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The Feast of All Souls
Alice has returned to her old home town to put her life back in order.
378 Collarmill Road looks like an ordinary house. But sometimes, the world outside the windows isn’t the one you expect to see; sometimes you’ll turn around and find you’re not alone.
An old flame of Alice’s – John Revell – reluctantly comes to her aid when the house begins to reveal its secrets. The hill on which it sits is a place of legends – of Old Harry, the Beast of Crawbeck; of the Virgin of the Height and the mysterious Red Man – and home to the secrets of the shadowy Arodias Thorne.
Thorne’s influence seeps up through the ground, infiltrating Alice’s new home, and only she and John stand between Arodias and the rest of our world.
378 Collarmill Road looks like an ordinary house. But sometimes, the world outside the windows isn’t the one you expect to see; sometimes you’ll turn around and find you’re not alone.
An old flame of Alice’s – John Revell – reluctantly comes to her aid when the house begins to reveal its secrets. The hill on which it sits is a place of legends – of Old Harry, the Beast of Crawbeck; of the Virgin of the Height and the mysterious Red Man – and home to the secrets of the shadowy Arodias Thorne.
Thorne’s influence seeps up through the ground, infiltrating Alice’s new home, and only she and John stand between Arodias and the rest of our world.
400 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2016
11 people are currently reading
391 people want to read
About the author
Simon Bestwick
91 books83 followersSimon Bestwick was born in Wolverhampton in 1974. He has worked in various jobs, from fast food operative through drama teacher to training administrator. His short fiction has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, including Nasty Piece of Work, All Hallows, Darkness Rising, Extremes 5, and Beneath the Ground. He lives in Swinton, Lancashire, and when not writing can be found indulging his interests: walking, films, literature, rock, folk, and jazz music, good food, and the occasional pint.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
November 25, 2016
This is a dark and atmospheric gothic novel full of thrills and horror. It takes in the supernatural, ghosts, horror, evil and a house bursting with secrets. Alice Collier is seriously depressed and she has good reason, her marriage is at an end and she has suffered the unspeakable loss of her daughter. She relocates to 378 Collarmill Road, Crawbeck, Manchester, a place where she was once happy. She is hoping to be able to start putting her life back together again. This is not going to happen, Alice is about to find her life turned upside down.
The house is strange and eerie, full of sounds, mythical beasts and the ghosts of children. There is an underlying air of menace and danger. John Revell is an ex-boyfriend of Alice who finds himself having to step up and help Alice. They delve into the murky and tragic history and folklore of the house. There are colourful locals who are brimful of information and stories. There are a number of mysteries, madness, and evil, supernatural and otherwise. The house apparently stands between worlds and battles are going to have to be fought.
This is a spooky and gripping tale which pulls out all the stops to unsettle the reader. It is a well written story with multiple threads and great characters. This is a perfect read for those in search of scary thrills and spills. The author has plotted the story impeccably to maximise suspense and tension. A wonderful read which I recommend. Thanks to Rebellion for an ARC.
The house is strange and eerie, full of sounds, mythical beasts and the ghosts of children. There is an underlying air of menace and danger. John Revell is an ex-boyfriend of Alice who finds himself having to step up and help Alice. They delve into the murky and tragic history and folklore of the house. There are colourful locals who are brimful of information and stories. There are a number of mysteries, madness, and evil, supernatural and otherwise. The house apparently stands between worlds and battles are going to have to be fought.
This is a spooky and gripping tale which pulls out all the stops to unsettle the reader. It is a well written story with multiple threads and great characters. This is a perfect read for those in search of scary thrills and spills. The author has plotted the story impeccably to maximise suspense and tension. A wonderful read which I recommend. Thanks to Rebellion for an ARC.
December 27, 2016
Not just another vanilla ghost story here. Much more substance than info provided in the book summary.....
It's almost Halloween when Alice moves into the the fixer-upper with squeaky floors and mysterious voices, but are the hallucinations real or a figment of her imagination? After the loss of her young daughter and breakup of her marriage, (no spoiler here) Alice is not so sure of anything anymore let alone the scary creature and mystifying sights she encounters in her backyard.
THE FEAST OF ALL SOULS combines a cruel and deceptively vile figure of a man from the 1800's with a tortured soul from the present and an old house full of secrets to keep the reader entertained and wondering about the invisible world beyond and ultimate goal of evil.
Thank you NetGalley and Rebellion Publishing for the ARC and the opportunity to enjoy this creepy, haunted story.
February 6, 2017
Review: FEAST OF ALL SOULS by Simon Bestwick
FEAST OF ALL SOULS is an expansive horror novel constructed on a tautly plotted framework, delving into history, quantum physics, and the space-time continuum. Some portions and characters delve into what I would term extreme horror, so this is not a story for the easily upset. Nevertheless, it is a novel with powerful impact, and in many aspects, resonates with the vivid tones of reality. Almost everyone can identity with characters and some of the book's situations, though not all of us will have encountered such monsters as exist throughout.
FEAST OF ALL SOULS is an expansive horror novel constructed on a tautly plotted framework, delving into history, quantum physics, and the space-time continuum. Some portions and characters delve into what I would term extreme horror, so this is not a story for the easily upset. Nevertheless, it is a novel with powerful impact, and in many aspects, resonates with the vivid tones of reality. Almost everyone can identity with characters and some of the book's situations, though not all of us will have encountered such monsters as exist throughout.
October 29, 2016
This actually turned out to be a perfect Halloweeny read. Well done Netgalley for putting this one up right on time. Strongly reminiscent of the horror I used to love...British, well written, with strong character development and backstories and local legends and creepy real estate, this book had so much to enjoy, even if its heroine was occasionally not the most likeable. Anyway, she's had a lot to deal with, death of a child, dissolution of marriage, move. No one checks up the historical details of their homes much as is, especially when purchasing under mental duress. So when the new abode starts violently haunting its new victim/tenant with eerie kids and mythical creatures...who're you gonna call? Why, a conveniently local ghost hunting ex boyfriend, of course. Together they uncover the bleak and tragic past of 378 Collarmill Road, partially through reading a long recorded confession of one of its temporary residents from the past, partially through a more hands on research. Question is can they set things right. And can they do in in a few days around October 31st. Although this description may come across as flippant, the book actually and impressively isn't, Bestwick has given it a lot of substance with the character drama and so on, elevating it to a practically literary horror level. All the more power to him, all the more enjoyment to the readers. Recommended, particularly for genre fans or anyone in the mood for some pumpkin day fun.
December 11, 2016
First - thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
I'm not entirely sure where to start on this one. It was a decent story, with some great characters and a nice creepy vibe all the way through. I think I just didn't like how convoluted it got. It was trying to tie so many mythologies into the explanation, and it never really did a great job explaining how the creepy supernatural weirdness actually caused what it did. The children were strictly there to be part of the horror vibe, and the resolution with that part of the story was very lackluster and unfulfilling. The big twist about the villain wasn't really hard to see coming -- I had considered it from the very beginning, really.
I just felt like it needed a lot more polish, another run-through on the plot to focus on removing/clarifying places it got too convoluted to be entertaining, and a little more depth to the story and reveals and explanations.
It was a decent tale overall, and I enjoyed it, so three stars for "liked but nowhere near loved."
I'm not entirely sure where to start on this one. It was a decent story, with some great characters and a nice creepy vibe all the way through. I think I just didn't like how convoluted it got. It was trying to tie so many mythologies into the explanation, and it never really did a great job explaining how the creepy supernatural weirdness actually caused what it did. The children were strictly there to be part of the horror vibe, and the resolution with that part of the story was very lackluster and unfulfilling. The big twist about the villain wasn't really hard to see coming -- I had considered it from the very beginning, really.
I just felt like it needed a lot more polish, another run-through on the plot to focus on removing/clarifying places it got too convoluted to be entertaining, and a little more depth to the story and reveals and explanations.
It was a decent tale overall, and I enjoyed it, so three stars for "liked but nowhere near loved."
March 19, 2017
3.5 stars
Told from 2 perspectives, Alice, who's just moved into the house to do it up and try and cope with the grief over her daughters death, and Mary Carson, the woman who lived in the house when it was owned by Arodius Thorne.
Science, history and some magic blend together, along with some spooky and violent stuff, to create a fun-filled read.
It's a slow build that ramps up when Alice starts finding put more history of the house and what happened in it.
Some of it was a little 'huh?' and the end felt slightly rushed but it wasn't overly distracting from the rest of the book.
Creepy children are really creepy in this. Really.
*Huge thanks to Simon Bestwick, Rebellion, Solaris and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own*
Told from 2 perspectives, Alice, who's just moved into the house to do it up and try and cope with the grief over her daughters death, and Mary Carson, the woman who lived in the house when it was owned by Arodius Thorne.
Science, history and some magic blend together, along with some spooky and violent stuff, to create a fun-filled read.
It's a slow build that ramps up when Alice starts finding put more history of the house and what happened in it.
Some of it was a little 'huh?' and the end felt slightly rushed but it wasn't overly distracting from the rest of the book.
Creepy children are really creepy in this. Really.
*Huge thanks to Simon Bestwick, Rebellion, Solaris and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own*
November 21, 2020
The beginning of this story took a while to grab me. There were hints of the main character, Alice, having survived a tragedy which is partially explained by the end of the first chapter, though details were to come later. The dialogue was a little stilted, though not enough to make me stop reading. It's in British English, which is a plus for me. By the end of the chapter, I remembered why I had requested this book. Behind the story of moving into a new, large house, of over protective parents and of the loss of a child, there are hints of something eerie to come.
