The Tangle

by Justin Robertson

Justin Robertson's debut novel is a trans-dimensional trip into the mysterious knot of nature; a journey into the 'brilliant darkness' where the timeless divine spirit of the 'Tangle' weaves its spell and all mankind's hubris is rendered insignificant by the radically non-human force of phantom ecology. Salvation, revelation and a terrible reckoning dwell in the ancient roots....

A time-travelling account of what occurs when unknowable frontiers are breached and humanity finds itself, once again, lost in the woods, The Tangle invites us into a grotesque world of eco-horror, echoing with the spirit of writers such as Saki, Ballard, M R James, Ursula Le Guin, Brian Catling and Thomas Ligotti.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Unfinished

Audible Audio

First published November 4, 2021

About the author

Justin Robertson is a renowned DJ, music producer, author, painter and broadcaster. For the past 30 years he has been a leading figure in the dance music world, falling in love with it whilst completing a degree in philosophy at The University of Manchester. He headlines clubs and festivals around the globe as a DJ and formerly with his band Lionrock. As well as his own musical productions, he is much in demand as remixer having worked with the likes of Bjork, New Order, Noel Gallagher & Erasure over the years. In the past decade, he has exhibited six acclaimed collections of his art around the UK and Europe, including producing a soundtrack and book to accompany them. He hosts two popular shows "The Temple of Wonders" and "The Rotating Institute" bi monthly on Soho Radio. He has written for Ransom Note, The Social and the Guardian on music, travel and philosophical matters, interviewing the likes of Rob Newman and Gary Lachman. THE TANGLE is his debut novel.

Reviews

[emiliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

think : if christopher nolan wrote an ecological folk sci-fi horror novel

boy, was this book a mind f*ck.

it subconsciously latches onto certain areas of your brain, & doesn’t let go until you’re forced to come back for more. yet, it holds you so gently, & sings to you so sweetly whilst you’re there, that you don’t want to leave.

there’s gore & brutality, but told so beautifully & danced around so gracefully that by the time you’ve let the words linger long enough to realize what’s happening, the person is already dead.

it was poetically aggressive & vile, & i loved it.

[Sofia Hedblom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a stonking debut novel! The author takes us on a gritty journey through space and time, landing- often in uncomfortable moral swamplands where nature reigns wild and ruthless in the quest to seek revenge for the cruelty and ignorance of the actions of man! It’s a wildly imaginative trip of a story…Dive in, zone out let the tangle lead you down it’s thorny path….wouldn’t surprise me one bit of this book crops up as a Netflix mini series in the near future...

[Jay · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 30%. My first DNF. Ever. That should tell you all you need to know about this book. The idea is decent, but the prose is so pretentious, meandering and over the top, it’s almost impossible to discern what’s happening without hurting yourself.

Judging by the comments I might be an outlier in my dislike for this book. Just not for me I guess.

[John Braine]

It's always a bit of a gamble to read a book for the wrong reasons. In this case, I was very curious to see what a well respected and long standing DJ and Producer would come up with in his first novel. But it's not really my kind of thing, and so it didn't really work for me, so I don't want to rate it.

It started off well. The writing is good. And I enjoyed plenty of the chapters but it got to a point where I found it extremely repetitive: Every chapter seemed to follow the same template: Introduce a new character, or bunch of characters, give them a back story and then The Tangle kills them at the end of the chapter. Repeat. But there was no narrative arc throughout a lot of it. To the degree that you could have removed several chapters without effecting the plot at all. Which struck me as odd for the kind of book typically driven by plot.

BUT I think if you know this from the start... and read it more like a book of interconnected short stories more than a novel, I think you'll enjoy it a lot more.

When the plot does pick up pace near the end, it went from 0 to 90 in zero seconds and into sci-fi at the same time, with the result that I'd no idea what was going on, but I'd already checked out by that stage. I wish I'd enjoyed it more and wish it the best, others seem to love it. But knowing now how better to enjoy it, which is not as a typical novel, I might actually read it again.

[Shani Cadwallender · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted to like it more!

There are some really promising moments of eco-horror here; plants that flay people, animals conspiring to hunt humans, terrifying Green-man figures haunting the corners of pubs, trees that move, and so on. Some of these have really stuck with me, so I don’t want to be too negative here. This is probably worth a read, especially if you’re into the eco-gothic.

My two main gripes with this novel were 1) the style and 2) the written accuracy. Perhaps this is the sort of thing that only bothers me, but there were lots of typos, spelling and phrasing errors, overwrought similes and overuse of sentence fragments. There were some dystopian and satirical elements, but I found them to be a bit on the nose, and the writer to be guilty of over-explication.

The Tangle has some of the elements of what makes Max Porter’s ‘Lanny’ so excellent, but some of the characterisation is a bit hackneyed and overstated- sort of like a rock biography.

