*** Interview with Alan Gibbons (author of the Hell's Underground series)

Regular visitors to the Book Zone will know that I am a huge fan of the Hell's Underground series by Alan Gibbons. If you have not yet read my reviews of these books you can find them here and here - in my opinion it is the best YA horror series around at the moment. I recently approached Nina Douglas at Orion Books to see if Alan would be interested in taking part in an interview for this blog and he very kindly consented. Thank you Alan for taking the time to answer my questions.

How would you describe the Hell’s Underground series to a potential reader?

Hell’s Underground is a time travel adventure into the dark side of London’s past- its fantastical demon horrors and its true life human ones.

What inspired you to write the series?

I have always loved horror stories, especially the great British Gothic tradition. The immediate trigger was a documentary on the enduring fascination with the Jack the Ripper story.

With Paul Rector having travelled back through three different time periods so far how do you go about carrying out what must be an enormous amount of research?

To be honest the research usually comes first. I have always loved history so all I have to do is freshen up a little bit.

Of the time periods Paul Rector has visited so far which is your favourite?

It has got to be the misty backstreets of late Victorian London.

London features very heavily in the series. What is the appeal of this city and its history to you?

It is the concentration of the City and the East End. Much of the history I describe is accessible to the modern reader by just walking a couple of square miles.

Which of Paul’s Rector ancestors is your favourite?

I think it was Harry Rector, the British traitor-fascist. A thoroughly bad egg!

Why do you think young people find the horror genre so appealing?

It is a way of challenging our deepest, most primal fears. Everybody loves a good monster.

There are some pretty brutal scenes in the Hell’s Underground books. How do you gauge the right level of violence in your writing?

This is really hard. The first thing is that I want to scare my readers not make them uncomfortable. I find violence in fiction repugnant when it doesn’t have consequences. With the special exception of Israel Lazarus, when my characters die they stay dead. I also try to set it in a framework where the reader would find it hard to empathise with the bad guys. I depict violence to abhor it.

Are you a fan of horror literature? Do you have any favourites?

Definitely. I love Stephen King. In many of his novels women and children overcome brutal male power. I love Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stephenson, which is incredibly modern in its psychological power. Finally there is Shirley L Jackson’s magnificent The Haunting of Hill House.

What books/authors did you read when you were younger?

My childhood favourites were Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stephenson, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S.Lewis, Bows Against the Barons by Geoffrey Trease, Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kastner and the Bobbsey Twins series.

What made you start writing for children and young adults? Do you read many books for this age group yourself?

I was a teacher and it just seemed to fit. I am a huge fan of other children’s authors such as Malorie Blackman, Robert Swindells, Robert Westall, Michael Rosen, Roald Dahl, Robert Cormier, Marcus Sedgwick, Bali Rai, Beverley Naidoo, Jamilia Gavin and oh so many more.

Do you have any ideas as to how we can get boys reading for enjoyment?

I think we just have to show them the fantastic range of books for boys. Few lads can resist Robert Muchamore, Darren Shan, Tom Palmer, Charlie Higson and Anthony Horowitz.

I know that Witch Breed has only just been released but can you give us any hints as to what we can expect from the next book in the series? What time period will it be set in?

It is set in Roman Britain and the reader will discover where King Lud comes from.

Is there anything else you would like to say to readers of this blog?

There will be a year’s wait for the next book. I wanted to do a book about the war on terror. It is topical so I am completing An Act of Love before I tie up all the loose ends in the Hell’s Underground series. Sorry?

*** WIN a set of Hell's Underground books by Alan Gibbons

Readers of this blog will already know that I am a huge fan of the Hell's Underground series by Alan Gibbons. Now, thanks to the generosity of Orion Books, you have the chance to win a set of the series so far. Yes... that's four books in total. And that's not all - I have two sets to give away.

In order to win all you have to do is fill in the form below with the answers to three simple questions and your details (hint: some of the answers can be found in my review of Witch Breed).

The first two names drawn at random after the closing date will win a set of four books. Deadline for your entry is 8pm Sunday 18th July. This contest is open to UK entrants only.


Terms and conditions

Contest open to UK entrants only.

I will not be held responsible for items lost in the mail.
I hold the right to end a contest before its original deadline without any prior notice.
I hold the right to disqualify any entry as I see fit.

I will contact winning entrants for their postal address following the close of the competition. Winners have 48 hours to reply. Failure to do so in this time will result in another winner being randomly selected.

Review: Witch Breed (Hell's Underground 4) by Alan Gibbons

When Paul arrives in 17th century London, he expects to be thrown into a life or death struggle for the three gates that imprison the ancient King Lud. But the battle doesn't come. Instead, Paul roams alone, learning how to survive in a city where all the talk is of the savage civil war that rages beyond its ramparts. Somewhere underground, Lud is waiting in his crypt, preparing to rise again. War, fear and want are his tools. But Paul too has his own weapons and is gaining strength and losing inhibitions about using it. Meanwhile, beyond the city, innocent women are being killed for it is so easy to claim that they are witches. One woman - whether innocent or guilty - possesses the only power available that can help Paul in his quest.

Back in April, as part of my horror themed month, I reviewed the whole series (so far) of Alan Gibbons' Hell's Underground books. At the time I was somewhat effusive with my praise for the series. Now Witch Breed, the fourth book in the series, has been published and I feel very confident in proclaiming that in my opinion this is the best YA horror series around today. Yes, Darren Shan is the name that will spring to the minds of most young people when asked to name a writer of YA horror, but his Demonata stories can appear amateurish in comparison with the output of Alan Gibbons. And I am not the only person who feels this way about these books - there are two wonderful comments attached to the review that I wrote in April, one from an adult horror fiction fan and another from a 15 year old girl, and both of them are as enthusiastic about these books as I am (and rather more eloquent in their enthusiasm too).

Witch Breed is different from the previous three books. In these we saw Paul Rector very much in the middle of things from the moment he arrives in each new time period, and following the dramatic climax of Renegade you would be forgiven for expecting something pretty much the same from this book. However, there are moments throughout Witch Breed where you may find yourself wondering exactly who the main character is. Is it Paul? Or is it Grace Fletcher, soon to be trialled for witchcraft? Or perhaps it is Netty, Paul's 21st Century girlfriend who has been brought back in time by the evil Nathanael Rector as bait to lure and destroy Paul? The reason for this doubt is that for a large part of the book the story's viewpoint jumps around between characters, each having an important story requiring our attentio, and yet at no point does this become confusing - Mr Gibbons accomplishes it with seemingly effortless ease, and in doing so ratchets up the tension to even greater highs.

For a horror writer this is such a great period in British history to focus on. It is 1645, slap bang in the middle of the English Civil War, but more importantly it is the time when Matthew Hopkins, the so-called Witchfinder General, was travelling around Eastern England with his assistant John Stearne persecuting scores of innocent women and having them executed as witches. Sometimes when requiring a diabolically evil villain an author need look no further than the history books and Mr Gibbons' use of Hopkins and Stearne in the plot of Witch Breed is perfect. 

Coming off the back of the failure he experienced in Renegade, we begin to see another side of Paul's character in Witch Breed. Whereas in previous books we saw him slowly gain in confidence, especially as he realised that he could acquire the powers of the demons he killed, we now see him have many moments of self-doubt and confusion. Can a boy really defeat the ancient evil of King Lud, given the demonic resources this creature has under his control? Is he just a pawn of Cormac and the Priests of Beltane? And then when Netty suddenly appears in the 17th Century all previous plans are out of the window as Paul's priorites shift, with potentially disastrous consequences. In the other books Paul has often had to rely on the assistance of others in order to reach his goals, but this help becomes even more essential in Witch Breed as we discover that despite everything he has been through, and the powers he has developed, Paul is still at heart a normal teenager, and still has many of the flaws, worries and doubts that any young person would have.

Of course, despite the nastiness of Hopkins and Stearne, there is still a Rector ancestor for Paul to contend with, and this time it is Nathanael. This Rector, though, is not given quite the page count that family members in the previous books have enjoyed, but we are still left in no doubt as to the shear evil and ruthlessness of this man. After the entourage of evil that surrounded Samuel Rector in the previous books I didn't think Alan Gibbons would be able to follow it up with a similarly memorable band of demonic followers for Nathanael. Oh me of little faith! Yet again, the author has created a terrifying bunch of monsters for Paul to pit his wits against, and these demon riders come with names such as Lamedog, Ratshade, Claypin, and my absolute favourite, Suckvenom.

If you love horror and haven't yet discovered this series then you must make it a priority - you will not be disappointed. If the trials of Paul Rector are already known to you then this fourth book in the series was published by Orion on 1st July so what are you waiting for? I am very thankful to the ever-generous Nina Douglas at Orion for sending me a copy, but as ever with this series I am left waiting greedily for the next in the series, whenever that may be. 

Review: The Hell's Underground Series by Alan Gibbons

Late one night after a strange tube journey to Whitechapel in East London, Paul makes a new friend, John Redman - daring and enigmatic, just as Paul longs to be, away from his cloying mother (his only family - so he thinks). Redman charms Paul at once, but also a girl called Jude they meet on a night about town. A few days later, Paul learns that Jude has mysteriously died, and Redman has disappeared. Shortly after that, one of Paul's teacher dies suddenly - frightened to death - near where Jude's body was found. A link for sure. And Paul feels implicated, because both victims were known to him. He senses Redman, who comes and goes as it suits him, is involved as well. His new friend is dangerous. But so, we learn, is Paul. In uncovering the truth about Redman he learns shocking facts about himself. There's an evil curse loose in his family and Paul is the latest inheritor. The spree of death - camouflagued as copycat Jack the Ripper-style murders - will continue until Paul confronts the demon in himself head on. (synopsis for Scared To Death taken from Orion website)

As a result of his organisation of The Campaign for the Book, Alan Gibbons is considered something of a legend by librarians and those amongst us who recognise the importance of public and school libraries. He is also the author of one of my favourite series of YA horror books. In fact, having recently re-read the first two books in the Hell's Underground series and then Renegade, the third book (thanks to the generosity of Nina Douglas at Orion Books) I am now more than confident in rating these above Darren Shan's Demonata series (they are certainly much better written for a start).

The series kicks off with Scared To Death, the prologue of which leaves the reader in no doubt at all as the the kind of book they are reading. This opening 'chapter' is creepy and gruesome, and the perfect hook and bait with which to reel in a reluctant teenage reader. Jump forward a number of years and Paul Rector, first seen having a 'heated' exchange with his tormenting brother, has now reached his mid teens and is enjoying the kind of life every normal teenager does. There is nothing at all special about him at this moment in time..... but then Redman appears on the scene. As a teacher I have seen this many times - normal, happy teenager comes under the spell of confident older boy/girl, normal kid starts to do things they wouldn't previously have done like stay out late, gate-crash parties, joy-riding, that sort of thing. Paul has the night of his life, although being a 'nice boy' the events of the night are already nibbling away at his conscience by the time he gets home. 

Unfortunately for Paul though there is a lot more to Redman than just being a bad influence - this person is Dangerous (capital D intended), and very soon people start to die, and all of these people are linked to Paul in some way. Firstly, the young student they met at the party, then one of Paul's teachers, and as Paul starts to put the pieces of this macabre jigsaw together he realises that Redman is somehow up to his neck in all this. However, as he starts to dig Paul begins to find out disturbing things about himself, and what he really his. His life will never be the same again.


I loved Scared To Death. It is one of the few horror books that has had me feeling more than a little nervous as I read it. This is because Alan Gibbons is a master of the art of building tension slowly, so the horror levels creep up page by page, without you consciously realising, but leaving you feeling uncomfortable at the same time. This is no crash, bang, whallop action horror story like we have become accustomed to seeing from some authors - this is Stephen King and James Herbert territory we are entering, and the story is all the better for this. As with both of these authors there is also a pleasing level of gore, and teenage horror fans will lap this up, especially with it involving elements of time travel and the Jack the Ripper story. These people die in absolute terror as their world changes around them and they find themselves fleeing for their lives in what appears to be Victorian London, the domain of Jack himself.

Scared To Death ends on a cliffhanger with Paul choosing to leave his friends and family to journey back in time in order to try to use his new found supernatural powers to battle an ancient evil, and in doing so hopefully break the curse that has haunted male members of the Rector family for centuries. In The Demon Assassin we follow Paul into World War II London during the Blitz, and a demonic attempt on the life Winston Churchill, and then Renegade takes us even further back in time to the 1830s. Having established the nature of the horror facing Paul in the first book, Alan Gibbons ramps up the action in these two. Whilst they still engender the reader with that feeling of creepiness, this is balanced out with many more scenes of action as Paul's powers begin to grow, as well as his abilities to control them. Again, we see Mr Gibbons' mastery of the genre - where lesser authors could have made the mistake of turning these sequels in a action-fest, he somehow manages to ensure that the horror remains the key element in the story. This is especially the case in Renegade - the scenes featuring a girl called Victoria and her gradual possession by demonic influences are spine chilling. 

In both of these sequels Paul is aided and abetted by an array of colourful characters, many of whom have their own flaws, but as they begin to realise the horror facing their world they become almost willing to lay their lives on the line for the mysterious Paul and his quest to rid the world of the evil King Lud. How many of these characters end up making the ultimate sacrifice I will not even hint at, but the reader is certainly left in no doubt that anyone is fair game in these stories.... just don't get too attached to a particular character! 

Of course, to maintain balance, Alan Gibbons also throws a vicious mix of villains into the pot, and if you thought Redman was nasty just wait until you come across the villains in Renegade. Imagine what you would get if you took Fagin, the Artful Dodger and their band of boy thieves to hell, left them there for a few centuries to get acquainted with the devil and develop a few satanic powers of their own and then brought them back to 1830s London and told them the city was theirs to play with - enter Samuel Rector and his Rat Boys.

Three books in the series so far and the fourth, entitled Witch Breed, is now due to be published on 1st July 2010. Having just read the synopsis for Witch Breed I am already begin to salivate with anticipation:


When Paul arrives in 17th century London, he expects to be thrown into a life or death struggle for the three gates that imprison the ancient King Lud. But the battle doesn't come. Instead, Paul roams alone, learning how to survive in a city where all the talk is of the savage civil war that rages beyond its ramparts. Somewhere underground, Lud is waiting in his crypt, preparing to rise again. War, fear and want are his tools. But Paul too has his own weapons and is gaining strength and losing inhibitions about using it. Meanwhile, beyond the city, innocent women are being killed for it is so easy to claim that they are witches. One woman - whether innocent or guilty - possesses the only power available that can help Paul in his quest.


Scared To Death, The Demon Assassin and Renegade are published by Orion and are all available to buy right now, although you may have to hunt around a bit for Scared To Death (books 1 and 2 are being reissued later this year). If you haven't yet discovered them they I envy you as you have the opportunity to read three great series books back-to-back and then go straight into what I expect will be an equally fantastic Book Four.