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Post by dem bones on Nov 4, 2020 18:44:46 GMT
Helen Grant - Cheshunt: Narrator returns to late parents' home to salvage any keepsakes before the house clearance. Painful memories, and a vague sense about of unease about a demented old woman with a pram, the air raid shelter, the local "haunted" house, and all the children who vanished over the years. Frustrating that I couldn't make sense of the ending, especially so as it feels like I should. With you on the ending Dem. I'm hoping Swampi will read the stories soon and provide a bit of perspective on this one. I have a theory.... I wish you'd share it. Can't help thinking I'm missing something glaringly obvious. kudos to Ms Grant for stressing that the mad old girl's perambulator was a Silver Cross one - a sign of quality according to my better half. A Dame Franklinetta endorsement is good enough for me.
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Post by ripper on Nov 6, 2020 14:03:41 GMT
I am a big fan of Steve Duffy's MRJ inspired collection The Night Comes On, as well as his more recent work, so any collection with a story by him always makes me sit up and take notice. Add to that, contributions from some of my other modern favourites, and I think a purchase is a certainty. I am also pleased to see that the Terror Tales series has started publishing in digital form as well as print.
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Post by Swampirella on Nov 6, 2020 15:14:21 GMT
I am a big fan of Steve Duffy's MRJ inspired collection The Night Comes On, as well as his more recent work, so any collection with a story by him always makes me sit up and take notice. I'm also a big fan of "The Night Comes On"; it's absolutely brilliant; I felt the same when I noticed a story by him was included.
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Post by davidjhowe on Nov 16, 2020 12:54:48 GMT
Thanks so much to everyone here for the smashing comments and reviews! Really appreciated.
If possible, could some of you who have read the book leave reviews on Amazon please? It's languishing at three there at the moment and it really helps to up the profile the more we get ...
Thanks so much!
David
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Post by Swampirella on Nov 16, 2020 14:10:43 GMT
Thanks so much to everyone here for the smashing comments and reviews! Really appreciated. If possible, could some of you who have read the book leave reviews on Amazon please? It's languishing at three there at the moment and it really helps to up the profile the more we get ... Thanks so much! David You're welcome! I'd love to leave a good review but haven't been allowed since I started following a few authors on Tw*tt*r. I guess they think I've been heavily bribed to leave 5 stars . I can't even leave reviews on non-book items. It's Am*z*n's loss....
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Post by davidjhowe on Nov 16, 2020 14:50:08 GMT
Thanks so much to everyone here for the smashing comments and reviews! Really appreciated. If possible, could some of you who have read the book leave reviews on Amazon please? It's languishing at three there at the moment and it really helps to up the profile the more we get ... Thanks so much! David You're welcome! I'd love to leave a good review but haven't been allowed since I started following a few authors on Tw*tt*r. I guess they think I've been heavily bribed to leave 5 stars . I can't even leave reviews on non-book items. It's Am*z*n's loss.... Well that's a bit rubbish! I suppose you could always leave a longer review here and I can then link it to the Telos site ... or reproduce it there? And there's always Goodreads? Or does the Amazon ban extend to there as well? D
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Post by fritzmaitland on Nov 16, 2020 15:44:13 GMT
Steve Duffy – In the English Rain: December 1980, Surrey Stockbroker Belt. Sally Holden persuades school friend and fellow new wave fan - our narrator - to explore the long vacant 'Shelgrave,' a woodland mansion bought by John Lennon. The Beatle reportedly spent just a weekend there before deciding he didn't like it. Perhaps this may have had something to do with Shelgrave's previous owner, Quentin Pervert Who preyed on Children Bascombe. "The sex monster of Suburbia," committed to a mental institution in 1963, has since been controversially released. Current whereabouts, unknown .... One story in and already a "Best of Book" contender. Brilliant story. The psychedelic room is extremely strange ; in a good way.
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Post by helrunar on Nov 16, 2020 18:49:09 GMT
Thanks everyone for the reviews and notes on these stories. I finally added the book to my electronic reading gizmo today.
I will be sure to add a review on ama zombie when I've read some of the tales. Looking forward to it!
cheers, Helrunar
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Nov 16, 2020 21:47:47 GMT
I just ordered the paperback. I'm looking forward to seeing Herne and company in print.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Nov 22, 2020 16:53:56 GMT
I'm around a third of the way into Terror Tales of the Home Counties, my first foray into the series, and am enjoying it a lot so far. Highlights include the Beatles-themed psychedelic gloom of "In the English Rain" and the lurking horrors of "Between." I also like the short "true" stories--I could read a whole book of those.
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Post by Swampirella on Nov 22, 2020 16:58:38 GMT
I also like the short "true" stories--I could read a whole book of those. Me too, even though I've already read many of the stories elsewhere. Having them is the icing on the cake, so to speak.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Nov 26, 2020 1:01:28 GMT
Runners-up are the stories by Steve Duffy and Helen Grant. Helen Grant - Cheshunt: Narrator returns to late parents' home to salvage any keepsakes before the house clearance. Painful memories, and a vague sense about of unease about a demented old woman with a pram, the air raid shelter, the local "haunted" house, and all the children who vanished over the years. Frustrating that I couldn't make sense of the ending, especially so as it feels like I should. With you on the ending Dem. I'm hoping Swampi will read the stories soon and provide a bit of perspective on this one. I have a theory....kudos to Ms Grant for stressing that the mad old girl's perambulator was a Silver Cross one - a sign of quality according to my better half. I'm two-thirds of the way into the book, and "Chesham" is one of my favorites so far. But now I'm worried because I didn't find the ending puzzling. The way I read it... {Spoiler}The narrator (Kay) really did have a baby sister, Lily, who was taken by one of the dark presences of the town. However, Kay and everyone else has forgotten about Lily's existence, just as the bystanders in Buffy magically forget the supernatural happenings in Sunnydale. The story's final line does double duty: it's the young Kay's answer to the man in the uniform (who may be the one who took Lily, judging by his notably white teeth), but it's also the adult Kay's horrified cry upon finally remembering her little sister's existence. Am I missing some deeper mystery? I felt more perplexed by the "The Gravedigger of Witchfield" than by this one.
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Post by samdawson on Nov 26, 2020 13:48:41 GMT
I'm two-thirds of the way into the book, and "Chesham" is one of my favorites so far. But now I'm worried because I didn't find the ending puzzling. The way I read it... {Spoiler}The narrator (Kay) really did have a baby sister, Lily, who was taken by one of the dark presences of the town. However, Kay and everyone else has forgotten about Lily's existence, just as the bystanders in Buffy magically forget the supernatural happenings in Sunnydale. The story's final line does double duty: it's the young Kay's answer to the man in the uniform (who may be the one who took Lily, judging by his notably white teeth), but it's also the adult Kay's horrified cry upon finally remembering her little sister's existence. Am I missing some deeper mystery? I felt more perplexed by the "The Gravedigger of Witchfield" than by this one. SPOILER AGAIN I thought this was a very effective story, as one would expect from Helen Grant. However, I came to a different conclusion: SPOILER SPOILER The narrator's baby sister was taken by the town, as she begins to understand. The unexpected horror at the end is the revelation that she has lost her own child since arriving there. The fact that she has a pushchair rather than pram, and that the LT worker had to open the barriers (probably only installed in or after the 1990s) I thought pointed to this.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Nov 26, 2020 15:27:38 GMT
SPOILER AGAIN I thought this was a very effective story, as one would expect from Helen Grant. However, I came to a different conclusion: SPOILER SPOILER The narrator's baby sister was taken by the town, as she begins to understand. The unexpected horror at the end is the revelation that she has lost her own child since arriving there. The fact that she has a pushchair rather than pram, and that the LT worker had to open the barriers (probably only installed in or after the 1990s) I thought pointed to this. Ah, I think you're right. I overlooked some details in that last passage, and as an American I missed the distinction between "pushchair" and "pram" (we would say "stroller"). I like that ending even better!
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Nov 27, 2020 16:16:16 GMT
The stand-out story for me is Tom Johnstone’s “The Topsy-Turvy Ones” which will definitely stay with me. I may be biased as it revolves around the (17th century) Diggers, and Gerard Winstanley is my great hero. Also one of my favourite books is Christopher Hill’s The World Turned Upside Down, which features in the story (and, like Tom, I too am intrigued by Everard the Magician). "The Topsy-Turvy Ones" was a highlight for me, too, what with the fascinating history and creepy imagery.
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