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the_enobee's review
5.0
Antique Dust is a pitch-perfect collection of ghost stories by Robert Westall. I don't know if I've ever given a collection 5 stars before, usually because there's at least one clunker. Not so with this set, and the stories being united by the presence of the same antique dealer really made the stories feel like part of a whole.
Each story managed to be a classic example of its type, while maintaining suspense, elements of surprise, and incredibly spooky moments. The writing was crystal clear and unobtrusive, and R.C. Bray's narration was exceptional once again.
I highly recommend Antique Dust to anyone even remotely interested in a collection of ghost stories, especially to those looking for Victorian, Gothic, or British stylings in their horror.
Each story managed to be a classic example of its type, while maintaining suspense, elements of surprise, and incredibly spooky moments. The writing was crystal clear and unobtrusive, and R.C. Bray's narration was exceptional once again.
I highly recommend Antique Dust to anyone even remotely interested in a collection of ghost stories, especially to those looking for Victorian, Gothic, or British stylings in their horror.
bunnieslikediamonds's review against another edition
5.0
Exquisite stories, truly eerie yet firmly grounded in the English countryside with its potion-making wise men and lecherous antique dealers. Valancourt also published three of his novellas as [b:Spectral Shadows: Three Supernatural Novellas|30155512|Spectral Shadows Three Supernatural Novellas (Blackham's Wimpey, the Wheatstone Pond, Yaxley's Cat)|Robert Westall|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1462889417l/30155512._SY75_.jpg|50593615], equally wonderful.
tuff517's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable book with "antique" ghost stories. Nice read for Halloween.
jayrothermel's review against another edition
3.0
The reader who appreciates the UK voice in the genre will find much to appreciate in Westall's collection.
The milieu is for the most part the antiques trade, with dealer (and our narrator) Geoff Ashden confronting both wily competitors and darker forces.
Westall does not skimp on characterization, incident, and complication. Most of the stories are novella-length.
My review of Antique Dust by Robert Westall
http://jayrothermel.blogspot.com/2017/10/wet-velvet-antique-dust-by-robert.html?m=1
The milieu is for the most part the antiques trade, with dealer (and our narrator) Geoff Ashden confronting both wily competitors and darker forces.
Westall does not skimp on characterization, incident, and complication. Most of the stories are novella-length.
My review of Antique Dust by Robert Westall
http://jayrothermel.blogspot.com/2017/10/wet-velvet-antique-dust-by-robert.html?m=1
charshorrorcorner's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars!
This is one fantastic short story collection! Dedicated to M.R. James, these stories do have a James-ian feel to them that I loved.
As in James' collection "Ghost Stories of an Antiquary" , these stories have a connecting thread. Instead of finding lost manuscripts and that type of thing, in this book the connecting thread is one Geoff Ashden, a combat veteran and an antique dealer. He is sometimes featured in the tales and sometimes just relating them.
I found Mr. Westall's writing skills to be accessible while still beautiful. I also loved his observations throughout, which all rang true for me. For instance this quote:
"In madness, there are no rules; or you might say the mad make up their rules as they go along and they never bear any resemblance to your rules."
Or this little tidbit which rings true for this cat owner:
"Mirabelle is my cat, or rather the cat that drifted in and took me over."
And lastly from the final story as Mr. Ashden ages, this bittersweet line:
"But odd things still happen to people, even though they no longer seem to happen to Geoff Ashden."
This collection of 7 stories was excellent. Without being pretentious, this collection packs in the scares and goosebumps along with literary, but simple, language. The stories are diverse and one is not really even a supernatural story, but that didn't matter to me, because I enjoyed all of the tales SO much. I think my favorite story had to be The Doll. Who doesn't love horror stories that feature dolls?
This edition has a wonderful introduction by Orrin Grey, which relates some background information about Robert Westall. I found the intro to be an interesting enhancement to this outstanding collection.
My highest recommendation to short story fans, and most especially to fans of M.R. James!
*I received this copy free from Valancourt Books in exchange for an honest review. This is it!*
This is one fantastic short story collection! Dedicated to M.R. James, these stories do have a James-ian feel to them that I loved.
As in James' collection "Ghost Stories of an Antiquary" , these stories have a connecting thread. Instead of finding lost manuscripts and that type of thing, in this book the connecting thread is one Geoff Ashden, a combat veteran and an antique dealer. He is sometimes featured in the tales and sometimes just relating them.
I found Mr. Westall's writing skills to be accessible while still beautiful. I also loved his observations throughout, which all rang true for me. For instance this quote:
"In madness, there are no rules; or you might say the mad make up their rules as they go along and they never bear any resemblance to your rules."
Or this little tidbit which rings true for this cat owner:
"Mirabelle is my cat, or rather the cat that drifted in and took me over."
And lastly from the final story as Mr. Ashden ages, this bittersweet line:
"But odd things still happen to people, even though they no longer seem to happen to Geoff Ashden."
This collection of 7 stories was excellent. Without being pretentious, this collection packs in the scares and goosebumps along with literary, but simple, language. The stories are diverse and one is not really even a supernatural story, but that didn't matter to me, because I enjoyed all of the tales SO much. I think my favorite story had to be The Doll. Who doesn't love horror stories that feature dolls?
This edition has a wonderful introduction by Orrin Grey, which relates some background information about Robert Westall. I found the intro to be an interesting enhancement to this outstanding collection.
My highest recommendation to short story fans, and most especially to fans of M.R. James!
*I received this copy free from Valancourt Books in exchange for an honest review. This is it!*
lauriereadslohf's review against another edition
4.0
See this and the rest of the crap I write @ my blog Bark's Book Nonsense
I’ve always believed that old things are haunted but I never realized that the quiet little world of antique buying and selling was so cut-throat!
I listened to this collection of eerie stories on unabridged audio. They’re all stories about antique dealer Geoff Ashton, except for one or two that are stories told to him or are about a close relative. My copy was narrated by R.C. Bray whose voice is wizened and quite perfect for this book about old stuff.
The Devil and Clocky Watson
This first story introduces us to Geoff. He’s an honest dealer just trying to make a living but others, namely a shifty character named Clocky Watson, cheat the system. Geoff attempts to get back at Clocky in what he thinks is the most fitting of ways but things go awry. This tale, like all the stories that follow, is eerie and dripping with creepy atmosphere. 4.5 Stars
The Doll
Geoff realizes that old dolls = $$ and buys a large collection of them from a boozy widow for a song but trouble soon follows. Creepy dolls will always be creepy and this story is no exception. There were two points here where frighteningly loud music was piped in and it nearly made me pee my pants and overrode the narration. Beware!
This one was probably my favorite. 5 Stars
The Last Day of Miss Dorinda Molyneaux
This story was about a creepy old church, desecrated graves, unnerving goings-on and Miss Dorinda Molyneaux.
The Dumbledore
This one simply wasn’t meant for me and it more than likely comes down to a matter of taste and my lack of it. The Dumbledore was a watering hole for men during war times. It's about secrets, war heroes and a young boy named Little Tex. 3 Stars
The Woolworth Spectacles
This one features Geoff’s cousin and was much more my speed. Shy Maude's always been told that "men don't make passes at girls who wear glasses". But then she finds a pair of spectacles at Woolworth's (that's an old department store for you youngin's) left behind by an old woman and puts them on her face.
And she can see the world in wondrous detail! Initially she’s pretty thrilled but then people start looking at her differently. Crude work-men leer at her and she is unsettled. Soon, though, she finds her power over men a little intoxicating and begins to use it even to her advantage even though she knows deep down that this is very unlike her. She revels in it anyway and it leads to disaster.
I liked this story quite a bit and found Maude’s personality change both organic and frightening. 5 Stars
Portland Bill
Geoff is on vacation with his wife, who has meandered off to do things without him. Before long, he finds a beautiful and distraught woman who begs for help. Her son has gone missing and Geoff being the dirty, old, and let’s not forget MARRIED perv that he is, has lustful thoughts about her even though she’s frantic to find her son.
“My bowels moved with lust for her.”
Oh Geoff, you sexy beast, however did you convince a woman to marry you?
Despite his pervy thoughts, he’s not so bad a guy and decides to help her out. When the townsfolk and police brush him off Geoff starts to have ominous feelings about the situation.
