I usually prefer Ramsey Campbell’s shorter fiction to his novels but this is an exception, keeping the pace and suspense up all the way through. It reminds me of his earlier longer works, which don’t overdo the hallucinatory overlay many of his characters experience. The dialogue is also sharp and realistic.
There is a fair amount of scene setting but once that’s over the plot stumbles along like something from an unquiet grave quite nicely!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3240687217

This is the second book I've read by Ramsey Campbell and certainly won't be the last. Like many of you, I've spent years hearing about his work, so when I saw this pop up on Netgalley, I immediately reached out to see if I could read it early and offer a fair review. Thankfully, the publisher said yes, so here I am.

This is the story of a man plagued by his past, literally and figuratively. When Patrick's aunt dies suddenly and unexpectedly, the void left behind draws the family in like a vacuum. The aunt is shrouded in mystery through most of the novel, at times leading me to wonder whether she was a victim, a villain, or something else altogether. When Patrick's son takes up with one of her young fans, things go down a dark path.

Even though it takes too long to find its pacing, once it did I was hooked. Ramsey Campbell does a wonderful job of evoking horrors both natural and supernatural. Patrick's drive to protect his son, and the strained relationship they have (strained worse by his ex-wife, Julia) struck a deep chord within me, and the author did an impeccable job of balancing out that paternal drive with the undercurrent of utter dread at what that would mean. When the balance finally shifted, I was so drawn into what was happening that I found myself more engrossed (and horrified) than I've been with a novel so far this year.

Suffice it to say, I really enjoyed this book. I still have some unanswered questions, and can't help but feel like it would have been better about 50 pages shorter (the first half can drag), but this is a stellar story.

I'll end with this. On average, I read about 30 horror novels a year. It's my favorite genre. At this point, I don't really get scared anymore. The final scene in this book downright unsettled me. Masterfully done.

Thank you so much NetGalley, Ramsey Campbell, and Flame Tree Press for the chance to review this book.

First off, I want to say that it is quite possible that I am just not in the right mindset for this story at the moment, so please don't let my opinions dissuade anyone from reading this title. For me, The Wise Friend was a fairly decent horror novel, with a truly original feeling plot. Unfortunately, I found the pacing to be slower than I prefer and parts of the early dialogue were incredibly lacking for my tastes. Ramsey Campbell writes beautifully, and definitely knows how to create a dark and ominous atmosphere, with a few solid scares. But overall, this slow-burn couldn't live up to my expectations.

I really wanted to like this one but I found myself so bored for most of the book. It was difficult to connect to the characters and to care what happened to them. However, the plot was interesting enough to keep me reading and I was excited to find out what happened to Thelma.

Netgally sent me this to review. Thann you.
I'm afraid I didn't finish this one. I read about to 100 pages and it just wasn't doing anything for me.
I felt really confused with the introduction, there were all these characters, and we were thrown into, I didn't really know who was or what was going on.
I thought it was really strange that Patrick was obsessed with his aunts death and then his son becomes intrigued. I didn't really see the fuss with it all.
I felt with each chapter the time line kept changing, and I didn't know where i was. It was a bit jumbled for me.
There was a lot of the characters assuming things in conversation and saying "I didn't say that". This read just wasn't for me.

Have not read much Ramsey Campbell recently but the cover of this book grabbed my attention. This was a fine read with a slowly unraveling storyline of insidious evil permeating it through until the very last sentence. Highly recommended quiet horror read.

This is a very eerie and somewhat disturbing tale of the occult. Patrick suspected his aunt was involved in occult practices and now hes afraid his son is becoming obsessed as well. This is a book that is best read with the light on and it will keep you tirning the pages well after midnight for sure.

