Something More Than Night by Kim Newman Publisher : Titan Books Ltd (2 Nov. 2021) Language : English Paperback : 368 pages ISBN-10 : 1789097711 ISBN-13 : 978-1789097719 A buddy novel with a difference…. Raymond Chandler hangs out with Boris Karloff! Back in 2012 the BBC asked whether so called ‘literary mashups’ were going to be the next big thing? I’m not too sure how many copies Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or his equally daft Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter sold but given he has not published a novel in some years perhaps the markets have since moved on. Kim Newman’s latest release Something More Than Night is a literary mash-up of a different breed, taking in both the golden age of Hollywood cinema (late 1930s) and a splash (or should that be a shot?) of hardboiled detective fiction. Just to be clear from the outset, you will enjoy this novel much more if you have some knowledge of Hollywood cinema from this era, particularly horror, and if the iconic line “It’s alive!” means nothing to you then you may well struggle with some of the jokes and references. Although Newman is probably best known for the Anno Dracula series he has an impressive body of work and has borrowed characters from other authors on other occasions, including Professor Moriarty in The Hound of the D'Urbervilles. Also, If you were ever seeking a ringer for a film quiz pub team then Newman would be a perfect candidate, writing critiques on many genre classics and an astonishingly diverse range of films. My personal favourite, which I still have on my shelves, was Wild West Movies (1990) as I love westerns almost as much as horrors. Back in 2018 my daughter and I also enjoyed his play Magic Circle which had a few showings in a tiny London theatre and it was nice to see some of his stuff performed live, showcasing his quirky and off-beat versatility. Considering his elelectic CV there is no better candidate to write a novel starring horror icon Boris Karloff and legendary detective fiction writer Raymond Chandler. Newman’s eye for detail is an absolute triumph and his recreation of late 1930s Hollywood literally jumps off the page in a story in which he imagines the two men are best friends. Chandler narrates the novel in the first person, in a non-linear style, with his insights and observations into Hollywood being very entertaining, with the style mirroring his own literary creations, in particular Philip Marlowe who he is about to unleash The Big Sleep on the world. Something More Than Night revolves around a murder mystery in which old friends Raymond Chandler and Boris Karloff help a mutual friend work a case which threatens to expose Hollywood's dodgy secrets. As it is narrated by Chandler, it is written in a pulp fiction style with the two friends getting much more than they bargained for, running down clues, old contacts and finding dead bodies (one headless). This novel was definitely style over substance and I much preferred the overall mood, setting, characters and humour than the actual murder mystery which had some lulls and a quirky Frankenstein spin. In the story Boris goes by his real name William Pratt (Ray never calls him Boris) and notes that Billy’s finest acting performance was in the creation of his ‘Boris’ persona. I loved Boris/Billy and Ray’s descriptions of his old friend, his acting trials, high and lows, was an absolute delight and the pair made a highly effective, if unlikely, buddy act. There were also some great comic touches, I also loved the manner in which the police deferred to Karloff, why you might ask? Because he’s Boris Karloff! Ray’s downbeat and depreciative version of himself, sober or drunk, was very much in the style of his own detective, mirroring his literary creation, being at the stage of his career where pulp magazines were his bread and butter. Ray was great company and I loved the way he never begrudged Boris/Billy’s success with all the telling anecdotes about Frankenstein and the sequels which followed. The many side references to other actors from this era also hit the spot and the numerous references to Bela Lugosi were really amusing but might be missed by readers who know nothing about the Karloff/Lugosi relationship. In some ways this was a novel for fans of cinema as it was quite literally top-loaded with observations and film trivia and references to Karloff’s many onscreen personas including the Mummy, the Man They Could Not Hang and other stars from the silent era such as Lon Chaney, who was a predecessor to Karloff. This is a fact I was not aware of: both Chandler and Pratt lived in south London at roughly the same time and attended rival public schools. They also live in Hollywood about the same time, so there is a small chance the two men might have crossed paths and it is this fascinating ‘what if’ the novel is built around. At its heart Something More Than Night has a real fun concept and is a very quirky homage to the 1930s Hollywood movies and the era of black and white cinema. If you are interested in this sort of thing this book is a treat, to others it might be more of a curiosity. Diehard Kim Newman fans will undoubtedly have a lot of fun with it and will find it impossible not to fall in love with Billy who really steals the show. Tony Jones Something More Than Night by Kim Newman |
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