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Special X #2
Ghoul
Scotland Yard's Hilary Rand looks for a connection between London's orgy of killings and Vancouver's underworld in the dark obsessions of a Rhode Island family whose tainted past will not lie quiet in its grave
415 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1987
15 people are currently reading
1165 people want to read
About the author
Michael Slade
31 books268 followersSlade on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MountieNoir
Slade on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MountieNoir
Criminal lawyer MICHAEL SLADE has acted in over one hundred murder cases. His specialty is the law of insanity. He argued the last death penalty case in Canada’s highest court.
Backed by his forensic experience, Slade’s Special X and Wyatt Rook thrillers fuse the genres of police and legal procedure, whodunit and impossible crime, suspense, history, and horror.
Slade was guest of honor at both the Bloody Words crime convention and the World Horror Convention. As Time Out puts it, “A thin line separates crime and horror, and in Michael Slade’s thrillers, the demarcation vanishes altogether.”
Slade was guest speaker at the international Police Leadership Conference and several RCMP regimental dinners. As Reader’s Digest puts it, “The Slade books have developed a strong following among police officers because of their strict adherence to proper police procedure.”
For the stories behind his plots, visit Slade’s Morgue at www.specialx.net.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
May 18, 2017
A thrilling BR with my favorite GR villain BR partner, Craig :)
Woot, a creepy killer is stalking UK. Nah, it’s not Craig, don’t worry :D Great? Whoa, wait it’s not all, buy one - get four! A freaking discount on killers!!! Exciting, huh? What is more exciting is that the writer, Michael Slade, is a team of three writers - criminal lawyers, with great experience in criminal minds. And what do we get? A bloody realistic, very graphic book that makes a reader sweat a bit to figure it out whodunit and how-was-it-done. “Ghoul” is the second book in a creepy engaging series which was recommended to me by Craig. Thanks again ;) To tell the truth there’s no way I could have picked this series by myself as Slade is not fluffy, he has claws and he likes to use them! I was terrified, stunned, enchanted and mind-blown. Exactly what I wanted :)
Characters. It’s quite tricky to explain the ties of the characters and their character features without giving a lot away, so I’ll just say that there’s no shortage of mad people there and at first I was a bit confused to follow a couple killers with different story lines. A desperate Detective Chief Superintendent, various different killers, a tough and sincere Mountie, a silent simple school teacher with an adorable cat. What can you make of that? A bunch of twisted minds. I must confess, I rooted for the character who was not as good as it seemed. The backstories of the characters really got me, I was flinching, disgusted and terrified. Also I loved the connection to the menagerie of Mr. Lovecraft, it was interesting and I’ll ask Mr. Cthulhu on a date after Daniel Faust for sure :)
One cutie want’s to say hi :)
Wordbuilding. I really had a little struggle to sort the things out and see the connections between the various happenings, but when the clues started flowing, omg, this book blew my mind. Also like with “Headhunter” I had to put it down a couple of times. The reason is violence against kids. “Ghoul” has a way much twisted and stronger way to it. There were times when I flinched when the author described the acts of the murderers. It was brutal! The writing style resembles a report or a research sometimes and like in “Headhunter”, it helped to read the nasty episodes, made me more interested in police work, but banished my desire to get connected with most of the characters. Oh and I had really no problem living WITHOUT knowing so much about the sewer system :) I know that the authors did such a throughout presentation to help the story, but still... I was intrigued by the language of flowers, too :)
To sum up this book is a great read to see into the twisted crazy minds of killers and test the toughness of your stomach. Despite the nasty stuff, the urge to know the killers identity, the motives and the great twists and turns made me want to continue this crazy ride with Slade and I wasn’t disappointed. I am hooked on Slade books for sure, they even compete with my fave Rollins Sigma Force!
Woot, a creepy killer is stalking UK. Nah, it’s not Craig, don’t worry :D Great? Whoa, wait it’s not all, buy one - get four! A freaking discount on killers!!! Exciting, huh? What is more exciting is that the writer, Michael Slade, is a team of three writers - criminal lawyers, with great experience in criminal minds. And what do we get? A bloody realistic, very graphic book that makes a reader sweat a bit to figure it out whodunit and how-was-it-done. “Ghoul” is the second book in a creepy engaging series which was recommended to me by Craig. Thanks again ;) To tell the truth there’s no way I could have picked this series by myself as Slade is not fluffy, he has claws and he likes to use them! I was terrified, stunned, enchanted and mind-blown. Exactly what I wanted :)
Characters. It’s quite tricky to explain the ties of the characters and their character features without giving a lot away, so I’ll just say that there’s no shortage of mad people there and at first I was a bit confused to follow a couple killers with different story lines. A desperate Detective Chief Superintendent, various different killers, a tough and sincere Mountie, a silent simple school teacher with an adorable cat. What can you make of that? A bunch of twisted minds. I must confess, I rooted for the character who was not as good as it seemed. The backstories of the characters really got me, I was flinching, disgusted and terrified. Also I loved the connection to the menagerie of Mr. Lovecraft, it was interesting and I’ll ask Mr. Cthulhu on a date after Daniel Faust for sure :)
One cutie want’s to say hi :)
Wordbuilding. I really had a little struggle to sort the things out and see the connections between the various happenings, but when the clues started flowing, omg, this book blew my mind. Also like with “Headhunter” I had to put it down a couple of times. The reason is violence against kids. “Ghoul” has a way much twisted and stronger way to it. There were times when I flinched when the author described the acts of the murderers. It was brutal! The writing style resembles a report or a research sometimes and like in “Headhunter”, it helped to read the nasty episodes, made me more interested in police work, but banished my desire to get connected with most of the characters. Oh and I had really no problem living WITHOUT knowing so much about the sewer system :) I know that the authors did such a throughout presentation to help the story, but still... I was intrigued by the language of flowers, too :)
To sum up this book is a great read to see into the twisted crazy minds of killers and test the toughness of your stomach. Despite the nasty stuff, the urge to know the killers identity, the motives and the great twists and turns made me want to continue this crazy ride with Slade and I wasn’t disappointed. I am hooked on Slade books for sure, they even compete with my fave Rollins Sigma Force!
October 6, 2023
My mother was a typical, sweet, cookies and milk, Sicilian grandma-type who rarely cursed and didn't seem to have a single perverted thought ever enter her head. Yet oddly enough, she enjoyed watching horror movies and reading scary books with me. And of all things, "Ghoul" was the last book she read before she passed away at 82-years-young.
She saw it on my bookshelf of paperbacks from hell. "Oooo, this one's about rock 'n roll music," she said gleefully. I hadn't yet read it, but I warned her it might be too sleazy and violent for her.
"You think so? I used to read all those scary books you'd bring home when you were a kid with all those gruesome covers. But still--if you say so..."
And so she slipped the book back on the shelf with a sigh. The next day, I found her sitting in an armchair with her feet up, a blanket around her, and "Ghoul" on her lap. She already had read half of it.
"How's the book, Ma? Is it good?"
"Yeaaaaaahhh!" she said with a spritely devilish grin.
So I finally got around to reading it myself. And boy, "Ghoul" is one filthy, sleazy, extreme, gory nightmare of a novel!
What's even more surprising is that the people who wrote this book come across just as innocent as my mother. Yes, I said "people." Michael Slade is actually the moniker of a writing think tank consisting then of Jay Clarke, his wife Lee, and his buddy John Banks. With Jay and John both practicing criminal lawyers, the trio created this book just as if they were working on a real case. Regular meetings would bring together their own independent research from dozens of case files, and the trio would collectively explore real-life urban surroundings to record their impressions of the sights, sounds, and smells of their literary settings, all to create an authentic gritty epic noir involving a serial killer pursued by international law enforcement. Lee Clarke added her own special touch to the female characters and claims she tried to tone down some of her husband's over-the-top sex and violence, but the result is still considered one of the classics of the splatterpunk subgenre and must-read for horror and thriller fans. But if you watch old interviews of them, you'd swear they probably went to the same church services as Ned Flanders from the Simpsons.
Not to be confused with Brian Keene's excellent coming-of-age novel of the same name, nor the Mark Ransom paperback from hell, or Edward Lee's first novel published under his own name, this novel has less to do with supernatural monsters and is more along the lines of psychological horror akin to "The Silence of the Lambs" and seedy urban slashers like "Maniac." There is also a hardy helping of underground rock, particularly post-punk, goth, and doom metal, giving this a "We Sold Our Souls" or "The Vampire L'Estat" kind of vibe. Because of the rock connection, the book was previewed by Alice Cooper and Bruce Dickinson, who both have featured blurbs on the cover as part of the marketing strategy. Supposedly, these gods of rock gimmickry were scared quite effectively by this book, which I guess means a lot coming from one man who'd behead himself weekly on stage and another who played concert venues under the crotch of a giant smoke-snorting zombie named Eddie.
The Slade brand survived the decline of mass-market paperback horror in the 90s largely due to the fact that their style of horror was already in line with the more popular crime thrillers that usurped the throne of the popular fiction industry. Jay Clarke, now writing with his daughter Rebecca, continues to produce sensational work to this day. But if you want to experience "Sladism" at its bloody and brutal best, you must seek out and read this 1987 masterpiece.
Far from being just a straight slasher thriller, the novel frequently diverges into side topics, Melville-style, but when this happens, it is brief and seemlessly blended into the narrative. For example, in order to understand what British authorities are up against when tracking down the sewer killer, there is some exposition about the history and technology behind the extensive underground network below the streets of London which I found intensely interesting.
The writing is very engaging and intelligently explores the controversy of whether extreme forms of art such as gory horror comics and movies or dark heavy metal and industrial can feed unhealthy fantasies born from frustration and anger in victims of trauma and psychosis. I found the theme to be explored sensitively on both sides. And as such, horror fans will get a kick out of all the references to things like The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Phantom of the Opera, Jekyll and Hyde, The Fly, Dawn of the Dead, Weird Tales magazine, and especially H.P. Lovecraft.
The characters are all very likeable. I for one enjoyed Hilary Rand, the dead-pan but gracious middle-aged Detective Chief Superintendent of New Scotland Yard, along with her chief psychiatric consultant from Barbados, Dr. Braithwaite, both of whom must struggle against stereotypes against women and ethnic minorities in the British justice system to stop the mounting death toll. My mother liked the square-jawed hero Zinc Chandler of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the haunted outsider cop, drinker of black coffee, and smoker of Benson and Hedges.
But there is a huge cast in this book, which is in keeping with the epic scale of this blood-soaked action yarn. Just when you think the novel couldn't get any more complicated, subsequent chapters keep introducing more characters and plot twists, which will keep you scratching your head on how they are all connected. We've got sadistic gangsters, a conspiracy in the music industry, sex and drug trafficking, a homophobic bomber, a fratercidal nymphomaniac, and a vampire and a ghoul in the sewers. There's so much going on here that the 380 pages or so can't fully contain, so the action comes literally spilling out each time you peel open the classic embossed cover.
Be warned that this book is very disturbing, and contains scenes of physical violence, torture, mutilation, and child abuse that can be triggering for some readers. It is amazing that such a shocking read came from the minds of three of the most straight-laced, mild mannered, white-collar Canadian suburbanites you could ever imagine. Yet, "Ghoul" remains a no-holds-barred juggernaut and lasting legend in the annals of horror fiction. Even I was deeply impacted by some of the imagery of this book, and I've certainly read my share of disturbing fiction. But the difference between this and others of its kind is that "Ghoul" is so much more than an onslaught to your senses. It is smart, well-researched, superbly paced, and somehow manages to tie together so many seemingly disparite elements in a convoluted plot into a cohesive and satisfying whole.
This is probably the only review of an extreme horror novel that has been Mom-approved. And though she never finished it, would you believe that the next book she started eyeing was my copy of Ed Lee's "Haunter of the Threshold"?
I am reminded of a quote from this novel, which says that "horror fiction is not written as a means of escape. It's meant to be a genre of personal confrontation..." I think those who lecture about how horror can rot your brain need to remember fans like my mom, and actually meet the writers of horror fantasy, who are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet in the world. Perhaps the purest hearts are the ones least impacted by the scary stuff, and those that pugnaciously protest against it are in need of the healing power of horror's soul enema the most.
SCORE: 5 ghouls out of 5
She saw it on my bookshelf of paperbacks from hell. "Oooo, this one's about rock 'n roll music," she said gleefully. I hadn't yet read it, but I warned her it might be too sleazy and violent for her.
"You think so? I used to read all those scary books you'd bring home when you were a kid with all those gruesome covers. But still--if you say so..."
And so she slipped the book back on the shelf with a sigh. The next day, I found her sitting in an armchair with her feet up, a blanket around her, and "Ghoul" on her lap. She already had read half of it.
"How's the book, Ma? Is it good?"
"Yeaaaaaahhh!" she said with a spritely devilish grin.
So I finally got around to reading it myself. And boy, "Ghoul" is one filthy, sleazy, extreme, gory nightmare of a novel!
What's even more surprising is that the people who wrote this book come across just as innocent as my mother. Yes, I said "people." Michael Slade is actually the moniker of a writing think tank consisting then of Jay Clarke, his wife Lee, and his buddy John Banks. With Jay and John both practicing criminal lawyers, the trio created this book just as if they were working on a real case. Regular meetings would bring together their own independent research from dozens of case files, and the trio would collectively explore real-life urban surroundings to record their impressions of the sights, sounds, and smells of their literary settings, all to create an authentic gritty epic noir involving a serial killer pursued by international law enforcement. Lee Clarke added her own special touch to the female characters and claims she tried to tone down some of her husband's over-the-top sex and violence, but the result is still considered one of the classics of the splatterpunk subgenre and must-read for horror and thriller fans. But if you watch old interviews of them, you'd swear they probably went to the same church services as Ned Flanders from the Simpsons.
Not to be confused with Brian Keene's excellent coming-of-age novel of the same name, nor the Mark Ransom paperback from hell, or Edward Lee's first novel published under his own name, this novel has less to do with supernatural monsters and is more along the lines of psychological horror akin to "The Silence of the Lambs" and seedy urban slashers like "Maniac." There is also a hardy helping of underground rock, particularly post-punk, goth, and doom metal, giving this a "We Sold Our Souls" or "The Vampire L'Estat" kind of vibe. Because of the rock connection, the book was previewed by Alice Cooper and Bruce Dickinson, who both have featured blurbs on the cover as part of the marketing strategy. Supposedly, these gods of rock gimmickry were scared quite effectively by this book, which I guess means a lot coming from one man who'd behead himself weekly on stage and another who played concert venues under the crotch of a giant smoke-snorting zombie named Eddie.
