The Tapestry

by Paul Wigmore

Until he died, Gavin had never been able to defend himself against the bullies that had tormented him throughout his childhood into his adult life.

It was only once he had sold his soul to Saul, 'The Bringer of The Black Plague' that he became the man he should always have been.

Saul was the mightiest, most bloodthirsty demon ever to wander the wasteland of Hades. Even challenging the throne of Adromoloch himself, he wasn't done yet though. He just needed Gavins' soul.

The only one able to stem the flow of evil about to erupt from the sulphuric forest of ash beneath our feet is the psychic Clara. But can the dragons help her to 'become' in time to save the children?

"Ring a ring o' rosies

A pocket full of posies'

Atishoo!, Atishoo!

We all fall down."

A truly horrific tale which will turn your blood cold and bring a tear to your eye, so settle yourself down for the night...but don't forget to leave the light on.

183 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 23, 2013

About the author

Paul Wigmore was born in Coventry in 1975. Now living in Manchester and running his own business. The first book to capture his attention at the young age of fourteen was 'Four Past Midnight' by Stephen King. Since then his imagination has been captured by other Great authors such as James Herbert and Clive Barker. He now wants to capture your imagination and take you on his journey with him. 'The Tapestry' is his first novel but there will be many more to follow.

Reviews

[Cheryl Seagraves · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Tapestry is a great read! Especially for someone like myself, a lover of romance novels in need of a diversion, something quite the opposite to shake things up in between the sweet happy ending books I usually read. I liked the way the story flowed, kept me interested/intrigued. The more I read the more I wanted to read, unveiling a well woven "Tapestry" of literary art. Nice work!

[Victoria Limbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the beginning of this Book we are welcomed by a slightly comical, creepy narrator who guides us through the story, introducing us to the characters and deciding how the story is unraveled to the reader. We meet Gavin, a simple man with obvious issues. He is labeled 'The Freak' as he speaks to himself often, isn't the brightest and is astounded that he has landed himself a beautiful woman (though I will leave you to discover the truth behind that gem for yourselves). We meet Clara, a medium who has given up telling fortunes because of the repercussions her powers have had on others, who is the unwitting Guardian of an ancient magic only to be used when great evil comes to earth....which leads me to the demon Saul, a powerful enemy of Satan and God. And damn it, he is hard to hate! I kinda liked him.

At the beginning of this tale we watch the awful demise of Gavin and his "lady". Gavin's soul is led to the demon Saul and we watch the main character become his darker, more powerful self and learn many things about his past that, despite how evilly he gets revenge on those who have hurt him through his life, makes you feel sorry for him. I WANTED him to get revenge...and he does..in wicked, wicked ways.

The tapestry is violent and graphic and enjoyable to read (if you are twisted like me) and to be very very honest I couldn't bring myself to hate the most evil characters. They were fun to read about. I very much liked the ending and how it was written.

If I was to give only one piece of wisdom it would be only that there is a large amount of description in this book that I may have flipped by to get to the good, juicy, evil, bloody bits. An author once told me that One Sentence can be more powerful than an entire paragraph. But I can't deny that I liked this plot and the storyline.

Good Job :)

[Jana Petken · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite a unique piece of fiction – Kudos to the author. A mixture between horror, paranormal, and an adult fairytale, I was impressed by the storyline, graphic descriptions, and narration.
The main character, Gavin, is killed in an atrocious attack, which also takes the life of his partner. Enter Saul, a demon, who has been imprisoned by Satan for a bit of insurrection. Gavin dead, and filled with a need for revenge, enters into a deal with the demon – So far, so good.

Without going into any more detail about the story, I will just say that I did enjoy the way it developed. This is a book, which will appeal to readers who enjoy long narratives. Having said that, if you like a fast moving plot with dialogue driven pages, you might find the side tracking, a little off putting.

Wigmore has written a strong novel, and I look forward to seeing how he develops in the future.

