Reviews
Fans of films about haunted places, otherworldly beings, and rituals gone terribly wrong will find this homage deliciously chilling., Obsession and megalomania, sex and power make for a sophisticated, literate and well-crafted paranormal horror., Praise for The Ritual :"A mind-twisting journey into the dark backwoods of terror. Absolutely riveting."-Jonathan Maberry"Preys on our most basic, instinctive fears, then amplifies them ten-fold . . . unimaginably ancient and unspeakably evil." -David Moody"Nevill makes the natural world deeply menacing, using the power of suggestion rather than explicit images to create a growing claustrophobic feeling." - Publishers Weekly (starred)"Highly recommended, especially for fans of gritty, literary horror by authors such as Scott Smith, Clive Barker, and Dan Simmons." - Library Journal, This exceptional macabre tale stuns in its ability to inspire abject, primal terror. Readers will lose all hope of undisturbed, peaceful sleep. Highly recommended., "Fans of films about haunted places, otherworldly beings, and rituals gone terribly wrong will find this homage deliciously chilling." -- Publishers Weekly "Obsession and megalomania, sex and power make for a sophisticated, literate and well-crafted paranormal horror." -- Kirkus Reviews "This exceptional macabre tale stuns in its ability to inspire abject, primal terror. Readers will lose all hope of undisturbed, peaceful sleep. Highly recommended." -- Library Journal (starred review), "Fans of films about haunted places, otherworldly beings, and rituals gone terribly wrong will find this homage deliciously chilling." - Publishers Weekly "Obsession and megalomania, sex and power make for a sophisticated, literate and well-crafted paranormal horror." - Kirkus Reviews "This exceptional macabre tale stuns in its ability to inspire abject, primal terror. Readers will lose all hope of undisturbed, peaceful sleep. Highly recommended." - Library Journal (starred review), Praise for The Ritual :"A mind-twisting journey into the dark backwoods of terror. Absolutely riveting."-Jonathan Maberry"Preys on our most basic, instinctive fears, then amplifies them ten-fold . . . unimaginably ancient and unspeakably evil." -David Moody"Nevill makes the natural world deeply menacing, using the power of suggestion rather than explicit images to create a growing claustrophobic feeling." - Publishers Weekly (starred)"Highly recommended, especially for fans of gritty, literary horror by authors such as Scott Smith, Clive Barker, and Dan Simmons." - Library Journal, Winner of the 2013 British Fantasy Award for Best Horror Novel "Fans of films about haunted places, otherworldly beings, and rituals gone terribly wrong will find this homage deliciously chilling." - Publishers Weekly "Obsession and megalomania, sex and power make for a sophisticated, literate and well-crafted paranormal horror." - Kirkus Reviews "This exceptional macabre tale stuns in its ability to inspire abject, primal terror. Readers will lose all hope of undisturbed, peaceful sleep. Highly recommended." - Library Journal (starred review)
Synopsis
Last Days (winner of the British Fantasy Award for Best Horror Novel of the Year) by Adam Nevill is a Blair Witch style novel in which a documentary film-maker undertakes the investigation of a dangerous cult--with creepy consequences When guerrilla documentary maker, Kyle Freeman, is asked to shoot a film on the notorious cult known as the Temple of the Last Days, it appears his prayers have been answered. The cult became a worldwide phenomenon in 1975 when there was a massacre including the death of its infamous leader, Sister Katherine. Kyle's brief is to explore the paranormal myths surrounding an organization that became a testament to paranoia, murderous rage, and occult rituals. The shoot's locations take him to the cult's first temple in London, an abandoned farm in France, and a derelict copper mine in the Arizonan desert where The Temple of the Last Days met its bloody end. But when he interviews those involved in the case, those who haven't broken silence in decades, a series of uncanny events plague the shoots. Troubling out-of-body experiences, nocturnal visitations, the sudden demise of their interviewees and the discovery of ghastly artifacts in their room make Kyle question what exactly it is the cult managed to awaken - and what is its interest in him?