The second chapter threw me because it takes the reader somewhere else entirely, to what reads as a journal entry from someone far back in time, Mary Carson, hired as a secretary in the house that occupied the property in an earlier time. Her story is interesting in its own right and alternates with Alice's story.
It doesn't take long for Alice's experiences to become truly frightening. However, the various time changes were too abrupt. One chapter gives us a flashback and important background information, but keeping up with where you are can be a challenge. until later in the book where Mary Carson's full story is revealed.
I felt let down by the later chapters in the book. What was shaping up to be a ghost story might have got away with adding pseudo-science to explain certain phenomena, but instead of following through it turned to pure fantasy with no real explanation, even in the imaginary Physics of a fantasy world, to satisfy the mind's need for things to fit, even in imaginary worlds. The end was also abrupt and could have used some resolution beyond what it gave.
The story was an interesting read in itself, but suspension of disbelief didn't really happen and there were too many changes in scene or direction for it to flow smoothly.
The second chapter threw me because it takes the reader somewhere else entirely, to what reads as a journal entry from someone far back in time, Mary Carson, hired as a secretary in the house that occupied the property in an earlier time. Her story is interesting in its own right and alternates with Alice's story.
It doesn't take long for Alice's experiences to become truly frightening. However, the various time changes were too abrupt. One chapter gives us a flashback and important background information, but keeping up with where you are can be a challenge. until later in the book where Mary Carson's full story is revealed.
I felt let down by the later chapters in the book. What was shaping up to be a ghost story might have got away with adding pseudo-science to explain certain phenomena, but instead of following through it turned to pure fantasy with no real explanation, even in the imaginary Physics of a fantasy world, to satisfy the mind's need for things to fit, even in imaginary worlds. The end was also abrupt and could have used some resolution beyond what it gave.
The story was an interesting read in itself, but suspension of disbelief didn't really happen and there were too many changes in scene or direction for it to flow smoothly.
March 12, 2017
This is a fine tale of ghosts, grief, a really nasty bastard and a woman haunted by her guilt (not to mention the ghosts). Genuinely creepy in places with a rich level of prose, this was utterly superb.
November 14, 2016
Loaded With Everything You Could Want.
I'm done with "Turn of the Screw" horror/gothic/supernatural. Oh, was that a ghostly reflection in the mirror? My dear, did that tea cup move by itself? Pah! I want action, horror, and lots of quirky characters monologuing away about the creepy history of some forsaken plot. Well, you'll get that here in spades.
A plot summary doesn't do this justice. Short version - Alice moves to a creepy house and bad things happen, which leads her to discover even worse things happened before and might happen again. That describes just about every evil portal book ever written.
Ahh, but here we just keep piling on. We start slowly. Alice is mopey and depressed and moves into a worn out isolated house to escape her failed marriage and the memory of her dead daughter. (MEDIUM PREMISE SPOILER: Warning - lots of child ghosts in this book, so if that is a no-no be warned.) During the first twenty or so pages Alice is so mopey and behaves so much like a walking exposed nerve ending I almost gave up. But then, we switch into high gear.
MORE MILD VERY GENERAL SPOILERS: Then ghosts show up. Not ghost hints and shuffles and whispers and cold drafts. Ghosts. Then beasts, dreams, apparitions, things, screams, whispers, dread and danger. Alice starts to pull herself together and develops a spine. She reconnects with an old boyfriend, so she isn't just talking to herself. Then we start to research the house history. This is where it gets good if you like exposition and monologuing. We talk to priests and locals. We learn about local folktales, Christian adoption of pagan customs, Arthur stuff, village mysteries. We find documents that explain things. We find transcribed confessions that fill in historical blanks. Heck, over a few beers we talk about space time and alternate universes. I mean, we seriously pull out the stops.
And it's all interesting. That's mostly because Alice finally becomes interesting, and because all of the locals who know things and spill the beans to Alice do it in story-telling form, and each local has a distinctive voice and attitude. (The priest who knows the most is drop-dead funny in a sarcastic, sardonic way that is much better written than is usual for a gothic horror novel.)
So, the upshot is that we have evil, mega-evil, supernatural evil, normal human evil, mystery, forgotten realms, ghosts, running and hiding, fighting back, beasts, protectors, sad bits, funny bits, trapdoors, tunnels, and multiple levels of insanity and degradation. Wow. It really was a feast.
(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
I'm done with "Turn of the Screw" horror/gothic/supernatural. Oh, was that a ghostly reflection in the mirror? My dear, did that tea cup move by itself? Pah! I want action, horror, and lots of quirky characters monologuing away about the creepy history of some forsaken plot. Well, you'll get that here in spades.
