Customer Reviews

Face

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Driving home through a fierce blizzard, Dan and Megan, accompanied by their teenage daughter Nikki, spot a man standing in the middle of a dark country road, seemingly having materialized out of nowhere. Offering him a ride, the family quickly comes to regret their act of generosity -- Brand, as the man calls himself, unnerves them all with his strange demeanor and stranger mutterings. When the high strung Megan can't stand it any longer, they literally eject him from their car. Shaken, they resume their trip, leaving Brand to fend for himself on the nearly deserted stretch of road.

In the days that follow, Brand infiltrates their minds and
lives, seeming to shadow their every move. Megan becomes convinced that Brand is spying on her through the eyes of insects and animals, Dan has an altercation with him in a local tavern, and Nikki spots him haunting a music studio where she and her band are making a recording. At first a minor irritation, Brand slowly ups the ante, sadistically torturing the unfortunate trio.

A supernatural take on John D. MacDonald's The Executioners, the well-executed Face chronicles the disintegration of a family under attack from within and without. Dan, Megan and Nikki have lots of emotional baggage, most of it originating in a rape Megan suffered six years before. Megan is paranoid, and has retreated into religion, Dan has been unmanned by his perceived inability to protect his wife. Estranged from each other, they are also losing touch with their daughter, who is dealing with her emerging sexuality. Seemingly peering into their souls, Brand exploits these weaknesses to wreak his revenge.

At first, it's hard to tell whether Brand actually exists,or is
something that the family has conjured out of its misery. In fact, until he acts against their friends and acquaintances, one might easily assume that he exists only in their imaginations. Regardless of his origins or corporeality, it's disquieting to watch his escalating attacks. It's also disquieting that Lebbon offers no easy explanations or outs. Asked "Why?" by Dan, Brand replies, "Sometimes bad things happen to good people." Even as Brand is seemingly dispatched, one senses he's merely stepped offstage, waiting for another opportunity to wreak havoc.

Intense and affecting, Face will seize and hold your attention from the opening paragraph to the end. A writer blessed with extraordinary gifts, Lebbon's chief talents lie in exploring the darker moments of everyday life, and in making readers feel his character's pain and despair. A true disciple of the dark, Lebbon's imagery wrings true fear from his audience.

Dan, Megan, and Nikki Powell are returning home from holiday in a horrible blizzard when they spot a lone figure in the blinding snow. Dan stops to pick up the stranger in hopes of lending a helping hand. However, as soon as Brand--a name that becomes more symbolic as the novel progresses--enters the car, all three Powells feel his power in different ways, especially once Brand starts asking them for "a moment of your time." Dan soon stops the car and forces the man out.

Of course, this is the world of horror, so Brand doesn't simply go away. He begins to haunt each family member, preying on his or her darkest fears and self doubts. Megan begins to lose her mind. Dan sees Brand as symbolizing the very thing that threatens his abilities as family protector and as a man. Nikki? Well, teenage Nikki gets in touch with her inner nymph.

This was my first Lebbon novel, and I've already purchased a few more. His writing is wonderful, and he manages to present some very descriptive images. My major complaint with this mass market paperback is that Leisure did not take enough time to edit it well. There are numerous (stress on numerous) typographical and grammatical errors. While I can overlook the occasional error, the number of errors in this book was very distracting. I found myself being pulled right out of the story. I don't know if the hardcover edition is better. Regardless, this is a good story by a very promising writer.

During a blinding snowstorm, a family of three stops to pick up a hitchhiker called Brand. Then he asks them for another favor, one which they can't deliver. Discomfited by his conversation, they eject him from the car. But they haven't seen the last of Brand, nor will he leave their minds. Each becomes obsessed with him in his or her own way. Dan becomes preoccupied with thoughts of protecting his family, haunted by an attack on his wife years ago, and is driven to acts of violence of which he never thought himself capable. Megan, a religious woman, thinks of Brand as a devil who watches her through the eyes of wild creatures. And daughter Nikki finds herself attracted to him even as he terrifies her.

Lebbon's masterful handling of family dynamics and his understanding of the things which threaten them puts him in league with Steve and Melanie Tem, the premier writers of familial horror. The story relies more on psychological terror and suspense, and when it does escalate into violence, it isn't gratuitous - which isn't to say it's not intense. My one small disappointment came from the unanswered questions at the end, where we're only given hints of the larger picture. I think I would have liked to know just a little bit more. Still, better to err on the side of mystery.

The plot is not really about the hitchhiker, the constant danger, or even the bloodshed. Those are all secondary. It's really about the family and the cracks that have developed within. Cutting a piece into this family's life, Lebbon takes us through the infestation of their lies, and makes us watch as the disease destroys them. The story, while not original, is innovative and powerfully chilling. The climax of this family's collision with the hitchhiker is explosive and the ending - enigmatic!

The pace in the story is slow, but with intention and will. Lebbon's pace proves that the best thrill is the one that's earned, and earn you shall. His style of writing is crisp, concise, and psychologically intense. Although it's clear from the first page that the author is British, it's easy to eventually disregard as you join him on his journey. The atmosphere is claustrophobic, sucking the air from your lungs word by word. Moving through each chapter this world seems to get a little tighter, a little smaller, and a lot more compact. Brilliant!

Now here is where Lebbon truly shines - his players. The characters are each affected individually and their reactions are both sound and unpredictable. Breathing life into each player, Lebbon keeps it real and allows each of them their own distinctive personality and depth. I even liked the antagonist, much to my dismay and shame.

