e-Book Face That Must Die, The download

This book is a marvelous work of horror. From start to finish, we are given a glimpse of what it must be like to be paranoid of all around us. While the main character is homophobic, and he does evil deeds upon evil deeds, the character believes in what he is doing. With masterful storytelling, Ramsey Campbell shows what it takes to be a master of voice. If you are looking for a novel that can teach you what the elusive 'voice' really is, you need not look any further.

It does not rely on the supernatural or sparkly vampires. This story is very much grounded in reality. I can see why Campbell is hailed as one of the best, if not the best, at his craft.

The story alternates between characters, giving a true peek into many minds. Each character is fully realized, and I found myself flying through the pages. From the homophobic and paranoid Horridge, we get the mind of a very sick person. We see how every person and thing is seen as trying to trick him or undo him. We see through other eyes, like the painter, Fanny (whom I liked very much).

Someone once told me that the villain is just the good guy from another perspective. Horridge is written superbly. You really see his journey, from a paranoid person with serious delusions, to a homophobic person, to a killer. Even though he is evil, he does not believe himself to be so. His story was very well realized.

Ramsey writes some beautiful lines, coming up with excellent lines like 'As loud as an insomniacs blankets.' (I hope I remembered it correctly) Any writer or reader could learn from this master of horror. I will never sit on a bus again without wondering if someone is having paranoid, delusional thoughts like those of Horridge. He is a truly scary character.

Ramsey Campbell has often been called the "British Stephen King." I'm not sure about that. Campbell is a master of horror fiction, but his books less often depend on King-like special effects. For example, this book starts with several chapters consisting almost solely of the killer's internal monologue. It's a recitation of the man's dislikes, especially his dislike of people he perceives as having different sexual orientations. In the recent epilogue that Campbell appended to this edition of his 1970's story, Campbell says he believes this novel is one of the first to point to what can be the deadly dangers of homophobia.

But Horridge (a name worthy of Dickens) isn't just anti-gay. He quietly, inwardly disapproves of everything he sees. If you tend to favor quick murderous action, you might get impatient with the slow opening pace of this book, consisting as it does mainly of brain chatter. But I'd encourage you to hang in there. The menace builds.

Many have said this novel realistically takes you inside the mind of a serial killer. Well, I'm not so sure of that either. There aren't too many serial killers who commit a series of crimes based solely on non-religious schizophrenic delusions, crimes that don't afford them the direct pleasures of power or sexual release. For what might be a more realistic portrayal of a psychopath's psychology, I suggest you read A Demon in My View

However, whether completely realistic or not, this book is very well-written. It contains many examples of Campbell's talent for apt and ebon metaphor:
The man's "expression changes as slow as corruption."
"Shadows dripping..."
"He sensed the presence of cameras, perched somewhere overhead like vultures."
Trees were "imbedded in the night, like fossils."
"The dim light seemed to hold him fast, like amber.

This slim volume also is printed with no right-hand justification. That contributes to our sense of the jagged, off-kilter nature of Horridge's broodings.

This edition includes the eerie, indistinct illustrative photographs of JK Potter. There's also an Introduction by literary critic Poppy Z. Brite. Finally, in the story itself, you'll find more than just thrills. You'll also find some telling social commentary, for example, on the bleakness of public housing in England in the 1970's.

A warning to readers though! This edition ends with a separate short story that Campbell felt fit the mood of "The Face." This story is NOT an extension of the main novel. I made the initial mistake of thinking it was. So what I took to be the last chapter of the story baffled me and detracted from the impact of the main story. I kept trying to tie its vivid description of what might be an LSD trip into the framework of "The Face." Finally I looked at the Table of Contents and realized Campbell had thrown in a basically unrelated, bonus short story entitled "I Am It and It is I" at the end of this book.

So this book is more than just another pretty "Face." It offers more than thrills - although for fans of thrills - it has plenty of those.

You have to be a fan of R.C. to enjoy his novel-length horror literature. But I think he's in the top 5 of novelists for describing creepy situations and images with words, and making the reader shiver in reaction to them.

Ramsey Campbell has one of the most distinct voices in modern horror. He transcends the membrane between literary fiction and genre fiction. Many horror authors consider The Face That Must Die one of the best horror novels of all time, and that alone makes it worth reading.

It's not quite what you expect. The thing that most people find so disquieting is that it is told largely from the killer's point of view. Poppy Z. Brite likens it to Graham Greene's Brighton Rock. Campbell points out that (because of this) the novel is as much crime fiction as it is horror.

The thing about the killer is that he's not Hannibal Lecter. He's not brilliant or charming. He's not even strong (he has a bad leg). He's just a loser - close-minded, bigoted, and quite insane.

The new edition by Millipede Press is the one to get. It are a great small press that is dedicated to publishing classic works of horror (many of which would be headed for oblivion) in quality paperback editions. This one has an introduction by Poppy Z. Brite, a new afterward by Campbell, and the photographic art from the original version throughout the book.

This book would be much better had it not been so incredibly slow-paced. It's really not that bad, but I really shouldn't be seeing my eyelids after reading this in half-hour segments.

Atmospheric horror without a hint of the occult. A nightmare landscape of brooding menace stalked by a paranoid's consuming obsessions.