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The Grin of the Dark
Tubby Thackeray’s stage routines were so deranged that members of his audiences were said to have died or lost their minds. When Simon Lester is commissioned to write a book about this notorious music hall clown and his riotous silent comedies, his research plunges him into a nightmarish realm where genius, buffoonery and madness converge. In a search that leads from a twilight circus in a London park to a hardcore movie studio in Los Angeles, Simon Lester uncovers a terrifying secret about Tubby Thackeray and must finally confront the unspeakable thing he represents.
352 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2007
34 people are currently reading
2083 people want to read
About the author
Ramsey Campbell
858 books1,591 followersRamsey Campbell is a British writer considered by a number of critics to be one of the great masters of horror fiction. T. E. D. Klein has written that "Campbell reigns supreme in the field today," while S. T. Joshi has said that "future generations will regard him as the leading horror writer of our generation, every bit the equal of Lovecraft or Blackwood."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
August 25, 2011
One of Campbell's finest novels. His usual devices are present: an uncertainty of what is real and what is not, half-glimpsed horrors in everyday settings, an almost paranoiac sense that every encounter with another person will be unpleasant; but this novel uses those devices to conjure up a vision of Azathoth, Lovecraft's blind "idiot god", an aspect of Lovecraft's mythos which most writers avoid because its horrors are too philosophically complex for hackwork, and too abstract for comprehension by admirers of Stephen King and his imitators.
That Campbell finds his Azathoth in the world of silent film comedy is inspired. That he also finds it (him?) in the Internet is ingenious, as well as the basis of much good black humour.
The number of tepid or negative reviews I've seen of this brilliant book is discouraging, although not really surprising. As usual with what some critics call "cosmic horror", it is apt to be over the heads of many horror fans. And because Campbell is confined to a genre ghetto, the book has not had the attention from mainstream critics to which it is entitled. Too bad.
That Campbell finds his Azathoth in the world of silent film comedy is inspired. That he also finds it (him?) in the Internet is ingenious, as well as the basis of much good black humour.
The number of tepid or negative reviews I've seen of this brilliant book is discouraging, although not really surprising. As usual with what some critics call "cosmic horror", it is apt to be over the heads of many horror fans. And because Campbell is confined to a genre ghetto, the book has not had the attention from mainstream critics to which it is entitled. Too bad.
August 19, 2012
I made it 42 pages into this book so i can't say how the story is but the writing is atrocious. I though I was reading something from a teenage author I(you know the ones publishers print as a gimmick and then eventually realized they've been plagiarizing). When I was in high school i wrote like Ramsey Campbell. Here's and example:
...Why am I trying to piece this together when I should be watching? I hurry into the communal lounge and switch on the video player.
A tape is nesting in it. When I eject the cassette, which bears only a blank label, I can't find its slipcase. I stow it in the case of my film and plant it among the cans and dreggy glasses on the mantelpiece. Once I've entrusted my tape to player I clear a pizza box off the least lumpy armchair as the television screen lights up. It looks as if the brightness is trying to scratch the screen white, but surely only the start of the tape is worn. Most of the ragged glaring strips drift off the screen and the distributors trademark appears--two Vs so close together they could be taken for a W--and I'm able to suppress some of the lingering interference with the remote control, which is sticky from someone's television dinner. Those Golden Years of Fun is compiled and narrated... (The main character goes on to tell us exactly what's on the video for the next 5 pages.)
(my rendition):
And then I ate some food, and it was a microwavable meal that I always get at the grocery store six blocks away because the one down the streets is run by a clerk who always asks me about what I'm buying. When I put it in the microwave I'm reminded that I haven't cleaned it in months and it smells like old broccoli and other things that I've microwaved a bunch of time in this very dirty microwave because I live with roommates. Oh and did I mention this is a horror novel?
Seriously? What is the point of the inane play by play. Put the damn tape in show us what happens on the screen and get to the next point.
And what the hell does this mean, "It looks as if the brightness is trying to scratch the screen white"?
A large part of the first 42 pages are filled with these types of scenes. At first I chalked it up to the author being British, but I was wrong. And I can't fathom how he won as many awards as he has. Or maybe it goes to show you can have a hundred ribbons but that doesn't make you a general (or good writer).
Read this book if you want a good example of how not to write or is you like being annoyed.
I really want to talk about the idiotic introductory scare tactics he was trying to use, but I don't want to click the "this has spoilers" box.
...Why am I trying to piece this together when I should be watching? I hurry into the communal lounge and switch on the video player.
A tape is nesting in it. When I eject the cassette, which bears only a blank label, I can't find its slipcase. I stow it in the case of my film and plant it among the cans and dreggy glasses on the mantelpiece. Once I've entrusted my tape to player I clear a pizza box off the least lumpy armchair as the television screen lights up. It looks as if the brightness is trying to scratch the screen white, but surely only the start of the tape is worn. Most of the ragged glaring strips drift off the screen and the distributors trademark appears--two Vs so close together they could be taken for a W--and I'm able to suppress some of the lingering interference with the remote control, which is sticky from someone's television dinner. Those Golden Years of Fun is compiled and narrated... (The main character goes on to tell us exactly what's on the video for the next 5 pages.)
(my rendition):
And then I ate some food, and it was a microwavable meal that I always get at the grocery store six blocks away because the one down the streets is run by a clerk who always asks me about what I'm buying. When I put it in the microwave I'm reminded that I haven't cleaned it in months and it smells like old broccoli and other things that I've microwaved a bunch of time in this very dirty microwave because I live with roommates. Oh and did I mention this is a horror novel?
Seriously? What is the point of the inane play by play. Put the damn tape in show us what happens on the screen and get to the next point.
And what the hell does this mean, "It looks as if the brightness is trying to scratch the screen white"?
A large part of the first 42 pages are filled with these types of scenes. At first I chalked it up to the author being British, but I was wrong. And I can't fathom how he won as many awards as he has. Or maybe it goes to show you can have a hundred ribbons but that doesn't make you a general (or good writer).
Read this book if you want a good example of how not to write or is you like being annoyed.
I really want to talk about the idiotic introductory scare tactics he was trying to use, but I don't want to click the "this has spoilers" box.
February 6, 2020
Campbell is one of the long established masters of the genre although he is less well known and widely appreciated than other long established authors. Although widely respected by other writers in the field, he is never going to enjoy the popularity of others, such as King, because his characters are not as easy to relate to, his narrative style sometimes jars and his plot lines often fail to wrap up conclusively. He employs a graduated build up of unease that some readers might not have the patience for and his terrors are generally of a more ambiguous and nebulous nature that some might find frustrating.
This is the most recent work of his I've read and is no exception to the above. In fact, this is even more gradually and carefully developed than any of his stories I have read before. The precise nature of the menace is never clearly defined throughout. There is a lurking threat that never quite crystallises to something tangible that the reader can grasp hold of. And at the end it the reader is left wondering whether the protagonist has himself truly grasped it or merely become its victim, another agent it is using to further its aims.
Campbell has not shied away from modern themes, exploring the way people interact with strangers on the internet, the way that the internet is becoming the way we define truth even though on-line information is constantly changing and is being changed. By subverting information on the internet one can subvert our notions of truth, society and even others sense of who they are. The boundary between on-line and physical reality is breaking down. Does this make the internet the ultimate tool for a malevolent agency to pursue its nefarious aims?
