DeathDay

by Robert Neville (Pseudonym), Shaun Hutson

Beware the golden disk – it brings decay…destruction…death. Four hundred years ago, a woman died in agony to keep its secret and went to her grave with it hung around her neck. Now, in a desolate graveyard, a woman has unearthed the amulet by chance and decides to keep it. His first mistake…

That night the village of Medford is plunged into a nightmare of terror by the discovery of a double murder and mutilation – the first in a series of shocking killings. Wherever the amulet is found, ancient evil – hideous, powerful and vile – is once again reborn…

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Horror Thriller

287 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

This is 2^Robert Neville
Pen name of Shaun Hutson

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good trashy horror by Hutson Shaun; I think he used the Nevile pseudonym for this book only. Hutson's books are always quick reads and this is no exception. I thought it would be something of a ripoff of The Amulet, which was first published in 1979, but outside of both books using a medallion as something evil, there is nothing similar.

The prologue features some torture porn circa 1596 on a witch of sorts, with her inquisitors asking about a medallion and her master. She is brutally killed and then the real story starts. I will not go into much detail on the plot, full of holes as it is, but Deathday is set in a small town in England and features the head of police as its main protagonist. One day some workers cleaning up a field next to a cemetery uncover an old grave and in it they find a medallion on an old skeleton. The guy who picks it up? Well lets just say things do not go well...

As par for the course for 80s trash horror, Deathday features numerous sleazy sex scenes and lots and lots of blood and gore. Hutson knows how to move a story along and this is a page turner for sure. Toss in some good ole black magic and some zombie like things and this one gets bloody quick. My favorite part of the book is when the chief of police has to go begging to his district commander to get some guns and then having to teach the local cops how to shoot. Imagine cops without guns! 3.5 sleazy stars, rounding up as this really was a lot of fun to read.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're in for a quick, fast paced and dirty horror novel from the 80s this is your stuff. While cropping some shrubs at the local cemetery of a small town somewhere in Britain a labourer finds a golden medallion with a black magic history. In the evening this character feels unwell and turns into something inhuman. He turns agains his wife and daughter. Day by day more and more people are getting murdered. The police force is feeling helpless. What is causing the people to disappear and who murdered the victims? Then a supernatural suspicion proves true. Can Lambert, the police inspector, get rid of the evil creatures and defy the evil mastermind from the past? Take the book and find out. This is a book of hard action, black magic, humans transformed into powerful zombies, explicit sex (has to be, hasn't it) and grim violence. Highly enjoyable! Classic Hutson!

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

So i first read this book when i was 13 and had it confiscated by the music teacher!! Wasn’t suitable reading for teenagers apparently!

I do remember it being a bit gory and a few sex scenes. I’m sure the best line in the book is “He impaled her on his rampant member” or something like that. It amused me as a teen so when i saw this book in a charity shop i didn’t hesitate, i purchased straight away.

It isn’t as gory or as pornographic as i remembered but it still made me smile and i really did enjoy it. It’s never going to be classed as a modern classic but it is easy to read, its got a bit of everything, murder, gore, sex, romance and the living dead 😉

I was quite happy sat in bed with 1 of the cats Tim and Birdie sharing a good cup of tea reading this book when all of a sudden the bird went completely crazy! Wings out, tail feathers fanned out, screaming in sheer terror. Took me awhile to work out what had upset her so much but it was the photo of Shaun Hutson on the back cover!

She is absolutely terrified of him! Not sure if it was the big 80’s hair or the sunglasses but she was happy and content as long as she didn’t get a glimpse of the rear cover!!

Sorry Shaun, not sure what she would make of a recent photo but i think i should find out 🙂

Very strange bird bless her but i wouldn’t have her any other way!

So my advice, if you are bored and at a loose end, give the book a read and if your parrot freaks out at it please let me know

Have a good night

Debs and Birdie

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Shaun Hutson read and I enjoyed it. Is this splatterpunk? 80’s trashy horror? It most certainly is!

Plenty of blood, gore and violence with some sex scenes thrown in.

Sounds like it could be a slasher horror book, but it is not.

Humans turn into a form of zombies.

This story is set in a small English town with the local Police as the main characters. There is a history of the small town and when the cemetery is being cleaned the history is revealed in the form of an old medallion on an old skeleton. The medallion is picked up and its black magic kicks it. The killing starts and the Police investigate.

