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The Black Land
When American resort tycoon Martin Walker travels to England in hopes of acquiring a lonely island off the northeastern coast, he brings his family along for the trip. Only then does he learn the island’s long-abandoned keep carries with it a legacy of terror.Some say the ghosts of Viking raiders, clad in wolf-skins and drunk on slaughter, still haunt its twisted architecture. Some say the island itself is cursed. An ancient, hateful force slumbers within the windswept rock—and the Walker family has awakened it.Can anyone escape THE BLACK LAND? MJ Wesolowski, based in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK, has had short stories published in places such as Ethereal Tales and the Midnight Movie Creature Feature anthology. His dark comedy production, Suckers, raised money for the SOPHIE fund (Stamp Out Prejudice, Hatred and Intolerance Everywhere). THE BLACK LAND is his debut novella.
- GenresHorror
142 pages, Paperback
First published October 5, 2013
6 people are currently reading
146 people want to read
About the author
Matt Wesolowski
24 books672 followersMatt Wesolowski is an author from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in the UK. He is an English tutor for young people in care.
'Six Stories' was published by Orenda Books in the spring of 2016 with follow-up ‘Hydra’ published in the winter of 2017, 'Changeling' in 2018, 'Beast' in 2019 and 'Deity in 2020
‘Six Stories’ has been optioned by a major Hollywood studio; ‘Changeling’ was longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, 2019 Amazon Publishing Readers’ Award for Best Thriller and Best Independent Voice.
'Beast' won the Amazon Publishing Readers' Award for Best Independent Voice in 2020
Matt is represented by Sandra Sawicka at Marjacq
Film/TV Rights - Luke Speed at Curtis Brown
'Six Stories' was published by Orenda Books in the spring of 2016 with follow-up ‘Hydra’ published in the winter of 2017, 'Changeling' in 2018, 'Beast' in 2019 and 'Deity in 2020
‘Six Stories’ has been optioned by a major Hollywood studio; ‘Changeling’ was longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, 2019 Amazon Publishing Readers’ Award for Best Thriller and Best Independent Voice.
'Beast' won the Amazon Publishing Readers' Award for Best Independent Voice in 2020
Matt is represented by Sandra Sawicka at Marjacq
Film/TV Rights - Luke Speed at Curtis Brown
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 15, 2023
not as solid as the rest of the matt wesolowski books i've read before but still deeply creepy. "the black land" is a debut novella that acts as a strong precursor to the existing talent of this author but by itself isn't as good as i know the rest of wesolowski's work are. atmospheric, unsettling and claustrophobic are all terms i feel comfortable assigning to this story but, weirdly, it's the dialogue that pulls me back from being as immersed as i wish i was.
October 23, 2013
An atmospheric tale that draws you in. Building on the history and legends of the far north of England the story of Martin Walker and his family will have you on the edge of your seat.
December 10, 2019
Oh, this book starts in such a great way:
An American family land on a small island in North England, where the father plans to build one of his resorts. The stone keep in the middle of the island is dark, gloomy, and foreboding, with bizarre architecture and a terrifying trap in the main hall. The previous owner, currently senile in a care home, has burnt all the documents relating to the property and its history. The guide giving the family a tour of the keep shares morbid titbits from the keep’s past and sports a strange scar on his wrist.
Obviously, with this beginning I was instantly drawn in. When I finished, though, it was with a feeling of disappointment. Don’t get me wrong, the novella certainly keeps up the mood – it is eerie, gloomy and quite suspenseful. I would certainly recommend it to everyone who is seeking thrills and wants to get scared. However, much as I like thrills and scares, first and foremost, I am after a story. And while the Black Land starts off great, for me too much in it remains unexplained and is left for the reader to imagine. I do not mind one or two bits of a story where the reader is meant to fill in the blanks in whatever way they want, but there are simply too many in this book.
I have too many unanswered questions and they are driving me nuts!
If you want to know what they are, then click the spoiler – if I just list these questions here, I will ruin big parts of the story for those who have not read it yet.
Apart from all the unanswered questions that are bugging me, there is another reason why I have given Black Land only 2 stars. At a certain point it feels like the story is not sure in what way it wants to scare the reader. We are dealing with mysterious forces, phantoms, physical beasts, characters facing things that personally scare them the most (ugh, I hate this trope), but also a tidiness-obsessed poltergeist…? For me the scares were inconsistent and went in too many directions.
