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Dark Rite
A small mountain town hides a dark secret…When his father’s death brings Grant Shipman to the Appalachian town of Wallen’s Gap, he believes his biggest problem will be dealing with the slow pace and odd townsfolk. But something sinister is at work. A dark power rises, an echo of the town’s bloody past. A book of blood magic offers an unspeakable horror a gateway into the world of the living, and only Grant stands in the way of their Dark Rite.Praise for Dark Rite by David Wood and Alan Baxter“Wood and Baxter have delivered a stunning tale that reminds of an early Stephen King’s talent for the macabre with a pinch of Graham Masterton’s flair for witchcraft and terror. A sinister tale of black magic and horror – not for the faint hearted.”Greig Beck, bestselling author of Beneath the Dark Ice and Black Mountain“When Grant Shipman returns to Wallens' Gap for his father's funeral, he discovers a curious book and a supernatural relic hidden from the malevolent townsfolk, who shelter generations of malignant secrets. After his friend Cassie is kidnapped and his own life increasingly threatened, Grant must confront the powers of darkness, a demon summoned for the ultimate sacrifice. With mysterious rituals, macabre rites and superb supernatural action scenes, Wood and Baxter deliver a fast-paced horror thriller.”J.F.Penn, author of the bestselling ARKANE thriller series"Wood and Baxter have taken on the classic black magic/cult conspiracy subgenre, chucked in a toxic mix of weirdness, creepshow chills and action, and created a tale that reads like alatter-day Hammer Horror thriller. Nice, dark fun."Robert Hood, author of Immaterial and Fragments of a Broken Valarl Undead
180 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 13, 2013
13 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
David Wood
289 books41 followersDAVID WOOD began writing as a student at Oxford University in the sixties.
He wrote his first play for children in 1967 and has since written over sixty more.
They are performed all over the world and include THE GINGERBREAD MAN (nine London seasons), THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT WENT TO SEE... (six London seasons, co-written with Sheila Ruskin), THE SELFISH SHELLFISH, THE SEE-SAW TREE, SAVE THE HUMAN (from the story he wrote with cartoonist Tony Husband), THE IDEAL GNOME EXPEDITION and THE PLOTTERS OF CABBAGE PATCH CORNER.
His stage adaptations of well-known books include Dick King-Smith's BABE THE SHEEP-PIG, Roald Dahl's THE BFG and THE WITCHES (both of which played long tours and two West End seasons), THE TWITS, JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH and FANTASTIC MR FOX, DANNY THE CHAMPION OF THE WORLD and GEORGE’S MARVELLOUS MEDICINE, HRH The Prince of Wales' THE OLD MAN OF LOCHNAGAR, Michael Foreman's DINOSAURS AND ALL THAT RUBBISH, Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski's MEG AND MOG SHOW (five London seasons for Unicorn Theatre), Philippa Pearce's TOM'S MIDNIGHT GARDEN (which Unicorn Theatre played on tour, in the West End and on Broadway) and Judith Kerr’s THE TIGER WHO CAME TO TEA.
He was dubbed 'the national children's dramatist' by Irving Wardle in The Times and published, to rave reviews, THEATRE FOR CHILDREN: GUIDE TO WRITING, ADAPTING, DIRECTING AND ACTING (Faber), co-written with Janet Grant, which has become required reading on the subject in the UK and the US, and is now published in China.
He directed many of his plays for his own company, Whirligig Theatre (founded with John Gould in 1979), which for 25 years toured to major theatres nationwide include Sadler's Wells in London.
Film screenplays include SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS and BACK HOME, which won a gold award at the New York Film and TV Festival 1991. Writing for television includes the series CHIPS' COMIC, CHISH 'N' FIPS and THE GINGERBREAD MAN; and TIDE RACE, his filmed drama for Central Television and the European Broadcasting Union, has won several international awards.
For BBC Radio 4 he adapted Arthur Ransome's SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS.