I love to read 80’s horror.

[Dammitkassi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes you just want to reread something that makes you feel warm and squishy and happy inside and that's always gonna be Mr hutson.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dodgy bloke digs up a centuries old corpse in back of a churchyard and takes a medallion off a corpse with disastrous effects. The man starts to have headaches and temper changes. Soon he kills his family and starts the ball rolling. The dead start to walk and kill to add to there numbers. It's up to a young police inspector and his small group of officers to put a stop to the massacre. Shotguns, mass amounts of petrol and a lot of blood follow.

This was a great book. Nicely paced. Bursts of sex and violence to spice things up. When the dead are found, the action really heats up. Shaun Hutson knows how to keep you glued to the pages.

[Alexander Draganov · Rating 4 out of 5]

И тази вървеше към три звезди, но "боса" на историята вдигна към 4 - невероятно какво може да направи за оценката ти една яка финална битка. Хътсън няма да ми стане любим колкото Мастертън, но определено, подобно на Ричард Леймън и Джеймс Хърбърт, се превръща в автор, който ще следя и за в бъдеще.
Подробна рецензия в Цитаделата:
https://citadelata.com/deathday/

[Dreadlocksmile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deathday was first published back in 1986 under Hutson's pseudonym - Robert Neville. The novel was his one and only to use his Robert Neville pseudonym. The story is another fast-paced ride through a splatterpunk fest. It uses various ideas and inspiration from a number of his earlier novels, which proves to be somewhat of a disappointment for any Hutson fan. The storyline is a simple one with the most cliched characters and obvious twists. Packed with vivid depictions of gore and extreme violence, the book is a standard style of offering from Shaun. Yet the storyline has some ridiculous elements to it that do ruin the novel. For example, the police are confronted by what they believe to be a lunatic who claims the dead are coming back to life. They decide that instead of locking the chap up, they'll lend him enough heavy weaponry to equip a small army...just in case he's telling the truth! Firstly, since when have the police had such weaponry at their disposal and secondly...as if!!!! But putting the comical elements to the plot aside, the whole storyline is predictable and tedious. Not one of his better works.

[Rae Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite Shaun Hutson book, I've re-read this one countless times. Exciting plot, relatable characters (even though many don't last long, which is typical of this author) and every scene keeps you turning the pages. The enemies are formidable, ruthless and almost unstoppable; as a result, certain elements do seem a little far-fetched. For example, the British police loading up with all manner of firearms and letting loose on the monsters terrorising the town. Still, this is a work of fiction and it's the promise of messy fun that has always attracted me to these books. Brutal and bloodthirsty, fans will not be disappointed.

[Jordan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Say what you like, but how can you go from reading a good book, to reading a bad one? I feel sympathy for the writer - imaginative etc, but where was the editor with this? I feel like this writer is trying too hard. I don't need to be told every little thing, that's what my imagination is for. Then again, some people like that, some people want to know how many lines and groves are on a piece of wood. Me - I don't care. Woods wood.

[Elusive · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Death Day’ is about an ordinary town which is soon plagued by rampant murders after a workman discovers a mysterious amulet buried in a graveyard. Meanwhile, Inspector Lambert is having a hard time moving on from his brother’s death but finds a (somewhat) welcome distraction in the form of investigating the widespread brutality.

This is my first Shaun Hutson book and it truly didn’t disappoint. Right from the beginning, Hutson’s writing style is appealing as it is simple, providing adequate details and descriptions to keep the reader hooked. The third person narrative worked very well here because the reader is able to find out what exactly other characters are facing while the transitions to Lambert are smooth. As a result, the story flows perfectly and the tense, morbid atmosphere is conveyed effectively without the need to go over the top.

The deaths were certainly gory but the author’s main focus was on the fear of the unknown and this made the book into more than just the average slasher tale. Instead, there’s plenty of history and background given regarding the evil amulet. I personally thought that the explanation could have been better and not so simply straightforward but this didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story. Lambert was a decent protagonist who was realistic – one who was grieving yet committed to resolving the series of bizarre massacres.

Although the whole police versus the villains bit was overblown and to a certain extent unbelievable and dragged on for a little too long, it was never boring. There were tons of action which kept the story interesting. I was really surprised that those creatures never attacked Mr. Trefoile since they did pursue Burton and Debbie. However, logic aside, this fast paced book was a thrilling reading experience with a predictable but satisfactory ending. Again though, I was surprised that Lambert didn’t check to make sure that the amulet was destroyed.

