Some things should stay buried… The discovery of a young boy’s body, brutally murdered and preserved for thousands of years in a Scottish peat bog, brings with it more than a find of a lifetime for archaeologist Mirin Hassan. After the death of her husband, Mirin wants life to get back to normal for her and her young son. But media attention and professional rivalries become the least of her … attention and professional rivalries become the least of her worries. Something other than cameras followed the corpse back to the university. A malevolent force grows unseen. The weather turns biblical. Violence and death spread beyond the university. Could it be connected with the strange discovery? The city grasps for a rational explanation, but time is up. Chaos has arrived, as Mirin realises some things should stay buried.
Book 1 in the FRIGHT NIGHT series of bone chillers, Neolithica is the breakout novel from horror author Dan Soule. A mix of Dean Koontz and James Herbert, with a dash of Lovecraft. Buy it now if you’re a fan of bestsellers like Phantoms, Darkfall and The Rats.
‘A masterful meditation on horror and grief,’ Ross Jeffrey, author of Juniper.
‘Dan Soule follows in the footsteps of Dean Koontz, weaving a ‘warp and weft’ of mood and atmosphere, culminating in an ending that hits like a freight train.’ Joe Sale, author of Beyond the Black Gate.’
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This book had me spellbound from beginning to end. The characters were absolutely amazing and I enjoyed the storyline.
When I realized this involved a bog body I was hooked! I find the preserved bodies found in bogs fascinating! I remember reading about Tollund Man. Interesting stuff!
Mr. Soule brings us a bog body of a boy which shows evidence of being brutally murdered, his body covered in what appears to be ancient languages. He is extracted, taken to a University research lab but more is brought forth than just the body! For me there was never a dull moment! The author takes the reader through one horrific event right into another. Destruction, mayhem, crows, green fog, frogs raining down, packs of attacking dogs and cats, and deadly weather events!
Underlying all this is the incredible sense of loss suffered by the main character Mirin. Mirin’s tragedy pulls the reader in and is a great example of why I read horror! I will never look at a crow the same way ever again!
What’s clear to me is that Dan isn’t just an excellent horror writer; he’s a huge fan of the genre. This shows in Neolithica, as it’s a gleefully dark, twisted apocalyptic tale, but thoroughly researched and crafted to a very high quality. The way Dan sets the scene is just delicious, and the more extreme moments give you just enough to keep you thinking long after you’re finished reading. To think Dan is a relatively up and coming horror writer is ludicrous to me; if his books are this good now, the future does look scary indeed.
Is archaeological-horror making a return? Or is it just that randomly in my TBR ordering and release dates, I’ve stumbled upon a number of books in the last couple years that feature “an ancient discovery” as the main plot point?
Over the last few years, I’ve read ‘Curse of the Viking King‘ by Russell James, ‘Ararat‘ by Christopher Golden, ‘The Reddening‘ by Adam LG Nevill, ‘The Mourner’s Cradle‘ by Tommy B. Smith and ‘Tomb of Gods‘ by Brian Moreland. That’s just what I read. There are countless other releases that have been unleashed into the world that focus on a discovery that opens up a supernatural world.
Now, enter another – ”Neolithica‘ by Dan Soule. Recently, I read his excellent ‘Witchopper‘ and with the praise ‘Neolithica‘ had received, I was all too happy to return to his writing.
What I liked: If you haven’t figured it out yet, ‘Neolithica‘ revolves around a discovery. We get introduced to Mirin, returning to work following a tragedy. Trying to find where she fits in the University’s department. She’d been in line to be Department Head, but after taking time to grieve, that position was filled by a colleague. As a horrific incident happens, this discovery is made and from there, things go super dark.
Soule has a fantastic way of keeping this book grounded in reality while building this hauntingly dark story. Mirin is an intriguing character, one that I really enjoyed watching her story arc play out.
The backstory or mythological elements of this are really well done and shows me just how intriguing Soule is as a writer, now having read both this and ‘Witchopper.’
What I didn’t like: It took me a little bit to get into the story, but once I did it was a rampage through the last 75% or so. Nothing major, just at first the hooks didn’t grab me immediately.
Why you should buy this: Soule has created a really great, dark read. Full of emotion and carnage. He does a great job of building this story chapter by chapter. I loved that in the afterword he stated that he had a different ending originally and has included a link to go read it. I personally haven’t checked that out yet, but it shows just how multi-layered this story is that you could come to two different endings here.
A incredibly well preserved body of a boy estimated to be twelve thousand years old is found in a bog near Glasgow emits pure evil and death and destruction to the people who come in contact with the boy.In a fast moving novel we discover what various characters in the novel have to the growth in power of the wee boy. Is there any person who can stop the revenge and terror of the wee boy? Highly recommended
Loved this. The story grabs you and does not let go.