Last Days (2012 original; edició 2013)

Plot summary.
Documentary. Cult. Hauntings. Abandoned places.

This book is a replica of how I write university essays. I start off really well, the paragraphs are slowly and carefully written. I get to the middle and I'm almost getting over it but I'm still trying really hard to write something distinction worthy. Then I get to two thirds in and that deadline is coming up and I just say fuck it, rush the ending as much as possible and submit it without caring.

So I loved the first two thirds of this book as you can probably tell.. Some aspects were actually a little scary and I love the horror trope of catching paranormal things on tape.
Unfortunately I didn't particularly like the ending.
It ended up going into a completely different direction than I was expecting and the last chapter was incredibly abrupt and was not frightening in the least. Overall it was an enjoyable slow burn that kind of fizzled out. ( )

Well, holy sh*t.

A night, and a day, and a night gone, lost in a book so atmospherically terrifying that I could NOT wrench my brain away from this slobbery, sickeningly crunchy feast of a tale.

Mr. Nevill, you are a twisted man. I'm so glad I don't live inside your skull, and I feel kinda sorry that you do. ( )

This is the first novel by this author I've read, having really enjoyed his short stories, and it's a solid read but didn't rock my world. The mythology Nevill slowly reveals concerning the Blood Friends is original and very creepy, but the book treads a lot of water on the way. Maybe the slow route would have been more enjoyable with an interesting protagonist, but the one we get spends all his time vacillating and whimpering. I understand this is an attempt to make the character more relatable, realistic characters aren't fearless bad-asses, but he's so scared so early he reminded me of Shaggy from Scooby-doo, paralyzed when he so much as hears a creak on the floor above him.

Fortunately, the slow build culminates in a thrilling, nightmarish invasion of the Blood Friends' nest, the protagonist dragged into action by an amusingly gung-ho merc-wannabe I wished showed up earlier in the narrative, then ends on a fiendishly perilous cliffhanger that's too good for the reader to mind.

I didn't always enjoy reading the book, but there were enough good moments and ideas for me to try more of Nevill's novels. ( )

So, there's this guy named Adam Nevill who is just going about his life, minding his own business, when he becomes fascinated with a water stain on the ceiling. The stain looks like something........it looks like something kinda scary. Nevill isn't sure what sort of scary thing it looks like, and he tries to figure it out, asking himself "What kinda scary thing is that?"

Results: The Blood Friends. They are not zombies, but they are long-dead. They are not vampires, but they need blood to sustain themselves. They are not ghosts, but at night they can get into your room by coming through the walls or the ceiling. Blood Friends hate the light but, like rats, they can chew through the wiring to make sure your house is totally dark at night.

Last Days is nominally about a documentary film maker taking on a commission to make a film about a notorious cult called the Temple of the Last Days which self-destructed in a bloody ending back in 1975. Before he even realizes it, he is involved with a vicious supernatural entity. He can't fall asleep because the dreams bring the Blood Friends; he is reduced to taking cat-naps on taxis and benches in public places during the day. He rapidly becomes a human driven to the limits of existance.

Last Days was a well-paced fright-fest with plenty of action and a lot to figure out. I love Nevill's work and have a great deal of admiration for his original twists and creativity.

After finishing this, my fourth Nevill book, I will say that he is my favorite current author of horror fiction. Lucky for me, I have just started No One Gets Out Alive and my copy of Banquet of the Damned is sitting on my shelf for whenever I am ready for it. Except for reading two of his books back-to-back I have tried to ration them out.........after that I will be reduced to waiting for the next book.

( )

I have no idea what to say about this book. ( )