[IIE]∎ Read Free December Phil Rickman 9780425153772 Books

December Phil Rickman 9780425153772 Books

Download As PDF : December Phil Rickman 9780425153772 Books

December Phil Rickman 9780425153772 Books

If you are digging into the horror novels that Phil Rickman wrote prior to his wonderful Merrily Watkins series, you will meet four of the characters in "December" (1994) who later appear in "The Cure of Souls" (2001): Moira, the folksinger; Simon, the vicar; Isabel, the sex-starved, wheelchair-bound accountant; and Prof Levin, the alcoholic recording engineer.
Boy, will you meet them--and like them too, even though Moira is a recluse who might be responsible for the death of her mother; Simon is a self-confessed homosexual necrophiliac; Isabel's first sexual adventure killed her partner; and Prof Levin stays drunk through most of "December" (a very reasonable response to finding oneself in the midst of a Rickman horror novel.)
What little sex there is in this novel is very dark, as in corrupted, or sometimes darkly humorous, as in Isabel's aerial deflowering. Loathsome, brown candles are a regular supernatural visitation foretelling death and/or really hellish sex. However, this book isn't really about sex (even though I keep talking about it.)
It's about music.
I learned more than I thought I ever wanted to know about John Lennon, Jim Morrison, Bob Dylan, and even Simon and Garfunkel--well, Goth horror is something else this book is not--mostly it concerns musicians from the 60's who didn't make it very far into the 80's. One of the main characters, Dave the guitarist, is plagued by the notion that he could have prevented John Lennon's death on December 8, 1980. Dave has some pretty snappy dialogues with Lennon who now seems to be living in his head.
Dave isn't the only one with a psychic problem. All of the musicians who attempted to record an album in an ancient abbey-turned-recording-studio on the date of Lennon's death are traumatized by a tragedy that gradually works its way to the surface through the course of this novel.
Rickman piles horror upon horror until thirteen years after Lennon's death, the musicians are compelled to return to the abbey to complete the song that had called up an ancient evil.
You'll be reading this one through the night--even though you shouldn't.


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December Phil Rickman 9780425153772 Books Reviews

Darker than many of the other books by this brilliant author, many plots within the main plot, strong characters and so many twisting keeps you guessing until the very end.
I've read a few of Phil Rickmans' books and enjoyed them. However, December hasn't been a pleasurable read (I only persisted in the hope that it would improve). The story is overly complex with sections that are totally confusing, with the reader left guessing over and over again. This didn't leave me in a state of suspense - Instead it left me wondering; "Why does he keep stopping without explaining what's happening?" Even the climax at the end of the story wasn't explained only hinted at, which to me just added to the overall frustration. Overall the whole book would benefit with about 100 pages being shaved off as many passages are long and dull.

The characters, I found, were a bunch of whiners. They did nothing but feel sorry for themselves and again... Without explanation. I can understand developing their story lines throughout the story but it needn't have taken several hundred pages.

And something that I fear will make me dissuade me from Mr Rickmans' work in the future is his seeming infatuation with whining, self pitying, singer-songwriter guitarists.
Probably my all-time favorite. Incredible suspense mixed with gothic horror. I love everything Phil Rickman writes, and I've read this one four or five times. Highly recommended.
Fellow December fans, we are in luck Philosopher's Stone lives. The MP3 download is available, and the CD is available from Phil Rickman's website "shop" page starting December 8, 2011... yes, you know what that date signifies. Abbey Tapes the Exorcism is ten songs from the 1994 band reunion, including "On a Bad Day", "Dakota Blues", "Ballad of Aelwyn Breadwinner", and "The Comb Song". And new print and eds. of December are imminent. December is one of my favorite books, I must have read it 3 times by now. This novel of horror, mystery, ghosts and rock n roll has many layers, and now a healing that takes place when Tom, Davey, Moira and Simon's songs are finally mastered by Prof. May be the CD of the year. **And here's a warning the 1996 US Berkley Books was edited from the original and leaves important stuff out. So be sure you read the original British, the 2011 Mansion House, the ed or the new audio book.
The first Rickman I read, Candlenight, was exceeding well-written, full of interesting and believable characters, and introduced me to a fascinating regional culture -- but it really wasn't creepy or eerie at all. December has all the virtues of Candlenight, combined with a genuinely spooky storyline about a recording studio in an unholy abbey near the Welsh border. Rickman really nails rock culture in addition to giving us another well-realized small town -- I wonder whether he's been in a band himself, he really gives us a plausible mix of personalities and seems to know his way around a studio.

There are some flaws. It ends up seeming to suggest that being gay is some sort of vile perversion -- even though a throw-away comment indicates that that wasn't the intention, that's the general tenor of one plotline and it left a bad taste in my mouth. Also, one of the main characters, Davie, is such a wet smack that I couldn't wait for him to get added to the bodycount, plus it's a HUGE book and takes a good long time to get rolling. With that one exception, though, I found the characters interesting enough that I didn't mind spending time with them over the long build-up, and December packed some impressive chills, if not a lot of surprises (you know the lady who is all gung-ho about spiritualism and thinks she has a friendly ghost living in the house is asking for trouble, right?).
If you are digging into the horror novels that Phil Rickman wrote prior to his wonderful Merrily Watkins series, you will meet four of the characters in "December" (1994) who later appear in "The Cure of Souls" (2001) Moira, the folksinger; Simon, the vicar; Isabel, the sex-starved, wheelchair-bound accountant; and Prof Levin, the alcoholic recording engineer.
Boy, will you meet them--and like them too, even though Moira is a recluse who might be responsible for the death of her mother; Simon is a self-confessed homosexual necrophiliac; Isabel's first sexual adventure killed her partner; and Prof Levin stays drunk through most of "December" (a very reasonable response to finding oneself in the midst of a Rickman horror novel.)
What little sex there is in this novel is very dark, as in corrupted, or sometimes darkly humorous, as in Isabel's aerial deflowering. Loathsome, brown candles are a regular supernatural visitation foretelling death and/or really hellish sex. However, this book isn't really about sex (even though I keep talking about it.)
It's about music.
I learned more than I thought I ever wanted to know about John Lennon, Jim Morrison, Bob Dylan, and even Simon and Garfunkel--well, Goth horror is something else this book is not--mostly it concerns musicians from the 60's who didn't make it very far into the 80's. One of the main characters, Dave the guitarist, is plagued by the notion that he could have prevented John Lennon's death on December 8, 1980. Dave has some pretty snappy dialogues with Lennon who now seems to be living in his head.
Dave isn't the only one with a psychic problem. All of the musicians who attempted to record an album in an ancient abbey-turned-recording-studio on the date of Lennon's death are traumatized by a tragedy that gradually works its way to the surface through the course of this novel.
Rickman piles horror upon horror until thirteen years after Lennon's death, the musicians are compelled to return to the abbey to complete the song that had called up an ancient evil.
You'll be reading this one through the night--even though you shouldn't.