A must read for all Campbell fans and/or fans of subtle, cosmic horror.
~ After re-reading this some seven years later, it still stands out as a masterpiece of the genre, that is horror in both form and content. It is not easy going but if you want easy going, you shouldn't be reading a Ramsey Campbell novel.
This is the most recent work of his I've read and is no exception to the above. In fact, this is even more gradually and carefully developed than any of his stories I have read before. The precise nature of the menace is never clearly defined throughout. There is a lurking threat that never quite crystallises to something tangible that the reader can grasp hold of. And at the end it the reader is left wondering whether the protagonist has himself truly grasped it or merely become its victim, another agent it is using to further its aims.
Campbell has not shied away from modern themes, exploring the way people interact with strangers on the internet, the way that the internet is becoming the way we define truth even though on-line information is constantly changing and is being changed. By subverting information on the internet one can subvert our notions of truth, society and even others sense of who they are. The boundary between on-line and physical reality is breaking down. Does this make the internet the ultimate tool for a malevolent agency to pursue its nefarious aims?
A must read for all Campbell fans and/or fans of subtle, cosmic horror.
~ After re-reading this some seven years later, it still stands out as a masterpiece of the genre, that is horror in both form and content. It is not easy going but if you want easy going, you shouldn't be reading a Ramsey Campbell novel.
October 8, 2011
I just could not get into this book. I tried so hard to like it, and a few times I thought I might almost be into it, but then I'd turn the page and there in front of me was yet another page of arguments the main character has with some person on a message board. The constant back and forth of the "message board posts" made me want to beat my head against a wall. Think about logging into your favorite message board and seeing post after post (think about 300 pages of it in this case)of the same two people going back and forth about which one knows more than the other and the one who's spelling is so appalling your eyes bleed. Yeah, that's pretty much the majority of this book. Then there are the parts where the main character has, what seemed to me, like mini strokes because he can't form a full sentence and makes zero sense. I'm surprised that I was even able to get through the entire thing. I kept having to convince myself that it would get better (It didn't. I lied to myself)and that I shouldn't give up on it. The only reason I finished it so fast was because I just wanted it over with so I could read something that didn't make me want to punt an armadillo. If you don't mind a book that makes your eyes bleed and makes you drool on yourself from the lack of brain cells you will have by trying to get through this, then by all means, read away.
October 29, 2022
Campbell has always been pretty hit or miss for me, and this was a definite miss. It really seems pretty derivative of his other work, such as Incarnate and Ancient Images, but packed the punch of either. Our main protagonist is Simon, a film critic now out of work after his gig at a magazine is on hold (it is being sued for libel or something). Simon always had a 'thing' for the silent screen, and wrote his dissertation on it. Now, down and out, he is approached from some people at the University of London to write a book about Tubby, an infamous actor in the teens and twenties who had many films banned in England...
Campbell starts taking us down the rabbit hole really early in the book, basically as soon as Simon starts doing some research into Tubby. This is exacerbated by the frenetic prose style Campbell employs here, leaving the reader breathless at times. Simon's trials and tribulations are rushed over at a dizzying pace, with one scene floating into another almost 'mashup' style. I suppose this was supposed to mimic Simon's mental state, who always seems to be tired and confused, and this state gets progressively worse as the novel unfolds. I can definitely see how some might see this as a masterpiece, but I struggled to finish it. Perhaps you just have to be in the right mood.
Incarnate had a similar motif, with the lead character's ability to discern dreams from reality gradually breaking down; here, Simon seems to be seeing and hearing things that may or not be real. In Ancient Images, an old film induces strange events upon its viewers; here, the hard to find films by Tubby do something similar, with people even laughing to death. Very surreal book, and probably not for everyone; definitely not for me. 2 limp stars.
Campbell starts taking us down the rabbit hole really early in the book, basically as soon as Simon starts doing some research into Tubby. This is exacerbated by the frenetic prose style Campbell employs here, leaving the reader breathless at times. Simon's trials and tribulations are rushed over at a dizzying pace, with one scene floating into another almost 'mashup' style. I suppose this was supposed to mimic Simon's mental state, who always seems to be tired and confused, and this state gets progressively worse as the novel unfolds. I can definitely see how some might see this as a masterpiece, but I struggled to finish it. Perhaps you just have to be in the right mood.
Incarnate had a similar motif, with the lead character's ability to discern dreams from reality gradually breaking down; here, Simon seems to be seeing and hearing things that may or not be real. In Ancient Images, an old film induces strange events upon its viewers; here, the hard to find films by Tubby do something similar, with people even laughing to death. Very surreal book, and probably not for everyone; definitely not for me. 2 limp stars.
August 6, 2016
'The Grin in the Dark' is less a horror tale than a novel of unease. From that perspective, the three pages of closely set third part endorsements give the wrong impression on this occasion.
The tale uses the conceit (known to us from Japanese horror) of a creative medium - the cinema shorts of a disturbing lost silent comedian - that infects the minds of others.
There are strong elements of the gothic, the occult and Kingian coulrophobia and the whole novel leaves us with a lingering sense of disorientation but it is primarily a dark fantasy about modern life.
The rule is no spoilers. Not too much can be said except that the internet plays a major role as do a series of paranoid experiences with authority and with our complicated culture of automated responses.
Is our hero mad, drugged or the victim of dark forces? The doubt is maintained and Campbell sets the whole in a family structure that is superficially stable but riddled with misunderstandings.
It has to be said that Campbell writes well and he delivers more than the genre expectations we pay for - the human dynamics and characters are well done and assist the sense of Simon's and our alienation.
Alienation requires something to be alienated from. The family and society are portrayed as always just off normal in a way that it is hard for us to put our finger on. This takes great creative skill.
If it has a meaning as a novel beyond the thrill, it lies in a solitary male's alienation from the world, the 'victim' of unseen forces in a world where other men have become uniforms or strangers.
At times, it is oddly restrained - thrills are held back where a lesser writer might have reveled in them. Nothing quite comes to the sort of negative resolution we might expect until it has to.
The 'family life' always makes Simon the outsider, one felt to be an outsider, whose emotional reality depends on the whim (freely provided it would seem) of one self-sufficient woman and her young son.
The effect of the comic's material on Mark (a seven year old) gives us an example of Campbell's restraint. It would be obvious to place him in danger. He is in danger but it would seem no more than others.
This is a world closer to Ligotti than Lovecraft but without the former's relentlessness. Campbell's world is really just our world seen through a distorting prism on the edge of being 'true'.
If you are overweight and sensitive about it, you might find this story just a little offensive because fat people are quite clearly associated with a bigger meme - descent into mindless conformity.
Unusually, though, mindless conformity is associated with hilarity - not the usual combination - so that this represents part of the disorientation we feel. It seems we laugh together ... we are 'canned'.
Campbell's world (in this story) is a world where the individual finds himself constantly coming up against the Clausewitzian friction of a system that is always breaking down at the margins.
This breaking down seems to be something we simply put up with - increasingly with laughter, whether at our situation or because the situation is laughing at us and we just join in with it.
As part of the world, he (and we) are also always breaking down at the margins. The inhabitants of this world end up all looking much the same, obese and eternally grinning.
This laughter is the 'grin in the dark', an aimless, general laughter that comes when we have turned into roly-poly conforming creatures of what it is that lies under all things, something very primitive.
Campbell takes us through the process of discovering an existential discomfort - one is reminded of Roquentin staring at the tree in Sartre's 'Nausea' - but without any philosophical resolution.
It is important that Simon is ordinary, bright enough to be a graduate but not bright enough to see his own predicament clearly. Our ordinariness is in the face of things and people becoming things.
This is a book reasonably put on horror shelves but not one that seems prepared to reach too deeply into the dark night of the soul - as we say, it is a novel of deep unease about the world we thrown into.
February 7, 2018
Simon's career as a film critic is tanking. He gets the opportunity to write a biography about Tubby Thackeray, a comedian during the silent film era, and Simon thinks this will get him back on track. Though Tubby was once a star, little information remains about him. His films are all but lost, and even news stories about him are hard to find. As Simon delves further into the life of Tubby, he seems to slowly lose his mind.
Creepy book about a clown. Not just any clown, a silent movie clown. While the creepy factor was high, I wasn't a fan of the writing.
Creepy book about a clown. Not just any clown, a silent movie clown. While the creepy factor was high, I wasn't a fan of the writing.
May 22, 2012
Nauseatingly disjointed dreamy plot which made me feel increasingly insane, during a 10h plane flight in which I read it. Not that I liked the feeling, but I bow to the writers who manages all this with just an arsenal of hints, insinuations, and the swiftly degenerating personality of the protagonist. Like a Martin Amis on ketamine. I felt aftershocks for days.
December 22, 2008
As a fan of all types of horror, the cover caught my eye in the local library. A few of the forty-word sentences had to be read twice, but I enjoyed the British descriptions immensely. I could almost feel myself "in" the experience that the author was depicting, which is no less than I expect from any good horror tale. The hallucinations experienced by the main character throughout the book are quite detailed. This author has written about 12 other books and I was left wanting to read more of his work. By the time I finished this book, I felt as if I knew the characters and had sympathy for Simon because he believed he was losing his mind at some points during the story. The ending of this book caught me by surprise, as it took up to the last few pages to see where it would end. This book is not for those who failed Sustained Silent Reading in school as it has innumerable run-on sentences and is not written in "American" English; rather it uses typical British phrases that some may not be familiar with. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a modern-day horror novel.
December 31, 2008
As ever, Campbell's fiction is not about in-your-face scares, but growing disquiet, the slow build rather than the instant pay off. It starts gently, creeping along, making strange suggestions to you, carefully piling oddity onto oddity until you finish. It left me feeling off-kilter, although the downside is that the nebulous shapes Campbell creates at the edge of your vision never quite take form. The first person account that is the story doesn't benefit from this, because as things progress, reality warps for him, making him an unreliable narrator. How much of what transpires is supernatural phenomenon and how much is Simon Lester's psychological breakdown is up in the air. While I have no problem with a novel raising questions, I like the occasional answer, or at least pointer, to go with them. A challenging read, impressively executed, but I was left wanting by the end.
November 1, 2013
I am slowly introducing myself to Ramsey Campbell in my quest for good horror fiction. I have heard so many good things about him and somehow, he just had never made it into my reading. I did manage to find a few old paperbacks and read "The Doll That Ate It's Mother" and really enjoyed it. My enterprising boyfriend and computer hound found me many, many rare Campbells for my nook and I started this one first. I did not even know what it was about, but I loved the title and cover art so I thought, "what the hell". Once I began this I was thrilled to discover a silent film star was at the heart of the story. Silent film and horror--yes, please! The book was quite long for a horror novel and in contrast to "Doll" which was quite short. What a fascinating book. I kept thinking of the many horror films I have seen with the word "creeping" in them while I was reading this--it's the best description I can think of to describe the horror here. Not gory, or visceral but creeping and creepy. I totally got chicken skin several times and even from the titles of some of the chapters--"It Stirs" is one of them...creepy! The story is based around a "lost" silent clown called Tubby who is clearly based on Fatty Arbuckle. This clown is scary--waay scary. He was originally a scholar who found evil in humor and a way to exploit it--essentially the whole "laugh yourself to death" thing. The British writer at the center of the story is attempting to write a book on this once famed but now forgotten star. During his research he is drawn into an internet battle with a disturbing and aggressive "troll" called "Smilemime". Things just get freakier and freakier. I read this only at night before bed, in the dark on my nook so it took me awhile to finish but was so fun and scary to read in this way. If you are looking for obvious scares or gore, you won't find it here but you will find a story that will have you thinking about it when you least expect it and one that does not have a pat ending or block letter explanation. I will add as just a minor complaint that the book mentions Fatty Arbuckle but describes him as if he were guilty of a terrible crime he was accused of that destroyed his career--it's taken years to rehabilitate his reputation from this travesty so I hate to see anyone perpetuate the untruths that ruined a man's life. Aside from this, I really liked this and am looking very forward to continuing my journey with Mr. Campbell.
June 19, 2017
'The Grin of the Dark' is somewhere between a situational comedy and a novel of cosmic terror. Campbell extends the madness of his fine novella, 'Needing Ghosts', and tauntingly unwinds a narrative into moments of pure disjointed madness, all contained within a frame of vaudevillian slapstick. The book's otherworldly villain, a silent film comedian named Tubby Thackeray, skirts the edges of the novel like a plague ready to bloom, infecting the unseen world in much the same way the VHS tape in 'Ringu' infects its curious viewers. Here, Comedy is Nightmare, and everything is tinged with a cruel playfulness. From the phantom circus on the borderlands (clowns bearing extended phallus, walking on stilts), to the porn house in Los Angeles, to the children's Christmas play (complete with a dismembered baby Jesus), Campbell thrusts his protagonist, Simon Lester, into absurd set-pieces always tinged with hilarity and horror. And with each situation, he gets closer to Tubby Thackeray only to discover that he himself is changing. There is much play on silent film history, academia, filial foibles, and especially, Lovecraft lore. When he references Mirocaw from Thomas Ligotti's literary canon, the world opens up and we can hear the laughter of the blind idiot god mocking us. Eerie, redundant, hilarious and original, this is a mythos novel outside the box. Just ask the obnoxious terror in the chat room, aptly named, 'Smilemime.' If you read this novel, you surely won't forget him.
July 2, 2010
Normally I find the whole slowly-losing-one's-sanity-while-unexplainable-things-start-happening plot to be really compelling and interesting in horror novels. And since I've enjoyed some of Ramsey Campbell's short stories, I thought I would really like this book. But the main character is hard to sympathize with from the very beginning (honestly, he's absolutely annoying). The book is also written in a way to make you feel like you too are slowly losing your sanity, which --- while a testament to the author's writing ability --- was not exactly what I had hoped to get out of reading it.
February 6, 2009
You'll never look at the internet again after this book.
You know when you're on that forum and there's always one idiot, one argumentative sod? Well beware cause they might turn out to be worse than you think!
