SHORT STORIES
There’s a short story coming in the next post.
Sedentary Gentleman has managed the odd prize for his work
here and there. This is one of them. And as Anton from Dig so memorably says:
‘I’m giving it to you for free!’
SCHOOLBOY FANTASY
Like many of his contemporaries, Sedentary Gentleman began
his acquaintance with short stories in the fantasy and horror genre. Oddly, in
2009 I had a strange epiphany which has resulted in my subsequent utter lack of
interest in these genres. I had just had enough of it all. The good work was so
much better and elsewhere. However, I still recall my far off early days and
although even then I was never as great an acolyte of the ‘weird tale’ as some,
they did seem often like coming home. A default position.
Typical schoolboys in 1978
Males of a certain age and temperament will recall those
giddy late seventies. I over-romanticise but in my memory, I seem to go from
reading Asterix, Target Doctor Who novels, Jennings, Shoot! and Action Man Antarctic Explorer straight into The Rats and The Fog with the dark, terrifying sexual
violence contained therein. Innocence was well and truly lost forever on those
marathon, fevered under-the-cover nocturnal reads of 1978. James Herbert is not
an author I returned to. I did try one of his again – something about a
paparazzi photographer and ghosts, but these aren’t books for adults. Like punk
and Action comic, and (God Help Us) the VHS real autopsy footage that did the rounds
when I was a teen and I never had the will or stomach to watch, you took the
brutality straight in the face – and moved on.
Just loads of blood and violence
The Herbert was a horror version of the fantastic New
English Library pulp Hell’s Angels novels which also terrorised me around that
time (what was it about the 1970’s that people felt the need to traumatise
their children in such a brutal manner? Whoever you are – thank you).
Any questions?
THE KING
Stephen King was better. I understood that even though my
reading experience and therefore critical faculties were severely limited.
Night Shift didn’t go on the attack in the same crude way as The Herbert and
his ‘this is happening to you right now in your town’ nastiness. There was more
variety in Stephen King; more atmosphere, and of course they were American
which already distanced the English reader.
Stephen King bestows great rewards on his readers, especially
teenage boys. You joined his club and felt ownership of his work. The Stand
especially was almost a personal friend. Night Shift was for me a work of
towering genius. To me it was the epitome of literature.
Night Shift then is a collection of Stephen King original
short stories and there are some real works of genius in there. The Boogeyman
was of course the star. But you also had Grey Matter, The Mangler, Trucks,
Graveyard Shift…I know them more than I know my PIN number and I suspect a lot
of people reading this do too.
I re-read Night Shift again recently, or at least tried to.
My old 1979 reprint NEL paperback fell to pieces in my hands. Luckily, this
modern world now had computers and I was able to order a second hand hardback
copy; something only Malcolm Goddard at my school would have been able to
wangle. Even after leaving fantasy behind, I marvelled over my book when it
came through the post. I think I even stroked it; mentally offering it up to my
fourteen year old ugly, speccy, psychotically shy self.
Me, aged fourteen, without specs
Night Shift still delivers. It even offered
up new gems: Jerusalem ’s Lot
is a great Lovecraft pastiche, there’s a brilliant prequel to The Stand and a
fantastic epilogue to ‘Salems Lot. Unfortunately, memory has burned off the
impact of many of the stories and I did miss the inclusion of the one post
Night Shift Stephen King story I really love: ‘Crouch End’. They’re pop
classics; like great songs Time has pinned to a notice board.
Night Shift may not be the best horror short story
collection I’ve read. That would be T.E.D Klein’s frankly astonishing ‘Dark
Gods’ which I’ve just re-read for the zillionth time. I continue to work away
at Ramsey Campbell’s amazing stories and occasionally catch his brilliance but
his formality and mannered construction (he’s the Scott Walker of horror – a
pioneer out there on his own) often leaves me cold; as do his novels. My fault.
Ramsey Campbell
MY GO
Still, this is all a way of saying BABY is my attempt at a
Night Shift story. I still write short stories but I don’t really do anything
with them. I should, I suppose. I’ve just finished my best and it’s just
sitting in my computer. Baby isn’t my best but it did win the British Fantasy
Society Short Story Award 2005. My prize was a pen I still often look at and admire. Such a long time ago. If you can be bothered to
read Baby, I thank you. If you manage to enjoy it, that would be incredible.
It’s in the post right after this because I can’t work out a
fancy way of letting you link to it.
I believe I’ve actually got another short story being
published quite soon. It might even already be out. This is in an Australian magazine called the Andromeda
Spaceways Inflight Magazine. I did a really bleak zombie story for them last
year so I’ve made up for it with a ‘humorous’ story on a space ship this year.
You can find out more here:
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