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Review
'This novel grabs from the very first page, refuses to be laid aside, and carries the hapless reader, exhausted and wrung out, to the very last sentence... Nevill is excellent at characterisation, and evokes the terror and despair experienced by the quartet with heart-stopping fidelity. Best of all, though, is his depiction of the elemental forces of evil that haunt the hostile arctic wastelands. Superb.' --Guardian
'Adam Nevill shows it's possible to take a tried-and-tested horror cliché - the Blair Witch-esque group of friends lost in the woods - and make it horrifyingly scary again... Often horror loses its power when evil is given a face; in this case, it only gets more disturbing.' --Culture, Sunday Times
`Highly recommended.' --Horrornews.net
'Wonderfully, radiantly eerie... with The Ritual that he's at the top of his class for modern horror writers. He has the rare ability to craft a nebulous atmosphere of terror, as well as to capture cinematic slasherpunk in the written word. Both are incredibly rare talents.'
--Pornokitsch.com --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
'Adam Nevill shows it's possible to take a tried-and-tested horror cliché - the Blair Witch-esque group of friends lost in the woods - and make it horrifyingly scary again... Often horror loses its power when evil is given a face; in this case, it only gets more disturbing.' --Culture, Sunday Times
`Highly recommended.' --Horrornews.net
'Wonderfully, radiantly eerie... with The Ritual that he's at the top of his class for modern horror writers. He has the rare ability to craft a nebulous atmosphere of terror, as well as to capture cinematic slasherpunk in the written word. Both are incredibly rare talents.'
--Pornokitsch.com --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Product Description
The new horror from a rising star of the macabre . . .
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have had some nightmarish experiences in the Scandinavian wilds in my youth. Hiking trips across mountain ranges/fjords like small oceans/food that will inspire nightmares... Luckily though, it was nothing as bad as those unfortunate souls in Adam Nevill's latest supernatural horror offering The Ritual. Anyone picking up and reading The Ritual can rest assured though, as nightmarish, ancient horror aside: you're in for a treat.
Nevill's earlier two novels, Banquet for the Damned, and personal favourite Apartment 16, are proof of his credentials as a top-flight horror author. They're also chilling reads, and evidence too of Nevill's knowledge not just of writing ability - but something else other horror authors should take note of - an equally strong knowledge of the horror and supernatural genre, of what has gone before. With his knowledge, he builds and crafts something new, something scary, and something that will entertain those out looking for more than just the pulp-horror read (though there's nothing wrong with that either!)
The change of location in this latest novel is key: whereas earlier, more urban locales were highly effective in delivery atmospheric and associated cultural thrills and spills galore, Nevill shows us that he's just as comfortable making us feel ill at east in the isolated, cold and harsh forests of bitter Scandinavian climes as he is the backstreets of London, or small alleys of St. Andrews. Despite the isolation, the vast space, the bad things here are far more in your face, far more brutal. Yet he hasn't forgotten his subtle creeping terrors either. For here he is at home with M. R. James, with Ramsey Campbell and the like, in ability to keep the reader glued from page to another.
Read The Ritual if you want a scary book, dripping atmosphere and well written by an author who knows the genre, and who really wants to entertain (by scaring) his readers. Nevill's one of the best things to happen to British horror in decades, and well worth checking out.
Nevill's earlier two novels, Banquet for the Damned, and personal favourite Apartment 16, are proof of his credentials as a top-flight horror author. They're also chilling reads, and evidence too of Nevill's knowledge not just of writing ability - but something else other horror authors should take note of - an equally strong knowledge of the horror and supernatural genre, of what has gone before. With his knowledge, he builds and crafts something new, something scary, and something that will entertain those out looking for more than just the pulp-horror read (though there's nothing wrong with that either!)
The change of location in this latest novel is key: whereas earlier, more urban locales were highly effective in delivery atmospheric and associated cultural thrills and spills galore, Nevill shows us that he's just as comfortable making us feel ill at east in the isolated, cold and harsh forests of bitter Scandinavian climes as he is the backstreets of London, or small alleys of St. Andrews. Despite the isolation, the vast space, the bad things here are far more in your face, far more brutal. Yet he hasn't forgotten his subtle creeping terrors either. For here he is at home with M. R. James, with Ramsey Campbell and the like, in ability to keep the reader glued from page to another.
Read The Ritual if you want a scary book, dripping atmosphere and well written by an author who knows the genre, and who really wants to entertain (by scaring) his readers. Nevill's one of the best things to happen to British horror in decades, and well worth checking out.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Newest book from the writer of Apartment 16, and Banquet For The Damned, this is an absolute must read. Since the minute I started reading 'The Ritual', my heart pounded, my stomach lurched and froze, and the FEAR was so contagious I am truly amazed. As a huge fan of horror, this of course is what makes a great read, a memorable one and I cannot recommend this highly enough!!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Adam L.G. Nevill is fast becoming my favourite modern horror writer. In fact, the only reason I'm still reading horror written by anyone born after 1950 at all is the muscular Mr. Nevill, who has a knack for, among many things, inventive and original imagery. He doesn't talk down to his readers (I like writers who aren't afraid of making you think), and, as American culture threatens, like The Blob, to overrun the world, this author's work reads gloriously, fabulously, *English*.
