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The Reddening
One million years of evolution didn't change our nature. Nor did it bury the horrors predating civilisation. Ancient rites, old deities and savage ways can reappear in the places you least expect.
Lifestyle journalist Katrine escaped past traumas by moving to a coast renowned for seaside holidays and natural beauty. But when a vast hoard of human remains and prehistoric artefacts is discovered in nearby Brickburgh, a hideous shadow engulfs her life.
Helene, a disillusioned lone parent, lost her brother, Lincoln, six years ago. Disturbing subterranean noises he recorded prior to vanishing, draw her to Brickburgh's caves. A site where early humans butchered each other across sixty thousand years. Upon the walls, images of their nameless gods remain.
Amidst rumours of drug plantations and new sightings of the mythical red folk, it also appears that the inquisitive have been disappearing from this remote part of the world for years. A rural idyll where outsiders are unwelcome and where an infernal power is believed to linger beneath the earth. A timeless supernormal influence that only the desperate would dream of confronting. But to save themselves and those they love, and to thwart a crimson tide of pitiless barbarity, Kat and Helene are given no choice. They were involved and condemned before they knew it.
'The Reddening' is an epic story of folk and prehistoric horrors written by Adam Nevill, the author of 'The Ritual', 'Last Days', 'No One Gets Out Alive' and the three times winner of The August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel.
Lifestyle journalist Katrine escaped past traumas by moving to a coast renowned for seaside holidays and natural beauty. But when a vast hoard of human remains and prehistoric artefacts is discovered in nearby Brickburgh, a hideous shadow engulfs her life.
Helene, a disillusioned lone parent, lost her brother, Lincoln, six years ago. Disturbing subterranean noises he recorded prior to vanishing, draw her to Brickburgh's caves. A site where early humans butchered each other across sixty thousand years. Upon the walls, images of their nameless gods remain.
Amidst rumours of drug plantations and new sightings of the mythical red folk, it also appears that the inquisitive have been disappearing from this remote part of the world for years. A rural idyll where outsiders are unwelcome and where an infernal power is believed to linger beneath the earth. A timeless supernormal influence that only the desperate would dream of confronting. But to save themselves and those they love, and to thwart a crimson tide of pitiless barbarity, Kat and Helene are given no choice. They were involved and condemned before they knew it.
'The Reddening' is an epic story of folk and prehistoric horrors written by Adam Nevill, the author of 'The Ritual', 'Last Days', 'No One Gets Out Alive' and the three times winner of The August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel.
420 pages, Paperback
First published October 31, 2019
2111 people are currently reading
20737 people want to read
About the author
Adam L.G. Nevill
76 books5,486 followersADAM L. G. NEVILL was born in Birmingham, England, in 1969 and grew up in England and New Zealand. He is an author of horror fiction. Of his novels, The Ritual, Last Days, No One Gets Out Alive and The Reddening were all winners of The August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel. He has also published three collections of short stories, with Some Will Not Sleep winning the British Fantasy Award for Best Collection, 2017.
Imaginarium adapted The Ritual and No One Gets Out Alive into feature films and more of his work is currently in development for the screen.
The author lives in Devon, England.
Imaginarium adapted The Ritual and No One Gets Out Alive into feature films and more of his work is currently in development for the screen.
The author lives in Devon, England.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,062 reviews
October 31, 2019
5 ++++ stars!
“But, alas, in such places where hell is made on earth one can never look away from the business of depravity.”- The Reddening
All the stars. This book, THE REDDENING by Adam Nevill gets all the stars from me because this is the kind of horror I want to read all of my days. This will definitely make my Best Books of 2019 list.
First, as a writer, Nevill checks all the boxes for me. His storytelling voice is seasoned with intention and care for the reader; he knows where the story is going and exactly how he’s going to get his audience from point A to point B. He also spends a lot of time on his characters, even characters that are in a scene for a few beats-these are people to him with real lives and motivations--a reason for being on the page. This is so important to me. I cannot stress enough how strongly I desire characters I can invest in when I’m reading horror--I don’t want to show up to a 300+ page book and read intense scenes of violence if I’m a mere observer to these atrocities. I want to feel like the author has invited me to participate and engage in my emotions. I want to care. I want to fall in love and then I want to be destroyed.
Also, Nevill painstakingly creates the world his story exists in. There is so much going on in the world-building that I cannot even fathom how much research goes into stories like THE REDDENING. It feels authentic, born out of realism that I appreciate. Too often, I read books where the author didn’t spend enough time on this aspect of storytelling and there is too much telling and not enough showing. In this book, prepare to be shown everything in unflinching vibrancy, the reader will not be left unsatisfied.
The Reddening begins with all of my favorite things. Nevill teases us with a brilliant prologue, Origins.
From here, he expertly leads the reader through a series of vignettes, all the while planting seeds of intrigue. Archeological digs, explorations, discoveries, found footage, mystery.
We come to meet Kat and Helene--our main protagonists. I adore Kat and Helene. Throughout the book, these two women go through individual journeys, their lives intersecting briefly. Nevill created these women to be our anchors as we navigate through all of the horrors. It’s through their experiences, trials, and tribulations we get to tangibly engage and encounter pure unadulterated savagery. It is terrifying. TERRIFYING!
Folk Horror is on-trend right now, having a big moment with the success of the movie, MIDSOMMER but Folk Horror is Adam Nevill’s long-time jam. This is his wheelhouse. This is his ninth horror novel. If you have read THE RITUAL, you know what I mean when I say that Nevill’s unique brand of folk horror reigns supreme. The man knows how to manufacture a realistic folk legacy that feels ancient and profound.
THE REDDENING is a new gold standard for this sub-genre. The genocidal cult of this book, The Children of the Red and their bizarre, depraved, ritualistic activities is the stuff of nightmares. At night, after reading, I was haunted by detailed descriptions and images. The most impressive part of this book is the language of the descriptions. I was in awe of Nevill’s word choices, his prose is impactful and original without being overwrought or trying too hard. Telling this story seemed effortless on Nevill’s part which in turn, reads like driving a well-designed car--this is quality, this is prime-time, like sitting behind the wheel and the machine drives itself. At no time during this read was I struggling to make sense of something or laboring with questions.
I won’t go into any plot points or tell you the variety of ways in which this story crawled up under the skin but know that this is a well-developed plot with realistic antagonists doing some very horrific things to unsuspecting people who showed a little bit too much curiosity and interest in them.
I’m also not going to spoil the climax or the ending of this book. I’m not going to tell you why I’m so in love with Kat and Helene because when you read this, you’ll know. You’ll love them too. I will only say that this hit on all my emotions. Primarily, I was addicted to this story. I felt like I didn’t get enough time with it in long stretches. On Saturday, I read about 150 pages and I could have read for the whole day but you know, life. I hated putting it down. I was engaged, rapt with attention the whole time. I was emotionally invested--terrified, anxious, heartbroken, overcome with feelings most of my time in this book. This is what quality horror feels like when you’re done reading it: Exhilarating.
“But, alas, in such places where hell is made on earth one can never look away from the business of depravity.”- The Reddening
All the stars. This book, THE REDDENING by Adam Nevill gets all the stars from me because this is the kind of horror I want to read all of my days. This will definitely make my Best Books of 2019 list.
First, as a writer, Nevill checks all the boxes for me. His storytelling voice is seasoned with intention and care for the reader; he knows where the story is going and exactly how he’s going to get his audience from point A to point B. He also spends a lot of time on his characters, even characters that are in a scene for a few beats-these are people to him with real lives and motivations--a reason for being on the page. This is so important to me. I cannot stress enough how strongly I desire characters I can invest in when I’m reading horror--I don’t want to show up to a 300+ page book and read intense scenes of violence if I’m a mere observer to these atrocities. I want to feel like the author has invited me to participate and engage in my emotions. I want to care. I want to fall in love and then I want to be destroyed.
Also, Nevill painstakingly creates the world his story exists in. There is so much going on in the world-building that I cannot even fathom how much research goes into stories like THE REDDENING. It feels authentic, born out of realism that I appreciate. Too often, I read books where the author didn’t spend enough time on this aspect of storytelling and there is too much telling and not enough showing. In this book, prepare to be shown everything in unflinching vibrancy, the reader will not be left unsatisfied.
The Reddening begins with all of my favorite things. Nevill teases us with a brilliant prologue, Origins.
From here, he expertly leads the reader through a series of vignettes, all the while planting seeds of intrigue. Archeological digs, explorations, discoveries, found footage, mystery.
We come to meet Kat and Helene--our main protagonists. I adore Kat and Helene. Throughout the book, these two women go through individual journeys, their lives intersecting briefly. Nevill created these women to be our anchors as we navigate through all of the horrors. It’s through their experiences, trials, and tribulations we get to tangibly engage and encounter pure unadulterated savagery. It is terrifying. TERRIFYING!
Folk Horror is on-trend right now, having a big moment with the success of the movie, MIDSOMMER but Folk Horror is Adam Nevill’s long-time jam. This is his wheelhouse. This is his ninth horror novel. If you have read THE RITUAL, you know what I mean when I say that Nevill’s unique brand of folk horror reigns supreme. The man knows how to manufacture a realistic folk legacy that feels ancient and profound.
THE REDDENING is a new gold standard for this sub-genre. The genocidal cult of this book, The Children of the Red and their bizarre, depraved, ritualistic activities is the stuff of nightmares. At night, after reading, I was haunted by detailed descriptions and images. The most impressive part of this book is the language of the descriptions. I was in awe of Nevill’s word choices, his prose is impactful and original without being overwrought or trying too hard. Telling this story seemed effortless on Nevill’s part which in turn, reads like driving a well-designed car--this is quality, this is prime-time, like sitting behind the wheel and the machine drives itself. At no time during this read was I struggling to make sense of something or laboring with questions.
I won’t go into any plot points or tell you the variety of ways in which this story crawled up under the skin but know that this is a well-developed plot with realistic antagonists doing some very horrific things to unsuspecting people who showed a little bit too much curiosity and interest in them.
I’m also not going to spoil the climax or the ending of this book. I’m not going to tell you why I’m so in love with Kat and Helene because when you read this, you’ll know. You’ll love them too. I will only say that this hit on all my emotions. Primarily, I was addicted to this story. I felt like I didn’t get enough time with it in long stretches. On Saturday, I read about 150 pages and I could have read for the whole day but you know, life. I hated putting it down. I was engaged, rapt with attention the whole time. I was emotionally invested--terrified, anxious, heartbroken, overcome with feelings most of my time in this book. This is what quality horror feels like when you’re done reading it: Exhilarating.
August 14, 2020
What a novel! You have some old bones and references to a cannibalistic tribe in the past (great description) on the one hand and some mysterious murder cult on the other. Helene gets in contact with the group since she wants to visit all the locations her brother went to. He is dead, allegedly committed suicide. Before he died he recorded strange noises at the area of the Red Farm area. Kat is a journalist who is also drawn into the evil cult full of madness of drugs. Who is behind this murderous cannibalistic cult? What about the police? A very dark and at parts extremely compelling novel. At other parts it dragged a bit. At the end the author should have shortened his story. Overall a very interesting and at parts creepy and eerie novel. Is something supernatural going on or is it just a modern cult imitating the past? Has the past come alive? Is it possible to beat old age with those practices? A rewarding long novel for the patient reader set on Britain's coast. Really recommended!
February 25, 2024
SO CREEPY!!!
The Reddening opens with a bang, and maintains a steady sense of ever mounting dread. I had a pit in my stomach the entire time!!! There was not one single moment where I didn’t feel uncomfortable or anxious. It was gross, with intense, graphic moments of gore and some gnarly imagery. It’s dark, uncomfortable, and features an unrelenting creep factor that had my skin crawling the entire time.
Highly recommend, a great slow burn!!
The Reddening opens with a bang, and maintains a steady sense of ever mounting dread. I had a pit in my stomach the entire time!!! There was not one single moment where I didn’t feel uncomfortable or anxious. It was gross, with intense, graphic moments of gore and some gnarly imagery. It’s dark, uncomfortable, and features an unrelenting creep factor that had my skin crawling the entire time.
Highly recommend, a great slow burn!!
October 6, 2022
This book was cray 😳
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
March 11, 2020
This book is basically about a cannibalistic cult and the poor souls that cross their path.
Horror stories are what really ignited my passion for reading when I was a teen. I love the feeling of goosebumps and shivers up the spine that good spooky storytelling can evoke. I have noticed over the years that my taste in horror has evolved. I enjoy more quiet, literary horror now. Blood, guts, and gore do little to entertain me anymore.
Anyhoo, I have loved every Nevill book I have ever read until this one. I read the synopsis so I had an idea of what I was getting into and I was totally engaged with the first half of the book and then my attention began to wane. There are only so many ways you can describe flaying a body, amiright? When I say this is a gorefest then please take my word for it. The problem is that it's described on every single page and if I'm being truthful it became.... BORING. I just didn't care anymore about the cult, the victims, any of it and it really makes me sad to say that because I think Nevill is insanely talented. If this book had been 250 pages rather than 400+ then I think this would have been a far more affecting horror story. I'm wavering between 2 and 3 stars but because it is Nevill and because it was partly not my cuppa (and I knew it!) and because that cover is so star worthy I will go with the extra star. 3 stars!
Horror stories are what really ignited my passion for reading when I was a teen. I love the feeling of goosebumps and shivers up the spine that good spooky storytelling can evoke. I have noticed over the years that my taste in horror has evolved. I enjoy more quiet, literary horror now. Blood, guts, and gore do little to entertain me anymore.
Anyhoo, I have loved every Nevill book I have ever read until this one. I read the synopsis so I had an idea of what I was getting into and I was totally engaged with the first half of the book and then my attention began to wane. There are only so many ways you can describe flaying a body, amiright? When I say this is a gorefest then please take my word for it. The problem is that it's described on every single page and if I'm being truthful it became.... BORING. I just didn't care anymore about the cult, the victims, any of it and it really makes me sad to say that because I think Nevill is insanely talented. If this book had been 250 pages rather than 400+ then I think this would have been a far more affecting horror story. I'm wavering between 2 and 3 stars but because it is Nevill and because it was partly not my cuppa (and I knew it!) and because that cover is so star worthy I will go with the extra star. 3 stars!
December 11, 2019
So guess who is going to be reading a lot more from Adam Nevill?
I want to start by talking about the actual book, because presentation means a lot to me. Of course that jacket art is amazing, but I always remove the dust jackets when I read a book, and the cover underneath is a brilliant red with a pleasant grainy feel. My copy was sent straight from the author, and he included a bookmark with the title on it, and a very cool inscription in Latin. The book is the perfect size for holding a hardcover (slightly smaller than most hardcovers) and the font is gorgeous and very pleasing to the eye. It also smells amazing. I sniff new books as well as old, and this one is very nice. Let's just say, before I even started reading I was impressed.
Kat is a lifestyle journalist who lives near Brickburgh, in Devon when suddenly a cave is discovered in the Brickburgh area near the sea. Helene is a single mother who is drawn to Brickburgh to try to understand why her brother would take his own life. He spent a lot of his time recording natural sounds in caves and other areas, and his last recordings were taken near a farm that is very close to the newly found cave.
Both women meet and are suddenly thrown together when their separate investigations put both of their lives in peril. The cave and the atrocities the archeologists find inside it turn out to be much more than anyone could image. There is an ancient entity in the vast network of caves in Brickburgh, and those who serve that entity will stop at nothing to keep the two women from snooping around.
THE REDDENING starts out as a slow burn that soon turns into a nightmarish gorefest. And I love it. The things the characters go through are thoroughly intense and absolutely nail biting for the reader. I read so much horror that I constantly expect any author to just kill all of the characters and be done with it, so no character is too precious from my point of view. I was sincerely on the edge of my seat for a good part of this book, and I had no idea how Nevill was going to wrap the whole thing up. I enjoyed this book so much and cannot recommend it enough to all horror loving readers. Pick this one up for the gore, high tension, and superb writing.
I want to start by talking about the actual book, because presentation means a lot to me. Of course that jacket art is amazing, but I always remove the dust jackets when I read a book, and the cover underneath is a brilliant red with a pleasant grainy feel. My copy was sent straight from the author, and he included a bookmark with the title on it, and a very cool inscription in Latin. The book is the perfect size for holding a hardcover (slightly smaller than most hardcovers) and the font is gorgeous and very pleasing to the eye. It also smells amazing. I sniff new books as well as old, and this one is very nice. Let's just say, before I even started reading I was impressed.
Kat is a lifestyle journalist who lives near Brickburgh, in Devon when suddenly a cave is discovered in the Brickburgh area near the sea. Helene is a single mother who is drawn to Brickburgh to try to understand why her brother would take his own life. He spent a lot of his time recording natural sounds in caves and other areas, and his last recordings were taken near a farm that is very close to the newly found cave.
Both women meet and are suddenly thrown together when their separate investigations put both of their lives in peril. The cave and the atrocities the archeologists find inside it turn out to be much more than anyone could image. There is an ancient entity in the vast network of caves in Brickburgh, and those who serve that entity will stop at nothing to keep the two women from snooping around.
THE REDDENING starts out as a slow burn that soon turns into a nightmarish gorefest. And I love it. The things the characters go through are thoroughly intense and absolutely nail biting for the reader. I read so much horror that I constantly expect any author to just kill all of the characters and be done with it, so no character is too precious from my point of view. I was sincerely on the edge of my seat for a good part of this book, and I had no idea how Nevill was going to wrap the whole thing up. I enjoyed this book so much and cannot recommend it enough to all horror loving readers. Pick this one up for the gore, high tension, and superb writing.
November 27, 2019
This is a captivating and frightening novel that captures our sense of dread and refuses to let go, shaking us within the jaws of historical menace and its threat of eternal continuity. Surrounded by a barren and inhospitable landscape, the unknowing are caught up in appalling rituals and ancient cult activities that are animalistic and merciless. Cosmic horror melds with unrelenting group mentality as crimes against outsiders become increasingly brutal and horrific. Undercurrents of supernatural omniscience and human iniquity create routes of suspenseful and almost unbearable feats of survival. The occurrences are harrowing at times, but are interspersed with moments of unexpected courage and the possibility of endurance. Employing the use of unearthly sounds, defiled and decrepit dwellings and stories older than life itself, the author creates a part of the world that we hope never to encounter. Once you have glimpsed the Red People, you will never be the same. Godspeed.
November 26, 2019
It pains me to say this because I have a lot of respect and admiration for Adam Nevill and I have enjoyed every other book I have read by him, but this is a boring, pale representation of what he is capable of. I loved the first 20% when the bones are discovered and we get the history of the area and what actually happened deep in those caves but as the story evolved I lost interest more and more and by the time everything came to a head I really couldn't have cared less. Even the last chapter which added a little tiny bit of flair was underwhelming and underappreciated, at least to me. Nevill in his other books has always been able to creep me out. He has had me looking around, checking my surroundings, picking my feet off the floor with an accelerated heartbeat in fear because of what he has written and what he comes up with but those feelings were non-existent here. In here there was tons of violence but no scares or chills. I am in no way shape or form put off by violence or gore in books and I've read some pretty graphic stuff but it just didn't work for me here. I was also put off by the repetition. Describing the same thing twenty different ways, performing the same acts of violence over and over and over, it just all got to be pretty redundant and I was bored by about halfway through. At different times this book reminded of a mash-up of Jack Ketchum's Off Season and Nevill's own far superior novel The Ritual but it doesn't do anything as successfully as those two books did themselves. Three outta four ain't bad with regards to how I rate my experiences reading Mr. Nevill so far (Ritual and Last Days were 4 stars, Under A Watchful Eye 5 terrifying stars) and I will continue to buy and read what he puts out, I just go to him to be frightened and not for buckets of blood.
August 7, 2020
Kat clenched her teeth and raised the wooden club in her hand. We’re all monsters here. We’re all red now.
I enjoyed a lot my first read from author Adam Nevill.
Ghoulish archaeological discoveries, creepy noises audible inside a suicider found footage recording, well fleshed characters, two strong female leads against all odds, a dark corner of Britain just out of nightmares (luckly existing only inside authors' mind and readers' imagination like Stephen King's Maine or H.P. Lovecraft's New England settings), cosmic horror and much more in a thrilling page-turning folk-horror novel.
A moment of strange calm came upon her then: a warmth spread through her muscles. ‘No.’ Her final word.
The red people took her down to the wet grass and began tugging her into position.
She wanted the first raised rock to knock her out so that she wouldn’t feel the impact of the other five. It didn’t.
First chapters were a slow burn with their adding of different characters and years time lapses between them, but they set for good both setting and atmosphere, turning quickly into a skin-crawling gore-fest bordering, but never trespassing, to splatterpunk/extreme horror territories.
Delia hung up without another word. The role of Steve’s girlfriend seemed inconsequential to his mother. Kat’s second attempt to contact Sheila soon after that was met with a recorded voicemail message. While trying to distract herself with the BBC news and recurring thoughts of cold white wine, the first red face appeared at the window closest to where Kat sat.
Probably sometimes too wordy, but storyline quickly got better and better so much that I could not stop reading, and that ending, far from unexpected but still disturbing, just gave me chills.
Helene turned. What had come in through the open door of the Red Barn, or had been hiding on the ground floor, immediately reduced her to a motionless gawping. And when one of the red things issued the first shriek and rushed at her, all she managed to do was clap a hand to her chest to steady her heart.
Mr Nevill just got a new fan for life.
February 19, 2021
“While trying to distract herself with the BBC news and thoughts of cold white wine, the first red face appeared at the window closest to where Kat sat.”
I’ll admit this book has some creepy, unsettling and downright disturbing imagery, but it could easily have been 100 pages shorter if Nevill had dialled back on repeating himself multiple times, as well as cutting the excessive descriptions of nature and other things I did not care for. And that really lessened my enjoyment of this book unfortunately!
The Reddening is described as a folk-horror thriller, wherein a hoard of human remains and prehistoric artefacts are discovered in caves along the Devon coast. It isn’t long before our two protagonists are caught up in the secrets circling these horrific discoveries.
This was my very first Adam Nevill book, but it won’t be my last. For all of my complaints, there was a lot of good too! There is no doubt that Nevill is a fantastic writer and an accomplished storyteller, so maybe this was just a case of The Reddening not working for me personally. I’m more than willing to give him another shot (especially since I already have two more of his books!)
The setting itself was intriguing, along the English coastline. You can tell that Nevill is heavily into such landscapes and that love truly comes across in his writing. As well as lots of excruciatingly detailed descriptions of the coastline and surrounding areas, I also felt that he over-explained the mythology behind what was happening, to the point where I actually felt MORE confused.
As always, I do love a horror story with female protagonists, and we have TWO of them in this instance. They are not without their flaws, but they are pretty tenacious and badass, so that’s a win in my book!
Again, not a bad book, I think it’s worth checking out if the story intrigues you! And some parts were damn creepy. 3 stars.
I’ll admit this book has some creepy, unsettling and downright disturbing imagery, but it could easily have been 100 pages shorter if Nevill had dialled back on repeating himself multiple times, as well as cutting the excessive descriptions of nature and other things I did not care for. And that really lessened my enjoyment of this book unfortunately!
The Reddening is described as a folk-horror thriller, wherein a hoard of human remains and prehistoric artefacts are discovered in caves along the Devon coast. It isn’t long before our two protagonists are caught up in the secrets circling these horrific discoveries.
This was my very first Adam Nevill book, but it won’t be my last. For all of my complaints, there was a lot of good too! There is no doubt that Nevill is a fantastic writer and an accomplished storyteller, so maybe this was just a case of The Reddening not working for me personally. I’m more than willing to give him another shot (especially since I already have two more of his books!)
The setting itself was intriguing, along the English coastline. You can tell that Nevill is heavily into such landscapes and that love truly comes across in his writing. As well as lots of excruciatingly detailed descriptions of the coastline and surrounding areas, I also felt that he over-explained the mythology behind what was happening, to the point where I actually felt MORE confused.
As always, I do love a horror story with female protagonists, and we have TWO of them in this instance. They are not without their flaws, but they are pretty tenacious and badass, so that’s a win in my book!
Again, not a bad book, I think it’s worth checking out if the story intrigues you! And some parts were damn creepy. 3 stars.
November 27, 2019
The Limbo of "It was neither awesome nor awful" 3 stars.
Let's begin with the negatives, because that's how I roll: the book was so, so overwritten. Dunno if Adam Nevill was attempting some Romanticism by injecting "lush" descriptions of nature and a lot of emphasis in the "introspective" existentialist musings of this and that character, but it did NOT work for me. There was pretentious/ purple prose-y writing in every single narrative paragraph, like:
She must have moved too far from the familiar because her imagination had additionally been lured into epochal considerations she'd not entertained since childhood. Too clear here were reminders that she was a mite on a great chunk of rock, one formed by distant and monumental collisions and processes in deep space, occuring billions of years before. Awareness of the great abscences above the inert earth and the vast, unbroken stretch of empty water into the horizion seemed to intensify her loneliness while making her strangely fearful.
Or
A fleeting comprehension conjures the sense of deep personal insignificance and an acute vulnerability before an insurmountable, barely knowable presence.
I don't know about you (maybe you liked what you just read, maybe you want to check the book out now), but me? My eyes glazed over and my brain kept slipping off all the time.
It didn't help that the pacing was pretty slow, as well. We had sooo many parts like the above with the plot barely moving. I get it, you have to build the atmosphere, you have to set the tone, but there must be a limit to it, because otherwise the book ends up looking padded, like you didn't have enough plot to fill it with and had to fill the pages up with something.
Also, while I liked some parts of it , the ending was pretty weak for me. The ping-ponging between Kat and Helene's POVs, especially when Helene's came first even though she was chronologically second and was annoying at best, terribly written at worst.
Oh, and now that I mentioned , what was INCREDIBLY frustrating was seeing the characters unable to connect the dots on the most obvious shit.
Other than all of the above, and why the book gets a 3 and not a 2, is that I enjoyed reading it. I wasn't as creeped out as I was hoping to be (mostly because yes, I'm a Special Snowflake (TM)), but I still liked it enough to keep going despite the purple prose, the dumb characters, the slow pacing etc. I should also mention that by the end I was very ready for it to be over, though. Now that I think about it, the rating is probably 2,5, but let's just leave it rounded up to a 3.
Let's begin with the negatives, because that's how I roll: the book was so, so overwritten. Dunno if Adam Nevill was attempting some Romanticism by injecting "lush" descriptions of nature and a lot of emphasis in the "introspective" existentialist musings of this and that character, but it did NOT work for me. There was pretentious/ purple prose-y writing in every single narrative paragraph, like:
She must have moved too far from the familiar because her imagination had additionally been lured into epochal considerations she'd not entertained since childhood. Too clear here were reminders that she was a mite on a great chunk of rock, one formed by distant and monumental collisions and processes in deep space, occuring billions of years before. Awareness of the great abscences above the inert earth and the vast, unbroken stretch of empty water into the horizion seemed to intensify her loneliness while making her strangely fearful.
Or
A fleeting comprehension conjures the sense of deep personal insignificance and an acute vulnerability before an insurmountable, barely knowable presence.
I don't know about you (maybe you liked what you just read, maybe you want to check the book out now), but me? My eyes glazed over and my brain kept slipping off all the time.
It didn't help that the pacing was pretty slow, as well. We had sooo many parts like the above with the plot barely moving. I get it, you have to build the atmosphere, you have to set the tone, but there must be a limit to it, because otherwise the book ends up looking padded, like you didn't have enough plot to fill it with and had to fill the pages up with something.
Also, while I liked some parts of it , the ending was pretty weak for me. The ping-ponging between Kat and Helene's POVs, especially when Helene's came first even though she was chronologically second and was annoying at best, terribly written at worst.
Oh, and now that I mentioned , what was INCREDIBLY frustrating was seeing the characters unable to connect the dots on the most obvious shit.
Other than all of the above, and why the book gets a 3 and not a 2, is that I enjoyed reading it. I wasn't as creeped out as I was hoping to be (mostly because yes, I'm a Special Snowflake (TM)), but I still liked it enough to keep going despite the purple prose, the dumb characters, the slow pacing etc. I should also mention that by the end I was very ready for it to be over, though. Now that I think about it, the rating is probably 2,5, but let's just leave it rounded up to a 3.
September 18, 2025
Creepy Book Alert! One of my picks for you as a total winner with Halloween on way.
Wow! I had to let this book marinate before writing my review. I am never let down by Adam’s books and this is an utterly brilliant and highly disturbing novel from the pen of a true horror master.
This one grabbed me and didn't let go, even when I wanted to turn my eyes from what was happening on the page. Seriously folks, this is for those who like to go to dark places.
The Reddening is set off the coast of Devon in England. A beautiful spot that I have visited on holiday. Never again however. There are THINGS there according to Adam's novel that I never, ever want to meet. That may be crossing the fiction and reality line but I don't care. (Devon is actually gorgeous and please do visit).
Adam takes us into a mythological dark "reddened" world of things and practices that have been around too long, things that one should not awaken, things that should stay sleeping and not be brought forth into the present.
Book Quote: ‘Let what is so great fill red. Let the walls and the air be red. Let the earth soak red and the sky be red. Let us be blessed in the red. We are red. This, our reddening.’ ‘Reddening’ was shrieked about the barn.
Adam blends splendidly something so wrong into this novel. Something that will truly give you that sense of fear and trepidation as you go chapter to chapter. Do you want to find out what's really going on? What "The Red" is and does? You do, reluctantly with your breath held and the light on. Every single character is memorable, many will make the hairs on your arms stand on end. Being human takes on a whole new meaning with a big question mark.
Book Quote: But Jess had run with the red folk and run red with their rage, their eternal rage. She’d reddened and run past nightmares mapped upon the walls. She’d run with the past, she’d run into the future.
There are some scenes in this book that I saw in full HD in my imagination and it was full-blown horror. If you have a weak stomach, be warned. If you don't have a weak stomach I recommend NOT eating whilst reading. Honestly, I felt a tad nauseous. Powerful when words can do that to me. You know those scenes when you just can't believe what you are reading/seeing? You want to turn away, run away, get the hell away? Yet...you have to see it through. Let it sink into your soul. You will never be the same again.
I am not going to reveal much of the plot or what the book is about obviously. It's really one of those to go into with just no preconceived ideas. Just hole up, turn off your phone and prepare yourself for one hell of a good read. I don't know where Adam gets his plot ideas from but I am still his biggest fan (I dare you to challenge me on that one) and loved this as I have all his other novels.
This very slightly reminded me a little of The Ritual, which of course was made into a fantastic film (must read, must see!) in that it took something dark, something ancient, something just not right and brought it into our modern world. The Reddening really explores the dark side of human nature blending it with ancient rites, beliefs and practices.
Prepare to be darkly lulled in certain scenes as you enter the place where the red is coming. I felt like I could hear it, smell it, sense it...totally freaked me out entirely. That's Adam's skill in writing in a way that it envelopes every single sense you have and does not let go.
The chapters leading up to the ending were breathtaking and so dark, I could not turn the pages quickly enough. My brain split at times trying to take in the horror, terror and vivid scenes that assaulted me.
I loved this book, it was wonderfully disturbing. I really think Adam has gone to a new place with this one and highly recommend to any fans of horror, folklore and dark fiction. I double dare you to turn yourself red with The Reddening. This one HAS to be put onto the big screen.
Thank you Adam for my copy of your book! I am still officially your No.1 fan after many years and this sits on my bookcase along with all your other books.
Thanks so much for reading my review of this book. Join me as a friend or follower and feel free to browse my shelves for your next great book! I love to connect with other readers.
Wow! I had to let this book marinate before writing my review. I am never let down by Adam’s books and this is an utterly brilliant and highly disturbing novel from the pen of a true horror master.
This one grabbed me and didn't let go, even when I wanted to turn my eyes from what was happening on the page. Seriously folks, this is for those who like to go to dark places.
The Reddening is set off the coast of Devon in England. A beautiful spot that I have visited on holiday. Never again however. There are THINGS there according to Adam's novel that I never, ever want to meet. That may be crossing the fiction and reality line but I don't care. (Devon is actually gorgeous and please do visit).
Adam takes us into a mythological dark "reddened" world of things and practices that have been around too long, things that one should not awaken, things that should stay sleeping and not be brought forth into the present.
Book Quote: ‘Let what is so great fill red. Let the walls and the air be red. Let the earth soak red and the sky be red. Let us be blessed in the red. We are red. This, our reddening.’ ‘Reddening’ was shrieked about the barn.
Adam blends splendidly something so wrong into this novel. Something that will truly give you that sense of fear and trepidation as you go chapter to chapter. Do you want to find out what's really going on? What "The Red" is and does? You do, reluctantly with your breath held and the light on. Every single character is memorable, many will make the hairs on your arms stand on end. Being human takes on a whole new meaning with a big question mark.
Book Quote: But Jess had run with the red folk and run red with their rage, their eternal rage. She’d reddened and run past nightmares mapped upon the walls. She’d run with the past, she’d run into the future.
There are some scenes in this book that I saw in full HD in my imagination and it was full-blown horror. If you have a weak stomach, be warned. If you don't have a weak stomach I recommend NOT eating whilst reading. Honestly, I felt a tad nauseous. Powerful when words can do that to me. You know those scenes when you just can't believe what you are reading/seeing? You want to turn away, run away, get the hell away? Yet...you have to see it through. Let it sink into your soul. You will never be the same again.
I am not going to reveal much of the plot or what the book is about obviously. It's really one of those to go into with just no preconceived ideas. Just hole up, turn off your phone and prepare yourself for one hell of a good read. I don't know where Adam gets his plot ideas from but I am still his biggest fan (I dare you to challenge me on that one) and loved this as I have all his other novels.
This very slightly reminded me a little of The Ritual, which of course was made into a fantastic film (must read, must see!) in that it took something dark, something ancient, something just not right and brought it into our modern world. The Reddening really explores the dark side of human nature blending it with ancient rites, beliefs and practices.
Prepare to be darkly lulled in certain scenes as you enter the place where the red is coming. I felt like I could hear it, smell it, sense it...totally freaked me out entirely. That's Adam's skill in writing in a way that it envelopes every single sense you have and does not let go.
The chapters leading up to the ending were breathtaking and so dark, I could not turn the pages quickly enough. My brain split at times trying to take in the horror, terror and vivid scenes that assaulted me.
I loved this book, it was wonderfully disturbing. I really think Adam has gone to a new place with this one and highly recommend to any fans of horror, folklore and dark fiction. I double dare you to turn yourself red with The Reddening. This one HAS to be put onto the big screen.
Thank you Adam for my copy of your book! I am still officially your No.1 fan after many years and this sits on my bookcase along with all your other books.
Thanks so much for reading my review of this book. Join me as a friend or follower and feel free to browse my shelves for your next great book! I love to connect with other readers.
June 16, 2021
Edited: Dec. 9, 2019
This book is still on my mind. Adam’s books never quite leave, you see, but I wanted to add that this had archaeology and anthropology. I enjoyed that part immensely.
This book reminded me of feelings and experiences I have had reading his other books (The Ritual & Last Days) as well as hiking experiences where I just wanted to put my tail in gear and get the fudge out. It was like I sensed a strange otherness, something other than me watching closely. (No! Going to Comi-con doesn’t count in what I’m about to say! Wait... I think it does.. Yeah! Let’s definitely count that. )
So anyway, something ‘other’ watching closely: Maybe it was just the feel of shadow setting over the landscape after noon had bronzed the sky, however; maybe it was a weird person or a big animal; I sure wasn’t sticking around. Nah ah.
We’ve all been to an ancient place, either carved by time or inhabited in history (or Comic-con) and there IS a certain feeling around such places to those open to it. I mean how can you stand on an ancient Aztec site where they slaughtered hundreds? Thousands ? To feed their river of blood and not get a twingle?
(Small note here: with cons it totally different .. it’s more of a pungent aroma and an oppressive ... moving on )
The Reddening involves an accidental archeological find involving an old culture of people that practiced sacrifice, cannibalism (uhhuh) and tossed victims into what they called
“the red”.
A culture very many thousands of years old. 60k!, but very much still alive thanks to one of these accidental finds by someone whom was not interested in its science or value to inquiring minds, but instead its unholy power. She let it infest her mind and then her family.
We are all red. She gave herself over to the red, and it gave to her but then it stopped.
The red takes as it has always done. When it is through with you, it takes you. We all go into the red. The red will choose.
So... part cult weirdness and part past mystery due to missing persons, I did love this, but it was typical A. N. So much tension to get there!!! If you like cults and the mystery as to what drives them then reach for this. It’ll knock your socks off. Cause they don’t wear them. 4 stars
This book is still on my mind. Adam’s books never quite leave, you see, but I wanted to add that this had archaeology and anthropology. I enjoyed that part immensely.
This book reminded me of feelings and experiences I have had reading his other books (The Ritual & Last Days) as well as hiking experiences where I just wanted to put my tail in gear and get the fudge out. It was like I sensed a strange otherness, something other than me watching closely. (No! Going to Comi-con doesn’t count in what I’m about to say! Wait... I think it does.. Yeah! Let’s definitely count that. )
So anyway, something ‘other’ watching closely: Maybe it was just the feel of shadow setting over the landscape after noon had bronzed the sky, however; maybe it was a weird person or a big animal; I sure wasn’t sticking around. Nah ah.
We’ve all been to an ancient place, either carved by time or inhabited in history (or Comic-con) and there IS a certain feeling around such places to those open to it. I mean how can you stand on an ancient Aztec site where they slaughtered hundreds? Thousands ? To feed their river of blood and not get a twingle?
(Small note here: with cons it totally different .. it’s more of a pungent aroma and an oppressive ... moving on )
The Reddening involves an accidental archeological find involving an old culture of people that practiced sacrifice, cannibalism (uhhuh) and tossed victims into what they called
“the red”.
A culture very many thousands of years old. 60k!, but very much still alive thanks to one of these accidental finds by someone whom was not interested in its science or value to inquiring minds, but instead its unholy power. She let it infest her mind and then her family.
We are all red. She gave herself over to the red, and it gave to her but then it stopped.
The red takes as it has always done. When it is through with you, it takes you. We all go into the red. The red will choose.
So... part cult weirdness and part past mystery due to missing persons, I did love this, but it was typical A. N. So much tension to get there!!! If you like cults and the mystery as to what drives them then reach for this. It’ll knock your socks off. Cause they don’t wear them. 4 stars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 7, 2019
The cover of Adam Nevill’s THE REDDENING first caught my eye on Sadie’s (@mother.horror) Instagram page when she posted her special edition copy. Unfortunately for me the hardcovers were all sold out, but Adam kindly offered to send me a free signed paperback. He is incredibly generous and I am so grateful for my copy because, guess what?!...I loved it.
Kat is a lifestyle journalist who escapes her past by moving to a coastal area near Brickburgh in Devon England. Artifacts and remains from thousands of years ago are discovered in a nearby cave and this discovery definitely has Kat’s attention. Our second protagonist, Helene, has a very personal tie to the Brickburgh caves. Her brother, Lincoln, vanished six years ago while he spent time there recording subterranean sounds. Helene and Kat are thrown together during the course of their individual journeys and are forced to move forward together in a place where they are not welcome.
Wow, Nevill sure knows how to write folklore, and HORROR. This book hit every mark for me. The writing is exquisite, the storytelling incredible, and the horror unapologetic. And oh my goodness, do I love Kat and Helene.
If you like horror with complex storylines, wonderful characters, a rough coastal setting, archeological digs, cannibalism and cults, then you’ve found the right book. There is a reason why Nevill’s fans have been recommending his books to me - I am so glad I am finally among them.
Kat is a lifestyle journalist who escapes her past by moving to a coastal area near Brickburgh in Devon England. Artifacts and remains from thousands of years ago are discovered in a nearby cave and this discovery definitely has Kat’s attention. Our second protagonist, Helene, has a very personal tie to the Brickburgh caves. Her brother, Lincoln, vanished six years ago while he spent time there recording subterranean sounds. Helene and Kat are thrown together during the course of their individual journeys and are forced to move forward together in a place where they are not welcome.
Wow, Nevill sure knows how to write folklore, and HORROR. This book hit every mark for me. The writing is exquisite, the storytelling incredible, and the horror unapologetic. And oh my goodness, do I love Kat and Helene.
If you like horror with complex storylines, wonderful characters, a rough coastal setting, archeological digs, cannibalism and cults, then you’ve found the right book. There is a reason why Nevill’s fans have been recommending his books to me - I am so glad I am finally among them.
December 5, 2019
Yay! i love reading Adam Nevill cause his stuff actually scares me! From the very start of this one, the mood is bleak and foreboding. That sense of dread continues through this whole book. You just know something bad is going to happen. It could be on the next page or in the next chapter but it's there. There's archaeology, crazy cults & rituals, and lots more to scare you in this book. I really, really liked the ending. i won't spoil it but it's good!
November 18, 2020
This book was okay. At first it really grabbed me because the atmospherics were amazing. I could literally feel the near spiritual vibe of the setting, which made the gruesome scenes in the early part of the book inherently disturbing (which is a good thing in this scenario).
The plot continued to pull me in with decent characterization. I have been enjoying the British vibe lately in my reading and the author’s insight into wilderness Welsh areas struck me as genuine and authentic. The plot seemed a little cliché, but not overtly so. I have seen the film The Ritual so I had an idea of what to expect from the author going in. I was aware of the slow pace and suspense which seemed like a good idea for a read at the time. It did work well. What I was not prepared for was the stream of consciousness style interlude type scenes woven throughout the text. At times those scenes are very Stephen King like, complete with italics for the thought bubbles and all. At other times they wind through several pages, not unlike King during his over wordy phase in the 90s (which I still like, by the way, despite all criticism to the contrary).
The author’s thought processes are enjoyable to follow into their rabbit hole, and at times the meandering style really works- until it gets old. Then it gets really old. For example, there is a hostage in one scene. The hostage imagines her plight from a near metaphysical perspective and how it could affect literally everyone she knows. Then she imagines several escape plans in detail, how they would work, how they might not, what the consequences of each would be. There were times I wished the author would just get on with it.
The ending is satisfying albeit slightly predictable. It wraps up all loose ends without too many surprises.
Not a bad read. I won’t rush out to read the next book in line by this author though.
Two stars.
The plot continued to pull me in with decent characterization. I have been enjoying the British vibe lately in my reading and the author’s insight into wilderness Welsh areas struck me as genuine and authentic. The plot seemed a little cliché, but not overtly so. I have seen the film The Ritual so I had an idea of what to expect from the author going in. I was aware of the slow pace and suspense which seemed like a good idea for a read at the time. It did work well. What I was not prepared for was the stream of consciousness style interlude type scenes woven throughout the text. At times those scenes are very Stephen King like, complete with italics for the thought bubbles and all. At other times they wind through several pages, not unlike King during his over wordy phase in the 90s (which I still like, by the way, despite all criticism to the contrary).
The author’s thought processes are enjoyable to follow into their rabbit hole, and at times the meandering style really works- until it gets old. Then it gets really old. For example, there is a hostage in one scene. The hostage imagines her plight from a near metaphysical perspective and how it could affect literally everyone she knows. Then she imagines several escape plans in detail, how they would work, how they might not, what the consequences of each would be. There were times I wished the author would just get on with it.
The ending is satisfying albeit slightly predictable. It wraps up all loose ends without too many surprises.
Not a bad read. I won’t rush out to read the next book in line by this author though.
Two stars.
December 27, 2019
Adam Nevill's THE REDDENING is an extremely well-written bit of folk-horror, but, in the end, it falls victim to its own tropes. If you've seen/read even a little folk-horror, you'll know pretty much where this is headed, who is in on it, and how it will pretty much play out. That said, I was really enjoying the build-up for a while, until I realized that there was quite a bit of build-up. This is a LONG book, and a little bit of this went a long way. You could probably cut a few hundred pages out of this, and not miss much, especially considering how abrupt and unsatisfying (most of...) the ending was. A decent read, but I wasn't sorry to see it end.
September 22, 2019
The south Devon area of England is well known for its rugged and natural beauty; its stretching coastlines and meandering paths loved by ramblers, however, after reading Adam Nevill’s outstanding new novel The Reddening you may well decide to book your next holiday elsewhere. The author has been a south coast resident for a few years now and, although his last two novels have also been set roughly in this area, this ninth outing is dominated by its locality. Highlights include threatening landscapes, secluded farms with vicious secrets and a sea full of dangers rather than its picturesque beauty. One thing is for certain; the offices of the south Devon Tourist Board will not be stocking The Reddening! Long-term fans of Nevill are going to love this brutal tale and if you have never previously dipped into this author, here is as good a place to start as any. If it is to your liking, Nevill’s back-catalogue is so good it rivals the very biggest names in world horror.
The story has several very clever strands which I will cover briefly, some out of context to avoid spoilers. Whilst out paragliding Matt Hull discovers the entrance to a cave which leads to the excavation of a hugely important archaeological site concerning early man, however, once the experts have spent some time examining their discoveries they realise this was a location of ritualistic mass slaughter, terrible suffering, and cannibalism spread over many years. The level of detail, and descriptions, of the manner of these deaths was simply outstanding and it perfectly sets the tone for what horrors lies ahead. Even though these monstrosities occurred thousands of years previously, the brutality was so extreme it still scares those hearing about it for the first time in the press conference.
The cover of the novel depicts the silhouette of a creature which is clearly connected to the caves in some way. Don’t go into this novel expecting some cheap monster rampaging creature feature, there is significantly more to the story than that. The pacing is exquisite and the discovery of the caves is only one part of a very cleverly drawn and complex conspiracy which is one of the strengths of the novel. One of the golden rules in horror fiction is never reveal your hand too early: Adam Nevill wrote the book on this important literary technique and expertly leads the reader a merry dance on what horrors lurk in the underground caverns.
For anyone who has read, arguably, Nevill’s masterpiece No One Gets Out Alive the address of 82 Edgware Road should set off plenty of warning bells and maybe a few shivers of revulsion. The Reddening has its own equivalent: Redstone Farm. If you ever go rambling close to disused quarries in south Devon make sure you heed the ‘NO TRESSPASSING’ signs, otherwise you’ll regret it. This was a stunning location and was described with the horrible decrepit detail which will be familiar to regular readers of his fiction. There were scenes inside this farm, including when a character is hiding in the house, which were as unrelentingly unpleasant and nail-biting as anything the author has written. Worryingly, it does not look like there is much farming going on in Redstone. Overall, the descriptions were outstanding from the mangy stinking sheep which seem to be stalking campers to the threat of being hunted through the bramble infested local forests and being clubbed to death with blunt instruments.
Kat writes for a local lifestyle magazine, ‘Devon Life and Style’, and is present when the archaeologist makes the big reveal, her photographer boyfriend Steve is also interested in the amazing discovery. Intending to write a feature, she is instead sucked into a dark world which is right on her doorstep, she never imagined could exist. Kat soon meets Helene, who has her own interests in the archaeological dig, and is investigating the apparent suicide of her brother Lincoln. The deceased had an odd pastime; he recorded natural sounds which came from deep within caves and other natural environments. Soon Helene realises Lincoln was recording very close to the site of the dig not long before he died. The mystery deepens and plays out exquisitely over 400-pages.
Sounds and music both play a crucial part in adding to the oppressive atmosphere where permeates throughout The Reddening. The sounds captured by Lincoln which Helene listens to are deeply unpleasant and are described via waves of bestial grunting and other unnatural noises which soon have Helene revaluating what her brother had unwittingly stumbled upon. The novel also features a highly convincing folk music vibe which harks back to the 1970s glory years and a now reclusive former singer who was once big enough to play festivals to the scale of Knebworth. The seventies flashbacks were very convincing and I smiled at the references to the “mad crusties from back in the day.” There were many other funny musical references, including the “Hippy Slipknot” and “Filth Pigs are fucking here!” which may well have been a nod towards industrial metal band ‘Ministry’.
If you follow Nevill on social media you will know he is a fan of long-distance sea swimming. Perhaps there was a touch of personal fears built into the novel; it includes a stunning scene which is spread over several chapters where a character is dumped far out at sea to drown. This individual is a born fighter and the battle for survival is so intense the reader will feel they are also in the water fighting for life whilst hypothermia kicks in. This was, quite simply, outstanding writing and one of the most thrilling sequences in the book. A different type of horror.
I’m amazed that after eight previous novels, the first of which was published in 2004, Nevill can still come up with refreshing new fiction which does not particularly tread over old grounds, except in the very general sense of ‘horror being horror’. Long-term fans are bound to make their own comparisons and there is a tiny similarity to House of Small Shadows, but only in a broad folk-horror sense, but there is a slightly bigger connection to Last Days which also includes flashbacks to the seventies, otherwise it is all new. The plot is a very clever one, which effortlessly moves over time periods and has many very clever strands which pull together as the brutal body-count rises with the novel heading towards an outstanding climax revealing what ‘Reddening’ and its cryptic variations really means.
If you’re new to Adam Nevill and would like to investigate him further here are links to articles written by myself on the Ink Heist site.
Supernatural horror does not get much better than The Reddening. If you’re a fan of slow build-ups, heavy atmosphere, superb and intricate plotting, bloodletting and a novel which has a unique sense of time and place then you are going to love this quality story.
The story has several very clever strands which I will cover briefly, some out of context to avoid spoilers. Whilst out paragliding Matt Hull discovers the entrance to a cave which leads to the excavation of a hugely important archaeological site concerning early man, however, once the experts have spent some time examining their discoveries they realise this was a location of ritualistic mass slaughter, terrible suffering, and cannibalism spread over many years. The level of detail, and descriptions, of the manner of these deaths was simply outstanding and it perfectly sets the tone for what horrors lies ahead. Even though these monstrosities occurred thousands of years previously, the brutality was so extreme it still scares those hearing about it for the first time in the press conference.
The cover of the novel depicts the silhouette of a creature which is clearly connected to the caves in some way. Don’t go into this novel expecting some cheap monster rampaging creature feature, there is significantly more to the story than that. The pacing is exquisite and the discovery of the caves is only one part of a very cleverly drawn and complex conspiracy which is one of the strengths of the novel. One of the golden rules in horror fiction is never reveal your hand too early: Adam Nevill wrote the book on this important literary technique and expertly leads the reader a merry dance on what horrors lurk in the underground caverns.
For anyone who has read, arguably, Nevill’s masterpiece No One Gets Out Alive the address of 82 Edgware Road should set off plenty of warning bells and maybe a few shivers of revulsion. The Reddening has its own equivalent: Redstone Farm. If you ever go rambling close to disused quarries in south Devon make sure you heed the ‘NO TRESSPASSING’ signs, otherwise you’ll regret it. This was a stunning location and was described with the horrible decrepit detail which will be familiar to regular readers of his fiction. There were scenes inside this farm, including when a character is hiding in the house, which were as unrelentingly unpleasant and nail-biting as anything the author has written. Worryingly, it does not look like there is much farming going on in Redstone. Overall, the descriptions were outstanding from the mangy stinking sheep which seem to be stalking campers to the threat of being hunted through the bramble infested local forests and being clubbed to death with blunt instruments.
Kat writes for a local lifestyle magazine, ‘Devon Life and Style’, and is present when the archaeologist makes the big reveal, her photographer boyfriend Steve is also interested in the amazing discovery. Intending to write a feature, she is instead sucked into a dark world which is right on her doorstep, she never imagined could exist. Kat soon meets Helene, who has her own interests in the archaeological dig, and is investigating the apparent suicide of her brother Lincoln. The deceased had an odd pastime; he recorded natural sounds which came from deep within caves and other natural environments. Soon Helene realises Lincoln was recording very close to the site of the dig not long before he died. The mystery deepens and plays out exquisitely over 400-pages.
Sounds and music both play a crucial part in adding to the oppressive atmosphere where permeates throughout The Reddening. The sounds captured by Lincoln which Helene listens to are deeply unpleasant and are described via waves of bestial grunting and other unnatural noises which soon have Helene revaluating what her brother had unwittingly stumbled upon. The novel also features a highly convincing folk music vibe which harks back to the 1970s glory years and a now reclusive former singer who was once big enough to play festivals to the scale of Knebworth. The seventies flashbacks were very convincing and I smiled at the references to the “mad crusties from back in the day.” There were many other funny musical references, including the “Hippy Slipknot” and “Filth Pigs are fucking here!” which may well have been a nod towards industrial metal band ‘Ministry’.
If you follow Nevill on social media you will know he is a fan of long-distance sea swimming. Perhaps there was a touch of personal fears built into the novel; it includes a stunning scene which is spread over several chapters where a character is dumped far out at sea to drown. This individual is a born fighter and the battle for survival is so intense the reader will feel they are also in the water fighting for life whilst hypothermia kicks in. This was, quite simply, outstanding writing and one of the most thrilling sequences in the book. A different type of horror.
I’m amazed that after eight previous novels, the first of which was published in 2004, Nevill can still come up with refreshing new fiction which does not particularly tread over old grounds, except in the very general sense of ‘horror being horror’. Long-term fans are bound to make their own comparisons and there is a tiny similarity to House of Small Shadows, but only in a broad folk-horror sense, but there is a slightly bigger connection to Last Days which also includes flashbacks to the seventies, otherwise it is all new. The plot is a very clever one, which effortlessly moves over time periods and has many very clever strands which pull together as the brutal body-count rises with the novel heading towards an outstanding climax revealing what ‘Reddening’ and its cryptic variations really means.
If you’re new to Adam Nevill and would like to investigate him further here are links to articles written by myself on the Ink Heist site.
Supernatural horror does not get much better than The Reddening. If you’re a fan of slow build-ups, heavy atmosphere, superb and intricate plotting, bloodletting and a novel which has a unique sense of time and place then you are going to love this quality story.
January 31, 2020
THE REDDENING, by Adam Nevill, is another richly atmospheric novel by this veteran horror writer. Nevill is able to consistently amaze me with the unique ideas he brings to this field. At times, his descriptions are almost poetic in nature, despite the subject material.
". . . the only thing stranger than fiction were the people who inhabited reality."
The action starts out stark and brutal, giving us multiple scenes to contemplate and file away in order to piece together later. Like a monstrous puzzle, each piece is a link to the whole.
". . . What was done in there, in that dark, horrible place, should have stayed buried . . . "
Nevill takes us to different characters, each one's involvement crucial to the plot. Despite this, the main characters are often only connected by the loosest of associations. Regardless, each individual has some vital role in the tale.
We alternate between bloody, horrendous discoveries, and the quiet psychological horror faced by some of the characters. The fact that we can weave effortlessly between these two concepts is a testament to Nevill's strong writing ability.
". . . Bad memories never died. They only blurred . . . "
Overall, another unique horror novel by an author I've come to consistently count on. Both the imagery presented, and the characters, fell into their positions perfectly--making this novel a complete reading experience. If new books by Adam Nevill aren't on your "must-buy" list already, you may want to change that.
" . . . We're all monsters here. We're all red now."
Recommended.
". . . the only thing stranger than fiction were the people who inhabited reality."
The action starts out stark and brutal, giving us multiple scenes to contemplate and file away in order to piece together later. Like a monstrous puzzle, each piece is a link to the whole.
". . . What was done in there, in that dark, horrible place, should have stayed buried . . . "
Nevill takes us to different characters, each one's involvement crucial to the plot. Despite this, the main characters are often only connected by the loosest of associations. Regardless, each individual has some vital role in the tale.
We alternate between bloody, horrendous discoveries, and the quiet psychological horror faced by some of the characters. The fact that we can weave effortlessly between these two concepts is a testament to Nevill's strong writing ability.
". . . Bad memories never died. They only blurred . . . "
Overall, another unique horror novel by an author I've come to consistently count on. Both the imagery presented, and the characters, fell into their positions perfectly--making this novel a complete reading experience. If new books by Adam Nevill aren't on your "must-buy" list already, you may want to change that.
" . . . We're all monsters here. We're all red now."
Recommended.
January 14, 2020
In his fascinating ‘Story Notes’ at the end of this spectacular novel, Adam Nevill talks about “pure horror of the most sublime type, that involves equal parts terror and wonder.” He understands intuitively that dread and curiosity go hand in hand. Thus, while Nevill’s hapless protagonists are subjected to the most horrific events in The Reddening, the reader is compelled to turn the page. And the next.
While Lost Girl and Under A Watchful Eye were both set in South Devon, where Nevill actually lives, The Reddening “is the first story in which I sensed the landscape, climate, atmospheres and tones were finally settling at a more meaningful depth in my imagination and thoughts.”
Examples of writers associated with particular locations are John Connolly and Stephen King (Maine). I think Nevill is unique though in how he uses landscape as character. He writes fairly old-fashioned, borderline Lovecraftian horror that balances supernatural elements with psychological tension, usually set against natural or urban settings.
The Reddening essentially reworks the second half of The Ritual, with both books labelled as ‘folk horror’. One is hesitant to slap easy labels on Nevill though, simply because he is such a consummate horror auteur. Of all the writers I have reviewed on Goodreads – and I have by no means read his entire oeuvre to date – Nevill is the only one who I have given five stars for every single book.
(The problem I am faced with now, I suppose, is that, given how The Reddening marks a new level of maturity and perfection in Nevill’s craft, if I read some of his earlier books now, they may pale in comparison. But I think not. He is simply, and unquestionably, that good.)
This book scared the bejesus out of me. It is unflinchingly creepy, and ratchets up the tension and weirdness levels as slowly and as inexorably as a frog swimming in water that is slowly being heated up until it boils to death.
Halfway through this book I was so freaked out and exhausted by the sheer tension that one night I woke up and thought I saw a shadow of a person behind the glass door in the bedroom. It turned out to be my Chewbacca plush toy on top of a tall chest of drawers in the corner.
That’s it, I thought. I immediately put the book down, and decided to read something else. But it lurked quietly on the edge of my mind until I returned to it to complete the journey (and it is a long one at just over 400 pages.)
I know one is never supposed to judge a book by its cover, but boy is this one extraordinary. Apparently the hardcover just has the illustration, with no writing on it whatsoever. The Reddening is the first novel under Nevill’s own Ritual Limited imprint, established to give him total control over his own work and its distribution. This will allow him to have an equal presence in both the UK and US markets, which is a bit of a minefield when it comes to rights issues.
I only hope that this experiment works out for Nevill, and that becoming involved with the minutiae of publishing does not sap his creative energy or enthusiasm. Well, given the quality of The Reddening – both as a work of art and a physical object – it is clear he has set his standards remarkably high.
I am hesitant to give away any plot details, as this is one of those books you just have to dive into, and come up for air at the other end of a long, dark, blood-soaked tunnel.
While Lost Girl and Under A Watchful Eye were both set in South Devon, where Nevill actually lives, The Reddening “is the first story in which I sensed the landscape, climate, atmospheres and tones were finally settling at a more meaningful depth in my imagination and thoughts.”
Examples of writers associated with particular locations are John Connolly and Stephen King (Maine). I think Nevill is unique though in how he uses landscape as character. He writes fairly old-fashioned, borderline Lovecraftian horror that balances supernatural elements with psychological tension, usually set against natural or urban settings.
The Reddening essentially reworks the second half of The Ritual, with both books labelled as ‘folk horror’. One is hesitant to slap easy labels on Nevill though, simply because he is such a consummate horror auteur. Of all the writers I have reviewed on Goodreads – and I have by no means read his entire oeuvre to date – Nevill is the only one who I have given five stars for every single book.
(The problem I am faced with now, I suppose, is that, given how The Reddening marks a new level of maturity and perfection in Nevill’s craft, if I read some of his earlier books now, they may pale in comparison. But I think not. He is simply, and unquestionably, that good.)
This book scared the bejesus out of me. It is unflinchingly creepy, and ratchets up the tension and weirdness levels as slowly and as inexorably as a frog swimming in water that is slowly being heated up until it boils to death.
Halfway through this book I was so freaked out and exhausted by the sheer tension that one night I woke up and thought I saw a shadow of a person behind the glass door in the bedroom. It turned out to be my Chewbacca plush toy on top of a tall chest of drawers in the corner.
That’s it, I thought. I immediately put the book down, and decided to read something else. But it lurked quietly on the edge of my mind until I returned to it to complete the journey (and it is a long one at just over 400 pages.)
I know one is never supposed to judge a book by its cover, but boy is this one extraordinary. Apparently the hardcover just has the illustration, with no writing on it whatsoever. The Reddening is the first novel under Nevill’s own Ritual Limited imprint, established to give him total control over his own work and its distribution. This will allow him to have an equal presence in both the UK and US markets, which is a bit of a minefield when it comes to rights issues.
I only hope that this experiment works out for Nevill, and that becoming involved with the minutiae of publishing does not sap his creative energy or enthusiasm. Well, given the quality of The Reddening – both as a work of art and a physical object – it is clear he has set his standards remarkably high.
I am hesitant to give away any plot details, as this is one of those books you just have to dive into, and come up for air at the other end of a long, dark, blood-soaked tunnel.
January 5, 2025
This book was disturbing but I'm not sure about the writing style, I have the ritual on my tbr so I'll see if I like that more.
April 17, 2024
I like Nevill's work and have read several of his novels, but this one could have been much better. While based on a great premise, The Reddening felt at times bloated and overwritten, and the pacing reflected that. The beginning several chapters serve to introduce a wide range of characters, with the only commonality being that they are on the Devon coast, but gradually, Nevill starts pulling them together (or in some cases, apart in graphic ways!).
Essentially, through some happenstance, a cave on the shore gets discovered full of ancient bones, some human, some animal. They turn out to be really old, like 60,000 years old, enough to bring hoards of archeologists running and digging. Further, the original cave links to many others, holding vast amounts of ancient bones, human artifacts and what not. Worryingly, many of the human bones have been chewed on by human teeth, leading to speculation of cannibalism and sacrifice. Nevill stutter steps years at a time and then returns to some of the original cast, those still alive at least!
The Reddening flirts with the supernatural at times. Our first instance revolves around how many of the people on the dig suffer from horrible nightmares, and those viewing the artifacts and bones in exhibits often do as well. What gives? Well, gradually we learn that the site has been occupied for a long, long time, and its a no brainer to leap to it being still occupied by some cult or worse. Our two main protagonists consist of Kat, a journalist for a local rag still on the rebound from a bad breakup in London, and Helene, the sister of one of the people who 'went missing' in the area and presumed suicided...
Alright-- creepy, ancient cult with likewise ancient flint tools who practice cannibalism on trespassers and such. Elements of supernatural, from induced nightmares to strange beings living underground who also like a little fresh meat. What could go wrong? I felt Nevill just dragged the novel along at times. Instead of chronicling someone's demise in a few pages, he drags it out for 20. Also, the narrative gets increasingly disjointed as the book progresses. The mystery of the site gets explained (in part) via a series of long flashbacks (all in italics 🤨), which plays hell with the pacing. A few other issues, and these are a bit spoilery: . Finally, the denouement? Cliché.
Nevill excels at bring on a deep creep, and does that here at times, but this just dragged on too long for this to be effective; creepy starts to get old when you start getting bored! In a tighter package, this would be awesome; as it, pretty good. 3 red stars!
Essentially, through some happenstance, a cave on the shore gets discovered full of ancient bones, some human, some animal. They turn out to be really old, like 60,000 years old, enough to bring hoards of archeologists running and digging. Further, the original cave links to many others, holding vast amounts of ancient bones, human artifacts and what not. Worryingly, many of the human bones have been chewed on by human teeth, leading to speculation of cannibalism and sacrifice. Nevill stutter steps years at a time and then returns to some of the original cast, those still alive at least!
The Reddening flirts with the supernatural at times. Our first instance revolves around how many of the people on the dig suffer from horrible nightmares, and those viewing the artifacts and bones in exhibits often do as well. What gives? Well, gradually we learn that the site has been occupied for a long, long time, and its a no brainer to leap to it being still occupied by some cult or worse. Our two main protagonists consist of Kat, a journalist for a local rag still on the rebound from a bad breakup in London, and Helene, the sister of one of the people who 'went missing' in the area and presumed suicided...
Alright-- creepy, ancient cult with likewise ancient flint tools who practice cannibalism on trespassers and such. Elements of supernatural, from induced nightmares to strange beings living underground who also like a little fresh meat. What could go wrong? I felt Nevill just dragged the novel along at times. Instead of chronicling someone's demise in a few pages, he drags it out for 20. Also, the narrative gets increasingly disjointed as the book progresses. The mystery of the site gets explained (in part) via a series of long flashbacks (all in italics 🤨), which plays hell with the pacing. A few other issues, and these are a bit spoilery: . Finally, the denouement? Cliché.
Nevill excels at bring on a deep creep, and does that here at times, but this just dragged on too long for this to be effective; creepy starts to get old when you start getting bored! In a tighter package, this would be awesome; as it, pretty good. 3 red stars!
September 4, 2021
So boring until the last 20% or so.
The discovery of an ancient cave on the British Isles brings scientists and lookey-loos flocking. The cave has paintings of unknown, upright-walking creatures and deep pits full of the bones of ice age animals and primitive humans. The occasional tourist exploring the surrounding land will spot a naked human covered head to toe in red paint, but sightings have never been confirmed.
This overlong book is very well written, but not exciting in the least. I thought this was a horror novel, but there were no "boo" moments. Unless you're a fan of blood and guts horror, this book will do nothing for you.
The discovery of an ancient cave on the British Isles brings scientists and lookey-loos flocking. The cave has paintings of unknown, upright-walking creatures and deep pits full of the bones of ice age animals and primitive humans. The occasional tourist exploring the surrounding land will spot a naked human covered head to toe in red paint, but sightings have never been confirmed.
This overlong book is very well written, but not exciting in the least. I thought this was a horror novel, but there were no "boo" moments. Unless you're a fan of blood and guts horror, this book will do nothing for you.
January 25, 2020
My review of THE REDDENING can be found at High Fever Books.
The discovery of an ancient cave system in a remote area off the English coast promises to reveal far more than just prehistoric artifacts in Adam Nevill’s latest novel, The Reddening. After Helene’s brother goes missing, a case the authorities have written off as a suicide, she follows the last few leads he left behind — a series of natural Earth sounds he had recorded, one of which points her toward the caves of Divilmouth and the surrounding hiking trails. Along the way, she becomes acquainted with a lifestyle reporter, Kat, and her photographer boyfriend, Steve, who become embroiled in the mystery while reporting on the latest archeological finds. Steve suspects the brother’s disappearance is related to the drug trade and is eager to investigate; Kat, meanwhile, is much more hesitant to pursue the case.
Of course, The Reddening is a horror novel first and foremost, so we know straight off that something much seedier are far less wholesome than drugs are afoot here, and whooo boy does Nevill not disappoint in this regard. Like his 2016 novel, The Ritual, (you might have seen its adaptation on Netflix), The Reddening is a folk horror novel, and Nevill puts a heck of a lot of meat on this story’s bones, grounding his occult oddities in the ancient past. What Kat and company unknowingly threaten to uncover, and perhaps even unleash, is a secret thousands of years old, and those who guard that secret are willing to do anything to keep it safe. They also have a very long reach, and a whole lot of influence, making them a decidedly dangerous, and ultimately, deadly adversary.
Nevill does an absolutely sublime job establishing a very particular tone and atmosphere. The Reddening is wonderfully dark, and it can get downright oppressive as the threats grow more prevalent and closer to home. Nevill also has a knack for crafting some grisly, brutal scenes of violence. One segment in particular packed such a wallop that it reminded me quite a lot of Jack Ketchum’s Off Season, and it was positively terrifying and uncomfortable reading. It struck a few nerves, and all the right ones at that.
I did have a few issues with the book’s pacing, particularly in the opening segment where I found myself wishing Nevill would hurry along and get us more into the thick of things. There’s also a fair bit of a lull around the three-quarters mark that felt a bit too long-winded and unnecessarily prolonged, with the intent of building tension, but again it left me chomping at the bit for Nevill to just get on with it already. At times The Reddening is utterly engrossing and captivating, but at other times it feels too languid and too focused on the minutiae, and the weight of its 400+ pages are keenly felt.
Now, that said, the good far outweighs those brief but ponderous periods of verbosity and leisurely accountings of nature trails and geographic explorations and dragged out attempts to string out the narrative for all its worth. When Nevill digs into the thick of things, it really is masterfully done, and he does know how to generate quite a good deal of tension. When The Reddening grabs a hold and sinks its teeth into you, it bites down hard and deep, and occasionally even savagely. This is a terrific bit of folk horror, and as an introduction to Nevill, for me, it certainly left a positive impression. I’m eager now to explore more of what this author has on tap, and to discover what other occult happenings are occurring in the wilds of England and elsewhere.
The discovery of an ancient cave system in a remote area off the English coast promises to reveal far more than just prehistoric artifacts in Adam Nevill’s latest novel, The Reddening. After Helene’s brother goes missing, a case the authorities have written off as a suicide, she follows the last few leads he left behind — a series of natural Earth sounds he had recorded, one of which points her toward the caves of Divilmouth and the surrounding hiking trails. Along the way, she becomes acquainted with a lifestyle reporter, Kat, and her photographer boyfriend, Steve, who become embroiled in the mystery while reporting on the latest archeological finds. Steve suspects the brother’s disappearance is related to the drug trade and is eager to investigate; Kat, meanwhile, is much more hesitant to pursue the case.
Of course, The Reddening is a horror novel first and foremost, so we know straight off that something much seedier are far less wholesome than drugs are afoot here, and whooo boy does Nevill not disappoint in this regard. Like his 2016 novel, The Ritual, (you might have seen its adaptation on Netflix), The Reddening is a folk horror novel, and Nevill puts a heck of a lot of meat on this story’s bones, grounding his occult oddities in the ancient past. What Kat and company unknowingly threaten to uncover, and perhaps even unleash, is a secret thousands of years old, and those who guard that secret are willing to do anything to keep it safe. They also have a very long reach, and a whole lot of influence, making them a decidedly dangerous, and ultimately, deadly adversary.
Nevill does an absolutely sublime job establishing a very particular tone and atmosphere. The Reddening is wonderfully dark, and it can get downright oppressive as the threats grow more prevalent and closer to home. Nevill also has a knack for crafting some grisly, brutal scenes of violence. One segment in particular packed such a wallop that it reminded me quite a lot of Jack Ketchum’s Off Season, and it was positively terrifying and uncomfortable reading. It struck a few nerves, and all the right ones at that.
I did have a few issues with the book’s pacing, particularly in the opening segment where I found myself wishing Nevill would hurry along and get us more into the thick of things. There’s also a fair bit of a lull around the three-quarters mark that felt a bit too long-winded and unnecessarily prolonged, with the intent of building tension, but again it left me chomping at the bit for Nevill to just get on with it already. At times The Reddening is utterly engrossing and captivating, but at other times it feels too languid and too focused on the minutiae, and the weight of its 400+ pages are keenly felt.
Now, that said, the good far outweighs those brief but ponderous periods of verbosity and leisurely accountings of nature trails and geographic explorations and dragged out attempts to string out the narrative for all its worth. When Nevill digs into the thick of things, it really is masterfully done, and he does know how to generate quite a good deal of tension. When The Reddening grabs a hold and sinks its teeth into you, it bites down hard and deep, and occasionally even savagely. This is a terrific bit of folk horror, and as an introduction to Nevill, for me, it certainly left a positive impression. I’m eager now to explore more of what this author has on tap, and to discover what other occult happenings are occurring in the wilds of England and elsewhere.
January 3, 2020
This was fine. It’s about 200 pages worth of story stretched out to 400+ pages, so the pacing is naturally extremely slow and plot elements that should have passed more quickly just went on and on and on (I’m not sure I needed chapter after chapter after chapter describing one character swimming to shore, to name one such example). There are some very exciting and well-written scenes, but you’ll have to slog through a lot to get to them.
December 31, 2019
"What was done in there, in that dark, horrible place, should have stayed buried. And no good will come of them digging up any more of what's down there."
The Reddening takes a little time – it’s worth the wait – to focus on two women, Kat and Helene, who each have their own reasons to be drawn to the Devon coast and to its newly discovered caves. It is in these caves where early humans engaged in disturbing, violent rituals. But it’s clear from the beginning of the book that such ritualized brutality was not left in the past.
The story scared me because it felt so believable, from the vivid descriptions of the coastline to the horrific acts of violence. As I turned the pages, I didn’t know what was going to happen next, and Nevill surprised me to the very end. It’s bloody, fantastic, and primal.
“From end to end, history was collected horror, preserved for the fascination of a bestial species.”
As an aside, I happened to rediscover my enjoyment of the drone metal band Sunn O))) around the time I started reading this book. They released two albums this year and both of them are fantastic accompaniment to The Reddening. Both the band and Nevill seem to tap into something beyond us, something ancient. Listening to Sunn O))) while reading heightened the feeling of dread. So I highly recommend checking out Pyroclasts and Life Metal as the soundtrack, should you choose – and I hope you do! – to read the book.
The Reddening takes a little time – it’s worth the wait – to focus on two women, Kat and Helene, who each have their own reasons to be drawn to the Devon coast and to its newly discovered caves. It is in these caves where early humans engaged in disturbing, violent rituals. But it’s clear from the beginning of the book that such ritualized brutality was not left in the past.
The story scared me because it felt so believable, from the vivid descriptions of the coastline to the horrific acts of violence. As I turned the pages, I didn’t know what was going to happen next, and Nevill surprised me to the very end. It’s bloody, fantastic, and primal.
“From end to end, history was collected horror, preserved for the fascination of a bestial species.”
As an aside, I happened to rediscover my enjoyment of the drone metal band Sunn O))) around the time I started reading this book. They released two albums this year and both of them are fantastic accompaniment to The Reddening. Both the band and Nevill seem to tap into something beyond us, something ancient. Listening to Sunn O))) while reading heightened the feeling of dread. So I highly recommend checking out Pyroclasts and Life Metal as the soundtrack, should you choose – and I hope you do! – to read the book.
October 14, 2022
Have you ever ridden a roller coaster that starts with a long, slow climb? Building tension with every click-click-click-click of the track? Eventually rising to the top before plunging you into a wild ride of drops, twists, and turns? Well this book isn’t that. It’s a long, slow build eventually bringing you to some excitement followed by more bland building of “suspense”; every beat painfully obvious before you get there. Finally, at almost the half-way point, the two protagonists meet. I found myself thinking “okay here we go!” And yes there is some excitement and gruesome horror to be found shortly thereafter. But then we’re greeted with more bland building to unfulfilling payoff. For example, we spend 4-ish chapters just describing a long, arduous swim of one of the protagonists where the plot stalls out.
I finished this book out of politeness to my horror fiction loving friend who recommended it to me as my first foray into the genre. However, I quickly found myself wishing I had just gone to Google to find the right horror fiction novel for the season because this wasn’t it…
I finished this book out of politeness to my horror fiction loving friend who recommended it to me as my first foray into the genre. However, I quickly found myself wishing I had just gone to Google to find the right horror fiction novel for the season because this wasn’t it…
September 22, 2019
The story is dark and claustrophobic, like the caves it frequently dwells within, yet expansive like the wild countryside of Devon that is described beautifully and evocatively within its pages. It is the land, both beneath and above the surface of Devon that is the star of the story, and that character is brought to life by Adam Nevill, warts and all.
The human characters are flawed yet strong like so many of Nevill's characters. No one here is truly good although some are irredeemably evil. Those who serve the Red Queen and her white pups follow a long tradition that consumes them, giving strength to their rage in ways Kat (one of two heroines) comes to understand intimately. We are left questioning what Kat may become and that lends a haunting tone to the conclusion. We know that this is not over, nor will it ever be. This horror is cosmic in the Lovecraftian tradition.
A beautiful hardcover edition to treasure and a story to return to year upon year. Adam Nevill is a modern master of horror.
The human characters are flawed yet strong like so many of Nevill's characters. No one here is truly good although some are irredeemably evil. Those who serve the Red Queen and her white pups follow a long tradition that consumes them, giving strength to their rage in ways Kat (one of two heroines) comes to understand intimately. We are left questioning what Kat may become and that lends a haunting tone to the conclusion. We know that this is not over, nor will it ever be. This horror is cosmic in the Lovecraftian tradition.
A beautiful hardcover edition to treasure and a story to return to year upon year. Adam Nevill is a modern master of horror.
November 5, 2020
This book was so very engrossing, and the writing style was such that I had to slow down and savor the actual words. It was exhausting and terrifying both, and I just had no idea how the story would play out, or even end. I’m a big fan and will be reading more of Adam L.G. Nevill’s books! This one was haunting and rich, and a real treat :)
November 6, 2019
I've developed quite a predilection for British folk horror as evinced by authors Jasper Bark, Sarah England, Adam Nevill, Sarah Rayne, and others. There's something immensely appealing about countrysides with millenia of continuous history preceded by multiple millennia of prehistory; land where the past (in THE REDDENING, literally) coexists with the contemporaneous.
There are so many threads in this horror novel that I hesitate to try to compose a summary. Instead I will just emphasize the lovely complexity of this novel, the extreme depth of characters, delineation of life's instinct-no, passionate drive--toward survival; and always--always--the weight of the Past suffocating the Present.
There are so many threads in this horror novel that I hesitate to try to compose a summary. Instead I will just emphasize the lovely complexity of this novel, the extreme depth of characters, delineation of life's instinct-no, passionate drive--toward survival; and always--always--the weight of the Past suffocating the Present.
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