Solomon Kane: Official Movie Novelisation by Ramsey Campbell

5/10

Solomon Kane is a pulp hero created by Robert E. Howard. Last year, the character appeared at the cinema and the film spawned it's own novel adaptation.

It is difficult to read this book without wondering why it exists at all. This is a scene-by-scene translation of the film into book form and it seems to lack any real purpose when the film itself exists.

For anybody who has seen the film and been inspired to explore the character further, there are the many other stories that have already been published since 1928. This is not to say that this movie novelisation is all bad. It is certainly formulaic, as we move from conflict to conflict at the same pace as we would with so many other action adventures.

But Ramsey Campbell is a respected horror writer and the horrific elements of the tale lend themselves to his strengths. There are some enjoyably dark and atmospheric moments as a result, but Ramsey Campbell has had to work with a tedious and predictable story, which may provide an enjoyable enough two hours of entertainment at the cinema but ultimately fails to engage the reader for the time it takes to read a three hundred-page novel.