My only problem with the book in its entirety is the editing. Thanks to Rageaholics I didn't pound my head against the wall screaming obscenities - but I wanted to. I'm sure the editor was just as excited about this book as I was, but next time let's give it a second look - please.

When Dan and his family pick up a stranger during a snow storm and invite him into their car, never did he think that his life would take a turn for the worse. The stranger is tall, dark, covered in scars and asks them for "A moment of their time." Freaked out by the man's oddness, they kick him out of their car, hoping that it will be the last of him. Which, of course, it isn't.

Because the very next day, Brand is back to promise Dan that he will make his life a living hell. First, he makes Dan's wife go insane. Then, he turns on Dan's daughter, wanting a lot more out of her than a mere scare. But who - or what - is Brand? And what will it take to put a stop to the nightmare he is inflicting on them?

Tim Lebbon knows how to create great thrilling suspense. This supernatural Cape Fear never has a dull moment. Filled with twists and turns and compelling characters, Lebbon has created a suspenseful tour de force that will leave you breathless and on the edge of your seat.

Lebbon writes with the skill of Dickens, but his style of suspense and brand of supernatural horror is completely his own. Face is a great novel with many scares that proves once and for all that Lebbon is the new voice to watch in dark fiction.

To go with the saying never judge a book by it's cover that's what I did with this, I saw the creepy cover and read the back of the plot and immidiately said to myself "I have to get this! It looks so good!". Well I was half right, first off it took me a long time to read this book, probably about 4 months. I am a fast reader, that is if I'm interested in the book. I can't say that for this. Face starts off well, I liked the concept of a lone hitch hiker on the road in the middle of the blizzard creepy. He's going to make this family's life hell. So like I said, the first half is good, as soon as I reached the middle I started losing interest. I didn't care about Dan or Megan, I thought they were both quite stupid actually. I was interested in the Brand/Nikki storyline however, she becomes obsessed with Brand, and he plays on her emotions. She wants to have sex with him, Brand is basically playing her like a damn fiddle. I am disturbed by Lebbon's fascination with Nikki's lower regions. He makes several suggestions and continiously, yes I spelled that wrong, puts her in explicit sexual situations. Especially the conclusion, she is raped a lot. It's obvious Lebbon has talent but his writing becomes repititive and boring. I actually skipped quite a few pages because a lot of what he put in was unecessary rubbish. And I don't like that Brand was never explained, what the hell was he? Human? Demon? Corporeal spirit of some kind? Lebbon never says, I did have a fondness of Brand, but there's no reason as to why he's torturing the family and how he's doing these things. In the end, Face is a decent read, I hate the ending though, it was so out of place and forced. But whatever, I'd reccomend getting this at a library or something, not worth the price.

Having mildly enjoyed Lebbon's "The Nature of Balance", I decided to give "Face" a try. Well, the beginning is quite gripping and I loved the concept of a family picking up a strange hitchhiker in the middle of a snow storm. It seems that the author started writing with this idea and didn't know where to go with it. Spelling errors aside, Lebbon repeats many of the character's thoughts over and over. Yes, we get the point, you don't need to tell us again! Anyway, having no growth with the characters and a disappointing ending, I cannot recommend this book. Tim Lebbon also seems like he's holding back with scenes, taking the easy way out with his conservative scares and sexual themes. Richard Laymon, Bentley Little, and Tom Piccirilli do it much better.

I'm not a discriminating reader. I'll read anything and I rarely put anything down unfinished. This is one of the few exceptions in the last few years.

Face is tedious at best. And I don't particularly mind tedious if there's some decent writing behind it. Sadly, Face wasn't compelling enough for me to finish. Its quite obvious that Lebbon has talent. He's got enough praise and awards to make me think he's definitely got some talent going for him. But sadly, Face doesn't display any of it. Sure, his characters are decent but I had a hard time liking or empathizing with any of them. Brand, our intrepid bad guy, is just a mystery. He's not well developed enough to hate or even to scare the reader.

I've got a copy of The Nature of Balance by Lebbon on my "to read" shelf. Its been there awhile. Having attempted Face, it might just be there for a while longer.

I may be spoiled by the writings of Lee, Laymon, Ketchum, Lansdale, Barker, McCammon, and King himself. These authors pull no punches. They keep me turning the pages, in awe of their fast paced story line. And even when they slow down, I am never bored by their writing. The book in question, Face, was a dull, tedious story with little action. Sure, their was the characterization, and I applaud that. But I need something more. Something to make me root for, or against. This book had an intriguing villian, per se, but as I turned the pages, rather slowly, I found myself not caring. It was a struggle to get into this book. And I find that disappointing because I have been a fan of Lebbon's short fiction. I didn't read 'nature of balance', so this was my first experience with a novel of his. It made me think of the writings of Poe or Lovecraft. And this may be my downfall. I cannot read these authors. Too drab. So I am putting down the guy by comparing him to some of the greatest. He has talent. This book, however, ceased to grab me by the throat and force me to read it from page one to the end.

There has to be a reason why Brand is terrorizing this family. You can't put 355 pgs on the basis of "sometimes bad things happen to good people." What is that? The way he terrorized the daughter was good--I enjoyed that part, but he could have done a better job with the mom and dad. But you know, this is merely my opinion.
--review from the author of The Shadow God and Spiritual Sorrow.