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| Cover art by John Coulthart |
Has it really been so long?
That was my first thought in
looking at the contents list of this excellent new collection. I need hardly mention that Helen Grant's stories have been
appearing in Supernatural Tales for quite a while, now. Four of the thirteen
tales collected her first saw light of day courtesy of my hot little editorial
hands. And another, 'The Wynd', first published in Nightmare Abbey,
features on my YouTube channel. Check it out here on
the Helen Grant playlist.
Needless to say 'The Wynd' is
excellent, a clever variation on the mysterious church best left unvisited
theme. What makes it especially good is that not only does the rather nasty
protagonist get his comeuppance, but this occurs in the heart of a bustling
modern city. A church lurking in wait amid soulless office blocks is a tough
menace to pull off, but the author manages it with aplomb.
Looking again at the stories I
was privileged to publish, I'm glad to say they stand up well alongside the
other inclusions. Indeed, the first three stories in the book are all ST
'alumni', as is the title story, which rounds off the volume.
And I think 'Atmospheric
Disturbances' is arguably the best piece in the book, though not by a wide
margin. This story of a solitary man on an island who loses touch with the
world - perhaps as the result of some unimaginable global catastrophe - perhaps
borders on science fiction. But it is also a modern take on the 'last man'
theme tackled by Mary Shelley, among others. What makes it especially moving,
for me, is the conclusion, which I will certainly not spoil here.
