THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS

Intimations of supernatural evil percolate through this weird adventure yarn from veteran horror writer Cave, enhancing its suspense and accenting its depiction of an island culture beholden to primitive superstitions. Dan Colby, an America new to the Haiti-like island of St. Joseph, awakens disoriented and under a strange influence in a graveyard near Plantation Jourdan, the estate he has just leased. At the same time, the plantation is visited by Janice Hall, an American writer researching her family's roots on the island before a slave revolt at the start of the 19th century. As surely as Dan and Janice will share romantic interests, inexplicable problems begin complicating their life on the coffee plantation: voodoo talismans begin popping up all over the grounds, intimidating the native workers, and both Americans are afflicted with frightening dreams and presentiments of evil. This is classic shudder pulp fare, but Cave distinguishes it with his colorful rendering of St. Joseph's characters and culture, and insightful treatment of the voodoo religion. He's also careful at dropping clues that seem to implicate everyone and intensify the mystery. Although set in contemporary times, this entertaining short novel has the feel of an older fiction style, the kind that only seasoned storytellers like Cave know how to write anymore. (June)

Forecast: The new Arkham House biography, Cave of a Thousand Tales (Forecasts, Mar. 15), should give a lift. Cave has won a Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award, while the International Horror Guild has honored him with a Living Legend Award.