Customer Reviews

The Keep

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Yeah, that sounds like an exaggerated proclamation. But it's true. F. Paul Wilson has a knack for writing thrillers (the "Repairman Jack" series, for example); in "The Keep," he just combines it with some extra-large doses of horror.

In the Romanian mountains, a bunch of Nazis have stumbled upon a deserted structure. Called a "keep"--though that's not what it really is--its purpose is a mystery, as are the strange crosses placed at precise intervals on all the walls. There's also the fact that no birds have nested at the keep, and no one is permitted to stay inside overnight...

But those darn Nazis always were foolhardy. Something is released that first night, something that defies description. It moves stealthily through the shadows, it murders with explicit savagery...and its bloodlust is endless...

Only one mysterious man and one determined Jewish woman can stop this evil...if the time has not already run out...

Evil vs. evil. F. Paul Wilson's "The Keep" is the first novel in what became known as the "Adversary Cycle," a series of loosely based novels all tied together at the end. "The Keep" stands alone, however, as an exemplary example of how a horror novel should be written. Delictable, terrifying, and unforgettable!

I bought this book...ooh, I don't know...maybe two years ago, in some used bookstore, simply because the front cover said "A Novel Of Deep Horror". For two years (I guess) the book just sat there in my room, doing nothing. Then, on August 1 (a date that I will not soon forget), I began reading this (don't ask me how I came to do it--maybe fate?), and I was immediately hooked! The first couple of chapters of this masterpiece were horrifying, terrifying, and with just enough gore to please the standard horror audiences (me included), but not gross-out. The book takes place in 1941, in a place in the Transylvanian Alps called the Dinu Pass. In Dinu Pass is a small castle, or Keep, and it is here that the story occurs. The book starts off in the present, where Major Sturmbanfurer Kaempffer recieves a message from the Keep, saying, quite simply, "SOMETHING IS MURDERING MY MEN." Then the book takes a sort of flashback, where Captain Klaus Woermann of the German Army is assigned with a small league of his soldiers there to watch for any possible invasion by the Russians. Woermann has this sort of dread feeling the minute he crosses the threshold of the Keep and into its courtyard, but he cannot think why. And the whole book just goes on and on, and never lets up until the end. I recall one particular sentence in one of the first couple of chapters that is a real haunter: The horror has begun. These four words are what truely captivated me more than anything else. I will not begin to tell what this "horror" is, but I will only say, READ THIS BOOK. F. Paul Wilson is a uniquely talented writer, and he writes very clearly, with well-developed characters, great visual settings, and quite some scary scenes (let me tell you!). What is really unique about this book is the setting: 1941 in Romania, one of the few countries not totally taken over during this mighty war. As a matter of fact, there is not a single American in the book; in addition, I only recall seeing the word "America" in the last 40 or so pages, only once or twice. There is also something else unique: for a long time, the main character of the book is Klaus Woermann, and he his of the German Army--one of what once were the "bad guys." In this book, the reader learns of his internal hatred of Nazism, as well as how he only joined the war for the honor of prideful battles of justice. I rooted for him, believe it or not, and future readers might do so, too. F. Paul Wilson's character development was excruciatingly *real*. When minor characters died off in the book, they had a small introduction before this. This is much like the usual writing style of another author (James Herbert--nearly *all* his characters are like this), but this is a good thing--if there is no introduction or background to a character, their being killed off is as sad a moment as seeing those cardboard cutout characters from those old B-horror movies. We *need* some intro, and this is it. There are so many other things I would want to talk about from this book, but unless everyone in the entire world read--and enjoyed--this book, I cannot share them. This review was written not only to show my feelings for the book, but to interest other people in reading it. Therefore, I will leave all the wonderful--and horrible--surprises for newcomers to discover. This book will one day be a classic, along with other such terrors as The Shining, I Am Legend, and so many more. I have yet to see the movie, but many people hated it, and from what I've heard, it is more influenced by this book than based upon it. Whatever the movie is like, read this book first, if not instead. I guarantee readers of all sorts--horror, romance, science fiction, fantasy, the works--will enjoy it. Purchase and enjoy this book, people, and don't get too scared...

I first read this book over twenty years ago, when it was first released and loved it. I decided that it was time to give it another go around to see if my original opinion of it still held. Well, time has certainly not diminished the power of this book to hold the reader in its thrall. I still love this book, and it remains my favorite book by this author.

As far as horror stories go, this one is definitely up with the best of them. The author has written a riveting page turner with this tautly written, inventive tale. The author has taken some vampire folklore and given it a new twist. In the hands of this master of the horror genre, the quintessential battle between good and evil takes on a new dimension.

In Romania, deep in the heart of the Transylvanian Alps, lies the Dinu Pass. In April of 1941, a small squadron of German soldiers has been ordered to occupy a small, deserted, five hundred year old castle keep at the Dinu pass. From the beginning, Captain Klaus Woermann senses that there is something unusual about the keep. Looking as if it had just been built and inlaid with brass and nickel crosses in every corridor, crosses that the caretaker for the keep exhorts the Germans not to touch, the keep is an architectural oddity.

Soon the games begin, as an unseen force begins murdering his men. Captain Woermann sends a message to the high command. To his dismay, they respond by sending a Nazi squadron of einsatzkommandos under the leadership of SS Major Kaempffer to quell whatever local guerilla activity is, undoubtedly, responsible for the murders. Soon, these death's head troopers begin succumbing to the same fate as their German Army counterparts, and all hell breaks loose.

Enter the ailing Dr. Theodor Cuza, a Romanian Jew and former professor at the University of Bucharest. Although suffering from the ravages of scleroderma, he is ordered by the Nazis to the keep, as he is an expert in the history of the region. It is hoped that he will be able to shed some light on the mysterious keep and enable his hosts to defeat their unknown adversary.

Accompanied by Magda, his daughter, they find themselves confronted with the cruelty of the Nazis, the unexpected kindness of Captain Woermann, and something from their worst nightmares that has them call into question their deepest beliefs. Then, a mysterious red-headed stranger with piercing blue eyes also appears, and nothing is ever the same again.

This is one of the premier horror stories of all time. Bravo!

Simply the best horror story book that I have ever read in my entire life time. It is a gripping story det against the background of WW2 that tells of a detachment of German soldiers sent to occupy a fortification in the Translyvanian Alps in Romania, to keep an eye on the Russian movements. But Captain Woermann and his men discover something so evil, something so terrible, that it starts slowly taking one of his men at a time. The SS are dispacthed to deal with the problem and the rivarly between Woermann and the SS commander, Major Kaempffer is great, it keeps more tension throughout the entire book. Anyway, it was an awesome story of horror and evil. I am sorry to say that the movie was a dissapointment, for you own sake... READ THE BOOK FIRST or you may discourage yourself from ever wanting to look at this story again, please it is a shame for such a great book to be devastated by a mediocure movie.

The Keep is important to the Third Reich. So when German soldiers stationed there start to die the SS is sent to investigate and DESTROY whatever enemy they find.
But what happens when the enemy is more powerful, more ruthless and even more sadistic than the Death Squads sent to fight it?
The story started out very strong, a mixture of horror, mystery and even a touch historical novel. The characters seemed real, the plot solid and the flow was smooth. The fears that Theodor Cuza develops about his religion and his faith, the interplay between Erich Kaempffer's naked greed and Klaus Woermann's military professionalism, only add to the reality of the setting.
But near the end the story started to get a little too wild, turning from a vampire/between a rock and a hard place/Lovecraft book into something more fitting of fantasy/Evil vs. Good/E.E."Doc" Smith book.

Initially, I resisted reading this book because it featured Nazis. I've read too many books over the years where the author uses Nazis as villains because it's an easy out and he couldn't come up with a more original bad guy. Not so Paul Wilson! The Nazis are not only the victims in this story, but Wilson even manages the near impossible and we sympathize with them! How original it that!

*The Keep* is so richly detailed that it is a pleasure to read. Wilson skillfully draws you bit by bit into the story and before you know it, you're hooked! One sentence, "The horror had begun", sent chills down my spine!

The evil that is unintentionally unleashed is a fascinating unknown, and the good guys may not turn out to be as good as we originally thought. Who or what is killing the soldiers, one per night? There are no easy answers. I loved the ironic twist of the Nazi commander having to ask for the help of a Jewish scholar in order to save his men. A nice touch.

This is yet another one of those books that will keep you up all night to find out how it ends. I can't wait to read more of Wilson's novels! Two thumbs up for *The Keep*!

I picked this book up because I kept hearing that it was a true classic of horror. It also seemed to stand out among fans as being Wilson's best work. While I enjoyed The Keep and agree that it is a very solid novel, I found that there were way too many flaws and annoyances to grant it such status.

During World War II, a German SS squad take over the Dinu Pass in Romania. Nestled deep in the Transylvania Alps, it is a direct link to Russia and the Germans want to solidify their position in the pass should relations between them and Russia deteriorate. Within the pass there is a castle-like structure referred to as "The Keep", which is where the Nazis barricade themselves and spend the night. But every night, a Nazi dies at the hands of an evil, inhuman apparition. Is it a ghost? A vampire? Dumbfounded, they bring in a Romanian professor who is an expert on local folklore (and who also happens to be Jewish) to shed light on the situation.

