The Talisman

An burial site containing a hideous statue is unearthed during a dig at the ancient city of Babylon in Iraq. The statue is transported back to London, unleashing a terrifying evil that threatens to engulf all of mankind.

This is a slight departure from Jonathan Aycliffe's normal gothic ghost story, this one is a blend of The Exorcist, The Omen and maybe Rosemary's Baby. Aycliffe (real name Denis MacEion) was a scholar in Islamic studies and those influences crop up in a lot his books, and this is no exception. The parts of the book set in Iraq are superb, you can almost taste the spices. The whole thing is supremely atmospheric and extremely creepy.

One slight blemish, it does feel a little incomplete. There is a real ramping up in tension towards the end, and then it does just that, it ends, very abruptly, almost like the author said “enough!! I've had enough”. I wanted a little more, but still, really really really good.