December 2025 was not a month that was characterised by reading. It was more of a month that was characterised by binge watching five seasons of ‘Angel’ on the telly. I regret nothing. This isn’t a telly blog, but spending so much time with Cordelia, Harmony, Fred, Dru, Darla, Lilah, Kate and Eve, with guest appearances from Faith, Buffy and Willow, really fired up my desire to get back to writing again. Spike and Doyle were their immaculately brilliant selves, Lindsay was great eye candy, Gru was the saddest character ever … why was he never mentioned again after he walked away? (sob). As for Angel and Connor … oh the brooding dark silliness of it all. Loved it.
And, back to the books. I went to the library to look for a Scalzi book to end the year with, but they had none. I did, however, find a non-sf Cory Doctorow book. ‘Picks and Shovels’ I enjoyed this, it’s a fast paced story set in the early days of Silicon Valley, exploring the thrill of the start up community, the growing confidence of the gay community, the horror of AIDS and the sheer joy of a young man embracing the power and intelligence of a group of highly motivated women.
It’s the third book in the Marty Hench series, which I didn’t realise when I picked it up, but we all know that when you’re in the library, you get what you can. I’ll probably have to reserve the other two books. Luckily, chronologically, it’s the first book. I think I’ll definitely be reading the others.
A few weeks ago I’d borrowed Starveacre from the library, and found it to be a great short story stretched out into a short novel. Then I had several conversations with other readers who had been fairly unimpressed with both Starveacre and The Loney. Me being me, all of this pushed me to search our shelves for ‘The Loney’ and read it. I was prepared for anything.
I bought this copy for my husband years ago, he read it and wasn’t very impressed. Because Hurley is a fellow Lancastrian, and writes folk and gothic horror, I decided that I’d try it at some point, so it stayed on the shelves.
So, this is a more than decent slow burn horror novel with that great vibe that you get from a desolate setting. The Loney itself is a place, one that I’m familiar with but had never seen as desolate, more as beautiful. Still, nobody reads horror stories about beautiful places do they, and we’re all different in our responses to people, places and, of course, stories. And this story is a good one. The characters might be a bit clumsy and stereotyped, but they’re used to great effect, and the climax of the story is truly horrific, revealed partially in that matter of fact, mercenary manner that underlies the nastiest things in the world.
So yes, I enjoyed ‘The Loney’ and will definitely read more Hurley when I get the chance.
Just two December books then. Ah well, I’ve started another, and will tell you more in my January 2026 blog.