Set in England, the poorer end of London in the Council Estates. A group of youths are committing crimes of any kind and the Police won't do anything to stop them.

So when the youths get bored after almost killing Victora Porter's, Ronni's, father and also killing a helpless cat, they decide to launch an attack on a reisdental home for the elderly in the hopes that they'll get money and all kinds of things for being so evil.

But they never counted on the most precious thing that can be gained by age-wisdom. Not all elderly people are sweet and kind...

The setting was sharp, I know of this setting well because it's very common all over the UK where I live. So reading it in a book was even sharper and it gave the story an edge.

The characters were also very well written, each one having their own litle bit of time to shine, wonderfully well done.

The ending was a little rushed in my opinion and it left a feeling that the story isn't over, not yet anyway. Also the langauge used and the description of the things that happen can be a little stomach churning, the cat scene is one section that had me flinching and I'm no cat lover, but I was almost in tears from what the kids did to the cat. Takes a lot to make me feel like that.

Sleep, still do. Also wanted to wring the necks of the kids in the story myself, the things they did were past a joke.

Angry at the way that the UK is dying, upset at the evil that kids do now in this day and age and thoughtful about how it's all real and happens all over the UK.

Has been writing for years, he's mostly a horror writer who is good at making the reader feel queasy with the gore he can describe. He's an English author, a very good one at that, the UK version of Stephen King in a way. His Rats stories can be very gory indeed.

It looks into a very real problem in the UK, plus it's a good read, if you've got a strong enough stomach.

The heavy swearing and content in the story can be a turn off, if you're a very moral person then this book might have you in tears from the way it's all written. Also the feelings the story gives are not recommended if you're depressed.

I wasn't sure on this story, it's been quite a while since I last read one of his books, they're hard to find for some reason. But I know what's it's like to be on the recieving end of the strange anger and hatred of the youth of these past two and a bit decades, so I understand the story perfectly. It's a good read, if somewhat stomach churning. I won't give too much away though, it's better read than told.

Interested in buying this? Support Writing.Com by making your purchase of Compulsion   from Amazon.Com!

Created May 22, 2003 at 11:11am • Submit your own review...