{"id":14213,"date":"2021-08-02T15:38:28","date_gmt":"2021-08-02T15:38:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/?p=14213"},"modified":"2023-01-03T13:33:56","modified_gmt":"2023-01-03T13:33:56","slug":"paths-best-left-untrodden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/archive\/paths-best-left-untrodden\/","title":{"rendered":"[Review] Paths Best Left Untrodden"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Paths Best Left Untrodden<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Robert Welbourn reviews Paths Best Left Untrodden<\/em>, a \u2018brilliant\u2019 and varied collection of short stories from Kev Harrison.<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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If you\u2019re a regular reader of my book reviews, you\u2019ll know I have a lot of thoughts when it comes to short story collections.<\/strong> One of the advantages of a single-author collection is that the author gets to play around when it comes to genre. Shirley Jackson and Stephen King, for example, are both prolific short story writers (although Shirley Jackson less so these days). However, they don\u2019t limit themselves; their short stories fall into all genres, as well as plenty which transcend genre altogether. My point is that a short story collection by a sole author gives that author plenty of room to explore, to be creative, to try something different. In Paths Best Left Untrodden,<\/em> Kev Harrison does just this. And he does it brilliantly.<\/p>

\"\"As with King and Jackson, Harrison is mainly a horror writer, and it shows. However, he\u2019s also not afraid to get out of his comfort zone and try something different. This collection spans horror, historical fiction, and sci-fi, as well as commenting on social issues. Harrison approaches each topic carefully; he writes about some difficult subjects, but he does it respectfully, and with style and grace. It\u2019s a pleasure to read his writing.<\/p>

While he does play with genre, in some of these stories Harrison sticks to good old-fashioned horror. In \u2018Snap\u2019<\/em>, for example, we have a nice little story about a child whose toy drawer is haunted. It\u2019s a simple concept, and only a very short short story, but the way Harrison writes it \u2013 it just works. He\u2019s incredibly adept at writing atmosphere, not just in this story, but the whole collection too. In \u2018Contaminated\u2019<\/em>, a story about infectious mould that can\u2019t be tamed, as well as in \u2018Suppression\u2019<\/em>, a Minority Report<\/em>-style story about predicting future crimes, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Harrison has a way of drip-feeding information that makes you not just want, but need to know more. The pages kept turning, and for the most part I couldn\u2019t put this book down.<\/p>

\u2018Left Behind\u2019<\/em> is a story about a future Venice which has been reclaimed by the ocean \u2013 something which isn\u2019t far from happening in real life. It\u2019s horror mixed with adventure, and Harrison gets the tone just right. \u2018Reasons For My Abscondence\u2019<\/em> is a letter from a Victorian governess to the head of the household she\u2019s just fled, for reasons I won\u2019t spoil in this review. \u2018The Fourth Wall\u2019<\/em> is about a cam girl whose work and personal lives begin to intertwine in scary ways.<\/p>

I mentioned King and Jackson earlier, not just because they\u2019re the masters at what Harrison does here, but also because a couple of these stories reminded me of them. \u2018The Solstice\u2019<\/em> is about a small village and an annual event that takes place there to decide its fate. It reminded me very much of Shirley Jackson\u2019s \u2018The Lottery\u2019<\/em>, perhaps the most famous short story ever written. And \u2018The Solstice\u2019<\/em> holds up next to it: comparing Harrison to the masters is not unflattering. \u2018The Waiting Game\u2019<\/em> is about person vs creature in a battle not just of flesh, but also of wills. It reminded me greatly of King\u2019s novel Cujo:<\/em> again, the comparison is incredibly complimentary.<\/p>

As with a lot of short story collections, not every story is a hit. The collection\u2019s opening, \u2018Big Game\u2019<\/em>, tackles a familiar concept from horror and sci-fi without really adding much. And \u2018Special Order\u2019<\/em> is just a bit too strange, a bit too weird, to be overly enjoyable.<\/p>

However, these few misses don\u2019t detract from the book as a whole. Paths Best Left Untrodden<\/em> is wonderful \u2013 really a fantastic read. It isn\u2019t 100% perfection, but you can always appreciate the stories for what Harrison has attempted. Overall, I very much enjoyed this collection, and (as you\u2019re reading this review on a horror website!) I think you will too.<\/p>

Purchase a copy of\u00a0Paths Best Left Untrodden<\/em>\u00a0by clicking the image below…<\/p>

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Author | Ideal Angels (2018) \/ @unbound_digital<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Share this article or save to read later<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Photo by Marcus L\u00f6fvenberg<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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More To Explore<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Tales From The Crypt 1972 \/ Freddie Francis Where does one start with examining arguably Amicus\u2019 greatest portmanteau film? Well, for me, wiping away the<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tThe People That Time Forgot (1977)\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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The People That Time Forgot 1977 \/ Kevin Connor The success of Amicus\u2019 first two Edgar Rice Burroughs-based fantasy adventures in 1975 and 1976 led<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tAt The Earth’s Core (1976)\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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AT THE EARTH’S CORE 1976 \/ Kevin Connor Amicus\u2019 first foray into the science fiction adventure, The Land That Time Forgot (UK, Kevin Connor, 1974)<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Robert Welbourn reviews Paths Best Left Untrodden, a \u2018brilliant\u2019 and varied collection of short stories from Kev Harrison.\u200b..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":14215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2030],"tags":[1893,651],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/PATHS-BEST-LEFT-UNTRODDEN-scaled.jpg?fit=1707%2C2560&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14213"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14213"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122677,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14213\/revisions\/122677"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}