Matt McAvoy Book Review

Martin’s collection of tales is both gripping and entertaining, and he does his readers a huge justice by encouraging them to use their imagination.  These thirteen stories are not really horror, as such, but they are certainly dark, with more of an air of mystery and suspense about them than anything else.  Happily, there is more than a small slice of the olde English gothic or occult influence in some of the tales, which I personally am a big fan of.  Overall, I found the collection entertaining and engaging, and it is always a welcome quality in an author, that he entrusts the intelligence of his reader. 

It could have been better, to be sure.  At times, I will admit it was a little difficult to remain truly gripped, and there were a couple of reasons for this: first, the narratives are very dialogue and monologue driven, and work is sometimes required, on the reader’s part, to maintain the flow of the conversations which are heavily relied upon to tell the story; second, I did feel that at times Martin relied perhaps just a touch too heavily on his reader’s involvement – there is a lot of metaphor and insinuation in the way he ends some of these stories; perhaps, on occasions, a tad too much suggestion, rather than clarity.  I have to admit, on more than one occasion, it was a slight ambiguity to understand how the story ended.  But, clearly an intelligent author, Martin can certainly be understood for frequently leaving a mysterious air hanging.  For the most part, his writing is atmospheric and creative, his style the literary equivalent of mood lighting, giving it an almost melancholy feel.  His language is top quality - highly eloquent and articulate - which at times probably betrays the tendency he has to use gritty, authentic dialogue – a side effect of which was, for me, as somebody of a cockney persuasion, I did find myself cringing, as I wondered if we all talk and curse so crassly.  I think he has it spot on though, naturalism being a big part of Martin’s writing style.

I did enjoy reading these thirteen tales, as I always do with thriller anthologies.  Martin didn’t disappoint, and his quality as a writer is undisputed – I just felt that, perhaps at times, as a reader, I had to work a touch too hard to get the best entertainment from it.  Still, these stories, and this author, are definitely worth a read, and I am sure I will read more from him. 

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