Dark Universe (Mass Market Paperback)

However, while the Stealth Press edition arranged the stories chronologically by year, earliest to latest, the two Dorchester releases abandon this approach in favour of mixing the order. While each story is preceded by an introduction by the author, reading the book from start to finish offers only a jumbled sense of how Nolan's style has developed over the years.

Being new to Nolan's writing, I took a chance and bought both Leisure releases, and after having read Dark Universe and the first few stories in Nightworlds, I have to say I'm disappointed and feel a bit duped by marketing tactics. Nolan's abilities as a horror writer seem secondary to his abilities as a writer of science fiction, the genre on which he established his reputation. Indeed, Dark Universe contains one piece of science/speculative fiction (And Miles to Go Before I Sleep) which doesn't count as horror at all.

All in all, I have to say I find Nolan's horror writing to be simplistic, as though aimed at a juvenile reading level. Situations and plots lack substance, and atmosphere and tone are too weak to create a very effective sense of fear or dread. Characters are shallow and one-dimensional, and his dialogue is horrible - relying on hackneyed phraseology such as "the hell you say" as an expression of dismay.

Don't be fooled by the cover quotes that make Nolan sound like one of the greatest horror writers. When I sat down to read him, I was expecting a full course dinner, but instead I got popcorn. For truly effective, disturbing horror, try reading Ramsey Campbell.

Other reviewers have listed the individual tales so I will not. Most of the stories have a very dark element but not necessarily an element of the fantastic. Most are very good at assaulting the right emotions but I was a little disappointed by the contents. Having read other books by the author (i.e. Logan's Run and its two sequels as well as some short work), I was surprised at the almost cliched hack endings of some of the stories (the sort where the final paragraph reveals that the potman of the past twenty years is really a sentient radish from Vega). I felt these particular endings to be a little cheap.

Although I was disappointed in some of the endings I was not disappointed by the writing style. Mr. Nolan sets out to affect certain emotions and he succeeds ever time. So if you want to be creeped out, have your hackles rise, or any of the other typical effects of Mr. Nolan's writing then this book is for you.