Mr. Nevill's speciality is riffing off the masters of supernatural horror (Monty and Shirley in APARTMENT 16, Blackwood and Machen in THE RITUAL), bringing them completely up-to-date. Reading 'The Willows', one finds that Algy can be tough going; Nevill creates a tense, mysterious foreboding with atmosphere and short chapters rather than obtuseness. He populates his story with real people whom, whether we like them or not, we are guaranteed to recognise.
I've had to put this book down a few times to catch my breath, not just to recover from the fear and claustrophobic conditions Nevill so brilliantly conjures, but to think about the questions he raises. Have we wasted our lives if we don't spend them as society dictates? Was Dr. Johnson spot-on, or a knob, when he declared any person tired of London is tired of life? (This book brings to mind that other great describer of the London I hate, Jean Rhys.) Is there any point in quitting smoking when one is fated to be eviscerated young? Well, maybe one should, at least, give up smoking OP (Other People's) cigs (take note, you so-called quitters).
Adam Nevill's accomplishment is in creating a fresh and original work from recognisable components, which I heartily applaud--in any craft, it's important to know your roots--and making it look easy. I also like his exploring, as he did in APARTMENT 16, the type of protagonist that sadly seemed to die with Robert Aickman, the so-called 'loser'--failure, in literature, is much more interesting than success. This book's hip, too, being right in sync with the love affair the British presently have with all things Scandanavian. Though Neville's Sweden doesn't read like anywhere I'll be visiting soon; it sounds too much like a wet winter's weekend, complete with Blood Frenzy wannabes, in Dwygyfylchi.
Adam Nevill is the real deal. Buy this book--you won't be disappointed (unless you prefer reading dreck). My only complaint is that I cannot get hold of his first novel. It would be great if someone could see their way to re-publishing BANQUET FOR THE DAMNED, as I'm sure I'm not the only Nevill fan who would love (hint hint) to read it.
Mr. Nevill's speciality is riffing off the masters of supernatural horror (Monty and Shirley in APARTMENT 16, Blackwood and Machen in THE RITUAL), bringing them completely up-to-date. Reading 'The Willows', one finds that Algy can be tough going; Nevill creates a tense, mysterious foreboding with atmosphere and short chapters rather than obtuseness. He populates his story with real people whom, whether we like them or not, we are guaranteed to recognise.
I've had to put this book down a few times to catch my breath, not just to recover from the fear and claustrophobic conditions Nevill so brilliantly conjures, but to think about the questions he raises. Have we wasted our lives if we don't spend them as society dictates? Was Dr. Johnson spot-on, or a knob, when he declared any person tired of London is tired of life? (This book brings to mind that other great describer of the London I hate, Jean Rhys.) Is there any point in quitting smoking when one is fated to be eviscerated young? Well, maybe one should, at least, give up smoking OP (Other People's) cigs (take note, you so-called quitters).
Adam Nevill's accomplishment is in creating a fresh and original work from recognisable components, which I heartily applaud--in any craft, it's important to know your roots--and making it look easy. I also like his exploring, as he did in APARTMENT 16, the type of protagonist that sadly seemed to die with Robert Aickman, the so-called 'loser'--failure, in literature, is much more interesting than success. This book's hip, too, being right in sync with the love affair the British presently have with all things Scandanavian. Though Neville's Sweden doesn't read like anywhere I'll be visiting soon; it sounds too much like a wet winter's weekend, complete with Blood Frenzy wannabes, in Dwygyfylchi.
Adam Nevill is the real deal. Buy this book--you won't be disappointed (unless you prefer reading dreck). My only complaint is that I cannot get hold of his first novel. It would be great if someone could see their way to re-publishing BANQUET FOR THE DAMNED, as I'm sure I'm not the only Nevill fan who would love (hint hint) to read it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Like two books...
For me, this book ended up feeling like two separate stories entirely; the first half was wonderfully atmospheric, tense and subtle; the latter half was none of these things, if... Read more
Published 11 days ago by Ali
Tedious at best!
What can I say...
I was drawn in by the positive reviews given by respectable broadsheets (The Sunday Times, Guardian) bit it really is a terrible book. Read more
I was drawn in by the positive reviews given by respectable broadsheets (The Sunday Times, Guardian) bit it really is a terrible book. Read more
Published 28 days ago by H. Mackintosh
A great horror adventure
I've read the book and also read some negative reviews.
As someone who ventures frequently in the mountains I could totally identify with the characters and how they must... Read more
As someone who ventures frequently in the mountains I could totally identify with the characters and how they must... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mar A Savvidou
Painfully Drawn-Out
This book was painfully drawn-out. I was riveted at the beginning when the lads were lost in the dense forest but then how many times do we have to hear that they are lost, wet,... Read more
Published 1 month ago by C. Gordon
A book of two halves
The Ritual couldn't have started any better. Neville quickly established a foreboding atmosphere which had me on the edge of my seat. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sid
The Ritual by Adam Nevill
I thought this was a great book as it keeps you interested all the way through. The short chapters make you constantly want to read just one more. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Damienlh
enjoyable
The book started off quite slowly, but soon picked up pace, and I felt I really knew the characters. Read more
Published 2 months ago by jham
Mother North!
Yes black metal gets a knock but this book is still a belter. My favourite horror for many a year.
Published 2 months ago by Blackwater
The best recent horror book!
I came across this book completely randomly, without knowing anything about the author, but decided to give it a try as I'm a great fan of horror stories. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Michaela Drizhalova
Good but annoying
I had never read one of his books before, and after reading the reviews on amazon I thought I would give it a go. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mattman
Listmania!
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