Critical acclaim for The Unblemished
'His carefully crafted descriptions of horrific images, along with theability to suggest they are even worse than words can tell, is reminiscentof Poe and the early stories of Clive Barker. Not for the squeamish, butno fan of literary horror should miss it.' The Times
'The Unblemished, winner of the International Horror Guild's Best Novelaward, is cleverly constructed, building relentlessly from intense, intimateterror to something on another scale altogether... the ruined London inthe closing chapters of this stark gripping novel will stay with you a longtime.' Guardian
'Top-notch writing skills, poetic vision and beautiful prose raise this wayabove your Hammer House of Horror... unusual as well as highlyaccomplished terror.' Sunday Express
'Williams is so good at what he does that he probably shouldn't beallowed to do it any more, for the sake of everyone's sanity.' PublishersWeekly (starred review)
'Williams has built a whole mythology, one that makes the book feel likea cobwebbed relic from another time. Dust it off, if you like. Just do itat, say, ten in the morning. In a crowded room. In a military compound.'Time Out
'The Unblemished scooped last year's highly coveted InternationalHorror Guild Award, beating off some pretty stiff competition (whichincluded some bloke called Stephen King). The Unblemished is astomach-churning vision by an accomplished and courageous author anddefinitely not for the faint of heart.' John Berlyne, SFREVU
'The Unblemished is a strong book that gets in your face and doesn'tback down. Its unsettling nature is one of its biggest assets. This is oneof the best books that I've read this year.' Bookspotcentral
'Williams' threat emerges from the world like an optical illusion beingrevealed, then you find that society fell apart while you were lookingsomewhere else.' SF Site
'A terrifying tale of violence and determination to survive. Highlyrecommended.' Monster Librarian
'This book scared the crap out of me... In my estimation, Williams doesso many things so well that there's really not much he can't do. He is oneof the few writers working in the area of horror and dark fantasy whohas my full attention all of the time. The Unblemished is further evidenceof his superlative talent.' Jeff VanderMeer
'[A] rich, emotionally engaging and extremely fast-paced novel... TheUnblemished achieves the admirable, tricky task of interweaving physicalhorror with spiritual terror... an unapologetic white-knuckle thriller.'William P Simmons, Infinity Plus
'Conrad Williams takes us on a roller-coaster ride through ancient buriedsecrets and body-horror invasion into the pulsing gut of apocalypticBritish horror.' Christopher Fowler
'The Unblemished combines a carefully orchestrated accumulation ofparanoid detail reminiscent of Ramsey Campbell with passages of vividlydescribed transformations evocative of early Clive Barker.' Steve RasnicTem
'An apocalyptic nightmare narrated with great vigour, clarity andstylishness. Steel yourself for some hideous sadism there's awe along theway.' Ramsey Campbell
'A tour de force. Awe-inspiring in its sheer unsparing, unflinching, grimlyhorrifying view. One nasty piece of work.' Ed Bryant, Locus
ONE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Conrad Williams is the author of the novels Head Injuries,London Revenant and The Unblemished as well as a collection,Use Once Then Destroy, and the novellas Nearly People, Game,The Scalding Rooms and Rain. Born in 1969, he sold his firstshort story at the age of eighteen and has gone on to sell over 80more. He is a past recipient of the British Fantasy Award and theInternational Horror Guild Award. He lives in Manchester withhis wife, three sons and a monster Maine Coon cat.
This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author's and publisher's rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
ISBN 9780753520529
Version 1.0
www.randomhouse.co.uk
Published by Virgin Books 2009
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
CopyrightConrad Williams 2009
Conrad Williams has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and PatentsAct 1988 to be identified as the author of this work
This electronic book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser
First published in Great Britain in 2009 by
Virgin Books
Random House, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road,
London SW1V 2SA
www.virginbooks.com
www.rbooks.co.uk
Addresses for companies within The Random House Group Limited can befound at:
www.randomhouse.co.uk/offices.htm
The Random House Group Limited Reg. No. 954009
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 9780753520529
Version 1.0
For Zachary
All these miles, and more.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I'm extremely grateful to Dr Christoph Winkler, ProjectScientist for the International Gamma-Ray AstrophysicsLaboratory (Integral) at the European Space Agency, for hisinput regarding gamma ray bursts. Paul McAuley alsohelped with the science (and encouraged me when the ideafor this novel was in its infancy). If there are any factualhowlers, point the finger at me, not them.
Thanks too to Rob Wilcock for details regarding oilplatforms and for checking a couple of early chapters. AlanMcGrath also chipped in with anecdotes regarding life onthe rigs.
Other people who helped during the writing of this bookwere Nicholas Royle, Shaun Hamilton, Simon Strantzas,Ethan, Ripley, Zac, Mum and Dad. My superb editors atVirgin Books, Adam Nevill and Simon Lee-Price, made sureI didn't take my eye off the ball. Thanks also to RobertKirby at United Agents.
As always, Rhonda Carrier read drafts, rolled her eyes,shook her head, but generally infused me with confidenceand hope. I love that woman.
'We live as we dream alone.'
Joseph Conrad
Part One
BIRTHS, DEATHS AND MARRIAGES
1. RAPTURE OF THE DEEP
... and in the morningtime we can drive in the jeep tothe zoo and bort tikits and see the munkiz. Our jeep iscool acoz it goz reely fast and plays som grat muzik andits a green car...
Richard Jane glanced to his left and saw the other diversranged away from him at ten-foot intervals, ghostsfading into the distance. Visibility was poorer than usual buthe could just make out the yellow flashes of HenriksonSubsea's company logo on the dive suits. His breath came inshallow stitches. He could feel his heartbeat where it playedin the thin skin of his wrist whenever it pressed against hissuit as he applied pressure to the wrench. Another few turnsand this section of the clamp would be sound. The fatiguecrack, fully three feet long, was a black frown in the scarredweld between the node and its supportive brace. The greatleg of the oil platform rose into the murk and was lost. Youhad to move against the current to get the job done. You hadto anticipate where it might try to drag you and plant yourstance accordingly.
Next page