A collection of ten spooky tales from the long time editor of "All Hallows", although only two of them are original to this volume. The other eight have all appeared previously in one anthology or another, a few in titles published by Ash Tree Press, of which Ms Roden is a leading light.
I have a sneaking suspicion that this book will be increasingly valued as the years roll by & I really hope that it's the first of several collections. To add some detail:-
The Appointed Time: Not the first haunted bookshop tale by any means, but I believe the first to feature excepts & characters from Dickens' "Bleak House". A solid opener.
Endless Night: A tale set in the classic days of polar exploration, a subject about which the writer is knowledgeable. The (well described) setting gives a scary tale a real twist.
The Palace: is a hotel in Vancouver & the story concerns those who work the graveyard shift there. Oh, and a haunting. Oh, and a serial killer. Perhaps...
Out and Back: Set in an abandoned & decaying amusement park where you can can stay for a very long time if you like. Or if you don't.
The Wide, Wide Sea: isn't a sea at all, but the endless, featureless Canadian prairie. Where the vast emptiness can really get to you. If something doesn't get to you first.
The Brink of Eternity: Also set in the days of 19th century polar exploration, taking its theme from Poe - it originally appeared in the "Poe" collection from Solaris Press - it tells of one man's search.
Tourist Trap: A tale that slowly becomes more menacing & which make sits final jump to real horror with just one word.
Northwest Passage: Somewhat recalling Algernon Blackwood's descriptions of the sheer vastness of the Canadian wilderness, a tale of increasingly threatened people appearing smaller & smaller in The Great Outdoors.
The Hiding Place: childhood & loss & worse. Not great to read if you're a parent.
After: A story which evolved from "The Suspicions of Mr Whicher". But much darker...
These stories are all well written as Roden is concise yet accurate in her descriptions. They're eerie & leave unanswered questions in a similar way to Aickman but with less of his (often sexual) psychodynamics. They are best read one at at a time with a break between them; I don't think this is a book to just plough through in one go as the tales need time to settle in.
To those folk on this site who've pointed me towards several intriguing volumes over the last months, if you liked those ones, I reckon you'll love this one. To everyone else, try this.