The writing was quite good, especially in the last part, but in the first scene, the Walker family repeatedly – I think about 6 times – “unconsciously move closer together.” At the end of the scene it is a wonder they had not merged into one person, after all this moving closer and closer together! This is the only nasty little jab I have to make about the writing, though, as the rest of the story reads quite well.
I can say I definitely enjoyed the later works of Matt Wesolowski much more – there is just the right amount of things for the reader to imagine/decide in his later works, and the scares are much more consistent in each part of the Six Stories cycle.
In Black Land you can certainly see the beginnings of great things that later feature in the Six Stories titles – amazing descriptions of oppressive nature and surroundings, creepy ambience, rich and dark English folklore. I would still recommend the Black Land to horror fans, as I think they will be able to find things in it to enjoy.
If you have read the book and have ideas for answers to my questions, please feel free to share them in the comments; I would love to know what you thought! Just please use the spoiler alert – let’s not ruin the fun for anyone!
An American family land on a small island in North England, where the father plans to build one of his resorts. The stone keep in the middle of the island is dark, gloomy, and foreboding, with bizarre architecture and a terrifying trap in the main hall. The previous owner, currently senile in a care home, has burnt all the documents relating to the property and its history. The guide giving the family a tour of the keep shares morbid titbits from the keep’s past and sports a strange scar on his wrist.
Obviously, with this beginning I was instantly drawn in. When I finished, though, it was with a feeling of disappointment. Don’t get me wrong, the novella certainly keeps up the mood – it is eerie, gloomy and quite suspenseful. I would certainly recommend it to everyone who is seeking thrills and wants to get scared. However, much as I like thrills and scares, first and foremost, I am after a story. And while the Black Land starts off great, for me too much in it remains unexplained and is left for the reader to imagine. I do not mind one or two bits of a story where the reader is meant to fill in the blanks in whatever way they want, but there are simply too many in this book.
I have too many unanswered questions and they are driving me nuts!
If you want to know what they are, then click the spoiler – if I just list these questions here, I will ruin big parts of the story for those who have not read it yet.
Apart from all the unanswered questions that are bugging me, there is another reason why I have given Black Land only 2 stars. At a certain point it feels like the story is not sure in what way it wants to scare the reader. We are dealing with mysterious forces, phantoms, physical beasts, characters facing things that personally scare them the most (ugh, I hate this trope), but also a tidiness-obsessed poltergeist…? For me the scares were inconsistent and went in too many directions.
The writing was quite good, especially in the last part, but in the first scene, the Walker family repeatedly – I think about 6 times – “unconsciously move closer together.” At the end of the scene it is a wonder they had not merged into one person, after all this moving closer and closer together! This is the only nasty little jab I have to make about the writing, though, as the rest of the story reads quite well.
I can say I definitely enjoyed the later works of Matt Wesolowski much more – there is just the right amount of things for the reader to imagine/decide in his later works, and the scares are much more consistent in each part of the Six Stories cycle.
In Black Land you can certainly see the beginnings of great things that later feature in the Six Stories titles – amazing descriptions of oppressive nature and surroundings, creepy ambience, rich and dark English folklore. I would still recommend the Black Land to horror fans, as I think they will be able to find things in it to enjoy.
If you have read the book and have ideas for answers to my questions, please feel free to share them in the comments; I would love to know what you thought! Just please use the spoiler alert – let’s not ruin the fun for anyone!
January 21, 2023
Rating clarification: 2.5 stars
Big fan of Wesolowski's Six Stories series, so was happy when daughter and fellow enthusiast bought his early novella.
Definitely can see Wesolowski's skill with horror prose that he does so well later, but unfortunately I think he had too many ideas and too short a story to execute this with any success.
If you happen to have read this first and are put off from reading more by this author, please do try him again with his later series. Much growth in writing and well worth reading "Six Stories" and his others.
Big fan of Wesolowski's Six Stories series, so was happy when daughter and fellow enthusiast bought his early novella.
Definitely can see Wesolowski's skill with horror prose that he does so well later, but unfortunately I think he had too many ideas and too short a story to execute this with any success.
If you happen to have read this first and are put off from reading more by this author, please do try him again with his later series. Much growth in writing and well worth reading "Six Stories" and his others.
June 14, 2020
Great Read
I found this a very atmospheric novel. I had read all the Six Stories by Matt Wesowlowski and was pleased to find something that I hadn't read. To me it felt like a classic old fashioned horror story. It was short, more of a novella, but beautifully descriptive, tense and a great read.
I found this a very atmospheric novel. I had read all the Six Stories by Matt Wesowlowski and was pleased to find something that I hadn't read. To me it felt like a classic old fashioned horror story. It was short, more of a novella, but beautifully descriptive, tense and a great read.
December 7, 2024
All I can say is, dude's come a long way since. How he went from this to Six Stories in only a few years is remarkable. The last ten pages is just a dude falling down on a boat over and over again. 👁️ 🥐
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 14, 2020
Did not like the style of writing and could not continue beyond third.
January 26, 2024
Atmospheric novella about an American businessman's plans to turn a shunned, uninhabited island (with a dark history) into a resort and the consequences of his decision.
November 2, 2013
When I first started reading this novella I said how the atmosphere was 'already thick enough to carve chunks out of with a machete'.
Well, it didn't let up.
The Black Land is the debut novella of M. J. Wesolowski who has had success with his horror short fiction in the past. I read his contribution North in the spine-tingling collection Midnight Movie Creature Feature, an intense tale set in frozen Siberia along the infamous Road of Bones, and couldn't wait to see what he did when he released a full-length project.
The Black Land did not disappoint.
It's the story of an American business man, Martin Walker, who buys a remote island of the North East coast of England, home to nothing but gulls, a crumbling castle and some rather nasty local legends. But where Northumbria chooses not to look, Walker sees only an opportunity. Even the increasing number of disturbing incidents that happen to him and his family are not enough to steer him from his desire to develop the island into a luxury resort.
More fool him.
The narrative is steeped in history and legend, exploring tales from the reivers of Scottish and English boarder wars to legendary Norsemen with dark gods and warriors consumed by merciless bloodlust, all set against the grim and grey backdrop of a myth-ridden corner of England.
The intense blurring between the realms of fiction and reality leave you wondering how much of it might actually be real, which leaves a delightful but very real chill lurking around the innards.
This is a treat for horror or thrill-lovers anywhere, especially now with the nights drawing in and the air getting colder. I recommend a room with the curtains drawn and a few candles lit and some soft music to accompany your reading experience.
Might be best to avoid reading directly before bed, however...especially if you live near the sea.
Well, it didn't let up.
The Black Land is the debut novella of M. J. Wesolowski who has had success with his horror short fiction in the past. I read his contribution North in the spine-tingling collection Midnight Movie Creature Feature, an intense tale set in frozen Siberia along the infamous Road of Bones, and couldn't wait to see what he did when he released a full-length project.
The Black Land did not disappoint.
It's the story of an American business man, Martin Walker, who buys a remote island of the North East coast of England, home to nothing but gulls, a crumbling castle and some rather nasty local legends. But where Northumbria chooses not to look, Walker sees only an opportunity. Even the increasing number of disturbing incidents that happen to him and his family are not enough to steer him from his desire to develop the island into a luxury resort.
More fool him.
The narrative is steeped in history and legend, exploring tales from the reivers of Scottish and English boarder wars to legendary Norsemen with dark gods and warriors consumed by merciless bloodlust, all set against the grim and grey backdrop of a myth-ridden corner of England.
The intense blurring between the realms of fiction and reality leave you wondering how much of it might actually be real, which leaves a delightful but very real chill lurking around the innards.
This is a treat for horror or thrill-lovers anywhere, especially now with the nights drawing in and the air getting colder. I recommend a room with the curtains drawn and a few candles lit and some soft music to accompany your reading experience.
Might be best to avoid reading directly before bed, however...especially if you live near the sea.
May 7, 2015
A brilliantly written book. The thick layers of description interwoven with rich local history make for a throughly gripping and engaging read. The underlying current of dread flowing through this book continues to grow with every page. Recommended!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews