegal dog-fighting. Hutson's descriptions of the canine brawls are extremely graphic and cruel, some of the toughest content i've ever read.
.
Like Laymon, Hutson moves at breakneck speed, the book is a true page-turner with Patterson-like chapters that span only a few pages. On the surface, it's a good old fashioned slasher with needless eroticism. Beneath the surface there is nothing though, and I can't help but feel this is what truly seperates horror authors like Hutson from masters like King. To be truly great at the craft, there needs to be depth and emotion, a lesson that I take with me into my own writing.
.
So, if you're looking for blunt brutality and insane gore on pretty much every other page, look no further than Relics. If you want to feel a connection with layered characters, or explore deeper themes and ideas that stimulate your mind, stick with the likes of King, Herbert and Barker.
.
The story is basic. Old Celtic settlement is unearthed on the outskirts of a small English town. A mountain of child skulls are discovered, along with stone tablets that talk of sacrificial appeasement and the end of days etc. This kicks off a spate of grisly murders and kidnapping which the protagonist - an English copper named Wallace - must try to resolve.
.
The book includes a vast cast, all of which are disappointingly 2-dimensional. That was the real struggle here, I found myself caring very little about any of the characters.
.
Trigger warning - This one contains a pointless sub-plot involving illegal dog-fighting. Hutson's descriptions of the canine brawls are extremely graphic and cruel, some of the toughest content i've ever read.
.
Like Laymon, Hutson moves at breakneck speed, the book is a true page-turner with Patterson-like chapters that span only a few pages. On the surface, it's a good old fashioned slasher with needless eroticism. Beneath the surface there is nothing though, and I can't help but feel this is what truly seperates horror authors like Hutson from masters like King. To be truly great at the craft, there needs to be depth and emotion, a lesson that I take with me into my own writing.
.
So, if you're looking for blunt brutality and insane gore on pretty much every other page, look no further than Relics. If you want to feel a connection with layered characters, or explore deeper themes and ideas that stimulate your mind, stick with the likes of King, Herbert and Barker.
June 23, 2021
Absolute rubbish
There’s very little horror and no suspense.
Descriptions of character’s actions, such as breathing, are monotonously repetitive. The plot holes and lack of adhesion to logic/procedure grate. There are graphic descriptions of sex and violence.
I bought the audiobooks because they are read by Kobna, who is brilliant. I bought the kindle books purely to skip through the rubbish sections. Sheer dross.
There’s very little horror and no suspense.
Descriptions of character’s actions, such as breathing, are monotonously repetitive. The plot holes and lack of adhesion to logic/procedure grate. There are graphic descriptions of sex and violence.
I bought the audiobooks because they are read by Kobna, who is brilliant. I bought the kindle books purely to skip through the rubbish sections. Sheer dross.
November 18, 2014
When a team of archaeologists discover a historic burial site, full of ancient relics little do they realize there’ll be hell to pay. As events in the small town of Longfield grow more bizarre Police Inspector Steve Wallace together with archaeologist Kim Nichols tries to piece together the puzzling gruesome murders which occur in the aftermath of the site discovery. With a gore factor that goes through the roof Relics is not for the faint hearted. Graphic deaths and explicit dogfights go right off the scale in a sheer splatter-fest of horror. Reminiscent of early James Herbert this is strong stuff and absolutely not for the faint hearted. To summarize this is a shocking and bloody journey leading to a bleak conclusion that truly freezes the blood from well-known British horror author Shaun Hutson.
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August 21, 2020It's impossible to give this book a star rating because it is undeniably terrible... but that's precisely what makes it so entertaining.
The prose is laughably clumsy; the characters are little more than walking cliches; it's never tense or frightening - but it is really, really gross (honestly, it has more intestines than a medical journal).
The whole thing is an extended exercise in bad taste, and though the amount of (completely needless) sexualised violence and animal cruelty was no doubt intended to shock, frankly it was all so silly that I feel there's really no sense in getting offended. If you just switch your brain (and moral values) off and embrace it as the unapologetically grotty trash that it is, you could have a lot of fun reading 'Relics'.
The prose is laughably clumsy; the characters are little more than walking cliches; it's never tense or frightening - but it is really, really gross (honestly, it has more intestines than a medical journal).
The whole thing is an extended exercise in bad taste, and though the amount of (completely needless) sexualised violence and animal cruelty was no doubt intended to shock, frankly it was all so silly that I feel there's really no sense in getting offended. If you just switch your brain (and moral values) off and embrace it as the unapologetically grotty trash that it is, you could have a lot of fun reading 'Relics'.
May 3, 2015
I've recently gotten on to Shaun Hutson to try and fill the James Herbert shaped void in my life and well... i'm not overly impressed, it's rushed and lazily written, no real character development and relies heavily on shock value which very quickly wears off. I give it 3 stars because it's a semi entertaining read akin to a no brainer action movie. This review is specifically for relics but I could say the exact same for every single one of his books I have read so far, which funnily enough is the same problem I had with James Herbert God rest him, although at least he could give genuine scares on occasion.
May 26, 2017
Yes, I know Hutson is a terrible writer but I've loved some of his stuff since my teens and rereading them gives me nostalgic pleasure. This one is one of my faves, mostly because of the child sacrifice and the it goes dark ending. If you've read any Hutson you'll either hate him or have a soft spot like me, if you haven't - expect bad writing, dire soft porn, lots of gore and plot issues galore, plus a few heavy metal quotes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2022
I would’ve loved this horror novel when I was 14, at the age of 43... not so much.
Very, very graphic scenes of killing, eye gouging, testicles being bitten off, throats cut, skulls smashed with pulped brain exposed etc etc.
If you find extremely graphic and descriptive scenes like the above good fun then give this a shot, but I personally wouldn’t bother as it was absolutely rubbish.
The literary equivalent of a gory Italian horror movie by the likes of Lucio Fulci.
2/5
Very, very graphic scenes of killing, eye gouging, testicles being bitten off, throats cut, skulls smashed with pulped brain exposed etc etc.
If you find extremely graphic and descriptive scenes like the above good fun then give this a shot, but I personally wouldn’t bother as it was absolutely rubbish.
The literary equivalent of a gory Italian horror movie by the likes of Lucio Fulci.
2/5
July 10, 2015
It's a long time since I read a horror story like this - one where the blood spurts with quite so much ferocity and with little consideration for political correctness. Okay, so the story was a little clichéd and I'm not sure of the relevance of some sections, but this deserves an extra star for the ending, which was gloriously unexpected.
July 26, 2013
This was my first Shaun Hutson book and will certainly not be my last. Ive seen people complain about un-necessary extraneous passages but to me it blended together smoothly and never had a moment of boredom. Nice downbeat ending!!
Displaying 1 - 29 of 56 reviews