{"id":6367,"date":"2020-12-14T16:15:24","date_gmt":"2020-12-14T16:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/?p=6367"},"modified":"2023-01-03T13:38:23","modified_gmt":"2023-01-03T13:38:23","slug":"night-voices-a-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk\/archive\/night-voices-a-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Night Voices – a review"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Night Voices<\/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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by Paul Edwards and Frank Duffy\n<\/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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Review by Robert Welbourn<\/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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I\u2019m often wary of two authors collaborating on a book \u2013 you often find contrasting authors paired together, whose works fly in the face of each other. <\/b>There\u2019s no need to worry here though \u2013 Edwards and Duffy\u2019s respective styles only compliment each other, and the stories the pair produce are equally horrifying.<\/span><\/p>\n

As with all collections of short stories, the quality of the stories themselves vary. There are 12 stories in this collection, and though they\u2019re all separate, they carry a common theme across them. Both authors are writing as much about the horrors of modern, day-to-day life, as they are writing about monsters, cults and freakish occurrences. Many of the stories come to us from broken homes, from struggling relationships \u2013 there\u2019s something awfully real, awfully honest, and awfully familiar about the stories in this collection.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some stories don\u2019t quite come off – \u2018<\/span>The Devil is Anonymous\u2019<\/i> is a short piece about internet comments, and the real life consequences they can have. It\u2019s a valiant attempt at social commentary, and whilst it is pretty horrifying, overall it doesn\u2019t really work. It\u2019s too short to have real impact, it feels a bit rushed and a bit clich\u00e9d. Others, such as \u2018<\/span>The Missing Country\u2019<\/i>, stay firmly on the weird side of the horror genre and, though entertaining, are confusing and difficult to decipher.<\/span><\/p>\n

These are only two examples from the 12 in the collection though; these two specific stories aside, the collection hosts some fantastic tales. The book opens with \u2018<\/span>Out of Hiding\u2019<\/i>, which tells us about a man with a fear of spiders. It sounds simple, and it begins as such, though soon gets entirely out of hand.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Dying Inside\u2019<\/i> tells the story of a social worker trying to help a single mother of two children \u2013 children who never go to school, who terrorise their housing estate at night, who seem to be not entirely human\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Ecdysis\u2019<\/i> (I looked it up, it\u2019s the scientific name for shedding skin, as reptiles and insects do) is a story about abused women taking revenge on those that have wronged them.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is another theme in the collection \u2013 single women, women who have been wronged in one way or another, trying to regain control of their lives. It isn\u2019t a stretch to say this is a feminist collection of stories. But it\u2019s in no way patronising \u2013 the women in the stories have been affected by the men in their lives, but they\u2019re not defined by them. They\u2019re independent women seeking to live their own lives in their own ways; they\u2019ve had husbands, fathers, brothers, who have abused them \u2013 and they may be seeking revenge against these men \u2013 but that doesn\u2019t define the characters. Though the stories in this collection are short, the characters have surprising depth, and are brought to life in incredibly vivid ways considering how little space they\u2019re given.<\/span><\/p>\n

Overall I very much enjoyed this collection; some stories much more than others, but there are more than enough good to make up for the very few bad. The overall atmosphere of the book \u2013 one of dread, of horror, of waiting for something awful to reveal itself \u2013 carries across the stories, and leaves you with that wonderful chilly feeling that all good horror books do.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019d definitely recommend this collection \u2013 it\u2019s short, clocking in at 123 pages, but that doesn\u2019t take anything away from its quality. Edwards and Duffy have created a fantastic little collection of the horrifying aspects of the supernatural, but also of everyday life. There\u2019s something in this collection everyone can relate to, and that\u2019s what makes it all the more scary.<\/span><\/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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Purchase a copy of Night Voices<\/strong> by clicking the image below<\/p>

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRobert Welbourn\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Author | Ideal Angels (2018)
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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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