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The Power
An ancient Power awakes A modern evil mushrooms into apocalypse Cocooned in a nightmare world, the village of Melfort waits, as The Power feeds on the death and destruction, fuelling its gross appetite And the dead rise up
- GenresHorror
240 pages, Hardcover
First published October 15, 1987
37 people want to read
About the author
Ian Watson
300 books119 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 24, 2023
Like Clive Barker writing a nuclear holocaust nightmare if Clive Barker was a hack. Disjointed, uneven, weirdly paced and in places truly grotesque. I’m fine with grotesque horror but this just felt mean without earning it. There’s a rape scene that is just truly awful and the reader experiences every pus-filled second.
The setup is in itself interesting - there’s a very sudden shift from English rural life with a hint of King to Silent Hill style psyche-horror. The problem was I didn’t really like anyone in this. It’s heavy on Labour politics and socialism, but then he treats them so poorly I can’t tell if this is a Tory wish fulfilment or some weird socialist horror fantasy.
Watson truly hates Americans and the threat of nuclear war hangs over this heavily. I just wish it held together better. Started with promise but peters out into poorly written thesaurus-heavy descriptions of dripping goo. Then ends. A shame, could have been better but the author just got lost in his many messages. Certainly no lost classic.
The setup is in itself interesting - there’s a very sudden shift from English rural life with a hint of King to Silent Hill style psyche-horror. The problem was I didn’t really like anyone in this. It’s heavy on Labour politics and socialism, but then he treats them so poorly I can’t tell if this is a Tory wish fulfilment or some weird socialist horror fantasy.
Watson truly hates Americans and the threat of nuclear war hangs over this heavily. I just wish it held together better. Started with promise but peters out into poorly written thesaurus-heavy descriptions of dripping goo. Then ends. A shame, could have been better but the author just got lost in his many messages. Certainly no lost classic.
December 11, 2021
An interesting and unique book that doesn't quite hold all its elements together. It takes place in a village somewhat overwhelmed by its proximity to a US military base. The story initially follows a loosely knit group of protesters who don't appreciate the presence of the base. The military personnel and their families are a part of the community, filling a lot of the housing, mingling in the local pubs etc. They still feel somewhat removed from the action.
It places you straight in the midst of eighties terrors, the instability spreading around the world, the imminent threat of nuclear disaster. While that is still somewhat true, the movement of time has left the novel in its own peculiar niche in time. A bit of Labour and trade union politics, along with the village life, give the novel a uniquely British quality.
Then the thing everyone fears comes to pass and the novel shifts into something altogether different, with a slightly awkward time jump, but then time is another thing in this novel which is not altogether straightforward. One thing you can't say about this novel, despite its short length, is that it doesn't lack ambition.
Somehow they are kept aside, kept safe, but not nurtured. Something else entirely is going on. Like an inverse of what King attempt to do with The Dome many years later, but here not only the living are protected. For there is a need for the dead as well, in all their putrid rotten glory, and a grotesque marionette show which takes over the village in a mimicry of prior lives.
There was a truly great novel in here trying to get out, and with more time, more space, it could have grown into that place. While messy it's still a worthwhile read and while it may take a while to pull a reader in, it does eventually.
It places you straight in the midst of eighties terrors, the instability spreading around the world, the imminent threat of nuclear disaster. While that is still somewhat true, the movement of time has left the novel in its own peculiar niche in time. A bit of Labour and trade union politics, along with the village life, give the novel a uniquely British quality.
Then the thing everyone fears comes to pass and the novel shifts into something altogether different, with a slightly awkward time jump, but then time is another thing in this novel which is not altogether straightforward. One thing you can't say about this novel, despite its short length, is that it doesn't lack ambition.
Somehow they are kept aside, kept safe, but not nurtured. Something else entirely is going on. Like an inverse of what King attempt to do with The Dome many years later, but here not only the living are protected. For there is a need for the dead as well, in all their putrid rotten glory, and a grotesque marionette show which takes over the village in a mimicry of prior lives.
There was a truly great novel in here trying to get out, and with more time, more space, it could have grown into that place. While messy it's still a worthwhile read and while it may take a while to pull a reader in, it does eventually.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews