Superstition. Posession. Hell on Earth . . .
The Forbidden
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'Reading The Forbidden offers the same thrilling sense of familiarity and discovery as stumbling across a top-notch Hammer movie or a vintage Dennis Wheatley novel....What we have here is a proper scare-your-socks-off horror tale, featuring gore, demons, possession and exorcism. Tallis weaves real historical figures into the narrative and conjures up fin-de-siècle France beautifully, but his main intention, excellently achieved, is to jolt even the hardiest of hearts' --Financial Times
'a darkly joyful ride with creepy and thrilling moments in abundance' --The Independent on Sunday
'a darkly joyful ride with creepy and thrilling moments in abundance' --The Independent on Sunday
Book Description
When ambitious Doctor Paul Clément takes a job at the mission hospital on Saint Sébastien, he has dreams of discovering cures for tropical diseases. What he finds is a place where the black arts are just a way of life. After witnessing the ritualistic murder of a young man, said to be one of the living dead, he is forbidden to speak of what he has seen. On returning to Paris, Clément's attention turns to studying the nervous system and resuscitation. He is told of patients who have apparently died, been brought back to life, and whilst suspended between life and death, experience what they believe to be heaven. Clément attempts a daring experiment in order to confirm these extraordinary reports, but the outcome is wholly unexpected. Could it be that when he is resuscitated, he brings something back with him - an ancient evil, so powerful that it can never be destroyed? Is the good doctor slowly succumbing to madness, or has he really passed through the gates of hell?
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By V. O'Regan
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Having enjoyed Tallis' historical novels that often flirted with the occult, I was pleased to find that he had elected to write a work of supernatural horror. Tallis writes that the direct inspiration was the 19th century French occult novel Là-Bas (The Damned) by J.K. Huysmans and also cited Justine by the Marquis de Sade and Guy de Maupassant's stories as other influences. He also mentions the more recent writings of the British writer Dennis Wheatley whose Library of the Occult series published Là-Bas and other classics of horror and occult fiction from 1974 to 1977.
All of these influences, including de Sade's, are evident though novel's overall tone did remind me most of Wheatley's occult novels that I had happily devoured in the early 1970s. Tallis certainly captured that sense of a rational man being drawn into the dark arts despite himself and becoming morally overwhelmed. Tallis' ability to evoke his historical settings has always been a strong appeal of his fiction and here is no exception as he brings 19th century Paris and France alive.
I found this tale of demonic possession quite a controlled work despite its often explicit scenes of sex and violence though this suited its first person narration by an essentially uptight 19th century doctor clinging to rationality in the face of the supernatural. Tallis is obviously a huge fan of this kind of tale of occult horror and the novel served as an homage. As a fellow fan I certainly enjoyed his foray into this area.
I initially borrowed this novel from the library but purchased my own Kindle copy.
All of these influences, including de Sade's, are evident though novel's overall tone did remind me most of Wheatley's occult novels that I had happily devoured in the early 1970s. Tallis certainly captured that sense of a rational man being drawn into the dark arts despite himself and becoming morally overwhelmed. Tallis' ability to evoke his historical settings has always been a strong appeal of his fiction and here is no exception as he brings 19th century Paris and France alive.
I found this tale of demonic possession quite a controlled work despite its often explicit scenes of sex and violence though this suited its first person narration by an essentially uptight 19th century doctor clinging to rationality in the face of the supernatural. Tallis is obviously a huge fan of this kind of tale of occult horror and the novel served as an homage. As a fellow fan I certainly enjoyed his foray into this area.
I initially borrowed this novel from the library but purchased my own Kindle copy.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By thejohnsmith
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A good old fashioned horror story set in 19th Century France. With Zombies in the French Antilles, afterlife/near death experience, demonic possession, exorcisms, its got it all. Once started, I found it hard to put down.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I'm used to Franks' writing style from his crime stories and whilst this was a departure into a new genre for him, its one that worked incredibly well as his vivid writing style brought out not only the gore and horror but translated the whole plotline into something I just couldn't get go of.
Add to this a wonderfully woven tapestry of intrigue to accompany the darker aspects as well as some cracking emotional twists and all in this story was one that proves he not only has a future in the genre but that he has the skill to thrill and chill in spades. Great stuff all in and a tale that will definitely stay with me for quite some time.
Add to this a wonderfully woven tapestry of intrigue to accompany the darker aspects as well as some cracking emotional twists and all in this story was one that proves he not only has a future in the genre but that he has the skill to thrill and chill in spades. Great stuff all in and a tale that will definitely stay with me for quite some time.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Surprising if you've read the Liebermann books
A rather gothic trip into the dark underworld of the nineteenth-century occult. Sinister and creeping and really quite disturbing, 'The Forbidden' is a complete departure from the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by atrociful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A slow starter but ultimately fantastic
To begin with I found this to be a bit tedious, but I'm glad I persevered! I really enjoyed this book, I'd been wanting to read it for such a long time and finally got round to... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Miss Wright
2.0 out of 5 stars
Supernatural
Found this a bit OTT. Much preferred Tallis's LIEBERMANN SERIES which I particularly enjoy. Prospective readers should like supernatural stories.
Published 2 months ago by Wibby
4.0 out of 5 stars
Worth a read
Not as good as The Lieberman Papers books but still an atmospheric page turner. Worth a look if you like historical fiction
Published 3 months ago by David Cuthbert
1.0 out of 5 stars
great disappointment
fans of the liebermann series beware . i find it hard to believe that this ghastly penny dreadful came from the same pen. Read more
Published 6 months ago by mallorca
1.0 out of 5 stars
Get back to Vienna
Oh dear, what a waste of my time and money. The story is silly. The Vienna-based detective books are great stories (not high literature) but fun to read. Read more
Published 9 months ago by R. Wooldridge
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as the Liebermann novels
This book was a sad disappointment to me. I've enjoyed the Liebermann novels a great deal, but this felt like a potboiler churned out to make money. Read more
Published 10 months ago by R. Warren
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