by Stephen Volk

PS Publishing, out end May 2022

A new collection of tales from a master storyteller…

Long-time readers of this site will know that a new set of stories from Stephen Volk is something to be savoured – and that odds are there’ll be at least one story in this new collection, launching at ChillerCon, that will pop back up in your thoughts at probably the least opportune moment. This new tome fulfils those expectations, with a good mix of completely new material and previously available stories, which includes the novella The Little Gift. Volk draws inspiration from multiple sources, as diverse as Donald Trump and a Brian Rix Whitehall farce, to present perspectives and ideas that may not have occurred before – or you might not expect to see in print.

In his notes on one of the stories Volk states, “If any reader thinks the subject should have been left well alone, I can only say I follow my instincts, whether an idea is unpalatable or not—and sometimes because it is.” (No, I’m not going to say which one of these tales that applies to – I’d be intrigued to know which stories people think it might be about. My own guess, as I went through, would have been a different story!) It feels rather like a literary equivalent of George Mallory’s famous comment about climbing Everest – “because it’s there”. If there’s the potential for a story, and Steve Volk sees a way of developing it, then he will – and if that means entering territory and mindsets that are outside the reader (and the writer)’s comfort zones, then so much the better. There’s also a palpable justified anger in some of these stories – sometimes at trends and beliefs that have been allowed to fester, but also more directly at those whose actions have affected all our lives in the last two years.

If you’ve read some of these before, don’t skip them as you go through: there’s at least one that feels different in its new context (and do seek out the collections in which they appeared if you’ve not got them already).

Verdict: Another unsettling, thought-provoking and highly recommended collection. 10/10

Paul Simpson

Click here to order from PS Publishing