My friend DAN HOWARTH releases his new novel today, and it’s a corker. I was fortunate to be able to read an advance copy of LAST NIGHT OF FREEDOM, and I devoured it. The ‘great’ British tradition of the Stag do is something that can excite or terrify. I’m not sure if it’s a global phenomenon or something that’s specific to the UK – I guess the US equivalent is a Bachelor Party – but if you’re not aware of the reputation of these revered events, I invite you to spend a little time searching ‘stag do from hell’ or similar on Google. You won’t even need to read the articles – the headlines will tell you all you need to know.
On a stag party in a remote part of the Lake District, four old university friends are dragged into a bizarre local ritual. Immersed in a fight for their lives – only one of them is guaranteed to make it home…
Fifteen years after graduation, four old university friends get together to celebrate Luke’s stag party. Tucked away in a remote village in the Lake District, they expect a weekend of real ale, log fires and gentle hikes – but a stag party of locals have other ideas.
Unwillingly drawn into one-upmanship and animosity, the four friends find themselves being hunted across unfamiliar ground in a game of deadly consequences. With only one of them guaranteed to survive, old wounds and resentments threaten to tear them apart as much as their pursuers.
Can the four friends unite to fight back, or will they fall, divided and broken?
I couldn’t resist asking Dan if the horrific events of LAST NIGHT were inspired by personal experience. It was a light-hearted question, but his answer wasn’t. He told me that he hadn’t seen a murder (good!) but there have been a few eye-opening moments. “I’ve seen people I’ve known for years brawling with bouncers, I’ve seen some grim behaviour towards women from men in general on these things. I think one of the seeds for this book was planted when I went on a stag party to Eastern Europe and went to a shooting range for automatic weapons. I don’t think I’d ever realised quite how against guns I am until that moment. I just stood there thinking ‘what the fuck am I doing here?’ But a lot of other lads enjoyed it, you could almost see the blood lust in their eyes.”
You might remember me recommending another of Dan’s books, TERRITORY. Whether it’s the wolves versus the locals in that book, or the city boys versus the country lads in LAST NIGHT, outsiders fighting for survival seems to be a recurring theme for him. “Perhaps it’s more of a way of life fighting to survive in each of my books that drew me in. In both TERRITORY and LAST NIGHT, there are specific ways of life and customs which have survived for many years. Traditions and superstitions are in constant danger of being wiped out, usually by the blandness and callousness of modern life. Whilst not all traditions should be protected, I think the fight from a community to retain its sense of self and sense of history is an interesting issue in my mind. How far do we go to protect our way of life as modern life marches on? How far should we go?”
Dan’s got a lot of other stuff in the pipeline. As well as another novel LIONHEARTS hitting the shelves next year (TAXI DRIVER meets THIS IS ENGLAND, he tells me), he’s also working on a 60’s set Cold War ghost story called THE BEACONS, and another ghost story with a backdrop of abuse and misguided love called THE PASSENGER.
You should also check out NEWSTONE – a feature film Dan’s working on with director STEWART HAMILTON of HARTMANN FILMS. Scripted by Dan from a story by Stewart, it’s a 90’s set “British Apocalypse” story in the vein of HG WELLS and JOHN WYNDHAM. He tells me it’ll have a very retro feel, inspired by the 80’s BBC tv adaptation of DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS. That’s me sold!
You can find out more about Dan and his work at his website. His books are available here.