He also writes children's books; with Richard Fowler he has co-created novelty books including BEDTIME STORY, MOLE'S SUMMER STORY, MOLE'S WINTER STORY, SILLY SPIDER, THE MAGIC SHOW, FUNNY BUNNY'S MAGIC SHOW and THE TOY CUPBOARD. He wrote THE PHANTOM CAT OF THE OPERA (illustrated by Peters Day).
David Wood has followed a parallel career as an actor, best remembered as Johnny in Lindsay Anderson's cult film IF... He is married to Jacqueline Stanbury; they have two grown-up daughters, Katherine and Rebecca.
In 2004 he was awarded an OBE for services to literature and drama in the Queen's birthday honours.
In 2006 he wrote THE QUEEN’S HANDBAG, a play to celebrate the Queen’s 80th birthday. It was performed by an all-star cast in Buckingham Palace Gardens at the Children’s Party at the Palace, and seen live on BBC 1 by 8,000,000 television viewers.
from http://www.davidwood.org.uk/all_about...
He wrote his first play for children in 1967 and has since written over sixty more.
They are performed all over the world and include THE GINGERBREAD MAN (nine London seasons), THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT WENT TO SEE... (six London seasons, co-written with Sheila Ruskin), THE SELFISH SHELLFISH, THE SEE-SAW TREE, SAVE THE HUMAN (from the story he wrote with cartoonist Tony Husband), THE IDEAL GNOME EXPEDITION and THE PLOTTERS OF CABBAGE PATCH CORNER.
His stage adaptations of well-known books include Dick King-Smith's BABE THE SHEEP-PIG, Roald Dahl's THE BFG and THE WITCHES (both of which played long tours and two West End seasons), THE TWITS, JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH and FANTASTIC MR FOX, DANNY THE CHAMPION OF THE WORLD and GEORGE’S MARVELLOUS MEDICINE, HRH The Prince of Wales' THE OLD MAN OF LOCHNAGAR, Michael Foreman's DINOSAURS AND ALL THAT RUBBISH, Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski's MEG AND MOG SHOW (five London seasons for Unicorn Theatre), Philippa Pearce's TOM'S MIDNIGHT GARDEN (which Unicorn Theatre played on tour, in the West End and on Broadway) and Judith Kerr’s THE TIGER WHO CAME TO TEA.
He was dubbed 'the national children's dramatist' by Irving Wardle in The Times and published, to rave reviews, THEATRE FOR CHILDREN: GUIDE TO WRITING, ADAPTING, DIRECTING AND ACTING (Faber), co-written with Janet Grant, which has become required reading on the subject in the UK and the US, and is now published in China.
He directed many of his plays for his own company, Whirligig Theatre (founded with John Gould in 1979), which for 25 years toured to major theatres nationwide include Sadler's Wells in London.
Film screenplays include SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS and BACK HOME, which won a gold award at the New York Film and TV Festival 1991. Writing for television includes the series CHIPS' COMIC, CHISH 'N' FIPS and THE GINGERBREAD MAN; and TIDE RACE, his filmed drama for Central Television and the European Broadcasting Union, has won several international awards.
For BBC Radio 4 he adapted Arthur Ransome's SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS.
He also writes children's books; with Richard Fowler he has co-created novelty books including BEDTIME STORY, MOLE'S SUMMER STORY, MOLE'S WINTER STORY, SILLY SPIDER, THE MAGIC SHOW, FUNNY BUNNY'S MAGIC SHOW and THE TOY CUPBOARD. He wrote THE PHANTOM CAT OF THE OPERA (illustrated by Peters Day).
David Wood has followed a parallel career as an actor, best remembered as Johnny in Lindsay Anderson's cult film IF... He is married to Jacqueline Stanbury; they have two grown-up daughters, Katherine and Rebecca.
In 2004 he was awarded an OBE for services to literature and drama in the Queen's birthday honours.
In 2006 he wrote THE QUEEN’S HANDBAG, a play to celebrate the Queen’s 80th birthday. It was performed by an all-star cast in Buckingham Palace Gardens at the Children’s Party at the Palace, and seen live on BBC 1 by 8,000,000 television viewers.
from http://www.davidwood.org.uk/all_about...
