The Devils of D-Day by Graham Masterton

(pb; 1978)


From the back cover:

"September, 1944. . . the villagers of Pont D'Ouilly still shudder at the memory of that infernal day when a special division of American tanks aniihilated a Nazi armored column. Thirteen U.S. tanks, all painted black. A strange sight, even in wartime. One of the vehicles had broken a track, and stopped, its deadly mission complete. For some mysterious reason, the Allies sealed the hatch, and left the tank by the roadside. For thirty years, it sat there, rusting with time, a grim reminder of the nearly forgotten battle.

"Some local people claimed the tank was cursed. Hadn't they heard eerie voices and wild laughter echoing from within? And didn't an old woman die exactly thirteen days after she'd tried to exorcize the supposed demons? Was there indeed a supernatural force inside. . . something so unearthly and sinister that no one would come near. . . something capable of unleashing an unspeakable evil that no power on earth could destroy?"


Review:

Fun, off-beat horror novel - if you ignore the unconvincing motivations and lack of imagination of one the key characters. It isn't exactly a People Have Many Incredibly Stupid Moments novel, but it isn't Masterton's best - or even more solid - works, either.

What kept me reading the book was Masterton's impressive writing chops: he knows how to streamline even the cheesiest of storylines into compelling reads, and the occasional (if often pro forma) goreworks and demonic background stuff create some effective, unsettling moments.

Enjoyable b-movie war-themed romp from an excellent author. Worth reading, or owning, if you only pay two or three dollars for it.