adamlgnevill

Elements of Crime interview

2012-02-10T05:07:00.000-08:00

I've been chewing over the meat and grease of horror with the Elements of Crime website in Germany. English translation included. Just follow the enclosed link in the title.

2012-02-05T03:22:00.000-08:00

Ahead of my very first US edition, published this month by St Martins, I want to thank my peers in modern horror, David Moody and Jonathan Maberry for these stella words on The Ritual:

"The Ritual is a book which preys on our most basic, instinctive fears, then amplifies them ten-fold. A desperate, intense descent into the depths of somewhere unimaginably ancient and unspeakably evil. Nevill's skill here is undoubted. Brutal, blood-soaked and never predictable, The Ritual is a stark reminder both of what it takes to survive, and what it means to be alive." - David Moody, author Hater, Dogs Blood, the Autumn series.

"The Ritual by Adam Nevill is a mind-twisting journey into the dark backwoods of terror. Deeply disturbing and absolutely riveting." --Jonathan Maberry, NY Times Bestselling author of DEAD OF NIGHT and THE KING OF PLAGUES

Here's hoping the weird tale's special friendship between the US and UK continues to be mutually inspirational!

Apartment 16 coming soon to Germany

2012-02-05T03:11:00.000-08:00

Heyne in Germany are publishing Apartment 16 in April, hot on the hooves of The Ritual, which they published in 2011. Here's the German cover for A16.

Walk into Mordor review The Ritual

2012-02-05T03:07:00.000-08:00

"The final part of the novel came as a real surprise–to other readers as well, from what I’ve heard. The book shifts from a horror story to a supernatural thriller and back again in what was, to me at least, an utterly unpredictable turn of events. I won’t go further for fear of spoiling the ending for you, suffice to say that I thought the final part blew away any illusion of predictability."

Victor Stanciu, I shake my Billy Goat Gruff beard in thanks.

Please follow the enclosed link for the full review.

Stampede of Hooves, Flurry of Reviews - The Ritual

2012-02-05T03:01:00.000-08:00

Ahead of The Ritual's publication in the US this month, by St Martins, Harriet Klausner writes:

"Think of Deliverance and an adult coming of age Lord of the Flies in a stark setting to comprehend this exhilarating thriller."

For which I canter on my small white hooves in thanks.

For the full Genre Go Round review follow the enclosed link.

New Apartment 16 Review

2012-02-05T02:57:00.000-08:00

Just when I thought that door on that novel had closed, Ren Zelen over at epublisha.com gives a detailed and thoughtful review of Apartment 16 here. Nice to know the vortex is still circling in some imaginations.

http://www.epublishabook.com/2011/11/03/book-review-%E2%80%98apartment-16%E2%80%99-by-adam-nevill/#axzz1lVHOdRVp

Good Reads giveaway of The Ritual US Edition - 40 copies!!!

2012-01-06T10:33:00.000-08:00

Over at Good Reads, the US publisher (St Martins) of The Ritual is giving away advance copies of the book to US readers. Get in there! No eye gouging or biting allowed ...

Follow the link enclosed in the title

Part 3 of my interview with Read Horror

2012-01-06T10:29:00.000-08:00

Everything I do becomes a novel. I get asked for an interview and it goes into three parts because I'm such a windbag. Best to never ask me anything about stuff I'm passionate about! Anyway, follow the link to a few of my musings on becoming a writer, belief and the supernatural, the notion of originality, and more.

The Ritual up for award

2011-12-29T03:04:00.000-08:00

It appears The Ritual is also up for an award over at This is Horror. Flattered and I appreciate being short-listed! The categories are all open to votes from the reading public.

This is Horror Event Awards

2011-12-24T03:11:00.000-08:00

This Is Horror have an 'Event of the Year' Award, and it's pleasing to see the Twisted Tales event: An Evening of Occult Horror, that I took part in with Ramsey Campbell, is up for an award:

http://www.thisishorror.co.uk/this-is-horror-awards-2011/

There's also a review of the event on their site:

http://www.thisishorror.co.uk/read-horror/event-reviews/twisted-tales-adam-nevill-and-ramsey-campbell/

Publishers Weekly review of The Ritual

2011-12-17T03:13:00.000-08:00

“And on the second day things did not get better.” This suitably foreboding opening sentence sets the stage for a dark and mesmerizing horror debut that riffs on Algernon Blackwood’s classic story “The Wendigo.” Hutch, Luke, Dom, and Phil set off on a camping trip in the forests of Sweden, only to find the woods hostile to their explorations. Tensions arise when it becomes clear that two of the party aren’t physically up to the challenges of navigating the rough terrain, and fears set in with the discovery of an eviscerated “thing” hanging higher up in a tree then any animal would place it. Nevill makes the natural world deeply menacing, using the power of suggestion rather than explicit images to create a growing claustrophobic feeling as the difficult journey to return to some semblance of civilization embeds the quartet only further in the grasp of primal evil." Agent: John Jarrold. (Feb.)

I'm absolutely thrilled with the cover too

Read Horror - Part Two of my interview.

2011-12-13T09:47:00.000-08:00

Taking in violence, gore in horror, horror films, how I approached all four novels, The Ritual as an experiment, writing to deadlines and other macabre matters. Follow the link.

Адам Нэвилл Номер 16 - Russian Edition of Apartment 16

2011-11-29T08:16:00.000-08:00

I've recently received two kind emails about Apartment 16 from appreciative readers in Russia. Thematically there is an actual Russian link to this story. Notes from the Underground by Russia's own Fyodor Dostoevsky was one of my inpsirations for the novel. Part of me would never rest until I wrote a tortuous outsider novel. I made it my second horror novel so that my entire life wasn't spent in angst and dissatisfaction. Here's how we look in Russia.

Interview with Read Horror - Part 1

2011-11-18T06:35:00.000-08:00

Part 1 of my interview with Read Horror is up and capering. Just follow the enclosed link in the title line.

On the Road - Photos from Recent Events - Runcorn, Liverpool, Warwick and London

2011-11-13T02:33:00.000-08:00

My trip north was only made up of highlights (even the train journeys were pleasant). Every ticket for the Twisted Tales Occult Horror evening at Runcorn was snapped up, at Waterstones Liverpool One we had another good crowd, and the Halloween Horror night at Warwick Arts Centre attracted at least 50 people on a Monday night.

One of the best aspects of doing literary events is meeting other writers and enthusiasts of the genre, and I was in great company mingling with Ramsey Campbell in Runcorn, Nicholas Royle and Lisa Tuttle in Liverpool, Gary McMahon and David Moody in Warwick, Mark Charan Newton and Adrian Tchaikovsky in London's Forbidden Planet

Here are some pics from the events:

A frightful visage reading the attic scene from The Ritual. Who can say what was more disturbing: the reader or the reading.

Living legend Ramsey Campbell reading the derelict cinema scene from Grin of the Dark.

A couch of fiends; that's David McWilliam and Glyn Morgan of Twisted Tales shifting uncomfortably between me and Ramsey. Runcorn photos courtesy of Hadfield Photography.

Liverpool One, Waterstones. The cult of Horror - Lisa Tuttle flanked by shaven and uniformed adepts, Nicholas Royle and me.

Many thanks to David and Glyn: enthusiasts, perfect hosts, scholars and gentlemen who know how to put on a terrific event.

Here's Warwick Arts Centre, that hosted the Halloween Horror Event organised by Michael Wilson of Read Horror. I thought we were truly spoiled by the lights and sound here. The lecture hall faded to darkness save a spotlight on each of the readers at the lectern, and we had a PA and even a sound check! Nor did we have to support a puppet show.

Reading the Fritidhus dream sequence from The Ritual.

David Moody reading an undead apocalypse short story originally written for SFX magazine.

Gary McMahon reading a short story from his new Grey Friar collection, It Knows Where You Live.

Michael Wilson introducing us

Their suffering was legendary ...

A murder of crows from a new wave of British horror.

Before our mournful voices rose to the rafters.

David Moody imparts valuable advice on going it alone as a writer/publisher/film-maker, his option with Guillermo del Toro, and how to survive the imminent rise of the dead ...

Good picture of Gary here during his Q&A

Displaying our wears ...

Many thanks to Warwick Arts Centre and Michael Wilson of Read Horror for putting on such a well-produced and well-attended event.

Forbidden Planet dappled in unseasonal sunshine. In the basement, I joined a signing with Pan Macmillan label mates, Mark Charan Newton and Adrian Tchaikovsky.

Mark in the centre, Adrian on the right.

A stack of wonder and dread ...

A table of pain, sweat, hope, fear and confirmation ...

Defenders of the faith: Jared and Anne of Pornokitsch

Thanks to Dani for setting up the signing!