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 9, 2016
I've been on a bit of a horror kick lately. Splatterpunk, cosmic horror, military horror, dark fantasy and creature horror... you name it, I've probably delved into it. So when Dark Rite popped up onto my eReader as a recommended purchase two things immediately sprang to mind. Firstly, how the fuck did I miss this? Baxter and Wood are among my favourite authors in the game right now... I should be all over their work! And secondly, a couple of bucks for an impressive sounding horror novella? Bargain!
So after purchasing Dark Rite I decided to drop into it for a couple of chapters (just to get a feel for it). Three hours later and I was still hooked.
Dark Rite tells the story of a town with a dark and mysterious past. When the protagonist comes to town to sort out the affairs of his recently deceased father he stumbles across more than he bargained for. The town harbours a terrifying secret, and within that secret a dark power is rising.
Sound familiar? It should. It has has been done plenty of times before. But where Dark Rite succeeds whilst others fail is in the way it is told.
This novella has so many great things going for it. The prose is tight and free flowing, and every character fleshed out and interesting. I adored the mood of the story, and the creepy undertones that Wood and Baxter explore throughout the novella left me with chills at the best of times. The fight scenes were all realistic and accurate (this is a norm writers like Wood and Baxter), and the 'hammer horror' tropes included a perfect combination of fun, weird, and the mundane. The story chugs along at a rapid pace, and builds wonderfully to a climax that genuinely had me gripped by what was unfolding before my eyes. And holy shit... there was a moment at the end where I roared with laughter and grinned like an evil Cheshire cat... trust me you know what I'm talking about when you read the book.
However, what impressed me the most with Dark Rite was its seamless nature. Collaborations, by their very nature, are usually hard to get right. Each author has their own particular style and voice which can make collaborative works jarring and hard to read at times. Not so with Dark Rite. I genuinely struggled to work out who was writing at times. It was the smoothest collaboration I've ever read, and I can understand why both authors have now written another novel together.
Was Dark Rite perfect? No. There were a couple of typos and inconsistencies that could have been addressed before it was published, and I would have loved to have seen a much deeper exploration of the history of the town and its magical and supernatural heritage. All in all though Dark Rite is a wonderful little package that left me considerably chilled and richly entertained.
Small town horror and black magic told in a seamless and terrifying way, Dark Rite is a tale that will leave you both shaken and delighted.
4 out of 5 stars.
So after purchasing Dark Rite I decided to drop into it for a couple of chapters (just to get a feel for it). Three hours later and I was still hooked.
Dark Rite tells the story of a town with a dark and mysterious past. When the protagonist comes to town to sort out the affairs of his recently deceased father he stumbles across more than he bargained for. The town harbours a terrifying secret, and within that secret a dark power is rising.
Sound familiar? It should. It has has been done plenty of times before. But where Dark Rite succeeds whilst others fail is in the way it is told.
This novella has so many great things going for it. The prose is tight and free flowing, and every character fleshed out and interesting. I adored the mood of the story, and the creepy undertones that Wood and Baxter explore throughout the novella left me with chills at the best of times. The fight scenes were all realistic and accurate (this is a norm writers like Wood and Baxter), and the 'hammer horror' tropes included a perfect combination of fun, weird, and the mundane. The story chugs along at a rapid pace, and builds wonderfully to a climax that genuinely had me gripped by what was unfolding before my eyes. And holy shit... there was a moment at the end where I roared with laughter and grinned like an evil Cheshire cat... trust me you know what I'm talking about when you read the book.
However, what impressed me the most with Dark Rite was its seamless nature. Collaborations, by their very nature, are usually hard to get right. Each author has their own particular style and voice which can make collaborative works jarring and hard to read at times. Not so with Dark Rite. I genuinely struggled to work out who was writing at times. It was the smoothest collaboration I've ever read, and I can understand why both authors have now written another novel together.
Was Dark Rite perfect? No. There were a couple of typos and inconsistencies that could have been addressed before it was published, and I would have loved to have seen a much deeper exploration of the history of the town and its magical and supernatural heritage. All in all though Dark Rite is a wonderful little package that left me considerably chilled and richly entertained.
