From Publishers Weekly
In this stellar retrospective collection, Smith (Spares, etc.) proves that effective horror fiction depends as much on solid grounding in the ordinary as on the evocation of the extraordinary. Most of the 30 stories (including four original to the volume) feature characters so believably common and unassuming-"emotionally homeless, culturally pointless" is the way one describes himself-that the nightmares that overtake them hit with the unexpected force of a sucker punch. In the title story, a friendly infotech type finds his tediously clinical work on computers slowly drawing him into a voyeuristic hell of Internet pornography. "A Place to Stay" conveys the strange experience of a man's vampirization through the disorienting fragmentation of his daily routines. The protagonist of "Being Right" leads a life so seemingly humdrum that the reader is disarmed to discover it's the manifestation of a repellent psychopathology. Smith's skill at presenting emotionally credible characters gives him easy access to a wide range of themes, from "To See the Sea," a Lovecraftian tale with a flesh-creeping surprise, to "To Receive Is Better," an O. Henryesque shocker. Most of these stories have been available only in the author's native U.K., and this omnibus gathering will introduce American readers to one of the best writers of short horror fiction to emerge in the 1990s.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Reprinted or new, Smith's hauntingly nasty stories are laced with an odd sort of beauty. In one of the new stories, "Being Right," a man dissatisfied with his marriage finds a book, Hopes of a Lesser Demon, Part II, that allows him to summon up an angel to prove, in any given dispute, whether or not he is correct (lacking such proof is the cause of much of his marital frustration). "When God Lived in Kentish Town," another little gem, depicts God's junk shop in the center of Kentish Town. Following in a fine horror tradition is the murky, Lovecraftian "To See the Sea," in which a town is populated by Lovecraft's favorite sort of vile things from under the sea, the kind that crawled through H. P.'s classic "The Shadow over Innsmouth." The volume is framed by horror specialist editor Stephen Jones' introduction and Smith's afterword, "On Not Writing," which reviews the trials, tribulations, and processes of a writer's work. Regina Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
This item is not eligible for Amazon Prime, but millions of other items are. Join Amazon Prime today. Already a member? Sign in.
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Citations
(learn more)
8
books
cite this book:
See all 8 books citing this book
- Reel Life 101: 1,101 Classic Movie Lines that Teach us About Life, Death, Love, Marriage, Anger and Humor by Jon Anthony Dosa on page 14, page 214, and page 253
- The Mammoth Book of New Terror (Mammoth Book of) by Stephen Jones in Front Matter, and page 356
- Dancing with the Dark: True Encounters with the Paranormal by Masters of the Macabre by Steven King on page 295
- The Mammoth Book of Dracula: Vampire Tales for the New Millennium (The Mammoth Book Series) by Stephen Jones on page 399
- Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Volume 22, 2002: Economic Outcomes in Later Life: Public Policy, Health and Cumulative Advantage (Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics) by Stephen Crystal on page 238
See all 8 books citing this book
Suggested Tags from Similar Products( What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|