Here's the first of two anthologies Rick Ferreira put together for Kimber:
A Chill to the Sunlight: Tropical Stories of the Macabre (William Kimber, 1978):
(cover: Peter Archer)
R. Chetwynd-Hayes - A Chill to the Sunlight
Jean Rhys - The Day They Burned the Books
Clark Ashton Smith - The Seed from the Sepulchre
Shiva Naipaul - A Man of Mystery
Ken Kessler - Butterfly Chase
T.K. Brown III - Haunts of the Very Rich
Richard Davis - The Clump
Peter C. Smith - One Last Embrace
Evelyn Waugh - The Man Who Liked Dickens
Peter Burton - The Sun Never Forgets
Elinor Mordaunt - The Recall
Henry S. Whitehead - Jumbee
Lady Eleanor Smith - No Ships Pass
It's kind of a shame Ferreira didn't include his own 'The Girl From Tomango' - that story would've made a great cover!
Today it's the turn of this collection. "P.W" apparently didn't like this book enough to keep it, even though it was awarded to him in 1980 for being "top of form". I can't say I blame him, on the whole.
A Chill to the Sunlight - R. Chetwynd-Hayes
I bought this book just for this story and have to say I'm quite disappointed. Well-written but without that "magic" Chetwynd-Hayes touch I've come to expect. The unnamed narrator is in Kingston, Jamaica for reasons never really explained. He falls for Lydia, a lady of the evening. Jealousy rears it's ugly head, as the saying goes, and before long he learns of a man visiting her home where he has not been allowed to go.
The Day They Burned The Books - Jean Rhys
Mr. Sawyer dies and Mrs. Sawyer is quite happy to get rid of his books. (No doubt my own books will suffer a similar fate). She divides them into two piles, one to sell and one to burn (
). Two children sneak in and grab a book each. Short and not scary or creepy.
The Seed From the Sepulchre - Clark Ashton Smith
I or somebody else reviewed this elsewhere in the Vault. Two explorers in the Venezuelan jungle make a horrifying discovery.
Excellent
A Man of Mystery - Shiva Naipaul
The mystery is why this is included here. While I enjoyed the story of Mr. and Mrs. Green and their life on Grant Street, Trinidad, once again there was absolutely no scares, thrills, horror, etc.
Butterfly Chase - Ken Kessler
Two former colleagues on a minor London newspaper travel into the wilds of French Guyana to see if Papillon is actually still alive and not dead. Not bad but again, not scary.
Haunts of the Very Rich - T. K. Brown the third
Finally, some payback for my modest financial investment. Thank you, TKBIII, whoever the heck you are. A group of very rich people fly down from New York to an exclusive, very secret resort destination. The very night they arrive, a hurricane knocks out the electricity. From there, things just get worse and worse and worse.
The Clump - Richard Davis
You can read a description of this in the posting for his short story collection "The Female of the Species and Other Tales of Terror". A fairly good story as I remember.
One Last Embrace - Peter C. Smith
Another winner. "Lieutenant Nathan Doru of the 3rd Light Infantry was everything a dashing young officer of the French Republique should be. His lean, aquiline features and erect military bearing ehanced the peacock finery of his uniform and his mocking half-smile, incomparable sang-froid, and dashing manner enamoured him to all those who comprised the defiant but beleaguered garrison and colony on Martinique during those stirring days in March 1794" Is it just me, or is it getting hot in here?
Anyhow, Lt. Doru is dallying at a grand ball with the beautiful, enigmatic Mme. Ursule de Jaures, whose husband chose to stay home. After an unsettling incident, the two go home to her plantation in the interior...
The Man Who Likes Dickens - Evelyn Waugh
Wealthy so-called explorer Paul Henty falls deathly ill after an attempted scientifi expedition to Brazil. Every possible thing that can go wrong, does, and he ends up in a hammock in Mr. McMaster's house in a clearing. After recovering somewhat, his host asks him to read aloud from some volumes of Dickens. Whenever Henty brings up the subject of returning home, McMaster is strangely reluctant. Not hard to guess what's going on, but still entertaining.
The Sun Never Forgets - Peter Burton
Right-leaning MP Paul Mowgam takes a well-deserved vacation in Negril, Jamaica. His ancestors made and then lost most of their fortune there after the abolition of slavery. I don't want to reveal any more, but some injustices die hard. Short and very creepy.
The Recall - Elinor Mordaunt
Andre Bertle is condemned to life as a clerk due to ill-health, despite a life-long desire to go to sea. He can see it from the window next to his work-space on some unnamed French Caribbean island. One day, however, his wish comes true in a way he could never have imagines.
Jumbee - Henry S. Whitehead
Mr. Granville Lee of Virginia travels to St. Croix in the Lesser Antilles to try to recover from "a lung wasted and scorched from mustard gas". He becomes good friends with Jaffray Da Silva, a local authority on "local magic". Da Silva recounts his encounters with "jumbees" who seem more like ghosts than zombees, and a cute little were-dog.
No Ships Pass - Lady Eleanor Smith
When his yacht catches fire, Patterson is washed up on a beautiful island. He soon encounters the other inhabitants who've been marooned for a few years already. He soon learns that there is no escape and "no ships pass", but he's determined to try to escape anyhow.
). Two children sneak in and grab a book each. Short and not scary or creepy.
Anyhow, Lt. Doru is dallying at a grand ball with the beautiful, enigmatic Mme. Ursule de Jaures, whose husband chose to stay home. After an unsettling incident, the two go home to her plantation in the interior...