By Guy N. Smith
1986 Arrow Books
Paperback, 191 pages
Arrow, 1986. Art- Les Edwards Dell- 1987. Art-?
When I was a kid, my mum took me
to Howe Caverns, a 150 foot deep hole in the ground in Schoharie County, New
York. It is a massive underground cave with a subterranean river and there is a
lovely tour that you can take. The rock formations are lit with beautiful
colored lights, yet the scenery (and cool air) can feel a bit sinister. I loved
it so much, I took my own kid there when she was 10 or 11. With that, I think I
might have gotten a little more out of Entombed than I might have had I
never been that far underground.
Priest Simon Rankin has been
questioning his faith after a failed exorcism. To clear his mind, he packs up
with his girlfriend Andrea and heads to Cwmgilla in Wales. The town’s claim to
fame is a retired slate mine that has been opened as a show cave, taking
tourists down into the caverns for tours. Rankin wasn’t keen on taking the trip
down but acquiesces to Andrea’s suggestion. While down there, he senses an evil
presence, and it all goes to hell (quite literally!) from there. His faith,
whether or not he knew it, is enough to shake up the evil in town.
A kid wanders off and disappears
in the mine. Workers going to look for him have the roof cave in and trap them.
Mysterious children’s voices, visions, and Satanism all rear their evil heads.
Andrea is demonically raped and possessed and Rankin’s faith had better be damn
strong to fight the kind of nastiness that now runs rampant in Cwmgilla! The
power to the mine is gone so nobody gets in or out unless you happen to know a
spelunker. Luckily, Rankin does.
Obviously, the claustrophobia is
massive in this book. The scenes in the mine, with its uncharted depth and
underground lakes is a labyrinth of dark, airless fear. There are many chilling
moments of anxiety and agitation. That said, at about the three-quarter mark,
the narrative started to slow a bit for me. But I never doubted that GNS would
pick it back up and, holy shit, he sure did! The prose approaching the climax
is amazing, especially when the Satanist group is gorging on the blood of a
sacrificial victim. “Like maggots in a jar, a grotesque entwinement of all
that was vile.” It doesn’t get much better than that.
Obviously, if you have read the Sabat
books, some of this might sound familiar. Rankin seems to be a tryout for Mark
Sabat, whose first book came next from GNS. (The first publication of this one was
from Hamlyn in 1982.) Both are ex-priests and exorcists, there is a violated
church, a body exhumed for Satanic reasons and other similarities. Overall,
Rankin is a more likeable hero than Sabat. As much as we all love our Hamlyn
Horrors, hold out for any of the Arrow reprints to relish the amazing Les
Edwards cover.
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