This was on par with what I expected from Ramsey Campbell. I've been reading their work for many years, and hopefully I will for years to come. Highly recommend

Yes, once again I had to quit this book.
From the start, I had one thiught. And that was quaint. Campbell had noticeably old fashioned words. Just a few, but enough that I noticed.
I have always loved this author because he writes stories from a part of England that is a bit scary to me. Liverpool! Yes! Also, sometimes Wales.
I loved Mr. Campbell when I was younger. He does always set the mood. I do believe that most people who love the slow burn, will also love this! If I had time to spend, I might like it too! No, I am certain I would like it. Ramsey Campbell is someone I read for 20 years. I have all his early books on my bookshelves. His stuff is a slow burn, but it's also eerie and moody. Now? I would tell you that I'm too old. That is mostly true. In fact, what I am is just someone who is often sick, and maybe I have 30 years left, or perchance, just a few! I can't and won't waste time on this.
Picture me snapping my fingers and twiddling my toes! That's me! Just saying, let's get on with it! Places to go, and people to see!

Delve into the occult with Patrick and Ray. Patrick's aunt uses occult in art, now he must convince his son to leave it alone. Good book

DNF at 40%. nothing was happening and i didn't care a thing about any of the characters. The writing was ok. There was some great imagery in here. I will try more books from this author but i don't think this is the one for me at this time.

Will be on website closer to pub date, earmarked for print in next issue (471)

The Wise Friend

It is not overstatement to describe Ramsey Campbell as a master of horror. His back catalogue of work is impressive, as are the many awards he has earned. He has a powerful reputation for being able to write delightfully creepy stories and his latest work, The Wise Friend, certainly lives up to that reputation.

The Wise Friend is told from the perspective of Patrick, a middle-aged and divorced professor of literature who has not had the easiest of childhoods. His aunt Thelma was a well-known and well-loved artist who died in tragic circumstance. Patrick’s son, Roy, was very young at the time it all happened and years later, both father and son find themselves drawn into the tangle of Thelma’s life, both out of curiosity and out of a yearning for a sense of closure.

As the story unfolds, we learn that Aunt Thelma kept more than a few secrets and had a strong interest in the occult. Her research was tied to the sort of everyday wild places that many of us walk past or ignore. Locations with charmingly British names like Monks Cross and Dancers Oak; run down patches of the wild, mostly caught up in the urban sprawl. The sort of sites that even mundane and unimaginative types describe as haunted.

Roy is just a teenaged boy yet he becomes more and more fascinated with his Aunt’s work and finds himself drawn into her moody and solitary art, which is famous for its mysterious figures and hidden messages. We get flashbacks to Patrick’s childhood, and we slowly discover that all is not well and all is not what it should be.

The writing is incredibly pretty and mesmerising. We get a mix between the mundane and the magical here; everyday people are mean, suspicious and fearful. Artists and dreamers possess something special. They are a handful of flaws here, though it’s mostly down to personal taste as some of the peril seems obvious. It’s a style of story that doesn’t really bluff its way into terror more so that it just makes you wait for the surprise until it’s far too late for you to turn back.

The writing style is incredibly accessible and the whole work has this gentle yet steady tempo that just keeps you turning the page. It’s one of those stories that builds up slowly, meaning that the tale lingers long after the book is done. A truly haunting tale and an example of a master at work. It’s is superb stuff. One of those books your doomed to try and read in one sitting, so make sure you have your schedule clear.

9/10

As a fan of the horror genre I have to admit, this was my first Ramsey Campbell book and following The Wise Friend, it will not be the last.

Patrick and his son Roy begin looking into the death of Patrick’s Aunt Thelma, an artist who jumped from a block of flats. With the legacy of her art, which always contained a mysterious figure in the background and her diaries, they begin investigating the different areas she seemed compelled to visit.

