Some Will Not Sleep

Selected Horrors

By: Adam Nevill

Narrated by: David Stifel

Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

A bestial face appears at windows in the night.

In the big white house on the hill angels are said to appear.

A forgotten tenant in an isolated building becomes addicted to milk.

A strange goddess is worshipped by a home-invading disciple.

The least remembered gods still haunt the oldest forests.

Cannibalism occurs in high society at the end of the world.

The sainted undead follow their prophet to the Great Dead Sea.

A confused and vengeful presence occupies the home of a first-time buyer.

In ghastly harmony with the nightmarish visions of the award-winning writer's novels, these stories blend a lifelong appreciation of horror culture with the grotesque fascinations and childlike terrors that are the author's own.

©2016 Adam L. G. Nevill (P)2017 Journalstone Publishing

Critic reviews

"Nevill is fast becoming Britain's answer to Stephen King." ( Guardian)

"Readers will lose all hope of peaceful, undisturbed sleep. Highly recommended." ( Library Journal)

"Nevill's talent for horror resonates ominously in every scene, almost as if the theme from Jaws echoes when a page is turned." ( Kirkus)

Good read

Some of these stories were great, some felt a little drawn out. The language and the narration are delightful.

a awakening nightmare

This author captures the emotional impact of nightmare so well it's unsettling. Pig thing, and mothers milk were my personal favorite.

Excellently frightening

It's been a while since I've read anything that actually frightened me and this did. Well written and interesting. Will be reading one of his novels next.

well... i could sleep

Some of these stories were the craziest things I've read in a long time but none were bad.

As usual, Adam L. G. Nevill delivers the goods.

It’s hard to believe this is Adam Nevill’s first short story collection, given his the several (rather lengthy) novels he’s written in the last decade alone. Nevill’s novels, by the way, were the best kept secret among modern Literary Horror works until very recently; the first film adaptation of one of his books, “The Ritual,” [Netflix] was an instant success celebrated by critics as well as audiences who streamed it from all over the world. Consider for a moment the number of Horror films you’ve watched on Netflix in your life…if you’ve anything like me, it’s a big number, (and embarrassingly big number). Now how many produced/made by Netflix? My guess would be ~30% of their entire Horror catalogue were made by Netflix, but here’s my point(!): Of those films, how many were any good? Do you ever re-watch them or recommend them to your friends? My guess is that it is rare for someone to watch a Horror film made by them – or ANY major steaming service – that ends up being so good, you’re instantly curious about who wrote the story, or in this case, who wrote the novel that was adapted until such an unusually great horror film. I know you don’t understand (yet) what any of this has to do with this collection of short stories, but fret not, baby birds – I’m about to feed you.

Each of the short stories contained in, “Some Will Not Sleep,” are original, (something the Horror genre has always been thoroughly lacking: originality), in their conceit and masterful in their execution. I’ll spare you all that trite blurb you’ve probably seen a hundred times on a book’s cover about how, “[This author] is the British Stephen King!” (or some variation of that pathetic & misguided marketing tactic). But I am serious, in fact deadly serious, when I say that Adam Nevill is NOT “England’s answer to Stephen King,” because that would imply Stephen King is a very talented writer of Horror Fiction. Spoilers: Stephen King’s so-called “Horror” oeuvre is better suited for younger kids who have outgrown R. L. Stine, but are not ready to experience actual terror. Okay, I’ll stop bashing King since I’m certain most folks enjoyed his books as a gateway into the genre, so no offense intended. I just don’t understand how such mediocrity and lack of imagination is so ridiculously popular…as if to prove my point: Unless you're already a fan of the modern Weird Fiction revival of the 21st century, chances are you don’t know Adam Nevill or any of his stuff. So let’s rectify this unfortunate situation. Buy this book and leave every single expectation at the door. You’re entering unfamiliar territory at night. You cannot see your hand in front of your face – that’s how pitch black this place is. There are sounds in the distance; twigs snapping, fallen leaves crunching, a cacophony of predatory animals in the distance howl & cackle as they alert you of their encroachment…all you can do is push forward into the darkness. The unknown.

Adam Nevill is your guide this evening. Hear you me, he’s one of the best in the business.

Creepy and unsettling.

These short stories are creepy and very unsettling. They are perfect for Halloween listening. I wasn't a huge fan of the narrator which is why I only gave the performance 3 stars.

Great collection of unique stories

This is a nice collection of Nevill’s early works. You can feel the experimentation of sub-genres and points of view but still portrays the creepy, old world style that I know

Haunting Shorts

I loved these short stories. Even the least favorites are still amazingly written. After listening I bought more of Nevill's books.

Pretty average experience overall.

This book is an anthology of stories ranging from fairly good to very lackluster. Most of the stories albeit interesting are simply not scary 95% of the way through, only turning into a nail biter at the very end of the story, into which the story ends abruptly. Leaving you feeling more disappointed and robbed of your time than any semblance of fear or excitement, and you would be lucky to get even that sometimes. There are two stories in particular that aren't scary at all and just have the main protagonist complain about a colleague or roomate for about an hour with no actual payoff... I'm serious.

The narrator didn't help things either, a lot of the voices he does vary so much it's distracting to the overall story, but to be fair that can hardly be considered his fault. I personally don't know any American man that can sound like a British boy or a little girl and still sound convincing.

Overall I would say if you have time to burn a few of these stories are unique and interesting enough for your time, but be aware that others will leave you disappointed after a long buildup and others you might not even be able to be interested in at all.

I'll sleep just fine

Perhaps I am jaded, but this was not scary at all. If you are looking for horror look elsewhere.
Otherwise, ok. Narration somewhat droning at times but I was able to power through and finish.