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The Count of Eleven
Just when he feels that his life is on the right track, Jack Orchard finds that a chain letter he has thrown away has brought him terrible luck, and he is determined to make things right again by keeping the chain going, no matter what. Reprint.
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
9 people are currently reading
450 people want to read
About the author
Ramsey Campbell
857 books1,594 followersRamsey Campbell is a British writer considered by a number of critics to be one of the great masters of horror fiction. T. E. D. Klein has written that "Campbell reigns supreme in the field today," while S. T. Joshi has said that "future generations will regard him as the leading horror writer of our generation, every bit the equal of Lovecraft or Blackwood."
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
July 30, 2010
This is an extremely unusual book for the "infamous" Ramsey Campbell.
It follows a logical story, and the horror does not take any Lovecraftian liberties, or follow any type of Lovecraft shout outs.
I completely enjoyed this book, but because I love Campbell, and have always adored his books, I hesitated before I gave it 5 stars simply because it I didn't want anyone who read this review be under the impression that Campbell got five stores when he was fairly restrained in his writing, without all the torrent of adjectives one normally associates with a tribute to H.P. Of all of H.P.'s disciples, I do have to admit that Campbell is the most faithful, but "The Count of Eleven" is a wonderful, suspenseful read, and one well worth a reader's time.
It follows a logical story, and the horror does not take any Lovecraftian liberties, or follow any type of Lovecraft shout outs.
I completely enjoyed this book, but because I love Campbell, and have always adored his books, I hesitated before I gave it 5 stars simply because it I didn't want anyone who read this review be under the impression that Campbell got five stores when he was fairly restrained in his writing, without all the torrent of adjectives one normally associates with a tribute to H.P. Of all of H.P.'s disciples, I do have to admit that Campbell is the most faithful, but "The Count of Eleven" is a wonderful, suspenseful read, and one well worth a reader's time.
December 19, 2011
A serial killer novel, told from the point of view of a man who is pushed by a string of misfortunes and a certain propensity for obsessive behaviour, into a series of ghastly murders. It doesn't have the supernatural aspects of Campbell's usual work, but it draws on his strong feel for character and gradual immersion into the macabre. Effective, but not essential.
May 11, 2019
The main character, Jack, has a run of bad luck. This bad run is supposedly the result of Jack refusing to perpetuate the mailing of a chain letter! He then becomes obsessed with the number 11 and blowtorches for some reason! LOL!
This one was not my cup of tea! I gave it 3 stars! Cheers everyone!
This one was not my cup of tea! I gave it 3 stars! Cheers everyone!
April 19, 2019
This one started slow but picked up a bit in the middle. This is a cautionary tale about the dangers of chain letters, blowtorches, and what happens when these two things are combined.
June 29, 2013
This book showed up in our office's informal lending library, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. I like psychological thrillers, and this seemed like a good one.
Jack Orchard is obsessed with numerology, and thinks of eleven as his lucky number. When he is sent a chain letter, with instructions to send it on to 13 people in order to "turn ill luck into good," he decides to do just that. His family is trying to buy a larger house, and he figures it can't hurt.
Well, all sorts of misfortunes start to befall Jack's family, beginning with him accidentally setting fire to his own business while he tries to strip paint off of the door with a blowlamp (the book is written by a UK author and set in Liverpool; in the US, we would call that a blow torch). He concludes that these difficulties must be due to folk not passing on the chain letter, and he sets out to get revenge on them.
The book then takes a turn into the world of schizophrenia, as Jack compartmentalizes his criminal life from his family life. This is the part that, in my opinion, should have been most interesting. Unfortunately, it became nothing but repetitious in my eyes. By the time the book reached its denoument, which was fairly predictable and anti-climactic, I was just relieved to be done with it.
In the final analysis, the book wasn't terrible; nor was it brilliant.
Jack Orchard is obsessed with numerology, and thinks of eleven as his lucky number. When he is sent a chain letter, with instructions to send it on to 13 people in order to "turn ill luck into good," he decides to do just that. His family is trying to buy a larger house, and he figures it can't hurt.
Well, all sorts of misfortunes start to befall Jack's family, beginning with him accidentally setting fire to his own business while he tries to strip paint off of the door with a blowlamp (the book is written by a UK author and set in Liverpool; in the US, we would call that a blow torch). He concludes that these difficulties must be due to folk not passing on the chain letter, and he sets out to get revenge on them.
The book then takes a turn into the world of schizophrenia, as Jack compartmentalizes his criminal life from his family life. This is the part that, in my opinion, should have been most interesting. Unfortunately, it became nothing but repetitious in my eyes. By the time the book reached its denoument, which was fairly predictable and anti-climactic, I was just relieved to be done with it.
In the final analysis, the book wasn't terrible; nor was it brilliant.
January 8, 2012
I've always been a big fan of Ramsey Campbell's supernatural fiction, less fond of his serial-killer phase, but I was more than pleased with this one. Yes, it's showing its age a little, as shown by the copious references to specific computer systems, not to mention the fact that the main character runs a video library, but it doesn't detract from the story in too much. The credit card incident wouldn't happen nowadays, and he'd certainly not have got away with his antics at customs, but if you bear in mind it was written in the early nineties, these things are eminently forgivable.
More importantly, the story is delightfully written with a kind of off-kilter grim humour, and handles its main theme quite masterfully - the descent of a perfect ordinary man into the depths of some kind of murderous split personality. It all seems plausible, but then Campbell is quite adept at portraying the mind of a serial killer, and the ending itself is most satisfactory.
Definitely a Campbellian treasure to look out for.
More importantly, the story is delightfully written with a kind of off-kilter grim humour, and handles its main theme quite masterfully - the descent of a perfect ordinary man into the depths of some kind of murderous split personality. It all seems plausible, but then Campbell is quite adept at portraying the mind of a serial killer, and the ending itself is most satisfactory.
Definitely a Campbellian treasure to look out for.
December 9, 2015
This is a psychological 'horror' story rather than the supernatural type that makes up the majority of Campbell's work. An ordinary but rather irritating man who continually cracks jokes, suffers misfortune and, due to his obsession with numbers, is drawn into a spiral of criminal behaviour as he tries to head off the bad luck that he believes is due to a chain letter that he sent on - basically, if the recipients failed to act, he thinks bad luck rebounds onto him. It does become fairly repetitive and you also need to allow for the dated setting - video rental shops, old style computers - though he deserves credit for having the protagonist's wife as a self taught IT instructor given the usual stereotype of IT personnel. Not his best sadly.
July 17, 2012
This is an all time favourite story for me... Classic horror. I simply love the concept and the way the author brings the main character to life as he tries to cope with misfortune and fails miserably. The mess he creates spirals out of control in short order. It may be out of print but you can obtain a copy from bigger online book distributors.
July 6, 2022
My biggest complaint about Ramsey's novels is that they often feel too similar, and so this was a refreshing change of pace. It broke the mold in new ways while still maintaining his usual trippy prose.
August 11, 2018
Very cool premise and a great story. Didn't particularly care for the end, but the developement of the killer was fascinating.
September 30, 2023
This was my first Ramsey Campbell book. I bought THE COUNT OF ELEVEN something like ten years ago at a used bookstore in Newmarket, which sadly no longer exists, and now I've finally read it. The cover drew me in, as did the title (eleven is my favourite number). Ignore the comparison to SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, this book is no less brilliant but it's very different.
The first 80 pages or so were very trying, though I understand why Campbell did them this way. They weren't poorly written at all, they just weren't very scary or disturbing—only once becoming upsetting. They were often humourous, and the humour runs through the whole book, even when it finally gets horrific.
Jack Orchard runs a video-rental shop, which burns down due to an unfortunate series of events that could only happen to someone as bumbling, awkward, and borderline unhinged as Jack. He has a wife, Julia, who loses her job early on, and a daughter, Laura, who is assaulted by three boys and has her bike destroyed.
He wants to do right by them, to have a perfect life with his amazing family, but it seems something bad always happens.
Throughout all of this is Jack's obsession with numbers, which is even more prevalent than the humour. He receives a chain letter in the mail—Turn Ill Luck into Good—telling him to make copies and send them off to thirteen people. At first he laughs it off, but then he wonders if all his bad luck is really because he didn't listen to the letter.
It's a serial-killer novel, but nearly all the victims are grouchy, rude people who seem to tempt fate, leading to some extremely funny scenes.
The ending is dramatic and moody, funny and sad. I really came around to loving this book.
4.5/5
The first 80 pages or so were very trying, though I understand why Campbell did them this way. They weren't poorly written at all, they just weren't very scary or disturbing—only once becoming upsetting. They were often humourous, and the humour runs through the whole book, even when it finally gets horrific.
Jack Orchard runs a video-rental shop, which burns down due to an unfortunate series of events that could only happen to someone as bumbling, awkward, and borderline unhinged as Jack. He has a wife, Julia, who loses her job early on, and a daughter, Laura, who is assaulted by three boys and has her bike destroyed.
He wants to do right by them, to have a perfect life with his amazing family, but it seems something bad always happens.
Throughout all of this is Jack's obsession with numbers, which is even more prevalent than the humour. He receives a chain letter in the mail—Turn Ill Luck into Good—telling him to make copies and send them off to thirteen people. At first he laughs it off, but then he wonders if all his bad luck is really because he didn't listen to the letter.
It's a serial-killer novel, but nearly all the victims are grouchy, rude people who seem to tempt fate, leading to some extremely funny scenes.
The ending is dramatic and moody, funny and sad. I really came around to loving this book.
4.5/5
August 11, 2021
Une petite famille : Le père Jack s'occupe d'un club video et se passionne pour la numérologie, la mère Julia travaille en support informatique et leur fille de 12 ans. Laura, rêve de la Grèce. Voilà que jack reçoit une chaine de lettres et, comme tout un chacun, s'en débarrasse. Et là, les malheurs s'abattent sur lui et sa famille. Et il est prêt à tout, vraiment à tout pour le bonheur de sa famille.
Une histoire qui mélange l'horreur et l'humour. Et une plongée dans les dédales de l'esprit humain et de la folie.
J'ai aimé l'histoire même si je l'ai trouvé un peu longue.
Une histoire qui mélange l'horreur et l'humour. Et une plongée dans les dédales de l'esprit humain et de la folie.
J'ai aimé l'histoire même si je l'ai trouvé un peu longue.
August 15, 2024
This book took so long to get interesting. It wasn’t until the last four chapters that I was finally engaged. Characters were so forgettable I forgot who was the wife and who was the daughter! The humor was too forced and too gd cheeky for my taste. Also this dude calling himself The Count as if he’s actually some scary ass killer fuck off fr 😭. Whole time it felt like a redditor trying too hard to be edgy. The ending was so pathetic in my opinion. Not once did i feel bad for this guy. He deserved so much worse.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 27, 2022
Roman beaucoup trop long à lire ..
Personnages aussi insipides les uns que les autres ... surtout le père (tueur en série qui se croit drôle avec ses vannes qui sont aussi pourries les uns que les autres. Il n'est même pas drôle en fait .. c'est un gros boulet qui soule au bout de 2 minutes).
ça ne m'a tellement pas passionné que j'ai relu toute la série des "Yoko Tsuno" au lieu d'avancer dans le roman lol.
La fin est nulle car il ne "paie même pas" ... Ses crimes restent impunis.
Personnages aussi insipides les uns que les autres ... surtout le père (tueur en série qui se croit drôle avec ses vannes qui sont aussi pourries les uns que les autres. Il n'est même pas drôle en fait .. c'est un gros boulet qui soule au bout de 2 minutes).
ça ne m'a tellement pas passionné que j'ai relu toute la série des "Yoko Tsuno" au lieu d'avancer dans le roman lol.
La fin est nulle car il ne "paie même pas" ... Ses crimes restent impunis.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 17, 2022
"Slapstick horror" should be a contradiction in terms, but Ramsey Campbell manages to make it work in this amusing, troubling story of a man who becomes a serial killer by mistake. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/201...
December 27, 2022
Rarement lu un livre aussi claqué au sol.
May 7, 2023
The silliest serial killer novel I have ever read. Silly concept, terrible odd attempts at comedy, and an unlikeable main character.
November 29, 2023
3.5 stars.
Darkly daft black comedy about a serial killer. Slight, but legitimately amusing and proof there is more to Campbell than the Lovecraft and James modes.
Darkly daft black comedy about a serial killer. Slight, but legitimately amusing and proof there is more to Campbell than the Lovecraft and James modes.
March 13, 2025
10/10
One of my very favourite books. a descent into madness, as the world of our likable, intelligent main character slowly crashes to the floor.
Irrationally he takes out this anger on a collection of random unwitting people who refuse to reply to his bonkers chain letter promising luck.
There's clearly a lot of the writer's personality in the video rental shop owner, as I know Ramsay Campbell is a huge film buff himself (he hosts a film review show on radio Merseyside that I haven't listened to, and a lost Boris Karloff film is the subject of one of his other books), with our protagonist in a near permanent state of frustration about his customers' lack of film knowledge and appreciation for the classics of the medium.
The weirdness is embellished by the fact he is so consumed by this irrational anger his loving family is virtually ignored. If only he could redirect his energy to be useful!
He's also obviously perma angry at the behaviour of kids and scruffy adults in his area. you can feel from the outset he is on a hair trigger - ready to snap at any moment.
So insanity bites and he attempts to make every set of numbers he comes across add up to or divide by 11.
But as usual with Campbell it's city of Liverpool and its grimy streets, paired with the everyday relationship hassles over work, the bullied daughter, and what to have for dinner that will resonate with anyone who lived in a depressing northern English city in the '80s, as I did in Leeds.
Campbell seems to organize his targets carefully, with the more likeable, and vulnerable people slipping away before our loon can 'light up their life'
spoiler sentence] > crucially, I also thoroughly enjoyed the final third of the book which takes place on a family holiday to Crete. Again, having been to that beautiful Greek island, I feel he captured the essence of such a holiday circa 1980 to a tee and the ending felt absolutely perfect.
This and 'The Face that Must Die' are my two favourite Campbell books so far, although I have a lot to read yet. I also thoroughly enjoyed Midnight Sun which mentions my home town of Richmond, North Yorks - yay!
His characters in these books are often angry troubled men at odds with the world who gradually slip out of control and detach from reality.
Campbell himself suffered with a strange upbringing and I'm sure applies many of his own problems to his brilliant characters. After so many teen years of US tv and films it's just fabulous to read about locations and people on my doorstep.
I do like bang average James Herbert, too, and read many of his books in recent years, specifically because his stories have English settings, but Campbell definitely gets the edge.
One of my very favourite books. a descent into madness, as the world of our likable, intelligent main character slowly crashes to the floor.
Irrationally he takes out this anger on a collection of random unwitting people who refuse to reply to his bonkers chain letter promising luck.
There's clearly a lot of the writer's personality in the video rental shop owner, as I know Ramsay Campbell is a huge film buff himself (he hosts a film review show on radio Merseyside that I haven't listened to, and a lost Boris Karloff film is the subject of one of his other books), with our protagonist in a near permanent state of frustration about his customers' lack of film knowledge and appreciation for the classics of the medium.
The weirdness is embellished by the fact he is so consumed by this irrational anger his loving family is virtually ignored. If only he could redirect his energy to be useful!
He's also obviously perma angry at the behaviour of kids and scruffy adults in his area. you can feel from the outset he is on a hair trigger - ready to snap at any moment.
So insanity bites and he attempts to make every set of numbers he comes across add up to or divide by 11.
But as usual with Campbell it's city of Liverpool and its grimy streets, paired with the everyday relationship hassles over work, the bullied daughter, and what to have for dinner that will resonate with anyone who lived in a depressing northern English city in the '80s, as I did in Leeds.
Campbell seems to organize his targets carefully, with the more likeable, and vulnerable people slipping away before our loon can 'light up their life'
spoiler sentence] > crucially, I also thoroughly enjoyed the final third of the book which takes place on a family holiday to Crete. Again, having been to that beautiful Greek island, I feel he captured the essence of such a holiday circa 1980 to a tee and the ending felt absolutely perfect.
This and 'The Face that Must Die' are my two favourite Campbell books so far, although I have a lot to read yet. I also thoroughly enjoyed Midnight Sun which mentions my home town of Richmond, North Yorks - yay!
His characters in these books are often angry troubled men at odds with the world who gradually slip out of control and detach from reality.