[Russell Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this novel, but was struggling to describe it. Philosophical, thought provoking, time travelling, ecological horror maybe? Nature responding to human hubris. The writing is wonderful and the book is beautifully illustrated with what appears to the authors artwork. Really enjoyed it and it is one I will go back to.

[Michael Monroe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent read with some interesting ideas, but suffers sometimes from paper thin characters and occasionally ham-fisted prose. If ecological folk horror is your bag then it's worth a look.

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

An original surreal Sci-fi folk horror debut. Roberston's book at first feels like a collection of short stories that centered around The Tangle (the aspect of nature that cannot be apprehended by human reductionism); however, as the story progresses the reader will begin to see that rhizomatic connections between characters and places. This book has a surreal and elusive quality to it that will definitely frustrate many readers, but if someone is looking for something fresh and original in the horror genre, then this book may be for you.


This book wasn't always perfect for me, but Justin Robertson's uniqueness as a writer really stands out and any future releases from him will for sure be on my radar.

[Jayanne Rahal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A twisting and winding collection of stories that weave into one another before the reader even realises what’s happening. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style of this and will be keeping to revisit in future. Nature at its finest, explored in its many forms and always with horror in its midst. Many readers will however find this confusing and inaccessible as the nature of the book is abstract and ever changing. I enjoyed this (after a couple chapters of getting used to) but it won’t be for everyone’s palate! Narrative felt a tad lost on me but overall a unique and enjoyable experience. Looking forward to seeing more of Robertson’s work.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're lost in the woods and all alone, it can feel like you're away from civilisation. What if the woods were doing that on purpose? Maybe they are out to get you?

I just read "The Plants" by Kenneth McKenney a month ago, and this is almost a modern update with the gore turned up (a lot). But this is a set of variations on a theme of eco folk plant horror rather than a single narrative. I liked this book's winding ways and repeated hooks, it's really impressive and ambitious for a debut.

[Jess Pagan · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. This is an ambitious debut novel that centres on an ancient god called The Tangle, one that used to receive sacrifices and acknowledgement but has been lost to the passing of time.

I found the story very slow and, although fascinated by the way this book jumps between different time periods, I was unsure why I was reading this as there didn't seem to be a story. I don't think this book is bad, I just don't think it's a book for me.

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prepare to be utterly captivated by this mind bending masterpiece! The pacing is perfectly executed and the attention to detail is truly exceptional both of which add to the thought-provoking narrative and build an extra layer of depth to the horror. This is a must-read for any sci-fi horror fan looking for a fresh take on the genre. Can’t believe this is a debut novel, highly recommend!

[Lel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a well written book, the prose was very descriptive and it really felt like you were in the heart of The Tangle. But I got confused at what was actually happening. I think this better would have worked better as a short story collection about The Tangle and the issues that arise rather than a traditional story narrative.

[Eddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

From start to finish this novel takes you on a journey with weird and wonderful events and a good dollop of horror. Someone else’s review says that this would make a great TV series and that’s a credit to the storytelling here. Immerse yourself and binge read this amazing debut novel.

[John Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don’t read this alone. There are beams of light from the darkness, which makes the experience rewarding and at points cathartic. The richness and depth of the writing is striking. Modern day horror writing as it should be. You won’t be disappointed.

[Ben Siggery · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the concept but did find quite a lot of it feeling lost, but maybe that's the point. The chapters which have clear linkages worked really well but the others that seemed completely separated from the big picture detracted from the experience for me.

[Helen Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d say 3.5/5. I like the concept and wanted to like the book more, but there were a few mistakes and I think it was trying to be too literary for me. It was eerie in some parts and then some were just kind of confusing. Quite gory in places too.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A disturbing and darkly gripping read – now filed next to J G Ballard and H P Lovecraft. I look forward to a suitably twisted follow up.

[Christian Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr Justin Robertson, for this to be your first ever novel is utterly astounding. This is veteran prose. Loved the book from start to finish, absolutely captivating. Can’t wait for book two…

[Chris S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, albeit a bit clunky in places.

[Ash Huntington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most excellent

[Clair W · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has great moments of horror, twists and stories which feels like it does come together somehow but the narrative is a little lost. A great causal read!

[Alf Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short stories that maķe up a bigger stories in out of order sequence.

[Sammi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book

[Ant · Rating 1 out of 5]

At first I thought it was just one big story so was disappointed when I found out it was not like this. After a while I got bored and jumped to the last chapter.

[Stephen Buckley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. Like The Vohhr-meets-Cloud Atlas, on mushrooms. And it's weirdly cyclical which just makes me want to read it again and again on a loop.

[Bex Priest · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dark, hopeless, vacuous- a clever, clever book. Confusing at times but in the Tangle things do not matter, time does not matter. One I will think of often.