A plot summary doesn't do this justice. Short version - Alice moves to a creepy house and bad things happen, which leads her to discover even worse things happened before and might happen again. That describes just about every evil portal book ever written.
Ahh, but here we just keep piling on. We start slowly. Alice is mopey and depressed and moves into a worn out isolated house to escape her failed marriage and the memory of her dead daughter. (MEDIUM PREMISE SPOILER: Warning - lots of child ghosts in this book, so if that is a no-no be warned.) During the first twenty or so pages Alice is so mopey and behaves so much like a walking exposed nerve ending I almost gave up. But then, we switch into high gear.
MORE MILD VERY GENERAL SPOILERS: Then ghosts show up. Not ghost hints and shuffles and whispers and cold drafts. Ghosts. Then beasts, dreams, apparitions, things, screams, whispers, dread and danger. Alice starts to pull herself together and develops a spine. She reconnects with an old boyfriend, so she isn't just talking to herself. Then we start to research the house history. This is where it gets good if you like exposition and monologuing. We talk to priests and locals. We learn about local folktales, Christian adoption of pagan customs, Arthur stuff, village mysteries. We find documents that explain things. We find transcribed confessions that fill in historical blanks. Heck, over a few beers we talk about space time and alternate universes. I mean, we seriously pull out the stops.
And it's all interesting. That's mostly because Alice finally becomes interesting, and because all of the locals who know things and spill the beans to Alice do it in story-telling form, and each local has a distinctive voice and attitude. (The priest who knows the most is drop-dead funny in a sarcastic, sardonic way that is much better written than is usual for a gothic horror novel.)
So, the upshot is that we have evil, mega-evil, supernatural evil, normal human evil, mystery, forgotten realms, ghosts, running and hiding, fighting back, beasts, protectors, sad bits, funny bits, trapdoors, tunnels, and multiple levels of insanity and degradation. Wow. It really was a feast.
(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
April 4, 2017
Not sure how to classify this--Supernatural horror? Quantum Physics horror, with a healthy dose of real-life drama? It was a quick, tantalizing read. Terribly dark, but not so viscerally gory that the faint of heart (coff, me) can't make it through. Definitely looking up more by Simon Bestwick.
April 10, 2019
Love love love loved this book. It had everything I enjoy in a read and truly kept me captivated. I'll be searching for more by the same author!!!
February 6, 2017
MY THOUGHTS
This isn't your normal ghost story. It starts out that way but boy, does it go in another direction. The author gives you everything that keeps the reader connected, fast pace, lots of action, characters that are a bit odd and terror. When Alice loses her little girl and her marriage has gone down the tubes. She appears to have no direction and she is extremely depressed. She makes a decision to move and the move may not be the best decision she has ever made. She moves into a eerie, falling down and isolated house. As soon as she does, things start to go really bad. I got a little tired of Alice going around like a zombie. She needs to get it together. Just as I thought that, the plot quickened. The author didn't give the reader thoughts of possible ghosts, we're talking actual ghosts. But it didn't stop at ghosts. There was more. Alice has no choice but to get it together. I liked when the author takes you back in time and history of an old house. There is old tales, priests, customs, mysteries and most important, actual documentation. Alice learns about all of the history of the house through stories told to her. The author gives you so much to feed on that you definitely feel satisfied. If you love creepy, then this is definitely creepy. There were some sensitive topics in this story that I felt the author handled quite well, such as the loss of a child. I know from experience how stories that don't handle that subject delicately can actually add to the hurt of the reader. This author handles this subject perfectly. This author wrote with an out of the box perspective. You think as you read, this is going to end just like all ghost stories, but when I got to the ending, I was actually surprised. What a different approach! I have to have characters that I can relate to or I have a real problem with the book. This book gave the reader the main character, Alice, and I found I related to her as though I knew her. You also get different time spaces. The first part of the book is about the present and then it starts to go to the past. Very different and interesting, as the author keeps them separate for much of the book. Then they start to merge together.
I received a copy of this book from the author and Night Owl Reviews and voluntarily decided to review it.
This isn't your normal ghost story. It starts out that way but boy, does it go in another direction. The author gives you everything that keeps the reader connected, fast pace, lots of action, characters that are a bit odd and terror. When Alice loses her little girl and her marriage has gone down the tubes. She appears to have no direction and she is extremely depressed. She makes a decision to move and the move may not be the best decision she has ever made. She moves into a eerie, falling down and isolated house. As soon as she does, things start to go really bad. I got a little tired of Alice going around like a zombie. She needs to get it together. Just as I thought that, the plot quickened. The author didn't give the reader thoughts of possible ghosts, we're talking actual ghosts. But it didn't stop at ghosts. There was more. Alice has no choice but to get it together. I liked when the author takes you back in time and history of an old house. There is old tales, priests, customs, mysteries and most important, actual documentation. Alice learns about all of the history of the house through stories told to her. The author gives you so much to feed on that you definitely feel satisfied. If you love creepy, then this is definitely creepy. There were some sensitive topics in this story that I felt the author handled quite well, such as the loss of a child. I know from experience how stories that don't handle that subject delicately can actually add to the hurt of the reader. This author handles this subject perfectly. This author wrote with an out of the box perspective. You think as you read, this is going to end just like all ghost stories, but when I got to the ending, I was actually surprised. What a different approach! I have to have characters that I can relate to or I have a real problem with the book. This book gave the reader the main character, Alice, and I found I related to her as though I knew her. You also get different time spaces. The first part of the book is about the present and then it starts to go to the past. Very different and interesting, as the author keeps them separate for much of the book. Then they start to merge together.
I received a copy of this book from the author and Night Owl Reviews and voluntarily decided to review it.
Read
December 21, 2016Following the traumatic loss of her daughter and subsequent split from her husband, Alice decides to return to Manchester, close to her parents and where she went to University. She buys a house at 378 Collarmill Road as a "fixer upper" despite concerns from her parents. However she is not alone in the house...
Yes, you may think its a trope as old as time itself but trust me, you do not want to miss this book. The writing is simply superb as the story winds its way through the book via three timeframes.
The best praise I can give this book is that constantly through the book, I was thinking "we have a heir to James Herbert's position at the top of British Horror" - it would definately appeal to fans of James Herbert's later work such as Haunted, Ghosts of Sleath and Once.
I look forward to reading more of the authors work, and "The Faceless" is next on my wishlist.
Yes, you may think its a trope as old as time itself but trust me, you do not want to miss this book. The writing is simply superb as the story winds its way through the book via three timeframes.
The best praise I can give this book is that constantly through the book, I was thinking "we have a heir to James Herbert's position at the top of British Horror" - it would definately appeal to fans of James Herbert's later work such as Haunted, Ghosts of Sleath and Once.
I look forward to reading more of the authors work, and "The Faceless" is next on my wishlist.
November 13, 2016
Alice is trying to start over. Having lost her daughter and husband, she has bought and new house and is trying to move on. However, it would appear that her new house stands on a sort of gateway between worlds, and things are trying to drag her to the other side. After some terrifying attacks by ghostly children and a horrible ogre, Alice enlists the help of her paranormal-investigator-ex-boyfriend, and together they uncover the secrets 378 Collarmill Road and it's evil previous owner.
First things first, this is a paranormal horror story with genuine horror in it. The ghosts are scary, and some characters are truly evil. There are themes of murder, abuse, and the story behind the death of Alice's child is tragic - if this sounds like too much for you then I recommend you steer clear of this book.
However, it is a very well-written and atmospheric story. There are a lot of different elements, which did sometimes get a bit muddled and confusing (the author was maybe a little overambitious) but it was otherwise a very smooth and interesting read. As is the case with most typical British horror, it is based on local legend and has a well thought-out background. The characters themselves have strong backstories, which makes them feel much more genuine than in a lot of horror I've read. I found parts of The Feast of All Souls appropriately spooky , and other parts plain disturbing - but after all, that's what horror is meant to be.
My only criticism would be that there was too much going on. The paranormal elements could have been stripped back a tad. Two or three supernatural beings would have been enough.
I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
First things first, this is a paranormal horror story with genuine horror in it. The ghosts are scary, and some characters are truly evil. There are themes of murder, abuse, and the story behind the death of Alice's child is tragic - if this sounds like too much for you then I recommend you steer clear of this book.
However, it is a very well-written and atmospheric story. There are a lot of different elements, which did sometimes get a bit muddled and confusing (the author was maybe a little overambitious) but it was otherwise a very smooth and interesting read. As is the case with most typical British horror, it is based on local legend and has a well thought-out background. The characters themselves have strong backstories, which makes them feel much more genuine than in a lot of horror I've read. I found parts of The Feast of All Souls appropriately spooky , and other parts plain disturbing - but after all, that's what horror is meant to be.
My only criticism would be that there was too much going on. The paranormal elements could have been stripped back a tad. Two or three supernatural beings would have been enough.
I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
December 4, 2019
What an excellent story. One of those you cannot tear yourself away from and resent every minute you have to go about your normal daily life. Everything about this worked. Alice - the main character - devastated by the loss of her eight year old daughter, buys a large house. It will be a fixer-upper - a project she can get her teeth into - but it isn't long before she finds out hers is not your everyday normal house. Voices, manifestations... and the children. Oh my heavens, those children! Local legends and folklore abound, including the origin of the unusual name of the location - Collarmill Road in Crowbeck. Alice is swept up in events that have existed for centuries, millennia even.
Alongside this, we have the account of Mary Carson, who lived in the nineteenth century and is making a detailed confession of her earlier life. Arodias Thorne features prominently - an exploitative and cruel mill owner whose evil extends far beyond the world and time he occupied.
