Ramsey Campbell has crafted an engrossing page turner of a read in The Wise Friend. Well worth the read!

Very interesting book. Guaranteed to send chills up your spine. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

3.5/5

“I struggled free. I lay in the dark, feeling appalled that I’d left Roy in the web, and took some time over convincing myself it was simply a dream.”

THE WISE FRIEND is a supernatural horror embodied with dark relics, grimoires, and con-vexed occult practices. The storyline is somewhat luring: after the tragic suicide of his aunt Thelma some years earlier, who had a strange cult following in the artistic world, Patrick is tempted to reopen the case with his son Roy, who early on has an uncanny obsession with Thelma’s demise.

The plot eventually revolves around scavenger hunt with various clues and mystery unfolding, and although there were some fascinating and inquisitive elements in this transition, the overall flow and direction seemed somewhat tedious. It seems like Campbell tries to scorch these quells by diverting the horror factors to Patrick’s own personal feelings and thoughts, and it felt exasperating at times. Still worth the read, and after all, it is Ramsey Campbell.

Thanks NetGalley!

For the Ramsey Campbell connoisseur, there's an awful lot to love about this novel. It feels like a combination of familiar Campbellian themes, mingling the best elements of a number of previous works, almost an evolution in Campbell's recent output. The painfully honest and ambiguous conversations between estranged and conflicted family members are amply in evidence here, reminding me of the plight of characters from Think Yourself Lucky or Born to the Dark. A healthy dose of unreliable narrator, brought deftly to a head in a precise ending paragraph, conjures Simon's troubles in the venerable Grin of the Dark. Happiest of all, all manner of creepy-crawly, wood-based shenanigans break out of the 'wods' and make their way into the open.

Actually, 'open' is an unusual word to be using in the context of much of Campbell's work. Often relying on suggestion (or enthusiastic negation of any suggestion on the part of the narrator, who surely hasn't seen any such thing from the corner of their eye…), the whole meat of this story is laid out pretty clearly about half-way through the book. There's plenty of build-up and ambiguity until that point, and the revelations, assuming you choose to trust the presented point of view, allow one from that point on to share in the narrator's frustrations. There are plenty, as you'd expect, and more than enough moments of grimly unpleasant slow-burn creepiness.

It's all good stuff. As I title-dropped earlier, I loved the return to elements of Campbell's expanding mythos, and a brief glimpse of Moonwell brought a smile of reminiscence to my face.

Five stars from me, Mr. Campbell!

Patrick's Aunt was a celebrated artist and a little usual. Years after her suicide Patrick and his son Roy begin a journey to understand her art, lifestyle and ending better. Patrick becomes increasingly uncomfortable as weird occult hints start to surface. Roy on the other hand delves in deep with his new girlfriend. Way to deep but is it to late for Patrick to stop him? Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I've never read a Ramsey Campbell novel before and have meant to for a while - i'm a big horror fan and he seems a prolific writer! As the first novel i've read by this author though I was not as impressed as I thought I may be. The initial two thirds of this book dragged for me, a lot of supposition and wandering around to different places within the North West of the UK which, whilst well written, just didn't seem to add much. I'm also not sure what the cover of this novel has to do with the substance! However, the final third picked up and there were some great scenes that had me on the edge of my seat with an ending that was worth the initial parts. All in, I will have another go with Ramsey Campbells novels and recommend this for fans of Andrew Michael Hurley.

A slow burning horror novel with an occult focus. The book impressively manages to keep the suspense up throughout the entire story, and characters react to their changing (odd, unpleasant) situations in a realistic way that helps ground the story despite the supernatural occurances.

Convincing and spooky horror.

Enjoyably slow burning occult horror, the Wise Friend delivers a well constructed tale, with a mysterious and frightening presence (possibly?) watching on from the woods. Tension is built and maintained as a father and son relationship is tested, and Campbell keeps the supernatural and psychological in harmony as the central character explores his family past and the implications for the present.. I’ve not read Campbell before but will be reading more!

I havent read a good horror novel in a while, and this one is definitely amazing! I also enjoyed the puzzles of the aunts suicide and the suspense. While I think the novel could have been faster paced at times the novel was never dull. I loved figuring out everything as it unfolded definitely a book in would reccomend my friends.

Thanks to #netgalley!

This book was slow moving but also quite interesting. The characters were well written. The last 1/4 of the book the pace really picked up and i couldn't put it down. I felt like the end kind of left something else to be said. Overall it was a decent read.

3.5 🌟

The Wise Friend encompassed everything I love about horror. Methodically paced and creepy, this occult thriller was an engaging and suspenseful read.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

#TheWiseFriend #NetGalley

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book. I enjoyed the storyline of this book but it was a bit slow to get started. I liked that my favorite book ever got a shout out. ( The Master and The Margarita) I would reccomend this book to others.

Patrick is the nephew of a late artists who died by apparent suicide. Roy, Patrick's son, develops a strong interest in researching Patrick's Aunt Thelma by studying her journal, her art and going to the obscure places that Thelma went. While at an art museum they have a chance encounter with Bella, who just happens to have the same fixation on Thelma and she joins in on this research adventure, gradually taking a hold on Roy that Patrick find worrisome. Patrick's suspicions grow as things get stranger and distance grows between he and his son. He suspects that Bella is much more than a charming, conniving girlfriend and he senses deception and unworldly danger that he fears nothing can stop.
The Wise Friend is a gradual slide towards the big picture during which you try to figure out what (and who) is at play. There are times it was a bit confusing, but it was fun as the layers fell away and you began to realize the many different elements at work.
#netgalley #TheWiseFriend

Another winner from the author. A good mix of horror and suspense makes this book a hit. This is a book that I would recommend to all.

"The Wise Friend" was a terrific, very under-stated and quite odd (possibly supernatural) thriller built around the obsession a teenage boy develops for his long since dead aunt who was a successful artist. The novel is seen from the point of view of the teenager's father Patrick, who when he was younger had a similar obsession with the aunt. The family dynamics are very strained as the teenager Roy meets Bella at an art gallery exhibiting the artist's work and Patrick begins to suspect that Bella is up to no good. Or is it Patrick who is the dodgy one? For much of the novel it's hard to tell, it's slow moving, but never boring, with the sense of the uncanny developing very slowly with a rich sense of time and place as the three go on a weird voyage of discovery of the places depicted in the dead artist's painting. I loved this book and it is nice to see Ramsey Campbell in such fine form.