Im Tiefen Wald

2011-10-21T09:05:00.000-07:00

The Ritual is published in German by Heyne this month, in a beautiful big trade paperback (with glossy flaps and an author photo). Curiously, it's nearly one hundred pages longer than the UK edition in the same B format with the same font size. I love the cover too.

Apartamento 16 Book Trailer

2011-10-21T08:08:00.000-07:00

The Spanish publisher of Apartment 16, Minotauro, have produced a very creepy book trailer to coincide with the Spanish publication of the novel, Apartamento 16. It can be viewed here:

http://www.planetadelibros.com/apartamento-16-libro-51106.html

And here is the cover:

Speculative Book Review

2011-10-21T08:05:00.000-07:00

Really positive review by Yagiz of the Between Two Books blog, has been posted on the Speculative Book Review site:

http://speculativebookreview.blogspot.com/2011/10/review-ritual-by-adam-nevill.html

I clatter my small white hooves in thanks!

FANTASYCON 2011, THAT THING ON THE SHORE

2011-10-06T13:20:00.000-07:00

Not long back from my eighth consecutive Fantasycon, and my personal favourite of the eight marvellous Fantasycon conventions (organised by the British Fantasy Society). Like World Horror Con in 2010, at the same venue in Brighton (Royal Albion), this one went vertical. The attendance was at record levels (in an economic downturn), which meant there was a good crowd attending just about everything in the programme – launches, panels, master classes, interviews, films, raffles, awards. There was a Forbidden Planet store and a dealers Room for book buying (I treated myself to Tartarus’s Strangers and Pilgrims, a definitive weird tale collection by Walter del la Mare, that I have been circling for some time) and more socialising than you could shake a cocktail at. Even the horror panel I sat on, at 11pm on Saturday night, which went up against the disco and burlesque, didn’t have an empty seat showing. In fact, people stood at the back and sat on the floor until midnight. There was appetite and enthusiasm in spades.

The special guests this weekend were, as ever, first rate – John Ajvide Lindqvist, Brian Aldiss, Peter Atkins, Gwyneth Jones, Joe Abercrombie, Christopher Paolini – and the mistress of ceremonies, Sarah Pinborough, was on fire. And what really stood out for me at Fantasycon this year, was the turnout from major London publishing. We’re nearly all writers, artists, small publishers, or a part of the review community attending Fantasycon, so to have key publishing professionals in commissioning roles attending – Quercus and the new Jo Fletcher imprint, Orbit, Gollansz, Transworld, Hodder – was monumental. The generous spirits, the collegiate atmosphere, the geniality, the dedicated small presses and mid size series publishers, that we count upon as a Fantasycon signature, was finally augmented by the attendance of so many big international publishers. It was an EVENT.

Bit of background on my association, which I think is a not uncommon experience for new and aspiring writers who discover and take a chance on the BFS. I used to live in a genre writer vacuum. In fact, I think I only knew Mark Samuels pre 2004, through the London Adventure and Fitzroy Societies. Besides the other students on a creative writing masters in 97/98, I didn’t know any writers who lived to write. But when Banquet for the Damned was published in 2004, Ramsey Campbell and Peter Crowther, who brought me into print as a horror writer, encouraged me by email to attend Fantasycon. I imagined Klingon masks and Federation uniforms. Instead, I walked through the front door of a hotel in Walsall, knowing no one beyond a little correspondence, and inched into a hotel lounge packed with people I’d read and admired for years. Literally a Who’s Who. I’d come home. I genuinely feel my association and participation ever since has been a privilege.

Mentioning my involvement in the BFS, or my long weekends at Fantasycon, to the uninitiated often produces a snigger or an attempt at ridicule (but that’s soon fixed by a chair brought down over a head … only kidding), but I don’t really care. If you are serious about writing genre fiction, you would have failed to have been in Disneyland at this year’s Fantasycon. You might not walk away with a book deal (though you may well come away with an invitation to write a short story for a small press anthology), but you’ll come away wiser, better informed, eager to write with a spring in your step, in possession of a coven of new friends who are still friends years later, confirmed, comforted, sleep deprived and hung-over …

Here’s a few pics:

Royal Albion hotel, Brighton. That Thing on the Shore (apologies to Tom Fletcher!)

Steve Mosby and Tom Fletcher.

Will Hill and Gary McMahon

Guy Adams

Christopher Fowler

Stephen Volk and Conrad Williams

Peter Crowther and Mark Morris

Rio Youers

Tim Lebbon

Quentin Crisp and Joseph D'Lacey

Clive Nevill and Peter Mark May

Joseph D'Lacey (again, but check out the shirt)

Sarah Pinborough

Clive Nevill, Tim Lebbon, Guy Adams, Catherine Rogers, Robert Shearman, Stephen Volk

Simon Bestwick (seated) at the GUTSHOT launch

Christopher Priest interviewing Brian Aldiss

Solaris showcase/party

As the Salvation Army used to sing, Come and join us!

TWISTED TALES INTERVIEW

2011-10-06T12:30:00.000-07:00

I have a new online interview up and prancing over at the Twisted Tales website. Twisted Tales is a cracking outfit in terms of its intelligent and informed dedication to horror fiction and its exceptional live events. I'm also delighted to be collaborating with Twisted Tales on two of their forthcoming literary horror evenings in Liverpool and Runcorn (please see previous posts). So if you can withstand any more of my braying about the unworldly, then please click on the enclosed link. This interview has an emphasis on the role of the supernatural within fiction, the enduring appeal of the haunted house story, and the occult/ritual magic in my books.

I thank you again for your interest in advance. It's one of my favourite online sites, so do consider signing up to follow the Twisted Tales Blog.

The Ritual Optioned by Stillking Films - JJLA press release

2011-09-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

Film option deal for Adam Nevill’s horror novel THE RITUAL

Stillking Films have optioned Adam Nevill’s horror novel THE RITUAL. Published in the U.K. in 2011 by Macmillan UK, the book will be published in the U.S. by St Martin’s Press in 2012.

The novel is a contemporary horror tale that follows four men hiking in the northern European forests and the hellish things they discover there…

The deal was brokered by the Gotham Group in Los Angeles, representing the John Jarrold Literary Agency. Stillking Films have produced many major films including CASINO ROYALE, THE ILLUSIONIST, FROM HELL and THE BOURNE IDENTITY.

2011-09-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

The b format mass market edition of The Ritual has hit the shelves in some stores, including ASDA; getting stocked in a supermarket is a first for me and quite a breakout from the last two novels.

This edition features the same cover artwork as the trade paperback, though with shout lines from SFX, The Guardian and The Sunday Times.

ON THE ROAD PART 5: HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHT, WARWICK ARTS CENTRE

2011-09-27T05:23:00.000-07:00

I'll be joining two peers in what could be a new wave of British Horror writing, David Moody and Gary McMahon for Halloween readings in Warwick.

Mon 31 Oct 2011 7.15pm

This event is suitable for mature audiences only.

An evening of terror, with three of Britain’s best contemporary horror writers, to celebrate Halloween, featuring literary horrorist Gary McMahon, self-publishing zombie-writer phenomenon David Moody and spiritual terrifier Adam L G Nevill. Each writer will share a terrifying story and talk about their writing and careers.

Gary McMahon is the author of Hungry Hearts, Pretty Little dead Things, Dead Bad Things and The Concrete Grove.

“Firmly in the front ranks of the new wave of British horror.” The Guardian

http://www.garymcmahon.com/

David Moody has an unhealthy fascination with the end of the world. Autumn, the first of his Last of the Living zombie series, was an early internet breakthrough phenomenon, garnering half a million downloads.

http://www.djmoody.co.uk/

Adam L G Nevill is a writer of supernatural horror. His books include The Ritual, Apartment 16 and Banquet of the Damned.

“A demonstration of what the field of horror is capable of at its very best.” Black Static

The event will be chaired by Warwick Writing Programme graduate and up-an-coming horror critic and writer, Michael D Wilson.

ON THE ROAD PART 4: FORBIDDEN PLANET

2011-09-27T05:01:00.000-07:00

I'm part of a triple signing at Forbidden Planet, Shaftsbury Avenue, London, on Sunday 15th October, with two fine writers and gentlemen: Mark Charan Newton and Adrian Tchaikovsky. I'll be signing copies of The Ritual (but anything else you want signed too) Swing by!

Saturday 15 October 2011 13:00 - 14:00

London Megastore179 Shaftesbury Avenue London WC2H 8JR

MARK CHARAN NEWTON was born in 1981, and holds a degree in Environmental Science. After working in bookselling, he moved into editorial positions at imprints covering film and media tie-in fiction, and later, science fiction and fantasy. He lives and works in Nottingham.