[Ellie Midwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Tapestry” is a dark, haunting, gritty and highly entertaining read. First of all I should note here that I really liked the protagonist’s voice: it’s dark humor and sarcasm at its best, which made the story itself even better. Also, what I enjoyed in this quite unusual story of a lost soul looking for salvation, is that it dwells on eternal questions, like if love really can save you, should you forgive your enemies even if they wronged you in the worst way, and what’s most important – how do you free yourself from the chains of the past.
Gavin – the Freak as everyone calls him – is tortured and killed in his own house, and as his spirit leaves his body, an ancient power, demon Saul looking for the world domination decides to offer Gavin a deal: an almost unrestrained power to avenge himself in exchange…well, you probably know the deal. I won’t reveal the rest of the plot, but trust me, it’s worth reading! Highly enjoyable.

[Sharon Brownlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't normally enjoy a book where I feel the narrator is talking directly at me. Not so in The Tapestry, he talks TO you which I feel really helped the storyline move forward.

The life/death of the main character Gavin is told well, it's unique and very different to any book I have read, and I've read a lot! Characters are well developed and the plot line is suspenseful, gory at times but overall a brilliant read from Paul Wigmore. I will be looking forward to more of his writing.

[Allen Werner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t customarily read horror novels, so it’s easy for me to say that “The Tapestry” by Paul Wigmore, is without question, the darkest and most macabre work of fiction I’ve ever read.
It’s starts out plainly enough, almost cliché with a purposefully-planned, vengeance-seeking, house break in that leads to murder – but then the supernatural entities materialize and a monstrous spirit rivalling the devil appears as well as dragons (which I loved by the way), and you have your dark tale that just keeps descending further into hell – Satan, Lilith (Adam’s first wife), a magic trident, shadowy creatures on the ceiling, the plague, cannibalism, you name it. It gets gruesome.
At first, the author narrates parts of the tale, speaking directly to us, but then it just changes into common storytelling and shifting POVs, until the very end.
I found the tale itself creative and entertaining. The gore, for me, was sometimes more than I could bear, but I’m sure for readers of this genre, it’s commonplace and tame. I will therefore rate the book based on the creativity of the story and the writing itself.
I noted that this was the writers first novel. As I stated earlier, there was a shift in the storytelling. The POV also takes some even stranger turns in the last third of the book. Sentence structures become awkward and hard to read, and the POV sometimes changes in the middle of a paragraph, or with the next paragraph, no spacing to warn the reader of the oncoming change. This kind of muddled things up just when the exciting end was coming.
I also felt the final fight scene was rushed and not nearly as descriptive as I had expected, considering the detail applied to the gorier aspects earlier. I especially liked the black void that drove one of the characters mad. Very interesting.
Overall, the book is a good read and a good launching point for the author. With some editing and grit applied to the last third, it would earn another star with me.

[Sean Benham · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Tapestry is, at its core, a story of revenge. After his violent death, Gavin, a meek oddball, is reborn as a demon in training. As Gavin gets his vengeance on those who wronged him, he unwittingly sows the seeds of the world's destruction - just as his master wished. Featuring an interesting blend of eastern and western mythologies, and a fun narrative voice that contrasts nicely with the occasionally grim content, The Tapestry is a solid read. However, it could really stand another editing pass - certain punctuation errors persist throughout the work - and it feels like the ending is a little rushed. Despite its occasional hiccups, The Tapestry packs a few completely unforeseen twists and I would recommend it for any fans of occasionally gory, horrific fantasy tales.

[Lucretia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of horror. I like all varieties from camp to extreme and everything in between. There was a really interesting blend of levels in this book. On the camp side was the narrator, who reminded me of the Rocky Horror movie, with the interjections geared directly to the reader. It worked as a nice break to tug you from the darkness of the the tale and tone. Make no mistake this is a dark tale. What Gavin endures and what he makes others endure is brutal. Also lightening the mood is the thread with Clara, which had an almost fantasy feel to it and that I found utterly fascinating. The pace was fast, tension extremely high, and horror on the intense side. Fans of horror should enjoy this creative story.

