Member Reviews
A surprisingly desolate tale here; I’m not sure whether the narrator is simply suffering from severely unpleasant delusions, or whether the supernatural is simply a matter-of-fact occurrence in the context of this novel. Certainly, the journey of reading the novel was as mysterious and confused as some of the protagonist’s experiences, and I found that I had to work harder than I’d like to figure out what was passed for reality and what might be unreliable narrator. It was nice to see Christian Noble appear again, albeit only in passing, although his mention brought a desire for more detail which remains unrequited. Characters’ speech, as ever, was ambiguous and interpretable, and at times this became exhausting. I’m a big Ramsey Campbell fan, but for me this book’s narrative, alas, didn’t really give me what I’ve come to like from him.
Description, though: amazing. Such redolent prose, with exceptional simile and metaphor. The chilling descriptions of horrific events are marvellous, and Campbell’s use of language is as wonderful as ever.
A mixed review from me, then, but of course we all bring our own preferences to the table. Perhaps this one, sadly, just wasn’t for me.
A new Ramsey Campbell is always a treat to be savoured and The Lonely Lands - his new novel for 2023 – is no exception.
As I read this, I was put in mind of Richard Matheson’s ‘What Dreams May Come’ – both novels deal with a bereaved husband who must deal wIth life after the loss of a beloved wife and must endure the horrors of the other world as a result. Having said this, these are two very different stories.
As always, the author’s prose flows, transporting the reader where danger lurks around every bend and the unexpected and frightening is always to be expected. In among the scares and darkness, The Lonely Lands also resonates with poignancy and it is that – along with the carefully drawn characterizations, that raise this book among so many of its contemporaries.
Ramsey Campbell is still not recognized for the genius writer that he is, in my opinion. Yes, he holds many awards and distinctions – including an Honorary Fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University – but still not enough readers have discovered his incredible gift for storytelling which transcends any specific genre. I hope The Lonely Lands will go some way towards redressing this. It deserves to.
The Lonely Lands is a book of quiet grief, of seeking answers when there aren’t any, and of the support of friends when the worst happen. It’s quietly affecting rather than particularly horrific, with - for me at least - more everyday horror in the pandemic echoes and mask arguments.
I appreciated more than enjoyed this book; I think I needed something different to what was on offer… I still feel a little sad a few days later.
Thank you to Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for the chance to read Ramsey Campbell's latest novel 'The Lonely Lands.'
I've been rereading some of Ramsey Campbell's older books over the past couple of years to it was great to get a brand new offering from this legendary writer.
Set mid-Covid-19 pandemic it involves the nearness of life and death and the proximity of the recently departed.
Joe Hunter is the main character in 'The Lonely Lands' who unexpectedly finds and marries the love of his life only for her to die as a result of being deliberately infected with the virus by a burglar. What follows is a nightmarish and unsettling series of encounters and 'adventures' in the real and shadow worlds (the lonely lands of the title, I presumed) where Joe tries to first find and then protect his beloved wife from the dangers therein. The description of this seemingly idealized place is really quite unsettling and disconcerting.
The characters are all on edge all of the time and it's conveyed really well through Campbell's writing of the dialogue. Classism is alive and well in Campbell's 2020s Britain and that's reflected in his parents-in-law's attitude to him and anything to do with him.
Just another great story from a horror great.
After the sad loss of his wife Olivia, Joe Hunter begins to hear her voice again, speaking to him from the other side. "I'm not alone." This chilling statement eventually draws him into the afterlife, a tenebrous place built by their dreams and memories. The more that Joe yearns to communicate with his lost love, the more he threatens the safety of the barrier separating the two worlds. He comes to realise that the afterlife is a world where darkness dwells and shadows lurk and the restless dead strive to return to that of the living.
I've been a fan of Ramsey Campbell's fiction since I first discovered him in the early 1990s. He has such a distinctly unique voice - he often manages to be both hilariously funny and bone-chillingly terrifying in the same sentence - and I'm pleased to report that in The Lonely Lands these magical qualities are still on display. This novel is set during the Covid pandemic, which adds an element of disturbing surreality, and this fact is not there just as a gimmick - the facemasks act as both an unsettling side detail and also an essential plot point. Poor old Joe is a sympathetic central character, and the novel is peppered with brilliantly-drawn, grotesque secondary characters. Campbell's style - always engaging - possesses a nebulous dreamlike quality, perfectly suited to the nightmarish plots he creates. The narrative jumps around the various timelines, deliberately wrongfooting the reader. I never find Campell's writing style easy to read, as his meaning is sometimes cleverly skewed by the characters' dialogue, but this is a good thing really because prose of this quality should be savoured, not skimmed over.
The Lonely Lands is yet another terrific horror novel from one of Britain's best authors.
3 stars
This book took me a lot longer than I would have liked, to finish. It’s not that it was boring, but it kind of dragged. The story was interesting enough but maybe would’ve been better as a novella.
Or maybe I wasn’t in the right frame of mind for it. I say give it a shot, some books are not for everyone.
When Joe Hunter was a boy his grandfather told him that if you think enough about someone who's died you can communicate with them. But to be careful not to think too hard or to dream about them because then you might bring them back, and the results could be bed. After his grandfather passes, Joe does, at times, find him returning when he thinks about him, even though Joe wishes he would just go away. When Joe's wife Olivia dies, he uses this trick to see her again, hearing her in this world and in his dreams, visiting her afterlife. But the more he connects with her, the more he becomes susceptible to bringing back other parted souls, and doing so may endanger Olivia.
This was a interesting concept and different take on hauntings and communicating with the afterlife. IT took awhile to figure out what was going on, but the story eventually smooths out. Though the plot varies from Joe's past to the present to his dream visit with his wife from chapter to chapter with no segue, which often made for some confusion. I liked it more than some of Campbell's more recent works, but did find it hard to keep up at times. 3.5/5 stars.
I love Campbell, and getting an ARC seemed like a treat. The Lonely Lands...it's not his typical book. It felt as if it was at a remove. Joe goes down a dark path through his dedication. I feel like this one is going to require a re-read in the future.
Thought this was very boring and was very close to a DNF. The story revolved around a grieving husband who was able to speak to his wife from beyond the grave, who died after somebody coughed on her (it is set in the Covid era). It has potential, but the interactions between Joe and his wife were so mundane and boring, half the time I forgot she was dead. Even though this was supposed to be supernatural, it was not remotely scary. Although Campbell has written some excellent fiction , in recent years his main characters are all almost identical, older argumentative men and I've become bored of them. There were a number of references to the excellent Searching Dead Trilogy and a cool character crossover, but it was not enough to save what was a dull novel.
Another great book by Campbell. I read most of what he puts out. I was preferring his older books, till this one came along. This reminded me of his older stuff. Grief, longing, death. PERFECT.