Campbell himself suffered with a strange upbringing and I'm sure applies many of his own problems to his brilliant characters. After so many teen years of US tv and films it's just fabulous to read about locations and people on my doorstep.
I do like bang average James Herbert, too, and read many of his books in recent years, specifically because his stories have English settings, but Campbell definitely gets the edge.
October 27, 2021
Ramsey Campbell’s novel is a murderously slapstick story of a good man driven to bad deeds by an obsession with crummy luck. Jack Orchard, owner of a video store and a devoted family man, encounters a string of terrible events after he fails to send on one of those stupid chain letters that people used to get by snail-mail but are now relegated to the Internet. After Jack rectifies his mistake, his fortune seems to take an even worse turn, forcing him to wonder if the letter’s recipients have failed to continue the chain. And that’s when this pun-loving, generally good-hearted guy gets an awful idea: maybe he has to force the chain to continue in order to save his family. Campbell replaces the subtle cosmic horror found in most of his other books with misunderstandings both banal and twisted and intersperses the narrative with dialogue and actions Jack is revealed to only have imagined, cleverly disrupting our expectations. And when the violence begins, this novel reads like a horror story written by the Three Stooges. A classic of the comedic-horror subgenre..
I reviewed this book for my list of funny (to me) horror novels and story collections. If you’re interested in similar titles, check out some of my favorites:
https://matthewpridham.wordpress.com/...
I reviewed this book for my list of funny (to me) horror novels and story collections. If you’re interested in similar titles, check out some of my favorites:
https://matthewpridham.wordpress.com/...
October 24, 2015
I can say that never have I read a book with such an obnoxious hero .
BUT, it was a pretty great idea. It's not easy to enjoy the murderer, sure bring in the family, the bad luck, the shitty circumstances, that all helps in creating a sympathetic nut. Starting with a character so annoying and absurd makes the jump to relating and even rooting for the murderous nut easier.
On that account, well down.
The Count of Eleven is short and fun, there are some thrills and some blood. The tension is thick and the finally is rewarding enough to redeem any earlier doubts I'd had.
Pretty decent stuff again from Mr. Campbell.
BUT, it was a pretty great idea. It's not easy to enjoy the murderer, sure bring in the family, the bad luck, the shitty circumstances, that all helps in creating a sympathetic nut. Starting with a character so annoying and absurd makes the jump to relating and even rooting for the murderous nut easier.
On that account, well down.
The Count of Eleven is short and fun, there are some thrills and some blood. The tension is thick and the finally is rewarding enough to redeem any earlier doubts I'd had.
Pretty decent stuff again from Mr. Campbell.
January 2, 2015
Sorry Ramsey, for me this was a big NO.
No for the characters, quite non-believable and lame
No for the plot, weak and not very well thought through
No for the suspense, almost non-existent until the very end
No for the writing, not your usual pompous, archaic and languid style
No for the story, too thin
No for the reading, boring and time wasting
It gets saved just at the en by the ending itself. It's a YES for the unexpected finale.
No for the characters, quite non-believable and lame
No for the plot, weak and not very well thought through
No for the suspense, almost non-existent until the very end
No for the writing, not your usual pompous, archaic and languid style
No for the story, too thin
No for the reading, boring and time wasting
It gets saved just at the en by the ending itself. It's a YES for the unexpected finale.
August 27, 2012
For the most part I prefer supernaturally based horror fiction, but this serial killer tale works. The much-put-upon Jack Orchard is my favorite of Ramsey Campbell's various monsters, not least because he's a darkly comic one, and an oddly sympathetic character... not unlike Sondheim's Sweeney Todd. I don't imagine you'd ever get a song outta Jack, though...
June 12, 2013
The main antagonist in this book was likened to Hannibal Lector ("Silence of the Lambs") but I found no similarities between the two characters what-so-ever. The storyline dragged on and on and was generally vague in a number of places, making it difficult to follow... until I finally gave up on following it at all.
April 23, 2013
I read this book over 10 years ago but have to say the story really stuck with me. Certainly some of the reference points are a little dated but this does not detract from the fact that the story is well written from start to finish.
Perhaps the count could swim........
Perhaps the count could swim........
April 14, 2008
Horror
December 29, 2012
very good
April 14, 2008
Horror
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews