litwrite's review
2.0
I liked it better than Apartment 16 but I felt like the ending fell flat and didn't live up to the huge build up. That's the same problem that I felt Apartment 16 had. Nevill seems to do a great job with setting up a very creepy situation but doesn't quite know how to finish the job with a satisfying climax.
zjswetlik's review
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
catsandbones's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
awry_diamond's review
4.0
The second of Nevill's novels that I've read, 'Banquet' was an interesting tale with some pretty scary moments.
I found this story less gripping than 'The Ritual' but I suppose that is to be expected given the vast differences in the stories. I chose to read 'Banquet' because I live in Scotland and am fairly familiar with St. Andrews. I enjoyed the way that Nevill employs the ancient city not only as a backdrop for his story but also as a character within it.
If you are looking for something drop-dead scary, this might not be the novel for you, but if you fancy an occult tale with some interesting elements and a rich descriptive landscape, give it a try.
I found this story less gripping than 'The Ritual' but I suppose that is to be expected given the vast differences in the stories. I chose to read 'Banquet' because I live in Scotland and am fairly familiar with St. Andrews. I enjoyed the way that Nevill employs the ancient city not only as a backdrop for his story but also as a character within it.
If you are looking for something drop-dead scary, this might not be the novel for you, but if you fancy an occult tale with some interesting elements and a rich descriptive landscape, give it a try.
spookshow's review against another edition
2.0
You can find this review and all my others over at www.readbookrepeat.wordpress.com
Very few believed that Professor Coldwell could in fact commune with the spirits, but now, something has come forth from the darkness in Scotland's oldest university town. It's causing nightmares, night terrors, and sleep paralysis, tormenting those unlucky enough to be chosen, those that end up disappearing. What chance do a flailing musician and an avid explorer have when this old evil and it's cult of blind devotees sets it's sights on them? Will they be able to survive where so many have perished?
I was keen to check this book out. I had just finished No One Gets Out Alive and I was suffering from a bit of a book hangover, I had no idea what I was going to read next. I have a thing for books and stories surrounding cults, I have no idea why, I just do. So when I was reading through Nevill's catalogue of books, this one jumped out at me. I knew I wanted another horror story and I needed something visceral, along the same vein as NOGOA. I have such a strong love/hate with Nevill's works. He's really one of those authors that you just don't know what you're going to get, and honestly, I love that about his work. It makes it so much more interesting because his stories can go either way, so I feel that it's a bit of an experience in itself - reading through his catalogue of works. Unfortunately this one did fall pretty flat for me though. I also discovered while reading this one, that I believe this was his maiden voyage, his first book, so that was pretty exciting too.
This story follows a couple of different characters, we have the two wanna be rockstars who just want to make something of their lives. They're excited to be leaving their home town and have no intentions of coming back, at least, not empty handed anyway. Then we have the guy who has been travelling the globe, observing occult practices and rituals from native peoples all across the world, learning about their beliefs and their folklore. These are the two main storylines, and there's a few chapters that follow other side characters thrown in. I really enjoyed the beginning of the story, following these two best friends who have been through a lot together and who just want to make something of themselves, which leads us to their connection to the Professor. One of the guys is a huge fan of Banquet for the Damned, a book that this Professor wrote decades ago, and they're heading to Scotland to help him write his next book, and to create a soundtrack to go along with it. I already knew from the beginning how things were likely to turn out, and even though it was pretty easy to see the foreshadowing, it didn't detract from HOW things went down. I really enjoyed the character of the researcher/explorer too, and I kinda wish that maybe the book followed him more, or even if we had a story based around his travels, his research just sounded so interesting and I really wanted there to be a bit more of a focus on it. I did find that the story chopped and changed between characters and it was almost like there was just too much going on a lot of the time. The plotline that followed the researcher was brought in, we cruised with him for a bit, then he kind of just dropped off the face of the story until his plot driving was needed again which I found to be a little disappointing.
The idea of the story was fantastic and very creepy. There were definitely creep factor moments happening, and even in this early work, Nevill does a fantastic job of really setting a strong atmosphere of oppression and isolation that I've come to find in the other books of his that I've read. He does such a great job of really dropping you into the characters shoes and making you feel what they feel. The desolation, desperation and downright terror is so tangible in all of his books and I'm here for it. I find that Nevill doesn't rely heavily on shock value, everything that happens in his books has a purpose and I absolutely love that about them. I did find that this story just had so much going on, it was almost like three books mashed into one, and even though the plot points and stories did overlap and it all came together in the end, it just felt like way too much. Most of the book it felt like I was slogging uphill in quick sand just trying to get through it, the pacing was a pretty big problem for me. And while I don't think much could have really been left out, as said above, everything has a purpose, I just think this one needed to be polished a bit more in order to really shine like it had the potential to.
Nevill's creatures are second to none that I've read. He really has a way of injecting horror into the reader with the nightmare creatures that he creates in his stories and I feel that this is a real testament to his ability as a writer. It's so hard to be able to make a reader feel true horror, to create a creature that elicits the feeling of complete hopelessness and overpowering terror is a work of a master and even in this early story, he proves that he's just THAT good at it. The cult in this one wasn't really a huge forefront of the story, at least, not that I noticed, so that let me down a little, but overall I feel like he did a great job with the characters and the monster. I just feel like the story really never got going until virtually the end, and then it was all over. While the slow climb worked well for NOGOA, I feel like it let the story down here. I'm not going to lie, I still think about this book from time to time since finishing it. And I still wish I knew what truly happened to a certain character, we're left hanging, given a couple of clues, but that is a disappearance that's going to stick in my head for some time, and the pure despair that was felt at their disappearance, I felt that in my soul.
All in all, I feel like this had a great premise and had potential to be absolutely amazing, however it fell a bit short for me I'm afraid. The characters were well written and I really empathised with them all, Nevill is great at really endearing his characters to the reader - good and bad. He is a master at the creatures he brings to life and I will be thinking about this one for a while, I'm sure. If super slow burn horror is your thing, give this one a go. It was a bad story, just not what I was hoping that it would be, and that's okay, not everyone is going to love everything, and I'm still planning to read the rest of his works.
Very few believed that Professor Coldwell could in fact commune with the spirits, but now, something has come forth from the darkness in Scotland's oldest university town. It's causing nightmares, night terrors, and sleep paralysis, tormenting those unlucky enough to be chosen, those that end up disappearing. What chance do a flailing musician and an avid explorer have when this old evil and it's cult of blind devotees sets it's sights on them? Will they be able to survive where so many have perished?
I was keen to check this book out. I had just finished No One Gets Out Alive and I was suffering from a bit of a book hangover, I had no idea what I was going to read next. I have a thing for books and stories surrounding cults, I have no idea why, I just do. So when I was reading through Nevill's catalogue of books, this one jumped out at me. I knew I wanted another horror story and I needed something visceral, along the same vein as NOGOA. I have such a strong love/hate with Nevill's works. He's really one of those authors that you just don't know what you're going to get, and honestly, I love that about his work. It makes it so much more interesting because his stories can go either way, so I feel that it's a bit of an experience in itself - reading through his catalogue of works. Unfortunately this one did fall pretty flat for me though. I also discovered while reading this one, that I believe this was his maiden voyage, his first book, so that was pretty exciting too.
This story follows a couple of different characters, we have the two wanna be rockstars who just want to make something of their lives. They're excited to be leaving their home town and have no intentions of coming back, at least, not empty handed anyway. Then we have the guy who has been travelling the globe, observing occult practices and rituals from native peoples all across the world, learning about their beliefs and their folklore. These are the two main storylines, and there's a few chapters that follow other side characters thrown in. I really enjoyed the beginning of the story, following these two best friends who have been through a lot together and who just want to make something of themselves, which leads us to their connection to the Professor. One of the guys is a huge fan of Banquet for the Damned, a book that this Professor wrote decades ago, and they're heading to Scotland to help him write his next book, and to create a soundtrack to go along with it. I already knew from the beginning how things were likely to turn out, and even though it was pretty easy to see the foreshadowing, it didn't detract from HOW things went down. I really enjoyed the character of the researcher/explorer too, and I kinda wish that maybe the book followed him more, or even if we had a story based around his travels, his research just sounded so interesting and I really wanted there to be a bit more of a focus on it. I did find that the story chopped and changed between characters and it was almost like there was just too much going on a lot of the time. The plotline that followed the researcher was brought in, we cruised with him for a bit, then he kind of just dropped off the face of the story until his plot driving was needed again which I found to be a little disappointing.
