Published at around the same time as Stoker's Dracula this book initially outsold Dracula, but alas over the years it has not fared so well. For something like forty plus years it remained out of print, but now with this Wordsworth Edition you can have a brand spanking new one at an affordable price. This book has always been considered by most to be Richard Marsh's masterpiece and it is definitely a classic horror tale from the fin de seicle putting it alongside Dracula and The Picture of Dorien Gray. So why then has it become neglected? Unlike the other two books mentioned this has dated, but probably more importantly it doesn't fall nicely into one genre and it is all a bit camp. I love nineteenth century novels and I love gothic horror and decadence, so that didn't put me off of this as probably it would some people.
Told by four different narrators we are told a strange and bizarre tale of a creature - a scarab beetle that shapeshifts into a man, or as some report, a woman. We are never really sure what the thing really is or what sex, does it use magic to become human or is it human and changes sex and becomes a beetle by magic? This vagueness leads to the terror felt by the main characters - this thing is also able to mesmerise people and place them under its power. Taking in and mentioning the Cult of Isis, orgies and naked young women being sacrificed there is a whiff of decadence and erotica in this tale that runs most of the way through it, and this is probably what made it such a sensation at the time. Indeed if you were to take away the supernatural part from it this would read as a sensation novel. With the heroine being kidnapped we are led to believe that she will be stripped, tortured and killed, thus leading to the excitement at the later stages of the novel and leading to a great little chase scene.
Will the monster get what it wants, or will it be eventually thwarted? I'm not going to say, you will just have to read this book to find out. If you love a great read that is both fun and enjoyable then buy this book. If you are into classic horror then this should really be on your bookshelf, the same applies if you are into fin de siecle. All in all this is a great little read and will definitely while away a few hours.
