Guy N. Smith, The Sucking Pit

First published back in 1975, 'The Sucking Pit' was Guy N. Smith's second published novel, following the release of his debut novel 'Werewolf By Moonlight' in 1974. 'The Sucking Pit' was soon to be haled as an all-time pulp horror classic and subsequently saw itself re-issued in 1978 and 1989. Even a board game of the spectacular 'Sucking Pit' adventures was contrived at one stage, but only on a very minimal scale.

Set in the heart of Hopwas Wood, in the rural Midlands, Smith begins his eerie tale of satanic urges. On the night that local woodsman Tom Lawson passes away, his beautiful and sweet niece Jenny unearths a little black book that was left behind by Lawson's young gypsy-wife who had disappeared one night a while ago. Jenny Lawson begins to read the passages contained in this harmless looking book, discovering secrets that should never have seen the light of day. The book details of a strange potion to be consumed on the hunter's moon. Against her better judgment, Jenny Lawson follows the ancient ritual and consumes the powerful potion.

Jenny quickly forgets her old life and now overcome with unquenchable urges, pursues a newly found sexual appetite that the book and its potion have brought to the surface from deep within her Romany blood. Leaving behind her old boyfriend Chris Latimer, Jenny finds herself drawn to the giant gypsy traveler Cornelius.

Lawson's unstoppable appetite for power is boiling away. Cornelius simply fans the flames as they embark on a bloodthirsty quest for power and sexual gratification. Their one true goal is to regain the ancient Romany burial site of their ancestors. Deep within the dark depths of 'Hanging Wood' lies a treacherous and seemingly bottomless bog. This fathomless pit holds the dark and ancient secrets of the Romany's. Nothing that falls in ever manages to escape its deadly sinking depths. The bog has a name - The Sucking Pit.

Only one man stands in the way of Cornelius's corrupt plan that is centered around the eerie quagmire. That man is Lawson's ex-boyfriend Chris Latimer, who without giving up all hope on Lawson after her sudden change in character, sets to unearth the dark secrets that surround Lawson's newly acquired company and their attraction to the unforgiving Sucking Pit.

Lasting for a mere 111 pages (158 pages in the larger print re-release) the novel would possibly be better suited as being classed as a novella. From the outset, Smith dives in delivering the set up for a classic pulp horror tale, slotting in plenty of potential for over-the-top violence and sexual deviancy. With the plot quickly established, Smith delivers the goods in abundance. The characterization is somewhat predictable and clich d in places, with the characters filling their roles within the unfolding tale to a clearly set criteria. Rammed with sex and outrageous violence with a fair old wedge of the occult thrown in for good measure, 'The Sucking Pit' has all the winning ingredients for a great pulp horror novel and a further introduction to what Smith will later have to offer the world. Guy doesn't fail in delivering this to us with the sort of non-stop action packed pulp horror fest we want from him as we lap up this wildly over-the-top tale.

For its simplicities and grossly clich d aspects, 'The Sucking Pit' is far from one of Guy's more involved and haunting novels. However, the tale is not without its pulp horror charm, unleashing an unashamed abundance of all things nasty with those unmistakable occult undertones that were so predominant in the 70's pulp horror novels.

Jenny Lawson's unquenchable desire for non-stop sex adds the much needed injection of lurid behavior. The murder of a local tramp is deliciously gory, bringing with it a monumental insight into the things to come from this ridiculously prolific writer.

For page after page of pure pulp horror entertainment, this short and sweet novel delivers exactly what you want. The novel was later followed up by its 1984 sequel 'The Walking Dead'.