Two days after reading and I'm still caught up in the book and its terrifying conclusion. The man is a master!
You know when you're on that forum and there's always one idiot, one argumentative sod? Well beware cause they might turn out to be worse than you think!
Two days after reading and I'm still caught up in the book and its terrifying conclusion. The man is a master!
August 3, 2013
Ramsey Campbell is a name all horror readers should be familiar with. The Liverpool native has written at least thirty novels, and had hundreds of short stories to his name. I've long been a fan of Campbell's short fiction, but until now I have yet to delve into any of his longer works.
The Grin of the Dark is one of his more recent novels, being published in 2007. Now, looking at the cover alone it's easy to see how I came to choose this one. Clowns have long been a source of horror. Ask anyone who saw Stephen King's IT as a child. I had two clown puppets on a shelf in my room until the day I saw that mini-series.
It wasn't just the clown aspect that drew me to this book, but also the film element. The synopsis reminded me a bit of Theodore Roszack's Flicker, another novel which features a character obsessed with an old filmmaker and his work.
The novel was enjoyable, but also had its share of flaws. Simon's disconnect from reality seems genuine and gradual, and is mostly quite believable. His situation is uncomfortable from the very beginning. It's clear that his in-laws despise him, creating a lot of awkward tension. The general discomfort not only continues throughout the novel, it steadily grows. By the end, Simon's paranoia and anxiety is smothering.
The horror itself is more of a quiet horror. Simon constantly glimpses unsettling images from the corner of his eye, starts to question his sanity, and seems to be alone against an increasingly hostile world. Every encounter with another person, wherever he goes, seems strained and uncomfortable. Every official or librarian he deals with seems to be an antagonist from the first moment he meets them, and every task turns into a hassle or fiasco.
Simon himself is also one of the book's flaws. He is not a very likable character. His bitterness and general attitude make him a hard protagonist to sympathize with at times. The novel's length could also be trimmed by a third and would only be more effective for it. There were times I felt like the story was dragging and becoming repetitive. While Campbell succeeds in creating an anxious moods, it's too protracted.
Despite these criticisms, the book's ending is a worthy payoff. Some of the ambiguity of the horrors was also right up my alley and it was also fun seeing nods to other known works of horror. (Azathoth is actually mentioned once, and Ligotti fans will be pleased to see the town name of Mirocaw referenced). While overall, The Grin of the Dark did not grasp me the way Mr. Campbell's short fiction has, it was still a worthwhile horror read. For more casual horror readers, I can definitely see frustration at drawing out vague horrors for nearly 400 pages, and even as someone who reads horror regularly I can't help but feel that the story would pack more of a punch if it was a bit more condensed.
Originally appeared on my blog, The Arkham Digest.
The Grin of the Dark is one of his more recent novels, being published in 2007. Now, looking at the cover alone it's easy to see how I came to choose this one. Clowns have long been a source of horror. Ask anyone who saw Stephen King's IT as a child. I had two clown puppets on a shelf in my room until the day I saw that mini-series.
It wasn't just the clown aspect that drew me to this book, but also the film element. The synopsis reminded me a bit of Theodore Roszack's Flicker, another novel which features a character obsessed with an old filmmaker and his work.
The novel was enjoyable, but also had its share of flaws. Simon's disconnect from reality seems genuine and gradual, and is mostly quite believable. His situation is uncomfortable from the very beginning. It's clear that his in-laws despise him, creating a lot of awkward tension. The general discomfort not only continues throughout the novel, it steadily grows. By the end, Simon's paranoia and anxiety is smothering.
The horror itself is more of a quiet horror. Simon constantly glimpses unsettling images from the corner of his eye, starts to question his sanity, and seems to be alone against an increasingly hostile world. Every encounter with another person, wherever he goes, seems strained and uncomfortable. Every official or librarian he deals with seems to be an antagonist from the first moment he meets them, and every task turns into a hassle or fiasco.
Simon himself is also one of the book's flaws. He is not a very likable character. His bitterness and general attitude make him a hard protagonist to sympathize with at times. The novel's length could also be trimmed by a third and would only be more effective for it. There were times I felt like the story was dragging and becoming repetitive. While Campbell succeeds in creating an anxious moods, it's too protracted.
Despite these criticisms, the book's ending is a worthy payoff. Some of the ambiguity of the horrors was also right up my alley and it was also fun seeing nods to other known works of horror. (Azathoth is actually mentioned once, and Ligotti fans will be pleased to see the town name of Mirocaw referenced). While overall, The Grin of the Dark did not grasp me the way Mr. Campbell's short fiction has, it was still a worthwhile horror read. For more casual horror readers, I can definitely see frustration at drawing out vague horrors for nearly 400 pages, and even as someone who reads horror regularly I can't help but feel that the story would pack more of a punch if it was a bit more condensed.
Originally appeared on my blog, The Arkham Digest.
November 16, 2013
This is the fourth Campbell novel I've read and there's a 17 year gap between this novel and the most recently published novel I'd read by him (Midnight Sun (1990)). I would put it below Ancient Images and The Hungry Moon, but well above Midnight Sun. There's definitely differences in his writing style then versus now. This novel can be very "hallucinogenic" at times, and it's a little more focused on interpersonal relationships than I prefer. At times I thought Campbell overplayed his hand with the constant little tinges of doubt or injecting the unsettling into the everyday mundane. It’s like he’s a little _too_ in love with his style. Still, he generates some truly scary scenes when it’s all set up right. I also like how Campbell makes use of contemporary stuff like the internet, cell phones, petty debates with internet trolls; it's all incorporated into the creepiness of the story but he doesn't overdo it.
To give some plot outline without spoilers, the plot concerns a poor guy named Simon who can’t catch a break. He's working two dead-end jobs, his girlfriend Natalie's parents hate his guts, even she isn't too crazy about him most of the time. In fact the only person who seems to like Simon is Natalie's son Mark. He thinks he's caught a break when one of his old film professors comes to him with a book offer to enlarge his senior thesis with focus on the silent film comedian Tubby Thackeray. But the deeper he gets into Tubby's anarchistic, borderline insane and subtly menacing films, the more his world is filled with a paranoid fear that he can't distinguish the real from the unreal.
This book reminded me of Campbell's earlier (and superior) novel Ancient Images where the focus is on a lost horror film and we follow the character as they speak with those who worked on it. But I think Campbell generated far more fear in that book than he does here. This novel has it's moments, but when I think back to books like Ancient Images and The Hungry Moon and the genuine fear they generated, this one just doesn't come close. It's just too focused on Simon's horrible existence and depressing circumstances. I like horror subtle, but the content of the horror here is a little too psychological, not enough punch. Tapes get erased, Simon's writing gets magically altered, but Tubby really never appears, he's just a vague force. A little too vague. I thought the best moments of the book were the descriptions of Tubby's films and the historical accounts of the madness they caused where the evil feels present and real. Also the downright hallucinogenic chapters where Simon is traveling to America and has a stopover in Amsterdam are incredibly well-written and ambiguous.
That being said I thought it was a good novel but I thought it was often better at dark comedy than horror. This didn't disappoint me however because I really like Campbell's subtle style.
To give some plot outline without spoilers, the plot concerns a poor guy named Simon who can’t catch a break. He's working two dead-end jobs, his girlfriend Natalie's parents hate his guts, even she isn't too crazy about him most of the time. In fact the only person who seems to like Simon is Natalie's son Mark. He thinks he's caught a break when one of his old film professors comes to him with a book offer to enlarge his senior thesis with focus on the silent film comedian Tubby Thackeray. But the deeper he gets into Tubby's anarchistic, borderline insane and subtly menacing films, the more his world is filled with a paranoid fear that he can't distinguish the real from the unreal.
This book reminded me of Campbell's earlier (and superior) novel Ancient Images where the focus is on a lost horror film and we follow the character as they speak with those who worked on it. But I think Campbell generated far more fear in that book than he does here. This novel has it's moments, but when I think back to books like Ancient Images and The Hungry Moon and the genuine fear they generated, this one just doesn't come close. It's just too focused on Simon's horrible existence and depressing circumstances. I like horror subtle, but the content of the horror here is a little too psychological, not enough punch. Tapes get erased, Simon's writing gets magically altered, but Tubby really never appears, he's just a vague force. A little too vague. I thought the best moments of the book were the descriptions of Tubby's films and the historical accounts of the madness they caused where the evil feels present and real. Also the downright hallucinogenic chapters where Simon is traveling to America and has a stopover in Amsterdam are incredibly well-written and ambiguous.
That being said I thought it was a good novel but I thought it was often better at dark comedy than horror. This didn't disappoint me however because I really like Campbell's subtle style.
November 3, 2014
Down on his luck film critic Simon Lester takes on a job from a University Press to write a book reintroducing silent film star Tubby Thackery to the world. It appears that Thackery's movies and live appearances were noted to cause hysteria in his audiences and it appears that all traces of his work have been expunged. As the immensity of the task settles upon him and the stakes of his potential failure loom large, Simon appears to be cracking under the pressure . . . or is he? Perhaps Thackery's work is instead a portal to allow a chaotic cosmic terror into our world. I really wanted to love this novel but despite some nice chilling touches and a generally decent tone throughout, I never found it that compelling. Fair warning, Campbell's work is always hit or miss with me. There's something about his writing style that I often find hard to engage with and that was certainly the case here. He does a fine job with the narrator's growing paranoia and when he finally gets to them he does a nice job presenting the cosmic horrors, but Simon is such a distant, passive and generally unlikeable character that it's hard to really have any stakes in his ultimate fate. Overall, as with much of Campbell's writing, it just wasn't my cup of tea - which is sad because I love a good story of cosmic horror.
February 12, 2015
I loved the detective feel of this book, especially considering the subject was film. It sucked me right in. Campbell's writing is so descriptive and clever that I managed not to be bothered by the fact he wrote this in present tense, which is usually really irritating for me. For a good length of the book I was wondering where the horror was really going to show itself, but I began to realize that it had been whittling away at me right from the beginning. Campbell has a way of taking seemingly ordinary things and alarming me with them - first the abject rudeness and hostility of Bebe and Warren, then the uncomfortable divide between Simon and his parents...being alone without money or a means of communication in a foreign country...having your financial situation take a sudden and disastrous turn...losing the ability to understand or make oneself understood. By the time the book got really frightening, it was already so far under my skin that I actually despaired at times. Really fantastic piece of horror!
October 8, 2018
This could be the best Campbell novel I've read, and I've read quite a few. The pacing is on point, the tension does not let up throughout, and the (unreliable?) narrator has the reader second-guessing even the most innocuous-seeming detail.
March 23, 2013
I’m still having trouble deciphering why this book didn’t get a more suitable ending. Anywho, the premise is simple and to the point: there’s a disgraced writer on a mission to rub the dirt off his reputation and keep his girlfriend. Oh, and there’s this extra bit where he, Simon Lester, needs money. The problems begin when Tubby, the focus of Simon’s book, begins to take over his girlfriend’s son’s focus as well, along with his own. Events ensue, and at the end, we’re left wondering what just happened.
I’ll admit the first few chapters weren’t as compelling as I thought they’d be, but the story picks up as soon as the unseen character, Tubby Thackeray, is introduced. Here’s where I say some of Campbell’s best work comes out- his descriptions of Tubby’s films. I’ll admit, I’m pretty daft about the fundamentals regarding the silent film era, but I decided to put faith in Campbell’s research and allowed him to walk me through a fictional character’s life in the presence of a not-so-fictional era in film history. My favorite chapters were, hands down, every single one that delved just a little bit deeper into the era of intertitles and overdramatic facial expressions, with Tubby leading the charge.
But what’s more interesting about Campbell’s work is how he’s able to weave sheer horror into parts involving Tubby and his influences on Mark, Simon’s girlfriend’s son. I guess the spook stems from the gritty underpinnings of the silent film era itself, the environment in which it thrived, and the people that were involved. There’s no monster or demon that scared me as much as the idea of people going insane over something as simple as a joke, and more so, no monster in Simon’s world was enough to push me awake like a clown that hides in your bed sheets.
So the question in the end was: what happened at the end? The ending dictates that Simon has taken over the name of Smilemime, an internet user who’s vilified Simon’s name even more in his short time on IMDB. However, the ending is a game changer only because it sheds light on some of the subtle things that readers may have picked up on but discarded due to the confusing nature of the themes. Though there is no direct claim that a ghost or demon exists, the readers are put through a series of events that make it seem like Tubby Thackeray’s ghost has taken over multiple people, namely Mark, throughout the story. But at the end, Simon’s acceptance of Smilemime’s name, the same user who supposedly plagiarized his book and harassed and further dirtied his reputation, reveals that perhaps Tubby’s existence was merely a stressor for the final collapse of Simon’s psyche.
This takes us back to the beginning of the story, in which we learned that Simon is broke, dependent, wary of his own birth parents, and struggling to make sense of both himself and his relationships with the people around him. The obsession with getting every inch of Tubby’s life mapped out for his book shows signs of Simon’s own wariness of the events that mapped out his own life, causing him to inadvertently connect to a long-dead figure and attempt to bring his memory back to life. Though the actions seem to be in good-will, we see that Simon subconsciously has no interest in bringing Tubby back to good standing. The interest lies in bringing back his own name. Smilemime, the user, essentially attacks him over that multiple times throughout the book. Yet Simon’s admittance in taking over Smilemime’s name at the very end dictates that somewhere along the way, Simon may have developed a sort of split-personality where one intended to live a life based solely on getting things back to normal by bringing Tubby’s insanity back into the public eye, whereas the other assumed the position of Tubby Thackeray’s biggest fan and staunchest supporter. His final collapse is the subtle understanding that his book was never plagiarized, but he himself was probably the one that disorientated the spelling of the words and posted it in a way that’s more confusing and humorous than it is logical. The horror, in the end, seemed to stem from Simon’s mental degradation than in the existence of Tubby’s dark humor.
