The Ghoul
By Marc Ronson
1980 Hamlyn
Paperback, 202 pages
My wife was reading The
Plague Pit by Marc Ronson at my recommendation. That was a pretty good
book. One day, I was looking at vintage horror paperbacks online (as I am wont
to do) when I stopped on Les Edwards’ cover of Ronson’s The Ghoul for
Hamlyn Books. Great cover, indeed. So, I called Andrea over to see the cover
and she said, “It looks like he missed arm day.” Skinny arms… he missed arm day
at the gym. For some reason, I thought (and still think) that is the funniest
goddam thing ever. I immediately found a cheap copy and bought it, if only to
enjoy the cover.
While not as fully satisfying as
The Plague Pit, this one is still very enjoyable. It is about the unearthing
of a tomb in the Valley of Jinn in the Middle East. The archaeological team
digging it (led by a woman, not a common thing is 1980s pulp horror) encounters
hiccups in the form of a nearby hippy cult, scared locals, and the titular
ghoul. A dozen moderately interesting characters weave throughout the story,
keeping the pages turning if only to find out why they’re there at all. That’s
not a knock, just an observation; this is pretty ambitious for a 200-page book.
One thing that slows me down in
a book of this sort is the exotic names of people and places. I hope I don’t
sound xenophobic when I say that I tend to sound out the exotic Arabian names
in my head, decide it’s too hard, then mumble the name as I read… “Rmm-nn-mmm”.
I’m lazy. I found relief when the archaeologist’s father Max was around, though
his character is far less interesting than the locals of Abu Sabah.
Still, this is a fun, quick book
with plenty of intrigue, claustrophobic horror, a love triangle, and deceitful
characters making the ol’ opening of a tomb premise sparkle a little bit. One
gripe… not enough ghoul. He isn’t in it as much as I’d like. We need more
ghoul. Maybe he was at the gym, trying to work up those arms.
The abrupt ending all but
promises a sequel, but that never materialized. Marc Ronson (Marc Alexander)
passed away in February 2020.
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