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An Echo of Children by Ramsey Campbell -- a review

An Echo of Children by Ramsey Campbell Review by Gary Fry Ramsey Campbell has many enviable literary qualities but I think even his most ardent fan might be reluctant to use the term "page turner" to describe his approach. That's not to say he hasn't written any number of gripping thriller-type narratives. On the whole, however, his is a style that demands close attention, a kind of active collaboration between author and reader.  That is why I was surprised – pleasantly so, as it happens – by An Echo of Children . Coming off the back of a string of quite idiosyncratic Campbell novels ( Fellstones, The Lonely Lands, The Incubations ), the stark commercial appeal of his latest novel will, I hope, expose him to new fans, perhaps some of those readers who have in the past struggled to engage with his work on the basis of its elusive aesthetics. None of this is to suggest that in An Echo of Children Campbell has sacrificed any of his trademark artistry. The book is as el...

What I read in 2024

  2024 was another remarkable year for reading. Somehow I got through 264 books. Here are my favourites .       Fiction     The Incubations , Ramsey Campbell – another fantastically inventive and labyrinthine experience from one of the finest prose stylists in the business. Unique and memorable.     You Like it Darker , Stephen King – the master’s best book in years; a stirring collection of powerful tales, including one short novel surely coming soon to a cinema near you. He still has it.     Yellowface , R F Kuang – a brilliantly caustic look at contemporary PC culture and the publishing business under the shade of sensitivity reading and cultural appropriation. Blackly comic.     None of T his is True , Lisa Jewell – one of the darkest thrillers I’v e ever read and topped off with a twist so ingenious you’l l have to go back to the start and see if its suggestion bears out. Jewell has always been a fine storyteller...