My 2016 novel Raven and Skull is now available as an audiobook. The Kindle and Paperback versions have also been slightly revised with updated covers and lightly polished content. And, in celebration of the book being made available as an audiobook, I’m organising an audiobook giveaway this week with more details below.
Anyone who’s been following the last five days of blog posts about Raven and Skull, is probably wondering what others have thought about this book. Below, I thought it might be helpful to share some of the reviews that the book has received on Amazon.
Much as I love horror fiction, it’s rare for a scary novel actually to give me nightmares, so well done Ashley Lister for disturbing my sleep so thoroughly. This book is brilliantly, horribly unsettling. Everyone in it is unpleasant, yet it’s not hard to imagine that you might end up doing the same awful, selfish, stupid and dangerous things that they do; one bad decision or too-good-to-be-true temptation leading you so far, so fast, down a doomed and dreadful path that you barely know how you got there at all. Raven and Skull could almost be read as a vicious satire on the sheer awfulness of the average modern workplace, if you like: there’s a feeling that the pointlessness of their jobs is one of the causes of the characters’ bitter misery and baffled rage. If you like Ramsay Campbell, or enjoyed this year’s other great horror novel, The Last Days of Jack Sparks, you will appreciate this one. But you won’t want to work overtime in the office on your own for a while.
Amazon 5/5*
I had to wait a while to receive the book – presumably it was in demand when first published – so have only recently had the opportunity to read it. Now I’ve finished it following some late night reading sessions. Guess what? It’s good. “Proper good.”
It didn’t scare me; perhaps that’s just my nature. But I wasn’t looking for that – I read books to be entertained and enjoy a good yarn. This one is.
Before reading it, I was sort of aware it was a collection of tales from a group of work colleagues. I didn’t expect the tales to be interwoven – bringing more depth and cohesion to the stories. Clever.
The characters? Realistic. Often unpleasant, but you still want to find out their fates. The author has a twisted sense of humour which is echoed in some of the descriptive passages.
I thought the ending was slightly abrupt, but perhaps that is because I wanted to read more. I wasn’t sure what to expect – I’ve never really been attracted towards horror books (the last one I read was “Carrie” in the early 80s – that wasn’t bad and I think the author did quite well…) so I’m now asking myself, “Is Ashley’s book typical of the genre?”
I don’t know. I do know that if you haven’t bought it and read it, you should. I look forward to the next one.
Amazon 5/5*
Thoroughly enjoyable tale populated by some really nasty people (who entertained me from start to finish). Also fun to read a book that, on the surface, seems to be a bunch of short stories but is a lot more. Definitely recommended.
Amazon 5/5*
The theme of this novel is that office work is a living hell. So, to be in with a chance of winning a free copy of the Raven and Skull audiobook, simply tell me: what’s your most embarrassing story from working in an office?
Email: me@ashleylister.co.uk and I’ll be selecting a random winner by Sunday 8th August 2021.
ashleylister.com 