John Murray
For centuries, the inhabitants of Barrowbeck, a remote valley on the Yorkshire-Lancashire border, have lived uneasily with forces beyond their reckoning. They raise their families, work the land, and do their best to welcome those who come seeking respite. But there is a darkness that runs through the village as persistently as the river.
As one generation gives way to the next and ancient land is carved up in the name of progress, darkness gathers. The people of Barrowbeck have forgotten that they are but guests in the valley.
Now there is a price to pay. Two thousand years of history is coming to an end.
Originally created as a series of short plays for Radio 4 as 'Voices in the Valley', this reworking of the stories tells, via a series of vignettes, the story of the isolated town of Barrowbeck from pre-history to the near future.
More overtly magical than his previous work but retaining the acute sense of place that characterises his writings, these folk horror miniatures often feel a little thin on the page. Hurley has made some changes and additions from the scripts but I wish he'd gone deeper as for me they worked better in their original format and needed a deeper, more complex focus to fully satisfy as a book. That said, I'm writing from the perspective of someone who thorougly enjoyed the audio plays so perhaps these stories will prove more effective with those who are coming in cold.
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