We’ll see. Meantime, thank you for getting this far and I hope you enjoyed this ritual . . . I mean story.

Manes exite paterni

Adam L. G. Nevill

November 2021, Devon

Acknowledgements

Research for The Vessel was lengthy, and Pagan Britain by Ronald Hutton, The Lost Gods of England by Brian Branston, Looking for the Lost Gods of England by Kathleen Herbert and Magical Knowledge: Book 1 Foundations by Josephine McCarthy enriched the story’s background. The Vessel also began life as a screenplay, one I developed again with Will Tennant and Elisa Scuba, and with Andy and Ryan Tohill in 2018. Their guidance and suggestions were invaluable. Thea Hvistendahl spotted the plot hole.

The Ritual Limited team came through yet again in our goal to produce quality editions in each format. My wife, Anne, packed and shipped all 600 copies of Cunning Folk and will have to navigate the same obstacles, and put in the same hours, for The Vessel. She also manages the website and accounts and is an excellent proofreader, who proofreads the first proofreader’s proofs. Her mother, Gill Parry, then proofreads Anne’s version. It never ends!

Samuel Araya again produced fabulous cover art and The Dead Good Design Company designed the jackets for all four editions, as well as every generation of text design. Tony Russell proved indispensable again as the editor of this book (and every other Ritual Limited title), as did Eleanor Abraham as proofreader. TJI printed the hardbacks to a high spec’ once more. Amazon and Ingram print the paperbacks and Amazon also remains my primary retailer for the mass-market editions.

I also want to acknowledge the work, much beyond expectation, of Dave, our postmaster, Helen McQueen and We Can Creative for my website and apps. Special mentions are long overdue for long-time support and signal boosts from Kevin Dixon, Ramsey Campbell, Tim Lebbon, Glen Mazarra, Mark Edwards, Cristina Rodlo, Netflix, all at Imaginarium, Alison Flood and the Guardian, Bloody Disgusting, Horror D.N.A., Daniel Kraus, Gingernuts of Horror, Andy Serkis, Paul Finch, David Bruckner, Santiago Menghini, Buccheim Verlag and Cemetery Dance Germany, Astrel in Russia, Trevor Kennedy, Gerard Torbitt, The Shorley, English Riviera UNESCO Global Geopark, Torbay Culture, Writers on the Riviera, Brian J. Showers and Swan River Press, Lit Reactor, The Lineup. And a big salute to Peter Walters, who narrated the Cunning Folk audiobook.