Alice needs help, and finds it in the shape of a former lover, John Revell. The mysterious Red Man seems to hold some of the answers as to what is going on, but the house itself guards its secrets well.
I really cannot recommend this book highly enough. If you love horror - really well crafted horror - you're going to love this.
Alongside this, we have the account of Mary Carson, who lived in the nineteenth century and is making a detailed confession of her earlier life. Arodias Thorne features prominently - an exploitative and cruel mill owner whose evil extends far beyond the world and time he occupied.
Alice needs help, and finds it in the shape of a former lover, John Revell. The mysterious Red Man seems to hold some of the answers as to what is going on, but the house itself guards its secrets well.
I really cannot recommend this book highly enough. If you love horror - really well crafted horror - you're going to love this.
March 10, 2019
This is more of a 3.5; increased by .5 in the last 50 pages.
For much of the book I was, "Standard haunted house affair, competently written, drags a little, nothing spectacular." And that's still sort of where I'm at, but...
There are parts of the story that trip over into the fantastical which gives the tale a different character. I didn't feel it worked perfectly, I still had moments of WHAT?????? But I appreciated the attempt to craft something different.
For much of the book I was, "Standard haunted house affair, competently written, drags a little, nothing spectacular." And that's still sort of where I'm at, but...
There are parts of the story that trip over into the fantastical which gives the tale a different character. I didn't feel it worked perfectly, I still had moments of WHAT?????? But I appreciated the attempt to craft something different.
November 29, 2016
I love haunted house stories. For as long as I can remember, I have been reading, telling and watching stories of houses that were possessed, corrupted or inhabited with evil spirits from an unworldly realm. The paranormal genre continues to fascinate me and solicits feelings of curiosity.
The Feast of all Souls did exactly that. It immediately lunged at me and grabbed hold. The cover carried an air of nostalgia that I could only contribute to the countless films and books I have read throughout the years, and was presented beautifully with an image of intrigue and looming danger. The synopsis invited feelings of the familiar while promising a new, fascinating twist. Unfortunately, I may have entered into this one with ill conceived expectations.
Full review here.
The Feast of all Souls did exactly that. It immediately lunged at me and grabbed hold. The cover carried an air of nostalgia that I could only contribute to the countless films and books I have read throughout the years, and was presented beautifully with an image of intrigue and looming danger. The synopsis invited feelings of the familiar while promising a new, fascinating twist. Unfortunately, I may have entered into this one with ill conceived expectations.
Full review here.
February 7, 2017
This was a very different horror story to those I usually read.
Being a huge fan of weird/cosmic fiction, I'm used to quiet and subtle horror and this book certainly wasn't that! The story was exciting, fast paced and had a lot going on and whilst it's not very creepy, it is fun and engrossing. The characters were fascinating and really well fleshed out, I really felt for Alice and despised Arodias Thorne. The story takes you on hell of a journey with lots of twists and turns, I would definitely recommend this!
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in return for a fair and unbiased review.
Being a huge fan of weird/cosmic fiction, I'm used to quiet and subtle horror and this book certainly wasn't that! The story was exciting, fast paced and had a lot going on and whilst it's not very creepy, it is fun and engrossing. The characters were fascinating and really well fleshed out, I really felt for Alice and despised Arodias Thorne. The story takes you on hell of a journey with lots of twists and turns, I would definitely recommend this!
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in return for a fair and unbiased review.
December 14, 2016
I hoped for a classic English ghost story. Instead I got a mixture of neo-Victorianism, quantum theory and the Grail legend. But this weird brew is actually quite palatable. The narrative flows smoothly, the chapters dealing with the horrors of the Victorian era are vivid and compelling, and by the time I got to the quantum explanation of English folk tales, I was ready for anything. It is not exactly horror or sci-fi but rather a kind of charming, if awkward, mutt.
November 26, 2016
Simon Bestwick – The Feast of all Souls
“Don’t confuse this novel with a simple ghost story, it has layers which go much deeper”
Simon Bestwick’s latest novel was a real change of pace and direction, having really enjoyed two of his previous books I was looking forward to what he would dream up next. ‘The Feast of all Souls’ certainly did not disappoint and although I found it to be quite an odd book, it was an entertaining read which was far from predictable. The novel starts like a fairly traditional ghost story with a woman buying a new house in the outskirts of Manchester. This is against her parent’s wishes, as she is recovering from the loss of a child and has been suffering from depression and related illnesses.