Mark will be signing the third book in the sensational RED SUN series, THE BOOK OF TRANSFORMATIONS.

ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY studied psychology and zoology at Reading. He subsequently ended up in law and has worked as a legal executive in both Reading and Leeds, where he now lives. Married, he’s a keen live role-player and occasional amateur actor, has trained in stage-fighting, and keeps no exotic pets of any kind, possibly excepting his son.

Adrian will be signing the new paperback of the seventh book in the SHADOWS OF THE APT series, HEIRS OF THE BLADE.

ON THE ROAD PART 3: TWISTED TALES HOUSE OF FEAR EVENT - LIVERPOOL

2011-09-27T04:41:00.001-07:00

I've signed up to take part in a second Twisted Tales event in late October. This will follow the night of occult horror with Ramsey Campbell and John Reppion in Runcorn. Enclosed link will take you to the Twisted Tales website. Here's hoping I can meet a few more fans of horror at these events.

LAST DAYS - MY NEW NOVEL, COVER ARTWORK.

2011-09-27T04:18:00.000-07:00

Pan Macmillan have done me proud again with a superb cover for my new novel. Last Days is slated for publication in trade paperback in May 2012, with a mass market release in time for Halloween in October 2012. This time around, we have a red theme, and the visuals and overall aesthetic of the artwork really captures the spirit of the story and its locations with an uncanny accuracy ...

Only thing that may be subject to change is the shout line as there are two versions clawing at the cellar door right now.

2011-09-21T04:32:00.000-07:00

I'll be attending the House of Fear book launch at Foyles, and then the after party at the Phoenix. Lisa Tuttle, Sarah Pinborough and Christopher Priest are doing a panel, chaired by Jon Oliver in Foyles book shop. This is a free event and many of the contributing authors will be attending too. If you're within reach, swing by.

Time: 27 September · 18:30 - 21:30
Location: Foyle's Bookshop
113-119 Charring Cross Road
London, United Kingdom

House of Fear is an anthology of haunted house stories featuring terrifying tales by nineteen scribes of terror: Lisa Tuttle, Stephen Volk, Terry Lamsley, Adam L.G. Nevill, Weston Ochse, Rebecca Levene, Garry Kilworth, Chaz Brenchley, Robert Shearman, Nina Allan, Christopher Fowler, Sarah Pinborough, Paul Meloy, Christopher Priest, Jonathan Green, Nicholas Royle, Eric Brown, Tim Lebbon and Joe R. Lansdale.

This is a ticketed event. Tickets are free and can be attained through the following link: http://www.foyles.co.uk/Public/Events/Detail.aspx?eventId=1281

Terror Tales of the Lake District

2011-09-18T09:34:00.000-07:00

I have a new short story in Terror Tales of the Lake District, a themed collection of supernatural horror, published this weekend by Gray Friar Press. Once again, I am in robust company. Edited by Paul Finch, the anthology contains the following stories:

Little Mag’s Barrow by Adam L.G. Nevill

The Evil Clown of Muncaster

The Coniston Star Mystery by Simon Clark

The Croglin Vampire

Devils of Lakeland by Paul Finch

The Mumps Hall Murders

The Moraine by Simon Bestwick

The Tawny Boy

The Claife Crier by Carole Johnstone

The Monster of Renwick

Jewels in the Dust by Peter Crowther

The Devil’s Hole

Above The World by Ramsey Campbell

Nightmares of Burnmoor

The Jilted Bride of Windermere by Gary Fry

The Horror at Carlisle Castle

Walk the Last Mile by Steve Savile

The Poltergeist of Walla Crag

Framed by Peter Bell

Fiend’s Fell

Night of the Crone by Anna Taborska

The Tortured Souls of Lord’s Rake

Along Life’s Trail by Gary McMahon

The Black Hound of Shap

Striding Edge by Reggie Oliver

My interview with Ramsey Campbell at Twisted tales

2011-09-12T07:16:00.000-07:00

I recently had the privilege of interviewing one of my favourite writers, Ramsey Campbell. It's posted today over at Twisted Tales (follow enclosed link in the title). On a personal note, Ramsey first brought me into print as a horror writer, in the Harper Collins Voyager collection Gathering the Bones, published in 2003. He also recommended I send my first novel - Banquet for the Damned - to PS Publishing that same year. The rest is history.

I'm doing an occult horror fiction event in late October with Ramsey Campbell and John Reppion, organised by Twisted Tales. More details soon.

The Oxford Companion to English Literature describes Ramsey Campbell as “Britain’s most respected living horror writer”. He has been given more awards than any other writer in the field, including the Grand Master Award of the World Horror Convention, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Horror Writers Association and the Living Legend Award of the International Horror Guild. Among his novels are The Face That Must Die, Incarnate, Midnight Sun, The Count of Eleven, Silent Children, The Darkest Part of the Woods, The Overnight, Secret Story, The Grin of the Dark, Thieving Fear, Creatures of the Pool, The Seven Days of Cain and Ghosts Know. Forthcoming is The Kind Folk. His collections include Waking Nightmares, Alone with the Horrors, Ghosts and Grisly Things, Told by the Dead and Just Behind You, and his non-fiction is collected as Ramsey Campbell, Probably. His novels The Nameless and Pact of the Fathers have been filmed in Spain. His regular columns appear in Prism, All Hallows, Dead Reckonings and Video Watchdog. He is the President of the British Fantasy Society and of the Society of Fantastic Films.

On the Road Part 2

2011-09-11T04:43:00.000-07:00

I'll be taking part in an evening of Occult Horror at Halton Lea Library, Runcorn, with Ramsey Campbell and John Reppion (details below). It's a free event organised by Twisted Tales (click on enclosed link). As a prelude to the night, I'll be interviewing Ramsey Campbell for the Twisted Tales website, and Twisted Tales will be interviewing me.

On the Road Part 1

2011-09-10T04:22:00.000-07:00

I'll be attending this year's Fantasycon convention in Brighton. My eighth year running. It's a long weekend of panels on genre, interviews with special guests, book launches, readings, films, signings, raffles, awards, and tipsy shenanigans (most of which I take part in). If you are a fan of horror, sci fi and fantasy you will be amongst friends. It's also the best opportunity I know of to meet writers and artists. Check the enclosed link for the guests and schedule.

Vintage Ghost Stories discussion at Pornokitsch

2011-09-09T04:01:00.000-07:00

I'm taking part in Pornokitsch's Friday Five feature today. Topic: Vintage Ghost Stories. It's a great website so swing by with your favourite stories and writers, or comments. We're selecting from pre WW2 stories. Come prepared with your preferred ghosts.

Gutshot - Now available in limited edition

2011-09-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

I have a new short story published today in the PS Publishing Collection, Gutshot: Weird West Stories. In fact, my contribution is a long short story at 10K words - What God Hath Wrought? - and features my interpretation of the western genre crossed with supernatural horror. The collection is edited by my good friend and the author of One and The Unblemished, Conrad Williams.

http://www.pspublishing.co.uk/gutshot-signed-jhc-edited-by-conrad-williams-1045-p.asp

I'm in august company. It's an honour to ride alongside all of these hombres, but had you told me ten years ago I would be in a collection of short fiction with Michael Moorcock, I'd have considered you a peddler of false charms and snake oil. Here's the full cast of my fellow outlaws in this posse of weird fiction:

Passage by Alan Peter Ryan

The Black Rider by James Lovegrove

The Alabaster Child by Cat Sparks

The Ghost Warriors by Michael Moorcock

Blue Norther by Zander Shaw

In the Sand Hills by Thomas Tessier

White Butterflies by Stephen Volk

El Camino de Rojo by Gary McMahon

The Bones that Walk by Joe R Lansdale

Ghosts by Amanda Hemingway

The Boy Thug by Christopher Fowler

Kiss the Wolf by Simon Bestwick

Waiting for the Bullet by Mark Morris

Carrion Cowboy by Paul Meloy

Some Kind of Light Shines from Your Face

Splinters by Peter Crowther and Rio Youers

All Our Hearts are Ghosts by Peter Atkins

Beasts of Burden by Sarah Langan

What God Hath Wrought? by Adam Nevill

Those Who Remember by Joel Lane

The Sunday Times Reviews The Ritual

2011-07-17T02:01:00.000-07:00

"Often horror loses its power when the evil is given a face: in this case, it only gets more disturbing"

Alison Flood, The Sunday Times

Spoiled by Porno

2011-07-15T10:45:00.000-07:00

With Apartment 16 making the shortlist in the BFS Best Novel category this year, Pornokitsch spoil me with a second review in as many weeks. This section I liked so much, I'm quoting it:

"It scared the bejeezus out of me. Fear isn't merely the oldest and strongest emotion of mankind, it is also the most personal. From the flickering almost-shadows to the ghastly, filthy paintings to the cackling, squirming cast to Weird and alien entities to the piles of magnificently unsettling clutter, I found every touch in Apartment 16 to be utterly chilling. I won't thank Mr. Nevill for the sleepless nights, but I enjoyed the book that caused them."

Particularly as this review follows an outright condemnation from a Jackie Collins fan on Amazon, who deserves to be pulled apart by clowns with china faces ...

Horrornews.net review The Ritual

2011-07-12T10:16:00.000-07:00

Really terrific review from Todd Martin over at Horronet for The Ritual. "I honestly can't think of anything negative to say about it". Not often I hear that.. If Carlsberg made book reviewers, it would be this guy. My old bones stir the leaves in thanks.

http://horrornews.net/36801/book-review-the-ritual-author-adam-nevill/

On another note, it's a great site for horror news. I often wander in there and realise an hour has past.

New Ritual Review

2011-07-09T04:22:00.001-07:00

A new and nicely written review over at Pornokitsch!

"Mr. Nevill proves - twice - with The Ritual that he's at the top of his class for modern horror writers. He has the rare ability to craft a nebulous atmosphere of terror, as well as to capture cinematic slasherpunk in the written word. Both are incredibly rare talents."

Countdown to House of Fear from Solaris

2011-07-05T07:44:00.000-07:00

I have a haunted house short story, Florrie, in the forthcoming House of Fear collection from Solaris, which looks toothsome. I'm pretty darn keen to read all of the stories, and particularly looking forward to a new story from Terry Lamsley and a horror story from Eric Brown. Here is the fill list of the contributors:

Objects in Dreams may be Closer than they Appear - Lisa Tuttle
Pied-a-terre - Stephen Volk
In The Absence of Murdock - Terry Lamsley
Florrie - Adam L.G. Nevill
Driving The Milky Way - Weston Ochse
The Windmill - Rebecca Levene
Moretta - Garry Kilworth
Hortus Conclusus - Chaz Brenchley
The Dark Space in The House in The House in The Garden at The Centre of The
World - Robert Shearman
The Muse of Copenhagen - Nina Allan
An Injustice - Christopher Fowler
The Room Upstairs - Sarah Pinborough
Villanova - Paul Meloy
Widow's Weeds - Christopher Priest
The Doll's House - Jonathan Green
Inside/Out - Nicholas Royle
The House - Eric Brown
Trick of The Light - Tim Lebbon
What Happened to Me - Joe R. Lansdale

Read more at the Solaris website: http://solaris-editors-blog.blogspot.com/

London Film & Comic Con 2011 - Signing

2011-07-01T07:41:00.000-07:00

I'll be signing books next Sunday, 10th July, at Comic Con from 2pm onwards. Extensive genre guestlist, including Clive Barker and actors from Battlestar Galactica through to Star Wars.

EVENT DETAILS:
Date: Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th July 2011
Venue: Earls Court Two, London, SW5 9TA
Admission: Early admission £12, Standard Entry £6, Children (12 and under) £3. Family and weekend tickets also available.
Open: Saturday 9am to 6pm, Sunday 9am to 5pm (standard entry from 11am both days)
Website: http://www.londonfilmandcomiccon.com
E-mail: info@showmastersonline.com
Telephone: Office: 01908 671138

Banquet for the Damned - Hardback Edition

2011-06-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

My first publisher, the mighty PS, have an offer on the hardback limited edition of Banquet for the Damned, which is now all but out of print in the mass market edition. It has beautiful specs, Les Edwards cover artwork, a Ramsey Campbell introduction and is a handsome volume I still pick up and covet as I pass that book shelf.

http://www.pspublishing.co.uk/banquet-for-the-damned-signed-sc-by-adam-nevill-903-p.asp

Ginger Nuts of Horror Interview

2011-06-13T04:57:00.000-07:00

I chew the fat, meat and gristle with Jim McLeod over at Ginger Nuts of Horror. Heroes, regrets, royalty, lessons learned, publishing, rejection and witchcraft ... we get it all in. Bring it!

Alt Fiction 2011 - 25th & 26th Derby

2011-06-11T07:22:00.000-07:00

I'll be at Alt Fiction June 25th and 26th. A fantastic event, celebration, investigation, and wallowing in sci fi, fantasy and horror. Panels (I'm on two of the horror fiction panels), comps, films, workshops, special guests, readings (I'm doing one), and much good company in the bar awaits ya'll.

Ticketing info can be found here:
http://www.derbyquad.co.uk/altfiction

The weekend schedule is right here:
http://altfiction.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/AFSchedule2.pdf

British Fantasy Society Open Night - at Mr Muggs, London Bridge, June 2011

2011-06-11T07:17:00.000-07:00

A few snaps here from the terrific BFS Open Night this month where writers, editors, small press publishers, collectors and readers gathered. I believe I have only missed one of these events since 2004 - they're that good! For information on joining and future events see: www.britishfantasysociety.org.uk

Simon Marshall Jones and Marie O'Regan

Sarah Pinborough and Joe Hill

Paul Kane

Louise Morgan and Will Hill

Martin Roberts

Esther Sherman and John Forth

Quentin Crisp

Joseph D'Lacey

Les Edwards and Mark Samuels

Frazer Lee

Jospeh D'Lacey, Me and Frazer lee

Brendan "The Collector"

Johnny Mains and Steve Jones

Martin Roberts and Helen Hopley (hosts and organisers)

The Ritual makes Adult Book of the Month at Fantasy Book Review

2011-06-05T06:41:00.000-07:00

My small white claws scratch the air with delight at "The Ritual" making Adult Book of the Month over at Fantasy Book Review ...

New interview at Spooky Reads

2011-06-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

Why situation and circumstances in the story created the writing style of The Ritual, the seed the story grew from, notions on settings for supernatural horror, thoughts on violence and physical horror in fiction, musings on digital publishing, a discussion of instability and decay, a consideration of horror's future, are over at Spooky Reads where I chew the fat with Will Morrison

http://spooky-reads.com/author-interview-adam-nevill/#more-863

Vive le France!

2011-06-03T04:43:00.000-07:00

Appartement 16 is out in France, published by Bragelonne.

http://www.bragelonne.fr/livre.php?num_isbn=9782352944645

Terrific cover that looks uncannily like a building I used to work in ...

Apple i-Bookstore showcases The Ritual

2011-06-02T05:11:00.000-07:00

For one week, the Apple i-Bookstore homepage will look like this:

The Ritual Audio Book

2011-06-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

The Ritual in an unabridged audio book format is now available; read by David Thorpe who did such an excellent job with Apartment 16 in this medium.

So tonight's entertainment is sorted for the household. It's the most curious thing to hear your work read aloud by someone else, but pretty amazing when it's a trained actor. And it's the only time my use of expletives makes me wince.

http://www.audible.co.uk/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B0052UXF6O&qid=1306944933&sr=1-1

Black cats know their stuff

2011-05-25T06:23:00.000-07:00

Here's photographic proof of a little known fact from the animal kingdom: 9 out of 10 cats prefer Apartment 16. Two friends of mine, Brian and Caz, kindly sent me these pics.

News of the World and David Moody

2011-05-24T04:27:00.000-07:00

Another surprise review for The Ritual came through at the weekend, this time in The News of the World. They called the book "blood-curdling mayhem". I'll buy that for a dollar.

Another eminent writer from this new wave of British horror that is determined to emerge - so let it rise - the mighty David Moody, and author of Hater, Dog Blood and the Autumn series, has not only said some very kind things about The Ritual on his blog, but also written blurb for the US edition published in June 2012. As has Jonathan Maeberry of Patient Zero/Joe Ledger fame.

http://www.djmoody.co.uk/2011/05/24/summer-holiday-reading-the-ritual-by-adam-nevill/

I raise my grizzled head, open my opaque eyes and thank them all.

Embassytown Book Launch - Shoreditch, London

2011-05-16T10:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a few photos from the launch of China Mieville 's new novel Embassytown. A great party in Shoreditch of which I came away with only three photos; the others were lost in a spectral murk because I hadn't switched the flash on. Dufus alert. I still don't know how the camera wasn't smashed under foot in retribution (particularly as I never switched the flash off). It still might be; it has been told. I've a history of turning recalcitrant mobile phones and PC mouses into fragments. Anyway, enough of my blather, here are the beautiful and talented people I managed to capture:

Conrad Williams and China

Chloe Healy of Pan Mac and yours truly

John Berlyne of Zeno, Chloe Healy, Mathew Riley of Book Swarm

The Ritual reviewed at Graeme's Fantasy Book Review

2011-05-16T09:28:00.000-07:00

Very detailed and thoughtful review over ar Graeme's Fantasy Book Review pages:

"The Ritual’ didn’t just stop at sending a shiver down my spine, carrying on past that to leave me feeling all unsettled and resolved to stay away from large unexplored woods. A horror novel that leaves you feeling melancholy and thoughtful (as well as just plain scared); Nevill is rapidly cementing his position as an author worth watching."

