Ghost Train: A Novel

This was my introduction to Laws, and led me to seek out everything he has written. It's all based on a great premise... that the main East Coast rail line from London to the North of England is on a ley line that can channel power to the London End, with a view to waking an ancient demon. Strange deaths abound on the line. Our protagonist, himself a survivor of a strange experience on a train, has to try to stop the energy building up. The climax is a tour-de-force as the train hurtles to London, the demon grows ever more powerful, and the deaths pile up. Laws has a wild imagination, and he likes to kill people in very gruesome fashions, but if, like me, you like your horror fast and action packed, then he's the man for you.

Ghost Train starts off promisingly, with some really good frights and mayhem; the dream parts are truly creepy; however, I found the basic premises underlying all the events (as explained immediately prior to the final section of the book) hard to swallow, and I was not satisfied with the ending. He is an undeniably good writer, and since this was his first book, he has a good excuse for not being in top form, but I simply can't give this book 5 stars because his other books may be great, so I would give it four stars overall, the first 2/3 would get 5 stars.

Yet another master creation from arguably the best horror writer on the block. Laws's fluid style ensures you just can't put this book down. The number of people who can, convincingly, create believable horror stories can be counted on the fingers of one hand. With GHOST TRAIN, Stephen Laws enters the rank and could, judging by this truly frightening debut, become number one. If you like a well-written supernatural novel and think you can survive 300 pulse-pounding pages of sheer terror, don't miss GHOST TRAIN. The train of the title doesn't even fully reveal its palpably evil nature until deep into the book. Long before this time, the reader is fully in the grip of Stephen Laws' witches brew of calculated creepiness. Stand aside Stephen King, James Herbert and Clive Barker and let through a new heir to the horror throne!