Casualties of War

Steve Emmerson

Unless he was one third of Emmerson, Lake & Palmer, none that I know of.

A village is troubled by the walking dead (well, it would be troubling wouldn't it) during the Great War. The local psychiatric hospital for the wounded troops is blamed - rightly so as it happens, since the owner is channelling another mysterious Earth force. Thankfully a mysterious stranger turns up to stop him...

A very good book, well-written and well-constructed, but ironically disappointing because its plot so closely mirrors The Burning. Strange goings on in cosy village - Doctor moves in to form a close, discursive relationship with a local - he has several civilised but barbed meetings with the suspected villain - some natural force turns out to be the enemy - the Doctor saves the day and sods off. There is nothing wrong with the book in isolation, but in sequence it really does have a very samey feel to it. Plus the subplot with the farmer and his barn is clearly superfluous.

Obviously there are references to the previous novel - but this will clearly be the case much of the time, so let us never speak of it again. Beyond its immediate surroundings though, there are once again no off-putting continuity points to baffle & confuse the casual reader/viewer. Or indeed me.

Nothing very revolutionary, again the Doctor comes across as enthusiastic and a champion for justice. There is also an apparent dislike of authority figures, with his antagonism towards the villainous psychiatrist. There is a romantic subplot, with the Doctor's temporary companion, Miss Minett, clearly infatuated with him. It is, however, entirely unconsummated and in fact the Doctor seems totally oblivious to Miss Minett's feelings. Perhaps he hasn't got over Grace yet...

This Book: Picked up a copy from eBay for £2.00 all in. Not bad for second-hand, and a saving of £3.99.

Running Score: £9.98