Ghoul

by Mark Ronson (Pseudonym)

A gruesome horror lurks in the dark… Twenty-five centuries after its entrance was sealed, an ancient tomb in the fearsome Valley of the Jinn has been uncovered by an earthquake.

Soon afterwards a nearby graveyard is desecrated, and horribly mauled bodies are found.

The mutilation is assumed to be the work of wild beasts, and no one dreams that the archaeologists opening the tomb are moving into terrible danger. But they will soon learn how wrong they are…

Lurking in the maze of tunnels and caves is a foul creature whose evil has survived for thousands of years, its age-old hunger newly awakened. Only a legendary piece of treasure has the power to protect them…

Will they make it out of the tomb alive? Or will the Ghoul add more corpses to its tomb of dead trophies?

Ghoul is a gripping horror novel, a fast paced adventure filled with ancient mysteries and terrifying discoveries. It was previously published under the pseudonym Mark Ronson.

Genres: Horror, Pulp, Fiction

205 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 4, 1980

Reviews

[Kenneth McKinley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ghoul was originally published in 1980 under the name Mark Ronson. Fast forward to 2016 and the same story is published under the name Marc Alexander. Why? I have no clue. But what I do know is that Ghoul is one of the better pulp horror to come out of the early 1980s. It reminds me greatly of the type of slow-burn horror that J.N. Williamson or Charles Grant used to write and there are days that I miss that style. So, if you're one that likes that kind of horror...

In the fictitious Middle Eastern country of Abu Sabbah, Julia Sword is an archeologist that discovers a sealed tomb after a landslide uncovers it in the Valley of the Jinn. Sound spooky? It's supposed to. It seems that this valley was named after King Solomon had a problem with an evil Jinn and had the power to seal it away so that it wouldn't cause any more trouble. Add a few thousand years and Julia is on the brink of busting open this hidden tomb thinking that it contains an unknown Egyptian mummy. Her rich father is the bankroll for this expedition and Julia has an admirer in the King of Abu Sabbah, King Hamid. It all plays like a female Howard Carter scenario. In fact, Carter is mentioned a couple of times throughout the telling. Now, throw in the Middle Eastern version of The Spy Who Loved Me James Bond type, Israeli Head of Intelligence, Moshe Leohr and the Arabian spy love interest, Leliah, as well as the evil uncle hell bent on taking over, Sheikh Ahmid. If that wasn't enough, we have a tall drink of water love interest for Julia, named Andrew, and a Manson-like cult hanging out in the valley just waiting for shit to go down with the opening of the tomb. Last, but certainly not least, we have an attempt by the bad guy uncle to extract information out of the Israeli by hooking up a set of jumper cables to his balls. Yes, that would make me sing like a canary and throw my own mother under the bus, if that was what was needed to bring that particular torture to a stop.

While my description does sound a bit hokey, it actually works better than what you'd think. The story really does have a nice slow burn to it with a decent payoff at the end. Yes, the King is unlike anything you'd hear about in the Middle East on CNN today (or in 1980, for that matter). Things are a little too liberal and friendly to the English to be believable, but it is a fun, pulpy horror offering that screams I'm From The Eighties. Pop some popcorn, don't think too much about the holes, and enjoy the ride!

4 Hidden Tombs out of 5

*This ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


You can also read my other reviews and author interviews at:

https://kenmckinley.wordpress.com

http://intothemacabre.booklikes.com

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5...

[Warren Fournier · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had left a review for the original "Mark Ronson" 1980 version (which contains some stunning cover art) several years ago, but I noticed this novel ended back up on my "To Read" list. Evidently, the original listing was deleted in favor of the e-book "Marc Alexander" reissue. Just goes to remind you that our reviews are not as timeless as a wonderful piece of literature.

Speaking of which, "Ghoul" is neither timeless nor literature. It is pure pulp from the heyday of paperback horror. I have always loved the creepy allure of the "ghoul" concept from classical literature all the way through the 30s, when the mythical monster faded into the grave until revived by Romero as the reanimated corpses we know today as "zombies." Since then, there have been some truly spectacular ghoul stories, Brian Keene's being the first to come to mind. But this isn't one of them.

That isn't to say that "Ghoul" would not please most horror fans. It has a high adventure feel to it with some gruesome kills by the titular monster. It's just that the book is mainly a slasher novel decorated with international intrigue, Middle Eastern tombs, crazed Manson-family hippies, and other shiny baubles of literary glitter. "Ghoul" skimps on the cold chills of undead immortal civilizations that feast on the dead flesh of the corpses of your ancestors, and instead feels like an "Indiana Jones" escapade with a lackluster finale.

