3.0 out of 5 stars
Death, loss, and fear!, September 10, 2011
This review is from: The Longest Single Note (Hardcover)
My first impression (a dangerous thing) regarding the stories in this book was that: they are all about death, and the different ways & means that we have developed in our feeble attempts to deal with that one constant part of life (except taxation). Most of these stories would not be 'definable' as horror, but they are powerful in terms of the emotional impact they have on the mind of the reader. Despite writing all these stuff, why have I shed two 'star'-s off? Let me describe my thoughts story-wise, as I describe the contents of this collection: -
(*) Introduction by Michael Marshal Smith
1) Where The Heart Is: a poem that sets the tone/theme of this collection.
2) All We Know of Heaven: a sad story about love & loss.
3) Cleaning Up: another story of loss, in the disguise of a ghost story.
4) GALLAGHER'S ARM: a top-notch mythos story, superb in its build up, ambiguous in its Lovecraftian ending.
5) Stains On The Ether: a horror-story about "Faeries", action-packed, as well as thought(?)-provoking.
6) The Visitor: this one, with its unique mix of horror, humour, and grotesque, could have graced the page of one of the 'Pan Book of Horror" books.
7) Head Acres: a surreal exploration of music, madness and (AGAIN) loss!
8) Home Comforts: a gruesome story about abuse, madness, and a post-apocalyptic world infested by "drinkers"!
9) RUSTLE: a top-notch horror story, consisting of dialogues, and yet sublimely creepy!
10) CANKERMAN: another story about loss & death, but more traditional(?!) in the structure.
11) Dumb Animals: a cat story that is more about deviant behaviour according to our definitions.
12) Other Trains: a beautiful poem.
13) THE LONGEST SINGLE NOTE: Don't read this story if any loved one is ill, otherwise you might just start crying, it is that poignant, that beautiful!
14) FALLEN ANGEL: revisiting the legend of Frankenstein, poetically.
15) Incident On Bleecker Street: another (AGAIN?) story about loss, hatred and revenge.
16) Morning Terrors: a strange story dealing with some of the most private fears of men, and their ultimate extrapolated form.
17) Shatsi: a gruesome, violent, and dark story about an abducted (yes, you read it right) cat.
18) TOO SHORT A DEATH: If I am ever allowed to select 2 vampire stories that go beyond all the cliches, even while retaining all the 'traits' suggested by those cliches, then my first choice would be "THE PILGRIMMAGE OF CLIFFORD M.", and the second would be this one. It is so powerful that even after immersing myself in files & memos for almost 10 years, this story succeeded in rekindling my interest in poetry after just one reading!
19) BINDLESTIFF: a werewolf story, but in a most unusual setting, with an action-packed narrative.
20) A BREEZE FROM A DISTANT SHORE: Yes, this story could have proudly entered into the "Twilight Zone"-stories pantheon even while sleep-walking, but it was exquisite in the way it handled all the characters, and their feelings.
21) FOR THOSE WHO WAIT: I know, even I had felt tired after reading so many stories about love, loss, desperation, and the journey that is called life that must end in death. But stories like the above-mentioned few, and this one, still making reading books worth it.
22) EATER: the most suffocating, horrifying, spine-chilling, and suspense-building horror story in this collection, and maybe amongst several that I have read.
23) Mister Mellor Comes To Wayside: an extract from a novel daling with the horrifying central character of EATER.
24) Forest Plains: native American Legend, mixed with solid story-telling and realisitc character portrayal.
25) BEYOND THE WINDOW: another small, haunting poem, that sums up this collection, accurately.
(*) Story Notes
Therefore, out of 25 pieces included in this collection, there were only 11 that compelled me to indicate them in "CAPITAL", and statistically that makes the percentage of re-readabler works (according to my very humble opinion, let me hasten to add)around 45. But the sheer power of some of these stories (esp. No.s 9,13,18,20,21,22) drew another 'star', and hence here we are.
If you really like to read well crafted and heart-touching stories of love, loss, and death, please get hold of this limited edition collection, from any speciality bookshop (since it has gone out-of-print long back). But I would not be returning to these stories any time soon, one reading has made me sufficiently maudlin.
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4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
something to "crow" about!, June 17, 2003
I am only half-way through this anthology but I could wait no longer to share my thoughts about this wonderful, new,(to me anyway),discovery!The horror/fantasy field has a hope for survival and his name is Peter Crowther!Actually I had heard of the author before because I read "Escardy Gap" when it first came out in pb and was pleasantly surprised-some of it's imagery has remained with me to this day.But since it was a collaboration,and I never noticed anything with the same name published, I thought it was a one shot and forgot about it... until...this past week I happened upon this collection and knew that the author's name sounded a chord somewhere in my memory.
Well,pardon me while I gush!I can't believe this was originally published in '84-and it's just now coming to my attention.The thing that makes Mr.Crowther so different is really his wonderful way of making me recall the stories i grew up reading by the masters of the "golden age":Bradbury,(of course),Matheson,
Beaumont,Sturgeon,Kuttner,Brown...but Crowther gives this nostalghia a twist of modern perversity-almost stomach-churning at times,but then subtly creepy at others.And I like the way he switches back and forth between American and British locales and idioms.
Please keep producing what "what nightmares are made of",as you do so well Mr. Crowther-I can't wait for the next ride-I would read anything you write-that's a testimonial!You have been gifted with the legacy of the masters!
R.Hewitt in Los Angeles
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