The Stuff of Dreams
I had never heard of Edward Lucas White before seeing this collection of stories appear for request on NetGalley. As a fan of the weird tale, I could not resist seeing what this was all about and I am pleased that I did.
This is definitely old school horror – both in subject matter and in style. I was reminded of Wilkie Collins or M.R. James even though few of these stories were overtly ghostly in nature. (For those less supernaturally inclined, White reads a bit like Conan Doyle). While apparently all these stories emerged from dreams that White had, I found the subject matter fairly straightforward for olden-timey writers: a smattering of ghosts and mysteries with a huge main course of deepest, darkest Africa and arid land tales. Seriously old-fashioned, but nonetheless a treat, I recommend this collection for fans of old school supernatural short fiction.
A short summary of the stories in this collection:
The House of the Nightmare: A stranded motorist takes shelter in the home of a young boy and the next day discovers all is not what it seems. Totally predictable, but charming.
The Flambeau Bracket: An experienced duelist tells the tale of what led him to kill his first opponent.
Amina: A young American, recently arrived in Persia (I think), resists the warnings of natives and explores the area. He meets an interesting native and gets more culture than he bargained for.
The Message on the Slate: Probably my favorite of the collection, in this story the wife of a wealthy and well-respected man seeks out a famous psychic to help her with her troubled marriage.
Lukundoo: This is the tale that apparently White is known for, though I do not remember having stumbled upon this in the past. Very old school – anthropologists in Africa encounter an old colleague suffering from a curse.
The Pig-skin Belt: A traveler returns to his hometown down South and while utterly charming, he has developed some troubling eccentricities. Once a circus comes to town, the root of his peculiar behavior becomes clear. I quite liked this story.
The Song of the Sirens: Nicely crafted tale about a sailor encountering th e Sirens of Greek mythology. Well done.
The Picture Puzzle: A couple whose child has been abducted becomes obsessed with doing jigsaw puzzles. An odd puzzle turns up that promises their daughter may return. An interesting story.
The Snout: The story of a robbery gone wrong – at least from the robbers' perspective.
Sorcery Island: Weird little ditty about a man who finds himself “stranded” after a plane crash on a desert island inhabited by an old school friend and some other folks. Quite weird and the one story in the book that seemed the most dreamlike to me, though I applaud White for not resorting to death or it was all a dream to conclude this one.
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