I raise my small white claws in thanks ...

http://www.graemesfantasybookreview.com/2011/05/ritual-adam-nevil-pan-macmillan.html

Interview in The Herald

2011-05-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

Teddy Jamieson of The Herald and Sunday Herald interviews me over at:

http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts-ents/book-features/journey-into-unknown-1.1100170

Find out all about dead sheep hanging from trees!

Two more reviews for The Ritual

2011-05-09T08:27:00.000-07:00

A couple of crackers here from LEC Book Reviews and Spooky Reads. Many thanks to the reviewers for their time and their words.

http://www.lecbookreviews.com/2011/05/ritual-by-adam-nevill.html

"Pleasantly dark and ominous, The Ritual is the potential delight of any who like a good scare. Adam Nevill allies a compelling horror narrative to strong characters thrown into a starkly illustrated and frightening setting to achieve one of the singularly best reading experiences I’ve encountered." [LEC Book Reviews]

http://spooky-reads.com/the-ritual-by-adam-nevill/

Two more reviews for The Ritual, including one in The Guardian

2011-05-07T05:59:00.000-07:00

My first ever broadsheet review is in today's Guardian. Unexpected and a wonderful surprise, particularly as the reviewer is the writer Eric Brown, of Engine Man and The Kings of Eternity fame. I always approach reviews with trepidation and with one eye closed, but I'm thrilled with this review. Eric Brown highlights what was my primary intention in this story: to start at a point of crisis and to then escalate the tension and the life and death stakes, for four characters, in a short and intense period of time: "This novel grabs from the very first page, refuses to be laid aside, and carries the hapless reader, exhausted and wrung out, to the very last sentence."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/07/eric-browne-science-fiction-review

The second comes from The Truth About Books review site, who have also given The Ritual the Book of the Month slot.

The Ritual by Adam Nevill @ Book Reviews at The Truth About Books ...

Reviewers, I thank thee. Today, the clown of retribution remains in its wicker basket ...

My Favourite Books Blog reviews The Ritual

2011-05-05T05:04:00.000-07:00

A thoughtful reviewer over at My Favourite Books, really GOT The Ritual and identified what I was trying to achieve with the characters. So I am currently raising my horns in salute.

http://myfavouritebooks.blogspot.com/2011/05/ritual-by-adam-nevill.html

The Ritual Visual Clue # 8 - Publication Day. The month of the black goat begins!

2011-05-05T01:00:00.000-07:00

"Black lips were pulled back above long yellow teeth; a grimace to last for all time beneath nostrils that still appeared curiously wet. Up and down the chest, small pink teats parted the fur. This was the most unpleasant thing of all, worse than the ivory mouth which Luke imagined was about to open and then snap shut with a clacking sound."

The Ritual - Visual Clue #7

2011-05-01T05:27:00.000-07:00

"He stared into the lamb's dead bluish eyes, fringed with pink rims and bleached eyelashes. It seemed to regard him with a great sadness, like a face from a freakshow daguerreotype."

The Inquisition at Black Abyss

2011-05-01T05:22:00.000-07:00

Black Abyss examine me over at their home of dark fiction and horror book reviews.

http://blackabyss.co.uk/2011/05/adam-nevill-the-inquisition/

Two more reviews for The Ritual

2011-04-28T08:46:00.000-07:00

From the Speculative Scotsman:

http://scotspec.blogspot.com/2011/04/book-review-ritual-by-adam-nevill.html

And the Tor blog:

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/04/some-real-shivers-but-no-nightmares-the-ritual-by-adam-nevill

Though I'm begrudgingly grateful for a detailed review, the latter blogger takes issue with my descriptive writing which made me spit fire. I don't think anything scolds a writer more than that kind of criticism. It left me wondering why many reviewers assume the mantle of academics (when they're not) and attack the actual writing. Particularly as she completely misses the point about the way the book was written in particular sections to affect an exhausted, semi-delirious and surreal point of view. Humbug. Tonight, I may wake the grubby-faced clown puppet and send him to pay a visit ... so he can represent my side of things.

SFX Review of The Ritual

2011-04-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

SFX have reviewed The Ritual and been positive:

‘Some of the tensest, scariest horror this reviewer has read in years.’

‘It’s a gloriously bleak evocation of primal fears.’

‘A distinctive voice in horror fiction’

The Ritual - Visual Clue #6

2011-04-28T03:08:00.000-07:00

" ... the very sight of them made him quite sure that the hell of the bible was real, and that he had awoken in one of its rooms."

New interview at Read Horror

2011-04-27T01:20:00.000-07:00

I'm flashing my underthings over at:
http://readhorror.wordpress.com/meet-the-writer/adam-nevill/

The Ritual - Visual Clue # 5

2011-04-25T07:37:00.000-07:00

The things that should not be

The Ritual - Visual Clue #4

2011-04-24T05:05:00.000-07:00

None more evil ...

The Ritual - Visual Clue # 3

2011-04-23T03:30:00.000-07:00

"The Gods are here, if they are anywhere at all in the world"

Algernon Blackwood

The Ritual - Visual Clue # 2

2011-04-21T07:08:00.000-07:00

Two more scene setters ...

They're here!

2011-04-21T07:04:00.000-07:00

Incoming ...

Author Photos by Tania Glyde

2011-04-20T04:28:00.000-07:00

I recently spent a lovely day in Holland Park, one of my local haunts, with writer and photographer Tania Glyde, in order to compile a portfolio of author photos. I needed them for forthcoming foreign editions of Apartment 16 and The Ritual, future catalogues and any events where my loathsome visage is required.

I can't rate Tania's work highly enough and highly recommend her to anyone who needs a portfolio. Very reasonable rates and she's also terrific company. More of her work over at: http://taniaglyde.carbonmade.com/

Here are a few pics from the shoot:

Two more reviews for the forthcoming The Ritual

2011-04-18T02:44:00.000-07:00

Florienseis at Fantasy Book Review, who wrote favourably about Apartment 16, has come through with a very positive reaction to The Ritual at: http://www.fantasybookreview.co.uk/Adam-Nevill/The-Ritual.html.

Black Abyss gives a much appreciated 4.5 out of 5, calling the novel "another excellent spine-chiller" over at: http://blackabyss.co.uk/2011/04/the-ritual-by-adam-nevill/

I thank them both for their time and thoughts.

Website Makeover and The Month of the Black Goat

2011-04-12T06:14:00.000-07:00

A new website makeover by Hurt Design can be seen over at my website: www.adamlgnevill.com

A few more rags and bones have been strung in the trees on the Weird Tales section; there is a new excerpt from my forthcoming novel The Ritual; a section of biographical information about how the story came to me; and a new page collating author interviews given in the last two years is now on the menu. Reviews for Apartment 16 are on show in the Wailing Wells section of Apartment 16's drop down menu.

Horns crossed the reviewers of The Ritual are as kind this time around!

Here's the first visual clue as to the beastliness explored in the story. I'll be dropping a few hints as I prepare for The Month of the Black Goat (aka the publication month of May).

First Review for The Ritual

2011-03-31T09:43:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, an army of The Ritual bound proofs marched out the door of Pan Macmillan's publicity department to engage with reviewers. Godspeed gentlemen. The first review for my new novel is up and dancing over at the Mark Charan Newton blog: a very genial and talented fantasy author with a penchant for single malts.

http://markcnewton.com/

A Dark Matter by Peter Straub - Book Review

2011-03-31T09:32:00.000-07:00

When I can, I aim to review outstanding horror books and films on the blog. Here’s a fuller review of Peter Straub’s A Dark Matter, I’m reviewing in conjunction with those excellent book lovers sites:

www.bookdagger.com, www.bookhugger.co.uk, www.bookgeeks.co.uk.

A Dark Matter by Peter Straub

I’ve been privately dismayed and hard on some of my favourite famous authors of late, who have published some unaffecting novels, that are too digressive and flat and seem to have been produced too quickly. But I’d say this is one of the most complex and ambitious novels of weird fiction I have read in recent years. Ambitious because the writer interprets nothing less than the meanings of good and evil and of time through a long series of interconnected mystical journeys festooned with occult imagery. Complex because he actually creates a process or system like a Tarot in his investigation of the nature of good and evil, but does so in his own vivid poetry that draws upon the medieval occult and alchemy. The experiences of the characters who dabble with ritual magic in the story, are nothing short of a tremendous work of the imagination, that only a great writer/poet is capable of realising. So in that matter alone, I think this is one of the great works of the supernatural in fiction, now in the canon.

