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Gideon
Gideon is no ordinary man - he possesses a hypnotic hold over Bernice, Yvonne and Jacqueline from which there is just one line of escape. But not everything goes to plan and Gideon returns in renewed force, determined to avenge himself. Laws's earlier novels include "Ghost Train" and "The Wyrm".
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First published January 1, 1993
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About the author
Stephen Laws
58 books137 followersStephen Laws is a full-time novelist, born in Newcastle upon Tyne. Married, with three children, he lives and works in his birthplace. The author of 11 novels, numerous short stories, (collected in THE MIDNIGHT MAN) columnist, reviewer, film-festival interviewer, pianist and recipient of a number of awards, Stephen Laws recently wrote and starred in the short horror movie THE SECRET.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 26, 2025
Laws gives us a rather unique vampire tale here but overall, rather middling. This starts with a brief prologue where three terrified women in a hotel's garage wait for a man (Gideon) to come to his car and then they gun him down. WTF? Who was this guy? Who are the women? Well, Laws shortly introduces them all, along with Paul, who turns out to be our protagonist.
While the three women believe themselves to be free of Gideon, Laws has them, one by one, reminisce about their encounters with him. Basically, he walked into their lives out of the blue, 'hypnotized' them with his eyes, and then fucked them raw; sometimes in hotels, sometimes in alleys, cars, where ever, and them leaves them naked and unconscious. Gideon terrifies them, but when ever he shows up. rinse and repeat. Unlike most vampire tales, Gideon does not take their blood (in one passage, Laws tells us he hates the taste of blood) but rather their lifeforce (remember that horror film?).
Paul enters the story very differently. The son of a Parson, he starts off visiting his mother in the loony bin, where she has been housed for years. Shortly after his visit, the mother wanders outside, responding to the 'voice of the trees', and some young man guns her down with a shotgun. When Paul comes home and starts hanging out with dad, the same young man shows up in their yard and proceeds to open up with his shotgun once again! Paul ends up killing the guy after his dad gets shot, and then things start getting really weird...
This was something about this novel that did just not click with me, however. I thought it possessed a rather disjointed feel, with Laws taking us from one POV to the next, flashing back in time, moving back to the present, over and over. At first I liked Gideon as a villain, something of a vampire/incubus mix, but as Laws builds the lore around him, my interest waned. One of the woman characters made me cringe, married for years to an alcoholic, abusive man who hadn't worked a job in years (he was a real asshole). Finally, we get an old 'vampire hunter' that was so totally cliche it made me wince. This did have some good foo at times, but overall, rather meh. 2.5 lusty stars, rounding up for the glorious cover that GR does not have on file (I have the New English Library paperback).
While the three women believe themselves to be free of Gideon, Laws has them, one by one, reminisce about their encounters with him. Basically, he walked into their lives out of the blue, 'hypnotized' them with his eyes, and then fucked them raw; sometimes in hotels, sometimes in alleys, cars, where ever, and them leaves them naked and unconscious. Gideon terrifies them, but when ever he shows up. rinse and repeat. Unlike most vampire tales, Gideon does not take their blood (in one passage, Laws tells us he hates the taste of blood) but rather their lifeforce (remember that horror film?).
Paul enters the story very differently. The son of a Parson, he starts off visiting his mother in the loony bin, where she has been housed for years. Shortly after his visit, the mother wanders outside, responding to the 'voice of the trees', and some young man guns her down with a shotgun. When Paul comes home and starts hanging out with dad, the same young man shows up in their yard and proceeds to open up with his shotgun once again! Paul ends up killing the guy after his dad gets shot, and then things start getting really weird...
This was something about this novel that did just not click with me, however. I thought it possessed a rather disjointed feel, with Laws taking us from one POV to the next, flashing back in time, moving back to the present, over and over. At first I liked Gideon as a villain, something of a vampire/incubus mix, but as Laws builds the lore around him, my interest waned. One of the woman characters made me cringe, married for years to an alcoholic, abusive man who hadn't worked a job in years (he was a real asshole). Finally, we get an old 'vampire hunter' that was so totally cliche it made me wince. This did have some good foo at times, but overall, rather meh. 2.5 lusty stars, rounding up for the glorious cover that GR does not have on file (I have the New English Library paperback).
August 17, 2025
Overall a strong entry in Laws' work albeit one that is incredibly dark and downright unpleasant at times. Though that very much is the point, it does feel as if Laws ascribes to the concept that the greatest triumphs only work if matched with a corresponding pit of absolute loss and despair. The main criticism might be that the aforementioned highs may not entirely make up for the absolute darkness of some parts of this book.
Gideon excels in creating an antagonist so unpleasant and abhorrent that you are willing their defeat almost from the get go. It makes every setback the protagonists face painful and in many ways accurately creates some elements of the characters' emotional state in the reader.
There is a semblance of a mystery as to the titular Gideon this however is a smaller element of the story. Its key elements being dispensed by two main characters in large exposition dumps. The far greater emphasis on the book is on the growing dread and cloying fear experienced by the characters. There are two main sets of characters who each interact with the main plot in different ways, the result is it is effectively two stories that only combine at the end.
Other than that is classic Laws, horror set in the North of England, emphasising a seedier side of society with a handful of good people struggling against not only tangible realisable threats but also against horrors not of this world, with the emphasis being on the emotions felt and the ability to struggle against them or die trying.
Overall a strong warning to anyone wishing to read this, there are some very unpleasant scenes that work in what is a very dark story, but for aficionados of horror and particularly horror with shock value it is worth a read.
Gideon excels in creating an antagonist so unpleasant and abhorrent that you are willing their defeat almost from the get go. It makes every setback the protagonists face painful and in many ways accurately creates some elements of the characters' emotional state in the reader.
There is a semblance of a mystery as to the titular Gideon this however is a smaller element of the story. Its key elements being dispensed by two main characters in large exposition dumps. The far greater emphasis on the book is on the growing dread and cloying fear experienced by the characters. There are two main sets of characters who each interact with the main plot in different ways, the result is it is effectively two stories that only combine at the end.
Other than that is classic Laws, horror set in the North of England, emphasising a seedier side of society with a handful of good people struggling against not only tangible realisable threats but also against horrors not of this world, with the emphasis being on the emotions felt and the ability to struggle against them or die trying.
Overall a strong warning to anyone wishing to read this, there are some very unpleasant scenes that work in what is a very dark story, but for aficionados of horror and particularly horror with shock value it is worth a read.
October 16, 2021
Trois femme complètement subjuguées par un homme, Gidéon, et incapables de lui résister. Et, de plus en plus, elles se sentent drainées de leur énergie. Que se passe t'il ? Gidéon est un genre de vampire qui se nourrit lorsqu'il possède une femme. Et, en plus, même s'il est mortel, se réincarne, avant de vieillir, dans le corps d'un de ses enfants.
Les 3 femmes se révoltent et essaient de le tuer, mais la vengeance du vampire sera terrible.
Mais, il y a aussi une ancienne victime, dont le vampire a pris la femme, qui est sur la piste et qui pense avoir trouvé le moyen de le détruire, et un de ses enfants qui est déchiré entre le bien et le mal.
Un autre roman original, qui s'inspire du thème du vampire, mais avec une variation différente qui le rend intéressant. Malheureusement, la tension baisse à certains moments et l'émotion n'est pas toujours au rendez-vous.
J'ai aimé mais il manquait un petit quelque chose pour mieux l'apprécier.
Les 3 femmes se révoltent et essaient de le tuer, mais la vengeance du vampire sera terrible.
Mais, il y a aussi une ancienne victime, dont le vampire a pris la femme, qui est sur la piste et qui pense avoir trouvé le moyen de le détruire, et un de ses enfants qui est déchiré entre le bien et le mal.
Un autre roman original, qui s'inspire du thème du vampire, mais avec une variation différente qui le rend intéressant. Malheureusement, la tension baisse à certains moments et l'émotion n'est pas toujours au rendez-vous.
J'ai aimé mais il manquait un petit quelque chose pour mieux l'apprécier.
February 8, 2019
I love love love this book! It was an amazing read and I couldn't put it down once I started. I am really gutted though I read it so quick as I would have liked to make it last longer but I just couldn't. I thought it was well written, gripping and I looked forward to reading about each person and waiting for what would happen next. I am working my way through Stephen Laws collection but it would need to be out of this world to outdo this for me!
November 28, 2025
A fun story with some absolutely hectic parts. My only real problem was the constant flashbacking - it didn't add anything to the story, there wasn't anything revelatory that came up in said flashbacks. And structurally there were flashbacks placed in awkward moments in the story that had no need to be there.
All in all there were more unnecessarily placed flashbacks in this one than there were in The Hills Have Eyes Part 2.
Four stars for the library sequence.
All in all there were more unnecessarily placed flashbacks in this one than there were in The Hills Have Eyes Part 2.
Four stars for the library sequence.
August 14, 2019
A really good read but I prefer Laws' later works such as "Daemonic" & "Chasm".
An underrated author in my opinion & one that deserves wider acknowledgement.
An underrated author in my opinion & one that deserves wider acknowledgement.
March 31, 2025
This book was scarier than any Stephen king book I’ve ever read by far
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews