a tale of folk horror where caravans travel a circular path without cease, moving from garden to garden as dictated by the sinister Game of the Goose. This is a land where unsettlement is a deeply-treasured belief; a land where theatre is used as a weapon; a land in thrall to the shadowy figure of the beekeeper--  I admit, that when I opened the package from the publisher and found my rich green almost classical style edition of The Night of Turns. I wondered if I’d made a mistake requesting it. It just did not look like a horror novel to me. However, I’d requested it, so onto the list it went and in no time at all, it reached the top of my list. That’s when, from the first page onwards, I realised what a beautiful, exceptional and original story was encased within the deceptively ordinary cover. The story in some ways reminded me of the film Midsommar, in other ways The Road. Yes it is that bizarre, it is not a story that is easy to describe or to explain why or how it pulls you in. I don’t know if the folklore is historic or totally fictional, hell I’m not even sure who really wrote the thing although I can probably google it. Maybe I will, or maybe I want to accept that the narrative is really the edited and deciphered coded documented experiences from a woman who travelled over the border from what I think is our world and into another. Yes maybe I do. The Night of Turns is written in Edita’s (might not be a real name) first persons narrative from soon after she’s crossed the border and is taken in by the Caravan of the Burnt Woman, one of many caravan communities that roam the other side of the boarder. As Edita travels with the caravan and talks to the other occupants, she discovers the strange beliefs and practices of life over the boarders and the monsters that lurk beside them as they travel a path that corresponds to a board game called ‘Game of the Goose.’ I won’t say anymore except that there are a number of bright and brutal rituals, some of which change with every enactment and which are the dark focuses of the caravan communities. Beliefs are unfamiliar as are the social structures and rules the vastly different communities live by. Paranoia and suspicion run through the narrative but in a way you wouldn’t expect it to. The violence when depicted, is shocking and brutal, not always expected and sometimes laced with flowers. The monsters are ‘cruel without malice’ and the need to worship is the greatest weakness of all. This book is a slow burn, creeping horror that creates vibrant mental pictures. Some of which have remained, branded into my memory. It is one of the best books I’ve read, as well as being one of the best books I’ve read for Gingernuts. Give it a try. Purchase a copy of The Night of Turns and other books from Broodcomb Press by clicking here TODAY ON THE GINGER NUTS OF HORROR WEBSITE ATTACK FROM THE ‘80S, EDITED BY EUGENE JOHNSON [BOOK REVIEW] THE HEART AND SOUL OF HORROR FICTION REVIEWSComments are closed.
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