The Ceremonies

By: T. E. D. Klein

Narrated by: Adam Sims

Length: 21 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

He stopped, looked back, and saw it: the monstrous black thing staring at him from the tree....

This summer sees the long-anticipated reissue of The Ceremonies, a celebrated masterpiece from a generation ago, now fully corrected by its author. Chalking up the British Fantasy Award for Best First Novel on its original publication back in 1984, The Ceremonies was hailed by Stephen King as the best horror novel since Peter Straub's Ghost Story. It is now included in Horror: 100 Best Books.

From the terrifying vision of its opening scene to the breathtaking horror of its climax, The Ceremonies turns our familiar world into a place of malevolent intrigue and ominous design. In the grip of an extraordinary writer, it plumbs the darkest underpinnings of ancient myth and folklore to reveal an undying evil.

For graduate student Jeremy Freirs, citified, cynical, yet prone to daydreams, summer is the time to shed a few pounds and finally get some reading done for a course on Gothic literature. He's picked just the right place: the small, secluded village of Gilead, New Jersey, only 90 minutes from Manhattan but, with its antique customs and clannish traditions, seemingly centuries away.

For farmers Sarr and Deborah Poroth, young members of Gilead's fundamentalist community, the summer threatens a conflict between their passionate natures and the stern dictates of their faith. For Sarr's widowed mother, gifted with second sight, it promises the frightful awakening she's dreaded all her life. And for aspiring dancer Carol Conklin, a naive country girl struggling to survive in the city, it brings not only the first blush of romance but a lucky job with a kindly looking old man known as Mr. Rosebottom.

But 'Rosie', as he calls himself, bears a more sinister name - the Old One - and a far more terrifying secret. Though the signs are all about them, he alone knows the invisible design that rules these people's lives as they dance unwittingly toward doom: for in the heat of summer an ancient corruption is stirring, an evil rooted not far from the Poroth farm, yet reaching to the city and beyond. The time has come for the Ceremonies, the monstrous rites that will unleash on a despised creation an age-old promise of apocalypse. And to see the scheme unfold, like some deadly flower, is to watch a nightmare come to life.

©2016 T.E.D. Klein (P)2019 Audible, Ltd

a top 5 horror novel

simply one of the best tales ever told. perhaps you too, should spend a summer at the Poroth Farm.

An incredible Listen

I have obsessively listened to this book on repeat for 2 weeks straight! Great narrator!!

Exceeded my expectations!

Great story. 1980’s New York Lovecraft with three dimensional characters. Written to make you feel like you are there.

WOW!

This book was unique and weird too. It had a good plot. Narrator did a good job.

Literate Lovecraftian Horror

Literate Lovecraftian Horror, the title says it all. A great listen, well read. Well developed characters, mounting tension, satisfying conclusion.

Muffled

I liked the narrator, but the voice came out sounding muffled from the speakers I used. I tried two different speakers, and I ended up turning the volume high to hear the reading clearly. Apart from that, I enjoyed this audiobook very much.

Nest ever!

Yes! This was wonderful, too much to got in to, but I highly recommend. Well written, lots of twists, turns, characters ar dwell developed, it is fast moving and the narrator is wonderful! Can’t get much better!

meh

slow. mildly boring. somewhat anti climactic. would recommend if you had not much better to read. not the masterpiece people claim it to be in my opinion.

Amazing

Great book. Would recommend it to any fan of the supernatural horror genre. Also, great work by the narrator.

Almost perfect!

First, the narrator was excellent, and pulled off some unique voices. I will definitely be looking him up!
As for the story? It was one of the best I have ever read. The setting is unique, but believable, just like the evil! I especially liked his personification of evil as a sweet old man, who’s pulling strings behind the scenes. All of his characters have depth and nuance. I was very happy that he didn’t pigeon whole his religious folks as all fundamentalist crazies. In fact, there were several times I liked Sarr more than Jeremy. Contrary to some other reviews, I thought the slow pace of the story allowed for depth of atmosphere, and created a build up of suspense. The one reason why I say this story was “almost” perfect, is that I felt the ending was rushed and unsatisfying. I won’t ruin it for you, but I’d compare it to killing Cuthuluh with a shotgun. Still worth it though!