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The Ritual

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The Ritual

By: Adam Nevill
Narrated by: David Thorpe
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About this listen

From Britain's 'master of horror', Adam Nevill, comes The Ritual, winner of the August Derleth Award and perfect for fans of Stephen King. Now a major film with Rafe Spall.

In The Ritual, four old university friends reunite for a hiking trip in the Scandinavian wilderness of the Arctic Circle. No longer young men, they have little left in common and tensions rise as they struggle to connect. Frustrated and tired, they take a shortcut that turns their hike into a nightmare that could cost them their lives.

Lost, hungry and surrounded by forest untouched for millennia, they stumble across an isolated old house. Inside, they find the macabre remains of old rites and pagan sacrifices; ancient artefacts and unidentifiable bones. A place of dark ritual and home to a bestial presence that is still present in the ancient forest, and now they're the prey.

As the four friends struggle toward salvation they discover that death doesn't come easy among these ancient trees....

©2011 Adam Nevill (P)2011 Macmillan Digital Audio Genre Fiction Ghosts Horror Literary Fiction Movie, TV & Video Game Tie-Ins Supernatural Thriller & Suspense Scary Fiction Paranormal Haunted Exciting

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All stars
Most relevant  

Would you try another book written by Adam Nevill or narrated by David Thorpe?

The narration was good, the accents were smooth enough that they didn't distract from the story so would certainly listen to David again. As for Adam Nevill, I would have to give it a few years for him to mature I think.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Initially when they first come across the house I felt the scene was genuinely atmospheric and creepy.

If this book were a film would you go see it?

No

Any additional comments?

The book starts off well, the characters are reasonably well defined and the scene descriptions are good. However, the story completely changes half way through and you are left with a cross between monsters and sociopaths and frankly after all the trouble the sociopaths cause I was devasted when their fates were quick! It was almost like Neville started the book and then thought that he couldnt do a monster story justice and would take a page out of Lionel Striver's "We need to talk about Kevin". Was quite disappointed with this really.

Started off well

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I loved the first half. I got through it pretty quickly. But the second half seemed to drag on for me, which spoiled it overall.

Great first half. Got tiring durin the second.

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Right... this was such a hard book to rate for me. a book has to be truly exceptional to earn a 5 stars for me. I don't give them out often. so close this book was to a 4, but one factor swung it for me.

How quickly I went through it.

5 days, for a book of this size is quite a feet for me, the narration was probably what ultimately swung it to a 5 for me. the first half of the book is incredible. Tense, suspenseful and thrilling as the four friends go up against nature and the monster hunting them down. The second half changes tone quite a bit, not in a bad way but no where near as tense. it's a different kind of tension, more akin to Stephen King's Misery (those who have read this will understand the reference). The end returns to the thrills of the first half and ends really strongly. So, this stood between 4-5 stars for me. The second half, not being as strong as the first almost dragged it to a 4, but consider the brilliant narration and the speed in which I found myself wanting to read on and find out what happened next made the decision to give it a 5 a fair one. You'll not be dissaoointed.

Brilliant audiobook!

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Gripping story, amazing narration and just a fantastic and chilling experience, I couldn’t stop listening but am now terrified to go into the woods haha.

Amazing!

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Where does The Ritual rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This really is one of the best I have ever listended too. It had me 100% gripped from start to finish,,,well done!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Ritual?

You don't want to know! No spoilers but rest assured....you won't rest well ever again.

Have you listened to any of David Thorpe’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Fear....real fear.

Any additional comments?

If you want a creative, realistic and utterly brutal horror then go for it. There is no cheese, no humour and no let up. It's fantastic....

Horrifically Brilliant

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So much better than the film!!! Loved the depth of character for luke and how human everyone really felt.
Creepy level of detail though, really felt like I could see what Adam was talking about at certain points. Great narrator 5*

Fantastic Detail, Depth of Characters and kept me excited

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I'll start with saying that I've never seen the Netflix show, so I went into this book "fresh". I have been looking for horror books that would actually make me feel something, and this did it! It didn't leave me sleepless, but it definitely creeped me out. I listened to the audiobook read by David Thorpe, who is one of the best readers I've heard to and definitely helped me get the sense of dread of the story.

Incredible narration, definitely creeped me out

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a good read but rather samey after a while. plot tends to drag on for longer than necessary and a rather dubious ending.

gripping paranormal thriller

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Good horror book with a fantastic narrator. Had a knack for accents and made it easy to discern the different characters throughout and really brought them to life. Yhoroughly enjoyed it!

Brilliant Narrator

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Before I bought this book, I read the reviews and I was excited.
However, having waded through it, as if I were in that dark forest, I was sadly disappointed.
The story begins and ends without explanation.
The narration did not help.
The book left too many questions unanswered for it to be satisfying.

I'm not sure what I expected but I didn't get it.

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