This novel will take a patient reader; it’s as much of a literary novel (in that it makes up its own rules and employs highly sophisticated language), as it is a genre novel, so to borrow a phrase from a reviewer on Amazon: “There are no zombies chasing cheerleaders here.” It has the speculative and surreal feel of a David Lynch movie and often reminded me of the intent and the weird imagery of his best film Fire Walk With Me. In terms of a narrative structure, it is constantly innovative and surprising.

Of those I have read, it’s my favourite Straub novel to date. Like most of his work the novel can be enjoyed for vivid descriptive language and wonderful turns-of-phrase – the one scene featuring a description of the writer’s face and body while haunted by suspicion and jealousy in a hotel is particularly evocative. If I had to pull any threads, the mystical elements in this story, and the suggestions of unbearable dread just out of sight, is so absorbing and surreal at times, when the story reverts back to the real world I did find the lead and well-heeled author character a tad fussy and self-satisfied, and once or twice I found my cold blood and stone heart a bit impatient with the sentimentality in some scenes, but that is a matter of taste and these are minor quibbles. I’ve sat riveted to a chair for the best part of two days transported by this book, that displays a real writer at the top of his game in a river of novels that increasingly resemble film treatments and arcade games.

The Ritual - Bound Proof Competition

2011-03-27T04:19:00.000-07:00

One month until something unpleasant breaks from the treeline and comes rushing at you … and Pan Macmillan have two uncorrected bound proofs of “The Ritual” going spare in the publicity office. They’ve made them available to give away in a comp. Email publicity@macmillan.co.uk if you’d like to tear one open with your ragged claws … Recipients chosen at random.

21st Century Gothic - Great Gothic Novels since 2000

2011-02-18T07:50:00.000-08:00

My essay on Ramsey Campbell's The Darkest Part of the Woods is included in this handsome collection of essays. James Marriott, film critic and author of Horror: 333 films to Scare You To Death, also writes an essay on my own Banquet for the Damned in the same volume.

The book is edited by Danel Olson and carries a Foreward by S T Joshi. Published in hardback by Scarecrow Press.

DESCRIPTION
Selected by a poll of more than 180 Gothic specialists (creative writers, professors, critics, and Gothic Studies program developers at universities), the fifty-three original works discussed in Twenty-First-Century Gothic represent the most impressive Gothic novels written around the world between 2000-2010. The essays in this volume discuss the merits of these novels, highlighting the influences and key components that make them worthy of inclusion.

Many of the pioneer voices of Gothic Studies, as well as other key critics of the field, have all contributed new essays to this volume, including David Punter, Jerrold Hogle, Karen F. Stein, Marie Mulvey-Roberts, Mary Ellen Snodgrass, Tony Magistrale, Don D'Ammassa, Mavis Haut, Walter Rankin, James Doig, Laurence A. Rickels, Douglass H. Thomson, Sue Zlosnik, Carol Margaret Davision, Ruth Bienstock Anolik, Glennis Byron, Judith Wilt, Bernice Murphy, Darrell Schweitzer, and June Pulliam. The guide includes a preface by one of the world's leading authorities on the weird and fantastic, S. T. Joshi.

Sharing their knowledge of how traditional Gothic elements and tensions surface in a changed way within a contemporary novel, the contributors enhance the reader's dark enjoyment, emotional involvement, and appreciation of these works. These essays show not only how each of these novels are Gothic but also how they advance or change Gothicism, making the works both irresistible for readers and establishing their place in the Gothic canon.

ABOUT THE EDITOR
Danel Olson is professor at Lone Star College. He has compiled three collections of new Gothic stories from around the world: Exotic Gothic (2007), Exotic Gothic 2: New Tales of Taboo (2008), and Exotic Gothic 3: Strange Visitations (2009).

Special Thanks

2010-12-30T04:27:00.000-08:00

As a writer, 2010 has been a hall-of-fame year for me after striving, for well over a decade, on the outer circles of the literary wilderness. So forgive me for blowing my trumpet a bit throughout 2010 by posting so many reviews and the news of the Nevill horror vehicle achieving enough altitude to clear the trees at the end of a very long runway. But the publication, success and critical reception of my novel Apartment 16 has literally been a vast reversal of my limited expectations, combined with a purpose for life confirmed.

I’ve been writing professionally since 1995, and Apartment 16 is my eleventh published novel, though none have been published at this level by a major publisher before or achieved this kind of acclaim and commercial success. Against all the odds, for a writer of supernatural horror with little profile, in a publishing environment that has kept the supernatural horror field in the abyss for many years, and in a book trade that has wobbled in the economic downturn ... against all the odds, I have been blessed with much good fortune in 2010, and I do not take it for granted. .

I’ve also completed my third novel of supernatural horror in September this year – The Ritual. I began writing this novel in 2008 and it will be published by Pan Macmillan in May 2011.

To add a cigar, Pan Macmillan have commissioned two further horror novels from me, scheduled for publication in 2012 and 2013 respectively. The first of these is currently a work in progress.

I want to take the opportunity in my own microcosm of the world wild web, to thank the following publications, organisations, critics, bloggers and events for their interest in my work this year, and for their support:

Pan Macmillan, Julie Crisp, John Jarrold, Peter Tennant and Andy Copeland of Black Static, Brian J Showers at Rue Morgue, Reggie Oliver at Wormwood, SFX, and all of the bloggers for their reviews featured elsewhere on these pages.

I also want to thank World Horror Convention, Lincoln Book Festival, Forbidden Planet, Guildford Book Festival, Lee Pennington at 7 Days of Wonder in Catalonia, Solaris, Fortean Times Uncon, and Foyles for hosting book signing and literary events in which I participated as a guest writer. Special thanks go out to Danie Ware, Jon Oliver, Nick Cirkovic, Mathew Riley, Joseph De Lacey, Chris Fowler, Pat Cadigan, China Mieville, Mark Charon Newton, Ian Whates, Stephen Deas, Andrew Taylor, Tariq Goddard, Mark Chadbourn, Natasha Mostert, Clare Dudman and Charles Lambert; most of whom accompanied me on panels and at events.

And finally, I want to thank the readers of Apartment 16 for their precious patronage and for their time.

Readers, I salute you!

Rock & roll

Adam

Music To Write To 2010

2010-12-30T04:20:00.000-08:00

It’s been a terrific year for heavy music, so I’m doing a top 13, as opposed to a top 10 of favourite albums released in 2010 (all bought on CD so the bands benefit). Some writers require silence to work, but I always write to music (though prefer silence to accompany most other activities).

My album of 2010 is:

Deathless by Throwdown

Played it over and over and over again … while working out, while working, while walking, while just staring into space … and then played it some more. Instant top ten of all time metal album for me. Perfection. Great song-writing merging with that rare thing in metal: intelligent lyrics. And the sheer power of the music and vocal performance has given me shivers for twelve months. Heavily influenced by the metalcore Pantera defined, but I actually think Throwdown have improved on that sound with this album (ducking the projectiles). Not a bad moment on the entire album – wholeness, harmony and radiance in the musical form. Once saw them at Graspop Metal Meet in Belgium, during the band’s previous hardcore line-up, but would dearly love to see this album played live. Just terribly exciting music that makes my inner Viking roar.

And in no particular order or hierarchy, these albums also rocked my 2010 world:

Stone Sour: Audio Secrecy (packed full of great songs)

Murder Dolls: Women and Children Last (heavy metal horror show - furious energy)

Alter Bridge: III (the closest thing to Led Zep these days featuring one of my all time favourite singers)

Black Water Rising (Like BLS but with more melodic vocals)

Stereoside (terrific anthemic North American heavy rock)

Linkin Park: A Thousand Sons (not guitar-oriented, but an interesting, innovative and diverse Rubin produced album I never stop playing)

Nevermore: The Obsidian Conspiracy (best power metal band in the world, who constantly reaffirm why I love metal)

Filter: The Trouble With Angels (every album by this band a must-buy for me)

Buckcherry: All Night Long (the legacy of sleaze at its best)

Avenged Sevenfold: Nightmare (another great album by a hugely talented band despite the sad loss of The Rev)

Volbeat: Beyond Hell, Above Heaven (Johnny Cash meets Metallica)

Charred Walls of the Damned (Tim Ripper Owens on vocals - fast, operatic, foundation-shaker)

Favourite Reads of 2010

2010-12-30T04:17:00.000-08:00

Here’s a concise pick of the best books I read in 2010. In what time I have to read for pleasure, it’s been a year of reading the massive backlog of unread books acquired over the last few years, so only a couple of these are recent titles (though that shouldn’t really matter in any discussion of books).

In no particular order:

The Descent by Jeff Long

I missed this first time around in 1999 because my reading of contemporary horror at that time virtually came to a standstill (after too many disappointments in the preceding years). But what a superb coming together of horror and science thriller. Literary style, a great story, and an epic imagination that gave me those requisite weird fiction pleasures of wonder and awe.

White Devils by Paul McAuley

Again a terrific blend of style, imagination, hard science and story. The first novel I have read by this author. Could not put it down.

Charles Manson: Coming Down Fast by Simon Wells

Encyclopaedic with real investigative depth. Full of curiosities, solved mysteries and loose ends tied up for those interested in this cultish topic and period. Much detail about Manson’s musical ambitions and his infiltration of the Beach Boys – and Neil Young even gave him a Harley. Insightful and enthralling throughout. A terrific companion piece to the definitive trial masterpiece Helter Skelter.

American Fantastic Tales (1940s to now) Ed Peter Straub

A handsome and expertly selected collection of literary pleasures. I was revisiting nearly all of these stories, but it’s wonderful to have them all collected in a beautifully bound book with lavish specs.

A Dark Matter by Peter Straub

Second title by Mr Straub in my year’s favourite reads. I sat riveted to a chair in the garden for the best part of two days with this novel that displays a real writer at the top of his game. One of the most complex and ambitious novels of weird fiction I have read in recent years.

American Rust by Philipp Meyer

An absorbing, insightful, and poetic literary debut. The kind of novel men in their twenties should be reading now with hard times and diminished opportunities ahead.

Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow

Innovative and compelling prose-poem about werewolf tribes in LA. A welcome literary antidote to the disco-in-disguise treatment of traditional spectres these days.

McMafia by Misha Glenny

A book everyone needs to read. An intelligent and highly detailed argument as to why organised crime is the biggest threat facing civilisation, and what we/our elected representatives should be doing to combat it. Had me literally walk into a wall in a Catalan airport while engrossed in its pages. Made me flow with radical thoughts too, which I always enjoy.

Creatures of the Pool by Ramsey Campbell

In terms of speculative horror, disorientation, bleak humour, all round literary weirdness, and a masterful style, I never thought I’d read the equal of The Darkest Part of the Woods or Grin of the Dark again. But I enjoyed and admired this book just as much as my two personal Campbell faves.

Hothouse by Brian Aldiss

Quenched my thirst for classic retro British sci fi with this lush, imaginative tale of worlds reclaimed by nature carnivorous in thorn and vine. One of the strangest novels I have ever had the joy of sampling too.

Dark Matter by Michelle Paver

Knocked Apartment 16 off a three month residencey of the number one spot in the Amazon Horror Chart. Wonderfully precise, almost photographic prose rendering of arctic Scandinavia, with the chilly draught of an old school ghost story and study of isolation running through it. Great for all reading ages.

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

Just might be the last person on the planet to have read this book. Completely received the wrong impression from its title and cover when it was first published (not the cover shown), and worried it was some kind of Adrian Mole style diary. I could not have been more wrong about this great American novel. I’ve been looking for a new first class female literary writer that appeals to me for a while, and I think I have found one. Frighteningly, intimidatingly intelligent writing, insightful, and a harrowing story. Couldn’t wait to return to it each evening. I intend to read her complete works (though, again, the covers are surely miscasting this author?). Deserves a throne and crown made from bones in the horror hall of fame.

The Death of Grass by John Christopher

First time I have read this author since I was thirteen. Bizarre apocalyptic vision of Britain after the grasses of the planet are blighted by a virus. Curious stilted idiom sets it firmly in post-war Britain, but after the current trend of worker bees dying out in the US (and now Europe), it’s one of the most prophetic disaster novels I have read. One link irreparably severed in a vast and complex ecosystem is all it may take to take us out of the game. I also admired his instant dismissal of any teary-eyed sentiment about Britain’s spirit in the face of adversity – we’d be killing each other before the sun set on the first day and Christopher knew it. Good on Penguin for bringing this back into print too.

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

Again, to my shame, I failed to read this novel until 2010. As a writer of supernatural horror I blush. Particularly as I’d place it as one of the very best of all weird tales taken to novel length. Enchanting, surreal, and ghastly by turns. Lovecraft’s requisite wonder and awe truly delivered. Already looking forward to rereading the novel.

The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell

It may seem like a pretty standard Romero undead-world build, but what distinguishes this novel is the writing style, which is wonderfully fluent and lyrical throughout. It also has a multi-sensory southern Gothic landscape and atmosphere, and the primary relationship reminded me of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, though here we have a backward zombie and a teenage girl. It’s literary aspirations reach for Cormac McCarthy as opposed to Play Station logic, which I applaud while standing up. An intriguing exploration of instinctive faith and a remarkable ability to seek beauty in devastation really took it to a higher level. If there is such a creature as a new wave of Horror then it needs more literary style and less pulp if it is to be taken seriously and if it is to endure. Highly rated innovation on a popular concept, and the fact that it's a debut, is even more admirable.

APARTMENT 16 AUDIO BOOK, READ BY DAVID THORPE

2010-12-13T09:03:00.000-08:00

I'm delighted with the release of the Apartment 16 audio book, completely unabridged and read by actor David Thorpe. http://www.oakhillpublishing.com/bookinfo.asp?id=621

I'm killing the lights later, uncapping a bottle of bourbon and listening to this.

PRESS RELEASE –US DEAL FOR ADAM NEVILL.

2010-12-13T08:53:00.000-08:00

From my agent, John Jarrold:

"Michael Homler at St Martin’s Press has acquired US rights in the horror novel THE RITUAL by Adam Nevill from Harriet Sanders, Rights Director at Pan Macmillan in London. Julie Crisp acquired World Rights in the book from agent John Jarrold.

This is the seventh foreign rights deal for Adam Nevill via Macmillan’s rights department, following on from Germany, China, France, Russia, Spain and Turkey.

THE RITUAL will be published by Macmillan in 2011, following on their success with Adam’s previous novel APARTMENT 16. SMP plan a 2012 publication."

Really excited by this news of some US action. Currently, my first two books are available on export in the US, but it's never the same as being published by the full resources of a US publisher.

Pics from "The End of the Line" Book Launch at Foyles in London

2010-11-17T06:44:00.000-08:00

"End of the Line" Panel line-up: (L-R) Christopher Fowler, Pat Cadigan, Jonathan Oliver, and me

Pat Cadigan.

Christopher Fowler

The signing table.

Back stage at Foyles in the Green Room

Jonathan Oliver - Editor of EOTL

Chris Fowler, Sarah Pinborough, Me, Conrad Williams, Michael Marshall - afters at the Phoenix

Jenni Hill of Solaris Books and Sarah Pinborough

Jenni Hill, Chris Fowler and Sarah Pinborough

Hardcore horror: Conrad Williams, Mark Morris, Kevin Mullins.

End of the Line signing at Foyles

2010-11-14T05:21:00.000-08:00

I'll be signing the new Solaris anthology of underground horror and weirdness, along with fellow contributors Chris Fowler, Pat Cadigan, Conrad Williams, Sarah Pinborough, Mark Morris, Ramsey Campbell, Gary McMahon, Steve Volk, Editor Jonathan Oliver, and others ... Tuesday 16th November at Foyles in London. Service begins at 6:30pm, duration of journey and final destination unknown. Swing by for a meet and greet with so many terrific authors in one room.

New two book deal with PanMacmillan

2010-11-10T04:59:00.000-08:00

Here's the press release from my agent, John Jarrold:

"PRESS RELEASE – SECOND TWO-BOOK DEAL FOR HORROR NOVELIST ADAM NEVILL

Julie Crisp, Editorial Director of Pan Macmillan in London, has concluded a World Rights deal for two further horror novels by British author Adam Nevill with agent John Jarrold, for a very good five-figure sum.

Adam Nevill’s novel APARTMENT 16 was published very successfully by Pan in May this year, reprinting three times and spending many weeks as Amazon.co.uk’s bestselling horror title, and THE RITUAL will follow in 2011. The two new books are, as yet, untitled. They will be published by Macmillan in 2012 and 2013.

Adam Nevill said: “Since my early contact with books, no other kind of fiction has captivated me, or transported me, in the same way as supernatural horror. Many years ago, the idea of contributing to this great field of the weird tale became a dream. To interpret my influences and to add something fresh, became my main purpose as a writer. The dream has been realised; the purpose continues. It's genuinely a wondrous thing to receive another opportunity to create original works of disquiet, that will be given flight by the engines of a major publisher.”

