The nine short stories that make up this collection are notable for their diverse subject matter and style of delivery. Though grounded in everyday life, mainly contemporary, they generally have a supernatural element that raises them out of the ordinary and engages the attention.
In ‘Isle of the Wolf’ a super-rich businessman indulges his obsession with personal security to an extraordinary degree with unforeseen consequences. Similarly, a man who strives for membership of the exclusive ‘Challenge Club’ finds acceptance comes at a price.
Two stories feature superpowers: ‘Yani’s day’ features a man who can kill with a glance; in ‘Come April’ a woman sex worker’s ability to transport punters into raptures attracts an unusual client.
There are spooky stories: in ‘Out of Bounds’ boys in a deserted prep school explore a forbidden cellar; in ‘The Coue’ a collector of macabre artifacts acquire one he wishes he had not; in ‘Michael’ a shy seventeen-year-old boy is lured to a sexual encounter by a strange girl in the woods; and in ‘The Bear’ an up and coming young executive’s determination to make an impression at a corporate fancy dress party succeeds at some cost.
Finally, ‘Bound South’ is set in 1913 when a man on a train journey from Edinburgh to London is told a tale by a fellow passenger that leaves him chilled.
The stories are
uniformly good. Well told and interesting enough to lead the reader on to their
conclusions, some surprising, and others foreseen but still compelling as an
inevitable end-game unfolds.
No comments:
Post a Comment