bazhsw
12/7/2021
This is a really solid short story collection with no duffers and some brilliant, creepy and unsettling stories contained within. Regular readers will recognise his animalistic monsters and his 'shadow creatures' and they'll also spot stories set in similar settings to some of his longer fiction. Unlike his previous short story collection they are not rehashes or seeds of already published work, rather they complement his existing work and familiarity with it is a bonus, rather than a feeling that you've already read the work. Many of the stories are thematic for other collections or are a 'tribute' to another writer. That said, there was only one story where I felt I wasn't reading Nevill's voice (a story with no characters, written in an observational style), even when I could pick up what the 'tribute' was.
A couple of these stories did unsettle me in their coldness and brutality (good! That's the point!), and some had me revelling as some kind of 'horrific justice' was meted out which I don't know what that says about me. As in a lot of his work, I really feel he 'gets' what shitty, trapped and impoverished lives look and feel like (although it's not his place in his work it does show how important finding sources of light in poor and working class lives is and celebrating it!). There's also an increased awareness of eroticism and sexuality in this collection which sometimes lands and sometimes does not. The collection is rounded off by the author's notes on the collection which is much appreciated.
Brief notes on the stories below so avoid if you want to go in blind, but overall I really enjoyed this collection.
On All London Underground Lines *4
This is a great start to the collection and is a story centred around a person 'trapped' on the London Underground trying to get to work. It certainly hit the spot for me reading this on a freezing Monday morning, thankfully working from home! I certainly don't miss the commute! The story perfectly captures the grimness, frustration, isolation and hopelessness of the city commute. Had a wonderful feeling of the person being trapped surrounded by other ghosts all trying to get somewhere but really going nowhere. A non-to-subtle dig at the 9-5 which for many is the 7 til 7. I just loved this line about the main character having scruffy shoes and not having the time to get new / clean ones.
"I have let my footwear go...I don't have the headspace to even engage with such chores."
It's notable to visitors to London for sure, just how impersonal the London Underground is and just how downtrodden people look using the service.
The Angels of London *4
The set-up for this is similar to Nevill's 'Apartment 13' with a central character working long hours and living in a shitty flat above the pub. I know Nevill has lived in similar flats in the past (I have said it before that some of his observations can only come from someone who has experienced periods of poverty and squalor).
This one is really very creepy and pushed a few buttons reading before bed (the best time to read Nevill's works!). The landlord in this story is quite similar to the landlord from 'No One Gets Out Alive', just a really menacing character. As in the previous story this again is an obvious riff on the greed of landlordism, property speculation and the evils of pushing people out of places or leaving them in expensive sub-standard housing.
Always In Our Hearts *4
A grisly and creepy story where you could see where it was going quite early but one is glad that they get there. Mix bringing back the dead, ritual sacrifice and another of Nevill's 'pig monsters' and you get something that pushes all the right buttons. Indeed, the first three stories all feature the ghosts, demons and shadows familiar in his work.
It's funny because the central character is a taxi-driver and I am currently sharing a collaborative fiction story where a taxi driver is at the heart. What made me smile is I'd identified similar themes of drudgery and sleeplessness, trapped in service mode but the two characters couldn't be more distinct. Loved it!
Eumenides (The Benevolent Ladies) *4
Bit of a bestial horror this one filled with primal sexual imagery. The key words which jumped out after reading this was 'animal horrors and short skirts' and it reminded me of an earlier work by Nevill and his fixation on thigh high boots... I really liked the setting of an abandoned zoo which clearly never had the highest standards of animal welfare. I do love horror set in abandoned spaces and places forgotten. I am not overly familiar with Eumenides but the concept of the Three Furies and goddesses of vengeance seem relevant to the story. I was really enjoying this one, but like a lot of short fiction it kind of fell flat and it ended when it was just ramping up.
The Days Of Our Lives * 3.5
Took a bit to get going, but this was one of the most messed up stories I have read in a while centring on a murderous cult with heavy BDSM overtones. A story of submission, domination and death (with lukewarm tea and old biscuits)
Hippocampus * 2.5
Struggled to get into this one. Set in the aftermath of something horrific happening on a ship. You know the deal when something is removed or escaped from where it came.
Call The Name * 3.5
Lovecraftian cosmic horror (those familiar with Cthulhu mythos will spot this almost instantly) set in a near future ravaged by pandemic and climate change (reading this in a post-Covid world and following the Cop-21 failure there is more than enough horror here without the Lovecraftian elements). Setting feels like the same as in Nevill's 'Lost Girl'.
White Light, White Heat * 4
Loved this one. Set in a near future where white-collar work in mega corporations is hell. To be honest, whilst there are accentuations of current corporate behaviour it isn't too far-fetched and the horror comes from how shit corporate life is today. There's a nod to the homogenisation of culture and the death of creativity, combined with media and culture as a source of control.
There is a fun gruesome ending which despite the violence is also a hope for a fairer, more egalitarian future. Bring on the revolution!
Little Black Lamb * 3.5
This was grisly and unsettling. Loved the combination of sex and death and the reawakening of a couple's passion and what that may mean, but not a nice story at all!