Fellstones

I read a lot of Ramsey Campbell's work in the 80s and 90s and then fell away for whatever reasons. Those are the novels and stories that justly earned him the reputation of one of the best horror writers around. Coming back to his work after a couple of decades off, it's immediately obvious that he hasn't changed much. The horror here is decidedly of the slow burn variety and Campbell is a master of mounting unease. His familiar motif of overbearing parent figures that the lead finds themselves powerless against is very much present here, as it is so many of his books (there are good and strong autobiographical reasons for this, iirc). Of those earlier novels, this is perhaps most reminiscent of The Hungry Moon, as the early sense of things not being quite in true gradually builds through pagan myth to some full on cosmic horror. I don't think Fellstones made quite the impact on me that that book did, but then again that was my first Campbell and this is probably my twelfth or so. It's not for the gorehounds amongst us, but this is a solid read that deploys a sense of rising dread well.