I will refer you to Dee's excellent review of this novel for a more detailed summary, though she clearly liked it less than I did. Overall, I would say it was a fun romp and obviously not completely forgettable since I am writing this after some years. But it is flawed nevertheless, and your mileage may vary.

[Dee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of Ghoul from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Coming from a middle eastern background, I chose to read this book thinking of old childhood stories about ghouls, jinns and monsters and the Arabic mystical folklore and One Thousand One Nights enchanting world, all this would be told in a new contemporary voice. That was my anticipation when I started to read the book but alas that didn't happen and Ghoul was too weak to live up to any of my high expectations.

Ghoul opens up with a promising scene about some mysterious disappearance cases of dead bodies/ killings and it introduces us to one of the protagonists Moshe Leohr, head of Israeli Intelligence who is investigating about some Arab fidai assassins coming from Abu Sabah state, and of whom he links origins to the old historical story of Hassan-i- Sabah and his Nizari assassins. The readers follow the Israeli's investigation to Abu Sabah, a fictional country, where he uses the services of an Arab spy to be his lover. Along with this tacky forbidden love and blah, the readers search for the ghoul whereabouts and background in Abu Sabah, where it lived for centuries. But in Abu Sabah, there is another story to tell, and this time it is that of the archaeologist Julia Sword who is seeking for her biggest discovery of some hidden Egyptian tomb buried in the uncanny Valley of Jinn, where the mythological beast lives, hidden underneath the digging site. With Julia, the readers will meet the infatuated king of Abu Sabah alongside with his rival in Julia's heart Andrew , a film maker who came all the way to film the whole discovery and Julia's father, a renowned writer. And in the valley, other residents come in to the picture: a bunch of hippies led by an American lunatic in a mission to witness the Experience in the valley.

And in a chaos of frustrating relationships and one dimensional characters, the ghoul manifests itself after a landslide happening on the site, but its manifestation is very quick, represented in very few chapters, in a short tale from One Thousand One Nights, and in the very little atrocities it inflicts. That makes the readers think that the book title of Ghoul is absurd. fooling the readers for the ghoul has a very secondary presence.

The book is full of clichés and stereotypes starting with the depiction of the locals who live in Abu Sabah and their Arab King dictator. The banality of the not well developed plot resulted in a weak climax, the drawing of one dimensional characters without any efforts of creativity or originality disengages the readers and makes them indifferent and distant to the story.

However, I should praise the author’s quick swift well written style. Although it is pulpy full of short clear sentences, the descriptions he used is good. Those of the city, its old streets, its mystical valley leave an enchanting oriental atmosphere which is intensified by the presence of the ghoul itself, bringing the readers back to the old magical East of the time of Ali baba, Sindbad and the world of One Thousand One Nights.

In brief, I wish the author has invested his talents on writing a ghoulish story instead of this shattered tale of pieces that were unsuccessfully glued to form a broken absurd story called Ghoul

[Lynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Julia is a young, beautiful archaeologist on the brink of a discovery of a lifetime in the Valley of the Jinn. Her father Max flies in, along with failed advertising filmmaker Andrew, to share in her moment of glory. Meanwhile, back at the site, young Danish hippie Jorgen is found dead and horribly disfigured. Max, Julia and Andrew begin to experience feelings of increasing unease but put all thoughts of supernatural forces aside to crack on with the job at hand and open the tomb....

This book had so much potential that, unfortunately, wasn't quite realised. I wanted....no, I needed the ghoul to feature more prominently. I wanted to be scared. I wanted to be on the edge of my seat. I wanted to sleep with the lights on. It just didn't quite hit the mark.

Ghoul is a good, enjoyable book but it's early potential wasn't entirely fulfilled.

I received a free eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

An archaeologist is about to make the find of a century similar to that of Howard Carter and Tutankhamen in the fictional middle eastern country of Abu Sabbah but little does the team know that they are also releasing a horror that has been imprisoned for centuries.
While I did enjoy the book, I felt like parts were a bit disjointed and needed a little more cohesion. There was so much character set up of a variety of people and I felt like there should have been some more connection between them for the climax of the book. I wanted to know more about some characters and have them a bit more involved in the ending but felt like something was left out.
Other than that, I really did enjoy the novel and found it to be a light and fun read (best read at night of course).
I received a copy of this book from the publishers for free in exchange for an honest review.

[Francisco · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first of two books called Ghoul in my "to be read" list, the other being Michael Slade's, this is filled as horror but in reality is much more of a pulp fiction in a style that is often reminiscent of Indiana Jones more than other horror novels. 

