The Face That Must Die by Ramsey Campbell (An Observation)

ttzuma · **Joined:** Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:15 pm **Posts:** 13517

Johng sent me this novel in an exchange program we started where we sent each other our two favorite novels and asked the other to comment on them. This is the first of the two I read and I am happy to report that while it doesn’t change my opinion on Ramsey Campbell’s later work, I actually got all the way through this one. And I can honestly say I was glad I read it.

For me Campbell is one of those writers who tend to go on way too much concerning introspective matters in the plotting of his novels. When someone contemplates in a Campbell novel, be prepared to read for pages on end about the characters thoughts. And when this happens, Campbell can be redundant, and to me…that’s when he gets boring.

The Face That Must Die is one of Campbell’s earlier novels, written in 1979 after he wrote The Doll Who Ate His Mother (which I read when it was released all those years ago). TDWAHM as I remembered it was a pretty interesting book and was the only novel of Campbell’s until now that I managed to read all the way through.

The Face That Must Die is also a pretty interesting book. It’s dated with its talk about drug use, and a bit foreign to me with its description of lower class English life, but both those issues did not detract me from enjoying the book. In fact, some of the depictions of racism and homophobia in the novel still ring true today.

This isn’t a horror novel really, it’s more of a physiological thriller detailing the emotionally abused mind of a middle aged man who finally loses his grip on sanity and becomes a serial killer. The portions of this book that focused on this man struggle with his demons were exceedingly well written and had my eyes glued to the page. Other portions were a bit on the familiar side, especially when Campbell was dealing with a young couple’s relationship between themselves and their friends and I found myself losing interest occasionally (this may be my fault though because since this was written I’ve read an awful lot of novels).

This novel won’t make me a Campbell fan, especially in light of the newer stuff of his that I've attempted to read, but my opinion of his work has lifted up a notch after finishing it. For me, his work in short stories is preferable but I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in reading some of Campbell’s work. It’s not a bad place to begin.

Ttzuma

Matt Cowan · **Posted:** Mon May 12, 2008 10:15 pm

I have never read this one, because it isn't a supernatural story and I don't read those (even if it was written by my hero), but you might like his novel, The Grin of the Dark. It is the most concise novel I've ever read of his (I've read six of Campbell's, which is double the number of the next highest author for me) and it is set in very mordern times.

johng · **Posted:** Tue May 13, 2008 4:03 am

You made my night! I'm so happy you liked it. It's really one of the best depictions of paranoia I've read.

I've found several people on the internet who haven't enjoyed Campbell's work in a long while, but say that his newest, The Grin of the Dark, is a return to form for him and may be his best novel yet. So here's hoping.

I'm halfway through November Mourns and I'll probably have a review up Wednesday.

Matt Cowan · **Posted:** Tue May 13, 2008 7:01 am

Hey johng,

You might be interested in this. The fellows over at Yog-Sothoth are offering a video interview download with Ramsey Campbell. It about an hour long and a little over $6 in American currency. I bought mine but will have to try and download it later today after work.

Tom Piccirilli · **Posted:** Tue May 13, 2008 10:51 am

Matt Cowan · **Posted:** Tue May 13, 2008 1:04 pm

ttzuma · **Joined:** Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:15 pm **Posts:** 13517

johng · **Posted:** Tue May 13, 2008 8:47 pm

Matt Cowan · **Posted:** Tue May 13, 2008 9:18 pm

johng · **Posted:** Tue May 13, 2008 10:42 pm

Thanks Matt!

The Face That Must Die by Ramsey Campbell (An Observation)

Who is online