Charmed Life

by Bernard Taylor

Unbeknownst to Guy Holman, he had been the innocent pawn in an age-old battle between the forces of good and evil, and now he has the power to change the destiny of the world. By the author of Mother's Boys.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller

366 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Bernard Taylor was born in Swindon, Wiltshire, and now lives in London. Following active service in Egypt in the Royal Air Force, he studied Fine Arts in Swindon, then at Chelsea School of Art and Birmingham University. On graduation he worked as a teacher, painter and book illustrator before going as a teacher to the United States. While there, he took up acting and writing and continued with both after his return to England. He has published ten novels under his own name, including The Godsend (1976), which was adapted for a major film, and Sweetheart, Sweetheart (1977), which Charles L. Grant has hailed as one of the finest ghost stories ever written. He has also written novels under the pseudonym Jess Foley, as well as several works of nonfiction. He has won awards for his true crime writing and also for his work as a playwright. It was during his year as resident playwright at the Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch that he wrote The Godsend. There Must Be Evil, his latest true crime study, is to be published in England in September.

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess Charmed Life could be billed as a horror novel, but it really defies such a simple classification, and Taylor serves up here a rather unique little treat. Our main protagonist, Guy Holman, teaches English lit in NYC. When he was between undergrad and grad school, he travelled to England and fell in love with Sylvie, who he ended up marrying and brought her back to the States. Taylor uses a lot of flashbacks to establish Guy's backstory and his relationship with Sylvie, but at the start of the novel, Sylvie had died a year ago in England after they seperated. The year prior Guy was on his way to be with Sylvie (cancer) in England before she passed and was hit by a truck and badly hurt.

So, this starts off with Guy and an old pal travelling/vacationing in North Africa; Guy is still recovering from both his injuries and the loss of Sylvie. At the same time, at least two different cabals (for a lack of better words) are mysteriously keeping track of Guy using some type of arcane machinery/magic. It seems Guy has somehow escaped his Fate, both when he was born (he was fated to die then) and with the accident with the truck (he was fated to die then as well). For some reason, Guy is some type of mystical anomaly and his mere existence has the possibility of impacting other events in the world, deviating them from their fates. Both cabals can use their arcane machinery to see events in the future to a degree, but each group wants another future to come to pass. Guy is some type of lynchpin therefore in the greater scheme of things. I suppose, like the back flap blurb states, he is a pawn caught between the forces of good and evil, but that does not really do the story justice.

Guy is a terribly tragic figure. He accidently killed his son some years ago, he has no living relations, and his wife died last year. Even worse, before his wife died she gave birth to another child who died after just a few days. I am not sure exactly what Taylor was trying to do with this story, however. We fell for Guy as he mopes around, first in Africa and then in England, but life seemed determined to deal him a bad hand. Then we have the two cabals, with their assorted agents, also keeping tabs on Guy; one group seems to want him dead, the other for him to be in Italy (long story). In a way, this is a rather existentialist novel centered on Guy, but one with nihilistic overtones. Are we simply fated from birth to have a certain type of life? Toss in some religious discussions of the afterlife along the way and we have a rather melancholy tale. At face value, however, this reads more like a mystery thriller, with the cabals closing in on Guy and trying to either take him out or do certain things to achieve their own agendas. Interesting read for sure, but only obliquely a horror novel. 3.5 mysterious stars!

[Alex (The Bookubus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guy was happily married and they had a son together but after the tragic death of their son their relationship fell apart. Eventually they separated and some time later she also died. Guy is still dealing with the grief of these two traumatic losses in his life and currently he is doing some travelling in various different countries. While in London he meets a woman who looks exactly like his dead wife. The story also follows a group of people who are able to look into Guy's future. They had foreseen his death twice but each time Guy actually survived. His death is very important to them so they are keeping a close eye on him.

Taylor writes quiet horror really well so if you're looking for something action-packed then look elsewhere but if you like a slower moving story that takes its time to unfold then you might want to check this one out. I thought the concept was really interesting and unique. We learn a lot about Guy's character and his backstory which was quite emotional and sad at times. I found it easy to get invested in his story and I enjoyed how the story played out.

[Betty · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's dated, unexceptional and bland. Skimmed pretty much all of it as it does not hold the attention.

I'm definitely having a bad book month. On the upside, one more off the TBR pile and straight down to the charity shop.

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rambling tale of a man who escaped his fate that loses its way via unexplained mysteries and secret cabals that don't offer much in terms of their plans or the outcomes.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

The UK's Bernard Taylor wrote a number of interesting, unassuming horror thrillers from the late 70's into the mid-90's. His prose was functional but unremarkable and his heroes were generally pretty interchangeable from one book to the next, but his best tales were uncompromisingly downbeat. You were never quite sure the protagonists and their families would make it out of the proverbial woods in the one piece by the end, and in his most memorable stories (Sweetheart Sweetheart, The Moorstone Sickness, and Mother's Boys) they certainly did not. Charmed Life tells the story of a seemingly ordinary man named Guy Holman, who is unwittingly a pawn between opposing forces of good and evil—each side vying to affect the fate of millions through the life or death of this one bewildered innocent. It's a novel concept that doesn't quite come off; I think a more dynamic writer (say, Stephen King) might have brought it all more fully to life. Taylor certainly held my attention throughout most of the narrative, but his conclusion was rather flat and unsatisfying, a long build up to Not Much. I'll give 'er a 2 ½ out of 5, the extra 1/2 star for the neat, Twilight Zone-esque premise.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a Taylor fan but this book was just bad. I felt like a mushroom, always in the dark about what was going on. Many things were not explained and you had to draw your own conclusion. I felt like I was reading a second book in a series but did not read the first. This book is not up to par for Taylor.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure why this has garnered such lukewarm reviews. It’s certainly overlong but Taylor does a great job of withholding info to keep you interested. There’s a whole mythology (or spirituality might be more accurate) at work here that is kept beautifully in the background. I found it a compelling read.

[Cameron Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third Bernard Taylor novel that I have read. Previously I have read The Godsend and The Reaping. Both of those books are firmly within the horror genre.
Despite its ominous cover, Charmed Life is not a horror novel. There are moments of horror, not nearly as brutal as in The Godsend, and whispers of the supernatural. At its core, Charmed Life is a character drama and it is one hell of an emotional rollercoaster.
I may not have enjoyed it as much as his previous two novels but I am still amazed at how expertly Taylor writes tragedy and drama. He knows how to hit you right in the feels. I was expecting horror but what kept me pulled in was the protagonist's journey and the twists along the way.
There's a grander conspiracy at play in the narrative but he's never made aware of it and it just makes the drama all the more intriguing.

[Phil · Rating 1 out of 5]

Leisure didn’t just rip off their writers, but their readers as well.

This was given a horror tag on the spine and given a horror cover, but it’s really just a tepid melodrama with a psychic spy angle thrown in.

Badly written, not engaging and a limp ending that left me feeling like just about anything would have been a better use of my time.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charmed Life is an interesting look into the life of Guy Holman. It seems Guy's fate is directly linked to future events and the matter of his living and his dying make all the difference to several groups of people in the world. Taylor deftly weaves several sub-plots into this theme and before you know it you are turning pages quickly to get to the resolution of the tales.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't sure about this book but was intersting enough to keep me reading. books abit sad. Guy's life may have been charmed by avoiding death a couple times but other wise his life sucked, didn't expect the ending :(

[Kathrine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like it. A man who life is spared yet he suffers. Over and over again. When he finally finds something good from many years of lies, deceit, death,and betrayal from EVERYONE in his life it ends up being a curse. The story was too depressing.

[Kimberly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review pending