There is of course the titular ghoul but he kills maybe 3 or 4 people throughout the whole book and none of the deaths are that gory. In fact throughout the book the titular ghoul is much more of an underlying thread than a real danger to the characters. And there are a bunch of characters here, a bit too many to be frank for a book clocking at 200 pages. In fact it seems that a whole side-plot with an Israeli intelligence agent was just stuck in here to pad out the book as his story is completely parallel only intersecting the main story at the very end with little to add to it.

So basically the most interesting stuff about it is how it mixes sex magick hippies who are into Crowley, Hassan l-Sabbah and the order of Assassins, an ancient Egyptian curse and tomb, Israeli politics, sex, archeology and independent film making in 200 pages of nonstop stuff happening. Not great, but definitely entertaining stuff.

[Bean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have to admit, I was sucked in by the cover art LOL. I am shameless that way. That being said, I do love 80's pulp horror regardless, I just love it more when it has a terrific cover.

While this didn't fall flat, if you are going into this expecting a lot of the story being based on the Ghoul and his dastardly deeds , you will be disappointed. It's more about the characters in and around the Ghoul, and honestly, some of those characters really didn't need to be created, there was complexity that was added that didn't need to be. That's not to say the author didn't do a good job fleshing all of the characters out, he did.
I did enjoy this book, it is a slow burn for sure but there were plenty of interesting parts to hold my attention. It's your basic 80's pulp horror, 'nuff said. If you happen to find a cheap copy, grab it.

[Shaun Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this aged 16 in 1986. I got the same copy/ edition and re read it, over the last couple of days. The plot works well and the characters are interesting. Marks descriptive powers are better than some of his earliest books. The evil lurking in the dark Arabian tunnels is hackle raising. I really don’t want to give anything away but I do highly recommend this. Great old school horror from 1980.

[Leigh · Rating 1 out of 5]

Written in the 80's, so quite dated but also very boring. Got to the part where one of the main characters casually raped another, and decided not to waste any more time with the rest of it. It's not often that I don't finish a book, maybe once a year out of 100+, but it was a real chore reading this, and that incident just tipped it over the edge.

[Vincent Darkhelm · Rating 1 out of 5]

Please! Make it stop! One of the most boring novels ever written about a Ghoul, or anything else for that matter.

[Sue Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ghoul by Marc Alexandra is a horror read.
A gruesome horror lurks in the dark…
Twenty-five centuries after its entrance was sealed, an ancient tomb in the fearsome Valley of the Jinn has been uncovered by an earthquake.
Soon afterwards a nearby graveyard is desecrated, and horribly mauled bodies are found.
The mutilation is assumed to be the work of wild beasts, and no one dreams that the archaeologists opening the tomb are moving into terrible danger.
But they will soon learn how wrong they are…
Lurking in the maze of tunnels and caves is a foul creature whose evil has survived for thousands of years, its age-old hunger newly awakened. Only a legendary piece of treasure has the power to protect them…
Will they make it out of the tomb alive?
Or will the Ghoul add more corpses to its tomb of dead trophies?
This was a good read with good characters. Although slow I managed to read it. 4*. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book from netgalley.

[Polly Krize · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Disappointing in that the title "character" hardly appeared! Usually anything to do with ghouls or horror in general is right up my alley, but this book does not make it anywhere near my alley! Archeologists find a sealed tomb in the Valley of the Jinn, but are ready to move in and explore it regardless of the legendary ghoul that guards it...that is it basically, and in my opinion it needs a lot more oomph to make it readable. OMHO.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the premise sounds promising and a disparate group of characters are drawn to the arena where the story will ultimately play out the "ghoul" hardly features and never seems to be fully explained. The book unfortunately concentrates on the side stories of the characters rather than the expected story of the ghoul and there is no real conclusion.

It was an easy read but ultimately felt let down by the ghoul's bit part and lack of conclusion.

[Hugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not-bad early eighties pulp... found the 'good guys' a bit too squeaky (with the exception of Moshe, who's somehow a more interesting character), but thought the depictions of the red sea setting quite effective, as were the folkloric elements. Oh, and 'Sonny', the surrogate Manson figure, is a memorable sort of villain. The 'ghoul' himself sort of skitters around the place, occasionally mauling people and smelling bad. Worth a read.

[Wayne Noble · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, seems to fall a bit flat at the end.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great seasonal read for Halloween.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent story

I really loved this story, until the abrupt ending! Obviously there's another book after this one, but I think the Author should've extended the ending a little.