Book Review: Under a Watchful Eye by Adam Nevill
UK - Pan MacMillan
(this review is spoiler-free)
If you know much about the folk horror author Adam Nevill, Seb Logan might feel like a character closer to reality than fiction. He lives in Devon, on the southwest coast of England, and is a middle-aged author of horror novels who only found his success in the last ten years or so. He has a nice house in Brixham, an attractive here-and-there girlfriend who respects his independence, and two of his books have been made into films (one of them actually good, he notes). I’m not sure about Mr. Nevill’s lovelife, but the rest of that tracks pretty closely based on what I know of the author.
Seb is secure and gaining greater attention in the world of fiction, but retains a clear memory of when times were not so fine. He has made a solid literary career by staying true to his creative vision, and now that some success has come his way, it’s time for it all to fall apart. See, Seb keeps seeing Ewan, an unwelcome and troublesome flatmate from his university days who had some minor influence on the early days of his writing career. Once, Ewan appeared on the distant waters of the bay. Another time on the pier, and again through a restaurant window. His old friend is dressed in black, always leering or grinning, his disheveled countenance marring the idyllic world through which Seb moves in his day-to-day life. To make matters worse, the nights are growing strange within his home, with shadows creeping where none should be, and the sound of something large shuffling along the outside wall.
Ewan moves from unnerving appearances in public to outright threatening ones inside of Seb’s home, and before long, appears at his front door in the flesh, demanding entry. The interloper carries a duffle bag full of stolen files from what was once an infamous paranormal research organization headed by an obscure mid-twentieth century author, and he claims to have been beyond the boundaries of the world itself.
Ewan has come with a message, and to seek Seb’s assistance with a new kind of literary pursuit, one that could not only cost Seb the posh house and pretty girl, but his sanity. Unfortunately for Seb, the consequences of denying this request may be far costlier.
Under a Watchful Eye is my ninth Adam Nevill read, and this iteration of his formula feels like a polished, smartly-conceived story that plays out across a number of increasingly interesting layers. There’s depth to the story that isn’t obvious at the outset–this is the case in some of Nevill’s other novels as well–and it’s part of what creates the author’s unique voice. Nevill is so damned good at making the world of his stories breath and bleed, with painstaking details of his distinctly English environments. As a reader, you trust he’s describing a trail he’s walked, or a place in Devon where he’s sat to watch the bay. These robust environments all have a history, and they make the horror of his stories that much more intrusive. He’s better than just about any other author at teaching readers to fear for the characters in his works.
Adam Nevill also a master of human interaction-as-storytelling. Here and in other novels, he creates these immovable human antagonists that don't shatter believability with the developments they provoke. Villains who can open their mouths and, through sheer presence or abruptly-salvaged empathy, talk the main character back from what, in retrospect, was a very identifiable point of no return. There’s always an instance where authorities could have been involved, a door closed, a phone call cut short, where had the protagonist simply followed their well-reasoned and entirely logical instincts, the forthcoming disaster would have been avoided or complicated in such a fashion that they might well have escaped. But Mr. Neville finds glittering tongues in dark mouths, and his loathsome examples of humanity always find a way to pull back just enough on their targets to keep them in line.
Soon, Seb is following in Ewan’s footsteps, retracing the shadowed legacies from generations past to find the real horrors behind the books he writes. He learns that, like it or not, he has become entangled by greater things than writing another bestseller, or landing another movie deal.
While for me Under a Watchful Eye falls somewhere in the middle of the pack of Nevill’s offerings, this book would serve as an excellent introduction to the author for those unfamiliar with his work, as you will get a clear picture of what his horror is about and still have his best books ahead of you.
The only firm criticism I can offer is that the novel suffers from some awkward pacing, drawing out aspects and arcs in the later portion that feel underdeveloped when compared with earlier sections. Still, a middling Adam Nevill novel is better than ninety-percent of what is out there, and this novel is well worth the time it asks of you.
Verdict: 7.2/10
Strengths
Well-written characters
Explores a unique corner of Western occult history
Solid, if unbalanced plot
Weaknesses
Some meandering sequences of dialogue
A particularly great character doesn’t get enough page time
Some minor loose ends at the close
You can purchase this book at Amazon, or preferably, through an independent bookstore in your community.
You may also like: Other Adam Nevill novels, Ramsey Campbell, Zoje Stage
