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Samhane
For weeks, I have tossed and turned in my bed in turmoil over whether to publish this. But the people of this town must be warned. Everyone must be aware of the Danger lurking in the dark, waiting."
Samhane. Just a sleepy town in the rolling hills of northern England. A nice place to live.
Few people know the truth.
Donald Patterson travels to Samhane in pursuit of a sadistic murderer and rapist. Unless Donald reaches Orchard House by midnight, his fiancee will be the star of the next torturous broadcast....
Brian Rathbone and his son are already in Samhane, hired by the mayor. Specialist exterminators, their talents have helped to deal with the 'little problems' that have begun to massacre the residents. But as events take a more sinister turn, Brian wonders about the true reason they are there....
Blood and carnage. Pain and suffering. Desire and sweet chaos.
Welcome to Samhane.
Samhane. Just a sleepy town in the rolling hills of northern England. A nice place to live.
Few people know the truth.
Donald Patterson travels to Samhane in pursuit of a sadistic murderer and rapist. Unless Donald reaches Orchard House by midnight, his fiancee will be the star of the next torturous broadcast....
Brian Rathbone and his son are already in Samhane, hired by the mayor. Specialist exterminators, their talents have helped to deal with the 'little problems' that have begun to massacre the residents. But as events take a more sinister turn, Brian wonders about the true reason they are there....
Blood and carnage. Pain and suffering. Desire and sweet chaos.
Welcome to Samhane.
Unknown Binding
First published October 1, 2008
29 people are currently reading
177 people want to read
About the author
Daniel I. Russell
53 books151 followersAustralian Shadows Award finalist D.l I. Russell has been featured publications such as The Zombie Feed from Apex, Pseudopod and Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #43. Author of Samhane, Come Into Darkness, Critique, Mother's Boys, The Collector and Tricks, Mischief and Mayhem, D. I. Russell is also the former vice-president of the Australian Horror Writers' Association and was a special guest editor of Midnight Echo.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 10, 2011
This ranks up there with some of the most twisted, demented, horrifying tales of terror I've ever read.
Daniel I. Russell has a dark hole in his brain that is a scarey place and it's brilliant!
POV jumps from person to person, but instead of being confusing it was all part of what kept everything so completely stuck in my head, even while reading or working on something else.
FANTASTICLY CREEPY!
Very worth the price!
AWESOME MR. RUSSELL, AWESOME!
Daniel I. Russell has a dark hole in his brain that is a scarey place and it's brilliant!
POV jumps from person to person, but instead of being confusing it was all part of what kept everything so completely stuck in my head, even while reading or working on something else.
FANTASTICLY CREEPY!
Very worth the price!
AWESOME MR. RUSSELL, AWESOME!
November 30, 2009
What does Mr. Belvedere, guns, knives, and gore that would make horror master Richard Laymon blush have in common? Read "Samhane" to find out. I can't recommend this macarbe little masterpiece enough. Once the story grabs you, it won't let you go. And the horror is as tight as a drum head, pounding into you as you turn the pages. Russell is something unique in the horror market: he's an original voice.
November 29, 2009
very good stuff, dark and perverted, just what i hoped! Get this if you want a real page turner - great flow from start to finish, the action never lets up and samhane becomes a place that gets stranger and stranger as the book goes on. Recommended for any dark horror fan
March 10, 2010
Great book. Grabbed me at the start and never let go. Dark, gruesome , kept me at the edge of my seat.
Want to read
January 3, 2011Any book that comes with a warning of "extreme horror" is a must read!
July 2, 2023
Creepy
Creepy as hack and will have you reading it with the lights on .plus it's like a Stephen King book .
Creepy as hack and will have you reading it with the lights on .plus it's like a Stephen King book .
March 29, 2011
This was amazing! Right from the start of the book I was creeped out, and then again when I finished the novel. The only problem was that it's over.
The characters were deep and intricate; just like the people who you'd meet in person, but once youve gotten to know some of the characters in the book, you find out that they aren't who they seem. No one is who they appear to seem... In the town of Samhane!
This amazing piece of work defiantly deserves a five out of five
A word to the wise: don't read this book at night before you go to bed. You've been warned.
The characters were deep and intricate; just like the people who you'd meet in person, but once youve gotten to know some of the characters in the book, you find out that they aren't who they seem. No one is who they appear to seem... In the town of Samhane!
This amazing piece of work defiantly deserves a five out of five
A word to the wise: don't read this book at night before you go to bed. You've been warned.
February 12, 2011
This story had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I found it hard to put down and hardly slept because I was so eager to find out how it ended. One character that truly scared me was Chuckles the clown. He had such a creepy character in the beginning when Sam met him for the first time and my fear of clowns didn't help.
December 11, 2010
I read Samhane on it's first release and I was shocked at the intensity of the prose. Daniel Russell has produced a masterpiece here, the man has produced a carefully crafted word sculpture that every horror fan should purchase.
October 26, 2021
Interesting story with two main characters who don't encounter each other for a significant portion of the story. Parts of the story seem to be unneeded, but it really didn't hurt the overall narrative.
August 9, 2011
WARNING – There may be spoilers.
Daniel Russell’s Samhane tells the story of Brian Rathbone, self-trained monster hunter, who is a single father raising a son. It also tells the story of Donald Patterson, a middle of the road kind of guy who works in a lab. Brian came to monster hunting after his wife was killed in an attic by an imp, and Donald finds himself trapped in a shadowy underworld of the paranormal after he buys a laptop that contains snuff footage. Both men travel to the small town of Samhane in England—-one to catch monsters, the other to save his kidnapped fiancé from a strange cult.
There are a lot of cool elements to this debut novel by Daniel Russell, with some definite creepy scenes, and I really wanted to like this book. However, it ultimately read as way too paint by numbers for me. While there were scenes where I was genuinely creeped out (when Donald is walking up the drive to Orchard House; when the road comes alive), in most instances, I could tell exactly where the author was going. For instance, when the teenagers head out to the woods, I predicted exactly which teenagers would die (of course, these were the ones that almost had sex). And I generally knew which character would be spared and which would not. This really killed the suspense factor for me. There was no mounting tension—just a lot of cool monsters and cool scenes (kudos to Daniel on the creepy spider-doctor)—but every time I expected the author to zag, he did just that. It made it hard to sympathize with any of the characters, feel any real compassion for them, because I knew who was safe and who wasn’t. I also predicted who Mr. Belvedere was the moment I met the elderly mayor.
All in all, a fun read, but I wish the author had packed it with more surprises-—wish he would’ve zigged a little more often when I saw the zag coming. One of the best characters in the book, for me, was Walter, because I really didn’t see the revelation coming about his character. It gave him depth and a wonderful personality struggle.
If you’re looking for a fun read, check out Samhane. Just don’t expect any surprises.
Daniel Russell’s Samhane tells the story of Brian Rathbone, self-trained monster hunter, who is a single father raising a son. It also tells the story of Donald Patterson, a middle of the road kind of guy who works in a lab. Brian came to monster hunting after his wife was killed in an attic by an imp, and Donald finds himself trapped in a shadowy underworld of the paranormal after he buys a laptop that contains snuff footage. Both men travel to the small town of Samhane in England—-one to catch monsters, the other to save his kidnapped fiancé from a strange cult.
There are a lot of cool elements to this debut novel by Daniel Russell, with some definite creepy scenes, and I really wanted to like this book. However, it ultimately read as way too paint by numbers for me. While there were scenes where I was genuinely creeped out (when Donald is walking up the drive to Orchard House; when the road comes alive), in most instances, I could tell exactly where the author was going. For instance, when the teenagers head out to the woods, I predicted exactly which teenagers would die (of course, these were the ones that almost had sex). And I generally knew which character would be spared and which would not. This really killed the suspense factor for me. There was no mounting tension—just a lot of cool monsters and cool scenes (kudos to Daniel on the creepy spider-doctor)—but every time I expected the author to zag, he did just that. It made it hard to sympathize with any of the characters, feel any real compassion for them, because I knew who was safe and who wasn’t. I also predicted who Mr. Belvedere was the moment I met the elderly mayor.
All in all, a fun read, but I wish the author had packed it with more surprises-—wish he would’ve zigged a little more often when I saw the zag coming. One of the best characters in the book, for me, was Walter, because I really didn’t see the revelation coming about his character. It gave him depth and a wonderful personality struggle.
If you’re looking for a fun read, check out Samhane. Just don’t expect any surprises.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 15, 2011
After much waiting and anticipation I finally got to tear into Samhane, a truly twisted horror story with many faceted aspects to scare your pants off.
Daniel I. Russell weaves a tale of horror that isn’t afraid to take the step up to extreme, delving into the deepest and darkest of your fears to excite, scare, and disgust you all at once. The sheer brilliance of the mix presses your mind to its limits and holds you at the edge of your seat as you wait to find out what’s down the next twisted path.
Donald Patterson innocently buys a laptop online and goes to pick it up, since the seller lives close by. He doesn’t at the time know of the man, Roger’s, twisted, dark secrets. But, after returning home and finding a ‘questionable’ video left in the computer, Don begins to wonder about the source of his purchase. Unfortunately, his lack of action leads to his fiancé, Beverly’s, abduction. He pursues Roger to Samhane, seeking to rescue the woman he loves.
Meanwhile... Brian Rathbone and his son, Sam, are stuck in Samhane, dealing with the monsters on the loose that are terrorizing the town. Brian, unsure of what’s really going on, tries to keep his mouth shut and pick up his paycheck, putting his life, and his son’s, in danger.
Together will they be able to stop The Order of Zandathru, God of Chaos? Or will they all die in the twisted confines of the small town of Samhane?
Daniel dazzles me with his characterization, which is VERY believable, while at the same time he holds the tension aloft until the very end of the book, keeping the reader with him the entire time. I also admire his strength as a writer to not be afraid to mix in some extreme elements that scare most of us, but we aren’t willing to admit openly. While it might disgust you, at the same time, you know you wouldn’t want to be in the victim’s shoes. I have to rate this book at 5 stars. You’ll want to read it over and over again, enjoying it (shuddering) each and every time.
Read more of my reviews at RB Reviews: http://www.rebeccabesser.com/rb_revie...
Daniel I. Russell weaves a tale of horror that isn’t afraid to take the step up to extreme, delving into the deepest and darkest of your fears to excite, scare, and disgust you all at once. The sheer brilliance of the mix presses your mind to its limits and holds you at the edge of your seat as you wait to find out what’s down the next twisted path.
Donald Patterson innocently buys a laptop online and goes to pick it up, since the seller lives close by. He doesn’t at the time know of the man, Roger’s, twisted, dark secrets. But, after returning home and finding a ‘questionable’ video left in the computer, Don begins to wonder about the source of his purchase. Unfortunately, his lack of action leads to his fiancé, Beverly’s, abduction. He pursues Roger to Samhane, seeking to rescue the woman he loves.
Meanwhile... Brian Rathbone and his son, Sam, are stuck in Samhane, dealing with the monsters on the loose that are terrorizing the town. Brian, unsure of what’s really going on, tries to keep his mouth shut and pick up his paycheck, putting his life, and his son’s, in danger.
Together will they be able to stop The Order of Zandathru, God of Chaos? Or will they all die in the twisted confines of the small town of Samhane?
Daniel dazzles me with his characterization, which is VERY believable, while at the same time he holds the tension aloft until the very end of the book, keeping the reader with him the entire time. I also admire his strength as a writer to not be afraid to mix in some extreme elements that scare most of us, but we aren’t willing to admit openly. While it might disgust you, at the same time, you know you wouldn’t want to be in the victim’s shoes. I have to rate this book at 5 stars. You’ll want to read it over and over again, enjoying it (shuddering) each and every time.
Read more of my reviews at RB Reviews: http://www.rebeccabesser.com/rb_revie...
October 7, 2009
I'm not going to review my own book, but I will copy and paste the Withersin magazine review. Dialogue (grumbles...)
With a name like Samhane, who would want to live there?
Donald is an aspiring horror novelist who buys a laptop with a little bit of horror already added into it. Brian is a monster hunter who gets called into the town of Samhane for a few jobs that feel more like death traps. After Donald’s wife Bev and Brian’s son Sam get abducted both men find themselves drawn toward a company called Belvedere Ltd and something sinister called Zandathru.
This novel kept me reading. Russell does have a talent for storytelling. Some of the images were pretty cool, like Dr. Sally and the chaos god. I did find a few problems here and there. The dialogue goes right in the toilet during all of the action scenes. My recommendation to readers: skip over the dialogue in the actions sequences, it won’t take away from the story much and will make the overall reading experience better. The Hunter was chasing after typical horror icons, though he did fight a few atypical ones. It would have been cooler to hear and see more of the stranger things related to the antagonists versus werewolves, vampires, and ghouls.
Overall, not bad and sold for such a good price you should grab a copy.
4 out of 5
With a name like Samhane, who would want to live there?
Donald is an aspiring horror novelist who buys a laptop with a little bit of horror already added into it. Brian is a monster hunter who gets called into the town of Samhane for a few jobs that feel more like death traps. After Donald’s wife Bev and Brian’s son Sam get abducted both men find themselves drawn toward a company called Belvedere Ltd and something sinister called Zandathru.
This novel kept me reading. Russell does have a talent for storytelling. Some of the images were pretty cool, like Dr. Sally and the chaos god. I did find a few problems here and there. The dialogue goes right in the toilet during all of the action scenes. My recommendation to readers: skip over the dialogue in the actions sequences, it won’t take away from the story much and will make the overall reading experience better. The Hunter was chasing after typical horror icons, though he did fight a few atypical ones. It would have been cooler to hear and see more of the stranger things related to the antagonists versus werewolves, vampires, and ghouls.
