BOOK REVIEW: Atlas of Cursed Places by Olivier Le Carrer

BOOK REVIEW: Atlas of Cursed Places by Olivier Le Carrer

Murdoch Books
November 2015
Hardback,  $29.99
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar

History / Geography

7/10

The Atlas Of Cursed Places purports to give “a travel guide to dangerous and frightful destinations” around the world, which I suppose it does, in its own way.

Of more interest though, is the way it gathers up the history of some of the freakiest locations in history and lays bare the reasons for their infamy.

There is, of course, The Bermuda Triangle, The Valley Of The Kings, Golgotha, the killer crocodiles of Cape York, the devilish horror of Amityville (remember the movie The Amityville Horror?), war-torn Beirut, the sinister reverberation of marching boots in Nuremberg, and plenty more obscure places both modern and ancient.

Le Carrer makes his collection of horror stories hugely entertaining and personable, never content to completely buy into folklore and superstition, but always treating each location with suitable dramatic respect.

If one were to use it as an atlas of travel destinations, they would be in for one helluva trip, with islands of death, toxic lagoons, curses, poltergeists, satanic cults, mausoleums, pirates, plagues, suicide forests, forbidden cemeteries and much more to tackle along the way. The only thing it doesn’t do is tell the reader what best to pack for each of these chilling locales.

Category: Book Reviews