A Quokka Dreeds its Weird

The little English village of Dunstonholme has been the site of many strange tragedies, starting when a group of religious fanatics called the Children of Paul were involved in a massacre in 1300. It's now 1966, and the weird shit continues.

After a ship vanishes mysteriously, strange things start happening, and happening, and happening. Sheep go mad. Bulls go mad. People go mad. Something weird seems to be going on underground, and the bishop (who is either a mass murdering criminal smuggled into the role or a naive hippie, Blackburn seems to have forgotten to pick one) should probably not arrange a celebratory meeting for whatever lurks beneath the sod...

This book, while definitely a fun read, was a bit too similar to For Fear of Little Men to be a good one to read right after it, especially as the latter has more interesting/likable characters and a higher batshit quotient. I am not sure whether to add or subtract points for the reveal of the horror, which unlike many such reveals is not anticlimatic but worse than what I was imagining, but is also extremely gross and a particular brand of gross which I particularly dislike. I mean, effective, but YUCK.

However, the second chapter of Children of the Night is a deranged treat for horror fans and the high point of the book, so I recommend going to Amazon and reading it in the "read a sample." It's like a lost scene from a British version of Needful Things.

Spoilers! ( Read more... )