'Hellmouth' – Giles Kristian

Every so often, I remember that amongst all the books (in my tiny flat) there is a Kindle with loads more books on it. I grab that Kindle, come across a whole load of books that I barely remember buying (I have a bad habit of buying books during long meetings at work...), pick one and get reading. This time round, 'Hellmouth' was that book and I'm really glad that it was. Watching 'Nightmare Cinema', last night, left me feeling more than a little disappointed and in need of some decent horror to make up for it. 'Hellmouth' delivered on that score.

Bohemia,1370. A lost soul named Galien leads a band of hardened mercenaries on a mission for Mother Church. But in the dark forests of central Europe, a darker secret awaits.

I love a big, thick read as much as the next person but I am constantly in awe of writers who can strip it all right back and still tell a compelling tale in no time at all. It's a very different kind of control that they have over their work (to those who write in the longer form) and I love to see how literally every word is chosen because it is the best word to use. I've only read one other book by Giles Kristian ('Raven: Blood Eye') but that was a much longer work so it's brilliant to see here that Kristian is as adept at telling shorter stories as he is longer ones. 'Hellmouth' is a tale that I polished off in one sitting.

'Hellmouth' has it all and it's a testament to Kristian's storytelling that all of it gets a chance to shine (or in the case of what Galien and his crew find in the forest, slowly moulder and rot). There's a lot of travelling done here and Kristian uses this approach to slowly draw out the tension until just the right moment when he lets it all go in a massive surge of blood and violence. The landscape they travel through is beautifully drawn as well (if you can call foreboding forest and scenes of bloody death 'beautiful', you know what I mean though...) and that atmosphere casts a shadow over the travellers but also the reader as well. It gets inside you and before you know it, you're reading with one eye on the book and the other eye looking out for danger. I love it.

The one thing I didn't get was how Galien didn't recognise any of the journey as one that he'd made before (especially with what happened at the destination) but I'm hoping that another read will clear this up. It felt a bit odd but it didn't stop me enjoying the read in the meantime.

While the horror of this particular period of history is apparent on every page, Kristian is a lot more subtle in introducing us to the more supernatural elements of the tale and it's quite chilling to see these take shape out of a seemingly normal situation. It's not just Galien and his warriors who have the wool pulled from their eyes, it happens to the reader as well and it is quite a shock to see what is really happening to them.

And this is when we see excommunication will not stop a man from doing the right thing when it matters the most. Galien has his issues with the church but recognises real evil enough to make a stand that gets the blood pumping. I particularly enjoyed how the opening scene also serves as a way of finishing the tale. It's an approach that makes you wonder whether the beginning of 'Hellmouth' is as clear cut as it seems. Is Galien still fighting, even now? He's a bastard but I got to know Galien well enough that he deserves some peace. I hope he got it.

'Hellmouth' is a 'Kindle and Audiobook only' read and if that's the way you take your stories, and you like a bit of historical horror, I'd highly recommend it. Just the read I was after and a little reminder that I really need to read more of Kristian's work.