Not long after moving into the big house Alice begins to hear and see things, very unfriendly and seemingly dangerous ghosts of very dishevelled looking children. For a spell the reader is unsure whether they are real or not and the novel has atmosphere and a pretty good ghost story seems in the making. However, instead ‘The Feast of all Souls’ heads off into unpredictable areas as Alice experiences weird time shifts which temporally take her back to the same local areas hundreds of years in the past. At first read I was unsure whether this story strand made much sense in the overall story, however, all is revealed later on when the plot lines merge. In a nutshell, from what you read in the first 40 or 50 pages is miles away of what you might expect heading into the final third.
A decent chunk of the story is told in the form of a ‘confession’ of events which took place in the 1830s. This is told years after the events described by Mary Carson, of the period she was hired as a secretary to a very rich mill owner and widower Arodias Thorne. Of course, you know the stories of the past and present are connected but we do not know how, with the author keeping them skilfully separate for much of the book. Initially Arodias is completely charming as he weaves his magic over the naïve spinster and to be honest nothing prepared me for the nasty direction where this terrific secondary story heads. Thorne is one grubby piece of smiling sleaze and subsequently one of the stars of the novel.
From time to time the novel flicks back into Alice’s past and through Facebook she reconnects with an old boyfriend John, who has supposed experience of the supernatural and helps her. Of course, the locals have long since been aware of strange goings on in the area and this is the journey which awaits Alice and John. There were a few red herrings along the way, but the answers really do lie in the past.
Although it doesn’t hold the overall unsettling level of creepiness as the 2012 novel ‘The Faceless’ it does hold a very believable level of sadness. It is not until hear the end to we find out how Alice lost her daughter, and it was a very powerful scene. And I do love authors who change the direction of their writing and this novel is wonderfully different from his brilliant post-apocalyptic novel ‘Hell’s Ditch’, both are books I would highly recommend. I intend to read the sequel to ‘Hell’s Ditch’, also recently published, very soon. On a personal level I didn’t think it reached the heights of those two previous novels, but to be fair it’s a different type of supernatural tale which is told in a different way. ‘The Feast of all Souls’ is buzzing with good ideas and as always Bestwick writes beautifully and what begins as a ghost story weaves into an entertaining page-turner about the search for something else, and part of the fun is finding out.
July 19, 2017
This is a pretty freaky story. It was pretty much 3 stories going on at once. You have the main character Alice's backstory, you have the main story and then you has the story of Mary Carson.
Alice is recently divorced and grieving the death of her young daughter. She has bought a house and has just moved in when several weird things start to happen. First she hears whispers, then she encounters white eyed children, then she encounters the Red Man and a huge Ogre. She gets a Facebook friend request from her ex-boyfriend John. She cannot at first bring herself to accept or deny the request. Until the paranormal events ramp up to the point she is terrified for her life. Her ex-boyfriend just happens to be a Paranormal Researcher. Together they need to try and figure out what is going on, before the children and Ogre have their way and do kill Alice.
Alice's backstory to me pretty much was a bunch of wasted paper. Yes we needed some of her back story to get to know her but it was actually boring for the most part instead of chapters being devoted to the back story paragraphs would of been sufficient to me.
Then we have Mary Carson. She used to live in the house on the hill when it was Springcross Manor, and before it was torn down and the house Alice now lives in was built on top of. Her story gives a look into how the bad started in Alice's house, and clue's on how Alice and John can solve them. Mary's story is riveting the things she went through in the house.
This was a pretty long book and other then a lot of Alice's back story I really enjoyed the book.
I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.
Alice is recently divorced and grieving the death of her young daughter. She has bought a house and has just moved in when several weird things start to happen. First she hears whispers, then she encounters white eyed children, then she encounters the Red Man and a huge Ogre. She gets a Facebook friend request from her ex-boyfriend John. She cannot at first bring herself to accept or deny the request. Until the paranormal events ramp up to the point she is terrified for her life. Her ex-boyfriend just happens to be a Paranormal Researcher. Together they need to try and figure out what is going on, before the children and Ogre have their way and do kill Alice.
Alice's backstory to me pretty much was a bunch of wasted paper. Yes we needed some of her back story to get to know her but it was actually boring for the most part instead of chapters being devoted to the back story paragraphs would of been sufficient to me.
Then we have Mary Carson. She used to live in the house on the hill when it was Springcross Manor, and before it was torn down and the house Alice now lives in was built on top of. Her story gives a look into how the bad started in Alice's house, and clue's on how Alice and John can solve them. Mary's story is riveting the things she went through in the house.
This was a pretty long book and other then a lot of Alice's back story I really enjoyed the book.
I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.
September 7, 2017
There are 2 narratives in Manchester, England. Alice Collier has moved to her new home that is a fixer-upper. It's a large home but she needs the space when she wants to roam at night. She is trying to rebuild her life after losing her daughter and the divorce. Alice's story is paired with Mary Carson who tells about her past in the spring of 1837. She is hired as a secretary to work for the wealthy mill owner named Arodias Thorne. She is naive and over her head with Mr. Thorne. Alice is taking medication for depression and thinks she is imagining the children she hears. The children attempt to kill her. They throw knives at her which causes her to call an old boyfriend who did paranormal research. He is reluctant to help at first but decides to after seeing the wounds on Alice's back. Meanwhile Mary is tying to figure out where she stands with Mr. Thorne. Mary sees the ghosts too but decides that they are hallucinations.
