THE SANCTUARY and Other Strange Stories by R.B. Russell (Tartarus 2026)

I received a physical review copy of this book.

R(ay). B. Russell is best known as the co-founder of Tartarus Press, which has achieved global renown for high-quality limited editions. But he is also a prolific author, and this latest collection showcases his talent in the realm of short fiction. The term 'strange stories' is inevitably reminiscent of Robert Aickman, and that author's influence is arguably present here and there. But as I progressed through the volume, I felt other authors - L.P. Hartley, Arthur Machen, and Walter de la Mare in particular - held more sway. 

The title story is arguably a manifesto for the volume. A writer researching a biographical subject encounters someone referred to simply as The Poet. This in turn leads the protagonist to the eponymous Sanctuary, a kind of encampment/colony for creative types. There is a somewhat Machenesque encounter that helps shake the writer's rationalist world view. He does not stay in the colony, but it seems he will carry it with him for the rest of his days. 

The final story, 'The Song of the Fire', is arguably about the transformative powers of creativity. A seemingly ordinary man is drawn to a mysterious light in the woods. It proves to be a burning house where no house could logically be. As with 'The Sanctuary', the clash between the logical and the visionary is at the heart of things. But the approach is very different.

Creativity as a form of magic, not always benevolent, is a recurring theme. 'The Coverham Statuette' pivots on a kind of Platonic conception of ideal forms (I think). An artist obsesses over the eponymous Roman artefact, believing it represents a crude first attempt at something altogether more significant. Is it a tale of delusion and mental illness? The finale certainly gave me pause for thought.

'The Brightly Lit Room' struck me as a reworking of Wells' 'The Door in the Wall'. Nothing wrong with that, of course. As homages go (if homage it be) this one works very well. A boy flees the burden of homework one evening and wanders off. He finds a small house in the woods, and peeps into the window. Inside is a vision of happiness, modest but enchanting. He never forgets it, despite throwing himself into a career that eventually leads him back to the stamping ground of his childhood.

Some tales directly address the supernatural in more conventional ways. 'The House on Windmill Lane' pivots on what may be a precognitive incident. 'Whistle' was inspired by a famous M.R. James story, though here the point of view is one the Provost never attempted. 'Saint Hill' offers a doppelganger incident, but I was blindsided by the way the story unfolds. The story features a real (now deceased) person of dubious repute. So does 'Baphomet', which credibly recounts the doings of a stage medium in the Eighties. 

Russell's characters, like those of Aickman and the other writers mentioned above, are often sensitive loners or creative oddballs. They also frequently find themselves on the senior side of middle age, haunted by nostalgia and regret. In 'The Sweetshop Man' this takes a nasty turn, as a retiree attempts to set up a business dealing in the familiar confectionery of his childhood. In 'A House of Treasures' a man revisits a stately home that fascinated him as a boy. But did his curiosity somehow mar the very thing he found wonderful?

The slightly shoddy and threadbare world of post-war Britain offers a rich seam for the writer of weird fiction. 'Benjamin and Sarpy, and Jeffryes’ takes a sidelong look at stamp collecting, and the shadowy world of fakes (or 'replicas'). I admit this one baffled me a little, as the final paragraph seemed to switch character names around in a way I didn't understand. But that's probably just my ageing brain. 

Of course, the modern UK has all too many pockets of relative decline. 'InfoDataAnalysis' centres on a government contractor in a washed-up seaside resort. A new employee comes to realise that some of the information being collected is bizarre, disturbing, and perhaps occult in nature. The ending is nicely handled.

Not every story hit the mark for me, but the overall quality is very high. I know I say it a lot in these reviews, but there's bound to be something here for the lover of well-crafted short stories, regardless of genre. And, while the tales may be disconcerting at times, there is satisfaction to be had in the fact that the prose is elegant and the ideas are interesting.