Scarlet is only the second book Welsh language author Thomas Emson has had published in English, which is a surprise considering he has been writing since the 1990's, not to mention his dexterity and skill at writing in the language. His novel tells a tale of vampires and drugs upon the backdrop of London's goth subculture. The action begins with a trip back in time to Romania in the early 1980's to give the reader an understanding of the historical beginnings of the story that is to be told, before travelling forward to the present day.
A Brief Summary of the Story
It's vampire night at the club "Religion" where the novel's lead character Jake Lawton is working as a doorman, alongside his partner for the night, Cal Milo. They stand at the door as they watch the clubgoers queue up to get in. Milo says synically, "Here they come,"..."The gothed-up freaks. The bloodsuckers. The neck-biters." His words cleverly employed by the author, anticipatory of what is to come, Milo ignorant and blissfully unaware.
When Fraser Lithgow, a well-known drug pusher approaches the club, Lawton becomes defensive, telling him he has been barred. However, unexpectedly the club manager, Nathan Holt, appears and instructs Lawton to allow Lithgow entrance. Lawton protests but then grudgingly accedes defeat and the drug dealer disappears into the crowds inside. Once inside, Lithgow begins to distribute a new kind of drug he has been given to sell, white pills with a mysterious "K" stamped into them. A few minutes after taking the drugs Clubbers begin to go into fit-like convulsions, before spurting blood and dying on the spot.
Presumed dead from taking bad pills, the incident that killed dozens of people at Religion is splashed all over the news. But what they don't know is that the supposed dead aren't really dead at all, and no less than 48 hours later they rise again, no longer human, but vampire. From here on out the action unfolds, as Lawton teams up with the unlikely Lithgow, and even more unlikely, the journalist that just about destroyed his life previously, Christine Murray, as they try and unfold the mystery of what happened to the people at Religion, but also to fight against what they had subsequently become.
Emson's characterisation of Lawton is superbly executed, as he paints the ex-British army officer who was stationed in Basra, and wrongly accused of murdering an unarmed civilian. Lawton is world-weary, scarred, and disillusioned with life. He is the archetypal reluctant hero, he does not particularly care if he lives or dies, but somehow he finds himself fighting against the monsters that are terrorising London.
Is Scarlet a Book to Recommend?
The novel is composed, for the most part, of short, fast-paced chapters, which keep the action moving and the reader's attention focused. Emson also integrates ancient myth into his story, by connecting the events of Skarlet to the myth that Alexander the Great encountered vampires when he conquered Babylon. This novel will be a very enjoyable for those interested in vampire/horror/thriller typed fiction, and you will definitely be left wanting more by the end. It is not clear if our hero Lawton is alive or dead as the novel comes to a close, and there are many threads left untangled, indicating, hopefully, that there will be a sequel.
Scarlet published by Snowbooks, 2009. ISBN 978-1-905005-98-7
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