The Wise Friend

Fiction Without Frontiers

By: Ramsey Campbell

Narrated by: Geoff Cummings

“An absolute master of modern horror. And a damn fine writer at that.” (Guillermo del Toro)

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?

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Worth a Credit

Not five star material, but typical Ramsey Campbell fare. Nothing scary, lots of devil power, easy going mystery.

Creepy, Brilliant, and Beautiful

Ramsey Campbell is an incredible prose stylist, and The Wise Friend is among his most impressive works. Tension and fear mount steadily in this novel, beginning with hints and worrisome implications, and arriving at outright conflict with a supernatural malevolence. If you’re looking for high action and gore, this is not your book. But if you’re looking for the creeping weird that waits around every corner, and the eerie magic of language and the land, then by all means enjoy. If you like this book, I’d also highly recommend Campbell’s The Influence and Creatures of the Pool.