Night Voices: Strange Stories [Hardcover]

It's doubtful that you've made your way to this page unless you already have an appreciation or at least an interest in the works of Robert Aickman. This slim volume of six stories with a foreward by Barry Humphries is a posthumous collection filled out with at least two stories previously collected ('The Stains', and 'The Trains', both appearing in The Wine-dark Sea), and due to the collector premium, may not be worth seeking out to someone new to Mr. Aickman. Completists, on the other hand, may want this one if the rest of their collection lacks some or all of the other stories.

First, a personal word about Mr. Aickman's stories. This collection is subtitled 'Strange Stories', and I don't know if there really is any better way of describing them. There is always a supernatural or supranormal element present, but there is no Sturm und Drang to them, no amateurish surprises at the end. The effect of a Robert Aickman story is more like barometric change in the weather. What was once light and ordinary becomes like an omnipresent yet intangible weight. These are stories of unease, disquiet, and fractured views, stories in the tradition of Arthur Machen, as opposed to Peter Straub.

Summerizing any story by Aickman is a ridiculous project. If one of his stories is like a piece of cake, then my explaining it to you would be like force feeding you all of the ingredients before mixing and cooking. All of the pleasure would be gone. I will simply say that the contents of 'Night Voices' is as indicative of Mr. Aickman's strengths as any of his other collections. The purpose of this review is to give out the information in the Table of Contents for those who may be interested.

Besides the introduction and the two stories mentioned before, there are four other stories.

Just a song at Twilight
Laura
Rosamund's Bower
Mark Ingestre: The Customer's Tale

Of these, I enjoyed 'Just a Song at Twilight the most, and Rosamund's Bower the least, though putting any story by Mr. Aickman in a list of most to least favorite really doesn't apply.

Reader's who are interested in Mr. Aickman's stories, or who enjoy supernatural stories in the vein of Arthur Machen would be far better served to begin with The Wine-dark Sea, a larger and more comprehensive collection. The drawbacks to this volume are the two stories available elsewhere (albeit two of his best) and the cost on the used market. Five stars for the content, but only four for the packaging.

› Go to Amazon U.S. to see the review  5.0 out of 5 stars