Horror readers who are fans of cosmic horror and cults will enjoy this novel, and those who haven't read the previous two volumes will still be able to follow along. Fans of the recent Netflix show Midnight Mass will devour this work.
-- Booklist
With The Way of the Worm, Campbell's cosmic trilogy comes to a triumphant conclusion.
-- S.T. Joshi
A return to and a revisioning of some of his earliest imaginings, the trilogy is a kind of autobiography of its protagonist, in which his lifelong struggle with a supernatural agency occurs against the backdrop of post-war British history. The result is a magisterial work, though such a description scants the novels' propulsive readability. It's another remarkable achievement in a career full of them.
-- Locus Magazine
There is little doubt that Ramsey Campbell's trilogy-for the three novels must be regarded as a tightly knit unity-will take its place among the stellar accomplishments in the realm of weird fiction. I struggle to find any trio of novels in our field that could match its achievement-an achievement that extends not merely to its deft portrayal of numerous characters over six decades and the impeccable elegance and mellifluousness of its prose, but above all to the grimly terrifying nature of its weird manifestations.
-- S.T. Joshi
Praise for Books 1 and 2 in the trilogy:
This is Campbell at the height of his powers, proving once again that he is a master of the genre. - Publishers Weekly Starred Review of The Searching Dead, book 1
A return to and a revisioning of some of his earliest imaginings, the trilogy is a kind of autobiography of its protagonist, in which his lifelong struggle with a supernatural agency occurs against the backdrop of post-war British history. The result is a magisterial work, though such a description scants the novels' propulsive readability. It's another remarkable achievement in a career full of them. - Locus Magazine Review of The Searching Dead, book 1
This novel is not only the start of an awesome horror epic by a master, but also a compelling coming-of-age story about a budding writer finding his way in a terrifying world. - Library Journal Review of The Searching Dead, book 1
I'm very much looking forward to the third and final installment of this excellent trilogy. - Horror Delve
I highly recommend this trilogy for new Ramsey Campbell fans like myself. This seems like the best possible introduction to his body of work. - Sadie Hartmann for Cemetery Dance on Book 1
Praise for Ramsey Campbell:
An absolute master of modern horror. And a damn fine writer at that. - Guillermo del Toro
Good horror writers are quite rare, and Campbell is better than just good. -Stephen King
He is unsurpassed in the subtle manipulation of mood... You forget you're just reading a story. - Publishers Weekly
Britain's most respected living horror writer. - Oxford Companion to English Literature
One of the century's great literary exponents of the gothic and horrific. - The Guardian
Easily the best horror writer working in Britain today. - Time Out
The John Le Carre of horror fiction. - Bookshelf, Radio 4
Britain's greatest living horror writer. - Alan Moore
Britain's leading horror novelist. - New Statesman
I would say that only five writers have written serious novels which incorporate themes of fantasy or the inexplicable and still qualify as literature: T. E. D. Klein, Peter Straub, Richard Adams, Jonathan Carroll and Ramsey Campbell. - Stephen King
The most sophisticated and highly regarded of British horror writers. - Financial Times
He writes of our deepest fears in a precise, clear prose that somehow manages to be beautiful and terrifying at the same time. He is a powerful, original writer, and you owe it to yourself to make his acquaintance. - Washington Post
One of the few who can scare and disturb as well as make me laugh out loud. His humour is very black but very funny, and that's a rare gift to have. - Mark Morris, The Observer
For sheer ability to compose disturbing, evocative prose, he is unmatched in the horror/fantasy field... He turns the traditional horror novel inside out, and makes it work brilliantly. - Fangoria
Ramsey Campbell is not only the most important horror writer we have, he is also one of the most important writers we have - period. - Stephen Jones
He is a living legend whose name is mentioned in the same breadth as M.R. James, Arthur Machen and H.P. Lovecraft. - John Gilbert (Winner of British Fantasy Award, editor of FEAR magazine.)
I can lose myself in a Ramsey Campbell story. I mean this literally. My world will not make sense. That the Ramsey Campbell I have known for almost forty years now is cheerful, affable, sensible, and profoundly sane, and in all ways a delight to know, does not lessen the effect of the fiction on me as a reader. - Neil Gaiman
A horror writer in the classic mould... Britain's premier contemporary exponent of the art of scaring you out of your skin. - Q Magazine
In Campbell's hands words take on a life of their own, creating images that stay with you, feelings that prey on you, and people you hope never ever to meet. - Starburst
Ramsey Campbell is the nearest thing we have to an heir to M. R. James. - Times
