The Beetle by Richard Marsh

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affects my opinion.

So, you’re probably wondering why Netgalley are offering ARCs for a book that was first published over 100 years ago. Well, you won’t find the answer here. But now, in the 21st century, The Beetle is more of a niche horror, while Dracula is, well, mildly popular. Anyway, despite owning a copy of the Beetle (it’s free, people) for who knows how long, funnily enough, I didn’t realise this until I actually got my copy from Netgalley. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I read the book.

The story tells of a politician who is being pursued by a ne’er do well for reasons not evident from the start, and the story unfolds as we progress. The tale is told from the perspective of different characters, with varying degrees of success. Here’s my thoughts on the story.

• I must be honest, I really struggled with the first half of the book and almost quit a couple of times (something I really hate to do). The first couple of characters, homeless guy Robert Holt and borderline psychopathic scientist Sidney Atherton failed to impress, and Sidney in particular was like a lovesick puppy who happened to be working on making a gas that would change the face of war. Nice idea for a character, but he didn’t really come into his own until later on
• Marjorie Lyndon, betrothed to the beleaguered politician Paul Lessingham, adds some spice to the second half of the story, Her fire and desire to help her husband with his mystical problems will lead her into trouble, both at home and with the mystic who is hunting him. Marjorie also gives Sidney’s character a shot in the arm, as he is envious of her relationship, but sticks around to help out because of his crush
• The final character is Augustus Champnell, a detective who tries to bring rationale to the whole mystical caper. We also see more of Lessingham, as the quartet go to track down their foe. The final quarter is pretty exciting, as the stakes are raised and we realise what we are actually up against. At this stage we start to realise that no one will escape unscathed
• So final thoughts – the story gets to be fun in a 1950s B-Movie kind of way, but the whole horror aspect seems kind of silly compared to some of the slick stuff we get today. The language is very accessible, which isn’t always the case with some of those older novels, and it can be pretty funny at times, with some good banter between the different characters. I think the biggest selling point for the novel is that it never takes itself seriously, something too many novels seem to do. 

Verdict

A fun oldie but somewhat goodie.