Mainly due to its setting in WWII, I was expecting this novel to be a relatively complex read for a horror novel but it's not at all. It reads very easily, and the WWII setting is clearly only a backdrop and things like war and politics are rarely discussed. It's really more of a pulp novel about an inhuman monster battling human monsters (The Nazis). Okay so who are we as readers supposed to root for? I wasn't sure myself. What I found original here is how Wilson suddenly made the monster into a tangible presence halfway through the book. It was fascinating to read about the monster's origin and history. Wilson also packs the first half of his book with loads of suspense. As the monster kills one Nazi per night, readers are kept on their toes as they wonder which will be the next Nazi to suffer a horrible death.

Now for the bad: The suspense, horror and intrigue Wilson built in the first half of the book almost completely disappears in the second half. The monster seldom kills people, the 3 new characters introduced are annoying (professor, his daughter and Glenn), and the entire mood of the story changes. It's not even a horror story anymore but makes a complete 180-degree turn into a medieval fantasy novel of ancient good versus evil. Add to that the sickly sweet romance between two of the characters and it completely kills the buildup the novel had. These romance scenes were incredibly cheesy, the writing punctuated by exclamation points all the time like "Oh, how I love him so!" or "How strong his arms were!" and made me feel like I was reading a dime-a-dozen romance novel from the supermarket shelves.

I suspect those people proclaiming "The Keep" to be one of the best horror novels ever simply have not read that many horror novels. I don't want to give the wrong impression however: I still think "The Keep" is a solid novel, therefore my 4-star rating. It just didn't turn out to be the classic I was expecting it to be.

The Keep revolves around a Nazi Officer and his men who are stationed in the Romanian Mountains, charged with setting up a base in an small abandoned Castle, the "Keep" of the book's title. When a greedy soldier disturbs some of the Keeps unorthodox architecture, and soldiers start dying, an elite SS troop is sent in to stop the killings. And things get worse....

A romanian folklore expert is brought in to decipher strange writing found at the scene of one of the murders, a frail old man who just happens to be Jewish....so you can imagine how he feels about keeping Nazis alive. Throw in the old man's daughter, a mysterious man carrying a mysterious package, and one of the nastiest monsters in horror novel history, and you've got all the ingredients for a "keeper" (HAHAHA...) of a book.

Does Wilson deliver? You betcha....Molosar is one of the nastiest pieces of work this vampire fan has ever encountered, and the way that Wilson explains the vampiric mythology of crucifixes and garlic and mirrors is nothing short of fascinating. I spent much of the book trying to puzzle out his many little riddles, such as why Molosar fears the Cross when Cuza wields it, but kills a Nazi who is holding a cross. Wilson deftly keeps the reader guessing, and in this day of saw-the-ending-coming -a mile-away books, that's something special. I'm looking forward to reading the second book of "The Adversary Cycle", The Tomb.

"The Keep" is really, in its basic form, a pulp horror novel and it covers some familiar territory: slimy, evil things in the dark that no one believes is there till their dead, characters getting mad at each other rather than at whatever is killing them. But "The Keep" is better than one might expect, and it is raised far above its humble horror premise. First of all, the setting elevates it: Set during world war II when the greatest horror in history was playing out, in an isolated keep that is brought into the modern world beautifully but given a hint of gothicism. Yet the "typical" scenes of horror here are elevated because of Wilson's genuine talent for giving the reader chills. The way he describes the darkness "enveloping" people is truly frightening, and there are many further scenes that induce terror, two dead men standing over a sleeping man's bed and etc. Then the characters - here is where Wilson truly excels. One might think that you can feel nothing for these characters, since they are Nazis. But throughout a large part of the book, the main character is German Captain Klaus Woermann, who despises Nazism and would really rather not be at the keep, he feels sorry for the suffering caused. He is a truly likeable character for the most part, but more importantly, he feels REAL, all the characters do. Even small characters who are only in the book for a few pages are given in an introduction, a brief history that truly makes you feel for them and for their situation. The finale gets a little to fantasy-ish for my personal tastes, as well as the final explanation behind the killing force in the keep, but thats a minor thing. There are so many scenes of spine-chilling horror in this book that it truly is a rarity of its type.

When I first read "The Keep" I was drawn by the historical time period involved. As I read on the excellent way that Mr. Wilson portrays characters,scenery,and story line in a most tangible way kept me spellbound for the rest of the book. Anyone who enjoys historical or geographical accuracy in a compelling story line will want to read this book. I've read this book numerous times,including once aloud for a friend . I believe this is one of my favorite books/stories. Definitely a must read!