The book of the Baku by R.L. Boyle

Sean is now mute, traumatised by his past and unable to move beyond what was a hidden horrible life with his drug-addled mother in a poverty-riddled locality. Now in care with his formerly estranged grandfather, who lives with his own griefs and challenges from the past, Sean must deal with the nightmares of many, and their stories of night time terror that have been fed to The Baku. The Baku is an ancient creature of corruption that horrifies and destroys in a dark and foreboding way and is revealed in a book written by Sean’s grandfather. The Baku invades Sean’s life, just as he seems to have found a glimmer of hope.  Can he escape the Baku’s attempts to destroy him?

In a dark, psychological way there is great depth to this tale as it weaves its way through nightmares of many children, and the nightmare life of Sean and also his grandfather as they deal with guilt and grief. For Sean there was a life of hardship that is unfathomable, that was given moments of uplift because of art and some ‘hard-as-nails’ friends from the rough side of town. But for most of this book the reader is led through a disturbing horror story of chilling terror. For those who like the horror genre this will appeal as it weaves stories from childish nightmares into Sean’s real-life daytime nightmare of trauma. The revelation of more than just a horror story comes slowly and is also a powerfully written metaphorical exploration of psychological trauma. I am greatly impressed at the potent, tense and moving story by this debut novelist, it is not an easy read and some younger readers would recognise their own night time terrors in the dreams fed to The Baku. This is not for the faint-hearted.

Highly recommended to mature readers aged 15+.

Themes: Horror, Nightmares, Trauma, Family dysfunction, Grief, Guilt, Drug taking.

Carolyn Hull