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| Value for Money | 5/10  |
|---|---|
| Overall rating | 6/10 |
Full review by
Dreadlocksmile
on 24th Sep 2004
User Rating : 6
Respect :
0
Good Points: 'The Sucking Pit' delivers the usual hefty package of sex, violence and gore written with little skill around a weak and predictable storyline. That's what trash-horror's all about! If you love it, then this is one for you.
Bad Points: Lasting for a mere 111 pages, the novel is extremely short, even by Guy's standards.
General comments: Guy N. Smith, The Sucking Pit - Synopsis:
"Deep in Hopwas Woods was a green and peaceful glade. The grass was smooth and weedless, the sun rarely penetrated there, and the local villagers had learned to shun the place. For this was the site of a treacherous and seemingly bottomless bog. Nothing that fell in, whether by chance or purpose, ever managed to escape. Tom Lawson was a woodsman of the area. He had dark secrets connected with that place. Memories of a young gypsy-wife too, who had disappeared one night, and who had left behind a little black book. This contained the ancient secrets of her people, and when Tom Lawson's niece chances on it, it gives her a longing for power. A longing that is somehow linked with that fathomless pit".
First published back in 1975, 'The Sucking Pit' was Guy N. Smith's second published novel, following the release of 'Werewolf By Moonlight' in 1974. It was later re-issued in 1978 and 1989.
Lasting for a mere 111 pages, the novel is extremely short, even by Guy's standards. We're once again treated to some classic trash-horror, with predictable and cliched characters working around an unoriginal and terribly obvious storyline. Rammed with sex and outrageous violence with a fair old wedge of the occult thrown in for good measure, 'The Sucking Pit' has all the winning ingredients for a great trash-horror novel. Guy doesn't fail in delivering us with the sort of non-stop action-fest we want from him as we lap up his poorly-written brain leakage. But I think there's a place firmly in every horror fans heart for Guy's work. It's like your love for poorly directed, low budget B-movies with their ridiculous names and equally ridiculous plots. When reading Guy's books you have to have your tongue firmly wedged in your cheek and just sit back and enjoy.
'The Sucking Pit' is not one of his best, but then again, it's by no means one of his worst novels. Easy to read and thoroughly enjoyable, the ending is also dramatic yet laughable. The character Jenny Lawson, brings you all the horrific violence you want as she is dragged into the corrupted world of the 'gypsies' by drinking their potion. Her unquenchable desire for non-stop sex brings a laugh a minute. The murder of the local tramp is deliciously gory and will satisfy all fans of this genre. The speed in which the characters' relationships develop with each other is outstanding, with them literally falling in love with each other within 2 minute chats. Truly awesome!
I recommend this novel if you are a fan of Guy's work or even just a trash-horror fan.
Dreadlocksmile's review and ratings | 491 words
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