Small town horror and black magic told in a seamless and terrifying way, Dark Rite is a tale that will leave you both shaken and delighted.
4 out of 5 stars.
June 5, 2013
I enjoyed reading Dark Rite on the whole, it was a rollicking backwoods occult tale, but it all seemed a little cliched? There were also a few typos that jarred, an awful lot of telling instead of showing, and quite a few inconsistencies (for example, in one paragraph the damsel in distress is chained up, but in another she's tied with ropes), and the whole thing seemed rushed, no time for character development. It would make a perfect horror movie, mind you, its almost written as an outline for one in fact, but I know Alan Baxter's work (I've not read any of David Wood, though), and this isn't his best writing in my opinion. It's still a good fun read, though, and I feel terrible for sounding so negative, I'm sorry. Go and buy it, anyway!
December 8, 2020
This is a love letter to horror stories of old. Take a dash of Wicker Man, take a pinch of Hammer Horror, throw in a sprinkling of Lovecraft and what have you got? This tale of a young man, Grant Shipman, returning to the town he had left long behind finds him getting embroiled in a web of cultist intrigue.
Strange things start to happen, and suddenly Grant finds there might be no one he can trust.
Bloody, sexy, scary, it's a fast-moving horror that really hits the spot.
One note I would say, get the novel version rather than the audiobook - the audio recording really needed editing, with the narrator stopping and repeating phrases on a number of occasions rather than lopping out the mistakes. Don't let that put you off, though - just grab the book instead.
Strange things start to happen, and suddenly Grant finds there might be no one he can trust.
Bloody, sexy, scary, it's a fast-moving horror that really hits the spot.
One note I would say, get the novel version rather than the audiobook - the audio recording really needed editing, with the narrator stopping and repeating phrases on a number of occasions rather than lopping out the mistakes. Don't let that put you off, though - just grab the book instead.
November 3, 2020
audible:This was a really good story.It had strong characters and a familiar but unique storyline.I enjoyed it. Jonathan Waters was a fine narrator except for the repetition of whole lines.This happened so often I nearly gave up listening. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
November 13, 2020
Grant comes to his estranged fathers funeral and uncovers a mysterious cult. All is not as it seems in this quiet little town.
Good character development and could have been a good novel if it was extrapolated some more.
I listened to the audiobook on Audible but there wasn’t an audiobook edition to choose
Good character development and could have been a good novel if it was extrapolated some more.
I listened to the audiobook on Audible but there wasn’t an audiobook edition to choose
August 5, 2020
After the death of his estranged father, Grant Shipman ends up in a small town with a dark past. As he hunts for clues, he finds his life in danger and he may have to pay the ultimate price to defeat the evil. Good book, that moves at a nice pace as it moves to its final showdown.
September 18, 2020
Not what I expected, but I loved it. I love David Wood's books, but this was different from his usual books! There were a few loose ends that never wrapped up, but they weren't anything that I couldn't live with. Finished it in one day.
October 15, 2023
I already liked the combo of David Wood and Alan Baxter and this book reinforces that like. It does live up to the title, very dark, and a creepy fun read with good characters and enough horror to keep me happy. Good story.
May 11, 2020
An enjoyable book about a backwoods cult that's just a little too cliche to be really great.
November 23, 2020
I received a complementary audio version of this book.
May 6, 2013
I feel as though I should qualify this review by stating that I'm an avid listener of Thrillercast, an excellent podcast by the authors' of this book. I've learned a lot from listening to them over the years and it was a great treat to see some concrete examples of topics they've addressed in the past in "Dark Rite."
This was (I think) the first collaborative work by the authors. I've read the Dane Maddock series (Wood) and have enjoyed several short stories by Alan Baxter as well.
I very much enjoyed reading "Dark Rite" from start to finish. While the basic premise of the story has been done several times in the past (think Deliverance meets Rosemary's Baby) it was a number of nuanced details which made me appreciate this book so much.
PROS:
- Full fleshed characters, complete with virtues and flaws.
