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Post by ropardoe on Nov 16, 2018 16:38:13 GMT
Has anyone yet mentioned Tom Cox here? His new book Help the Witch contains a number of really excellent supernatural tales; both funny sometimes and truly chilling at other times (sometimes at the same time). Despite the mention of M.R. James in publicity and comments on the book, the stories aren't Jamesian (except for a blink-and-you'll-miss-it "Jamesian wallop" at the end of one of them), but something else rather different. I loved (most of) them. One of Tom Cox's non-fiction books, by the way, the brilliant 21st-Century Yokel which I'm reading at the moment, has a great chapter entitled "The Hillocks Have Eyes" in which there are extensive sections on MRJ. (http://tom-cox.com/books/help-the-witch-2018/)
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Nov 17, 2018 20:23:18 GMT
I really enjoyed Help the Witch, though judging by some of Tom cox's comments on social media, the fact that it wasn't a set of straight-forward ghost stories seems to have thrown some people. Some of it made me roar with laughter, some of it gave me pleasurable chills, his sense of place and character is impeccable, and I hope he produces more of his odd tales.
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Post by ropardoe on Nov 18, 2018 9:57:47 GMT
I hope he produces more of his odd tales. Me too. He's very original. Which was your favourite in the book? I think mine was "The Pool", but the one which knocked me back with its terrifying ending was "Robot". The Jamesian Wallop I referred to came, I thought, at the end of the otherwise not at all Jamesian tale "Speed Awareness". |
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Nov 18, 2018 14:10:24 GMT
Which was your favourite in the book? I think mine was "The Pool", but the one which knocked me back with its terrifying ending was "Robot". I think Listings was my favourite, certainly the one which made me shudder most, and I loved The Pool too. The one that made me laugh hardest was in the Folk Tales of the Twenty Third Century section - the one titled Little Goth tw*t. |
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gilmore
Crab On The Rampage
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Post by gilmore on Nov 20, 2018 13:19:30 GMT
I bumped this up my to read pile based on the positive comments in this thread. It was the folk-horror vibe of the striking cover illustration by Joe McClean that first drew my attention to the book in Waterstones. Only read the first story, 'Help the Witch', so far, but already this is shaping up to be one of those rare books that demands rereading as soon as the last page is turned. The title story feels haunted by past masters without ever descending into pastiche. Generally, I prefer spooks to be actively malevolent, but this opening tale seemed to me less a story about ghosts than the type of person who might himself have the potential to become one and the places to which such a tendency might lead, and is no less effective for its restraint. The author has such a beautiful turn of phrase. I particularly liked: '...the day is still a slit of light, bookended by big black cushions.' And: '...his face also speaks of the life he lives: it's a face full of weather, very little of it over 6° Celsius.' Lovely stuff.
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Post by ropardoe on Nov 20, 2018 16:18:46 GMT
I bumped this up my to read pile based on the positive comments in this thread. It was the folk-horror vibe of the striking cover illustration by Joe McClean that first drew my attention to the book in Waterstones. Only read the first story, 'Help the Witch', so far, but already this is shaping up to be one of those rare books that demands rereading as soon as the last page is turned. The title story feels haunted by past masters without ever descending into pastiche. Generally, I prefer spooks to be actively malevolent, but this opening tale seemed to me less a story about ghosts than the type of person who might himself have the potential to become one and the places to which such a tendency might lead, and is no less effective for its restraint. The author has such a beautiful turn of phrase. I particularly liked: '...the day is still a slit of light, bookended by big black cushions.' And: '...his face also speaks of the life he lives: it's a face full of weather, very little of it over 6° Celsius.' Lovely stuff. The dust jacket illustration is stunning, isn't it? So are the two interior woodcut style illustrations - I especially like the plague doctor. As to malevolent ghosts - yes, I prefer those too. I'm not sure there are any as such in the book, but there are several hauntings which are seriously on the sinister side. And, as Dan says, some of the miniature 'folk tales' are hilarious. |
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gilmore
Crab On The Rampage
Posts: 27
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Post by gilmore on Nov 20, 2018 21:50:05 GMT
The dust jacket illustration is stunning, isn't it? It's a beauty. It really popped out of the crowded display shelves where I saw it. |
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Post by Shrink Proof on Nov 28, 2018 19:16:56 GMT
I really enjoyed Help the Witch, though judging by some of Tom cox's comments on social media, the fact that it wasn't a set of straight-forward ghost stories seems to have thrown some people. Some of it made me roar with laughter, some of it gave me pleasurable chills, his sense of place and character is impeccable, and I hope he produces more of his odd tales. Totally agree. I really enjoyed this and the fact that it wasn't a set of straightforward ghost stories was one of the things that made it so much fun. |
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Jan 29, 2019 13:40:47 GMT
I read 21st-Century Yokel last week and will echo Ro's description of the book as 'brilliant'. I greatly enjoyed this collection of essays exploring the landscape and folklore of the countryside and the author's connection of it via the people and places he's known. Evocative, atmospheric, funny, moving, informative, and also haunted by the ghosts on the darker edges of the horizons, and the things that we might mistake for scarecrows...
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Post by ropardoe on Jan 30, 2019 9:55:16 GMT
I read 21st-Century Yokel last week and will echo Ro's description of the book as 'brilliant'. I greatly enjoyed this collection of essays exploring the landscape and folklore of the countryside and the author's connection of it via the people and places he's known. Evocative, atmospheric, funny, moving, informative, and also haunted by the ghosts on the darker edges of the horizons, and the things that we might mistake for scarecrows... A perfect description. Such a good book. I'm looking forward to his next one now. |
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Oct 16, 2019 0:29:36 GMT
I really enjoyed Help the Witch, though judging by some of Tom cox's comments on social media, the fact that it wasn't a set of straight-forward ghost stories seems to have thrown some people. Some of it made me roar with laughter, some of it gave me pleasurable chills, his sense of place and character is impeccable, and I hope he produces more of his odd tales. I probably should've paid more mind to the "not set of a straightforward ghost stories" warning; I think Help the Witch was a bit subtle for my tastes. I found the stories entertaining, and often funny (particularly the short folk tales), but I can't say I found any of them spooky. The cover and illustrations are great, as others have mentioned. |
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