By JOHN FARRIS (Playboy Press; 1976)

Yet another example of a book that seems fated to be known more for the movie made from it than the text itself (and also Stephen King’s FIRESTARTER, which appears to have taken a fair amount of “inspiration” from THE FURY).  That’s a shame, as the movie in question was a so-so 1978 thriller from director Brian de Palma that’s better known for its special effects than its dramatic content, while the book is one of the finest novels by the prolific John Farris.

Farris was a twenty year veteran of the writing trade (and also a filmmaker, having written and directed the 1972 indie horror film DEAR DEAD DELILAH) when THE FURY was published.  It marked something of a change of pace for Farris, who up until then was known for writing crime novels.  THE FURY, by contrast, was a full blown horror story with an epic canvas—two elements for which Farris would come to be known in the coming years (in books like ALL HEADS TURN WHEN THE HUNT GOES BY and SON OF THE ENDLESS NIGHT).

At its center are two telepathically-endowed teenagers named Robin and Gillian.  The former is the son of Peter, a ruthless government assassin, and the latter part of a wealthy New York City family.  Robin and Gillian are psychic twins and reincarnated lovers, and have spectral meetings that are rendered by Farris in fractured free-form prose that’s only semi-coherent but does nonetheless seem a convincing depiction of extra-sensory communication.

Farris’s primary talent, in fact, is for convincing description.  Regardless of how farfetched this book’s details become, the proceedings are never less than fully believable (something that can’t be said for the film adaptation).  That encompasses Farris’s portrayal of the kids’ powers, which include the ability to make the people around them bleed to death, and the evil Childermass, who heads a clandestine agency called MORG that is looking to use Robin’s talents for amoral purposes.  To achieve this Childermass effects a complex scheme that involves faking the boy’s death and shutting him up with Gwyneth, a seductress whose feminine whiles are intended to brainwash the increasingly rebellious and temperamental Robin.

Gillian, meanwhile, ends up in the care of Peter, who is looking to kill Robin.  The latter, for his part, believes his father is dead, while Gillian can’t understand why her psychic friend has become so abusive and unpleasant.  It all comes to a head in a climax that could frankly have been a bit stronger; I don’t think I’m giving anything away in revealing that Childermass and Gwyneth both meet noteworthy deaths, although neither is quite as spectacular as those devised by De Palma—one area in which the film version of THE FURY far outdoes its source.