Yet, in another’s eyes, the demon Tubby always existed, and Simon merely became its final host. The final few chapters of the novel are by far the most awkwardly written bits of the entire work. It’s intentional as an art form, of course, but nonetheless an eye-strainer because of the sudden setting changes that reflect Simon’s own, inner confusion. But still, regardless of the confusion, the ending placed down two theories of explanation: one logical, and the other magical. For now, I’ll work with the logical one, but I still wonder- couldn’t the execution have been just a tad bit better? Better yet, perhaps some fillers could have been cut out to further delve into the crux of the issue- Simon’s inner demons instead of the outer ones? Maybe then, the idea of Tubby being the actual Big Baddie might seem more plausible. Perhaps, perhaps not.
I’ll admit the first few chapters weren’t as compelling as I thought they’d be, but the story picks up as soon as the unseen character, Tubby Thackeray, is introduced. Here’s where I say some of Campbell’s best work comes out- his descriptions of Tubby’s films. I’ll admit, I’m pretty daft about the fundamentals regarding the silent film era, but I decided to put faith in Campbell’s research and allowed him to walk me through a fictional character’s life in the presence of a not-so-fictional era in film history. My favorite chapters were, hands down, every single one that delved just a little bit deeper into the era of intertitles and overdramatic facial expressions, with Tubby leading the charge.
But what’s more interesting about Campbell’s work is how he’s able to weave sheer horror into parts involving Tubby and his influences on Mark, Simon’s girlfriend’s son. I guess the spook stems from the gritty underpinnings of the silent film era itself, the environment in which it thrived, and the people that were involved. There’s no monster or demon that scared me as much as the idea of people going insane over something as simple as a joke, and more so, no monster in Simon’s world was enough to push me awake like a clown that hides in your bed sheets.
So the question in the end was: what happened at the end? The ending dictates that Simon has taken over the name of Smilemime, an internet user who’s vilified Simon’s name even more in his short time on IMDB. However, the ending is a game changer only because it sheds light on some of the subtle things that readers may have picked up on but discarded due to the confusing nature of the themes. Though there is no direct claim that a ghost or demon exists, the readers are put through a series of events that make it seem like Tubby Thackeray’s ghost has taken over multiple people, namely Mark, throughout the story. But at the end, Simon’s acceptance of Smilemime’s name, the same user who supposedly plagiarized his book and harassed and further dirtied his reputation, reveals that perhaps Tubby’s existence was merely a stressor for the final collapse of Simon’s psyche.
This takes us back to the beginning of the story, in which we learned that Simon is broke, dependent, wary of his own birth parents, and struggling to make sense of both himself and his relationships with the people around him. The obsession with getting every inch of Tubby’s life mapped out for his book shows signs of Simon’s own wariness of the events that mapped out his own life, causing him to inadvertently connect to a long-dead figure and attempt to bring his memory back to life. Though the actions seem to be in good-will, we see that Simon subconsciously has no interest in bringing Tubby back to good standing. The interest lies in bringing back his own name. Smilemime, the user, essentially attacks him over that multiple times throughout the book. Yet Simon’s admittance in taking over Smilemime’s name at the very end dictates that somewhere along the way, Simon may have developed a sort of split-personality where one intended to live a life based solely on getting things back to normal by bringing Tubby’s insanity back into the public eye, whereas the other assumed the position of Tubby Thackeray’s biggest fan and staunchest supporter. His final collapse is the subtle understanding that his book was never plagiarized, but he himself was probably the one that disorientated the spelling of the words and posted it in a way that’s more confusing and humorous than it is logical. The horror, in the end, seemed to stem from Simon’s mental degradation than in the existence of Tubby’s dark humor.
Yet, in another’s eyes, the demon Tubby always existed, and Simon merely became its final host. The final few chapters of the novel are by far the most awkwardly written bits of the entire work. It’s intentional as an art form, of course, but nonetheless an eye-strainer because of the sudden setting changes that reflect Simon’s own, inner confusion. But still, regardless of the confusion, the ending placed down two theories of explanation: one logical, and the other magical. For now, I’ll work with the logical one, but I still wonder- couldn’t the execution have been just a tad bit better? Better yet, perhaps some fillers could have been cut out to further delve into the crux of the issue- Simon’s inner demons instead of the outer ones? Maybe then, the idea of Tubby being the actual Big Baddie might seem more plausible. Perhaps, perhaps not.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 19, 2016
Prepare when you read this not to feel scared. Oh it's horror. But not the cheap thrill horror of giant spider clown things. Not the boo gotcha horror of creepy serial killer clowns. No spoiler here, this book is about clowns. Do you think they are frightening? Man, you have no idea.
The book starts with the proclamation: "I'm no loser." Of course you're not. You're just a reasonably smart guy with a run of bad luck. nothing too special about you. Nothing too dangerous. All you want is a regular paycheck and some respect from the five other characters introduced way too quickly in the opening sequence. That's my only criticism: too many, too soon. I got over that problem really fast.
Immediately I felt the narrator's frustration and (childish? but human) sense of inequity about his recent bad luck. He starts in a bad place. In comedy, classically speaking, we would move from a bad place towards redemption. But this is horror. We move from bad to uncomfortable to please let me out of my skin. I'll admit my stupidity and resistance psychologically to the horror here and tell you I spent long sections while reading this book getting annoyed with the narrator's behavior and choices or the author's seeming lack of progress in the narrative. Feeling pinned. Getting engrossed in the surreal vintage feel of the disturbing clown scenes and vaguely ticked off that they seemed to lead nowhere. Like the internet. I clicked the links, and they didn't take me where I thought I wanted to be.
Ultimately the horror in this story is the fear of the erosion of language, an erosion occurring daily and visibly on the internet. It's occurring simultaneously in our brains. I imagine Campbell, who is a bit older than me and a brilliant writer, must feel terror at the idea his capacity for language will erode with age. But this is not only a writer's fear. He brings it home to any individual engaging in the online nursery room antics of flame wars and pressing "send" too soon and staying up too late watching videos while your brain congeals into a squalid grinning mass. The light from a screen illuminates the grin.
Campbell builds dread architecturally. It all seems so hideously natural. Some mystery seems hidden behind the plot, some ancient order of occult buffoonery; but the mystery is occluded by this grin that swallows itself into nothingness. Nothing begets nothing. The narrator pursues the mystery or money or knowledge that seems just so slightly out of his reach until his perfect, absurd and fatal last line. You can just see the seasoned skill in how Campbell throws that last punch. Don't you dare flip to the last page. (Okay, I always do that. But you're a better person than me.) If you do, it won't make sense anyway until you go on the journey, and the journey is intriguing. Campbell excels in visual impact and surrealism.
My favorite books play out like movies in my brain. This one has been playing and growing on me since I read it a few months ago, growing like a sepia-toned invasive clown fungus and refusing to submit to logical analysis. Damn, it's good.
The book starts with the proclamation: "I'm no loser." Of course you're not. You're just a reasonably smart guy with a run of bad luck. nothing too special about you. Nothing too dangerous. All you want is a regular paycheck and some respect from the five other characters introduced way too quickly in the opening sequence. That's my only criticism: too many, too soon. I got over that problem really fast.
Immediately I felt the narrator's frustration and (childish? but human) sense of inequity about his recent bad luck. He starts in a bad place. In comedy, classically speaking, we would move from a bad place towards redemption. But this is horror. We move from bad to uncomfortable to please let me out of my skin. I'll admit my stupidity and resistance psychologically to the horror here and tell you I spent long sections while reading this book getting annoyed with the narrator's behavior and choices or the author's seeming lack of progress in the narrative. Feeling pinned. Getting engrossed in the surreal vintage feel of the disturbing clown scenes and vaguely ticked off that they seemed to lead nowhere. Like the internet. I clicked the links, and they didn't take me where I thought I wanted to be.
Ultimately the horror in this story is the fear of the erosion of language, an erosion occurring daily and visibly on the internet. It's occurring simultaneously in our brains. I imagine Campbell, who is a bit older than me and a brilliant writer, must feel terror at the idea his capacity for language will erode with age. But this is not only a writer's fear. He brings it home to any individual engaging in the online nursery room antics of flame wars and pressing "send" too soon and staying up too late watching videos while your brain congeals into a squalid grinning mass. The light from a screen illuminates the grin.
Campbell builds dread architecturally. It all seems so hideously natural. Some mystery seems hidden behind the plot, some ancient order of occult buffoonery; but the mystery is occluded by this grin that swallows itself into nothingness. Nothing begets nothing. The narrator pursues the mystery or money or knowledge that seems just so slightly out of his reach until his perfect, absurd and fatal last line. You can just see the seasoned skill in how Campbell throws that last punch. Don't you dare flip to the last page. (Okay, I always do that. But you're a better person than me.) If you do, it won't make sense anyway until you go on the journey, and the journey is intriguing. Campbell excels in visual impact and surrealism.
My favorite books play out like movies in my brain. This one has been playing and growing on me since I read it a few months ago, growing like a sepia-toned invasive clown fungus and refusing to submit to logical analysis. Damn, it's good.
September 28, 2009
The novel revolves around a disgraced magazine writer attempting his coup de grace by writing a book about a former silent comedian. As he begins his research strange things start to happen and the reader is left wondering if the hero is losing his mind or if these events are really occurring. Enjoyable enough but not the best book I've ever read. By the time I got to the end I got the feeling that the author is not really a fan of the internet which he seems to blame for what happened to his hero. This is the first Campbell novel I've read and it certainly won't be the last.
December 11, 2008
Hated it. Was bored out of my mind, and thoroughly annoyed at the whole experience of reading it. If I had to pin it down, I would say that a complete lack of sympathetic characters is what made this book such a poor choice for me.
March 3, 2018
The epitome of Campbell's art. Dread-full and unbearably suspenseful.
My review in full:
http://jayrothermel.blogspot.com/2018...
My review in full:
http://jayrothermel.blogspot.com/2018...
April 3, 2021
Early in 2020 I read Ramsey Campbell’s The Darkest Part of the Woods and fell in love with the disconcerting atmosphere Campbell was able to establish. Soon thereafter I read his Three Births of Daoloth trilogy, and again, was enthralled by his ability to put the hopelessness and powerlessness of its characters into words. As 2020 dragged on, I found an interview where Campbell described The Grin of the Dark as the scariest thing he had ever written, and I was immediately intrigued. However, I pushed off reading it for a couple of months to ensure I was approaching it with a fresh frame of mind, as opposed to risking disliking it because I was Campbell’d out.
As it turns out, I had the right idea, as I did not enjoy this novel as much as his previous works I have read. I categorically and enthusiastically rated all of his previous books 5/5. I very much enjoyed this book but felt that it dragged a little bit. I felt that The Grin of the Dark could have been a little tighter in its construction. Looking at a rather superficial metric, The Grin of the Dark is about 100 pages longer than the three Three Births of Daoloth books, and about 40 or so pages longer than The Darkest Part of the Woods.
Another fault I had in this book is unfair, but it bears talking about. When I read about the subject matter, a down-on-his-luck film critic who has a chance to write a book, and spends a great deal of time studying and researching an almost totally forgotten silent film clown actor, I was very intrigued. As Simon Lester, the protagonist delves deeper into this history of Tubby Thackeray, the aforementioned clown, mysterious and disturbing snippets of the past are revealed. This base summation caused my imagination to stir, and in the intervening months after I read the Three Births of Daoloth and reading The Grin of the Dark, I most have thought about the potential narrative a dozen different ways. Essentially, I set myself up to be disappointed, and that is on me.
The biggest criticism I have is the scenes where Simon is in full-on hallucination mode. These, for me, were the greatest detractor of the novel. They slowed down my reading, they stymied my engagement, and I just could not wait to get back to the main narrative of the novel, and here is where I felt that the book was a bit too long. The crime is that Ramsey Campbell is so good at establishing the slippage of sanity in a character with just base interactions that a full-on hallucination is extraneous and distracting. The way Simon Lester interacts with other individuals, and his inner dialog questioning the motives of everyone else, and how that grows throughout the book is a better experience, in my opinion than a mildly drug-induced hallucinogenic trip in Amsterdam.
Looking past my criticisms, and my expectations, in absence of hallucinations, the rest of this novel is fantastic. Simon is as relatable to an extent, as an individual who has graduated with a graduate degree and is not working in his field of study will hit a chord with some people. Simon being in a relationship with a woman who has rather frosty and unforgiving parents is another great choice. Simon, overall, is a good vehicle to experience the events of this novel, and the establishing characteristics only augment his questionable sanity the more he researches Tubby.
The best parts of the novel deal directly with Tubby Thackeray. The small bits of information that are seeded throughout the early chapters are a great hook. The esoteric individuals who are still obsessing over silent films in the 2000s give the reader a way to question Simon’s perspective. Is Simon the one that is losing his grip on reality? Or are these people who maintain old film strips and ancient projectors, and meet in old theaters to discuss silent film just odd to the extreme? Every chapter that really dealt with Tubby research and the strange goings-on around it is the most gripping.
I will not wantonly spoil anything, but I will say that I do love the Lovecraftian connection, something that I was not fully expecting. But the connection is there, and one day, if I do reread this novel, I will be reading it in an entirely different light. The ending is not an ending, as much as a lingering ellipsis with a question mark, leaving the final ending as an exercise for the reader, which can be frustrating in some cases, but for me, and this novel works. Overall, this is a solid 4/5. There may have been some periods where this was a 3/5, especially the hallucination sections, but the ending, and the perpetual grin of Tubby lingering over the main characters make this above average.
As it turns out, I had the right idea, as I did not enjoy this novel as much as his previous works I have read. I categorically and enthusiastically rated all of his previous books 5/5. I very much enjoyed this book but felt that it dragged a little bit. I felt that The Grin of the Dark could have been a little tighter in its construction. Looking at a rather superficial metric, The Grin of the Dark is about 100 pages longer than the three Three Births of Daoloth books, and about 40 or so pages longer than The Darkest Part of the Woods.
Another fault I had in this book is unfair, but it bears talking about. When I read about the subject matter, a down-on-his-luck film critic who has a chance to write a book, and spends a great deal of time studying and researching an almost totally forgotten silent film clown actor, I was very intrigued. As Simon Lester, the protagonist delves deeper into this history of Tubby Thackeray, the aforementioned clown, mysterious and disturbing snippets of the past are revealed. This base summation caused my imagination to stir, and in the intervening months after I read the Three Births of Daoloth and reading The Grin of the Dark, I most have thought about the potential narrative a dozen different ways. Essentially, I set myself up to be disappointed, and that is on me.
The biggest criticism I have is the scenes where Simon is in full-on hallucination mode. These, for me, were the greatest detractor of the novel. They slowed down my reading, they stymied my engagement, and I just could not wait to get back to the main narrative of the novel, and here is where I felt that the book was a bit too long. The crime is that Ramsey Campbell is so good at establishing the slippage of sanity in a character with just base interactions that a full-on hallucination is extraneous and distracting. The way Simon Lester interacts with other individuals, and his inner dialog questioning the motives of everyone else, and how that grows throughout the book is a better experience, in my opinion than a mildly drug-induced hallucinogenic trip in Amsterdam.
Looking past my criticisms, and my expectations, in absence of hallucinations, the rest of this novel is fantastic. Simon is as relatable to an extent, as an individual who has graduated with a graduate degree and is not working in his field of study will hit a chord with some people. Simon being in a relationship with a woman who has rather frosty and unforgiving parents is another great choice. Simon, overall, is a good vehicle to experience the events of this novel, and the establishing characteristics only augment his questionable sanity the more he researches Tubby.
The best parts of the novel deal directly with Tubby Thackeray. The small bits of information that are seeded throughout the early chapters are a great hook. The esoteric individuals who are still obsessing over silent films in the 2000s give the reader a way to question Simon’s perspective. Is Simon the one that is losing his grip on reality? Or are these people who maintain old film strips and ancient projectors, and meet in old theaters to discuss silent film just odd to the extreme? Every chapter that really dealt with Tubby research and the strange goings-on around it is the most gripping.
I will not wantonly spoil anything, but I will say that I do love the Lovecraftian connection, something that I was not fully expecting. But the connection is there, and one day, if I do reread this novel, I will be reading it in an entirely different light. The ending is not an ending, as much as a lingering ellipsis with a question mark, leaving the final ending as an exercise for the reader, which can be frustrating in some cases, but for me, and this novel works. Overall, this is a solid 4/5. There may have been some periods where this was a 3/5, especially the hallucination sections, but the ending, and the perpetual grin of Tubby lingering over the main characters make this above average.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 13, 2025
Now it’s not bad, but far from his greatest work! I appreciated the disconcerting unreal atmosphere that permeates the novel, and the premise is quite novel, but I was a bit let down by the ending really.
October 15, 2016
I've had mixed experiences with Campbell. His short stories have occasionally been brilliant, but more often obscure or underwhelming. Nonetheless, the best of his work has been sufficiently intriguing for me to seek out the bulk of his work in the hope of finding something similar.
This was my first novel of his and I'm happy to say that it's excellent, a masterful slow-burning work that ranks alongside the best in the genre. Like a lot of his short stories, there's a certain off-ness to the prose that works very effectively to unsettle and dislocate the reader's senses. Campbell uses the novel length format to ramp this up to almost unbearable levels and there were times when I began to feel genuinely uneasy; a sure sign of a great horror novel.
There are only a couple of things that stop this from being a five star novel. First, the work is a little too slow and subtle at times, at least for this reader. Secondly, Campbell makes no attempt to draw the reader in. You need to work and be committed to get the full effect. Not necessarily a criticism of the work as a whole, but I put a lot of stock in readability and Campbell lets me down a little here.
This was my first novel of his and I'm happy to say that it's excellent, a masterful slow-burning work that ranks alongside the best in the genre. Like a lot of his short stories, there's a certain off-ness to the prose that works very effectively to unsettle and dislocate the reader's senses. Campbell uses the novel length format to ramp this up to almost unbearable levels and there were times when I began to feel genuinely uneasy; a sure sign of a great horror novel.
There are only a couple of things that stop this from being a five star novel. First, the work is a little too slow and subtle at times, at least for this reader. Secondly, Campbell makes no attempt to draw the reader in. You need to work and be committed to get the full effect. Not necessarily a criticism of the work as a whole, but I put a lot of stock in readability and Campbell lets me down a little here.
March 8, 2015
All right, so it's a horror novel with a clown on the cover. The basic description might not give you extravagant hopes for its originality. But Campbell has ways of making the genre his own, not least his first-person narrative style, which attracts you and then disorients the hell out of you with more and more frequent temporal lapses, split-second hauntings and verbal breakdown. Furthermore, Tubby Thackeray is not just any clown but a silent-movie jokester, and the distanced, deadpan descriptions of these old, disturbingly visionary films from 1914 are as creepy as any grinning circus pantomime (though there are those as well in the novel). But the most admirable achievement is the Campbell renders ordinary events as anxiety-producing as supernatural ones. Our poor protagonist Simon's gradual disintegration is one any frantic, cash-strapped researcher can relate to.
The explanation of the horrible events didn't quite make sense to me at the end, and the scary imagery bubbled up so copiously that I felt a bit overloaded, but this is a very fine and only somewhat guilty pleasure for those who don't need to sleep super soundly.
The explanation of the horrible events didn't quite make sense to me at the end, and the scary imagery bubbled up so copiously that I felt a bit overloaded, but this is a very fine and only somewhat guilty pleasure for those who don't need to sleep super soundly.
March 21, 2018
Since Ramsey is unable to get straight to it, shall I?
AVOID THIS BOOK AT ALL COSTS!
As horribly written as this book was, the basic concept was interesting and so I decided to grind through it to the end - it took me 5 days off-and-on to read a book I normally finish in less than a day. What a massive mistake, one I'll never repeat especially on this author's behalf.
The man meanders endlessly in a foggy miasma of situations, tortuously detailed descriptions of situations and constant questioning of what he thinks is going on to the point you have no idea what is real and what isn't - it is a maddeningly slow and dull read. I will not post any spoilers but this book could have been condensed to a short story and been far more effective. I've read a LOT of different horror authors over the past 4 decades and how this author could win so many awards and produce this garbage is beyond me.
AVOID THIS BOOK AT ALL COSTS!
As horribly written as this book was, the basic concept was interesting and so I decided to grind through it to the end - it took me 5 days off-and-on to read a book I normally finish in less than a day. What a massive mistake, one I'll never repeat especially on this author's behalf.
The man meanders endlessly in a foggy miasma of situations, tortuously detailed descriptions of situations and constant questioning of what he thinks is going on to the point you have no idea what is real and what isn't - it is a maddeningly slow and dull read. I will not post any spoilers but this book could have been condensed to a short story and been far more effective. I've read a LOT of different horror authors over the past 4 decades and how this author could win so many awards and produce this garbage is beyond me.
November 26, 2023
Of the many Ramsey Campbell novels I've read, this assuredly ranks as one of his best, along with Incarnate, and would be the one I'd nominate as the definitive example of his regular style. The truly terrifying, dizzying dissolution of reality. The embrace of the modern contrasted with the classic supernatural horror/weird literature method. It even has yet another utterly needless (but this time brilliant and bizarre) discursion to America. I finished the novel feeling something close to an ecstatic meltdown of the senses of what is real or nightmare as what started as a traditional supernatural horror tale unspooled into vistas of glorious madness. vairy funnee stuv donut ewe uglee? :)
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