Overall, ‘Death Day’ lived up to its title and despite being formulaic, it was highly entertaining.

[Chris H · Rating 2 out of 5]

I cut my teeth on Stephen King and James Herbert. I saw this in a second hand shop and it looked to be in a similar vein so I picked it up. Personally, I like my horror fiction to be slightly more 'believable'. This book is set in a small English town, small enough to only have 9 policemen, with a 12 storey block of flats ? The inspector in charge of the station is 22. 22 ? Really ? When he goes to the divisional command to ask for more help he is refused so asks instead for guns for which none of his officers have been trained and what do they do ? Basically help him to load up his boot! Typically eighties, throw in a bit of sex every forty or fifty pages to capture the teenaged boy market, a liberal dusting of zombies then leave the book open for a sequel (I don't know if there was one. I don't care, I wouldn't read it). Glad it was cheap.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable fast paced thriller/horror with some great twists and turns that will keep you guessing. This story will potentially haunt you for days and nights afterwards especially if you have a fear of being buried alive at all. There are a few weaker moments with regard to character and plot but as this is one of Shaun's first books these should and can be forgiven

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, flew through this one.

Shaun Hutson seems to enjoy pitting members of the police against something horrific!!!!
In this tale a sleepy village is overrun by the undead after an amulet is uncovered close to
a local cemetary.

Gruesome as always one of Hutson's early novels.

[Joe Stamber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Death Day is an easy to read, fast paced horror story. There are no surprises and no new ground broken, but for what it is it works fine. As the 2 star rating says, it was okay. Undemanding horror fans who like old fashioned examples of pulp fiction will probably enjoy it.

[Harry Welsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book 6 times over the years and always enjoy it. If you like a bit of a fright I highly recommend this book.The characters are well portrayed and each one has their own identity.

[Peter Davis-Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shaun Hutson got me back into reading years ago and Death Day has compelled me to read again and again & I adore it every time. Hutson is by far one of Horror's contemporary masters

[Amy Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really fun, it is obviously a little dated however the horror elements are great, the characters are likable, and the book was very well paced. 

I knocked off a star for the over-sexulisation of women. The women in the story are mostly described and characterised by their physical appearance. 

I also felt the ending conflict was too fast, not enough of the mystery of the pendant was fleshed out, and the main villain was barely in the book. However the un-dead type creatures are very well explored and characterised. 

[Zach Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly the first trashy '80s horror paperback I've read that has replicated pretty damn perfectly the experience of watching a wonderfully trashy '80s horror film. Just so much fun from beginning to end -- drenched in gore, stuffed with awkwardly written sex scenes, and epic in scale. There are floating skeletons and unkillable 28 Days Later-style zombies, y'all. What more would one need?

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking to give the horror genre a try and found this in the freebie bin. The cover hit my 80s nostalgia nerve, so I snatched it up.

While it wasn't bad, it didn't really have anything new or interesting to offer me. I kept waiting for an interesting plot twist to set it apart from similar stories, but to no avail.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a nice way to get back into horror. It had a steady pace with a nice horror ending. If I said there was anything wrong, I'd say it was a run of the mill horror book, but it has a good Shaun Hutson push to make it worth a read.

[Andrew Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A damn good old fashioned horror. Some of the gore scenes are great and the sex scenes toe curlingly cheesy. Characters are sometimes a bit thin but doesn’t really detract from the story. Nice sense of dread that builds throughout, Transported me back to being a horror hungry teenager in the 80’s.

[Christopher Law · Rating 4 out of 5]

My excuse is basically the same as it is in my review of Relics 3:)

[Iola · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good and riveting, page-turning read!

[Baruna Bhatia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok don't have to think about it much

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deathday, Shaun does it again

Shaun Hudson at his best I've read this book several times and enjoyed it every time. I'll read it again in the near future.

[Paul Salmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hutson delivers again!

Brilliantly entertaining with a fast paced plot, and with the expected shocks and violence. A great read from start to finish.

[Melanie-ann Diesel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a quick, fun read. Highly implausible but great fun for fans of the splatter punk genre.

[Michael Cote · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty boring. Bungling cops, generic zombies, a couple of lame sex scenes. A whole lot of nothing happening for the most part. Kind of a let down.