Ramsey Campbell - The Grin of the Dark

Britains most respected living horror writer Oxford Companion to English Literature

Easily the best horror writer working in Britain today Time Out

Campbell is literate in a field which has attracted too many comic-book intellects, cool in a field where too many writers myself included tend toward panting melodrama... Good horror writers are quite rare, and Campbell is better than just good Stephen King

Britains greatest living horror writer Alan Moore

Britains leading horror writer... His novels have been getting better and better CityLimits

One of Britains most accomplished horror writers Oxford Star

The John Le Carr of horror fiction Bookshelf, Radio 4

One of the best real horror writers at work today Interzone

The greatest living exponent of the British weird fiction tradition The PenguinEncyclopaedia of Horror and the Supernatural

Ramsey Campbell has succeeded more brilliantly than any other writer in bringing the supernatural tale up to date without sacrificing the literary standards that early masters made an indelible part of the tradition Jack Sullivan, editor of the Penguin encyclopaedia

Englands contemporary king of the horror genre Atlanta Constitution

One of the few real writers in our field... In some ways Ramsey Campbell is the best of us all Peter Straub

Ramsey Campbell has a talent for terror he knows how to give you nightmares while youre still awake... Only a few writers can lay claim to such a level of consummate craftsmanship Robert Bloch

Campbell writes the most terrifying horror tales of anyone now alive Twilight ZoneMagazine

He is unsurpassed in the subtle manipulation of mood... You forget youre just reading a story Publishers Weekly

One of the worlds finest exponents of the classic British ghost story Sounds

For sheer ability to compose disturbing, evocative prose, he is unmatched in the horror/fantasy field... He turns the traditional horror novel inside out, and makes it work brilliantly Fangoria

Campbell has solidly established himself to be the best writer working in this field today Karl Edward Wagner, The Years Best Horror Stories

When Mr Campbell pits his fallible, most human characters against enormous forces bent on incomprehensible errands the results are, as you might expect, often frightening, and, as you might not expect, often touching; even heartwarming Gahan Wilson in TheMagazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction

Britains leading horror novelist New Statesman

Ramsey Campbell is Britains finest living writer of horror stories: considerable praise for a man whose country boasts the talents of Clive Barker and Roald Dahl, M. John Harrison and Nigel Kneale Douglas Winter, editor of Prime Evil

Campbell writes the most disturbing horror fiction around Today

Ramsey Campbell is better than all the rest of us put together Dennis Etchison

Ramsey Campbell is the best horror writer alive, period Thomas Tessier

A horror writer in the classic mould... Britains premier contemporary exponent of the art of scaring you out of your skin Q Magazine

The undisputed master of the psychological horror novel Robert Holdstock

Perhaps the most important living writer in the horror fiction field David Hartwell

Ramsey Campbells work is tremendous Jonathan Ross

Campbell is a rightful tenant of M. R. James country, the genuine badlands of the human psyche Norman Shrapnel in the Guardian

One of the worlds finest exponents of the classic British ghost story... His writing explores the potential for fear in the mundane, the barely heard footsteps, the shadow flitting past at the edge of ones sight Daily Telegraph

The Grand Master of British horror... the greatest living writer of horror fiction Vector

Britains greatest horror writer... Realistic, subtle and arcane Waterstones Guide to

In Campbells hands words take on a life of their own, creating images that stay with you, feelings that prey on you, and people you hope never ever to meet Starburst

The finest writer now working in the horror field Interzone

Ramsey Campbell is the nearest thing we have to an heir to M. R. James Times

Easily the finest practising British horror novelist and the one whose work can most wholeheartedly be recommended to those who dislike the genre... His misclassification as a genre writer obscures his status as the finest magic realist Britain possesses this side of J. G. Ballard Daily Telegraph

One of the few who can scare and disturb as well as make me laugh out loud. His humour is very black but very funny, and thats a rare gift to have Mark Morris in the Observer

The most sophisticated and highly regarded of British horror writers Financial Times

He writes of our deepest fears in a precise, clear prose that somehow manages to be beautiful and terrifying at the same time. He is a powerful, original writer, and you owe it to yourself to make his acquaintance Washington Post

I would say that only five writers have written serious novels which incorporate themes of fantasy or the inexplicable and still qualify as literature: T. E. D. Klein, Peter Straub, Richard Adams, Jonathan Carroll and Ramsey Campbell Stephen King

Ramsey Campbell is the best of us all Poppy Z. Brite

The foremost stylist and innovator in British horror fiction The Scream Factory

One of the centurys great literary exponents of the gothic and horrific Guardian

A national treasure... one of the most revered and significant authors in our field Peter Atkins

No other horror writer currently active is engaging with the real world quite as rigorously as Ramsey Campbell Kim Newman

Ramsey Campbell taught me how to write... Theres an intensity and clarity to his worldview thats quite beautiful Jeremy Dyson

When it comes to the box of nightmares into which we all reach for inspiration, Ramsey reaches deeper than anyone else Mark Morris

Ramsey Campbell has been given more awards than any other writer in the field, including the Grand Master Award of the World Horror Convention and the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Horror Writers Association. In 2007, he was named a Living Legend by the International Horror Guild. He is the author of over fifteen novels, numerous short stories and a collection of nonfiction. He lives on Merseyside with his wife Jenny and his pleasures include classical music, good food and wine, and whatevers in that pipe. For more information visit www.ramseycampbell.com

Ramsey Campbell

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Adobe ISBN: 9780753516508

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First published in paperback in Great Britain in 2008 by Virgin Books Ltd

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First published in hardback in Great Britain in 2007