The Searching Dead

"Beautifully written, a masterful story from a master of horror fiction, as well as a master of fiction in general, Ramsey Campbell's novel, The Searching Dead is strong on style, atmosphere, and the creeps. Time will show that Campbell will be remembered as one of the greats of all time. He has long surpassed Lovecraft, one of his major influences, and has gone on to influence others. Check it out."

"This is Campbell at the height of his powers, proving once again that he is a master of the genre."

"A return to and a revisioning of some of his earliest imaginings, the trilogy is a kind of autobiography of its protagonist, in which his lifelong struggle with a supernatural agency occurs against the backdrop of post-war British history. The result is a magisterial work, though such a description scants the novels’ propulsive readability. It’s another remarkable achievement in a career full of them."

"The first book in his upcoming “The Three Births of Daoloth” trilogy, The Searching Dead is Ramsey Campbell at the peak of his craft, the literary equivalent of a well-aged bottle of Balvenie."

"This novel is not only the start of an awesome horror epic by a master, but also a compelling coming-of-age story about a budding writer finding his way in a terrifying world."

"Campbell has always been a master of narrative drive delivering novels full of cliff-hangers and ominous revelations and The Searching Dead shows him at the height of his powers."

"I highly recommend this trilogy for new Ramsey Campbell fans like myself. This seems like the best possible introduction to his body of work."

"I highly recommend this trilogy for new Ramsey Campbell fans like myself. This seems like the best possible introduction to his body of work."

“The Searching Dead is the first book of the Three Births of Daoloth trilogy. It’s a spooky read that winds its way through spiritual paths leading right up to the cemetery gates. When you hear the dead call out from the graveyards...will you answer?”

“Britain’s most respected living horror writer”

“One of the century’s great literary exponents of the gothic and horrific”

“Easily the best horror writer working in Britain today.”

“Good horror writers are quite rare, and Campbell is better than just good”

“The John Le Carre of horror fiction”

“Britain’s greatest living horror writer”

“Britain’s leading horror novelist.”

“An absolute master of modern horror. And a damn fine writer at that”

“The most sophisticated and highly regarded of British horror writers”

“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”

“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 that’s a rare gift to have”

“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”

“A horror writer in the classic mould... Britain’s premier contemporary exponent of the art of scaring you out of your skin”

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

“Ramsey Campbell’s work is tremendous”

“In Campbell’s 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”

“The finest writer now working in the horror field”

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