Most helpful customer reviews
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4.0 out of 5 stars
BOO!..., Nov 26 2007
This is a well-written, intriguing ghost story in which a writer has to confront the demons of his past only to find out how intrusive they really are in his present. This is a tautly written, descriptive story with a well-developed protagonist, and a plot that moves the reader easily along to its shocking finale.
Jack Stone is a man in his early thirties. He is a successful writer living in London, England. He is in love with his beautiful girlfriend, Gail. All seems to be right with his world. Still, Jack always seems to be battling some inner demons. He grew up in the English countryside near the small town of Beckford and has not been back home, since he ran away at the age of eighteen, fleeing an abusive father and an unhappy childhood. When his aunt notifies him that his father has died, Jack goes home, the prodigal son returning to pay his final respects.
When he returns to his childhood home, he finds that all is not as it should be. There are supernatural manifestations. Moreover, the town bully who tormented Jack during his childhood is looking to pick up where he left off, only he has a new partner in crime. Jack confronts the real and the spectral terrors that await him, in an effort to find healing, only to find that some things are just not what they seem.
Those who enjoy ghost stories will find much to like about the book. While the ending came as a total surprise, the social implications of the unexpected twist to the tale are shocking, to say the least. While this book is an intriguing one, overall, the ending was not of the same quality as the rest of the book. Still, those who like ghost stories will definitely derive some enjoyment from reading this book.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
A horror that plays on all our fears...or memories!!!, April 11 2004
I really enjoy the way Morris writes (having read 'Toady' and 'Mr Bad Face') and this book was no exception. He cleverly makes you care about one of the characters in this book and feel compassion and horror like the other one. He succeeded in horrifying me on the simplest level without the need for blood and gore.
It was one of those books that you just have to keep reading even though you're shattered and know you need to sleep, just to find out what happens. The ending was an interesting idea and wasn't at all what I expected.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A different kind of ghost story, April 22 2002
I always thought of Mark Morris as a good, if not what secondrate British horrorwriter. I don't mean that in a negative way, but he always had the footsteps of people like Clive Barker, Ramsey Campbell and James Herbert in which to follow... and that's not an easy task!
It's perhaps ironic that those writers also seem to have had a big influence on him. I remember his book 'The Secret of Anatomy'to be an entertaining Barkeresque romp and his 'Doctor Who' novels were lighthearted, not all too serious fun.The Immaculate changed all that... I can't help but have the feeling that the story is strongly autobiographical (the parts about the writer anyway, offcourse not the supernatural bits...I hope).
The book is about a writer who returns to his hometown after his abusive father passed away. When he starts having bad dreams and hears his father's voice through the phone I just knew it was going to be THAT kind of story. I was wrong. I couldn't for the life off me have expected where this story'd wind up. I won't spoil it for you, but it was brilliant, and much more mature than similar efforts from someone like Herbert, who always likes to have the blood and guts flying. You wont find that in this novel. The Immaculate is by far Mark Morris' best work. I am an aspiring writer myself (aren't we all?) and I totally got pulled in by the world in which the main character lives. For example, I loved it when he pulled found this old case in his attic and started flipping through the pages of all the books he so adored during his childhood. Marvelous! Like I said before, this doesn't go for the gross-out, but it's good supernatural horror, with strong psychological and social overtones.
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