Some Will Not Sleep

This is a good collection of short stories by one of the best horror writers in the UK right now, covering his early career up until about 2017. I would suggest a broad theme throughout most of the stories is the notion that there are much older beings here on Earth than us and that the planet belongs to them rather than humanity. The title tells us that these beings, these ghosts, these entities that others worship, and these humans that cannot die simply will not sleep. I am not sure the theme was intentional when compiling this collection but once the title was decided then it definitely fits.

I suppose the first thing to address is, 'Is this collection scary?' It's the main barometer when considering any horror collection and my answer, I am pleased to say is, 'mostly yes'. Some stories are quite unsettling and stay with you long afterwards, a few have quite sinister chills and push buttons in the right places, and others have that grotesque bodily horror that makes you squirm.

I'm not very good at spotting influences but H.P. Lovecraft and M.R. James come through strong in the collection (and I allowed myself a pat on the back when in the author's notes Nevill mentioned James and his influence), but I think the author's voice is strong enough on it's own merit.

A couple of the stories formed the basis of later novels. Because I have read most of the author's work before this collection this somewhat detracted from my enjoyment somewhat, having the sense that I had read it before. I think if I came at this cold I perhaps would have enjoyed the collection more.

The 'Author's Notes' are a wonderful addition where Nevill tells us about the creation and background of the stories and we learn a lot more about his career and life. The more I have read of him, the more I feel Nevill puts so much of himself into his work and it really bookends the collection nicely.

Some brief notes on the stories below:

Where Angels Come In - The book's opener is a good one. I suspect reader's of a certain age will relish this one. You know, I think there is a generation of kids and now adults who have no experience of wandering around abandoned, empty spaces! When I was a kid we were always getting into old houses, shops, factories, even hospitals for a good (and illegal) wander around.

The story conjures up those feelings of long, lost summer afternoons, the smells, those feelings when you open up a musty old place for a look and you know you shouldn't be there, you know it is likely dangerous and yet it's exhilarating! There's a brilliant image in here of kids climbing over a fence which captures a feeling I had quite forgotten. Of course this house has residents long warned off... The house and the setting appears in a more developed form in Nevill's later novel, 'Under A Watchful Eye'

The Original Occupant Another very good story which is clearly the seed for the brilliant novel, 'The Ritual'. The tone is rather different, narrated by a 'gentleman' of the 'club set,

sending lots of M.R. James gothic ghost story vibes. I love the descriptions of remote rural Sweden that later became so effective as horror in itself. Lots of Wotan / forest god vibes coming through also. I also picked up quite a strong Lovecraft influence here, maybe coming from the perspective of the 'rich dilettante' type narrator. Very creepy and quite threatening.

Mother's Milk Well this one was quite grotesque to the extreme! I haven't drank any animal based milk for a quarter of a century and this story reminded me why! It's gross, but stays on the right side of 'funny gross' rather than 'put book down gross'. I was thinking there was a strong hicksploitation influence like films like, 'The Hills Have Eyes', or 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Upon reflection this feels like the kind of absurd horror the guys behind, The League Of Gentlemen' would put out. Is this story about feeder porn? Is it a story about addiction? Maybe both, if you add in bizarre monsters and evil cult behaviour

Yellow teeth This is a story about an unwanted house guest that was expanded into the novel 'Under A Watchful Eye'. It's a shame, as I think I would have loved this if I hadn't already read the novel but I kind of knew where the story was going. It's a brilliant concept though.

I think many of us get the horror of having someone stay with us who we wouldn't necessarily want around, especially if they stink and treat your house like shit. It reminds me of some of the 'characters' who used to rock up at my front door in my youth! Bonus points for the shockingly accurate but disgusting descriptions of the 'shellfish and kidney smell of an unwashed groin'. Yuck!

Pig Thing This pushes a few buttons, especially if you are squeamish about horror involving children. The New Zealand setting is a little different and I quite liked the ending. Plays on that idea that when there is something nasty outside the house you shouldn't go out to look - so everyone does....

What God Hath Wrought This was the first story I really didn't enjoy. It's a bit of a zombie / vampire western. I felt it took a while to get going and dragged a fair bit. I generally found myself not really caring very much what happened and it's possibly the weakest story in the collection.

Doll Hands What do you get when you set a story in a bit of a dystopian future where eco-disaster has killed millions and turned many others into mutants? Set in an apartment complex in the future the story centres around a culinary treat for the residents. This story got to me more than anything, it's a great advert for veganism as far as I am concerned because after reading this if you don't recognise the lives of others and their capacity to feel pain I don't know what will. It's perhaps the most unsettling story in the book and it reminded me of some of the more brutal shock / torture porn movies that did the rounds with the bleakness of it all. The ending drops off a little but this story really stayed with me.

To Forget and Be Forgotten The second story in a row centred around the night watchman / concierge function of a wealthy apartment complex. The premise is very similar to the novel 'Apartment 16 which felt like I had read it before. Incidentally some of the horrible sections of that book were based on the authors experiences living in London - I knew he had lived a certain 'life!' It's a shame that this one felt like it had an abrupt tacked on ending and due to previous reading didn't get much out of this.

The Ancestors A story about house spirits who are quite malevolent from the point of view of a child, set in Japan. There is more than a nod to the Japanese ghost story here.

The Age Of Entitlement This one took a while to get going and I was close to ditching it and putting the book down for a while. I am glad I persevered because the ending was brilliant! It perhaps doesn't have the strong tie in to the novel's themes like the other stories but that's not a bad thing. Nevill clearly knows a thing or two about well off rich kids slumming it and taking advantage of working class kids, possibly from his uni days. I really rooted for the protagonist in this one.

Florrie The best story is the last one. I can really identify with this one. My neighbour is absolutely gutting the house next door, which up until recently belonged to someone who had lived in the house for fifty years. It's like I can feel the heart and the memory of all that life being ripped out (obviously one can do what they want with their house but there is a sadness about the 'wiping' of a houses memory). It's a brilliant take on the haunted house genre. A man gets on the property ladder and moves into an old terraced house in need of modernisation. The really clever thing about this story is that it is a love affair with a romanticised past, it's a yearning for what once was. It's nostalgia, it's 'home' and it's comforting. At the same time it's a brilliant story of possession where one isn't sure if it's the house or the previous occupant. The story takes a twist in it's exploration of aging and dementia which has a conclusion that lands well. It's a great way to end the book being both heart wrenchingly sad and rather chilling at the same time. Loved it.