Bill Hussey

[Nollaig]

it's nowhere near as good as Roxi will manage,

 

Well PFFF to that! Not true! Oh, and it's grand that you changed the title, I meant to do that and forgot. ()

 

Also, I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who finds the characters unlikeable, other than Joe. After I loved the characters in TAG,D so much I was a little surprised, but in a way I think that's their selling point - they're not likeable people but you're still sorta morbidly fascinated by whats going to happen to them. I've less than 100 pages to go in this, so I'll probably have it finished today or tomorrow. I'm curious about the epilogue now!

 

Great review Michelle

 

Regarding TAG,D - it's not actually as grumesome as The Absence I don't think, it's still pretty.... original... in some of it's depictions, but throughout my reading of The Absence I've had a distinct feeling that he's really pushed just a litttle further. (ScarletBella, when you've read The Absence, you might offer your thoughts on this? I'm curious whether it's just me!) So, you might like TAG,D more in that respect Michelle. It's also more 'classically' supernatural, spells and rituals and so on. But it's an original take on those elements, so it works.

[Michelle]

Thanks for that Roxi - TAG,D is sounding more and more like something I'd like. I must battle through my review books first though.

 

I'm looking forward to see what both of you think about the epilogue.

[Fi.]

Oh, I'm itching to start The Absence now - still ploughing my way through The Birthing House though so my friend stops nagging me! Michelle, thanks for the review - 'twas very good and makes me want to read it right now

[Fi.]

Well, I'm about 35 pages into The Absence and so far I'm enjoying it. It is reading slightly differently to TAG,D but he definitely has a very distinctive writing style. Can't wait to see what he comes up with next

 

Will report back when I've finished the book!

[Nollaig]

I have thirty pages to go in it. His structuring is a lot the same. Plot, intermissions, big long rambles about life stories and town histories, sudden realisation of something we all should have realised about 50 pages ago and a fast paced dash around the place towards the end. It's great stuff.

[Nollaig]

Okay, I finally finished. I'm too tired to gather all my thoughts right now - I'll post them in review format when they're written.

 

Regarding the epilogue though, I thought it was great, because:

I thought Joe was going to stay behind in the mill, get his dad out instead. My first thought was, Joe SHOULD stay, because he's the one with the 'aspect of the demon' as it were. But he didn't,and I like that that had consequences.

 

[Michelle]

Bill has just contacted me through facebook, and he included the following:

Do pass on my best wishes to all at the wonderful Book Club Forum, especially RoxiS.C and ScarletBella!

[Fi.]

Oh wow, that's fantastic About halfway through The Absence now and thoroughly enjoying it, hoping to finish it by tomorrow.

[Nollaig]

Review of The Absence :

 

After the success that was Bill Hussey’s debut novel, Through A Glass, Darkly (TAGD), one might have wondered how exactly he might follow it up in this, his second offering.

 

His writing has developed and become more focused since his debut. Rather than taking a wholly supernatural spin on things, it emphasizes real guilt and the fears that people suffer. These are recreated by a supernatural force, creating immensely frightening scenarios from the sorts of everyday emotional conflicts everybody experiences. Possibly the best aspect of Hussey’s first novel was his ability to make the grey area between good and bad in his characters prominant, and he brings this to new depths in The Absence. Hussey explores alcoholism, suicide, the guilt inherent in the destruction of one’s own life, family or friend’s lives. The darker side of the Nightingale family is the focal point of the story, their secrets, their pasts, become the very things they fear the most. The story is layered with supernatural events and an ancient being at their roots, but the tools of it’s trade are natural human fears, expanded and realised in terrifying ways.

 

Several aspects of the novel reflect aspects found in TAGD. The most obvious is the initial return to the chilling setting of the Fens, the equivilant of settling (or unsettling!) into familiar territory and knowing you’re in for a treat. Additionally, it’s richly layered with character histories, ominous atmospheres, and interspersed with interludes which highlight realistic attention to detail; overall Hussey’s distinctive style has created yet another novel that’s pretty much impossible to put down. There is a constant, almost morbid fascination inspired in the reader, with the stories these characters have to tell, and a desire to learn the fate that awaits them. Several stories are gradually interwoven into a larger picture which culminates in a fast paced, aptly chilling ending.

 

Hussey’s style consists partially in an awareness that it’s often difficult to pin down a true villian, and in The Absence really explores the idea that there is no strict embodiment of good and evil, there are only fears and perspectives. All in all, while wrought of the same raw talent, the novel’s execution is arguably more concise and even a little sharper than it’s predecessor, a sure sign that Hussey is on the up and up.

 

9/10

[Michelle]

I'm now reading Through A Glass, Darkly, and I think it's brilliant so far. I read the scene with the scarecrow and the bridge last night, and I was actually a bit scared to turn out the light!

[Nollaig]

Told you it was better It's a superb book, and it gets better. The ending is amazing.

 

I must reread it actually.

[Michelle]

I've just realised I didn't add my review of Through a Glass, Darkly...

On the surface, there is a detective story. Jack is an Inspector, investigating a disappearance of a young man. Layered underneath this, however, there is so much more to discover.Jack himself is plagued by demons which have taken up residence inside him. He has managed some control, but they still have their effects over him, making him into a rather complex and intriguing character. This idea of having demons able to live inside was a fascinating idea, something I hadn’t really come across before, and the author tells it in a way that makes it believeable.

 

The tale of evil in the book is an epic one, going back over many years. The various strands of the tale allow us to explore this evil in it’s various guises, from folklore to modern time. It’s an evil which can be gruesome and gory, but also subtle and convincing.

 

The setting for the book is a all well described, and it all creeps into your imagination. There are classic scenes such as moving scarecrows, disgusting bug scenes, and also new ideas, such as The Library, where old stories can be told..

 

Quite simply, this book has managed to restore my faith in the horror genre.. although it provides it’s share of gruesome scary scenes, there is also a lot of depth to explore. The characters are complex and well written, instead of being there simply to prop up the general story, and I found myself invested in them.

 

For those not used to horror, this isn’t the place to start. For those who do, however, it’s an absolute must read!

 

[dawnbirduk]

Thanks for this, it is much too much, another one on my TBR list