This was a great read with a story that is not overly dramatic but slowly creeps up on you as the book progresses. Yes, there was a little bit of repetition in the middle but this should not discourage anyone from what is a very British horror story which often touches on Folklore.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Ramsey Campbell, and Flame Tree Press for a chance to review this book. I was given this book for free in exchange for my fair and honest opinion. I have not felt compelled, in any way, by the author, the publisher, or NetGalley to alter my sincerest thoughts on this book. Every word of this review is solely and completely mine.
Patrick Torrington is a university professor of literature. His Aunt Thelma was a painter, who used to travel to local settings to become inspired, but her work to a dark turn and consequently, it is believed that she committed suicide. Patrick finds her diary, and when his son begins to ask questions about her, Patrick is happy to talk about her. They even decide to visit some of the sites that Aunt Thelma visited. However, Patrick’s son, Roy, has a girlfriend that seems to be obsessed with Aunt Thelma’s work. They soon leave Patrick out of the explorations and a sinister pall shadows the activities of the youth. Patrick feels forced to take dramatic actions that may cause a schism between father and son. Whatever the case, the locales that Aunt Thelma visited appear to be imbued by dark forces that won’t rest easy.
This is a slow-burn, horror tale reminiscent of old-time ghost stories. It is a psychological, paranormal, story with some real scares, but they don’t always work because of the slow-burn aspect. Often, while I waited for the pay-off, the suspense would build, and it rarely reached the crescendo promised. Not a bad read, but really too slow for this hardcore horror fan.

3 stars--I liked the book. (I do NOT like the cover, however! The upside-down cross makes it look like the book will be about demons, but it's not.)

This is a very English horror novel, touching on English folklore and featuring very English characters. I enjoyed how the plot carried down through generations, and how the horror was slowly revealed. And the ending was fabulous!

I would give this 4 stars, but I thought it got a bit repetitive in the middle (the narrator warns his family, they brush him off, repeat).

I received this review copy from the publisher on NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review; I appreciate it!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As far as horror stories go, this wasn't bad. It has the right amount of intrigue, fright, guessing and expectation. For a reader who moves quickly through a book, this could be a bit of a drawn out tale. Thelma was a mystery and you keep reading to find out what happened to her and where her inspiration came from. I had a lot of trouble with the very slow pace of this story, it took me so long to finish and my interest was only gripped when it started getting weird. The writing style is also something I was not used to. I ended up reading a lot of passages twice, to fit them in with the rest of the tale.
For horror lovers, this would be good. For those who don't read the genre at all or often, it is time consuming.

The Wise Friend by Ramsey Campbell may very well turn out to be Campbell’s magnum opus. On the surface it appears to be a marvelous, mystical tale of cosmic horror, one that evokes inexplicable evil up from deep beneath the earth, into the ordinary world of a broken, English family.

“It’s those beneath the earth that feed off your energy.”

While young, Patrick, the father, was tainted by a brush with evil as he visited his beloved aunt Thelma, a famous artist who experimented with the unfathomable. Thelma later realizes her mistake and tries to extricate herself from her quest for buried mysteries and arcane knowledge. Unfortunately, she had already gone too far.

After her funeral, Patrick and his son Roy become fascinated with her journal, one that “smells of the earth.” The most intriguing element of the journal is a list of sacred sites. As they begin to read, the nearby “Railway station’s voice turned female, warning listeners to be aware of suspicious items.” This oblique warning does not dissuade them from developing an obsession that leads them on a perilous journey of exploration—to discover the mysteries of Thelma’s sites—to attempt to understand who Aunt Thelma really was and how she died.

While visiting an art museum to view Thelma’s works, Patrick and his son Roy meet a young woman, Bella, who is wise beyond her years-an old soul. Soon, she insinuates herself into their lives, creating friction between Patrick, a protective and sensitive father, and Julia, a mother who allows her prejudice against Patrick to prevent her from properly safeguarding her son. Before long, Roy becomes enchanted.

Ultimately, it is up to Patrick to solve the mystery of the journal and the sites in order to defend his son and determine the cause of mysterious deaths.

“If you don’t go where other people won’t, you’ll never see what’s to be seen.”

