Reviews

The 5th Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories by Robert Aickman

sexton_blake's review

1.0

This series is highly collectable but, increasingly, I’m realising that it's only for the covers. The illustration on the front of this one is fantastic (and uncredited). Unfortunately, the contents are the exact opposite. With the exception of Mrs Oliphant’s THE LIBRARY WINDOW, I found them to be unremittingly tedious. Aickman, the editor, claimed in one of his introductions that there were very few good ghost stories. To judge from this collection, I’d be inclined to believe him. Back in 1969, when this was published, it may have been true (I suspect not. I think Aickman just looked in the wrong places). Now, though, we have the likes of Paul Tremblay and Catriona Ward injecting new life into the genre, which makes me wonder why I’m bothering to revisit these tired old Fontana anthologies. I should stop. I probably won’t. I’m a sucker for a good cover. I'm also an obsessive completist.