Book review
Written by Christopher Fowler
Serpents’ Tail paperback
Release date Out now

Christopher Fowler’s first collection in five years, Old Devil Moon is an example of storytelling at its best, incorporating everything from horror to beautifully crafted character pieces…

Old Devil Moon is an extremely diverse collection of short stories, yet each one is stamped with the author’s distinctive and insightful voice.

Horror is represented by stories such as The Spider Kiss – a karmic tale with a definite sting; Turbo-Satan, where a mobile phone opens a doorway that should really be kept closed; and The Night Museum, a sharply funny story of a very un-natural museum that opens only at night. Yet there are also tales of heartbreaking simplicity such as All Packed, which deals with learning to let go (to tell more would reveal too much of a beautiful story). Suffice to say that it’s one of the highlights of the collection.

In his introduction, Fowler draws up a long list of subjects taken from recent newspaper stories – any one of them far more horrific than anything contained within a work of fiction. His stories seek to illuminate that fact, showing human nature at its worst as well as its best. In Red Torch a young boy has his first sexual encounter in a darkened cinema, only to find that the dark hides rather more than he bargained for, while in Starless two characters find that the 7th July London bombings offers them a chance for a new start.

The author finishes his collection with a Q and A on writing in general, and the short story form in particular. As one of the most powerful genre voices around, it makes for a fascinating read. Marie O’Regan

VERDICT: 9/10
Twenty-two very different tales from one of the great short story writers of our time. A diverse and brilliantly written collection.