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Shadows in the Watchgate
In his preparation room deep in the old part of Norwich , taxidermist Ludo Strewth chants the ancient spell of resurrection. As the magic hand of Glory burns, a great flash of light leaps out across the city. It awakens strewth's collection of animals, it refracts through the windows of the Elm Hill Museum, where exhibits of soldiers stand frozen in time and it illuminates the face of American model Tuppence trilby, striking Strewth with a madness to possess and preserve her beauty.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 6, 2021
A crazed taxidermist who wants to "preserve" a young American model.
Animated taxidermy animals.
Zombies on motorcycles.
An entire museum's worth of reanimated British soldiers and their horses.
...and top it all off with such a slow pace that all of this becomes far less exciting than it should be.
Many horror critics say that the genre is at its best in shorter novels and while there are exceptions, this definitely would have been better off trimmed down. 437 pages is far too much for a horror novel with such a small cast and short time frame. The Stand and It justify their enormity by having an massive scope and taking place over decades respectively.
The carnage around the protagonists doesn't seem to affect the surrounding world either. I feel like a platoon of cavalrymen riding through British streets in the middle of the night gunning down animals and zombies should have probably woken a few people up. The climax stretches your suspension of disbelief even further and feels very rushed despite the glacial pace of the prior 400 pages.
Despite all this, I can't hate this book. I can't even dislike it. Even though the execution is flawed, the ideas and the crazy climax are so much fun that they kind of make up for it. If you go into this expecting a gory pulp horror novel, you're going to be at least a little disappointed. But if you have the patience for a slow, weird, gothic fantasy, this is worth checking out.
Incidentally, the US edition has easily my favorite cover art on any book (and was painted by the author). The British cover is beautiful, but doesn't hold a candle to this one in my opinion. There's even an evil ostrich at the bottom right.
Animated taxidermy animals.
Zombies on motorcycles.
An entire museum's worth of reanimated British soldiers and their horses.
...and top it all off with such a slow pace that all of this becomes far less exciting than it should be.
Many horror critics say that the genre is at its best in shorter novels and while there are exceptions, this definitely would have been better off trimmed down. 437 pages is far too much for a horror novel with such a small cast and short time frame. The Stand and It justify their enormity by having an massive scope and taking place over decades respectively.
The carnage around the protagonists doesn't seem to affect the surrounding world either. I feel like a platoon of cavalrymen riding through British streets in the middle of the night gunning down animals and zombies should have probably woken a few people up. The climax stretches your suspension of disbelief even further and feels very rushed despite the glacial pace of the prior 400 pages.
Despite all this, I can't hate this book. I can't even dislike it. Even though the execution is flawed, the ideas and the crazy climax are so much fun that they kind of make up for it. If you go into this expecting a gory pulp horror novel, you're going to be at least a little disappointed. But if you have the patience for a slow, weird, gothic fantasy, this is worth checking out.
Incidentally, the US edition has easily my favorite cover art on any book (and was painted by the author). The British cover is beautiful, but doesn't hold a candle to this one in my opinion. There's even an evil ostrich at the bottom right.
January 12, 2021
This was fun. If you like over the top, fast-paced, fantasy horror that might include a touch of medieval, witchcraft, necromancy etc (especially 80s/90s style) then it's worth a go. A quick read that was even more enjoyable for me, as it was set in my home town! Pretty cool :)
February 21, 2011
Another good 'one off' book from Mike Jeffries.
October 21, 2013
I really liked this book, it is something that I dont normally read but would highly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews