Subscribe to Read | $0.00
Join today and start reading your favorite books for Free!
Quick and Easy Sign Up!
It takes less then 1 minute to sign up, then you can enjoy Unlimited eBooks.
Join today and start reading your favorite books for Free!
Quick and Easy Sign Up!
It takes less then 1 minute to sign up, then you can enjoy Unlimited eBooks.
Read Anywhere and on Any Device!
Rate this book!
Write a review?
This book had been recommended to me as a fine pastiche of M. R. James and yes, that's pretty much what it is. If you've read all of James' ghost stories and you want more, this is a fine option.
A self-proclaimed collection of M.R. James pastiches. Which is somewhat true. They indeed are author-identified as being pastiches, written with the intention of being pastiches, and most involve (often quite forcibly, even repetitiously) great dollops of Jamesian and near-Jamesian tropes, images, and plot devices. The problem is, of course, that the heart of a good M.R. James tale is not a plot, or a setting, or a type of spook (all of which are found a'plenty in stories authored by divers hand...
My rating for the twenty evil spirit stories in this book averages to 3.7875. The book also contains an Introduction and Story Notes section by the author which I found interesting. Thus rounding up my rating to 4 stars.My comments on the stories can be seen in this thread, posts #160 to to #180:https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Excellent collection of old-fashioned ghost stories, strongly influenced by MR James. My personal favourites are the title story, which manages to make Egyptian mummies scary again; "Nigredo", which could almost be by James himself; and the very last story in the collection, "Off the Tracks", which reminded me of Ramsey Campbell.
Marvellous classically styled ghost storiesHeartily recommended to any fan of the classic ghost stories of M. R. James.More than just hollow pastiches these tales are fully rounded and delightful pieces.Perfect for chill Winter evenings in front of the fire with a dram of your favourite tipple.
First let me state my "position" with respect to this book: IT IS A COLLECTION OF THE MOST HORRIFYING "Jamesian" STORIES THAT I HAVE EVER READ. Whenever we talk or think about pastiches, esp. those written in the style of M.R. James, we tend to think that the 'pleasing' terrors would be just that: 'pleasing'. But these stories overcome that limitation with their tightness of plot, superb characterization, and some of the most terrifying supernaturally villainous elements in my knowledge. Althoug...
✭✭✭½The author of this collection tells us in his introduction that M. R. James was “simply the best writer of traditional ghost stories in the first half of [the twentieth] century”. If, like me, you believe that to be true, then The Night Comes On should be your cup of tea. Duffy describes these as stories written in conscious imitation of James’ style (although in a handful of cases he is quick to acknowledge other inspirations, including Le Fanu in the case of “Tidesend” and Alan Garner for
A terrific collection here - this is a must have if you're an MR James fan. Really well written stories - Steve Duffy has done an excellent job capturing the style without writing obvious Jamesian knock-offs. I am hard pressed to choose favorites here, all the tales are great fun but there are a few stand outs for me. 'Running Dogs' is very chilling - I could see what was coming and am glad it's only a story! In 'Ex Libris' our heroes escape a grim end with a very narrow squeak - beware of used
The best collection of Jamesian stories I've encounteredThese definitely take cues from MR James but are far beyond mere pastiche. Highly recommended. The first few stories are slightly too understated but the collection picks up as it moves along.
