Review: No One Gets Out Alive by Adam Nevill

Adam Nevill has fast become one of the big names of horror fiction. His first novel was published in 2004, and since his second novel in 2010 he has delivered one horror novel per year, with short stories appearing sporadically. Last year I reviewed House of Small Shadows (my favorite of his six novels) and then conducted an interview with Mr. Nevill this past august after the book was released in the US.

No One Gets Out Alive is his latest, and longest, novel. It wastes no time getting to the action, and the terrors of 82 Edgehill Road begin in the very first chapter. The book tells the story of Stephanie, a young woman who has been hit hard by the recession. Her mother died young, and she was raised by a father and a mentally ill stepmother, and after her father dies she tries to stay on with stepmother but the arrangement doesn't work. She has left her last boyfriend, and finds herself truly on her own. Jobs are scarce to the point of nonexistence, and a temping agency barely manages to get her any gigs, so the girl is forced to confront poverty head on and take a ridiculously cheap room in a shady, rundown house. This is where the book starts. Stephanie wakes up to all sorts of noises: plastic crinkling under her bed, sobbing girls in adjacent rooms, a muttering female voice from the fireplace, and the presence of someone in her room walking over to her bed. One night in the house would be enough, but due to financial circumstances she has nowhere else to go. Things go from bad to worse, and only keep going downhill.

Structurally, the book reminds me of Nevill's third novel, The Ritual. There was a turning point in The Ritual where the book seems like it could end, only to do a 180 and become almost a completely different horror novel. The book was highly praised, and some fans loved the subverting of expectations while some were put off by the drastic turning point. I was in the former camp. This novel has a similar structure, and when the horrors reach a crescendo and the novel seems to be over it continues for another 200 pages. While there were moments I felt like the latter portion could have been a bit shorter, I thought that overall it worked well and took the story to new heights.

Also like The Ritual, No One Gets Out Alive deftly blends realistic horrors with the supernatural. The hauntings of 82 Edgehill Road are scary enough in their own right, but the true horrors of the house come from Nevill's darkest characters yet: landlord Knacker McGuire and his cousin Fergal. The proprietors are the scum of the low class: uneducated, shady, predatory, angry, selfish, violent. They're criminals, who hide behind flashy clothes, manipulating and taking advantage, and ultimately resorting to extortion and violence when things don't go their way. The author did an excellent job depicting these characters realistically, and the books most intense, terrifying moments involve them.

The horrors of poverty are center stage, as well as the horror of being alone, with no one to turn to and nowhere to go. The book is also a look at female victims and survivors in horror. Nevill has some poignant things to say about modern society and their reaction to female victims as well, which is in itself another powerful avenue of horror.

The supernatural doesn't take a backseat to the realistic horror either, but instead works in tandem with it. No one believes that she saw ghosts and worse, leaving her with few friends, and even the ones she has don't believe her, thinking her mentally and emotionally broken. This leaves her mostly on her own, facing a horror that's become a part of her.

Adam Nevill has come a long way since publishing his first novel, and his growth as a writer has been apparent over the course of his novels. No One Gets Out Alive is one of his best yet, and truly reaches for new heights of terror. That Nevill managed to sustain dread throughout a novel of this size is a true accomplishment, as this book throws horror at the readers from the very first paragraph and doesn't let up until the end. If you're a fan of horror and Adam Nevill isn't on your radar, you're doing something wrong. The novel is set to hit shelves in the UK on October 23rd and will be released in the US April of 2015.

Horror News: Adam Nevill's New Novel and Book Deal

Good news to be had for fans of supernatural horror. British author Adam Nevill (Banquet for the Damned, Apartment 16, The Ritual, and Last Days) has recently signed a new book deal with Pan McMillian. 

His next book, titled House of Small Shadows, is due to come out in May. Thanks to the Tor blog, I am able to share with you an initial blurb:

    Catherine’s last job ended badly. Corporate bullying at a top antiques publication saw her fired and forced to leave London, but she was determined to get her life back. A new job and now things look much brighter. Especially when a challenging new project presents itself – to catalogue the late M. H. Mason’s wildly eccentric cache of antique dolls and puppets.

    Rarest of all, she’ll get to examine his elaborate displays of posed, costumed and preserved animals, depicting bloody scenes from World War II.

    When Mason’s elderly niece invites her to stay at Red House itself, where she maintains the collection, Catherine can’t believe her luck. Until his niece exposes her to the dark message behind her uncle’s "art". Catherine tries to concentrate on the job, but M. H. Mason’s damaged visions raise dark shadows from her own past. Shadows she’d hoped therapy had finally erased. Soon the barriers between reality, sanity and memory start to merge. And some truths seem too terrible to be real...

I grew up with younger sisters, and I must say, I’ve always found dolls to be creepy. In Nevill’s capable hands I’m sure they will become terrifying. Also, the May publication date is for the UK version of the novel, so the US released will most likely be a few months later (all of my copies are for the UK editions – I simply couldn’t wait for the US release for any of them).

And the official press release:

Pan Macmillan acquires two new horror novels by British author Adam Nevill

Julie Crisp, Editorial Director at Pan Macmillan, has concluded a world rights deal for two further horror novels by British author Adam Nevill with agent John Jarrold. The deal also involves re-publication of Adam’s first novel, BANQUET FOR THE DAMNED, as a Pan paperback. The new books will be published in 2014 and 2015.

Adam Nevill’s novels APARTMENT 16, THE RITUAL and LAST DAYS have already been published by Pan Macmillan, with HOUSE OF SMALL SHADOWS due for publication in May 2013. THE RITUAL won best horror novel at this year’s British Fantasy Awards and the Guardian recently dubbed Adam ‘Britain’s answer to Stephen King.’

Julie Crisp said: ‘I’m absolutely thrilled that on the perfect day for it – Halloween – we’ve acquired the next two books from Adam Nevill. We have a proud tradition of publishing horror at Pan Macmillan and Adam is a shining example of brilliant – and terrifying – British horror writing!’

Adam Nevill said: ‘I am thrilled about this opportunity to keep building a body of work with a terrific publisher, and one with such a significant legacy in the field of British horror fiction. On Halloween too. Perfect timing. In celebration, sacrifices will be made to strange gods.’

For further information, contact Chloe Healy at Pan Macmillan:

c.healy@macmillan.co.uk

00 44 20 7014 6186

@UKTor

I’ve read all of Mr. Nevill’s novels, and overall I was more than pleased, although they were not perfect. A Banquet for the Damned was mostly a solid debut novel, but there were times it dragged out and the main characters could have used a bit more work. However, it offers enough creepiness to make it worth reading, even if it is his weakest work. Apartment 16 suffered from some character flaws (the main female character wasn’t really developed at all) but overall offered an original, creepy tale of an apartment building where something is terribly wrong. There were truly several frightening moments throughout the novel. In The Ritual Nevill takes us to new territory, the Scandinavian wilderness, in a tale of two distinct halves. Nevill’s character work has greatly improved, and what begins as a creature feature becomes something much more. The second half is probably longer than it should be, but it could very well be his best book to date. His latest novel, Last Days, follows a small film crew as they make a documentary on a creepy cult that had met a bloody end. Of course, the bloody end was not really an end at all, and the horrors ensue.

Nevill is definitely a talented, young horror author. He also seems to improve with every novel he’s written, which makes me that much more eager for his next book. If you are a fan of supernatural horror, and you have not read any of his novels, then you are truly missing out.