Excellent short story collection, horror and supernatural stories that aren’t gory but instead haunting and chilling all expertly well told. ( )

This was an okay read. It's a collection of short stories done by an author I do like. Most of the stories are horror and crime. I'll admit I didn't like some of the stories, so I skimmed read some of the ones I didn't care for. The stores I liked the most were the Erlking, Inkpot Monkey, Miss Froom, and the Charlie Parker novella.

Just a warning if you are expecting these to be anything like his Book of Lost Things or his Gates books, you may or may not like these tales. These are dark and creepy and very serious. ( )

A really good collection of short stories that I read in the beginning of 2014. Usually, the quality of short stories varies very much, but I think this is one of the best collections of short stories I have ever read. Then again, this is John Connolly, writer of the excellent Charlie Parker series. So of course, these stories must be good! ( )

I really thought I’d enjoy this more but the stories came off as somewhat formulaic, written around mostly conventional ghost story and horror tropes and held few surprises. There were a couple [a:M.R. James|2995925|M.R. James|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1254798756p2/2995925.jpg] stories, the Weird Tales story, the [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg] story, you get the idea. It was all okay but not inspiring or original. The Charlie Parker novella was the best but still if you had told me King, or [a:Robert McCammon|19681134|Robert McCammon|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] had written it, I’d believe you.

I read in the afterword that these were mostly written, nine of them, originally for BBC Radio broadcast. They would have fared much better in that format.

My edition is a signed illustrated first. ( )

This book was exactly my cup of tea. I enjoyed all the stories. This is a book for those of us who enjoy a subtle scare and especially for those who prefer their scares to roam freely rather than being pinned down like a butterfly; quantified, categorized and immutable.

'Nocturnes' is the best single author horror story collection from a modern author that I have ever read. I'm not quite sure how to describe it for recommendation, but I think that by using a film/tv comparison I can provide an accurate assessment. If you loved 'The Wicker Man', you will enjoy this book. If American Horror Story:Asylum is more to your taste, you probably won't like this book.

Some have accused Connolly of misogyny in their reviews of this book, but I have a different take on his attitude towards women. I got the impression that he is fascinated and fearful at the same time; as well he probably should be. For all his ambiguity he seems to be full of respect and admiration; he simply understands that we have our own agendas and motivations incomprehensible to men. I take his fear as a compliment; we can be very powerful and ruthless creatures......it only bothers me when an author marginalizes women.

That said, 'The Erlking' and 'The New Daughter' were two of my favorites in this book; both tales of mysterious and unnamed elemental beings threatening the human interlopers in their territory. 'The Inn at Shillington' is a straightforward traditional ghost story. The Charlie Parker novella in the middle of the book was also very good and makes me want to read some of the mystery novels revolving around him.

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