Bradley Walker

Nerham is a novel, set in modern day, but taking place in a quaint little village in the south of England. Initially a ten-page project I started because I wanted to practise writing in a quirky third-person style, somehow, quickly evolved in to this bizarre, three-part novel. 

 

In Nerham, we’re introduced to an esoteric village, that has its own languid pace and cast of colourful country-side characters. The village is set it up as an idyllic, almost fairy tale dwelling - somewhat frozen in time… but, by the end of the first chapter, we discover that the very nature of the place is about to change, as a child is brutally slaughtered. 

 

We learn that this murder was an ingredient for a gruesome sacrifice, the goal of which is the rebirthing of an ancient deity that predates all religions. In such, the driving force of the novel begins. The narrative foreground in Part One consists of a select group of villagers banding together to help search for the boy, but in the background – through characters and events – we begin see bizarre cracks in humanity and the very nature of our world itself. A degradation that snowballs from Part One, to Part Three; starting with trivial bouts of selfishness, and extending anywhere to murder, outright insanity and cataclysmic weather.

 

This ancient deity itself is hosted in the body of a new-born girl, and the very presence of it – even in this early stage - is enough for our current God to abandon not only the village, but the entire planet. The influence of the Old Being soon begins to spread – now unchallenged - and the peaceful residents, being at the epicentre of the rebirth, slowly begin to entertain the more depraved natures that dwell in the recesses of our mind. Basically, this deity doesn’t need an army of demons because it can bring out the worst in all of us.

 

Some residents, with weaker dispositions, succumb to the influence quicker than others, but soon, the entire village – through a sequence of events – is slowly beginning to break down, and some (though unsure of the nature) are painfully aware something awful is happening, and try to either flee, or challenge it.

 

Parts One to Three (each the length of a small novel – 70K/100K-ish words) span the course of three days – one day per part – in which we find the fate of the planet is in the hands of one being we never would expect… the devil.

 

It’s not as blasphemous or disrespectful to religion as it may seem in this synopsis – I twist the scripture to be a misunderstanding by those who scribed it, and offer a perspective that the Gods, though beings of immense power, are not infallible.

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(I've been lucky enough to have some of this novel brought to life by the incredible Isabelle Boyd, a wonderful friend and fantastic artist - please check out her instagram, give a follow, and contact her with any potential jobs. She's sensational.)