The idea of the story was fantastic and very creepy. There were definitely creep factor moments happening, and even in this early work, Nevill does a fantastic job of really setting a strong atmosphere of oppression and isolation that I've come to find in the other books of his that I've read. He does such a great job of really dropping you into the characters shoes and making you feel what they feel. The desolation, desperation and downright terror is so tangible in all of his books and I'm here for it. I find that Nevill doesn't rely heavily on shock value, everything that happens in his books has a purpose and I absolutely love that about them. I did find that this story just had so much going on, it was almost like three books mashed into one, and even though the plot points and stories did overlap and it all came together in the end, it just felt like way too much. Most of the book it felt like I was slogging uphill in quick sand just trying to get through it, the pacing was a pretty big problem for me. And while I don't think much could have really been left out, as said above, everything has a purpose, I just think this one needed to be polished a bit more in order to really shine like it had the potential to.
Nevill's creatures are second to none that I've read. He really has a way of injecting horror into the reader with the nightmare creatures that he creates in his stories and I feel that this is a real testament to his ability as a writer. It's so hard to be able to make a reader feel true horror, to create a creature that elicits the feeling of complete hopelessness and overpowering terror is a work of a master and even in this early story, he proves that he's just THAT good at it. The cult in this one wasn't really a huge forefront of the story, at least, not that I noticed, so that let me down a little, but overall I feel like he did a great job with the characters and the monster. I just feel like the story really never got going until virtually the end, and then it was all over. While the slow climb worked well for NOGOA, I feel like it let the story down here. I'm not going to lie, I still think about this book from time to time since finishing it. And I still wish I knew what truly happened to a certain character, we're left hanging, given a couple of clues, but that is a disappearance that's going to stick in my head for some time, and the pure despair that was felt at their disappearance, I felt that in my soul.
All in all, I feel like this had a great premise and had potential to be absolutely amazing, however it fell a bit short for me I'm afraid. The characters were well written and I really empathised with them all, Nevill is great at really endearing his characters to the reader - good and bad. He is a master at the creatures he brings to life and I will be thinking about this one for a while, I'm sure. If super slow burn horror is your thing, give this one a go. It was a bad story, just not what I was hoping that it would be, and that's okay, not everyone is going to love everything, and I'm still planning to read the rest of his works.
paul_whiffin's review
3.0
At times it was tense and full of suspense. However for long periods the description of st Andrews was too indepth and took the pace out of the narrative
arthurbdd's review against another edition
3.0
Somewhat rough debut novel. There's some unappealing writing habits here which fortunately Nevill would quickly grow out of, but it's entertaining enough. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2015/11/30/from-the-banquets-first-course-to-the-last-days/
barry_x's review
3.0
(minor spoiler in review)
I have mixed thoughts about this one. Adam Nevill's 'No One Gets It Out Alive' is probably my favourite horror book of the last decade or so - I loved it, it's been ages since a book genuinely scared me so it was always on my list to go back and read more of his works.
This is his debut novel and it kind of shows. There is clearly a bucket load of research, a desire to express oneself through very evocative descriptions that nod to a bleak gothic undertone and yet it just missed the spot for me.
I really wanted to like it, and maybe my expectations were high but the first half of the book is really slow. Not a lot happens, the chapters sometimes meander and I was really struggling to care.
The novel presents a lot of threads that the reader wants to tie together and they are kind of left there waiting.... When Nevill decides to start pulling everything together the novel becomes 'un-put-down-able'. I was picking up the book every moment I could to devour another chapter and see where it took me.
There are definitely bonus points for 'heavy metal heroes' (and there were a few little Easter Eggs for 80's metalheads there). There are also bonus points for the wonderful academic setting - everything is dusty corridors, towering spires, imposing ruins....the environment is a strong character too, with the bleak sands and the dark skies and an almost persistent wind and rain adding to a perpetual sense of foreboding.
