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octavia_cade's review
4.0
Three and a half stars, rounding up to four. I came across this book on a list of haunted house stories I'm reading my way through, and that was a grossly inaccurate listing I can tell you. This isn't a haunted house story at all, but it is a horror, and a very entertaining one at that. Sort of rural Gothic, but Welsh rural Gothic of all things, with myth and history and murder all tied up in a remote village that's positively seething with nationalism. That was the really interesting thing about this book, for me - the underlying hostility the Welsh have for the English. Living on the other side of the world as I do, the Welsh-English relationship is not something that often crosses my radar, though I'm aware of course, at least vaguely, of the fraught relationship between them, the history of conflict and violence. It doesn't surprise me that resentment remains (although I'm hoping not to the level depicted here!). It does make it a particularly interesting angle for a horror story to take, however... and it also makes me want to find some good basic books on Welsh history to fill in the gaps. Oh well, even more to add to my tottering to-read pile...
rowan_d's review
4.0
Not *quite* as good as "Curfew", but still a VERY good read with some deliciously creepy parts. Highly recommended.
iblamewizards's review
4.0
My husband and I have just bought our first home here in Wales, so the theme of Candlenight really resonated with me on a personal level. Rickman absolutely nailed the Welsh phrasing as well. I could hear the accent in the dialogue, which is incredibly hard to do.
One of the things Candlenight did suffer from was the inherent sexism that male thriller writers from the '90s had, but I ended up overlooking that for the most part as I'm a fan of Rickman's and thankfully know he's grown out of that phase.
Where Rickman really excelled in this book was in distinguishing people who are Welsh nationalists from those who are anti-English. The Welsh Independence movement is really trying to bridge that divide at the moment, so it's quite topical. Rickman obviously loves Wales but understands what it feels like to be Sais.
I knew that Candlenight was set in Wales, but I didn't realise it would be quite so Welsh. I really enjoyed that about it, but I suspect I'm a bit biased in that regard, given that I'm married to a Welshman and have chosen to make my home here. I really enjoyed the folklore elements, and really really loved the focus on Owain Glyndwr who has definitely become, not only a real source of historical pride but a folk hero around these parts.
One of the things that I really appreciated being included was a mention of the flooding of the Welsh Valleys for English Reservoirs. It's something that is still very relevant to Welsh identity, and you'll often see Cofiwch Dryweryn (Remember Tryweryn) painted as white writing on a red background all over Wales. The original graffitied stone wall is in Llanrhystud, and it's become a political slogan for Welsh Nationalism.
As far as the narrative was concerned, the pacing was great, the plot was really well developed, and there was just enough ambiguity in it to make the supernatural vs rationalist explanations murky, which I always like. Where the book failed to impress, however, was in its characterisation. I felt the characters were all a little bit flat and underdeveloped - especially the female characters who seemed to be more warm vaginas for the male protagonists to park themselves when things got hectic, rather than real characters in their own right. It was a very male-driven story.
While the story was exciting and really drove me to keep reading, the end got a little...messy. Nothing was fully fleshed-out in an attempt to preserve an air of mystery. Although I did enjoy the slight undercurrent of time travel that the book seemed to have, while simultaneously wishing it had been explored more.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading Candlenight. It was really well researched, and sympathetic, which is pretty rare for what is, essentially, a popcorn thriller. And thankfully, Rickman has grown out of his 90's representation of women in the intervening years.
One of the things Candlenight did suffer from was the inherent sexism that male thriller writers from the '90s had, but I ended up overlooking that for the most part as I'm a fan of Rickman's and thankfully know he's grown out of that phase.
Where Rickman really excelled in this book was in distinguishing people who are Welsh nationalists from those who are anti-English. The Welsh Independence movement is really trying to bridge that divide at the moment, so it's quite topical. Rickman obviously loves Wales but understands what it feels like to be Sais.
I knew that Candlenight was set in Wales, but I didn't realise it would be quite so Welsh. I really enjoyed that about it, but I suspect I'm a bit biased in that regard, given that I'm married to a Welshman and have chosen to make my home here. I really enjoyed the folklore elements, and really really loved the focus on Owain Glyndwr who has definitely become, not only a real source of historical pride but a folk hero around these parts.
One of the things that I really appreciated being included was a mention of the flooding of the Welsh Valleys for English Reservoirs. It's something that is still very relevant to Welsh identity, and you'll often see Cofiwch Dryweryn (Remember Tryweryn) painted as white writing on a red background all over Wales. The original graffitied stone wall is in Llanrhystud, and it's become a political slogan for Welsh Nationalism.
As far as the narrative was concerned, the pacing was great, the plot was really well developed, and there was just enough ambiguity in it to make the supernatural vs rationalist explanations murky, which I always like. Where the book failed to impress, however, was in its characterisation. I felt the characters were all a little bit flat and underdeveloped - especially the female characters who seemed to be more warm vaginas for the male protagonists to park themselves when things got hectic, rather than real characters in their own right. It was a very male-driven story.
While the story was exciting and really drove me to keep reading, the end got a little...messy. Nothing was fully fleshed-out in an attempt to preserve an air of mystery. Although I did enjoy the slight undercurrent of time travel that the book seemed to have, while simultaneously wishing it had been explored more.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading Candlenight. It was really well researched, and sympathetic, which is pretty rare for what is, essentially, a popcorn thriller. And thankfully, Rickman has grown out of his 90's representation of women in the intervening years.
annebrittingoleson's review against another edition
5.0
This is the one that messed with my head, from the beginning to its apocalyptic ending.
ladygeeke's review against another edition
3.0
This series dates from before his Merrily Watkins books. Quite creepy but very over-dramatic at times. Rickman always includes a lot of Welsh-border politics in his work which can be interesting or annoying depending how involved you are in the story. I like the way he uses real-life locations.
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