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When Maiden is revived in hospital after dying in a hit and run incident, his memories are not the familiar ones of bright lights and angelic music, only of a cold, harsh place he has no wish to revisit...ever. But his experience means that Bobby Maiden may be the only person who can reach The Green Man, a serial murderer the police don't even know exists...a predator who returns to stone circles, burial mounds and ancient churches in the belief that he is defending Britain's sacred heritage. Meanwhile, New Age journalist Grayle Underhill arrives from New York to search for her sister who's become obsessed with the arcane mysteries of the Stone Age. The bloody trail leads to a remote village on the
Welsh Border...and to people who know there are more crimes in heaven
and earth... |
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I have to admit to being slack with
reading this, as my concentration hasn't been so great and I wanted to
enjoy this rather than struggle with it. The beginning was incredibly
atmospheric, with a ritualistic murder during a fox hunt that instantly
grabbed my attention and threw me into the story. Then the tale proper
began, and the slow ambling pace lost me a little as too many things
were going on at once. There seemed to be a number of different threads
to keep track of, and in my current frame of mind I'm having trouble
juggling them and seeing where they're heading. The story is about to
take shape, with Bobby Maiden's 'death' dealt with, and I'm ready to get
back to it and get all absorbed in it and find out who dun the nasty to
the nice protestor chick! |
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I don't know what the problem I'm having
finishing this book is. It's a great story, beautifully written, and
with absorbing characters I'm eager to find out more about. So how come
I keep reading this in short bursts? I have no idea, but I'm not going
to give up on it any time soon. Part of the reason it's taking so long
is that other books, book club reads, have taken precedence, but that's
not all of it as I've had a big patch of being able to read lots and
quickly lately. I hope I can finish this soon, and do the decent write
up it deserves. Until then I'll just leave it saying that it's an evocative
and scary murder mystery set against a background of rural mythology and
ancient mysticism. There are so many threads to the story that its hard
to give a run down, because I don't yet know where they're leading. I'll
write more when I've got a better handle on the plot, and my reading
habits. |
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Well I finally did it! I finished this book, and thoroughly enjoyed it, even though it took me so damn long to make the time to read it. This wasn't as absorbing as Phil Rickman's Merrily Watkins novels, but I suspect that's more to do with the familiarity I have for the characters. It was also due to a much larger cast to get to know and follow until they all crossed paths and ended the tale. The story delves into the horrific serial killings of 'The Green Man', an entity plucked straight from Pagan lore, and the team (consisting of a cynical supernatural enthusiast, a New Age journalist, a back from the dead policeman and a transvestite shaman) trying to stop him. Their journey takes them into the world of a powerful New Age scientist, and his 'University', where interested parties learn the secrets of the earth by sleeping, and dreaming, at ancient sites. I always like the way
Rickman/Kingdom writes, he has a deft and delicate touch with words and
this book was no exception. As a whodunit this was beautifully crafted,
and left the big reveal until a dramatic part of the book that gave
plenty of time to wrap up the story satisfactorily without dragging it
out. I was also interested to see more subversive ideas about
supernatural experiences discussed so intelligently. All in all this was
a damn fine novel, and it's to my shame that I didn't settle down to it
quicker. I hope I'll do a better job with the sequel, Mean Spirit. |
