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hakimbriki's review against another edition
4.0
I am overcome with a deep sense of dread from some of these stories. The kind of dread you feel when things are left unsaid. That's the Aickman method. His characters experience strange occurrences but remain clueless. They give you just enough information to get your imagination going. It almost feels like these protagonists would have been secondary characters under another author's pen, because the characters shaping the intrigue are never in the narrative driving seat. I adore this style of storytelling, as it appeals to my innermost passion for unsolved mysteries and murky fiction.
As far as the stories go, it's a bit of a mixed bag. I loved The Swords, The Hospice, The Same Dog, and The Clock Watcher, all of which left me gobsmacked. I found Pages from a Young Girl's Journal and Meeting Mr. Millar very powerful but lacking in intensity. Niemandswasser and The Real Road to the Church just did not do it for me.
Other than the pesky sense of dread (kidding, it's awesome), I have that feeling you get when you discover an author who has the potential to become one of your favorites. It's priceless.
As far as the stories go, it's a bit of a mixed bag. I loved The Swords, The Hospice, The Same Dog, and The Clock Watcher, all of which left me gobsmacked. I found Pages from a Young Girl's Journal and Meeting Mr. Millar very powerful but lacking in intensity. Niemandswasser and The Real Road to the Church just did not do it for me.
Other than the pesky sense of dread (kidding, it's awesome), I have that feeling you get when you discover an author who has the potential to become one of your favorites. It's priceless.
h4nn4's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
gambanana's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
rodneywilhite's review against another edition
4.0
“The Swords”
The true horror of this story relates to the casual violence of male sexuality, and my inability to determine if the story is a critique of or a product of that impulse (I suspect it’s a little of both). In any event, the story genuinely scared and disturbed me, and (I guess?!?) I would recommend it pretty highly. When I look at it a certain way, I find a masterpiece of supernatural fiction. When I look at it another way, I find a horrifying sexual fantasy about a woman who has no agency, from the perspective of a man who would never consider that she deserves it. But either way it’s genuinely upsetting.
“The Real Road to the Church”
This one is remarkably static for a horror story, but I liked it. It follows after “The Swords” in a very strange way, and I don’t know how to articulate how they are in dialogue, but they are. In fact, regarding this story, I don’t really know how to articulate WTF in general.
“Niemandwasser”
Super moody and surreal, featuring one character who, although she inspires/drives much of the conflict, is really only portrayed while she is asleep. This one is not scary at all, and I couldn’t even tell you why I think it could be considered Capital H Horror, but it is, and I enjoyed how it continuously subverted my expectations. One male character is even said to frequently dress “like a girl” when alone with the protagonist, and that observation is neither clarified nor explained (nor is it ever mentioned again); it just appeals to my endless love of blurred gender expression.
“Pages from a Young Girl’s Journal”
I first read this when I was about fourteen years old in The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories, and I will forever identify with this girl.
“The Hospice”
This is a strong story of the You Shouldn’t Have Spent the Night in this Creepy Hotel variety, and does a good job of playing with all the tropes of that genre, which here--as elsewhere--overlaps with the Maybe We’re Dead and in Hell genre (which is also the David Lynch genre). This one is nicely open-ended, which is something he does.
“The Same Dog”
A little more lightweight than some of the others, but I found this subtextual issue of the purity of inter-gender childhood friendships, and how they are doomed by society, to be more interesting than the supernatural aspect. However, there is a supernatural moment early in the story that creeped me to the core.
“Meeting Mr. Millar”
Is it zombies, is it ghosts, evil spirits inhabiting our host?
One of my favorite types of stories are the microcosm stories, where the characters seem to inhabit a closed, hermetic world of their own. This story takes place entirely within a single London apartment building, and is like a little diorama. Typical Aickman, absolutely nothing is explained or clarified, which I like a lot. I’ve heard complaints that this story is slow going, but I think that’s only if you’re in it for the horror, but the horror is only a small part of what Aickman does.
As with “The Swords,” creepy male sexuality is one of the scariest things here.
There's one more story, but some other day.
The true horror of this story relates to the casual violence of male sexuality, and my inability to determine if the story is a critique of or a product of that impulse (I suspect it’s a little of both). In any event, the story genuinely scared and disturbed me, and (I guess?!?) I would recommend it pretty highly. When I look at it a certain way, I find a masterpiece of supernatural fiction. When I look at it another way, I find a horrifying sexual fantasy about a woman who has no agency, from the perspective of a man who would never consider that she deserves it. But either way it’s genuinely upsetting.
“The Real Road to the Church”
This one is remarkably static for a horror story, but I liked it. It follows after “The Swords” in a very strange way, and I don’t know how to articulate how they are in dialogue, but they are. In fact, regarding this story, I don’t really know how to articulate WTF in general.
“Niemandwasser”
Super moody and surreal, featuring one character who, although she inspires/drives much of the conflict, is really only portrayed while she is asleep. This one is not scary at all, and I couldn’t even tell you why I think it could be considered Capital H Horror, but it is, and I enjoyed how it continuously subverted my expectations. One male character is even said to frequently dress “like a girl” when alone with the protagonist, and that observation is neither clarified nor explained (nor is it ever mentioned again); it just appeals to my endless love of blurred gender expression.
“Pages from a Young Girl’s Journal”
I first read this when I was about fourteen years old in The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories, and I will forever identify with this girl.
“The Hospice”
This is a strong story of the You Shouldn’t Have Spent the Night in this Creepy Hotel variety, and does a good job of playing with all the tropes of that genre, which here--as elsewhere--overlaps with the Maybe We’re Dead and in Hell genre (which is also the David Lynch genre). This one is nicely open-ended, which is something he does.
“The Same Dog”
A little more lightweight than some of the others, but I found this subtextual issue of the purity of inter-gender childhood friendships, and how they are doomed by society, to be more interesting than the supernatural aspect. However, there is a supernatural moment early in the story that creeped me to the core.
“Meeting Mr. Millar”
Is it zombies, is it ghosts, evil spirits inhabiting our host?
One of my favorite types of stories are the microcosm stories, where the characters seem to inhabit a closed, hermetic world of their own. This story takes place entirely within a single London apartment building, and is like a little diorama. Typical Aickman, absolutely nothing is explained or clarified, which I like a lot. I’ve heard complaints that this story is slow going, but I think that’s only if you’re in it for the horror, but the horror is only a small part of what Aickman does.
As with “The Swords,” creepy male sexuality is one of the scariest things here.
There's one more story, but some other day.
antiopelle's review against another edition
2.0
The first story, The Swords is a haunting tale that I really enjoyed. The story started with incoherent writing but I believe that was intentional as it contributed to the unhinged and strange atmosphere.
The second one, The real road to church was interesting but far from eerie. The next two, Niemandswasser and The pages from a Young Girl couldn’t hold my attention and I decided to quit there. My recommendation would be to just read The Swords as it is by far the only one that is atmospheric and interesting.
The second one, The real road to church was interesting but far from eerie. The next two, Niemandswasser and The pages from a Young Girl couldn’t hold my attention and I decided to quit there. My recommendation would be to just read The Swords as it is by far the only one that is atmospheric and interesting.
runeclausen's review against another edition
4.0
The stories of Aickman is something rather unusual. He manages to take what would otherwise be relatively mundane settings and uneventful stories, and turn it into skin-crawling stories full of dread and horror, that sends shivers down your spine, even though it is hard to explain exactly why. He builds a universe of unsettling characters, walking the line between human and "the uncanny valley". It's almost normal but there's something off, that generates a sense of terror almost.
It is really effective, and I'm a big fan of his work. There's no blood or gore, no very obvious monsters, just the ordinary existential dread and some unusual happenings. Much is also left up to the imagination, and Aickman very much purposefully leaves many loose ends and unanswered questions that will just make the sense of dread even stronger.
I particularly liked the story "The Hospice" - that one really triggered my heebie jeebies, despite appearing at a first glance to be a rather ordinary story.
It is really effective, and I'm a big fan of his work. There's no blood or gore, no very obvious monsters, just the ordinary existential dread and some unusual happenings. Much is also left up to the imagination, and Aickman very much purposefully leaves many loose ends and unanswered questions that will just make the sense of dread even stronger.
I particularly liked the story "The Hospice" - that one really triggered my heebie jeebies, despite appearing at a first glance to be a rather ordinary story.
ameliareadsstuff's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
2.0
Aickman is considered one of the masters of the horror genre, but unfortunately I really didn't like his work in this collection. There's a stodgy old-fashionedness to it, and he relies heavily on implication. To achieve this effect, nearly every story is far, far longer than it needs to be, and I didn't feel uncomfortable or intrigued by his vagueness, just bored. I can see why people would compliment his skill as a writer in the abstract, but these just felt ultimately dull—reading this collection was like walking through molasses. I'll admit that I only got through this one with a liberal application of skimming.
I think my favourite two stories in the collection were The Hospice and The Same Dog. Maybe I'll pick up another Aickman book in five or so years, see if I appreciate him any more then.
I think my favourite two stories in the collection were The Hospice and The Same Dog. Maybe I'll pick up another Aickman book in five or so years, see if I appreciate him any more then.
smalefowles's review against another edition
4.0
Another writer in the "weird" horror genre, this time very British. It's clear to me that reading a constant stream of horror stories dulls them slightly, robbing them of some of their inherent effectiveness. They're getting pretty addictive, though.
This writer takes a particularly ambiguous and uncertain approach to plotting and endings, which works well in this genre. You want your readers to be left asking questions, and wondering how and where the story would continue. Aickman does this well, though sometimes to an excessive degree.
This writer takes a particularly ambiguous and uncertain approach to plotting and endings, which works well in this genre. You want your readers to be left asking questions, and wondering how and where the story would continue. Aickman does this well, though sometimes to an excessive degree.