Book Review: The Wise Friend by Ramsey Campbell

Today’s post is horror review. Any horror fans out there? This might be something new for you to try.

Goodreads Blurb

The Wise Friend by Ramsey Campbell

Patrick Torrington’s aunt Thelma was a successful artist whose late work turned towards the occult. While staying with her in his teens he found evidence that she used to visit magical sites. As an adult he discovers her journal of her explorations, and his teenage son Roy becomes fascinated too. His experiences at the sites scare Patrick away from them, but Roy carries on the search, together with his new girlfriend. Can Patrick convince his son that his increasingly terrible suspicions are real, or will what they’ve helped to rouse take a new hold on the world?

Review

I have to come straight out and say it: this wasn’t for me. I jumped at the chance to review another horror book, but it didn’t turn out to be my type of horror. Instead of The Wise Friend going deep into witchcraft and the occult like I had imagined, it was more on the sci-fi spectrum and a bit too out there for me. That’s not to say that this is a sci-fi book; that’s just how it felt to me.

The Wise Friend was a slow burner and at times I was confused as to what was going on. That’s not to say that I wasn’t intrigued to find out more about Thelma or further explore the father-son bond between Patrick and Roy. And when Roy’s girlfriend, Bella, enters the equation, I just had to find out what she was up to.

Overall, The Wise Friend wasn’t a favourite of mine but that doesn’t mean you won’t like it. An author praised by The Guardian and Stephen King, among others, is sure to appeal to a lot of people.

Grab your copy of The Wise Friend here.

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.