Haunting and, like all the rest, beautifully atmospheric. 4 Stars
The Ugly House
I listened to this one twice because when I sat down to write this up, I couldn’t remember a thing about it and figured I had sleep-walked through it. Now after the 2nd listen and writing all of the above, I still can’t remember much about it besides the fact that there was a building inspector and an ugly house that Would Not Be Demolished and damned if I can remember anything else about it.
Guess it wasn’t meant for me. 3 Stars
I’d easily recommend this collection to anyone looking for slower paced, old-style horror that crawls under your skin and creeps you out.
HA pages read thread
Audiobook #2: Audiobook Challenge
Horror Book #1: 2017 Horror Challenge
TBR Book #3: HA TBR Challenge
I’ve always believed that old things are haunted but I never realized that the quiet little world of antique buying and selling was so cut-throat!
I listened to this collection of eerie stories on unabridged audio. They’re all stories about antique dealer Geoff Ashton, except for one or two that are stories told to him or are about a close relative. My copy was narrated by R.C. Bray whose voice is wizened and quite perfect for this book about old stuff.
The Devil and Clocky Watson
This first story introduces us to Geoff. He’s an honest dealer just trying to make a living but others, namely a shifty character named Clocky Watson, cheat the system. Geoff attempts to get back at Clocky in what he thinks is the most fitting of ways but things go awry. This tale, like all the stories that follow, is eerie and dripping with creepy atmosphere. 4.5 Stars
The Doll
Geoff realizes that old dolls = $$ and buys a large collection of them from a boozy widow for a song but trouble soon follows. Creepy dolls will always be creepy and this story is no exception. There were two points here where frighteningly loud music was piped in and it nearly made me pee my pants and overrode the narration. Beware!
This one was probably my favorite. 5 Stars
The Last Day of Miss Dorinda Molyneaux
This story was about a creepy old church, desecrated graves, unnerving goings-on and Miss Dorinda Molyneaux.
The Dumbledore
This one simply wasn’t meant for me and it more than likely comes down to a matter of taste and my lack of it. The Dumbledore was a watering hole for men during war times. It's about secrets, war heroes and a young boy named Little Tex. 3 Stars
The Woolworth Spectacles
This one features Geoff’s cousin and was much more my speed. Shy Maude's always been told that "men don't make passes at girls who wear glasses". But then she finds a pair of spectacles at Woolworth's (that's an old department store for you youngin's) left behind by an old woman and puts them on her face.
And she can see the world in wondrous detail! Initially she’s pretty thrilled but then people start looking at her differently. Crude work-men leer at her and she is unsettled. Soon, though, she finds her power over men a little intoxicating and begins to use it even to her advantage even though she knows deep down that this is very unlike her. She revels in it anyway and it leads to disaster.
I liked this story quite a bit and found Maude’s personality change both organic and frightening. 5 Stars
Portland Bill
Geoff is on vacation with his wife, who has meandered off to do things without him. Before long, he finds a beautiful and distraught woman who begs for help. Her son has gone missing and Geoff being the dirty, old, and let’s not forget MARRIED perv that he is, has lustful thoughts about her even though she’s frantic to find her son.
“My bowels moved with lust for her.”
Oh Geoff, you sexy beast, however did you convince a woman to marry you?
Despite his pervy thoughts, he’s not so bad a guy and decides to help her out. When the townsfolk and police brush him off Geoff starts to have ominous feelings about the situation.
Haunting and, like all the rest, beautifully atmospheric. 4 Stars
The Ugly House
I listened to this one twice because when I sat down to write this up, I couldn’t remember a thing about it and figured I had sleep-walked through it. Now after the 2nd listen and writing all of the above, I still can’t remember much about it besides the fact that there was a building inspector and an ugly house that Would Not Be Demolished and damned if I can remember anything else about it.
Guess it wasn’t meant for me. 3 Stars
I’d easily recommend this collection to anyone looking for slower paced, old-style horror that crawls under your skin and creeps you out.
HA pages read thread
Audiobook #2: Audiobook Challenge
Horror Book #1: 2017 Horror Challenge
TBR Book #3: HA TBR Challenge
More...