“All about her, the people were loudly and assertively happy, though Helene sensed a taut wire of defiance in the gathering too. In drawing a connecting line between the darkness we inhabited in our ancient past, and the tense times we currently occupy, The Reddening strikes a resonating note that reverberates from the dawn of our prehistory and continues to echo threateningly in our present era. This is slow-burn folk horror, masterfully done, that ratchets up the tension exponentially over 400 pages, before a final reveal that examines the human desire for reprisal and acknowledges that we haven’t, as a species, come as far from our barbaric origins as people might like to think. The uncannily Comus-like dark folk band, Witchfinder Apprentice, led by the ageing musician Tony Willows, represent a possible connection to that ancient past. Lifestyle journalist Katrine escapes London for a coast renowned for natural beauty, but instead becomes embroiled in an investigation into the present day consequences that resonate through history from the discovery. Disillusioned lone parent, Helene, searches for news of her lost brother, last heard of whilst recording disturbing subterranean noises in the area. The unearthing of an important prehistoric archaeological find in Brickburgh’s caves brings uneasy revelations regarding mankind’s violent and cannibalistic past.

Whilst Nevill’s previous novel, 2017’s Under A Watchful Eye felt a little conflicted to this reviewer, with its articulations of the novelist protagonists’ frustration with his publisher and its ingenious but ultimately sleight of hand based metafictive device, The Reddening is a return to what Nevill does best. At 73, Campbell is a hugely prolific writer, over two decades older than Nevill, but still operating at peak intensity, as evidenced by his excellent 2018 trilogy, The Three Births Of Daoloth. Amongst British horror novelists currently working, there’s only really Ramsey Campbell who I consider to be producing genre books of such a high literary quality. Ever since bingeing on Nevill’s books in 2014, and interviewing him for tQ in November of that year, I’ve been increasingly convinced that his work ranks alongside the best horror fiction to have ever come out of the UK.

The arrival of a new Adam Nevill novel, especially one timed to appear on Halloween, is always an exciting prospect.

The reddening by adam nevill