The Slade brand survived the decline of mass-market paperback horror in the 90s largely due to the fact that their style of horror was already in line with the more popular crime thrillers that usurped the throne of the popular fiction industry. Jay Clarke, now writing with his daughter Rebecca, continues to produce sensational work to this day. But if you want to experience "Sladism" at its bloody and brutal best, you must seek out and read this 1987 masterpiece.
Far from being just a straight slasher thriller, the novel frequently diverges into side topics, Melville-style, but when this happens, it is brief and seemlessly blended into the narrative. For example, in order to understand what British authorities are up against when tracking down the sewer killer, there is some exposition about the history and technology behind the extensive underground network below the streets of London which I found intensely interesting.
The writing is very engaging and intelligently explores the controversy of whether extreme forms of art such as gory horror comics and movies or dark heavy metal and industrial can feed unhealthy fantasies born from frustration and anger in victims of trauma and psychosis. I found the theme to be explored sensitively on both sides. And as such, horror fans will get a kick out of all the references to things like The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Phantom of the Opera, Jekyll and Hyde, The Fly, Dawn of the Dead, Weird Tales magazine, and especially H.P. Lovecraft.
The characters are all very likeable. I for one enjoyed Hilary Rand, the dead-pan but gracious middle-aged Detective Chief Superintendent of New Scotland Yard, along with her chief psychiatric consultant from Barbados, Dr. Braithwaite, both of whom must struggle against stereotypes against women and ethnic minorities in the British justice system to stop the mounting death toll. My mother liked the square-jawed hero Zinc Chandler of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the haunted outsider cop, drinker of black coffee, and smoker of Benson and Hedges.
But there is a huge cast in this book, which is in keeping with the epic scale of this blood-soaked action yarn. Just when you think the novel couldn't get any more complicated, subsequent chapters keep introducing more characters and plot twists, which will keep you scratching your head on how they are all connected. We've got sadistic gangsters, a conspiracy in the music industry, sex and drug trafficking, a homophobic bomber, a fratercidal nymphomaniac, and a vampire and a ghoul in the sewers. There's so much going on here that the 380 pages or so can't fully contain, so the action comes literally spilling out each time you peel open the classic embossed cover.
Be warned that this book is very disturbing, and contains scenes of physical violence, torture, mutilation, and child abuse that can be triggering for some readers. It is amazing that such a shocking read came from the minds of three of the most straight-laced, mild mannered, white-collar Canadian suburbanites you could ever imagine. Yet, "Ghoul" remains a no-holds-barred juggernaut and lasting legend in the annals of horror fiction. Even I was deeply impacted by some of the imagery of this book, and I've certainly read my share of disturbing fiction. But the difference between this and others of its kind is that "Ghoul" is so much more than an onslaught to your senses. It is smart, well-researched, superbly paced, and somehow manages to tie together so many seemingly disparite elements in a convoluted plot into a cohesive and satisfying whole.
This is probably the only review of an extreme horror novel that has been Mom-approved. And though she never finished it, would you believe that the next book she started eyeing was my copy of Ed Lee's "Haunter of the Threshold"?
I am reminded of a quote from this novel, which says that "horror fiction is not written as a means of escape. It's meant to be a genre of personal confrontation..." I think those who lecture about how horror can rot your brain need to remember fans like my mom, and actually meet the writers of horror fantasy, who are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet in the world. Perhaps the purest hearts are the ones least impacted by the scary stuff, and those that pugnaciously protest against it are in need of the healing power of horror's soul enema the most.
SCORE: 5 ghouls out of 5
June 23, 2012
What's my favorite horror novel of all time? Tough question, but the one novel that always first comes to mind is the sophomore effort, Ghoul, by the amalgamation of Canadian lawyers known as Michael Slade.
Don't be fooled by the tittle. This is not a book about monsters or the paranormal. Ghoul is a psycho-thriller featuring the hunt for a deranged psychopath by detective Zinc Chandler, a member of the elite Canadian serial killer task-force known as Special X. That's right, it's about Mounties. All of you Canada haters out there shouldn't worry, though. Most of the novel takes place in and under the streets of London, along with various parts of the United States – most notably, Rhode Island.
First published in 1987, during the great boom of serial killer novels ushered in by Thomas Harris' Red Dragon, Ghoul differentiates itself by having been written by die-hard horror fans who just happen to be Canadian lawyers – specializing in criminal insanity cases, no less. Slade's passion for horror, and understanding of the inner workings of the insane, brings a unique formula to the proceedings that tickles the horror geek in me like few other writers are capable.
The novel has elements of both police procedural and murder mystery, and is chock full of horror movie references and ever escalating terrors. From the opening chapter, in which a teenage boy is buried alive as part of his initiation into a horror club, to the kidnapping of conjoined twins as part of a ritual intended to open the gates for the return of the Old Ones, this book has everything a horror fan could ask for. Did I say, Old Ones? That's right, but as I said, there is nothing paranormal in the novel, only the broken and torn mind of a psychopath. As a mater of fact, Ghoul can be read as a primer for H.P. Lovecraft, as the detectives investigating the case must familiarize themselves with Ech Pi El and his writings in order to track down the killer.
Filled with blood and gore, the novel is bursting with interesting discussions on history, Lovecraft, horror films and psychological insights into the insane. Slade manages to make these passages, some several pages long, interesting and exciting; never once slowing down or impede the narrative. With this ability to inform and educate, while maintaining an action packed narrative, I often think of Slade as the Michael Crichton of horror.
The prose is vivid and fast paced, while also taking time to build the story and characters enough that you fear for their lives (Slade is known for killing-off major characters in his novels, so you never know who is safe). Ghoul is a horror novel turned to all the way thirteen and reads like the greatest horror film never made. With depictions of exsanguination, acid baths, beheadings and skinning in order to bind a homemade Necronomicon, Ghoul is bursting at the seams with horror. It is an adrenaline rush that races to an exciting and satisfactory conclusion that would satisfy even the most jaded of horror fan.
Currently, Slade has written fourteen novels set in the violent and horrific world of the investigators of Special X, and one outside that world, Crucified. While the make-up of Slade has changed over the years, with the current incarnation consisting of Jay Clark (the original driving force behind Slade) and his daughter Rebecca, I highly recommend all of his work.
Don't be fooled by the tittle. This is not a book about monsters or the paranormal. Ghoul is a psycho-thriller featuring the hunt for a deranged psychopath by detective Zinc Chandler, a member of the elite Canadian serial killer task-force known as Special X. That's right, it's about Mounties. All of you Canada haters out there shouldn't worry, though. Most of the novel takes place in and under the streets of London, along with various parts of the United States – most notably, Rhode Island.
First published in 1987, during the great boom of serial killer novels ushered in by Thomas Harris' Red Dragon, Ghoul differentiates itself by having been written by die-hard horror fans who just happen to be Canadian lawyers – specializing in criminal insanity cases, no less. Slade's passion for horror, and understanding of the inner workings of the insane, brings a unique formula to the proceedings that tickles the horror geek in me like few other writers are capable.
The novel has elements of both police procedural and murder mystery, and is chock full of horror movie references and ever escalating terrors. From the opening chapter, in which a teenage boy is buried alive as part of his initiation into a horror club, to the kidnapping of conjoined twins as part of a ritual intended to open the gates for the return of the Old Ones, this book has everything a horror fan could ask for. Did I say, Old Ones? That's right, but as I said, there is nothing paranormal in the novel, only the broken and torn mind of a psychopath. As a mater of fact, Ghoul can be read as a primer for H.P. Lovecraft, as the detectives investigating the case must familiarize themselves with Ech Pi El and his writings in order to track down the killer.
Filled with blood and gore, the novel is bursting with interesting discussions on history, Lovecraft, horror films and psychological insights into the insane. Slade manages to make these passages, some several pages long, interesting and exciting; never once slowing down or impede the narrative. With this ability to inform and educate, while maintaining an action packed narrative, I often think of Slade as the Michael Crichton of horror.
The prose is vivid and fast paced, while also taking time to build the story and characters enough that you fear for their lives (Slade is known for killing-off major characters in his novels, so you never know who is safe). Ghoul is a horror novel turned to all the way thirteen and reads like the greatest horror film never made. With depictions of exsanguination, acid baths, beheadings and skinning in order to bind a homemade Necronomicon, Ghoul is bursting at the seams with horror. It is an adrenaline rush that races to an exciting and satisfactory conclusion that would satisfy even the most jaded of horror fan.
Currently, Slade has written fourteen novels set in the violent and horrific world of the investigators of Special X, and one outside that world, Crucified. While the make-up of Slade has changed over the years, with the current incarnation consisting of Jay Clark (the original driving force behind Slade) and his daughter Rebecca, I highly recommend all of his work.
July 29, 2015
A hideous disappointment after how much I truly dug Headhunter, which in my opinion is one of the ballsiest and most compelling mixes of the crime/police procedural and horror genres I've ever read. I really, REALLY wanted to like this book and spent a long time looking for it so I had nothing but the best intentions here...but I'd be reading it and I just wouldn't feel that thrilling, morbid spark I got from the first book. Then I'd put it down for like a couple weeks until I'd suddenly uncover it in some random location and be like "Hey...why haven't I been reading this?!" and like 30 minutes later I'd answer myself with "Oh yeah...THIS is why."
So Michael Slade is a pseudonym for actually more than one person working in tandem on these books. I feel like someone new came in or left since the first one, because this doesn't even feel like the same author. It's just...utterly predictable and lame. The focus on rock music (particularly Alice Cooper) and Lovecraft got nauseatingly trite and overplayed, which is especially bad because I fuckin' love rock music and really like Lovecraft. I just heard myself going..."I fucking get it. Lovecraft and Cooper. Lovecraft and Cooper. Lovecraft and Cooper. Who are you trying to impress with this shit?" constantly in my head. Of course Cooper blurb-fellated this book on the cover, Slade was mentioning him in every other paragraph. I know he has an ostensible excuse but it didn't fly at all for me.
The procedural stuff was a huge boring pain in the ass as well. I get that at the time the technology Slade spends so much time explaining and examining was cutting-edge and fascinating, but unfortunately I read this in 2015 and it was like some guy trying to tell me how awesome an Atari is. I feel like there was a little bit of this stuff in the previous book, but there is a fucking DELUGE in this one. It just really hurt the momentum and atmosphere of the story. Slade was trying to conjure some spooky, London gothic aura here and then he's talking about fucking pre-DOS operating systems creating 3D models of sewers and it was just dreadful. It doesn't help the story itself is completely disjointed, jumping randomly across decades and oceans, back and forth until I don't know who people are and don't give a flying fuck anymore because it's frustrating.
I did like the new addition of Zinc Chandler, who is like a silver-haired tough guy renegade cop type. I was really excited when Slade introduced him and put him through his cat-and-mouse game with the genuinely creepy Sid Jinks, but almost immediately after that Slade was constantly blueballing me with the stupid shit about the rock band Ghoul and DCI (or whatever...I can't get a handle on British police ranks) Hilary Rand's political struggles...you really could have shaved all that shit away, and had this been a pure Chandler-driven book and not only would you have saved like 200 pages it would have been much more entertaining and propulsive. Again, massive disappointments to be had around every corner.
I didn't dig this shit. I really feel strongly about my theory about the human makeup of the Slade persona changing, and they need to fix this shit. I see that one of the two male Slades brought his daughter in to work on this shit. Listen, I like the idea of family-run businesses and stuff like that, but this is fucking writing, not a fucking bakery. The vast majority of people on the Earth are not good or even decent writers and I feel like this might have totally fucked up a really good formula. I already bought Cutthroat on the strength of liking the first book so much, but this makes me kind of look at it with apprehension when I run into it on my bookshelf, like a new acquaintance you're kinda dubious about.
So Michael Slade is a pseudonym for actually more than one person working in tandem on these books. I feel like someone new came in or left since the first one, because this doesn't even feel like the same author. It's just...utterly predictable and lame. The focus on rock music (particularly Alice Cooper) and Lovecraft got nauseatingly trite and overplayed, which is especially bad because I fuckin' love rock music and really like Lovecraft. I just heard myself going..."I fucking get it. Lovecraft and Cooper. Lovecraft and Cooper. Lovecraft and Cooper. Who are you trying to impress with this shit?" constantly in my head. Of course Cooper blurb-fellated this book on the cover, Slade was mentioning him in every other paragraph. I know he has an ostensible excuse but it didn't fly at all for me.
The procedural stuff was a huge boring pain in the ass as well. I get that at the time the technology Slade spends so much time explaining and examining was cutting-edge and fascinating, but unfortunately I read this in 2015 and it was like some guy trying to tell me how awesome an Atari is. I feel like there was a little bit of this stuff in the previous book, but there is a fucking DELUGE in this one. It just really hurt the momentum and atmosphere of the story. Slade was trying to conjure some spooky, London gothic aura here and then he's talking about fucking pre-DOS operating systems creating 3D models of sewers and it was just dreadful. It doesn't help the story itself is completely disjointed, jumping randomly across decades and oceans, back and forth until I don't know who people are and don't give a flying fuck anymore because it's frustrating.
I did like the new addition of Zinc Chandler, who is like a silver-haired tough guy renegade cop type. I was really excited when Slade introduced him and put him through his cat-and-mouse game with the genuinely creepy Sid Jinks, but almost immediately after that Slade was constantly blueballing me with the stupid shit about the rock band Ghoul and DCI (or whatever...I can't get a handle on British police ranks) Hilary Rand's political struggles...you really could have shaved all that shit away, and had this been a pure Chandler-driven book and not only would you have saved like 200 pages it would have been much more entertaining and propulsive. Again, massive disappointments to be had around every corner.
I didn't dig this shit. I really feel strongly about my theory about the human makeup of the Slade persona changing, and they need to fix this shit. I see that one of the two male Slades brought his daughter in to work on this shit. Listen, I like the idea of family-run businesses and stuff like that, but this is fucking writing, not a fucking bakery. The vast majority of people on the Earth are not good or even decent writers and I feel like this might have totally fucked up a really good formula. I already bought Cutthroat on the strength of liking the first book so much, but this makes me kind of look at it with apprehension when I run into it on my bookshelf, like a new acquaintance you're kinda dubious about.
May 30, 2013
A police procedural/horror story, that's the warped mind of Michael Slade. The second in the "Special X" series, and after "Headhunter", it's hard to believe this is a father and daughter writing team!
This is a perverted, gory, blood fest. And a damn fine thriller.
This is a perverted, gory, blood fest. And a damn fine thriller.
January 15, 2022
Crime fiction? Horror? Hard to decide. I didn't find this as good as the first book in the series. There were so many characters it was hard for me to follow. I did take a break during the holidays--a little gruesome for a cheery time of year. At the end I came to a better understanding of why I was confused. Love the references to HP Lovecraft, and heavy metal bands. As with the 'Headhunter'--not for the faint of heart. A real twist at the end I didn't see coming. Waiting for the third book in the series 'Cutthroat' to arrive. Out of print, and not available on e-readers.
December 1, 2025
Buddy Read with the wonderful Amanda 🤘😄🤘
An easy five stars for me 🤩 Despite this being a reread it was fun discussing and guessing the events and hidden clues throughout the book as I could only remember odd parts here and there.
This book would make a damn good movie as most scenes were extremely cinematic. I really enjoyed the mix of police procedural and kick ass, wonderfully graphic, horror alongside the smatterings of historical information regarding certain places and aspects. Hats off to the authors for crafting a very clever plot line because what you think is happening eventually turns out to be something different entirely….or does it? Hmmm😉😉
As a bonus there’s plenty of pop culture references for us horror and crime fans throughout 😈
November 5, 2008
i have to admit to being rather conflicted on the rating of this book, which i desperately wish i could have given a 3.5 if able, but in the end, there was just too much that i found appealing to give it a flat 3.
my biggest complaints seem rather few when i think about them list-wise, but it's a strong list. there were, for a large portion of the book, too many story lines going on at one time, and by the time they were all pulled together, it wasn't so much an "a-ha" moment as an "oh, jeez" moment. i can't really say much more about it, other than that one entire sub-story (which arguably isn't that "sub") could have been completely omitted without any detriment to the story.
almost alongside that, there's the whole police procedural aspect to the story that i feel unecessarily slowed things down with overly detailed descriptions of crime scenes, as well as an over-boiled pulp-detective complex on behalf of one of the main characters.
i say "almost" alongside the initial complaint about the storylines because as much as i found to complain about the police procedural and the pulp-detective characteristics, i also found something to enjoy in each. my natural curiousity won out a lot with regards to the procedural (though not all of the time), and a lot of times, pulp-isms make me smile.
there was also the story itself, which is a little too complex to get into detail about right now, but which, when it boiled down to it, was inspired by lovecraft, horror movies & rock and roll, some of my favorite things. write a book about those? now you've got most of my favorite things, which just about outweigh my earlier complaints, though not entirely, which brings me back to the conflict mentioned at the beginning of this review.
do i give it a 3 and undersell it, or do i give it a 4 and oversell it? in the end, i gave it the benefit of the doubt, largely because of the amount of time it took me to read, by the time i was done, i was more than ready to be done, which may have lead me to being harsher than i normally would have.
my biggest complaints seem rather few when i think about them list-wise, but it's a strong list. there were, for a large portion of the book, too many story lines going on at one time, and by the time they were all pulled together, it wasn't so much an "a-ha" moment as an "oh, jeez" moment. i can't really say much more about it, other than that one entire sub-story (which arguably isn't that "sub") could have been completely omitted without any detriment to the story.
almost alongside that, there's the whole police procedural aspect to the story that i feel unecessarily slowed things down with overly detailed descriptions of crime scenes, as well as an over-boiled pulp-detective complex on behalf of one of the main characters.
i say "almost" alongside the initial complaint about the storylines because as much as i found to complain about the police procedural and the pulp-detective characteristics, i also found something to enjoy in each. my natural curiousity won out a lot with regards to the procedural (though not all of the time), and a lot of times, pulp-isms make me smile.
there was also the story itself, which is a little too complex to get into detail about right now, but which, when it boiled down to it, was inspired by lovecraft, horror movies & rock and roll, some of my favorite things. write a book about those? now you've got most of my favorite things, which just about outweigh my earlier complaints, though not entirely, which brings me back to the conflict mentioned at the beginning of this review.
do i give it a 3 and undersell it, or do i give it a 4 and oversell it? in the end, i gave it the benefit of the doubt, largely because of the amount of time it took me to read, by the time i was done, i was more than ready to be done, which may have lead me to being harsher than i normally would have.
January 2, 2021
Ghoul is the horror novel manifestation of sex and drugs and rock n roll. Oh and murder.
Here we have a rock band called Ghoul, a female detective in London, a mountie from Canada, a wealthy socialite...and a mysterious killer! There are tons of characters, various locations, multiple time periods, different side stories, a dash of Poe and Lovecraft...there is so much going on here and it shouldn't work but it absolutely does! Well-written, compelling, detailed and complex yet also fun, gory and downright wild. This is a horror novel for horror fans! There are so many horror references here which are not only fun to read but are relevant to the story. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and look forward to reading more in the Special X series.
Here we have a rock band called Ghoul, a female detective in London, a mountie from Canada, a wealthy socialite...and a mysterious killer! There are tons of characters, various locations, multiple time periods, different side stories, a dash of Poe and Lovecraft...there is so much going on here and it shouldn't work but it absolutely does! Well-written, compelling, detailed and complex yet also fun, gory and downright wild. This is a horror novel for horror fans! There are so many horror references here which are not only fun to read but are relevant to the story. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and look forward to reading more in the Special X series.
May 16, 2020
An 80's horror/thriller that pulls few punches to be sure. This was a little hard to get into given the frenetic pacing and the multiple story lines, but well worth the effort. Moving in time and space among Vancouver, Rhode Island and London, we are introduced to a messed up family, serial killer(s) and Vancouver PD trying to get enough to bust a mob character dealing in porno and heroin. Don't worry-- it all comes together soon enough. I really enjoyed the musical references and other aspects of the 80s highlighted in the book. 3.5 stars.
February 27, 2016
If you like to take your mysteries with a liberal dose of WTF, Michael Slade is the author for you. Plot twists, surprise endings, questions left unanswered or with solutions incorrectly guessed at by the all-too-human beleaguered police force abound. Coming on the heels of Headhunter, the second novel in the Special X series is a gruesome nod to such "dangerous" elements of popular culture as rock music, comic books, and horror novels.
Despite being Special X #2, I consider Ghoul to be more like "Special X #1, part 2." It and Headhunter can be read in any order the reader desires because no characters from the previous novel appear in this one. Instead a new protagonist in the form of Zinc Chandler makes his debut, and while the next book in the series, Cutthroat, sees him and Robert Declercq team up for the first time, Chandler spends much of his time in this book outside of Canada, traveling instead to the US to liaise with a beautiful FBI agent in Rhode Island, then across the pond in an effort to track down the frontman to the rock band Ghoul, a guy who may or may not be responsible for a series of gruesome murders happening in London, but was almost certainly involved with a reprehensible killing in Vancouver.
Speaking of London, Detective Chief Superintendent Hilary Rand is having an equally bad day as three serial killers have chosen to make life miserable for the common person in her fair city. The Vampire Killer has claimed a total of eight young girls, murdering them by draining their blood and cutting out their hearts. At the same time, a homophobic sociopath Scotland Yard has dubbed the Flower Bomber is planting explosives at areas where homosexuals are known to congregate, and is taunting Rand by sending her notes. Finally a third killer dubbed The Ghoul is busy getting his slaughter on, using the miles of sewers, tunnels, and forgotten paths beneath the streets of London to move without detection. The victims all appear to be chosen at random, but each site bears the markings of The Ghoul's handiwork, including what Rand assumes must be personal riddles for her, the meanings of which she has yet to work out. All three killers are engaged in a deadly game of one-upsmanship, each one reacting with increasing savagery when the other one steals the headlines. Rand, one of the few women to hold high rank within the Yard, knows her job is on the line and if her team doesn't produce results fast, she'll be put out to pasture.
Slade's books are twisting, labyrinthine, often downright confusing, as the authors leap from scene to scene, character to character. We follow the psychopaths and sadists for a chapter, hearing their thoughts, getting inside their head, sometimes even learning their names. We watch their crimes as active witnesses, unable to look away but horrified by the results. Then it's back to Rand or Chandler as new evidence crops up, discoveries found, assumptions made. But it's not enough, it's too little, too late, and we know another victim will be fed to the meat grinder before long.
We read on anyway, hoping Slade knows what he's doing, that the reveal will be worth the price of admission. Upon finishing Ghoul, I was delighted to learn that while I'd deduced a few important things before the grand reveal, there were still plenty of bits I hadn't worked out and one major whammy of a twist I didn't see coming but, in retrospect, was right there in print the whole time if I'd just been paying attention. Proof positive, if nothing else, that I should rule out a career in law enforcement no matter how much I loved The Hardy Boys growing up.
Ghoul dives right into the extremes of criminal behavior as well as the technical details of police procedural, and while its impact is slightly blunted now in 2015 thanks to horror going more mainstream, I can easily see this book scandalizing readers upon it's initial release in the 1980s. Cannibalism, mental illness, murder, torture, incest, sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll baby: Ghoul's got it all and if you don't find at least one scene somewhere in here that your mind keeps returning to in the days to come then you've clearly seen some shit in your life that I'm better off not knowing. There's a reason Michael Slade's fans refer to ourselves as 'Sladists'.
All in all, Ghoul's a fine read by a great trio of authors that can potentially appeal to a wide audience: amateur sleuths who fancy themselves good with the whodunnits will enjoy the chase along with Rand and Chandler; horror aficionados will revel in the extremes of nastiness on display between the covers as well as the homages to the likes of Lovecraft, Poe, and the old horror comics of the 50s and 60s before the days of the Comics Code Authority; police procedural and true crime devotees will dig the massive amounts of detail Slade uses when it comes to everything from technologically tracking a suspect and inspecting a crime scene down to the psychology, behavioral profiling, and tactics used by the bobbies and Mounties as they run down their quarry. It's dense, man--those 400 pages are slow, slow going and by the end you'll feel like you slogged through about twice that number. All I can say is I felt the payoff more than worthy of the energy I expended getting through it, and that's good enough for me.
Despite being Special X #2, I consider Ghoul to be more like "Special X #1, part 2." It and Headhunter can be read in any order the reader desires because no characters from the previous novel appear in this one. Instead a new protagonist in the form of Zinc Chandler makes his debut, and while the next book in the series, Cutthroat, sees him and Robert Declercq team up for the first time, Chandler spends much of his time in this book outside of Canada, traveling instead to the US to liaise with a beautiful FBI agent in Rhode Island, then across the pond in an effort to track down the frontman to the rock band Ghoul, a guy who may or may not be responsible for a series of gruesome murders happening in London, but was almost certainly involved with a reprehensible killing in Vancouver.
Speaking of London, Detective Chief Superintendent Hilary Rand is having an equally bad day as three serial killers have chosen to make life miserable for the common person in her fair city. The Vampire Killer has claimed a total of eight young girls, murdering them by draining their blood and cutting out their hearts. At the same time, a homophobic sociopath Scotland Yard has dubbed the Flower Bomber is planting explosives at areas where homosexuals are known to congregate, and is taunting Rand by sending her notes. Finally a third killer dubbed The Ghoul is busy getting his slaughter on, using the miles of sewers, tunnels, and forgotten paths beneath the streets of London to move without detection. The victims all appear to be chosen at random, but each site bears the markings of The Ghoul's handiwork, including what Rand assumes must be personal riddles for her, the meanings of which she has yet to work out. All three killers are engaged in a deadly game of one-upsmanship, each one reacting with increasing savagery when the other one steals the headlines. Rand, one of the few women to hold high rank within the Yard, knows her job is on the line and if her team doesn't produce results fast, she'll be put out to pasture.
Slade's books are twisting, labyrinthine, often downright confusing, as the authors leap from scene to scene, character to character. We follow the psychopaths and sadists for a chapter, hearing their thoughts, getting inside their head, sometimes even learning their names. We watch their crimes as active witnesses, unable to look away but horrified by the results. Then it's back to Rand or Chandler as new evidence crops up, discoveries found, assumptions made. But it's not enough, it's too little, too late, and we know another victim will be fed to the meat grinder before long.
We read on anyway, hoping Slade knows what he's doing, that the reveal will be worth the price of admission. Upon finishing Ghoul, I was delighted to learn that while I'd deduced a few important things before the grand reveal, there were still plenty of bits I hadn't worked out and one major whammy of a twist I didn't see coming but, in retrospect, was right there in print the whole time if I'd just been paying attention. Proof positive, if nothing else, that I should rule out a career in law enforcement no matter how much I loved The Hardy Boys growing up.
Ghoul dives right into the extremes of criminal behavior as well as the technical details of police procedural, and while its impact is slightly blunted now in 2015 thanks to horror going more mainstream, I can easily see this book scandalizing readers upon it's initial release in the 1980s. Cannibalism, mental illness, murder, torture, incest, sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll baby: Ghoul's got it all and if you don't find at least one scene somewhere in here that your mind keeps returning to in the days to come then you've clearly seen some shit in your life that I'm better off not knowing. There's a reason Michael Slade's fans refer to ourselves as 'Sladists'.
All in all, Ghoul's a fine read by a great trio of authors that can potentially appeal to a wide audience: amateur sleuths who fancy themselves good with the whodunnits will enjoy the chase along with Rand and Chandler; horror aficionados will revel in the extremes of nastiness on display between the covers as well as the homages to the likes of Lovecraft, Poe, and the old horror comics of the 50s and 60s before the days of the Comics Code Authority; police procedural and true crime devotees will dig the massive amounts of detail Slade uses when it comes to everything from technologically tracking a suspect and inspecting a crime scene down to the psychology, behavioral profiling, and tactics used by the bobbies and Mounties as they run down their quarry. It's dense, man--those 400 pages are slow, slow going and by the end you'll feel like you slogged through about twice that number. All I can say is I felt the payoff more than worthy of the energy I expended getting through it, and that's good enough for me.
October 10, 2017
I wasn't sure if I would like this book or not. The synopsis sounded interesting, but the cover looked more like a slasher/horror novel than the mystery/suspense/thriller type that I usually read. I have two main criticisms with this book. 1. The storyline is too choppy with too much going on. I got to page 124 out of 380, and there seem to be no fewer than 5 different storylines that still haven't converged in any way, shape or form. Just when I start to get into one plot line, the writing shifts to another. 2. The book provides too much detail about everything from the Met to the three major types of mental abnormality recognized by psychiatry to the Fleet River, etc. I didn't find it educational, I just found it distracting. This book has potential, but I just can't get into it, so I am moving on.
August 2, 2012
Slade is my favorite author. Great character development and the fact that his books take place in and around Vancouver makes them that much more scary. A must read for those who like psycho thrillers
December 31, 2012
quite possibly one of the best written horror novels ever.never before or since have i found myself reading a book one minute and then standing on the otherside on the room staring at the book wondering what the f*** is goin on.its worth the verbal acid trip to find out.
January 25, 2015
Horror...mystery...thriller...this book is all those things and if you're a fan of any of those three genres then you owe it to yourself to read this masterpiece
March 18, 2023
After reading Headhunter, the first in the Special X series, I was looking forward to the follow-up, Ghoul. While Headhunter was a masterwork of crime and horror fiction, Ghoul is not. For a great percentage of its 400 pages, it is convoluted and messy. So much of the crime writing centers around page upon page of procedural minutiae that is not only seemingly endless but tedious and does nothing to propel the narrative. What follows is a disjointed mix of the procedural writing style and the all too brief crime and horror giallo writing that you crave, and was so prevalent in Headhunter. It really felt like there were different writers involved in this one, yawn inducing textbook writing and the go for the throat. Unfortunately, there was too much of the former for the latter to shine in its own beautiful filth.
April 27, 2015
Short review: don’t bother. Minor Spoilers:
Longer review: I tried this one out because I understood it to be Lovecraft-inspired. It was, in the sense that Dungeons and Dragons ‘inspire’ Chick Tracts.
From the very first quote on the very first page – a quote supposedly from Lovecraft, long discredited by Lovecraft fans and generally accepted to be an invention of August Derleth – I suspected I was in for a disappointing ride. The story confirmed as much.
In brief: serial killers are inspired by Lovecraft and his works to commit gruesome crimes. Police investigate. Adventure ensues.
While the authors (according to the hardcover library book I read, ‘Michael Slade’ is actually the pseudonym of three persons collaborating) are familiar with police procedure, the story and characters themselves suffer a short shrift. I found the characters very wooden, their dialogue serving only to move the plot forward or further expound on news and current events. Ironically, the most energetic and exciting parts were those segments told from the serial killers’ point of view, which puts forward an interesting puzzle about how and why this is happening. Hence the second star.
Where the book went south for me was the depiction of Lovecraft and art in general. There are a few segues of speculation between characters of the danger of fiction, music, games, and the violence they supposedly cause.
As for the Lovecraftian elements, the authors simply prove that they understand absolutely nothing about his work. When Lovecraft himself is described by one character to another, he is depicted as a regular Charlie Manson, inspiring his readers to acts of violence. The conversation concludes with the character opining that, no, in a free society we cannot censor this stuff, but oh how dangerous it is…
In a final insult the last pages are merely a list of crimes of violence supposedly inspired by fiction, music and games.
If you want something to make your blood boil, check it out. Otherwise, don’t bother.
I read this book so you don’t have to. Don’t let my suffering be in vain.
Longer review: I tried this one out because I understood it to be Lovecraft-inspired. It was, in the sense that Dungeons and Dragons ‘inspire’ Chick Tracts.
From the very first quote on the very first page – a quote supposedly from Lovecraft, long discredited by Lovecraft fans and generally accepted to be an invention of August Derleth – I suspected I was in for a disappointing ride. The story confirmed as much.
In brief: serial killers are inspired by Lovecraft and his works to commit gruesome crimes. Police investigate. Adventure ensues.
While the authors (according to the hardcover library book I read, ‘Michael Slade’ is actually the pseudonym of three persons collaborating) are familiar with police procedure, the story and characters themselves suffer a short shrift. I found the characters very wooden, their dialogue serving only to move the plot forward or further expound on news and current events. Ironically, the most energetic and exciting parts were those segments told from the serial killers’ point of view, which puts forward an interesting puzzle about how and why this is happening. Hence the second star.
Where the book went south for me was the depiction of Lovecraft and art in general. There are a few segues of speculation between characters of the danger of fiction, music, games, and the violence they supposedly cause.
As for the Lovecraftian elements, the authors simply prove that they understand absolutely nothing about his work. When Lovecraft himself is described by one character to another, he is depicted as a regular Charlie Manson, inspiring his readers to acts of violence. The conversation concludes with the character opining that, no, in a free society we cannot censor this stuff, but oh how dangerous it is…
In a final insult the last pages are merely a list of crimes of violence supposedly inspired by fiction, music and games.
If you want something to make your blood boil, check it out. Otherwise, don’t bother.
I read this book so you don’t have to. Don’t let my suffering be in vain.
February 28, 2013
What an amazing book! Though I know that the depiction of a multiple personality in this novel is not actually the way such things work, it was easy enough to suspend disbelief, because of the completely captivating story and the concise prose style of the three people who write as Michael Slade. I found this thing in a used bookstore not too long after it came out (lucky me), and noticed a blurb on the back that said it had Cthulhu Mythos content. That was good enough for me to shell out the few shekels and bring the thing home, especially as there wasn't anything else very interesting on the shelves...and was I ever glad I did. Couldn't figure out til the very end which one of the personalities was actually responsible for the wanton destruction depicted in this book, though I had my suspicions. The suspense was unbearable for me, and I stayed up all night to read this thing in one sitting. While doing research for a book of my own, this book popped up and said "Read me". So I did, repeating the experience all over again. I hadn't exactly forgotten about Saxon, but time and the load of many other fine books had dulled the memory a bit. Not now. It will be quite a while before I forget, and btw, I read it while listening to the earlier work of Alice Cooper, who had a recommending blurb on the edition I have. Nice combo-I recommend it.
December 8, 2011
In the London sewers a madman schemes to bring back Lovecraft's Old Ones while a sadistic killer's victims float down to the Thames. A Vampire stalks young girls and drains their blood. A homophobic bomber strikes and then sends Victorian flower poseys. Meantime, in Canada the Death Rock group, Ghoul wails on the stage. Predators stalk their victim in a prison's shower. A sexually obsessed heiress makes her last call to an escort service and a nice woman shudders at threatening letters and calls she receives and snuggles her aging cat. What twisted threads bind them all together? Can the RCMP and Scotland Yard unravel the knots and kinks and bring the truth to light?
Spoilers Below
OK. We've heard the psychological theory in the previous book, Headhunter. I really hope the two lawyers who write as Michael Slade don't become one-trick ponies, at least on that point. Other than that, the crimes and the cast all changed. There is no one from the previous book in this one. there is deviance and gore galore here. The crimes are inventive, far spread with different MO's and all are ghastly.
Spoilers Below
OK. We've heard the psychological theory in the previous book, Headhunter. I really hope the two lawyers who write as Michael Slade don't become one-trick ponies, at least on that point. Other than that, the crimes and the cast all changed. There is no one from the previous book in this one. there is deviance and gore galore here. The crimes are inventive, far spread with different MO's and all are ghastly.
April 29, 2018
I have read many a horror novel and i must say overall this may be the scariest one i have ever read.The sheer depravity and violence of the novel is nauseating at times ill admit however the complexity of the story and the insight given into the overall investigation taking place is well thought out and on point.Trust me when i tell you even Sherlock Holmes would have trouble piecing everything together and he is the greatest detective ever after all.
There is a chapter in this book entitled "The Grim Reaper" that was so unsettling that i would highly recommend only reading it in the light of day.Also there is another chapter "Raw Meat" that will change the way you feel about hot dogs and sausage forever.
Having said all that.This review in no way does justice to this story.Reading is believing and trust me this one will make a believer out of you if your brave enough to come along for the ride.
There is a chapter in this book entitled "The Grim Reaper" that was so unsettling that i would highly recommend only reading it in the light of day.Also there is another chapter "Raw Meat" that will change the way you feel about hot dogs and sausage forever.
Having said all that.This review in no way does justice to this story.Reading is believing and trust me this one will make a believer out of you if your brave enough to come along for the ride.
September 19, 2008
Whoa this book is off the hook...a powerful bloody book with intersecting stories of a demented and violent serial killer, two sets of cops searching for him and glimpses into the lives of other characters..This book has everything sick and twisted you could want in a book: gory, violent detailed murder, psychosis at its best and hints of romance..but it also throws in incest, homosexuality, AIDS, death, rock and roll and of course HORROR...Scary book that was well written and interesting..The guy was a real wacko and this book does where others fail by helping you understand why, why some people are so evil, so weird, so fascinating....
July 3, 2023
Headhunter is one of my favorite books. Ghoul is the follow-up to it. While I don't think Ghoul is in the same league as Headhunter, it deserves 5 stars for it's twisted plot, great characters, gruesomeness and shock value. The RCMP are up against killers who feel the need to compete against each other for the most notoriety, or so it seems. When the ending is revealed, the reader realizes that Slade has gone back to the same well as he did in Headhunter. Not the best choice, but would work really well if the first novel hadn't been read. This series has it's highs and lows. I would consider Ghoul a highlight.
April 8, 2012
One of the worst books I have ever read. Seriously. I found this on a book of "Best Horror Books" and I have to say that, while horror is not my favorite genre, there are many better books out there. Michael Slade is actually 3 separate people, which might explain why the book is so bad. One author wants to include every boring piece of research and slow down the plot. One wants to add sex and bad language to every scene, and one wants to include every stupid plot twist possible.
Read
May 24, 2021cw: graphic descriptions of rape/sexual assault (threats, fantasies, and on-page), torture/murder, homophobia (verbal disgust, AIDS stigma, physical/sexual violence), incest, stigmatization of mental illness
The police procedural/mystery aspect was decent, but unfortunately couldn't make up for my discomfort with the graphic rape and torture descriptions lol
I prefer my horror to scare me rather than disgust me 😅
The police procedural/mystery aspect was decent, but unfortunately couldn't make up for my discomfort with the graphic rape and torture descriptions lol
I prefer my horror to scare me rather than disgust me 😅
April 9, 2010
Read this years ago when first released to paperback and I loved it. Turns out Michael Slade is the pen name of a Canadian father/daughter writing team. What a twisted imagination these two have. I approve!
February 7, 2008
If you're familiar with Slade's work, you know what to expect. I didn't find it near as shocking as Headhunter, so I was kind of disappointed.
A lot of people liked this one, though.
A lot of people liked this one, though.
December 1, 2022
Published in 1987 it shows its age.
July 23, 2020
Ghoul comes out as the new generation of horror writers, following on the footsteps of Stephen King, are starting to show up. Michael Slade is, therefore, a contemporary of other more famous luminaries of that generation, such as Clive Barker. In fact Slade's first book, Headhunter, came out the same year as Clive Barker's Books of Blood.
However, this is a very different writer. When compared to Barker, Slade reads as extremely conservative. His style is good, his story is engaging, but this book trafficks in a mix of Satanic Panic, Dungeon & Dragons (in this case Lovecraftian RPG Call of Cthulhu) panic, Satanic rock music panic. It's a book where weirdos are evil and the good guys listen to soft jazz and The Eagles. Evil people listen to AC/DC and Alice Cooper....
People who dress weird, who are gothy, who listen to harder music, who do not conform, are pretty much the evil ones here, with a single exception towards the end. Add to this the stigmatisation of mental illness and LGBT people that he seems to like to delve into, with the AIDS crisis being a large part of the story, you feel a bit of an ickiness towards those who are on the margins of society. Again, couldn't be farther than the freak-embracing Barker... Just who does Slade think is reading him? Still, it's well written and full of cool references to Lovecraftian stuff, but not enough to save the novel.
However, this is a very different writer. When compared to Barker, Slade reads as extremely conservative. His style is good, his story is engaging, but this book trafficks in a mix of Satanic Panic, Dungeon & Dragons (in this case Lovecraftian RPG Call of Cthulhu) panic, Satanic rock music panic. It's a book where weirdos are evil and the good guys listen to soft jazz and The Eagles. Evil people listen to AC/DC and Alice Cooper....
People who dress weird, who are gothy, who listen to harder music, who do not conform, are pretty much the evil ones here, with a single exception towards the end. Add to this the stigmatisation of mental illness and LGBT people that he seems to like to delve into, with the AIDS crisis being a large part of the story, you feel a bit of an ickiness towards those who are on the margins of society. Again, couldn't be farther than the freak-embracing Barker... Just who does Slade think is reading him? Still, it's well written and full of cool references to Lovecraftian stuff, but not enough to save the novel.
October 17, 2022
This just didn't work for me. I was expecting something a bit far-fetched & gory, - & in that respect I can't argue that I got what I wanted - but it felt, especially early on, as if I was reading two completely different books spliced together; a horror tale -the violent spectre haunting London - & a crime novel - a Mountie trying to get his man. While the stories (eventually) came together, it didn't make the overall tale any more coherent. With not only a ghoul on the loose but a good few other storylines fighting for attention, things were just a bit messy!
While I appreciate scenes have to be set, technology explained or the defining of different psychosis that exist, I don't want paragraph after paragraph after paragraph.... these mini lectures continued throughout on various subjects & to be honest my eyes glazed over....although the actual story didn't fare much better as I often found myself skimming over the pages.
Overall verdict? Not for me....
While I appreciate scenes have to be set, technology explained or the defining of different psychosis that exist, I don't want paragraph after paragraph after paragraph.... these mini lectures continued throughout on various subjects & to be honest my eyes glazed over....although the actual story didn't fare much better as I often found myself skimming over the pages.
Overall verdict? Not for me....
June 24, 2018
This is a book I would definitely class as entertaining. The various thematic killings read like a veritable who's who of horror literature and film. And the denouement, when it comes, is satisfying and delightfully outlandish.
My only issue is that I find the police procedural style disjointed. The facts come in a staccato fashion, interspersed with the more usual narrative style that I find myself used to, such that it sometimes takes me out of the story.
However, having said that, it makes no bones about its procedural style and I guess, despite the horror overtones, it is more thriller than horror story. That's not always a bad thing, even though I am not normally drawn to the genre.. I enjoyed the book and, as a bonus, I came away knowing more about Scotland Yard and the Mounties various investigative measures than I did going in.
My only issue is that I find the police procedural style disjointed. The facts come in a staccato fashion, interspersed with the more usual narrative style that I find myself used to, such that it sometimes takes me out of the story.
However, having said that, it makes no bones about its procedural style and I guess, despite the horror overtones, it is more thriller than horror story. That's not always a bad thing, even though I am not normally drawn to the genre.. I enjoyed the book and, as a bonus, I came away knowing more about Scotland Yard and the Mounties various investigative measures than I did going in.
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