Book Review : We are the Martians: the Legacy of Nigel Kneale Edited by Neil Snowdon

Book Review

We are the Martians: the Legacy of Nigel Kneale

Edited by Neil Snowdon

By Damian Magee

The works of Nigel Kneale has been talked and written about around the world, his influence on writers, directors and film and TV buffs.  Here is a collection of essays about his legacy and influence by well-known writers and critics; such as Kim Newman, Johnathan Rigby, Tim Lucas and many others, with three great conversations pieces by Neil Snowdon with Judith Kerr (wife of late Nigel Kneale), Joe Dante and Mark Gatiss, and with an interview of Nigel Kneale by David Sutton.  

Each of the twenty-four contributors has given us how they first encounter by Kneale and his legacy. Each essay topic is broken down into different aspects of kneale’s work.  In the book you will find excellent essays by; Stephen Bissette, David Pirie, John Llewllyn Probert, Jez Winship on the Quatermass legacy. On Kneale’s film screenplays his adaptations of John Osborne play ‘Look Back in Anger, which gave to birth of the British kitchen sink films, of H.G.Wells ‘First Men in the Moon’ and Hammer films; ‘The Witches’ and ‘Qutermass and the Pit’.  His literary works can all be found here. Even essays examining and analysing different plays like ‘The Stone Tape,’’ The Year of the Sex Olympics’, ITV’s version of ‘Woman in Black’ or series ‘Beasts’.

You could start from beginning of the book and work your way down, about life of Kneale by Mark Chadbourne under the title ‘The King of Hauntology’ ending with ‘On wishing for a Nigel Kneale Childhood’ by an  American writer, Lynda E. Rucker about not growing up with the works of Kneale in America.

As for myself, I decided first to read the three conversations pieces by Neil Snowdon, which I found all informative and light hearted that helps us by getting to know who was Nigel Kneale through his wife Judith Kerr and the influence he had on the minds of Joe Dante and Mark Gatiss, following on with an Interview of Kneale by David Sutton.

I followed with Tim Lucas’s ‘The Literary Kneale’ about Kneale’s collection of short stories entitled  ‘Tomato Cain and other stories’, which I had little knowledge of. Tim Lucas gives us a great detail what each story is about in the collection, and how the British and American edition has different stories. Such a pity it is out of print, it does make you want to look for the collection.  Also there is an account on Kneale’s other printed works; like his Television screenplays and the novel based on his 1979 Quatermass serials.

And continue with Johnathan Rigby's essay about the lost masterpiece of television ‘The Road’, called ‘The Promised End’. Here Johnathan discuss in detail about this importance of the play, 

and of ghosts of distance future creeping into late 18^th century. The lost play due to BBC policy of destroying programmes, as tapes were expensive to keep.  And there is Kim Newman’s three part essay entitled ‘Creeping Unknown’ about Kneale’s other works for television; ‘The Crunch’,’ Kinvig’ and his adaptions of ‘Wuthering Heights’, ‘1984’ and ‘Sharpe’s gold’.

I enjoyed reading the book. Neil Snowdon has brought together the most interesting collections of writers with their criticisms, examining and analysing of Nigel Kneale’s writing and why we do admire it. Nigel Kneale is the man who foretold the coming of reality shows, the man who brought us the sights and sounds of horror, a warning to mankind in his storytelling. If you only had little knowledge of Kneale, this is the book to buy after you reading the essays, those plays and films exist seek them out.  This made me think, how I first encounter Kneale’s works, aged 12 on television with, the Year of the Sex Olympics (1968) and The Stone Tape (1972), two of the scariest pieces for the small screen, and later Hammer’s films of the Qutermass trilogy.

Neil Snowdon has only touched the surface of Kneale’s work in ‘We are the Martians: the Legacy of Nigel Kneale.’ I’m sure other writers will add their voices and examination of Kneale’s work. The book is out already; you can order the book direct from PS Publishing here http://www.pspublishing.co.uk/we-are-the-martians-the-legacy-of-nigel-kneale-hardcover-edited-by-neil-snowdon-4286-p.asp  Also comes with a bonus script for THE BIG BIG GIGGLE, which was never made by BBC.

It will also be available via Amazon and all the usual online places, as well as to order from most bookshops, an ebook edition will follow (date tbc) and a paperback in approximately 6-8 months.

Those readers who ordered deluxe version will be signed and with a slipcase.