I first became aware of Adam Nevill after I saw the e-book version of Cunning Folk on sale for 99 cents. When I looked him up I discovered that the folk horror movie The Ritual (2017) is based on his book of the same name. I remember really liking the movie so I went ahead and downloaded Cunning Folk. I still haven’t gotten to it but recently I noticed that the author has two free short story mini collections/samplers available on Amazon, and I downloaded and read those. I’m glad I did as I enjoyed most of the stories quite a lot.
Before You Sleep: Three Horrors by Adam Nevill (Ritual Limited, 2016)
This consists of three stories from Nevill’s collection Some Will Not Sleep.
Where Angels Come In (4/5)
Two schoolboys enter an old, abandoned building that is surrounded by urban legends. This grabbed my interest from the start and then just kept going. So creepy.
The Ancestors (5/5)
A young girl named Yuki, her ghost companion with really long hair, and toys that come out and play at night. This one is even creepier than the previous one.
Florrie (3/5)
Strange things begin happening after a young man makes plans to renovate the old house he’s moved into. I liked the atmosphere, but I felt that something was missing and that the ending was abrupt.
While I enjoyed the first two stories the most, I liked the writing and the chilling atmosphere in all three stories.
Before You Wake: Three Horrors by Adam Nevill (Ritual Limited, 2017)
This one includes three stories from his collection Hasty for the Dark.
The Angels of London (4/5)
A man down on his luck has to deal with the strange landlord of the seedy lodging house he’s staying at. Atmospheric with some really eerie moments.
Always in Our Hearts (5/5)
A shady taxi driver takes a series of unusual fares around town. What an ending.
Hippocampus (2/5)
A description of the aftermath of a violent event on a ship at sea. More of a sketch than a story. Well done imagery but I didn’t care for this one.
I really enjoyed the first two stories. They were set up well, had interesting characters, and had endings that delivered.
After reading these two mini-collections I can say that I’ve become an Adam Nevill fan. I like his writing style and think four strong stories out of six is a good ratio when it comes to short stories. So I decided it was worth signing up for his newsletter, especially since subscribers are given access to another free e-book.
Cries from the Crypt - Selected Writings by Adam Nevill (Ritual Limited, 2016)
This free e-book is available to download immediately after subscribing to the author’s newsletter. It includes two short stories, deleted chapters from his novels, numerous interviews, essays, and advice for aspiring writers. One of the essays is his appreciation of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. Reading it at a young age is what made him focus on becoming a writer. I found this intriguing as it’s on my to-read list and I had recently read Joyce’s Dubliners and enjoyed it.
There’s a lot of content for a free book and I found it all interesting. I enjoyed the stories, the interviews and essays gave lots of insight into the author, and I found the writing advice really helpful, especially the chapter on a writing course that he taught at the Birmingham Library.
The stories:
Little Mag’s Barrow (4/5)
A cut-throat editor in the publishing industry stays in an old cottage in the remote countryside. Things get spooky. After listening to some interviews with Nevill it appears that he made good use of his time in the publishing industry when he wrote this one.
Estrus (3/5)
A man with an unusual roommate deals with a rat infestation. I think the main character took a little too long to figure things out but, in the end this was another well-done story.
More Interviews
I’ve also been listening to interviews with Adam Nevill on episodes of the This Is Horror Podcast. I’m finding his discussions on how he comes up with his stories fascinating and I find his story about how he became an author pretty interesting. After starting out being traditionally published he decided to self-publish his work through his imprint Ritual, Limited. I’m looking forward to reading more of his work and I’ve moved Cunning Folk higher up on my to-read list.
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