I don't want to spoil the story for you by telling anymore. This is more than a ghost story. It is also a confounding mystery. I loved this story. It kept my attention throughout the book. I was never bored!
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book free from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I was not obliged to write a favorable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
I don't want to spoil the story for you by telling anymore. This is more than a ghost story. It is also a confounding mystery. I loved this story. It kept my attention throughout the book. I was never bored!
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book free from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I was not obliged to write a favorable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
September 3, 2022
This was a decent, old school horror novel, complete with supernatural scares and creepy kids. It was genuinely unsettling at times, and that's exactly what I look for in a horror novel. I loved the depth of background behind Alice's house and mystery of the town surrounding it. Not all of the supporting characters worked for me - sometimes the small town quirkiness felt forced - but they played their roles well.
Most importantly, the villain here was genuinely evil and suitably menacing. There weren't a lot of surprises surrounding him (horror fans will find the story predictable at times), but I will admit that the ending pulled a few twists that I didn't see coming. Complex and creepy, this is definitely worth a read.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
Most importantly, the villain here was genuinely evil and suitably menacing. There weren't a lot of surprises surrounding him (horror fans will find the story predictable at times), but I will admit that the ending pulled a few twists that I didn't see coming. Complex and creepy, this is definitely worth a read.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary ARC of this title from the publisher in exchange for review consideration. This does not in any way affect the honesty or sincerity of my review.
March 23, 2017
I was kind of torn on a how rate this novel. The writing sucks you right in, the protagonist has an interesting backstory and is weighed down by the past. The plot is intriguing and I liked both of the interwoven storylines (I actually liked Mary's account better initially, but preferred the modern day narrative in the later part of the novel). I also liked how "The Fest of All Souls" brought together myths and science because it allowed Alice to accept what was happening without compromising her beliefs.
What I didn't really like was the over-the-top turn the novel somehow took in the second half of the novel. Suddenly the villain just becomes cartoonishly evil and remains that way. I think the Story could have been even better if he had remained a more ambivalent characters. What I also didn't like was the "romance" subplot, because apart from Alice (and Mary) none of the characters get a lot of development or character so the relationship remains somewhat flat. The last thing I didn't like was the ending because it's rather abrupt and we don't really get any closure on Alice's inner journey.
In summary, "The Feast of All Souls" is a well-written story with an interesting plot, and a great Protagonist, but in some areas the novel still fell flat for me.
What I didn't really like was the over-the-top turn the novel somehow took in the second half of the novel. Suddenly the villain just becomes cartoonishly evil and remains that way. I think the Story could have been even better if he had remained a more ambivalent characters. What I also didn't like was the "romance" subplot, because apart from Alice (and Mary) none of the characters get a lot of development or character so the relationship remains somewhat flat. The last thing I didn't like was the ending because it's rather abrupt and we don't really get any closure on Alice's inner journey.
In summary, "The Feast of All Souls" is a well-written story with an interesting plot, and a great Protagonist, but in some areas the novel still fell flat for me.
October 2, 2017
A not-just-your-average-haunted-house-story that wears its Mancunian heart with pride. As much as I love horror, the book's greatest strength is the central relationship of Alice and John, and the writing itself. If Simon Bestwick turned his hand to the literary market I would be very interested to see what he could do.
"The Feast of All Souls"
He'd been trying to square one of the oldest circles here was; all logic said that the death of the body was the end. No persistence, no survival of consciousness, no soul. No future reunion with lost loved ones, no afterlife, only oblivion. But however certain it seemed in the face of logic, it was intolerable in the face of the death of your loved ones.
"The Feast of All Souls"
May 31, 2017
This was a lot better than I thought it would be. For one thing, there was more intellectual depth than I was expecting, and the plot was something different from anything else I've read before. The plot moved along well, and it wasn't terribly gory, but there was some atmospheric spookiness that was satisfying.
December 28, 2017
I didn't like it as much as I hoped. The writing felt rushed towards the end and the story took a long time getting to the point. The idea was great, but lacked clear focus.
October 29, 2018
Good, but choppy
Good story, but a little on the long and winding side. Took a while to get to the point. Not for the easily disturbed.
Good story, but a little on the long and winding side. Took a while to get to the point. Not for the easily disturbed.
January 12, 2021
I don't normally read horror but fancied a change. This is spooky and I enjoyed the story despite it being a little convoluted. The story moves quite swiftly - the ending particularly so.
October 29, 2023
Good story! The author spends too much time describing one thing over and over again.
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