Julie Crisp said: “Pan Macmillan has a tradition of publishing great British horror and so we’re thrilled to be working with Adam on his next two books. APARTMENT 16 and THE RITUAL were both terrifying and exciting adventures into the macabre and I can’t wait to see what nightmare scenarios he comes up with next to chill his readers.”

John Jarrold - http://www.johnjarrold.co.uk/

End of the Line anthology Podcast

2010-11-03T07:54:00.000-07:00

I've done a Podcast with Jonathan Oliver of Rebellion Books and author Pat Cadigan over at iTunes. It's absolutely free to download.

The Abaddon & Solaris Books Podcast - Download free podcast episodes by Abaddon & Solaris on iTunes.

itunes.apple.com

Download or subscribe to free podcast episodes from The Abaddon & Solaris Books Podcast by Abaddon & Solaris on iTunes.

Exclusive Halloween story at Pan Macmillan's site

2010-10-27T03:43:00.001-07:00

I've written a true story for Pan Macmillan's forthcoming Halloween promotion; a short tale about the creation of one of my very first monsters.

http://www.panmacmillan.com/extracts/displayPage.asp?PageID=8321

The Ritual. New Novel. Release date May 2011.

2010-10-27T03:43:00.000-07:00

My new novel of supernatural horror will break from its ancient slumber and be unleashed into the world in May 2011.

Here is the cover. I was originally shown three - all very very good and all designed by Black Sheep again, who designed Apartment 16. But everyone chose this cover at the publishers and I knew in a heartbeat that it was THE ONE. I just love it.

There is an excerpt at Pan Macmillan's website here. It is the Prologue to the novel:
http://www.panmacmillan.com/extracts/displayPage.asp?PageID=8321

Imminent foreign editions of Apartment 16, and the new novel title: The Ritual

2010-10-27T03:20:00.000-07:00

Here's a press release from my agent, John Jarrold, which pretty much sums up what an exciting year it has been for Apartment 16:

"Sascha Mamczak at Heyne has acquired German rights in two horror novels by Adam Nevill from Jon Mitchell, Rights Manager at Pan Macmillan. Julie Crisp acquired World rights in the books from agent John Jarrold.

This is the sixth translation deal for Adam Nevill via Macmillan’s rights department, following on from China, France, Russia, Spain and Turkey.

APARTMENT 16 was published very successfully by Pan in May this year, and THE RITUAL will follow in 2011. Heyne are planning to publish THE RITUAL first, following up with APARTMENT 16.

‘APARTMENT 16 has sold extremely well, reprinting three times and spending a good deal of time as Amazon.co.uk’s bestselling horror title, and we’re both delighted with this deal,’ said John Jarrold. ‘Congratulations to Jon Mitchell!’"

This author is very happy (and relieved)

Uncon October 24th

2010-09-25T03:47:00.000-07:00

I'll also be meddling with ghosts again at Uncon, on a panel with Natasha Mostert and Mark Chadbourn at 3pm to 4pm:

University of Westminster - 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS‎
(Opposite Madame Tussauds, nearest tube Baker Street)

http://www.forteantimes.com/events/uncon2010/

Guildford Book Festival 15th October

2010-09-25T03:44:00.000-07:00

I'll be appearing (if not manifesting) on the panel: A Touch of the Supernatural with Andrew Taylor and Tariq Goddard, chaired by Jeff Thomson on Friday 15 October at 8.30pm at The Electric Theatre, Onslow Street, Guildford GU1 4SZ

http://www.guildfordbookfestival.co.uk/

Fantasycon 2010 - Nottingham: British Fantasy Society

2010-09-22T08:56:00.000-07:00

A few photos from the front line of Fantasycon 2010 - that's my seventh BFS convention running.

Featuring from top to bottom:
Mark Morris, Sarah Pinborough and Gary Greenwood.
Joseph D'Lacey and Clive Nevill
William Hill David McWilliam
Conventioneers in Thai Restaurant
Joseph D'Lacey
Adam and Clive Nevill
Joel Lane and co at the "End of the Line" launch
Mathew Reilly, Johnny mains, Joseph D'Lacey, Shaun Hamilton
Shaun Hamilton
Clive Nevill and Joseph D'Lacey
Kevin Mullins
Gary Powers
Conrad Williams with award for Best Novel
Joseph D'Lacey and Conrad Williams
Paul Meloy

Get to know me over at TTA

2010-09-15T12:03:00.000-07:00

Pete Tennant, who interviewed me in the latest Black Static, and who has reviewed both of my novels, asks me a few questions over at:

http://ttapress.com/914/getting-to-know-adam-nevill/0/5/

His Dark Designs - Gordon Rivers Artwork of Apartment 16

2010-09-15T04:41:00.000-07:00

His Dark Designs - Gordon Rivers Artwork of Apartment 16

"Apartment 16"

"Awright Sef" (The Hooded Boy)

"Felix Hessen Red"

"Hessen watching"

"Message for the Lame"

"Vortex"

From all of us in the Vortex, The Green Man, and Barrington House, we thank you, Gordon!

More at: http://www.hisdarkdesigns.co.uk

End of the Line

2010-09-14T02:28:00.000-07:00

End of the Line, the new Solaris collection of horrors underground is launched this weekend at Fantasycon 2010. I have a story in it. And here is the full track listing:

Introduction - Jonathan Oliver

Bullroarer - Paul Meloy

The Girl in The Glass - John L. Probert

The Lure - Nicholas Royle

23:46 Mordren (via Bank) - Rebecca Levene

End of The Line - Jasper Bark

The Sons of The City - Simon Bestwick

The Roses That Bloom Underground - Al Ewing

Exit Sounds - Conrad Williams

Funny Things - Pat Cadigan

On All London Underground Lines - Adam L.G. Nevill

Fallen Boys - Mark Morris

In The Colosseum - Stephen Volk

The Rounds - Ramsey Campbell

Missed Connection - Michael Marshall Smith

Siding 13 - James Lovegrove

Diving Deep - Gary McMahon

Crazy Train - Natasha Rhodes

All Dead Years - Joel Lane

Down - Christopher Fowler

His Dark Materials

2010-09-13T06:56:00.000-07:00

Recently, I was delighted to receive some original artwork by Gordon Rivers, all inspired by Apartment 16. And I think its a wondrous reinterpretation of the imagery in my book. To have invented an artist in Felix Hessen and to then have a real artist independently reinterpret Hessen's creative vision is not only very exciting, but immensely flattering.

Alas, for some reason this blog won't upload any of the images or the link, so the manual link will have to do for now (again).

You can see The Hooded Boy; Felix in a mirror; Two glimpses into the Vortex and more of Gordon's work here:

http://www.hisdarkdesigns.co.uk

Into the Abyss

2010-09-13T06:34:00.000-07:00

Great review here by the enlightened and passionate Black Abyss site. We thank them.

http://blackabyss.co.uk/2010/09/apartment-16-by-adam-nevill/

I raise my hat to Hat Rack

2010-09-02T10:02:00.000-07:00

Just done an interview over at the mighty fine and gracious Hatrack. They're good people.

www.evilhat.blogspot.com/

Keeper of the Snails

2010-08-27T08:04:00.000-07:00

The delightful Clare Dudman, literary author and avid blogger, has interviewed me over at Keeper of the Snails. We're both guest authors at 7 Day Wonder in Spain from Friday 3rd of September.

http://keeperofthesnails.blogspot.com/2010/08/apartment-16-and-interview-with-adam.html

End of the Line evening at Foyles

2010-08-18T06:17:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 16 November 6.30pm

Christopher Fowler and Adam Nevill - The End of the Line

With contributions from some of today's finest storytellers, The End of the Line is a collection of chilling stories set on the world's subway systems. Tonight, descend with Christopher Fowler and Adam Nevill to the creepy depths of the underground.

Tickets: Free, email events@foyles.co.uk to reserve a place.

The Gallery at Foyles

Banquet for the Damned reviewed by Hatrack

2010-08-10T04:42:00.001-07:00

Hatrack leads the Banquet for the Damned revival (my first novel) over at: http://evilhat.blogspot.com/2010/06/adam-lg-nevill-apartment-16.html

The Virgin Books paperback edition has been recently (& sneakily) reprinted.

Rue Morgue 103

2010-08-10T04:28:00.000-07:00

Apartment 16 gets its second print preview in a week. This time, Brian J. Showers - who certainly knows his onions when it comes to supernatural fiction - reviews the novel in that wonderful monthly compendium of horror: Rue Morgue.