The Night Comes On

Rating:
Summary: Expert Pastiches
Review: Steve Duffy has done a brilliant job of producing stories that have the genuine atmosphere and "feel" of the classic English ghost stories from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. If you're a fan of the classic tales of M.R. James, and feel pangs that there are not *more* stories by Monty, Duffy offers delightful consolation. Duffy (as he explains in fascinating notes on the stories at the end of the volume) works hard to maintain the subtlety and refinement of the classic ghost story (some readers may feel that some of the tales might be a bit *too* restrained). But he can also let the spectres rip, as a story like "Figures on a Hillside" shows. For my money, Duffy is right to aim for restraint: his stories put a premium on atmosphere and the careful, subtle build-up of dread and suspense. I've read all of them more than once, and I know this is a book I'll enjoy throughout my life. And, as virtually all of the Ash-Tree limited edition books are, this is a beautiful and beautifully-made book.

Rating:
Summary: Expert Pastiches
Review: Steve Duffy has done a brilliant job of producing stories that have the genuine atmosphere and "feel" of the classic English ghost stories from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. If you're a fan of the classic tales of M.R. James, and feel pangs that there are not *more* stories by Monty, Duffy offers delightful consolation. Duffy (as he explains in fascinating notes on the stories at the end of the volume) works hard to maintain the subtlety and refinement of the classic ghost story (some readers may feel that some of the tales might be a bit *too* restrained). But he can also let the spectres rip, as a story like "Figures on a Hillside" shows. For my money, Duffy is right to aim for restraint: his stories put a premium on atmosphere and the careful, subtle build-up of dread and suspense. I've read all of them more than once, and I know this is a book I'll enjoy throughout my life. And, as virtually all of the Ash-Tree limited edition books are, this is a beautiful and beautifully-made book.