smallBy Adam L.G. Nevill.

Ritual Ltd., Out 31st October 2016

A chilling collection of short fiction.

Adam L.G. Nevill has firmly established himself as a novelist of supernatural fiction to watch; he has even been called ‘England’s answer to Stephen King’. Before he became synonymous with such novels as No One Gets Out Alive, The Ritual, Last Days however, he was known for writing some deeply affecting shorter fiction. Now, with his new novel out early next year, Adam has decided the time is right to publish a collection of short stories written within the period of 1995 to 2011 as a limited edition, and what a collection it is!

Some Will Not Sleep contains eleven short stories written over the course of Adam’s career. He readily acknowledges the influence of M.R. James (amongst others) on his writing, indeed he uses a quote from an M.R. James story at the beginning of the collection – and his love of classic supernatural fiction shines through here.

The collection includes such stories as: ‘Where Angels Come In’, written from a child’s point of view as he relates the horrors found inside a house he went into with a friend on a dare; and ‘The Original Occupant’, a period tale that tells of a man’s decision to spend a year cut off from the world in the wilds of Sweden – only to find there are far older things in the forest than man. This theme of there being other things than us, closer than we think, carries through into several of the stories, is never less than disquieting and, sometimes – for example in ‘To Forget and Be Forgotten’ – is downright disturbing. Other standouts for me included ‘The Ancestors’, a foray into Japanese mythology, and ‘Florrie’, a ghost story with a difference.

Throughout, the author shows a deft hand at invoking a creeping sense of terror and even at times disgust, never overplaying his hand when revealing the true nature of each story. A very enjoyable read, and I’m looking forward to the author’s next novel, Under A Watchful Eye, due early next year.

Verdict: A collection full of creeping dread, well worth a read. 9/10

Marie O’Regan