Customer Reviews

The Immaculate

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I always thought of Mark Morris as a good, if not what secondrate British horrorwriter. I don't mean that in a negative way, but he always had the footsteps of people like Clive Barker, Ramsey Campbell and James Herbert in which to follow... and that's not an easy task!
It's perhaps ironic that those writers also seem to have had a big influence on him. I remember his book 'The Secret of Anatomy'to be an entertaining Barkeresque romp and his 'Doctor Who' novels were lighthearted, not all too serious fun.

The Immaculate changed all that...

I can't help but have the feeling that the story is strongly autobiographical (the parts about the writer anyway, offcourse not the supernatural bits...I hope).
The book is about a writer who returns to his hometown after his abusive father passed away. When he starts having bad dreams and hears his father's voice through the phone I just knew it was going to be THAT kind of story.

I was wrong.

I couldn't for the life off me have expected where this story'd wind up. I won't spoil it for you, but it was brilliant, and much more mature than similar efforts from someone like Herbert, who always likes to have the blood and guts flying. You wont find that in this novel.

The Immaculate is by far Mark Morris' best work. I am an aspiring writer myself (aren't we all?) and I totally got pulled in by the world in which the main character lives. For example, I loved it when he pulled found this old case in his attic and started flipping through the pages of all the books he so adored during his childhood. Marvelous!

Like I said before, this doesn't go for the gross-out, but it's good supernatural horror, with strong psychological and social overtones.

I really enjoy the way Morris writes (having read 'Toady' and 'Mr Bad Face') and this book was no exception. He cleverly makes you care about one of the characters in this book and feel compassion and horror like the other one.
He succeeded in horrifying me on the simplest level without the need for blood and gore.
It was one of those books that you just have to keep reading even though you're shattered and know you need to sleep, just to find out what happens. The ending was an interesting idea and wasn't at all what I expected.

I have mainly enjoyed this ghost thriller like story for the writing. The author does a great job of breathing life into his characters, using their background as constant filler in his chapters, and he writes with natural ease making the reader feels as if he was roaming through their head. I have thoroughly enjoyed the book related aspect of this tale, the main hero is also a writer and Mark Morris does a great job shining some light on this mysterious profession.

When Jack Stone finds out that his father has passed away, he feels a rush of relief and a sense of dread at the thought of going back to his childhood birthplace for the funeral. The scabs his memories left on his soul of neglect and child abuse have made him weak with fear but relentlessly he felt that going back would be healing. With the support and a gentle push from his girlfriend Gail, he ventures out to the country side, four hours away from London to burry the past behind once and for all. Little did he know, but his father has his own secrets and the deed of finding them would be forever changing on Jack. The visit back would have been positive if it wasn't for dark shapes creeping around the woods and strange encounters with ghost like apparitions that resemble his father. Worse yet, the local bully who had it for Jack is still heated and ready to strike, using whatever means necessary to wreck havoc on Jacks life and sanity.

I loved the buildup, the creepiness of the house and reading about Jack's time there but I also felt all his work was not getting to a high enough climax. The ending was interesting but I felt a bit angry at how it turned out. The fantasy aspect seemed to have swept my off my feet and delivered me in from of an answer that I simply had to take.

For those who enjoy subtlety in action but like imaginative and descriptive writing, this is not a ride of their lives but will be a pleasant experience never the less.

- Kasia S.

I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but the cover of a book is the very thing that grabs my attention, which gets me to turn the book over to the blurb on the back. I liked the blurb on the back, but the story itself disappointed me. There were chilling parts that I DID like, but there weren't enough of them for me, and some of the character's actions were downright wimpy (for lack of a better word.) Then there's another character who's so mean and vile, but I don't think it's ever revealed WHY? Then there's the ending. It's a twist I didn't see coming, but once revealed, it left a bad taste in my mouth.

I don't typically read this type of book - I tend to stay more with the classics, but wanted a change of pace. I definitely got it with this book. I don't really know how to classify this book, as in my opinion it's not really horror or a ghost story - but it's definitely on the darker side. I was immediately hooked. The author draws you in and makes you feel exactly what the characters are feeling. It was strange, I didn't want to put the book down, but at the same time, had the feeling of "how much more of this can I take" because, as I said before, you feel what they feel. My only problem with this book was the ending - it's a bit odd and far fetched, and seemed to detract a bit from the rest of the book, but overall I really enjoyed this book.

This is a well-written, intriguing ghost story in which a writer has to confront the demons of his past only to find out how intrusive they really are in his present. This is a tautly written, descriptive story with a well-developed protagonist, and a plot that moves the reader easily along to its shocking finale.

Jack Stone is a man in his early thirties. He is a successful writer living in London, England. He is in love with his beautiful girlfriend, Gail. All seems to be right with his world. Still, Jack always seems to be battling some inner demons. He grew up in the English countryside near the small town of Beckford and has not been back home, since he ran away at the age of eighteen, fleeing an abusive father and an unhappy childhood. When his aunt notifies him that his father has died, Jack goes home, the prodigal son returning to pay his final respects.

When he returns to his childhood home, he finds that all is not as it should be. There are supernatural manifestations. Moreover, the town bully who tormented Jack during his childhood is looking to pick up where he left off, only he has a new partner in crime. Jack confronts the real and the spectral terrors that await him, in an effort to find healing, only to find that some things are just not what they seem.

Those who enjoy ghost stories will find much to like about the book. While the ending came as a total surprise, the social implications of the unexpected twist to the tale are shocking, to say the least. While this book is an intriguing one, overall, the ending was not of the same quality as the rest of the book. Still, those who like ghost stories will definitely derive some enjoyment from reading this book.

One star if you read it all the way to the very last page. Some sentences in that book are just wonderful, I wrote them down in my notebook so I could read them later! But unfortunatley I did not loose the book and I did read the ending, and it ruined it all. So, seriously, if you read this book- and you should, its fantastic, but towards the end, when your thinking "how are there that many pages left? this is the ending, right?" stop there. rip out the rest of the pages. burn them.

In contrary to a previous review of this novel, I found this story to be deeply moving and intriguing. The characterisation and depth made the reader warm to Stone and the heartache he suffered at the end when the twist was revealed made I, personally, feel for him. Having in the past read both 'Toady' and 'Stitch' by Morris, and having found them both interesting reads, I must still say that 'The Immaculate is by a long shot Morris's best novel of the three. Having read a large number of horror novels in the past I must say that Morris has not followed the genre and produced a genuine shocker, but has done more than that in combining the supernatural with social issues to create something far more superior to many horror works, something that is truly moving and makes the reader think. I believe this is a very fine novel, but if you want more mainstream horror then stick to King or Laymon. CHRIS WARD.

I really enjoy the way Morris writes (having read 'Toady' and 'Mr Bad Face') and this book was no exception. He cleverly makes you care about one of the characters in this book and feel compassion and horror like the other one.

He succeeded in horrifying me on the simplest level without the need for blood and gore.
It was one of those books that you just have to keep reading even though you're shattered and know you need to sleep, just to find out what happens. The ending was an interesting idea and wasn't at all what I expected.

This is not Laymon, Ketchum, or Lee. There will not be parts flying and droplets spattering. Morris gives us atmosphere. His prose is beautiful and haunting. Sit back. Pop open a pint of a fine English ale. Enjoy. Sure to give you the goosebumps before the nights out.