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Yet, entertaining as it is, PACT OF THE FATHERS is far below the quality of Campbell's best work. Campbell's usually stellar prose occasionally feels unfocused here, giving rise to moments of unintended awkwardness. And whereas his stories tend to unfold in a natural, unpredictable fashion, the progression of this story relies too much on contrived situations and coincidences. These, though, are minor complaints, which don't detract too much from one's enjoyment of the book. A more substantial problem, for me, was the novel's conclusion. After hundreds of pages spent carefully building a rich atmosphere of quiet tension and paranoia, the mood is shattered by an unconvincing, melodramatic climax, complete with pat resolution; the kind of too-neat wrap-up we expect from a Hollywood thriller, but not from Ramsey Campbell.
Even with its flaws, PACT OF THE FATHERS is an entertaining, well-written novel. Of course, Campbell's fans don't need a review to make them seek out his latest effort; however, readers new to Campbell might get a better sense of his work from some of his earlier books. 3 ½ stars.
This one's not the widescreen production we're becoming used to from Mr C; rather it's a TV movie of the week thing. You watch/read it and forget about it. There's only one genuine moment of unease in the book -- an early scene where the heroine is walking a country lane to her father's grave.
So so.
The premise of the story has a great deal of promise, but the heroine is rude, snotty, apparently not too bright and doesn't learn very fast. If she's becoming paranoid, why is it that she trusts just about everyone she meets?
The characterization is so poorly done that I felt no loathng for the bad guys and didn't really care that the good guys won.
There's no suspense in any of the book and the story lacks gradual buildup to the final climax.
I have read that Campbell is a master at his craft, but I wouldn't read anything else of his based on this work.
Yet, entertaining as it is, PACT OF THE FATHERS is far below the quality of Campbell's best work. Campbell's usually stellar prose occasionally feels unfocused here, giving rise to moments of unintended awkwardness. And whereas his stories tend to unfold in a natural, unpredictable fashion, the progression of this story relies too much on contrived situations and coincidences. These, though, are minor complaints, which don't detract too much from one's enjoyment of the book. A more substantial problem, for me, was the novel's conclusion. After hundreds of pages spent carefully building a rich atmosphere of quiet tension and paranoia, the mood is shattered by an unconvincing, melodramatic climax, complete with pat resolution; the kind of too-neat wrap-up we expect from a Hollywood thriller, but not from Ramsey Campbell.
Even with its flaws, PACT OF THE FATHERS is an entertaining, well-written novel. Of course, Campbell's fans don't need a review to make them seek out his latest effort; however, readers new to Campbell might get a better sense of his work from some of his earlier books. 3 ½ stars.
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