What do you think?
Rate this book
Concrete Grove #1
The Concrete Grove
Imagine a place where all your nightmares become real.
Think of dark urban streets where crime, debt, and violence are not the only things to fear.
Picture an estate that is a gateway to somewhere else, a realm where ghosts and monsters stir hungrily in the shadows.
Welcome to the Concrete Grove. It knows where you live.
Book One of The Concrete Grove trilogy.
Think of dark urban streets where crime, debt, and violence are not the only things to fear.
Picture an estate that is a gateway to somewhere else, a realm where ghosts and monsters stir hungrily in the shadows.
Welcome to the Concrete Grove. It knows where you live.
Book One of The Concrete Grove trilogy.
382 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 28, 2011
24 people are currently reading
1054 people want to read
About the author
Gary McMahon
179 books108 followersGary McMahon lives, works and writes in West Yorkshire but posseses a New York state of mind. He shares his life with a wife, a son, and the nagging stories that won’t give him any peace until he writes them.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
May 1, 2014
The book opens with this quote: "One of the widespread beliefs is that hummingbirds, in some way, are messengers between worlds. As such they help shamans keep nature and spirit in balance"
Great. Hummingbirds. What's so scary about that you say? Plenty about that is scary, which is why you should read this book.
The Concrete Grove is described as what we here in the U.S. would call the projects. It's an urban area, filled with drug dealers, gang members and violence. At the center of these circularly laid out projects stands the needle.There are things living in the needle.Our 14 year old protagonist, Hailey, is drawn there, to them, for reasons unknown. It turns out that the needle is a sort of gateway, and what is coming through may or may not be pleasant, depending on the viewer. The Slitten are a force to be dealt with. Will 14 year old Hailey make it through? You will have to read this book to find out.
This book is populated with bleak, hopeless characters trapped in a bleak, grey environment. We have a woman, Hailey's mother, fighting to keep their financial heads above water. We have Tom, caring for his obese, paralyzed wife, (who got that way during a rendezvous with her lover.) At the same time we have Banjo, the drug addict and Monte Bright the local loan shark and instrument of mayhem. We won't even talk about Mr. Boater. These characters came alive to me, with all of their flaws and troubles. To me, that's an amazing piece of writing.
I was not aware at the time I bought this book that it was the beginning of a series. It looks as each book focuses on a different set of characters. I picked up the remaining two books in the series and I am looking forward to checking them out.
Recommended for fans of urban horror and for fans of science fiction type stories with heavy hints of horror!
Great. Hummingbirds. What's so scary about that you say? Plenty about that is scary, which is why you should read this book.
The Concrete Grove is described as what we here in the U.S. would call the projects. It's an urban area, filled with drug dealers, gang members and violence. At the center of these circularly laid out projects stands the needle.There are things living in the needle.Our 14 year old protagonist, Hailey, is drawn there, to them, for reasons unknown. It turns out that the needle is a sort of gateway, and what is coming through may or may not be pleasant, depending on the viewer. The Slitten are a force to be dealt with. Will 14 year old Hailey make it through? You will have to read this book to find out.
This book is populated with bleak, hopeless characters trapped in a bleak, grey environment. We have a woman, Hailey's mother, fighting to keep their financial heads above water. We have Tom, caring for his obese, paralyzed wife, (who got that way during a rendezvous with her lover.) At the same time we have Banjo, the drug addict and Monte Bright the local loan shark and instrument of mayhem. We won't even talk about Mr. Boater. These characters came alive to me, with all of their flaws and troubles. To me, that's an amazing piece of writing.
I was not aware at the time I bought this book that it was the beginning of a series. It looks as each book focuses on a different set of characters. I picked up the remaining two books in the series and I am looking forward to checking them out.
Recommended for fans of urban horror and for fans of science fiction type stories with heavy hints of horror!
February 17, 2014
If this novel were a movie the filmmakers would have used the same bleach bypass film processing technique used for 1984. The action of this novel almost exclusively takes place in murky, gray interiors, and in dusty, crumbling city streets under overcast skies. On film, the one scene that takes place on a sunny day would have been presented overexposed, all blinding light and shadows. If this novel were a film, it would be one of those art-house pictures where the blemished and unwashed characters rarely smile and deliver their dialogue filled with inexplicably long pauses between every line.
What I'm trying to say here is that McMahon does a fantastic job with setting mood and atmosphere. He also does a fine job describing the supernatural elements that burst up through the cracks of the urban purgatory he's built here. The mysterious forces at work, again, if this work were a film, would be the only things rendered with splashes of color. The surreal intrusions on the everyday, the invading forest dreamscape and the twisted beasts living in the trees, would bleed with lush greens, deep browns, and sickening yellows.
Also, like many an art-house film, the story is a slow-burn, the explanations are few, and the audience is left at the end with a puzzle both provocative and strange, with a mystery that can be solved any number of ways over arguments with friends at the coffee shop after the show.
Update: At the time of this writing (2/16/14), this book is free to download from Amazon's Kindle store: http://amzn.com/B00I7WHPJM
What I'm trying to say here is that McMahon does a fantastic job with setting mood and atmosphere. He also does a fine job describing the supernatural elements that burst up through the cracks of the urban purgatory he's built here. The mysterious forces at work, again, if this work were a film, would be the only things rendered with splashes of color. The surreal intrusions on the everyday, the invading forest dreamscape and the twisted beasts living in the trees, would bleed with lush greens, deep browns, and sickening yellows.
Also, like many an art-house film, the story is a slow-burn, the explanations are few, and the audience is left at the end with a puzzle both provocative and strange, with a mystery that can be solved any number of ways over arguments with friends at the coffee shop after the show.
Update: At the time of this writing (2/16/14), this book is free to download from Amazon's Kindle store: http://amzn.com/B00I7WHPJM
November 14, 2011
4.5 stars
Wow, I haven't read anything quite like this for a long while, so few horror writers achieve that perfect fusion of the nightmarish with stark realism, my favourite kind of horror. I've always found the intrusion of something sinister into plausible everyday life to be more effective - the thought this just might really happen ...
McMahon makes excellent use of the phenomena of urban decay in invisible sink estates (the scary thing is such places continue to exist, and are often left to their own devices by the authorities), and the gritty realism absolutely transports you to this awful place, while also enhancing the surrealistic, dreamlike qualities of what awaits the characters on the 'other side'. He perfectly captures the feeling you have when you've just woken, shivering and sweating, from some horrendous nightmare, and haven't just yet reconnected with what's real and what isn't.
I eagerly await the next in the series, and will most certainly seek out more of McMahon's other work.
Wow, I haven't read anything quite like this for a long while, so few horror writers achieve that perfect fusion of the nightmarish with stark realism, my favourite kind of horror. I've always found the intrusion of something sinister into plausible everyday life to be more effective - the thought this just might really happen ...
McMahon makes excellent use of the phenomena of urban decay in invisible sink estates (the scary thing is such places continue to exist, and are often left to their own devices by the authorities), and the gritty realism absolutely transports you to this awful place, while also enhancing the surrealistic, dreamlike qualities of what awaits the characters on the 'other side'. He perfectly captures the feeling you have when you've just woken, shivering and sweating, from some horrendous nightmare, and haven't just yet reconnected with what's real and what isn't.
