I have read many of Ramsey Campbell's books and have never been disappointed. This was certainly no exception. Set in 1950’s England, it centers around a young boy, Dominic Sheldrake who attends a Catholic school, and his two best friends Jim and Roberta, "Bobby". Dominic is a young writer whose stories includes his two best friends in a series of adventures. He calls them "The Tremendous Three". These friends play right into the role of detectives and not just on the pages that Dominic writes. The conflict starts after Dominic discovers that a teacher at his school, Christian Noble, has formed his own church declaring that he has the ability to bring back the dead. Dominic persuades his friends to help get to the bottom of Noble’s activities. Not an easy task as he must do this while dealing with lots of backlash from his strict Catholic teachers and parents. There is also the start of budding romantic feelings toward Roberta, whom he and Jim are beginning to notice is developing into more than just their friend. He also works through insecurities over his budding writing career and how others do, or will, perceive it, all while struggling with the realization that his faith in God is starting to wane. However, he is not stopped from seeking answers, particularly after discovering that his teacher, Christian Noble has been including his two-year-old daughter in his dark and questionable activities. As with anything that Ramsey Campbell writes, the descriptions are eerie with a constant sense of dread right around the corner or in the next paragraph. These characters are so real to life and so much more can be read between the lines as on them. I thoroughly enjoyed this nightmare tale and have ordered the next book in the series, Born to the Dark ( )

It has been awhile since I read Ramsey Campbell. I have to admit that I had truly forgotten what a talented writer he is.
Set in the 1950s Liverpool, The Searching Dead concerns the coming of age of Dominic Sheldrake, and his strange Spiritualist schoolteacher.
Although I found the beginning a little slow, I soon found myself enthralled with Dominic's story and ended up reading the book straight through. The slow build up adds to the suspense.
Cosmic horror is my favorite theme in horror novels and Ramsey Campbell has it down to a fine art. ( )

Set in post-war Liverpool, a young man and his two best friends develop concerns about a teacher at their religious school. Soon, the school's headmaster and the parents of the children develop concerns as well. Is this is a case of bored teenagers with overactive imaginations, or are the kids on to something? You'll have to read this to find out!

The post-war setting almost became a character itself here. Even though I was born in a city that has a famous armory, I've never really pictured in my head what happens to cities and towns when they're blitzed and bombarded as they were during WWII. I never thought about how long it takes for municipalities to recover, for buildings to be rebuilt, or the fact that some never are.

The coming of age part of the story was multifaceted because not only did we have a very young man, a good man to root for, but we also knew that everything his parents and his structure had taught him throughout life, was now being questioned, up to and including his religion. It made me remember going through the same kinds of thoughts and ideas when I was that age.

The friendships here were honest portrayals, I thought, even though we already knew how they would likely end.

Lastly, though, oooh that evil Mr. Noble...what was he really up to? What was that down in the cellar of his "church?" Isn't it the worst when no one believes your suspicions? Or maybe it's the worst when your suspicions come true, and the target of your suspicions knows that YOU know? What happens then? I'm saying nothing more than I'm going to be needing that next book ASAP please!

*Thank you to Flame Tree Press for the paperback ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!* ( )

I received an e-copy ARC of The Searching Dead, authored by Ramsey Campbell, from NetGalley and the publisher Flame Tree Press in return for my honest review, which follows below. I thank both for this opportunity. It is the first book of the Three Births of Daoloth trilogy, which originally released in 2016 under PS Publishing; from what I can see this first printing is still available to purchase in hardcover.

I rated this novel 4.5 stars.

This a coming of age story, in a country still recovering from war. This is a story of a boy questioning his burgeoning faith while seeing its declination to spiritualism, a widowed neighbor’s faith. This is a story of a creative mind developing its artistic style amid becoming exposed to written ramblings of a darker personality. This is a story of cosmic horror that is built upon slowly, often indirectly, as viewed through the eyes of a youth, who strives to do difficult good and learn oblique truths.

There were a few sections that found my attention wavering, hence the .5 star removal.

In some cases, a slow build can be mismanaged, leaving scant room for the end to bloom with the full impact the author intended. I think Campbell hit all the marks here; when it picked up I was enthralled, help captive till the last page, eager for the next book in this trilogy. ( )

Horror laced with religion, but leaning away from most of the usual Satanic tropes into different territory altogether.
I found this a strange mix of horror and coming of age. It's a mix that can work really well but in this case I didn't feel the factors clicked together all that successfully. The kids growing up, along with nostalgic pictures of post-war Britain, often slowed the pace of the real action. The age of the protagonists and the setting certainly had their places in the narrative, but those factors could have been whittled back to produce of more suspenseful novel.
The main story is certainly very interesting, and I wasn't tempted to stop reading the book, but I didn't enjoy it the way I thought I would, or could have with some pruning. It's a slow burn book almost all the way through. For some readers it won't be an issue but it left me unsatisfied with the read. ( )