Seven books this month.
Companions on the Road (1977) by Tanith Lee
This is a collection of two Tanith Lee fantasy novellas that were originally published as chapbooks.
In “Companions on the Road.” two soldiers and a thief make off with a chalice after the sacking of a citadel. They then find themselves pursued by three dark riders.
In “The Winter Players,” a young priestess tracks a thief after he steals an artifact from the temple she is responsible for.
As in the other work I’ve read by Tanith Lee, the prose in each story was lyrical and descriptive. At only about a hundred pages each, Lee introduces convincing settings, fleshes out interesting characters, and builds tension. I enjoyed both stories and their conclusions immensely.
The Magic Man and Other Science-Fantasy Stories (1965) by Charles Beaumont
Charles Beaumont was an American author of short stories and novels, as well as scripts for television and movies. He wrote a number of classic Twilight Zone episodes and his novel The Intruder (1962) was adapted into a film starring William Shatner. Unfortunately, Beaumont passed away at the age of 38.
The stories from this collection were chosen from three earlier collections. The stories are a mix of dark suspense with some science-fiction. I enjoyed them. Many of the stories definitely have a Twilight Zone-like feel. If you like dark stories or stories with dark humor, you’ll probably like them too.
There’s a foreword by Ray Bradbury and an afterword by Richard Matheson. Bradbury was mentor to both Matheson and Beaumont, and Matheson and Beaumont were friends.
Favorite Stories:
“Miss Gentilbelle”
“The Vanishing American”
“The Dark Music”
“A Death in the Country”
The Summer Book (1972) by Tove Jansson
This novel by the creator of the Moomin characters tells the story of six-year-old Sophia and her grandmother as they spend the summer on an island in the Gulf of Finland.
Sophia’s father is also on the island but he’s usually in the background. Sophia and her grandmother play together, go on walks, and have talks about all kinds of things including life, love, and even death.
Each chapter is a vignette, but they subtly build upon each other. As you read you learn more about the characters, the island, and the surrounding ocean.
The grandmother had difficulty moving around and was cranky sometimes and Sophia could be volatile and impetuous, but the love they felt for each other was clear. The characters felt very real to me.
When I got to the end of the book, I didn’t want it to end, just like the summers of my childhood.
Waking Nightmares (1993) by Ramsey Campbell
This is a collection of nineteen Ramsey Campbell horror short stories from the 1970s and 1980s. There’s also an introduction by the author in which he talks about the origins of the stories.
In a previous Campbell collection I read, Demons by Daylight, there were some stories I just couldn’t wrap my head around. That wasn’t the case with this collection.
While I enjoyed some more than others, I enjoyed them all. The stories are atmospheric and just the right length. Most of the stories have well done, creepy endings. One of my favorite stories, “The Guide,” was inspired by the ghost stories of M. R. James, which I read at the end of last year.
Favorite Stories:
“The Guide”
“In the Trees”
“Bedtime Story”
“Jack in the Box”
“Meeting the Author”
The Jewel in the Skull (1967), The Mad God’s Amulet (1968), The Sword of Dawn (1968) by Michael Moorcock
These are the first three books of The History of the Runestaff series by fantasy author Michael Moorcock. They are part of his Eternal Champion series.
In a far-off future, after a great apocalypse, the brutal Dark Empire of Granbretan seeks to conquer all of Europe. Count Brass of Kamarg seeks to remain neutral. Dorian Hawkmoon of Köln, a prisoner of the Dark Empire is fitted with a black jewel that allows his captors to observe what he sees. He is sent to gain the trust of Count Brass and kidnap his daughter. If Hawkmoon doesn’t obey, the jewel will kill him.
The world is interesting, the story is imaginative, and there’s lots of action. The books are short and the events move quickly. I wasn’t surprised when I read that Moorcock wrote these books in three days each. They’re pulpy and a lot of fun but things get a little repetitive in the third book.
These short novels are from early in Moorcock’s career so there’s a focus on action and just some hints of the themes that he will apparently explore in his later work. At the end of the third book things are set up for the final volume. I’m looking forward to reading it to see how things play out.
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