I eagerly await the next in the series, and will most certainly seek out more of McMahon's other work.
February 3, 2014
The Concrete Grove is a cast-off place of society. A place where the down-on-their-luck people get shoved out to. The question that immediately came to my mind was "why this place"? What was it about this place that shut it off--mentally--from the rest of the world around it?
Gary McMahon is wonderful with building the most oppressing atmospheres, and with infusing his characters (both good and bad), with unique traits that make them stand out. I could so easily envision myself walking around his concrete "jungle"; the fear rapidly taking hold as I lost my bearings at every juncture... The desperation of the people here is incredibly rich and detailed!
I expect to find myself returning to the Concrete Grove for the next two installments of this trilogy in the very near future...
Recommended!
Gary McMahon is wonderful with building the most oppressing atmospheres, and with infusing his characters (both good and bad), with unique traits that make them stand out. I could so easily envision myself walking around his concrete "jungle"; the fear rapidly taking hold as I lost my bearings at every juncture... The desperation of the people here is incredibly rich and detailed!
I expect to find myself returning to the Concrete Grove for the next two installments of this trilogy in the very near future...
Recommended!
May 4, 2014
An interesting tale of what I'll call "urban decay horror". The Grove is a tainted place that contaminates not only those that dwell there, but anyone who dares enter it's environs. An atmospheric story, where the bleak shadow of despair hangs like a fog, mysterious and chilling.
January 8, 2012
The word concrete, the overpowering image of the Concrete Grove, the shear struggle for survival in a world full of harsh, bitter and destructive influences is what flows through this book making it an unbelievable and at times difficult read. The content is bleak, the subject matter is bleak and the characters we meet, for the most part are people at the bottom of the food chain struggling for some form of survival and existence. The story takes place in a run down council estate somewhere in North East England, and in such a locality there lives the takers and those who are taken from. The author must surely draw upon his knowledge when he introduces us to Monty Bright, evil personified who together with his associates Terry (whose prosthetic limb lends itself to one of the most enduring and horrific scenes)and Francis Boater a murdering psychopath for most of his life but finally finds some sort of peaceful conclusion. The only real hero, in an otherwise pitiful list of characters, is Hailey whose bad luck it is to find herself living in this concrete hell, but has the good fortune to be drawn to a form of magic that may prove her redemption. Hailey's mother Lana Fraser is a woman who will do anything to remove herself from the burning fires of this living nightmare and when she finds herself in debt to Monty Bright hopes that her friendship with Tom will be her escape. Tom receives very little sympathy from the reader as he is fundamentally a weak character and bemoans his life and his non existent marriage to the grotesque Helen. Gary McMahon graphically shows what life must be like living in the gutter style existence of the concrete jungle where only the takers succeed and the taken from survive by eking out an existence in a world that largely chooses to ignore them.
July 18, 2012
This book appealed to me from the description, I liked the concept, the cover art, the promise of a new author. Guess it just didn't quite live up to that, which isn't to say it wasn't good. It was in fact very well written and really horrific, but something about it...the opressive overwhelming bleakness, the morally questionable characters, the weirdness of their interactions, the overall (for the lack of better word) unpleasantness...don't think I can give it more than 2 stars. It reminded me very much of Clive Barker books, which I suppose it a compliment, but for me they were they were always just much too unpleasant to read, even though I've always enjoyed the film adaptations. Horror is, of course, meant to be unpleasant and disturbing and bleak, but there ought to be aspects of it/characters/plotline that you can connect with, something that engages you with the story and McMahon just like Barker doesn't give you much of that, despite really good writing and imagery. I'm gonna have to think more about this book and my review of it, but for right now, having just finished the book, these are my thoughts and first impressions.
April 1, 2014
What can i say? This was a winner for me. The writing flowed and descriptions were a little poetic. Story was a little slow, but towards the middle it didn't let go. I was surprised at how dark it got, but for me the darker the better. I also enjoyed themes of redemption and sacrifice for a place where you don't hurt...hmm kinda sounds like heaven. I enjoyed this and can't wait to read more from Gary. This makes my second read from this author and I'm glad i stuck with him. Talented writer for sure!
February 4, 2014
*******************Possible Spoilers******************
Hailey and her mother, Lana, are living in the Grove projects after Hailey's father runs them into the poor-house, bails, and leaves them in serious debt, fending for themselves. Their relationship is strained and it doesn't help that the loan sharks still expect to be paid one way or another.
Tom, a man drowning in his role as caretaker to a wife he no longer loves, happens upon Hailey unconscious on the ground during his jog. Hailey doesn't remember exactly how she ended up there, but she does know that she will give birth to an unknown entity.
Returning Hailey to the safety of her home, Tom meets Lana and the attraction is instantaneous. Two lonely souls seeming to connect, a lifeline of potential happiness. Little do they know, the Grove doesn't do happy.
The characters:
Tom, who should have been a sympathetic character is a real asshole. I waz sympathetic to his plight amd thought him admirable until he started going on and on about his wife. The transition from his loving her to the demeaning and hate-filled thoughts were not smooth enough to make me commiserate with him.
Lana is wallowing in pity and the choices she makes are questionable, to say the least.
Some of the bad guys were pretty bad. Boater, one of the debt collectors, seemed to be the only character that really mattered and progressed.
The story was dark amd relentless in this aspect. Every moment of hope or light were snuffed out, marred by violence. The author was very descriptive, but vague at times, giving us glimpses of the paranormal and otherworldly that didn't come across clearly enough to understand. I might have missed a few things though as this read flowed one minute and came to a crawl the next.
This read wasn't bad. It just didn't come together for me.
An alright/okay read~
Hailey and her mother, Lana, are living in the Grove projects after Hailey's father runs them into the poor-house, bails, and leaves them in serious debt, fending for themselves. Their relationship is strained and it doesn't help that the loan sharks still expect to be paid one way or another.
Tom, a man drowning in his role as caretaker to a wife he no longer loves, happens upon Hailey unconscious on the ground during his jog. Hailey doesn't remember exactly how she ended up there, but she does know that she will give birth to an unknown entity.
Returning Hailey to the safety of her home, Tom meets Lana and the attraction is instantaneous. Two lonely souls seeming to connect, a lifeline of potential happiness. Little do they know, the Grove doesn't do happy.
The characters:
Tom, who should have been a sympathetic character is a real asshole. I waz sympathetic to his plight amd thought him admirable until he started going on and on about his wife. The transition from his loving her to the demeaning and hate-filled thoughts were not smooth enough to make me commiserate with him.
Lana is wallowing in pity and the choices she makes are questionable, to say the least.
Some of the bad guys were pretty bad. Boater, one of the debt collectors, seemed to be the only character that really mattered and progressed.
The story was dark amd relentless in this aspect. Every moment of hope or light were snuffed out, marred by violence. The author was very descriptive, but vague at times, giving us glimpses of the paranormal and otherworldly that didn't come across clearly enough to understand. I might have missed a few things though as this read flowed one minute and came to a crawl the next.
This read wasn't bad. It just didn't come together for me.
An alright/okay read~
September 1, 2016
I am so angry I started this book.
Let me be fair: the writing is not bad (this is for those who are satisfied with only that). It has a great first chapter, a promising chapter.
It comes down to expectations. I expected a horror story. The only horror I got is the lives of these pathetic, weak, broken people. Sure, there are supernatural elements, but they are swallowed by the misery. I can't even begin to explain how this book made me feel.
Maybe I'll write something else and rate it again when I am not this upset.
Let me be fair: the writing is not bad (this is for those who are satisfied with only that). It has a great first chapter, a promising chapter.
It comes down to expectations. I expected a horror story. The only horror I got is the lives of these pathetic, weak, broken people. Sure, there are supernatural elements, but they are swallowed by the misery. I can't even begin to explain how this book made me feel.
Maybe I'll write something else and rate it again when I am not this upset.
July 7, 2011
Imagine a place where all your nightmares become real. Dark urban streets where crime, debt and violence are not the only things to fear. Picture a housing project that is a gateway to somewhere else; a realm where ghosts and monsters stir hungrily in the shadows. Welcome to the Concrete Grove.
This deprived area is Hailey's new home, but when an ancient entity notices her, it becomes something much more threatening. She is the only one who can help her mother as she joins in a dangerous dance with loan-shark Monty Bright. Only Hailey can see the truth of Tom's darkest desires as he tries to become part of their family. And only Hailey can lead them all to the heart of the estate where something older than this land stirs and begins to wake...
Hailey and her mother, Lana are trying their best to get by. They have fallen on hard times after a family tragedy and each have ended up way out of their depth. Hailey is in thrall to the strange powers that control the Grove while Lana has fallen foul of the local gangster, Monty Bright.
Lana is put through the emotional and physical ringer as she attempts to break the hold that Monty Bright has over her family. She also has to try and protect Hailey at all costs. The violence that Lana is exposed to is as graphic as it is harrowing, those of a delicate nature take note. Lana, however, has an incredibly strong personality and her determination shines through, making her a truly compelling character to read. Lana meets a man called Tom, who has dark demons of his own, and the dynamic of their relationship adds extra layers of insight into the novel’s narrative.
The other character that really intrigued me was Francis Boater. At first glance, when the reader is initially introduced to Francis he seems to be quite a flat, one-dimensional character. He appears to be nothing more than a violent enforcer type who acts as the right hand man to Mr. Bright. It quickly became evident, as the story developed, that there is far more to Boater than I had first assumed. He is filled with anxieties and regrets, and I eventually found myself pitying him. He wants to change, he wants to be a better person, and he has had enough of being the 'Bad Man'. Kudos to Gary McMahon for creating a supporting player who starts off being loathsome but turns into someone you end up wanting to see succeed.
As soon as I saw the cover for The Concrete Grove, spookily depicted by Vincent Chong's evocative artwork, I knew I had to read it. It triggered a childhood memory that I hadn't thought about in decades. My maternal grandmother used to live in a tower block at the centre of a rundown council housing estate. Her home was a small flat high on the 12th floor. I recalled that I always dreaded visiting as some of the strange characters that lived elsewhere in the building frightened me. The claustrophobic lifts and stairwells also filled me with terror. The promise of a novel that touched upon my childhood fears of the unknown was too strong to resist
My favorite thing, in a book crammed full of favorite things, were the intricate lives that the author has crafted. All the characters that live in and around the Concrete Grove are wonderfully realised. I was struck by the fact that in various different ways everyone was lost or adrift. They are all looking for something whether it is escape, love, hope or redemption. McMahon really has a keen eye when it comes to characterization.
The Concrete Grove is a must read for all self-respecting fans of horror. The blending of ancient evils and the problems of modern society seems so obvious now I’m stunned no one has touched upon this before. I couldn't tell you the last time a read a novel in a single sitting. More often than not, I am distracted by real life and need to dip in and out of anything that I read, not so with The Concrete Grove. There is something wonderfully compelling about McMahon's writing. I genuinely found it difficult to tear myself away. My usual cry of 'just a few more pages' swiftly became ‘just the rest of the novel’.
The best news is, this is a trilogy, so there will be another two books. The second book, Silent Voices, is due to be released in April 2012.
The Concrete Grove is published by Solaris and released on 7th July 2011.
This deprived area is Hailey's new home, but when an ancient entity notices her, it becomes something much more threatening. She is the only one who can help her mother as she joins in a dangerous dance with loan-shark Monty Bright. Only Hailey can see the truth of Tom's darkest desires as he tries to become part of their family. And only Hailey can lead them all to the heart of the estate where something older than this land stirs and begins to wake...
Hailey and her mother, Lana are trying their best to get by. They have fallen on hard times after a family tragedy and each have ended up way out of their depth. Hailey is in thrall to the strange powers that control the Grove while Lana has fallen foul of the local gangster, Monty Bright.
Lana is put through the emotional and physical ringer as she attempts to break the hold that Monty Bright has over her family. She also has to try and protect Hailey at all costs. The violence that Lana is exposed to is as graphic as it is harrowing, those of a delicate nature take note. Lana, however, has an incredibly strong personality and her determination shines through, making her a truly compelling character to read. Lana meets a man called Tom, who has dark demons of his own, and the dynamic of their relationship adds extra layers of insight into the novel’s narrative.
The other character that really intrigued me was Francis Boater. At first glance, when the reader is initially introduced to Francis he seems to be quite a flat, one-dimensional character. He appears to be nothing more than a violent enforcer type who acts as the right hand man to Mr. Bright. It quickly became evident, as the story developed, that there is far more to Boater than I had first assumed. He is filled with anxieties and regrets, and I eventually found myself pitying him. He wants to change, he wants to be a better person, and he has had enough of being the 'Bad Man'. Kudos to Gary McMahon for creating a supporting player who starts off being loathsome but turns into someone you end up wanting to see succeed.
As soon as I saw the cover for The Concrete Grove, spookily depicted by Vincent Chong's evocative artwork, I knew I had to read it. It triggered a childhood memory that I hadn't thought about in decades. My maternal grandmother used to live in a tower block at the centre of a rundown council housing estate. Her home was a small flat high on the 12th floor. I recalled that I always dreaded visiting as some of the strange characters that lived elsewhere in the building frightened me. The claustrophobic lifts and stairwells also filled me with terror. The promise of a novel that touched upon my childhood fears of the unknown was too strong to resist
My favorite thing, in a book crammed full of favorite things, were the intricate lives that the author has crafted. All the characters that live in and around the Concrete Grove are wonderfully realised. I was struck by the fact that in various different ways everyone was lost or adrift. They are all looking for something whether it is escape, love, hope or redemption. McMahon really has a keen eye when it comes to characterization.
The Concrete Grove is a must read for all self-respecting fans of horror. The blending of ancient evils and the problems of modern society seems so obvious now I’m stunned no one has touched upon this before. I couldn't tell you the last time a read a novel in a single sitting. More often than not, I am distracted by real life and need to dip in and out of anything that I read, not so with The Concrete Grove. There is something wonderfully compelling about McMahon's writing. I genuinely found it difficult to tear myself away. My usual cry of 'just a few more pages' swiftly became ‘just the rest of the novel’.
The best news is, this is a trilogy, so there will be another two books. The second book, Silent Voices, is due to be released in April 2012.
The Concrete Grove is published by Solaris and released on 7th July 2011.
May 24, 2011
"The Estate had no formal name, it was just a grouping of streets. But the locals called it the Concrete Grove."
Lana Fraser has been forced to move there, along with teenaged daughter Hailey, following the death of her husband. Quickly getting herself deeply in debt with the local crimeboss, Monty Bright, she gives him her body to help pay off the sum. But he wants more, specifically Hailey, who may just know more about the supernatural powers in the Grove than anyone realises.
This is Gary McMahon at his best, writing prose that almost seems to seethe, vibrating with anger and energy as it details the depths to which people can plummet. Set in a depressingly real environment (very cleverly realised, sometimes painful to read) but touched with flashes of the fantastic and phantasmagorical, the Grove becomes a character in its own right, as details of its history are slowly revealed. For a work that feels so epic, this has a surprisingly small cast - Lana and Hailey, Bright and his lead henchman Francis Boater (both terrifying characters, one almost supernatural, the other not so) and Tom, who begins a tentative relationship with Lana as his bedridden wife slowly turns into a sea creature. But these characters fill the space admirably well, pulling the reader into the depths of their despair until we finally see the Grove in its true light - though, bearing in mind this is book one of a trilogy, I imagine we’ll see much more further down the line.
This is a terrific book, assured and dark, painful and pitiless, that maintains a cracking pace from start to finish and is aggressively individual whilst subtly nodding its head towards ‘Weaveworld’-era Clive Barker. A fantastic read, if the other two books are anywhere near the quality of this, “The Concrete Grove Trilogy” is destined to become a series to be reckoned with.
(point of interest - I know Gary McMahon and this was read in draft, for a critique)
Lana Fraser has been forced to move there, along with teenaged daughter Hailey, following the death of her husband. Quickly getting herself deeply in debt with the local crimeboss, Monty Bright, she gives him her body to help pay off the sum. But he wants more, specifically Hailey, who may just know more about the supernatural powers in the Grove than anyone realises.
This is Gary McMahon at his best, writing prose that almost seems to seethe, vibrating with anger and energy as it details the depths to which people can plummet. Set in a depressingly real environment (very cleverly realised, sometimes painful to read) but touched with flashes of the fantastic and phantasmagorical, the Grove becomes a character in its own right, as details of its history are slowly revealed. For a work that feels so epic, this has a surprisingly small cast - Lana and Hailey, Bright and his lead henchman Francis Boater (both terrifying characters, one almost supernatural, the other not so) and Tom, who begins a tentative relationship with Lana as his bedridden wife slowly turns into a sea creature. But these characters fill the space admirably well, pulling the reader into the depths of their despair until we finally see the Grove in its true light - though, bearing in mind this is book one of a trilogy, I imagine we’ll see much more further down the line.
This is a terrific book, assured and dark, painful and pitiless, that maintains a cracking pace from start to finish and is aggressively individual whilst subtly nodding its head towards ‘Weaveworld’-era Clive Barker. A fantastic read, if the other two books are anywhere near the quality of this, “The Concrete Grove Trilogy” is destined to become a series to be reckoned with.
(point of interest - I know Gary McMahon and this was read in draft, for a critique)
July 21, 2011
In the Concrete Grove, Gary McMahon successfully fuses grim urban realism with the spiritual mysticism of Machen and Blackwood. There are other echoes here too; creatures wander abroad in the grey environs of the Grove that made me recall late-night sessions of playing Silent Hill and a particular breed of demon evokes the grotesque visuals of Aphex Twin. The characters who inhabit The Concrete Grove are, on the face of it, familiar types but they are soon fleshed out as the story goes on until they become people. They are distinctive, damaged and none of them come to quite the end you might well expect.
The Concrete Grove is a work of thoroughly contemporary horror whilst not being knowingly modern or hip. The influences, literary, cinematic and pop culture, are all blended together to create an environment that becomes as real as those depicted on the evening news and as disturbingly imaginative as you could hope for.
The Concrete Grove is a work of thoroughly contemporary horror whilst not being knowingly modern or hip. The influences, literary, cinematic and pop culture, are all blended together to create an environment that becomes as real as those depicted on the evening news and as disturbingly imaginative as you could hope for.
April 19, 2013
British supernatural horror seems to be booming these days. Names like Adam Nevill, Simon Bestwick, Reggie Oliver, and Gary McMahon spring to mind. Nevill has been a favorite of mine and his fifth novel comes out this year. Bestwick won me over with his short fiction and then had a hit with his first novel The Faceless which was published last year. Gary McMahon was another author who first snagged my attention with some of his short fiction and has been keeping busy, with an impressive output of novels in the last few years alone.
McMahon has done something that is not too often seen in the field of horror fiction, and has delivered a horror trilogy. The Concrete Grove was published in 2011, and was followed by Silent Voices and Beyond Here Lies Nothing in 2012. They have all been well received, so I finally picked the first one up off my shelf and gave it a read.
The Concrete Grove is a fine example of urban horror. At times I think it’s better described as “dark urban fantasy”, but the horrific moments are plentiful enough to classify it as horror. McMahon opens the novel with a bang, the first chapter easily grabbing the reader’s attention and setting the mood for what to expect throughout the book.
The novel follows a few different characters, all of whom have issues. McMahon does a great job making believable characters that each have their own flaws and weaknesses. Some aren’t even all that likeable. The story follows Hailey and her mother Lana, who are forced to live in The Grove (a council estate, known in America as “projects”) after their husband shames the family before committing suicide. To provide for her daughter Lana has made some shady decisions of her own, placing her in debt to Monty Bright, the local crime-lord/loan shark. Into this dubious mix enters Tom, who becomes entangled in their lives when he comes across Hailey one night and offers her some assistance. Tom lives outside The Grove, but sometimes his nightly jogs take him through the outskirts, which is how he becomes involved. Tom is a lonely man trapped in a loveless marriage to an overweight, paraplegic wife. This has meant years of acting as a caregiver and putting aside his own happiness, and the strain on him is finally reaching the breaking point.
Tom soon becomes obsessed with the beautiful Lana and they begin a relationship, as Hailey grows more distant and involved with some sort of “entity” or “force” residing in The Needle, a decrepit, condemned tower block in the center of the estate. Tom also has the distinction of being the most convincing character, and McMahon expertly paints a portrait of a man struggling with guilt and desire. His plight seems a bit more realistic and every day than Lana’s, which seems to make him all the more believable. Hailey is intriguing, but probably the least likeable character of the bunch.
McMahon’s biggest accomplishment with The Concrete Grove lies in his ability to turn the setting into a character in its own right. The filth, the gloom, the oppressive feel of the Grove itself is established from the first page. It feeds on all the negativity, poverty, and crime. It feels real, and even without the supernatural elements it is a horrific place. All the more so because places like this actually exist, and as someone who was raised in a place that’s more rural than anything the thought of having to live in such a decayed, dirty urban area is enough to make me cringe.
As to the horrors of the novel, I’m glad to say they are many and they are varied. The supernatural beings are creepy enough, but perhaps the weakest of the novels many terrors. The breakdown of the characters and their dark thoughts strike a deeper chord, and are what intrigued me the most, but perhaps most horrific of all were the horrors perpetrated by characters themselves. Monty and his thugs are vile, wicked, sadistic and disgusting. Setting usually plays a major role in horror, and as I’ve said previously McMahon does an excellent job with creating an oppressive, gloomy setting. All of these horrors blend together smoothly and seamlessly, working in concert to hit all the soft spots of the reader.
Overall McMahon has written a novel that’s successful on many levels, and that it’s the first of a trilogy (it appears each book follows different characters) about The Grove itself is quite exciting. The plot wraps up nicely, but McMahon has only scratched the surface of The Grove, and seeing more of its mysteries unfold is something I am eagerly looking forward to.
Originally appeared on my blog, The Arkham Digest.
McMahon has done something that is not too often seen in the field of horror fiction, and has delivered a horror trilogy. The Concrete Grove was published in 2011, and was followed by Silent Voices and Beyond Here Lies Nothing in 2012. They have all been well received, so I finally picked the first one up off my shelf and gave it a read.
The Concrete Grove is a fine example of urban horror. At times I think it’s better described as “dark urban fantasy”, but the horrific moments are plentiful enough to classify it as horror. McMahon opens the novel with a bang, the first chapter easily grabbing the reader’s attention and setting the mood for what to expect throughout the book.
The novel follows a few different characters, all of whom have issues. McMahon does a great job making believable characters that each have their own flaws and weaknesses. Some aren’t even all that likeable. The story follows Hailey and her mother Lana, who are forced to live in The Grove (a council estate, known in America as “projects”) after their husband shames the family before committing suicide. To provide for her daughter Lana has made some shady decisions of her own, placing her in debt to Monty Bright, the local crime-lord/loan shark. Into this dubious mix enters Tom, who becomes entangled in their lives when he comes across Hailey one night and offers her some assistance. Tom lives outside The Grove, but sometimes his nightly jogs take him through the outskirts, which is how he becomes involved. Tom is a lonely man trapped in a loveless marriage to an overweight, paraplegic wife. This has meant years of acting as a caregiver and putting aside his own happiness, and the strain on him is finally reaching the breaking point.
Tom soon becomes obsessed with the beautiful Lana and they begin a relationship, as Hailey grows more distant and involved with some sort of “entity” or “force” residing in The Needle, a decrepit, condemned tower block in the center of the estate. Tom also has the distinction of being the most convincing character, and McMahon expertly paints a portrait of a man struggling with guilt and desire. His plight seems a bit more realistic and every day than Lana’s, which seems to make him all the more believable. Hailey is intriguing, but probably the least likeable character of the bunch.
McMahon’s biggest accomplishment with The Concrete Grove lies in his ability to turn the setting into a character in its own right. The filth, the gloom, the oppressive feel of the Grove itself is established from the first page. It feeds on all the negativity, poverty, and crime. It feels real, and even without the supernatural elements it is a horrific place. All the more so because places like this actually exist, and as someone who was raised in a place that’s more rural than anything the thought of having to live in such a decayed, dirty urban area is enough to make me cringe.
As to the horrors of the novel, I’m glad to say they are many and they are varied. The supernatural beings are creepy enough, but perhaps the weakest of the novels many terrors. The breakdown of the characters and their dark thoughts strike a deeper chord, and are what intrigued me the most, but perhaps most horrific of all were the horrors perpetrated by characters themselves. Monty and his thugs are vile, wicked, sadistic and disgusting. Setting usually plays a major role in horror, and as I’ve said previously McMahon does an excellent job with creating an oppressive, gloomy setting. All of these horrors blend together smoothly and seamlessly, working in concert to hit all the soft spots of the reader.
Overall McMahon has written a novel that’s successful on many levels, and that it’s the first of a trilogy (it appears each book follows different characters) about The Grove itself is quite exciting. The plot wraps up nicely, but McMahon has only scratched the surface of The Grove, and seeing more of its mysteries unfold is something I am eagerly looking forward to.
Originally appeared on my blog, The Arkham Digest.
January 1, 2013
A ghost having sex with a manatee? Strange imagery abounds in Gary McMahon's The Concrete Grove, the first part in a trilogy about a rundown housing development that's apparently also a portal into another dimension.
Single-parent Lana, her daughter Hailey and another resident of the area called Tom come into contact with the effects of this another realm while dodging a local loanshark and dogs wearing human faces. It's a slow boil, and murky throughout; things progress very slowly and not much is revealed. What are the hummingbirds? Or the things in the TVs? By the end of the book I'm not much wiser about any of what I read.
While the writing is reasonably fluent, the pacing is a bit odd. Stylewise it seems like a cross between young adult fantasy and dark fantasy. It's all very disconcerting, but not in a nice, giggly way. I admit I may have issues with this sort of suburban fantasy; while unicorns in bars might be intended to inspire awe, my own reaction is more on the lines of damn, that's just ridiculous.
In the end the book just seems like a mess. There're many ideas here but none of them are reasonably well explored or explained. Sure, weird for weird's sake can be ok, but not if the weirdness comes consistently in such droves that it overwhelms everything else. The Concrete Grove just overdoes it all, it becomes a smorgasbord of manatees and hummingbirds, yet it doesn't amount to much more than the sum of its ingredients.
A special mention must go to the surprise appearance of Arthur Machen, it's a nice tip of the hat but sadly so very incongruous. But so's everything else in the book.
More reviews at http://mikareadshorrorfiction.wordpre...
Single-parent Lana, her daughter Hailey and another resident of the area called Tom come into contact with the effects of this another realm while dodging a local loanshark and dogs wearing human faces. It's a slow boil, and murky throughout; things progress very slowly and not much is revealed. What are the hummingbirds? Or the things in the TVs? By the end of the book I'm not much wiser about any of what I read.
While the writing is reasonably fluent, the pacing is a bit odd. Stylewise it seems like a cross between young adult fantasy and dark fantasy. It's all very disconcerting, but not in a nice, giggly way. I admit I may have issues with this sort of suburban fantasy; while unicorns in bars might be intended to inspire awe, my own reaction is more on the lines of damn, that's just ridiculous.
In the end the book just seems like a mess. There're many ideas here but none of them are reasonably well explored or explained. Sure, weird for weird's sake can be ok, but not if the weirdness comes consistently in such droves that it overwhelms everything else. The Concrete Grove just overdoes it all, it becomes a smorgasbord of manatees and hummingbirds, yet it doesn't amount to much more than the sum of its ingredients.
A special mention must go to the surprise appearance of Arthur Machen, it's a nice tip of the hat but sadly so very incongruous. But so's everything else in the book.
More reviews at http://mikareadshorrorfiction.wordpre...
March 15, 2014
Absolutely excellent.
March 10, 2013
Tom Stains is trapped in a loveless marriage to a crippled wife who never leaves her bed. Lana Fraser is a widow saddled with a large financial debt and a teenaged daughter named Hailey. One night Hailey wanders into the Needle, the monolithic tower at the center of the urban wasteland known as the Concrete Grove, and is entered through a bloody orifice by a dark force, which causes her to undergo changes not usual for a fourteen year-old girl.
This is a bleak novel. It's not that it's particularly heavy, but it's so depressing. Everyone is miserable and there's no humor at all. The characters are shallowly-drawn and mostly unlikeable. I didn't really buy Tom and Lana's love-at-first-sight. I get that they are both needy but in real life no one would want to spend more than five minutes with either of them. Hailey is the only one that's somewhat interesting and after the first couple chapters she fades into the background for the most part.
The prose is only serviceable so the story plods on to its inevitable, yet vaguely-defined conclusion. This is intended to be the first part of a trilogy, but I've no desire to continue.
This is a bleak novel. It's not that it's particularly heavy, but it's so depressing. Everyone is miserable and there's no humor at all. The characters are shallowly-drawn and mostly unlikeable. I didn't really buy Tom and Lana's love-at-first-sight. I get that they are both needy but in real life no one would want to spend more than five minutes with either of them. Hailey is the only one that's somewhat interesting and after the first couple chapters she fades into the background for the most part.
The prose is only serviceable so the story plods on to its inevitable, yet vaguely-defined conclusion. This is intended to be the first part of a trilogy, but I've no desire to continue.
March 14, 2017
This is my fourth Gary McMahon book after reading Nightsiders, Rough Cut and Reaping the Dark, all of which were five star reads. Could this book achieve another five star rating? The answer is a resounding yes!
The book is set on a British sink estate where life is grim and bleak. McMahon writes a gritty realistic picture of this run down decaying place and the characters that live their lives in this awful environment.
The Grove is not all it seems. It is also a gateway to another dimension or world or spiritual plain. It is nightmarish and it starts to intrude on the Grove creating strange, weird, bizarre and surreal dreamlike events.
The book moves at a great pace and pulled me into this urban horror tale. McMahon is an excellent author who writes great British horror stories.
The book is set on a British sink estate where life is grim and bleak. McMahon writes a gritty realistic picture of this run down decaying place and the characters that live their lives in this awful environment.
The Grove is not all it seems. It is also a gateway to another dimension or world or spiritual plain. It is nightmarish and it starts to intrude on the Grove creating strange, weird, bizarre and surreal dreamlike events.
The book moves at a great pace and pulled me into this urban horror tale. McMahon is an excellent author who writes great British horror stories.
December 9, 2013
This is a very disturbing read.
I will confess that I'm not sure if I like this book or not. It's a very strange, creepy, yet compelling read.
The things that are happening are disturbing, weird, and nightmarish. Reading this book felt like being trapped in a dream that seemingly makes no sense, but at the same time tells you dark and scary secrets.
There are several characters who take the stage. Some are likeable, others are despicable, and there are those who are just plain pathetic. All are linked one way or the other to the heart of Concrete Grove, a dark and dangerous estate, where reality and nightmares seem to blend together.
I was repulsed and intrigued by this story, and even when things happened that had me frowning, I couldn't stop reading. This story got under my skin and left me unsure what to feel about it.
I will most probably try to get hold of the other books in this trilogy, if only to find out if I eventually will make sense of this story and what I feel about it.
I will confess that I'm not sure if I like this book or not. It's a very strange, creepy, yet compelling read.
The things that are happening are disturbing, weird, and nightmarish. Reading this book felt like being trapped in a dream that seemingly makes no sense, but at the same time tells you dark and scary secrets.
There are several characters who take the stage. Some are likeable, others are despicable, and there are those who are just plain pathetic. All are linked one way or the other to the heart of Concrete Grove, a dark and dangerous estate, where reality and nightmares seem to blend together.
I was repulsed and intrigued by this story, and even when things happened that had me frowning, I couldn't stop reading. This story got under my skin and left me unsure what to feel about it.
I will most probably try to get hold of the other books in this trilogy, if only to find out if I eventually will make sense of this story and what I feel about it.
July 25, 2011
I love horror stories in which our reality blends with the fantastical and this hits all the right buttons. Good characterisation, well written and full of horrific moments this is one of the best horror novels i've read this year.
abandoned
June 23, 2017Unfortunately, this one is a “nope”. I’m far enough in to know that the writing style will not work for me, but not far enough in to be able give it any kind of a rating. Ordinarily, I’d persist until at least 50 pages before making a decision about the book one way or another, and to feel comfortable assigning a rating, but as I’m going out of town this weekend, I just don’t want to deal with it.
So, DNF, no rating. I was reading this for the 2017 Booklikes-opoly square Cars Land 18: Read a book that was published in 2006, 2011, 2013, or 2014, the years of Cars and its sequels, or that has a car on the cover, but will choose another book instead.
eBook version on Kindle app.
So, DNF, no rating. I was reading this for the 2017 Booklikes-opoly square Cars Land 18: Read a book that was published in 2006, 2011, 2013, or 2014, the years of Cars and its sequels, or that has a car on the cover, but will choose another book instead.
eBook version on Kindle app.
March 25, 2013
The Concrete Grove is the first novel in Gary McMahon’s acclaimed trilogy of the same name, and I’m thoroughly ashamed that it’s taken me so long to get around to reading it.
Once I finally started it though, it took me less than a day to get through, as I absolutely could not put it down. It’s one of those.
It’s an overwhelmingly bleak novel, absolutely bursting at the seams with misery and despair. Definitely NOT for anyone who’s misplaced their Prozac, this one. It’s jam packed with disturbing imagery (much of which is breathtaking) and the ever present threat of violence. I did a bit of a double-take initially, wondering if this was YA or not, but given the levels of sexual violence it’s definitely not one I’d recommend to any younger teens, even though the protagonist here is a fourteen year old.
There’s a very small cast of characters, which works extremely well in terms of keeping the plot intimate and focused. The sheer hopelessness behind the characters’ situations though will pull at your emotions and tug hard on your despair gland. McMahon is pretty unrelenting in the torment he heaps upon them.
The pace of the novel is well maintained throughout, so much so that I think this was the fastest I’ve ever read a horror novel. It hooks you in immediately and refuses to let go until the end. Which, while I’m on the subject, was a little disappointing for me..in that I wanted more; more explanation, more resolution, but that’s just me. And I have high hopes that the second book in the series will give me some answers. That prickle of disappointment in the ending lead me to hold back half a star on this one, and the other half was for the fact that there’s not really a character here who has that one spark that you can identify with as a reader. You know, that one soul you can cling on to and root for, and just…completely and utterly ‘get’. It didn’t hurt my reading as such, but it’s just a factor that I think would have given the novel more impact as a whole. The Grove and the characters within are bleak, about as bleak as you can get, and whilst obviously you can’t have horror without that bleakness, sometimes you really do need a little something there to take the edge off, to let you as a reader breathe for a minute and get your bearings a bit. I think what I’m struggling to get at is that both the reality aspect and the supernatural aspect here were both so terrifyingly depressing that I think some readers will be put off. Tom and Lana were both so flawed that I didn’t feel much of anything for either of them, and even Hailey didn’t really capture my sympathy. If anything, Boater was perhaps the most interesting character, who *almost* had me, if it wasn’t for the fact that his past was just that bit too much to get around.
In essence, The Concrete Grove is a solid and powerful read. The fusion of reality with the supernatural is beautifully handled, and the depiction of the estate is masterful. And of course I’d be hugely remiss if I didn’t mention the bizarre bonus points McMahon earned by including a ghost getting it on with a manatee…now there’s something you don’t see every day. It’s a disturbing series opener that will have you ordering the next one as soon as you get to the end. Reminded me an awful lot of Clive Barker’s earlier novels in places, and if you’re a Barker fan I’d heartily recommend McMahon to you.
http://horrorfied.wordpress.com/2013/...
Once I finally started it though, it took me less than a day to get through, as I absolutely could not put it down. It’s one of those.
It’s an overwhelmingly bleak novel, absolutely bursting at the seams with misery and despair. Definitely NOT for anyone who’s misplaced their Prozac, this one. It’s jam packed with disturbing imagery (much of which is breathtaking) and the ever present threat of violence. I did a bit of a double-take initially, wondering if this was YA or not, but given the levels of sexual violence it’s definitely not one I’d recommend to any younger teens, even though the protagonist here is a fourteen year old.
There’s a very small cast of characters, which works extremely well in terms of keeping the plot intimate and focused. The sheer hopelessness behind the characters’ situations though will pull at your emotions and tug hard on your despair gland. McMahon is pretty unrelenting in the torment he heaps upon them.
The pace of the novel is well maintained throughout, so much so that I think this was the fastest I’ve ever read a horror novel. It hooks you in immediately and refuses to let go until the end. Which, while I’m on the subject, was a little disappointing for me..in that I wanted more; more explanation, more resolution, but that’s just me. And I have high hopes that the second book in the series will give me some answers. That prickle of disappointment in the ending lead me to hold back half a star on this one, and the other half was for the fact that there’s not really a character here who has that one spark that you can identify with as a reader. You know, that one soul you can cling on to and root for, and just…completely and utterly ‘get’. It didn’t hurt my reading as such, but it’s just a factor that I think would have given the novel more impact as a whole. The Grove and the characters within are bleak, about as bleak as you can get, and whilst obviously you can’t have horror without that bleakness, sometimes you really do need a little something there to take the edge off, to let you as a reader breathe for a minute and get your bearings a bit. I think what I’m struggling to get at is that both the reality aspect and the supernatural aspect here were both so terrifyingly depressing that I think some readers will be put off. Tom and Lana were both so flawed that I didn’t feel much of anything for either of them, and even Hailey didn’t really capture my sympathy. If anything, Boater was perhaps the most interesting character, who *almost* had me, if it wasn’t for the fact that his past was just that bit too much to get around.
In essence, The Concrete Grove is a solid and powerful read. The fusion of reality with the supernatural is beautifully handled, and the depiction of the estate is masterful. And of course I’d be hugely remiss if I didn’t mention the bizarre bonus points McMahon earned by including a ghost getting it on with a manatee…now there’s something you don’t see every day. It’s a disturbing series opener that will have you ordering the next one as soon as you get to the end. Reminded me an awful lot of Clive Barker’s earlier novels in places, and if you’re a Barker fan I’d heartily recommend McMahon to you.
http://horrorfied.wordpress.com/2013/...
November 26, 2011
Much in The Concrete Grove reminded me of Clive Barker’s work. I don't know if it's a British thing, but McMahon manages, like his more famous (for now) countryman before him, to blend sensuality with horror. I'm not talking here of your usual sex and violence, rather I speak of a blurring of the line between lust and loathing, between tenderness and terror.
At its heart, The Concrete Grove is a haunted house story with strong ties to The Turn of the Screw, The Haunting of Hill House and, more recently, Hell House and The Shining. Unlike its predecessors, though, McMahon's novel features a haunted neighbourhood with a single edifice not as the source of malevolence but as its centre. And like Barker, McMahon creates here a world which is not necessarily being invaded by the spirits of the dead, but one which overlaps with another, far stranger world. Much of this other world is left unexplored and only hinted at, but this only gives one further reason to read the next book in what is to be a trilogy. Also like Barker, McMahon sets his story in an urban environment, eschewing the rural, even pastoral settings preferred by his American counterparts and linking supernatural horrors with social and economic rot.
The plot is difficult to define but, as mentioned above, it entails a single building, called The Needle by locals, which appears to be a sort of nexus for an otherworldly infection, one which is evidently centuries old and rooted in the soil upon which the Concrete Grove was constructed. It is no coincidence, thematically or narratively, that the Grove is also an urban nightmare, crime-ridden and avoided even by the police.
The characters are well drawn and linked by what might be a shared melancholy but, as the story progresses, we come to realize they may have been brought together by forces far stranger than suicide, debt and accident.
I have enjoyed those short stories of McMahon’s I have been lucky enough to stumble upon in various anthologies, including End of the Line and The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 20. His mastery of subtlety and ambiguity in those stories has especially impressed me and it does so in The Concrete Grove as well. The elements of horror in the novel are created through unsettling imagery rather than abject gore or violence. Even the nature or source of that horror is largely left to speculation, possibly to be revealed or expounded upon in later books. It takes a skilled and, above all, confident writer to leave so much to a reader's imagination and, based on The Concrete Grove, McMahon's confidence is well earned and well deserved.
I look forward to the next in the series, titled Silent Voices and available in March of 2012.
Find me on Facebook, Twitter, and andrefarant.com
At its heart, The Concrete Grove is a haunted house story with strong ties to The Turn of the Screw, The Haunting of Hill House and, more recently, Hell House and The Shining. Unlike its predecessors, though, McMahon's novel features a haunted neighbourhood with a single edifice not as the source of malevolence but as its centre. And like Barker, McMahon creates here a world which is not necessarily being invaded by the spirits of the dead, but one which overlaps with another, far stranger world. Much of this other world is left unexplored and only hinted at, but this only gives one further reason to read the next book in what is to be a trilogy. Also like Barker, McMahon sets his story in an urban environment, eschewing the rural, even pastoral settings preferred by his American counterparts and linking supernatural horrors with social and economic rot.
The plot is difficult to define but, as mentioned above, it entails a single building, called The Needle by locals, which appears to be a sort of nexus for an otherworldly infection, one which is evidently centuries old and rooted in the soil upon which the Concrete Grove was constructed. It is no coincidence, thematically or narratively, that the Grove is also an urban nightmare, crime-ridden and avoided even by the police.
The characters are well drawn and linked by what might be a shared melancholy but, as the story progresses, we come to realize they may have been brought together by forces far stranger than suicide, debt and accident.
I have enjoyed those short stories of McMahon’s I have been lucky enough to stumble upon in various anthologies, including End of the Line and The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 20. His mastery of subtlety and ambiguity in those stories has especially impressed me and it does so in The Concrete Grove as well. The elements of horror in the novel are created through unsettling imagery rather than abject gore or violence. Even the nature or source of that horror is largely left to speculation, possibly to be revealed or expounded upon in later books. It takes a skilled and, above all, confident writer to leave so much to a reader's imagination and, based on The Concrete Grove, McMahon's confidence is well earned and well deserved.
I look forward to the next in the series, titled Silent Voices and available in March of 2012.
Find me on Facebook, Twitter, and andrefarant.com
August 16, 2011
I'm having trouble writing a review of The Concrete Grove by Gary McMahon.
It is, as I see it, a novel of two parts. The first is a gritty, real life drama about a mother trying to protect her daughter in a harsh world of gangs and loan sharks. Into this grey life steps a small ray of light, a kind man who might well be the salvation they desperately need – but this would-be saviour has his own dark secrets.
The second is just as dark as the first, but instead of being grounded in the real it is a strange and intriguing supernatural horror, with monsters and demons haunting the Concrete Grove. These demons are worshipped by crime-lords and have a sinister plan for certain young girl.
I loved the supernatural elements to this book. McMahon manages to make humming-birds terrifying and TV-headed demons even more so. It is creepy, haunting and intense in all the right ways, and had me jumping at shadows.
The problem is there is not enough of it, the story revolves too much around the 'real-life' problems of our protagonists – Lana and her daughter Hailey, and their would-be hero Tom. They do have interesting lives, with Lana in trouble with loan sharks and Tom looking after his disabled wife, but it was too real, too depressing, and I couldn't really relate. I also found the frequent sexual scenes off putting. These weren't necessarily full sex scenes, occasionally just a thought that pops into a characters head, but they were often crass and uncalled for, a just made for uncomfortable reading.
Having said that I really did enjoy The Concrete Grove, I just found it hard going sometimes. It's a brutal novel that I would recommend to anyone who likes their horror with an edge, I just found it a bit too harsh, a bit too hard.
Recommended – for some.
It is, as I see it, a novel of two parts. The first is a gritty, real life drama about a mother trying to protect her daughter in a harsh world of gangs and loan sharks. Into this grey life steps a small ray of light, a kind man who might well be the salvation they desperately need – but this would-be saviour has his own dark secrets.
The second is just as dark as the first, but instead of being grounded in the real it is a strange and intriguing supernatural horror, with monsters and demons haunting the Concrete Grove. These demons are worshipped by crime-lords and have a sinister plan for certain young girl.
I loved the supernatural elements to this book. McMahon manages to make humming-birds terrifying and TV-headed demons even more so. It is creepy, haunting and intense in all the right ways, and had me jumping at shadows.
The problem is there is not enough of it, the story revolves too much around the 'real-life' problems of our protagonists – Lana and her daughter Hailey, and their would-be hero Tom. They do have interesting lives, with Lana in trouble with loan sharks and Tom looking after his disabled wife, but it was too real, too depressing, and I couldn't really relate. I also found the frequent sexual scenes off putting. These weren't necessarily full sex scenes, occasionally just a thought that pops into a characters head, but they were often crass and uncalled for, a just made for uncomfortable reading.
Having said that I really did enjoy The Concrete Grove, I just found it hard going sometimes. It's a brutal novel that I would recommend to anyone who likes their horror with an edge, I just found it a bit too harsh, a bit too hard.
Recommended – for some.
dnf
January 9, 2015I've never had to do this with a book but the formatting was so bad it gave me too much of a headache to continue. The indentations on my Kindle are so slightly it reads like an endless paragraph.
Not expecting to try again since some reviews indicate the horror is sparse and story focuses a lot on character problems/drama
Not expecting to try again since some reviews indicate the horror is sparse and story focuses a lot on character problems/drama
December 14, 2011
There's something 'else' living in the middle of a north-eastern town that makes its presence known when it helps a teenage girl and her mum living on a sink estate. Nice build up of the horror although the ending was a bit unsatisfying.
June 8, 2017
This was an okay horror... I didn't have any feelings for the characters (either way), so that kind of made the whole concept a little wishy-washy for me.
The story is good. The plot flows along nicely... I just wish I'd been able to connect with at least one character.
The story is good. The plot flows along nicely... I just wish I'd been able to connect with at least one character.
March 22, 2018
Strange, scary, disturbing.
I’m not sure if I liked it or not...
Overall a good horror story, but a bit different.
I’m not sure if I liked it or not...
Overall a good horror story, but a bit different.
November 3, 2025
The Concrete Grove starts off by kicking you in the teeth and then dragging you along for a ride through the gloomy lower class society of Concrete Grove where strange things are afoot. Drugs are sold openly on street corners, a loan shark takes repayments in cash, in kind and in soul, and a fourteen years old girl has discovered a doorway to another place between realities and the ‘power’ of that place liked what it saw.
Gary has given us a council estate that most of us know well or have seen and he paints it dark, gloomy and inserts supernatural horror of ageless otherworldly entities into the mix.
We have 4 main characters. A solo mum doing her best for her daughter, said daughter is having fainting spells and weird dreams, Tom is an average guy not from the Grove but after helping the daughter (Hailey), he discovers an interest in Lana (Mum). Monty Bright is a loan shark who lent Laura some cash, and now she can’t make the repayments and he is sending the ‘boys’ over to have a chat with her. But Monty is hiding a secret. He has been searching for a special place in the Grove, a place so well hidden it is impossible to find, but he is not giving up and has a feeling Hailey has a special bond with The Grove.
Sound complex? It’s not really, McMahon keeps the reader on track and page turning with characters whom act (almost) like a real person would act (there were a few places where I made a face) and the story lines come together creating a climax that explodes from the page in rip-roaring speed.
What’s bad: Not much. I feel too much time was spent on Tom and his wife.
What’s good: The characters are fleshed out. They are people you may know or have noticed on the street from time to time.The drama and interactions between the characters and the story playing out before them is all engrossing.
Over all, this is an excellent first book in a trilogy, there are a few unanswered questions that may be answered in the coming books. I have Book Two sitting on my desk, Silent Voices, just waiting for my eyes to devour.
Gary has given us a council estate that most of us know well or have seen and he paints it dark, gloomy and inserts supernatural horror of ageless otherworldly entities into the mix.
We have 4 main characters. A solo mum doing her best for her daughter, said daughter is having fainting spells and weird dreams, Tom is an average guy not from the Grove but after helping the daughter (Hailey), he discovers an interest in Lana (Mum). Monty Bright is a loan shark who lent Laura some cash, and now she can’t make the repayments and he is sending the ‘boys’ over to have a chat with her. But Monty is hiding a secret. He has been searching for a special place in the Grove, a place so well hidden it is impossible to find, but he is not giving up and has a feeling Hailey has a special bond with The Grove.
Sound complex? It’s not really, McMahon keeps the reader on track and page turning with characters whom act (almost) like a real person would act (there were a few places where I made a face) and the story lines come together creating a climax that explodes from the page in rip-roaring speed.
What’s bad: Not much. I feel too much time was spent on Tom and his wife.
What’s good: The characters are fleshed out. They are people you may know or have noticed on the street from time to time.The drama and interactions between the characters and the story playing out before them is all engrossing.
Over all, this is an excellent first book in a trilogy, there are a few unanswered questions that may be answered in the coming books. I have Book Two sitting on my desk, Silent Voices, just waiting for my eyes to devour.
September 28, 2023
Would of done good as a movie. Despite the blurb on the back the main character feels more like the mom. There's unfortunately a lot of loose ends and sections that aren't clearly made out. The characters really don't feel like they do belong together and the book as a whole would of benefited from being longer to get us to connect with the characters. All in all I do like the story and setting. Does a good job of making you feel uncomfortable more than anything else.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews