Author:John Connolly
Just in time for Halloween, Connolly has produced this sequel to his previous short story collections Nocturnes and Night Music. Actually, this is something of a hybrid as only the first half of the book comprises short stories, with the second half being given over to a lengthy piece, incorporating plenty of his rather laconic sense of humour, on his favourite movie, the rather obscure Horror Express. The short stories range from that of a fantastical library where fictional characters come to life in their own world to a sci fi tale about Nazi war criminals to a couple of tales that rather put me in mind of HP Lovecraft and MR James. They are certainly a captivating bunch of pieces that are just right for this time of year. The latter part of the book, as I mentioned, is devoted to his love for Horror Express, a film I must confess that has managed to pass me by, but this piece also encompasses his ruminations on his relationship with his late father, the power of nostalgia and the horror genre in general, as well as giving us a very detailed look at the actors involved and the film’s plot. Certainly this section provides an interesting counterpoint to his usual fiction writing, and in fact the book as a whole gives the reader something a little different from what we’ve come to expect.
Length of Read:Medium
Might appeal to people who enjoyed…
The author’s other work, spooky short stories.
One thing you’ve learned
Good to see this very talented author step away, albeit hopefully briefly, from the long running Charlie Parker series and show a different aspect of his writing.
Sewer Robot says
Horror Express is da sheet. Classic post News At Ten on ITV fare that – thanks to the unremitting ad breaks* – kept you up til the wee small hours. Some people can’t get over that 70s horror thing where there’s a real sense that Prof Cushing and Christy Lee know what they’re doing is nonsense and are much hammier than their more sober classics, but I prefer it. Then, in a marvellous piece of stunt casting, Telly Savalas comes crashing into the film, taking over in a way that possibly inspired Jason Isaacs’ complete annexing of The Death Of Stalin. The film doesn’t quite “stick the landing” as they say nowadays, but not many horror films do..
(*Back in the days of proper telly it was clear that tv shows were written specifically to have pre-ad break cliffhangers, but it was notable how many movies when broadcast seemed to have ideally placed breaks. The kids these days don’t know what they are missing)..
davebigpicture says
I’ve been a big fan of the Parker books for many years but can’t get on with his other writings unfortunately. Apparently, there’s a Parker series in development for tv or streaming. Hopefully, they’ll do a decent job of it.