[Gail Marchant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is creepy, unusual, OMG, with characters of another world mixed with Gavin, did not get the twist , if you want to get out of your comfort zone & try something different this is the one - then of course there are 2 more bring it on

[Teresa Vogt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Satan and an upstart Demon, add in a soul needed to release the demon Saul, and Clare, a Guardian without knowing it.,

This review is from: The Tapestry (Kindle Edition)
A quick read and a good story Paul Wigmore takes you into the world of mystical magic to stop a Demon Saul responsible for the black death brings back a man who suffered abuse so horrific as a child his mind fractured from reality.Satan has trapped a demon who wants to take over and the demon sits and simmers growing in power, yet unable to fully escape. He needs a Human's soul to do that and finds just who he wants Gavin, abused as a child he has made his reality out of fantasy. When he is killed by bullies Saul offers him a chance to learn how to get the revenge he desires simply by giving his soul over once his revenge is complete. A mystical tapestry handed down gives a widow the power to release the elements and use them to release a dragon strong enough to fight the demon. Or is the Dragon strong enough? Has Saul gained enough power that even Mother Natures Guardian can not vanquish him? When Clare Gavin's sister becomes the guardian and realizes her brother's soul is the final piece of the puzzle to defeat the evil. Can she and her brother win? Is the evil power able to now defeat Satan now loose upon the world and unstoppable??
It may be.. you will need read it to understand it, and I don't tell spoilers.. This is slightly horror leaning for young teens but older ones will have no issue. It is Fast and twists and turns and shocks are what makes it a good and entertaining read. Satan may be defeated.. but then again remember it's not Nice to Fool With Mother Nature !

[Ronesa Aveela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not much of a horror story reader, but I was drawn in by the cover. I've done some research on dragons in other cultures, so I wanted to see what information I could gather about them from this book. Although dragons do play a part in the story, it is much later and not the main focus of the story. Nonetheless, I did enjoy The Tapestry.

The story is about Gavin (the Freak), Saul (a trapped demon), and Clare (a fortune teller). In a nutshell, Saul uses Gavin to bring about the world's destruction, and Clare must save the world. It has some great twists, and is highly entertaining.

One thing in particular I liked about this book was the use of the children's song, "Ring a ring o’ roses" as the author called it. I had always heard it as "Ring around the rosies." It's a song that refers to the Black Death. Although the author doesn't specifically state this, he does allude to it.

I like descriptive text, even if it detracts slightly from the story. Words themselves are as much a form of art as the story itself. The author has plenty of these lovely descriptions, such as:

"The soul he was stealing was the darkest he had felt for a very long time. The mind was twisted with some sort of dementia. If it were coloured it would be a dark purple mottled with patches of black running through red veins."

Despite the many errors that could have been avoided with a good editor, I'm giving this story 5 stars for the story itself. It is entertaining and a bit different from much of the norm.

[Reg Shell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous quest


Yes, in answer to the question in the blurb, I do like Stephen King and I did thoroughly enjoy Paul Wigmore’s novel The Tapestry. You have to love hating a demand so powerful that he’d take on Lucifer.

To story is well told. Gavin and his young wife are thrown straight into enough horror to cause him to make an alliance, if not with the devil, then with the closest thing to him. As no horror story can be pure evil, we have light, is Clara a tapestry and a quest adventure told in fabulous storytelling to round out a great read.

Highly recommended for the horror thriller readers like me.

[Daniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

The idea could have been good, the setup could have been something fresh and interesting, but the way this story is told, with so much blood and impossible cruelty, made it impossible to enjoy the story.
On top of everything, my copy had so many grammar and punctuation mistakes, wrong setup of lines and chapters that it was a dreadful experience just reading it!
If this book didn't get a new edition, stay far away from it!

[Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the idea of this book, as I had a similar idea that never came to anything. The violent scenes were great but it was a bit too much cliche in spots. It was like reading an 80s horror movie.
I was kind of "eh" on the idea of the narrator too, another 80s kind of thing that we could have done without.
A good first effort for a new author but needs some growth.

[Helen Laverick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

[Caedy Eries · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review pending.