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By Moonlight Only (Volume 2 of Not At
Night series) edited by Stephen Jones check out website: www.pspublishing.co.uk
Even before opening the book, there is one guarantee - all the stories will be extremely well written. Jones is a hard editor to please but that means that all stories can be approached with pleasurable anticipation. They do not disappoint even though some may not satisfy all readers. Each of the stories is prefaced by a run-down of the honours the author has accrued and a quotation from the author as to how the story came to be written. 'The Crystal Doll Murders' by Hugh B Cave, the oldest story in the book, was first published in 1939. It is an SF crime story in which several people die by turning to crystal which then shatters. It is a product of the time, as it is a tale of a thwarted scientist doing his research privately and coming up with something deadly. It is an action adventure story but at this remove doesn't seem horrific compared to more recent offerings. The longest story, 'Jimmy' by David Case, at just over a hundred pages, has a similar format. An ostracised geneticist has hidden away to continue his work on a remote American farm. This story, first published here but written and mislaid over twenty years ago, is reminiscent of an X-Files plot. Out in the woods is a creature that may or may not be human is attacking women. This impression is strengthened by the short, filmic scenes. It is also, because the set up is now so familiar, possible to predict what the denouement will be before the author gets there. At the same time, the journey is enjoyable. Whereas the monster in 'Jimmy' is tangible, that in Harlan Ellison's 'In The Fourth Year Of The War' is much more ambiguous. The narrator believes that some alien personality has taken up residence in his mind and persuades him to kill his uncle. The question is how reliable a witness is the narrator. Either what he tells us is true or it is a study of mental breakdown. The chilling factor is that there is no way of telling. Both scenarios are insidious. 'The Buffalo Hunter' by Peter Straub is another story in which you cannot trust the perceptions related about the central character. He is obviously a strange man, living in a fantasy world and who develops an obsession with baby bottles. Though whether what happens to him is a supernatural experience or part of his delusions is for the reader to consider. Neither is a place a normal person would want to go. Lisa Tuttle also uses knowledge of the human psyche in 'Replacements'. Here strange creatures (where they come from isn't important) attach themselves to women's emotions to the gradual exclusion of men-folk. It is a subtle and chilling story because it is easy to see that obsessions have the same effect on relationships and she is using the alien creature to explore something that is already with us. Some of the stories follow a more traditional approach to horror. One such is Christopher Fowler's 'The Art Nouveau Fireplace'. Here, the fireplace in question acts a supernatural focus. By itself it doesn't seem unusual but its presence causes men act out of character with the suggestion that this quality is imbued by its original creator. Similarly traditional are Tanith Lee's 'These Beasts' in which a tomb robber brings more than he bargained for from the tomb and Terry Lamsley's 'Walls' where inexplicable, nasty things happen to hikers that venture into the wrong fields in Derbyshire. 'Cell Call' by Marc Laidlaw is the only offering here that could be regarded as a ghost story but one brought into the modern world of technology. It focuses on a man who takes a wrong turn on his way home because he is not concentrating on his driving but rather on his new cell phone when it starts ringing. Even though the terminology already seems dated for a first publication of a story, it is neatly and subtly told and should be regarded as a period piece. 'Tight Little Stitches In A Dead Man's Back' by Joe R Lansdale is Science Fiction. It is an after the apocalypse story and the horror evoked is not just by the devastating results of the catastrophe but in the way that one of the surviving scientists deals with his guilt. These ten stories span a range of approaches to horror. Some will disturb more than others but all have value in the genre and all provide memorable images. The book itself is also beautifully produced with internal illustrations by Randy Broecker. Pauline Morgan
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OTHER REVIEWS - January 2004
Books and Magazines By Moonlight Only edited by Stephen Jones The MasterHarper Of Pern by Anne McCaffrey The Complete Book Of Gerry Anderson's UFO by Chris Bentley Down The Bright Way by Robert Reed Dragon's Kin by Anne and Todd McCaffrey Cerulean Sins by Laurell K. Hamilton The Third Alternative # 36 - Autumn 2003 Southern Fire by Juliet E. McKenna The Mabinogion by Evangeline Walton The Glass Mountain by Jessica Rydill The Gathering Storm by Kate Elliott Lord Of Snow And Shadows by Sarah Ash The Wind From The Sun by Arthur C. Clarke DVDS and Videos Terminator 3: The Rise Of The Machines The Tomorrow People 3:3 and 3.4: A Man For Emily and The Revenge Of Jedikah
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In
1925, Christine Campbell Thompson edited a volume of supernatural
and horror stories reprinted from the magazines of the day. It was
called 'Not At Night' and was followed by ten more in the series,
the last one, 'Nightmare By Daylight', being published in 1936.
Although
there were a number of omnibus editions in the 60s and 70s, it wasn't
until 2002 that editor Stephen Jones took up the torch. That volume,
'Keep Out The Night', and this, 'By Moonlight Only', are the beginning
of a revised 'Not At Night' series. The latter is an attractive,
limited edition hardcover with an Edward Miller cover that sets
the tone. Most of the stories are reprinted and represent a time-span
of more than sixty years. 
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