Reggie Oliver

This review is for the ebook of Soot and Steel as provided by LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

About half of this collection of short stories centered in London is composed of new material and half is a century or more old. While the locale may be the same, and all involve mystery, the occult, or the fantastic, the style of writing is obviously different. Whether you will find that interesting or jarring will depend on your personal tastes. I am not a great fan of the Victorian style of writing, so I tended to enjoy the new material more. Many of the older stories are what I'd simply refer to as “odd,” atmospheric and gloomy but not with a memorable plot.

My favorites were “Hunger” by Bryony Pearce, a novel twist on the vampire myth in which the central character captures the last breaths of the dying and consumes them to prolong his life; “From the Casebook of Master Wiggins, Esq.” by Paul Di Filippo, a very good Sherlock Holmes pastiche; and “Southall Tantra,” by Paul StJohn Mackintosh, in which headlessness is next to godliness.… (meer)

Oliver strikes somewhere between [a:M.R. James|2995925|M.R. James|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1254798756p2/2995925.jpg] and [a:Robert Aickman|36998|Robert Aickman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1420508217p2/36998.jpg]. His stories are not usually as enigmatic as Aickman but are often more than a clever entertainment like James. This is a solid 5 star collection that will not disappoint. Even the sentimental doesn’t become sappy. And oh can they be frightening.

Oliver is one of the few writers of “traditional” horror stories who seems to hearken back to what I call the classic era of the horror story; the kind you would see in Twilight Zone magazine, or Whispers, or Shadows. Why he doesn’t show up in more “Best of” anthologies is beyond me, well not really but I won’t go into that here. His writing is clever and literate to the point where it seems effortless, but it’s not. A real joy to read. Savor each tale.… (meer)