Customer Reviews

The Beetle: A Mystery

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I first came across references to this forgotten classic in the works of British occultist Kenneth Grant. Firmly rooted in the Victorian appetite for mystery and the supernatural, 'The Beetle' is a masterpiece of horror and occult fiction. Originally published in 1897, the same year as Bram Stoker's 'Dracula', Richard Marsh's highly original creation at one point actually outsold Stoker's famous vampire primer. Like Stoker's other masterpiece, 'The Jewel of Seven Stars', which was brought to the screen in the seventies with Hammer's stylish retelling as 'Blood From the Mummy's Tomb' (and the forgettable 'The Awakening'), 'The Beetle' would be well served with a film adaptation, although it might be hard pressed to find an appreciative audience today.

For those with a taste for occult-inspired fiction along the lines of H.P. Lovecraft, Arthur Machen, Bram Stoker, Sax Rohmer, Algernon Blackwood and others, 'The Beetle' will not disappoint. See also the cheaper Wordsworth edition, with a fine introduction by David Stuart Davies.

"A face looked into mine, and, in front of me, were those dreadful eyes. Then, whether I was dead or living, I said to myself that this could be nothing human, -nothing fashioned in God's image could wear such a shape as that. Fingers were pressed into my cheeks, they were thrust into my mouth, they touched my staring eyes, shut my eyelids, then opened them again, and-horror of horrors!-the blubber lips were pressed to mine-the soul of something evil entered into me in the guise of a kiss."

Published in 1897, the same year as Bram Stoker's Dracula, The Beetle is a classic Victorian weird/sensation novel, written in wonderfully ripe, overwrought prose, and featuring (of course!) a sinister oriental figure with the power to transform himself. This fiend persecutes and hypnotically asserts control over an upstanding British man, the hero of the novel.

In many ways, this sort of novel foreshadowed Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu novels, but it also fed into the late 19th-century fascination with all things Egyptian. Later this sort of tale would be the grist for 20th century mummy films and Boris Karloff's mesmerizing stare, but unfortunately The Beetle never seems to have made the leap into popular modern culture the way that Dracula did. A pity, as this is an equally engrossing supernatural tale.

A great find. I really enjoyed it. Full of suspense and action. A good old creepy thriller!!

I greatly enjoyed this book and was quite shocked I had never heard of it. It is quite fun to find a nice, little surprise in a free book.

It's inducted into my top 5 favorite books of all time. I love how the story is told from the main characters perspectives, and the detail of the "Arab" leaves your imagination to wonder. Some parts of the story,especially towards the end, were quite perplexing, but not to the point of reducing the quality of the book. Great read!

Kindle has allowed me to enjoy reading again. Thank you! Kindle has allowed me to enjoy reading again. Thank you!

I tried several time to read this e-book, but it was too convoluted for me. It did not make good sense.