Campbell wisely chose a first person point of view that draws readers into the mind of Patrick, thus clearly revealing his motivations and drawing readers close, urging them to care for him and his son. This choice also offers an accurate understanding of Patrick’s volatile family dynamics.

All the characters are unique, believable, and authentically flawed. They stay true to their nature in behavior and thought and will resonate in readers minds long after their literary adventure is complete.

It could be said that the most interesting feature of the novel might be the possibility that Campbell speaks through his characters, revealing ominous truths only he has long understood. Dialogue that hints at long-buried secrets reminiscent of Lovecraft’s old ones appear when least expected. Tantalizing chapters titles add to the mystery.

Campbell’s prose is easy to read, vivid, and detailed without excess. He creates a visual, palpable world where readers will gladly take up residence. There is ominous magic on every single page. Repeated mention of the railway hints at the symbolic nature of rail travel as compared to the journey of those who are spellbound by evil. Once travelers board a train, they relinquish control, as do all who fly too close to the flame.

In the Wise Friend, Campbell does not keep readers waiting. The mystery begins immediately. Readers who dislike long introductions will appreciate this quality of Campbell’s highly complex and intertwined plot. The author preserves the tension by dropping subtle whiffs of mystery all along the journey and including numerous plot twists and surprises.

The Wise Friend comes very highly recommended. It is a true masterpiece of cosmic fiction that will leave readers spellbound and compelled to read and read again in search of more covert hints at long buried mysteries of eternal, sinister entities who slumber serenely and wait for us to draw too close—to fall under their spell.

The Wise Friend will leave vigilant readers spellbound, haunted by many disquieting, unanswered questions.

Can anyone ever truly win the battle with sinister evil, and who will become the next wise friend? It could be anyone, even the next reader.

Rougeskireads

A deceased artist, her journal, and a heap of creepy sites.
I found this book to be too long. The plot feels stretched and threadbare. I was disappointed. The idea of this book is very good, though. Had it been fifty pages or so shorter, I would probably have given 4 stars.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy to review. This review is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

Ramsey Campbell is a master of the kind of tangled, snaring horror that reminds us all we’re in a living trap that we can’t escape. In The Wise Friend, this is woven into a terrifying cat-and-mouse with half-seen horrors, in a sort of exploded Gothic landscape; a series of isolated, beautiful, but haunted locations replacing the usual stone edifices of the genre. These places are no less claustrophobic and oppressive, though, as the main character chases ghosts and his wayward child down a path to the unspeakable.

Patrick is middle-aged and divorced, and trying to play catch-up parent to his dour and rebellious son, Roy. Eager to connect and too quick to accede, he indulges Roy’s interest in Patrick’s dead aunt, Thelma, a renowned artist. Towards the end of her life, her art turned dark, fantastical and twisted, until she killed herself. Patrick and Roy revisit the places that influenced this latter period of Thelma’s life and, in the course of their shared search, encounter Bella, a young woman that Roy becomes consumed with.

So begins a struggle between Patrick and increasingly unnerving forces, a mystery that leads him inexorably into darkness as he tries to convince himself he can keep control of his current life and the evils from his youth that should never have been revisited.

It’s a close, character-focussed story, lyrical and lush in its descriptions of the art and landscapes wherein the horrors lie. The creeps are both subtle, and only glimpsed in the shadows, but also flagrant and in your face as Patrick faces off with the mysterious Bella over her influence on his son. A book about powerlessness, its chilling resolution isn’t as straightforward as you think.

I love Campbell’s writing and The Wise Friend is an excellent addition to his amazing body of work. Heartily, enthusiastically recommend.

Flame Tree Press provided an ARC in return for an honest review.

While I am familiar with this author, it has been quite some time since I have ready anything by him. I am really glad that I decided to request The Wise Friend.

While this is classified as a horror story, it was so intriguing in its prose that I almost forgot to be scared...almost. The occult aspect and the fascination the nephew has with his aunt really are fabulously written and make for a book that was hard to put down.