Overall, not bad and sold for such a good price you should grab a copy.
4 out of 5
April 22, 2011
“Samhane” begins with a character called “Demon” in the prologue, and he takes advantage of a sweet but foolish (and drunk) girl. Then we move into the story of a writer who comes from a shady past, having a monster hunter for a dad and being raised to identify and kill creatures. We then meet the other characters who figure prominently in the next few chapters, and they all live in the town of Samhane, which is kind of like Salem but a lot worse. Demon and the girl, Lucy, resurface in the narrative when Donald watches a file of her, tied up, beaten up, and forced to do things to herself that are morbid for him to look at, but he can’t turn away. He watches more of the video, and it gets sicker, but he continues to watch. It turns out that the guy in the video sold him the laptop that this clip is on, and that’s where things really start to pick up. Except that Donald isn’t sure if the footage is real. The guy in the video, Roger, is a real piece of work and reminded me of the Clown in the Spawn graphic novels. Roger steals Donald’s girlfriend, Beverly, and threatens to kill her or worse.
To read the rest of my review, visit http://thedarkeva.com.
To read the rest of my review, visit http://thedarkeva.com.
December 30, 2015
I will never get over what an incredible author Daniel I Russell is. I don't understand how he makes such strange storylines work, but he does and it is hypnotic.
Like 'Critique', Samhane is like nothing I have read before. It's another novel that, if you were to describe the storyline to me, wouldn't sound like a book that I would enjoy because it's so different to anything I would usually read. It has everything from an old war veteran with a dark secret, to a robot spider doctor.
I was hooked straight away but it did take a little while for me to get a grasp on again after Brian and Sam were first introduced. I think I was thrown off a little since it's so different to what was going on with Donald and Demon. At times the different chapters feel like totally different books but somehow it just works.
I seriously can't get enough of Daniel's work, I'm about to start reading 'Come Into Darkness' right now.
Like 'Critique', Samhane is like nothing I have read before. It's another novel that, if you were to describe the storyline to me, wouldn't sound like a book that I would enjoy because it's so different to anything I would usually read. It has everything from an old war veteran with a dark secret, to a robot spider doctor.
I was hooked straight away but it did take a little while for me to get a grasp on again after Brian and Sam were first introduced. I think I was thrown off a little since it's so different to what was going on with Donald and Demon. At times the different chapters feel like totally different books but somehow it just works.
I seriously can't get enough of Daniel's work, I'm about to start reading 'Come Into Darkness' right now.
April 12, 2011
This is an excellent blood-soaked-popcorn kinda book, a haunted rollercoaster ride that's simply there to be enjoyed for what it is, in much the same vein as the work of Richard Laymon. So if you're expecting detailed characterisations, hugely original situations or deep philosophical meaning behind the whole thing, you might just be a bit disappointed. But if you're expecting a balls-out horror novel with plenty of sex and violence (often at the same time) and piles of disturbing and entertaining imagery, then SAMHANE will definitely satiate your bloodlust, you sick fucks. ;)
October 23, 2015
A page turner that reminded me of vintage Richard Laymon and Ed Lee. Samhane is a small town run by a cult of demon worshippers who are entertained by subscriptions to live streaming snuff feeds. Donald unwittingly buys a used laptop from one of the tormentors and is drawn into the mayhem alongside monster hunter Brian and his young son Sam. Definitely not for the squeamish. I'm not squeamish. Highly recommended.
May 9, 2015
Brutal, inventive, gripping. I loved this book, I got into the characters, the descriptions were vivid and it made me squirm.
Why not 5 stars? I think the writing was evidence of an early work. Had Dan written it later in his career, I'd say it would have rounded up to 5.
Why not 5 stars? I think the writing was evidence of an early work. Had Dan written it later in his career, I'd say it would have rounded up to 5.
June 10, 2011
Fantastic read. Mix up all the best parts of Hostel, Lovecraft, and all the great 80's/early 90's monster flicks. Definitely not for those with a weak constitution, as the violence is rather brutal.
May 24, 2011
Review to follow at Hellnotes ...
June 30, 2018
Insane
Start with a demon procuring women and children for a lovecraftian club of deviants who like to torture and cannibalize humans..then add a lot of sex..what's not to love...
Start with a demon procuring women and children for a lovecraftian club of deviants who like to torture and cannibalize humans..then add a lot of sex..what's not to love...
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews