'A real creepy crawly ... Recommended to those who like their thrills chilled.' - Evening Standard 'John Blackburn lives right up to his reputation for the eerie and the sinister.' - The Guardian 'A stylish, genuinely chilling author. Blackburn's devils do not loom vaguely in the background, but seem unstoppable and are among the most malevolent portrayals in the genre.' - St James Guide to Crime and Mystery Writers 'An accomplished writer.' - Spectator Three directors of the Van Traylen Fellowship have died in gruesome ways, and now a bus carrying children to the Fellowship's orphanage has crashed, killing the driver and injuring seven-year-old Mary Valley. While in hospital, Mary, the daughter of triple murderess Anna Harb, suffers horrifying nightmares, and psychiatrist Peter Haynes believes she is mentally ill. Is it schizophrenia, or is there another explanation for the strange and vivid images she sees: memories of a past life, psychic possession, or psychological trauma from her lunatic mother's attempts to give her occult powers? When Anna Harb goes on a murderous rampage at the hospital, trying to kill Mary and exclaiming that she is a 'soul that should never have been born', the mystery deepens. General Charles Kirk of Foreign Intelligence and his friend Marcus Levin, an esteemed scientist, believe Harb is connected with the Van Traylen deaths and are determined to solve the case. They will follow the madwoman to a remote Scottish island, where against the backdrop of a blazing Guy Fawkes night bonfire, a sinister and unthinkable truth will be revealed! John Blackburn (1923-1993) was unrivalled at blending the genres of mystery, horror, and science fiction into chilling, page-turning thrillers, and Nothing but the Night (1968) is one of his best and most frightening. This new edition, the first in over forty years, includes a new introduction by Greg Gbur.

ジョン・ブラックバーンの真骨頂は、心理学的恐怖とオカルトを緻密な論理で結びつける筆致にあります。少女の悪夢が単なるトラウマか、あるいは時空を超えた呪いか。読者の理性を揺さぶり、闇に蠢く「生まれてくるべきではなかった魂」を描き出す様は、ジャンル文学の枠を超えた文学的な凄みに満ちています。 映像化作品では名優たちが怪演を見せていますが、原作には視覚を凌駕する「静かな狂気」が宿っています。小説ならではの緻密な心理描写が、読者の想像力を極限まで刺激するでしょう。映画のダイナミズムと活字の深遠な精神的恐怖、その双方が共鳴し合うことで、本作の真の戦慄は完結するのです。