My brain however couldn't cope with some of the elements of the novel - sure it is an occult horror book but the local police were clearly useless and the 'what happens next' after the book felt a little unsatisfying. Not being funny, but St. Andrews isn't for poor kids so I kind of think the way certain elements of the book progress to be quite implausible. We have to accept EVERYONE has a big brush to sweep the aftermath under the carpet.
I also didn't like the 'femme fatale' character. I know what the words in the book said but I never felt her sexually charged power or really her malevolence come through. Putting black boots on a young woman doesn't really hit the spot. I just felt Dante was a bit pathetic with her rather than feel I was bewitched as a reader with him.
Minor spoiler.....
(There is a far better example of this archetype later in the book to be honest)
I will read more of Nevill, I feel a bit harsh scoring it 3 but the early sections dragging means I can't rate higher
I have mixed thoughts about this one. Adam Nevill's 'No One Gets It Out Alive' is probably my favourite horror book of the last decade or so - I loved it, it's been ages since a book genuinely scared me so it was always on my list to go back and read more of his works.
This is his debut novel and it kind of shows. There is clearly a bucket load of research, a desire to express oneself through very evocative descriptions that nod to a bleak gothic undertone and yet it just missed the spot for me.
I really wanted to like it, and maybe my expectations were high but the first half of the book is really slow. Not a lot happens, the chapters sometimes meander and I was really struggling to care.
The novel presents a lot of threads that the reader wants to tie together and they are kind of left there waiting.... When Nevill decides to start pulling everything together the novel becomes 'un-put-down-able'. I was picking up the book every moment I could to devour another chapter and see where it took me.
There are definitely bonus points for 'heavy metal heroes' (and there were a few little Easter Eggs for 80's metalheads there). There are also bonus points for the wonderful academic setting - everything is dusty corridors, towering spires, imposing ruins....the environment is a strong character too, with the bleak sands and the dark skies and an almost persistent wind and rain adding to a perpetual sense of foreboding.
My brain however couldn't cope with some of the elements of the novel - sure it is an occult horror book but the local police were clearly useless and the 'what happens next' after the book felt a little unsatisfying. Not being funny, but St. Andrews isn't for poor kids so I kind of think the way certain elements of the book progress to be quite implausible. We have to accept EVERYONE has a big brush to sweep the aftermath under the carpet.
I also didn't like the 'femme fatale' character. I know what the words in the book said but I never felt her sexually charged power or really her malevolence come through. Putting black boots on a young woman doesn't really hit the spot. I just felt Dante was a bit pathetic with her rather than feel I was bewitched as a reader with him.
Minor spoiler.....
(There is a far better example of this archetype later in the book to be honest)
I will read more of Nevill, I feel a bit harsh scoring it 3 but the early sections dragging means I can't rate higher
schez's review
4.0
I enjoyed this book, but probably not as much as I enjoyed Adam Nevill’s Apartment 16...
Banquet of the Dammed follows the story of Dante and Tom who arrive for fresh beginnings in St Andrews, Scotland.
The reader follows them as mystery and terror unfolds. Something dark and restless is among the youngsters at the university. Something is visiting them in the night and those who are visited disappear.
Throw into the mix the seemingly nutty, consistently intoxicated, professor Coldwell, who believes he can commune with spirits and you start to wonder what our main characters are in for.
Adam Nevill is skilled into the art of creating chilling imagery and will keep readers guessing to the last page.
Banquet of the Dammed follows the story of Dante and Tom who arrive for fresh beginnings in St Andrews, Scotland.
The reader follows them as mystery and terror unfolds. Something dark and restless is among the youngsters at the university. Something is visiting them in the night and those who are visited disappear.
Throw into the mix the seemingly nutty, consistently intoxicated, professor Coldwell, who believes he can commune with spirits and you start to wonder what our main characters are in for.
Adam Nevill is skilled into the art of creating chilling imagery and will keep readers guessing to the last page.
sednadragon35's review
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I found this book shocking and creepy yet I must admit it food not scratch my Dracula itch. I found some of it full and other parts seemed promising. However I feel like it would be interesting if there was more of the horror, and it did entertain me.