- Richness of backstory
- Extremely fast-paced for a supernatural thriller work
- Realistic fight scenes (what else do you expect from a work by Baxter, a professional martial arts instructor?) ; )
- What impressed me most was the seamless collaboration of writing between both authors. In most books done by two authors one can often "sense" the break points where one author tags the other for chapter transition or what have you. "Dark Rite" was smooth like butter.
- Excellent job of slowly building tension through character interactions, threats (both supernatural and mundane), escalating violence and "stakes", without resorting to cheap "cat in the closet" tricks.
- Very creepy denouement
CONS:
- A few portions of dialogue bordered on "info dumps."
- Would have LOVED to see a little more American folk magic in a couple of scenes. The "hermetic" tradition, especially in Appalachia, is a fascinating topic rife with great potential. There were a couple of chapters which touched on the topic but could've gone just a TAD bit further.
- I got the sense that in a couple of dialogue scenes there was great debate between the authors about direction, tone and voice. Literally just a few paragraphs seemed a bit choppy and forced.
If you're looking for a rich, action-packed horror tale (albeit a fast-reading one) you've found the right book.
This was (I think) the first collaborative work by the authors. I've read the Dane Maddock series (Wood) and have enjoyed several short stories by Alan Baxter as well.
I very much enjoyed reading "Dark Rite" from start to finish. While the basic premise of the story has been done several times in the past (think Deliverance meets Rosemary's Baby) it was a number of nuanced details which made me appreciate this book so much.
PROS:
- Full fleshed characters, complete with virtues and flaws.
- Richness of backstory
- Extremely fast-paced for a supernatural thriller work
- Realistic fight scenes (what else do you expect from a work by Baxter, a professional martial arts instructor?) ; )
- What impressed me most was the seamless collaboration of writing between both authors. In most books done by two authors one can often "sense" the break points where one author tags the other for chapter transition or what have you. "Dark Rite" was smooth like butter.
- Excellent job of slowly building tension through character interactions, threats (both supernatural and mundane), escalating violence and "stakes", without resorting to cheap "cat in the closet" tricks.
- Very creepy denouement
CONS:
- A few portions of dialogue bordered on "info dumps."
- Would have LOVED to see a little more American folk magic in a couple of scenes. The "hermetic" tradition, especially in Appalachia, is a fascinating topic rife with great potential. There were a couple of chapters which touched on the topic but could've gone just a TAD bit further.
- I got the sense that in a couple of dialogue scenes there was great debate between the authors about direction, tone and voice. Literally just a few paragraphs seemed a bit choppy and forced.
If you're looking for a rich, action-packed horror tale (albeit a fast-reading one) you've found the right book.
May 12, 2013
Like the previous reviewer I am a fan of the Thrillercast podcast and I am also an Australian writer colleague of Alan Baxter (we are both associated with the Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild).
That aside, I found this short novel to be an interesting read for two reasons. The first being the setting and characterisation, which was suitably creepy and conspiratorial for the story. The second reason was to see how the collaboration worked based on the reports we got on the podcast. As has been mentioned previously, the collaboration was indeed pretty seamless. You could see the different author influences in writing—I have read stories from both the authors—but there were no distinct sections that could be contributed to either.
My only problem with this novel was the motivation of the antagonists. There just didn't seem to be enough reward for the effort they put into their plot over such a long time period. Hard to say much more about this without spoilers, but I'm afraid I just couldn't buy into it and that detracted from the story for me. Your mileage may differ.
Anyway, thanks for the read guys. More power to you.
That aside, I found this short novel to be an interesting read for two reasons. The first being the setting and characterisation, which was suitably creepy and conspiratorial for the story. The second reason was to see how the collaboration worked based on the reports we got on the podcast. As has been mentioned previously, the collaboration was indeed pretty seamless. You could see the different author influences in writing—I have read stories from both the authors—but there were no distinct sections that could be contributed to either.
My only problem with this novel was the motivation of the antagonists. There just didn't seem to be enough reward for the effort they put into their plot over such a long time period. Hard to say much more about this without spoilers, but I'm afraid I just couldn't buy into it and that detracted from the story for me. Your mileage may differ.
