By Ramsey Campbell

PS Publishing, available to pre-order now

The latest collection of stories from the master author.

There have been some great collections of short stories in recent months, with this and Mark Morris’ New Fears 2 set for publication shortly to add to the list. There are fifteen tales within these pages, along with an afterword that gives some fascinating insights into the often surprisingly mundane things that inspire Campbell to tell his tales of dread.

And dread is the right term for so many of these – as you read, there’s a sense that things are not just going wrong, but there’s no way of coming back from the decisions made, or the paths taken. You may well have read some of the stories previously – the Beatles bus in ‘On the Tour’ had firmly stuck in my mind from its appearance in the first Spectral Book of Horror Stories, for instance – but knowing the end allows you the extra time to appreciate the craft that’s gone into their creation. It comes as no surprise to read that some of these ideas have been percolating in his mind for years, if not decades.

Certain themes permeate the stories – isolation and the consequences of age among them – and there’s a sometimes savage lyricism to the writing that can belie the horror within (beautifully expressed in some of the artwork by J.K. Potter). These are stories to savour in the dark nights ahead.

Verdict: Campbell weaves his magic with words once again. 9/10

Paul Simpson