Anyway, thanks for the read guys. More power to you.
July 8, 2021
It gave me chills!💜
Fantastic story. Plenty of mystery, murder & suspense. The creepy factor was pretty high as well, it made me shudder a few times.
Let’s talk narration, first the bad news then I’ll get to the good stuff.
There were a lot of repeated sentences and phrases throughout the book almost as if it was recorded but he forgot to go back for pick ups. (Correcting errors etc)
Okay now the good news. Jonathan Waters has a fantastic voice. He absolutely nailed each of these characters and their unique accents. He’s also very good with female voices. I’ve recently began listening to Jonathan and found him to be one of my all time favorite narrators. He has a great story telling voice that I could listen to all day. This book was done about 8 years ago when he was still pretty new. I encourage everyone that when reviewing a book whether listening or reading to be sure to take into account how old the book is or how new the author and/or narrators are before you decide to give up on them.
I recommend this book.
Sisters Spotlight 💜
Fantastic story. Plenty of mystery, murder & suspense. The creepy factor was pretty high as well, it made me shudder a few times.
Let’s talk narration, first the bad news then I’ll get to the good stuff.
There were a lot of repeated sentences and phrases throughout the book almost as if it was recorded but he forgot to go back for pick ups. (Correcting errors etc)
Okay now the good news. Jonathan Waters has a fantastic voice. He absolutely nailed each of these characters and their unique accents. He’s also very good with female voices. I’ve recently began listening to Jonathan and found him to be one of my all time favorite narrators. He has a great story telling voice that I could listen to all day. This book was done about 8 years ago when he was still pretty new. I encourage everyone that when reviewing a book whether listening or reading to be sure to take into account how old the book is or how new the author and/or narrators are before you decide to give up on them.
I recommend this book.
Sisters Spotlight 💜
May 27, 2013
Alan Baxter and David Wood have totally nailed the small town, backwoods horror with Dark Rite. The residents of the town are drawn as convincing obsessed characters with a feel of Deliverance in their attitudes to outsiders. You're never quite sure what's driving them, although all will be revealed, but they're single minded in their intent.
The story has just the right amount of creepy horror and weird goings on to keep you turning the pages to find out the truth, much the same way as the hero, Grant, keeps on going.
This is a novella at the end of the day, and works perfectly in that form. The story fits the format well, and keeps the pace cracking along from first page to last, and can easily be read in one sitting. To be honest you'll want to, as once you get started this is a difficult book to put down.
I'd recommend this one for fans of early Stephen King and Richard Laymon and anyone who wants a good creepy horror.
The story has just the right amount of creepy horror and weird goings on to keep you turning the pages to find out the truth, much the same way as the hero, Grant, keeps on going.
This is a novella at the end of the day, and works perfectly in that form. The story fits the format well, and keeps the pace cracking along from first page to last, and can easily be read in one sitting. To be honest you'll want to, as once you get started this is a difficult book to put down.
I'd recommend this one for fans of early Stephen King and Richard Laymon and anyone who wants a good creepy horror.
August 30, 2016
This book is an instant classic in the horror genre. It brings back memories of the 80's and 90's classic horror novels like Stephen King's It or Dean Koontz's tale Strange Highways. It is a well written tale with just enough clues to keep you interested without giving away the game from the beginning. Dark Rite is well written, tight, concise, and a joy to read.
January 11, 2014
Small-town horror that works. A few things that could have/should have been picked up during copy-editing, but a great read.
March 20, 2014
This was a very good but freaky short story. Very enjoyable and well written, definitely worth reading. I highly recommend it.
July 10, 2016
Wow, what an adventure. Wallens Gap is not a place i would ever want to visit.
Loved it..
Loved it..
October 19, 2020
Dark and gripping. This was an enjoyable read. Every days struggles tangled with the occult. A town verging on crazy. Good versus evil. This book has it all!
Read
December 27, 2018A quick interesting read
Well written and very intriguing story of cults and outsiders and how one stranger came and thwarted it all in the end
Well written and very intriguing story of cults and outsiders and how one stranger came and thwarted it all in the end
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews