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The Complete Stories, Vol. 1: Final Reckonings
Best known as the author of "Psycho", Robert Bloch is world-renowned for his stories of horror, mystery, fantasy, and science fiction. Many of the 25 stories in this first volume of "The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch" have been unavailable for decades. The stories are in his classic style of gripping suspense, science fiction and fantasy.
As Bloch writes, "These stories in this collection have a common theme; they deal with monsters. Some of the monsters are human, some are not-- but all of them embody, in one way or another, the fears common to us in our dreams. We call these monsters by many names-- ghosts, vampires, extraterrestrials, changelings. But we recognize them for what they are; manifestations of the secret dreads and desires which lurk beneath the surface of consciousness."
"Bloch has become a virtual fixture on the popular culture landscape." --Publishers Weekly
"If you're not familiar with Bloch's short fiction, find someone to borrow this from; if you already are familiar, you know that you want to own these volumes." --Locus
Contents:
Mannikins of Horror
Almost Human
The Beasts of Barsac
The Skull of the Marquis de Sade
The Bogey Man Will Get You
Frozen Fear
The Tunnel of Love
The Unspeakable Betrothal
Tell Your Fortune
The Head Man
The Shadow from the Steeple
The Man Who Collected Poe
Lucy Comes to Stay
The Thinking Cap
Constant Reader
The Pin
The Goddess of Wisdom
The Past Master
Where the Buffalo Roam
I Like Blondes
You Got to Have Brains
A Good Imagination
Dead-End Doctorrea
Terror in the Night
All on a Golden Afternoon
Founding Fathers
String of Pearls
371 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
24 people are currently reading
477 people want to read
About the author
Robert Bloch
1,090 books1,283 followersRobert Albert Bloch was a prolific American writer. He was the son of Raphael "Ray" Bloch (1884, Chicago-1952, Chicago), a bank cashier, and his wife Stella Loeb (1880, Attica, Indiana-1944, Milwaukee, WI), a social worker, both of German-Jewish descent.
Bloch wrote hundreds of short stories and over twenty novels, usually crime fiction, science fiction, and, perhaps most influentially, horror fiction (Psycho). He was one of the youngest members of the Lovecraft Circle; Lovecraft was Bloch's mentor and one of the first to seriously encourage his talent.
He was a contributor to pulp magazines such as Weird Tales in his early career, and was also a prolific screenwriter. He was the recipient of the Hugo Award (for his story "That Hell-Bound Train"), the Bram Stoker Award, and the World Fantasy Award. He served a term as president of the Mystery Writers of America.
Robert Bloch was also a major contributor to science fiction fanzines and fandom in general. In the 1940s, he created the humorous character Lefty Feep in a story for Fantastic Adventures. He also worked for a time in local vaudeville, and tried to break into writing for nationally-known performers. He was a good friend of the science fiction writer Stanley G. Weinbaum. In the 1960's, he wrote 3 stories for Star Trek.
Bloch wrote hundreds of short stories and over twenty novels, usually crime fiction, science fiction, and, perhaps most influentially, horror fiction (Psycho). He was one of the youngest members of the Lovecraft Circle; Lovecraft was Bloch's mentor and one of the first to seriously encourage his talent.
He was a contributor to pulp magazines such as Weird Tales in his early career, and was also a prolific screenwriter. He was the recipient of the Hugo Award (for his story "That Hell-Bound Train"), the Bram Stoker Award, and the World Fantasy Award. He served a term as president of the Mystery Writers of America.
Robert Bloch was also a major contributor to science fiction fanzines and fandom in general. In the 1940s, he created the humorous character Lefty Feep in a story for Fantastic Adventures. He also worked for a time in local vaudeville, and tried to break into writing for nationally-known performers. He was a good friend of the science fiction writer Stanley G. Weinbaum. In the 1960's, he wrote 3 stories for Star Trek.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
May 25, 2009
I have never really read this giant of a suspense/horror/fantasy/sci-fi writer who is so famous for having written Psycho. But now I have obtained a number of books with his stories, so I can catch up:-)
April 25, 2009
"Frozen Fear":
A very short, but delicious supernatural tale where the distorted psyhological angle of the narrator is what makes it an interesting read; after all this revenge tale is essentially a rewrite of a classic theme. But thanks to Bloch's obvious writing skills (and insight into human nature, I think) it nonetheless works, even today.
April 26, 2009
"Almost Human":
Something in the way it was written made this story sound a little outdated to me. Even so it was a charming story about a robot with a mind/soul who is a fast learner--and more so than the unsymphatetic thug who teaches him many mean things about life suspects.
And the "love" part in the end is darkly twisted.
"Terror in the Night":
A mad woman frantically knocks on your door one night, telling you a paranoid tale of conspiracies against her and about an asylum working to actually get the patients ill. The one she just ran away from. She's gotta be lunatic, gotta be wrong. Right?
Right?;-)
"Constant Reader":
Probably the strangest, surreal sci-fi story I have ever read--but I liked it very much! As a confessed bibliophile, how can I not?;-)
A spaceship team of explorers try to find out if there's life on planet 68/5, and even though data indicate that there isn't soon something (beginning with a weird blackout) indicates that indeed there is intelligence on the planet...
Throw in that the only book reading guy in the story is also the one that connects the dots (although a little too easily) because he is the well-read guy of the group, add spices of Gulliver's Travels, The Odyssey and the rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, then you can imagine why I enjoyed this tale so much.
April 27, 2009
"Lucy Comes to Stay":
I have a suspicion this story illustrates Bloch's mastery of the aspects of the mentally ill that Psycho showcases so shudderingly well. Not only is there a sureness in the way it's all written (even from the first person perspective of the insane narrator) but the believability is also impressive. And despite that I early on saw through the "twist" of the story it still held my interest all the way to the end; an end that closes like this [SPOILER ALERT:]: "After a minute, I began to laugh, too. And then the two of us were laughing together, we couldn't stop even when the doctor went away. We just stood there against the bars, Lucy and I, laughing like crazy."
Brilliant!
April 30, 2009
"The Shadow from the Steeple":
This was a fun read. Not so much because of the story (although it's entertaining enough) but because it's a homage to a game Lovecraft and other writers had among themselves in some of their stories, Bloch included.
In 1935 a teenage Robert Bloch killed off Lovecraft in the tale "The Shambler from the Stars." Lovecraft, who always enjoyed pokings and insider fun in tales, was charmed by this and killed off Bloch later the same year, in a very cosmic manner, in "The Haunter from the Dark," now a classic HPL story often highlighted as one of his best stories.
In "The Shadow from the Steeple" a friend of Robert Harrison Blake (HPL's fictive name for Bloch, in his story) tries to unearth what actually happened back then. He is especially--understandably--curious as to what really happened with the thing referred to as "the Shining Trapezehedron." When he finally manages to get in contact with one of the remaining witnesses to the events back in 1935, Dr. Ambrose Dexter, we learn that things have not ended as it was originally reported, whether by the official records or by the accounts of HPL;-)
Bloch seamlessly weave a tale where facts (e.g. that HPL wrote "Haunter" + that he died in 1937, right before the narrator--also a clever version of Bloch himself, I suspect--could visit him) and fiction blend so it's hard to tell which is which if one doesn't know beforehand. Doing this is the gentle homage from a writer who by the time of this story (ca. 1950) has established himself as an author in his own right to a mentor and inspiration now dead more than ten years before. It is fun how he changes a few facts to make the plot fit consistently with the earlier tales (e.g. now the place Blake lived is no longer HPL's apartment, as in the original story, but they are neighbors!), and explaining it (e.g. HPL changed a few facts in his story to create a higher fictive tension, and he didn't want to include himself, and his own part in the horrors, in his own story:-P).
Weird? Perhaps, but it doesn't read that strange, I can tell you. All this is only for those "in the know," really, and it all works well in the tale, even without this knowledge. A tale that is told straight and clearly. And while I didn't "buy" how the narrator suddenly--more or less out of the blue--deduced the connection of everything (SPOILER: Nyarlathotep from HPL's poem of the same name has a hand in this too!), I nonetheless felt entertained in a cozy manner.
That's all the author intended, I think:-)
Later same day;-):
"The Past Master":
A man appears, not out of the blue but from the ocean, naked and with odd questions re. the greatest artworks in history. What's this all about?
Through eyewitnesses' own accounts we learn what's going on, and when we reach the conclusion of the tale it has taken a surprising turn, where sci-fi elements lurk in the background and the US fear of Communism in the 1950s more than lurk in the fore of everything.
Very interesting and surprisingly gripping tale.
"I Like Blondes":
Hehe. Well, as the mysterious narrator says, "it's a matter of taste" and while this tale wasn't the best in the collection it was still entertaining enough. And the appearance of a UFO on the roof was a laugh.
Later still, same day;-):
"The Bogey Man Will Get You":
On a holiday the teenage girl Nancy so much wants to impress the handsome, eloquent man named Philip. But something seems odd... And after a while the suspicion arises: Is he a vampire?
Her mother doesn't believe her, of course, but Nancy is determined to demonstrate she's right, and it's not just because he turned her down one night.
In the end Philip convinces her that he's not a vampire, which he really isn't. Just a shame he's a werewolf!;-)
Nice little shocker.
May 2:
"A Good Imagination":
Warning: If you're married to one of Bloch's characters, do not cheat on your spouse! It is inevitable that your life will come to a horrible end--and one that also involves a lot of psychological horror; as the narrator says: "It's all a matter of knowing how to use your imagination."
I liked this one very much, and it was great that it turned out to be less obvious than I thought. And there are also nods to Poe.
May 3, 2009
"Dead-End Doctor":
A Twilight Zone-like story with sci-fi elements. We learn what happens to the poor, last psychiatrist on Earth now that there is no longer use for one with that profession, and the robots have taken over just about all kinds of work.
Thoughtful story. I liked it.
May 24, 2009
"The Thinking Cap":
A little psychedelic, but okay story. A writer has the famous writer's block and he is at an all-time low in his life. A woman enters his life, offers him a device he can put on his head and which is guaranteed to have him write successful stories. He accepts--and he becomes a successful writer.
Of course, no gift is without a price. He ends up trying to regain his own life, and not be so dependant on the "thinking cap," which includes sessions with a psychiatrist. Our protagonist discovers, though, that psychiatsts aren't always right;-) I liked the ending very much. It wasn't a surprise, but it was still handled in a way that satisfied.
The "dream scenes" (or whatchacallit) were weird and psychedelic but worked well. I am wondering if Bloch writes from experience here--both in terms of the infamous writer's block "syndrome" and having trippy dreams-that-can-be-turned-into-succesful-stories?
As always--more reviews to come, as I complete the stories;-)
April 25, 2009
"Frozen Fear":
A very short, but delicious supernatural tale where the distorted psyhological angle of the narrator is what makes it an interesting read; after all this revenge tale is essentially a rewrite of a classic theme. But thanks to Bloch's obvious writing skills (and insight into human nature, I think) it nonetheless works, even today.
April 26, 2009
"Almost Human":
Something in the way it was written made this story sound a little outdated to me. Even so it was a charming story about a robot with a mind/soul who is a fast learner--and more so than the unsymphatetic thug who teaches him many mean things about life suspects.
And the "love" part in the end is darkly twisted.
"Terror in the Night":
A mad woman frantically knocks on your door one night, telling you a paranoid tale of conspiracies against her and about an asylum working to actually get the patients ill. The one she just ran away from. She's gotta be lunatic, gotta be wrong. Right?
Right?;-)
"Constant Reader":
Probably the strangest, surreal sci-fi story I have ever read--but I liked it very much! As a confessed bibliophile, how can I not?;-)
A spaceship team of explorers try to find out if there's life on planet 68/5, and even though data indicate that there isn't soon something (beginning with a weird blackout) indicates that indeed there is intelligence on the planet...
Throw in that the only book reading guy in the story is also the one that connects the dots (although a little too easily) because he is the well-read guy of the group, add spices of Gulliver's Travels, The Odyssey and the rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, then you can imagine why I enjoyed this tale so much.
April 27, 2009
"Lucy Comes to Stay":
I have a suspicion this story illustrates Bloch's mastery of the aspects of the mentally ill that Psycho showcases so shudderingly well. Not only is there a sureness in the way it's all written (even from the first person perspective of the insane narrator) but the believability is also impressive. And despite that I early on saw through the "twist" of the story it still held my interest all the way to the end; an end that closes like this [SPOILER ALERT:]: "After a minute, I began to laugh, too. And then the two of us were laughing together, we couldn't stop even when the doctor went away. We just stood there against the bars, Lucy and I, laughing like crazy."
Brilliant!
April 30, 2009
"The Shadow from the Steeple":
This was a fun read. Not so much because of the story (although it's entertaining enough) but because it's a homage to a game Lovecraft and other writers had among themselves in some of their stories, Bloch included.
In 1935 a teenage Robert Bloch killed off Lovecraft in the tale "The Shambler from the Stars." Lovecraft, who always enjoyed pokings and insider fun in tales, was charmed by this and killed off Bloch later the same year, in a very cosmic manner, in "The Haunter from the Dark," now a classic HPL story often highlighted as one of his best stories.
In "The Shadow from the Steeple" a friend of Robert Harrison Blake (HPL's fictive name for Bloch, in his story) tries to unearth what actually happened back then. He is especially--understandably--curious as to what really happened with the thing referred to as "the Shining Trapezehedron." When he finally manages to get in contact with one of the remaining witnesses to the events back in 1935, Dr. Ambrose Dexter, we learn that things have not ended as it was originally reported, whether by the official records or by the accounts of HPL;-)
Bloch seamlessly weave a tale where facts (e.g. that HPL wrote "Haunter" + that he died in 1937, right before the narrator--also a clever version of Bloch himself, I suspect--could visit him) and fiction blend so it's hard to tell which is which if one doesn't know beforehand. Doing this is the gentle homage from a writer who by the time of this story (ca. 1950) has established himself as an author in his own right to a mentor and inspiration now dead more than ten years before. It is fun how he changes a few facts to make the plot fit consistently with the earlier tales (e.g. now the place Blake lived is no longer HPL's apartment, as in the original story, but they are neighbors!), and explaining it (e.g. HPL changed a few facts in his story to create a higher fictive tension, and he didn't want to include himself, and his own part in the horrors, in his own story:-P).
Weird? Perhaps, but it doesn't read that strange, I can tell you. All this is only for those "in the know," really, and it all works well in the tale, even without this knowledge. A tale that is told straight and clearly. And while I didn't "buy" how the narrator suddenly--more or less out of the blue--deduced the connection of everything (SPOILER: Nyarlathotep from HPL's poem of the same name has a hand in this too!), I nonetheless felt entertained in a cozy manner.
That's all the author intended, I think:-)
Later same day;-):
"The Past Master":
A man appears, not out of the blue but from the ocean, naked and with odd questions re. the greatest artworks in history. What's this all about?
Through eyewitnesses' own accounts we learn what's going on, and when we reach the conclusion of the tale it has taken a surprising turn, where sci-fi elements lurk in the background and the US fear of Communism in the 1950s more than lurk in the fore of everything.
Very interesting and surprisingly gripping tale.
"I Like Blondes":
Hehe. Well, as the mysterious narrator says, "it's a matter of taste" and while this tale wasn't the best in the collection it was still entertaining enough. And the appearance of a UFO on the roof was a laugh.
Later still, same day;-):
"The Bogey Man Will Get You":
On a holiday the teenage girl Nancy so much wants to impress the handsome, eloquent man named Philip. But something seems odd... And after a while the suspicion arises: Is he a vampire?
Her mother doesn't believe her, of course, but Nancy is determined to demonstrate she's right, and it's not just because he turned her down one night.
In the end Philip convinces her that he's not a vampire, which he really isn't. Just a shame he's a werewolf!;-)
Nice little shocker.
May 2:
"A Good Imagination":
Warning: If you're married to one of Bloch's characters, do not cheat on your spouse! It is inevitable that your life will come to a horrible end--and one that also involves a lot of psychological horror; as the narrator says: "It's all a matter of knowing how to use your imagination."
I liked this one very much, and it was great that it turned out to be less obvious than I thought. And there are also nods to Poe.
May 3, 2009
"Dead-End Doctor":
A Twilight Zone-like story with sci-fi elements. We learn what happens to the poor, last psychiatrist on Earth now that there is no longer use for one with that profession, and the robots have taken over just about all kinds of work.
Thoughtful story. I liked it.
May 24, 2009
"The Thinking Cap":
A little psychedelic, but okay story. A writer has the famous writer's block and he is at an all-time low in his life. A woman enters his life, offers him a device he can put on his head and which is guaranteed to have him write successful stories. He accepts--and he becomes a successful writer.
Of course, no gift is without a price. He ends up trying to regain his own life, and not be so dependant on the "thinking cap," which includes sessions with a psychiatrist. Our protagonist discovers, though, that psychiatsts aren't always right;-) I liked the ending very much. It wasn't a surprise, but it was still handled in a way that satisfied.
The "dream scenes" (or whatchacallit) were weird and psychedelic but worked well. I am wondering if Bloch writes from experience here--both in terms of the infamous writer's block "syndrome" and having trippy dreams-that-can-be-turned-into-succesful-stories?
As always--more reviews to come, as I complete the stories;-)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 24, 2019
A solid anthology .
March 8, 2020
There're many good stuff here which aren't included in the Best Collection that deserve to be the best on their own. For that I'm grateful to fulfill my needs for the uncompleted short stories of Robert Bloch which aren't gathered in specific editions or even volumes that Bloch wrote hundreds.
The masterpiece plot goes to The Thinking Cap. A novella isn't less in quality than That Hell-Bound Train it would be a misfortune if I didn't read it besides treasures such as The Pin, Good Imagination, The Past Master, Tell Your Fortune and Mannikins Of Horror.
The masterpiece plot goes to The Thinking Cap. A novella isn't less in quality than That Hell-Bound Train it would be a misfortune if I didn't read it besides treasures such as The Pin, Good Imagination, The Past Master, Tell Your Fortune and Mannikins Of Horror.
June 20, 2012
They're not the "complete" stories of Robert Bloch, but rather the Collected stories, 3 volumes when published in hardback. These are early stories by Bloch, all of them entertaining. He made horror fun, as it's supposed to be. These are mostly from the early 1950's, with a few from the late 1940's. Magazines they appeared in include Weird Tales, Galaxy and Fantastic Stories.
July 23, 2020
This collection of Robert Bloch short stories contains many of his works that were first published from 1939 to 1956. The stories range from horror to science fiction to crime thrillers with a few other oddities thrown in on occasion. Most of these could be the basis for episodes of Tales From the Crypt or The Twilight Zone, as they usually attempt some kind of twist ending.
The highlights include stories like "The Head Man," which details a German's executioner's obsession with a couple who dabble in witchcraft; "The Unspeakable Betrothal," which depicts a woman's obsession with sleep and the dreamworld and is one of the few stories here to really utilize any sense of ambiguity; "I Like Blondes," which follows a man obsessed with blond girls. Its ending allows it to steer clear of the rapey vibes it otherwise sends out.
Also of note are "The Shadow From the Steeple" and "The Man Who Collected Poe." While they contain flawed narrative structures, their embrace of the meta makes them commendable. Anyone who could dork out over the recognition of Lovecraft stories or details from "The Fall of the House of Usher" will surely be amused.
But while Bloch has many fun story ideas, he can't always see them through to the end. Sometimes, his writing becomes distracting, as he repeats himself too much, particularly with the use of the anadiplosis. Sometimes, his plot devices are clunky. He relies too much on dream sequences, and some of his characters either can't see the most obvious signs of impending danger or come to simplistic conclusions too quickly. But mostly, the twist endings are just too obvious, and since the endings are crucial to stories like these, this is a problem.
So there is fun to be had, but Bloch can never quite muster the wit of Fredric Brown nor the historical erudition of Ray Russell.
The highlights include stories like "The Head Man," which details a German's executioner's obsession with a couple who dabble in witchcraft; "The Unspeakable Betrothal," which depicts a woman's obsession with sleep and the dreamworld and is one of the few stories here to really utilize any sense of ambiguity; "I Like Blondes," which follows a man obsessed with blond girls. Its ending allows it to steer clear of the rapey vibes it otherwise sends out.
Also of note are "The Shadow From the Steeple" and "The Man Who Collected Poe." While they contain flawed narrative structures, their embrace of the meta makes them commendable. Anyone who could dork out over the recognition of Lovecraft stories or details from "The Fall of the House of Usher" will surely be amused.
But while Bloch has many fun story ideas, he can't always see them through to the end. Sometimes, his writing becomes distracting, as he repeats himself too much, particularly with the use of the anadiplosis. Sometimes, his plot devices are clunky. He relies too much on dream sequences, and some of his characters either can't see the most obvious signs of impending danger or come to simplistic conclusions too quickly. But mostly, the twist endings are just too obvious, and since the endings are crucial to stories like these, this is a problem.
So there is fun to be had, but Bloch can never quite muster the wit of Fredric Brown nor the historical erudition of Ray Russell.
August 10, 2022
‘Final Reckonings: The Complete Stories Of Robert Bloch (Volume 1)’ is a collection of twenty-seven short tales by the eponymous author from the years 1939-1956. Eight of them, mostly the early ones, were first published in ‘Weird Tales’. The others were scattered across a variety of venues during the early 1950s, the last great days of the short story magazines. ‘The Complete Stories’ is a misnomer as he wrote a lot more than this but it’s a fine selection, anyway. Here are some highlights.
In ‘Mannikins Of Horror’, Doctor Edgar Colin is in a lunatic asylum with bad nerves following shell shock at Ypres. He had been a brain surgeon. To keep himself occupied, he now makes little mannikins, recreating man in exquisite clay detail so perfect they seem to be alive. They are alive! Bloch suspends disbelief by exquisite detail and builds suspense, too.
Bloch can write in different styles to suit the genre, from Lovecraftian to hard-boiled noir crime. This hard-boiled noir is mixed with a bit of Science Fiction, though, or even sorcery. Junior is a big powerful robot but he’s ‘Almost Human’ because he’s been raised like a baby by Professor Blasserman and developed like a human being. Unfortunately, young humans are easily influenced so when a gangster named Duke takes Junior away, it’s bad news. Duke believes he has the robot under complete control. Bloch gets the 50s film noir gangster speak just right and delivers a creepy and powerful yarn.
‘The Skull Of The Marquis de Sade’ starts off brilliantly with occult collector Christopher Maitland being offered the object by sleazy dealer Marco and a nice resume of de Sade’s life for good measure. Tension mounts as Maitland speaks to his old friend, Sir Fitzhugh Kissroy, about the thing and is advised to avoid it. The story builds strongly but it all ends rather conventionally. In fact, it’s a bit silly. Oh, well. This was made into a film titled ‘The Skull’ with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. In real life, the skull was exhumed for phrenological study but then lost and its fate remains unknown. If anyone offers you a cheap skull, avoid.
Bloch started out as a protégé of H.P. Lovecraft and a few tales hark back to his old master. ‘The Unspeakable Betrothal’ is about Avis, a little girl who likes to sleep and dream in her room because she can see them out of the window. Yuggoth is mentioned, a planet in the Lovecraft mythos where the Old Ones stay sometimes. The ending is suitably spooky.
‘The Shadow From The Steeple’ is definitely part of the Lovecraft mythos. The Master gave young Robert Bloch a starring role in his story ‘The Haunter Of The Dark’ under the name Robert Blake and killed him off. I’m sure he was deeply honoured. At the heart of the yarn was a small church in Providence where a cult gathered around The Shining Trapezohedron, an ancient and deadly object. Bloch tells the story of Edmund Fisk, a friend of Blake’s investigating his death and ties it all together nicely.
Of course, Poe preceded Lovecraft, so he gets a look in too with ‘The Man Who Collected Poe’. Launcelot Canning, a gentleman of leisure, has the greatest collection of Poe memorabilia in the world, one started by his grandfather Christopher Canning, a respected merchant of Baltimore back in the day. A fantasy fan with a mild interest in Poe soon learns that there is a dark secret in the many-roomed mansion where Canning lives. The prose style suits the theme.
Writers love writing about their trade and Bloch does it in the novelette, ‘The Thinking Cap’ Barnaby Codd is a thirty year-old author who has had some success but now has writer’s block. He’s dried up. His mind spins with words but he can’t organise them into a tale. At a party, a beautiful lady takes him home and offers him a strange helmet which allows him to dream complete and wonderful stories. He types them up and finds success. Then he makes the mistake of trying to find out more about her. An enjoyable yarn for writers. Did Bloch ever get block? From his output, it would seem not.
There’s not a lot of science in Bloch’s Science Fiction stories but they’re still interesting. ‘Constant Reader’ features that classic scenario of a small team exploring an unknown planet and getting into trouble. In the introductions to his collections, Stephen King refers to his fans as ‘constant reader’ and I wonder if this is where he found the term. I prefer story collections with notes by the author but sadly you don’t get that here, just the tales. They suffice.
Painter Barton Stone rents a cheap attic flat in ‘The Pin’ but finds it occupied by some madman who spends all day feverishly sticking pins into telephone directories, electoral rolls and other lists of people’s names. Just for fun, Bloch went mad with alliteration in this story: ‘He scanned, scrutinized, then sighed, stabbed, sobbed.’ It seems to be a homage to Ray Bradbury’s ‘The Scythe’.
‘The Pin’ is followed by some Science Fiction yarns. ‘The Goddess Of Wisdom’ is about a spaceman in port seeking female company and no doubt had a surprise ending when it was first published but a certain modern film series has made it predictable. ‘The Past Master’ is cleverly told through the testimony of several witnesses who met with a time traveller out to collect great paintings and has a neat conclusion. ‘Where The Buffalo Roam’ starts like a wild west yarn but turns out to be a post-Apocalyptic setting where technology is no longer used. Do they want it back? ‘Dead-End Doctor’ is about the last psychiatrist on a future Earth where robots do virtually all the work and is basically a Feghoot, but fun.
They all are. Bloch’s style is easy and pleasant to read and features many examples of apt phrasing that will make you smile if you like good prose. Even if the plot isn’t brilliant or the endings a little weak, the narration makes it enjoyable. He could rightfully claim, as the old Irish comedian Frank Carson used to say, ‘It’s the way I tell ‘em.’
This first volume of ‘The Complete Stories’ is widely available for about £10 or less on various sites and that’s a bargain. For some reason, the next two volumes are rarer and much more expensive. If this gives you a taste for Bloch, you may have to seek out other collections, open libraries and eBooks to see what you can find. It should be worth the effort.
In ‘Mannikins Of Horror’, Doctor Edgar Colin is in a lunatic asylum with bad nerves following shell shock at Ypres. He had been a brain surgeon. To keep himself occupied, he now makes little mannikins, recreating man in exquisite clay detail so perfect they seem to be alive. They are alive! Bloch suspends disbelief by exquisite detail and builds suspense, too.
Bloch can write in different styles to suit the genre, from Lovecraftian to hard-boiled noir crime. This hard-boiled noir is mixed with a bit of Science Fiction, though, or even sorcery. Junior is a big powerful robot but he’s ‘Almost Human’ because he’s been raised like a baby by Professor Blasserman and developed like a human being. Unfortunately, young humans are easily influenced so when a gangster named Duke takes Junior away, it’s bad news. Duke believes he has the robot under complete control. Bloch gets the 50s film noir gangster speak just right and delivers a creepy and powerful yarn.
‘The Skull Of The Marquis de Sade’ starts off brilliantly with occult collector Christopher Maitland being offered the object by sleazy dealer Marco and a nice resume of de Sade’s life for good measure. Tension mounts as Maitland speaks to his old friend, Sir Fitzhugh Kissroy, about the thing and is advised to avoid it. The story builds strongly but it all ends rather conventionally. In fact, it’s a bit silly. Oh, well. This was made into a film titled ‘The Skull’ with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. In real life, the skull was exhumed for phrenological study but then lost and its fate remains unknown. If anyone offers you a cheap skull, avoid.
Bloch started out as a protégé of H.P. Lovecraft and a few tales hark back to his old master. ‘The Unspeakable Betrothal’ is about Avis, a little girl who likes to sleep and dream in her room because she can see them out of the window. Yuggoth is mentioned, a planet in the Lovecraft mythos where the Old Ones stay sometimes. The ending is suitably spooky.
‘The Shadow From The Steeple’ is definitely part of the Lovecraft mythos. The Master gave young Robert Bloch a starring role in his story ‘The Haunter Of The Dark’ under the name Robert Blake and killed him off. I’m sure he was deeply honoured. At the heart of the yarn was a small church in Providence where a cult gathered around The Shining Trapezohedron, an ancient and deadly object. Bloch tells the story of Edmund Fisk, a friend of Blake’s investigating his death and ties it all together nicely.
Of course, Poe preceded Lovecraft, so he gets a look in too with ‘The Man Who Collected Poe’. Launcelot Canning, a gentleman of leisure, has the greatest collection of Poe memorabilia in the world, one started by his grandfather Christopher Canning, a respected merchant of Baltimore back in the day. A fantasy fan with a mild interest in Poe soon learns that there is a dark secret in the many-roomed mansion where Canning lives. The prose style suits the theme.
Writers love writing about their trade and Bloch does it in the novelette, ‘The Thinking Cap’ Barnaby Codd is a thirty year-old author who has had some success but now has writer’s block. He’s dried up. His mind spins with words but he can’t organise them into a tale. At a party, a beautiful lady takes him home and offers him a strange helmet which allows him to dream complete and wonderful stories. He types them up and finds success. Then he makes the mistake of trying to find out more about her. An enjoyable yarn for writers. Did Bloch ever get block? From his output, it would seem not.
There’s not a lot of science in Bloch’s Science Fiction stories but they’re still interesting. ‘Constant Reader’ features that classic scenario of a small team exploring an unknown planet and getting into trouble. In the introductions to his collections, Stephen King refers to his fans as ‘constant reader’ and I wonder if this is where he found the term. I prefer story collections with notes by the author but sadly you don’t get that here, just the tales. They suffice.
Painter Barton Stone rents a cheap attic flat in ‘The Pin’ but finds it occupied by some madman who spends all day feverishly sticking pins into telephone directories, electoral rolls and other lists of people’s names. Just for fun, Bloch went mad with alliteration in this story: ‘He scanned, scrutinized, then sighed, stabbed, sobbed.’ It seems to be a homage to Ray Bradbury’s ‘The Scythe’.
‘The Pin’ is followed by some Science Fiction yarns. ‘The Goddess Of Wisdom’ is about a spaceman in port seeking female company and no doubt had a surprise ending when it was first published but a certain modern film series has made it predictable. ‘The Past Master’ is cleverly told through the testimony of several witnesses who met with a time traveller out to collect great paintings and has a neat conclusion. ‘Where The Buffalo Roam’ starts like a wild west yarn but turns out to be a post-Apocalyptic setting where technology is no longer used. Do they want it back? ‘Dead-End Doctor’ is about the last psychiatrist on a future Earth where robots do virtually all the work and is basically a Feghoot, but fun.
They all are. Bloch’s style is easy and pleasant to read and features many examples of apt phrasing that will make you smile if you like good prose. Even if the plot isn’t brilliant or the endings a little weak, the narration makes it enjoyable. He could rightfully claim, as the old Irish comedian Frank Carson used to say, ‘It’s the way I tell ‘em.’
This first volume of ‘The Complete Stories’ is widely available for about £10 or less on various sites and that’s a bargain. For some reason, the next two volumes are rarer and much more expensive. If this gives you a taste for Bloch, you may have to seek out other collections, open libraries and eBooks to see what you can find. It should be worth the effort.
August 16, 2012
Hard to believe, but my first contact with Bloch's unique style of writing had been through a story published in the one of the most blood & gore laden anthology edited by Stephen Jones: "The Yugoslavs". It was one of the last stories penned by Bloch, but that had prompted me to get hold of as many of his shorter works as possible. This particular volume, while quite representative of his lesser-known but solid stories, missed many more, esp. those jewels that had been brought out by Fedogan & Bremar as "The Early Fears". They are very good, and several stories have become classics of macabre fiction. They are not his best (although that's a personal opinion, but I have always found Bloch's witty and pun-laden stories much more enjoyable than his serious stuff dealing with psychological horror). Recommended.
March 26, 2013
Great ending to "Beasts Of Barsac" (a la "Owl Creek Bridge"). "The Pin" painfully alliterative in places. "Past Master" was I think a Lights Out/Worlds Of Tomorrow. Interesting early back-to-nature story ("Where the Buffalo Roam"). With his grisly tendencies I had a feeling "You Got To Have Brains" would be literal. "A Good Imagination" good; all-time great first line for "Founding Fathers" ("Early on the morning of July 4, 1776, Thomas Jefferson poked his peruked head into the deserted chamber of what was to be known as Independence Hall and yelled, 'Come on, you guys, the coast is clear!'").
October 26, 2016
Well, that was a trip. A wealth of mostly extremely interesting stories; some whimsical, some scary, some disturbing, some simply referencing others Bloch's literary circle. But none of them boring, even if they sometimes telegraphed their ending. All of the stories are tightly written and they all feature at least a few memorable passages or phrases.
One particularly interesting thing about Bloch's fantastical stories is that they very often feature elements of crime. One could perhaps call the underworld setting his analogue to Lovecraft's degenerate rural locations. I know there are many more stories written by Bloch and I am keen to be reading more of them in the future.
One particularly interesting thing about Bloch's fantastical stories is that they very often feature elements of crime. One could perhaps call the underworld setting his analogue to Lovecraft's degenerate rural locations. I know there are many more stories written by Bloch and I am keen to be reading more of them in the future.
December 31, 2018
There are some really great horror and sci-fi stories in this collection. Like any “complete stories” kind of volume, there are some lesser stories as well, but none that are truly bad. Bloch has a good sense of humor as well as a good sense of suspense. I hope I can find the other volumes for reasonable prices someday.
June 14, 2011
Endlessly inventive and entertaining. This is genre and pulp fiction of course, but Bloch was one of the best.
November 16, 2012
Short story master. Just visiting an old friend. Wonderful stuff. Bloch is a favorite of mine.
April 16, 2021
This is a difficult one to review. On the one hand, many of the stories in this collection are rather predictable: the killer robot falls in love with the girl, how the alien parasite reproduces, that the femme fatale is literally a femme fatale, etc. But on the other hand, there's something to almost all of these stories that sticks with me. Usually it's a visual component (e.g. the iron maiden sequence in "The Skull of the Marquis de Sade," or the revenant in "The Man Who Collected Poe"), but sometimes it's a turn of phrase, or a sense of atmosphere. The question then, is which part holds more weight: the journey or the predictable destination? It's genuinely a hard call to make.
Some things I can say with certainty though: The jargon doesn't age well. The sort of 1930s gangster talk that features in a lot of these stories feels incredibly quaint in 2021, though it's arguable that maybe it wasn't as cheesy, back when these were first written. But Bloch's attempts at future-speak in the sci-fi pieces fare even worse. Products of the time, again, but it's hard to get invested when there's talk about technological limitations that have since been addressed in the real world.
Overall, this collection is like a raw gem, dug out of a mine. The potential value is there, and you can even catch glimpses of its true beauty, but it needed to be cut and polished to really shine. And it wasn't.
Some things I can say with certainty though: The jargon doesn't age well. The sort of 1930s gangster talk that features in a lot of these stories feels incredibly quaint in 2021, though it's arguable that maybe it wasn't as cheesy, back when these were first written. But Bloch's attempts at future-speak in the sci-fi pieces fare even worse. Products of the time, again, but it's hard to get invested when there's talk about technological limitations that have since been addressed in the real world.
Overall, this collection is like a raw gem, dug out of a mine. The potential value is there, and you can even catch glimpses of its true beauty, but it needed to be cut and polished to really shine. And it wasn't.
May 12, 2022
I guess I should start with some sort of caveat about how these stories are hokey as hell, but damn if I didn't love them all. Yeah, they veer into some seriously cornball stuff, but that wacky quality meant that these stories could go anywhere.
This collection is chock-filled with amazing little gems. They all felt so human. And, not in the way that a lot of contemporary horror is where it's a character driven story with a little supernatural to throw you for a loop. Instead these stories are usually about raw emotion: love, loyalty, lust, greed, suspicion, revenge, jealousy, and curiosity. They are tightly bound hard candies that unwrap easily for the revealed treat.
The tone throughout all of these hits all the noir notes and smashes them into horror and science fiction. Thugs and dames vs robots or time travel or space travel. Cheatin' spouses get their "comeuppance" in bizarre and gruesome ways. It's all filled with hokum, but done so light and endearing, with snappy dialogue and rewarding twists, that I couldn't help but want to come back to it.
All of the stories feel like they were made for the Twilight Zone or Outer Limits, and if you care about that kind of framework, they just deliver over and over again with a fun ride to get there.
I'll continue with the next volume for sure.
This collection is chock-filled with amazing little gems. They all felt so human. And, not in the way that a lot of contemporary horror is where it's a character driven story with a little supernatural to throw you for a loop. Instead these stories are usually about raw emotion: love, loyalty, lust, greed, suspicion, revenge, jealousy, and curiosity. They are tightly bound hard candies that unwrap easily for the revealed treat.
The tone throughout all of these hits all the noir notes and smashes them into horror and science fiction. Thugs and dames vs robots or time travel or space travel. Cheatin' spouses get their "comeuppance" in bizarre and gruesome ways. It's all filled with hokum, but done so light and endearing, with snappy dialogue and rewarding twists, that I couldn't help but want to come back to it.
All of the stories feel like they were made for the Twilight Zone or Outer Limits, and if you care about that kind of framework, they just deliver over and over again with a fun ride to get there.
I'll continue with the next volume for sure.
September 17, 2024
I read Bloch’s “Psycho” trilogy several years ago (the second and third veer pretty far away from the movies). I wasn’t familiar with his short fiction. These were amazing. It was like reading Ray Bradbury, Stephen King or Shirley Jackson for the first time. I adored the vast majority of these - from overt, meta modernizations of Poe and Lovecraft, to stories of time travel, world wars and the end of the world, to stories brimming with allusions and direct references to Homer’s “Odyssey”, Circe, Minerva, “Alice in Wonderland,” and “Frankenstein,” to stories about hope and birth, human psychology, and even some stories that reminded me of “The Twilight Zone” and even, what felt like, “Goosebumps” for adults, almost all of them were perfectly paced and just long/short enough. Bloch enjoyed the “waking up from a dream” trope possibly a bit much, and obviously some were better than others, but I am excited to read more of his short fiction. Oh, and while some are dark and allusion heavy, I would argue that most of these would be appropriate for young teens: Very little vulgarity, limited sex, and a bit of violence, but just spectacular.
October 17, 2024
A delightfully thick juice of pure pulp writing. Bloch will be forever remembered as the Author of Psycho, but here is where you find the heart of his writing. A delirious, pulsing lifeblood of over the top mysteries, out there slices of sci-fi, and absurd bits of horror. A lot of it might be familiar to the avid genre reader (a lot of the basic twists and concepts will be expanded upon by writers later to higher degrees of success), but there's a kind of purity in the schlocky gotta entertain you nature of these particular stories.
Favorite of the bunch is "The Man Who Collected Poe." Which is a great riff on the beloved author, while also a monumentally absurd set-up and punchline to get to a title.
Favorite of the bunch is "The Man Who Collected Poe." Which is a great riff on the beloved author, while also a monumentally absurd set-up and punchline to get to a title.
May 24, 2019
Dit boek is het eerste van drie delen met alle verhalen van Robert Bloch (bekend van 'Psycho'). De verhalen zijn behoorlijk verschillend, al passen ze binnen het kader van horror, sciencefiction en psychologische thriller. Over het algemeen zijn het originele verhalen, soms met humor, meestal met een onverwachtse twist aan het eind. Meerdere verhalen verwijzen impliciet of expliciet naar de verhalen van Edgar Alan Poe en Lovecraft (zoals 'The Shadow from the Steeple' en 'The Man Who Collected Poe'). Er zitten een paar mindere verhalen tussen, maar over het geheel genomen is het boek dat spannend is en lekker wegleest en soms ook tot nadenken stemt.
September 23, 2025
Robert Bloch wrote "Psycho". Need I say more?
This book includes some of Bloch's best short stories. All deal with monsters; not always the typical monster, but still quite chilling. He is a master story teller.
I can't wait to read the other volumes.
This book includes some of Bloch's best short stories. All deal with monsters; not always the typical monster, but still quite chilling. He is a master story teller.
I can't wait to read the other volumes.
November 6, 2022
I read this because Stephen King listed Robert Bloch as one of his early influences. And I can totally see it. If you're a Stephen King fan, Check this out!
December 19, 2015
As you might expect from the author of Psycho the monsters in this book are almost all entirely human, though a few stretch this definition to its limits. Each story is a great example of the short story tellers art with a punchy intro, the establishment of character and setting with the fewest possible brush strokes before the horrific journey begins and each pays off superbly, usually making clear its punning title in the process.
Its hard to estimate the impact Robert Bloch had on modern horror but he pretty much lifted it out of the Victorian drawing room and into the homes and places we know so well and his influence can still be read today in the works of Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, Joe R Lansdale, Jack Ketchum and numerous other horror writers who unwittingly or otherwise have followed in his blood stained footsteps.
And whilst some of the stories in this collection feel strangely familiar its only because Bloch was there first - so forget Lovecraft, this is tightly worded, cents per syllable artistry of the highest order. Recommended.
Its hard to estimate the impact Robert Bloch had on modern horror but he pretty much lifted it out of the Victorian drawing room and into the homes and places we know so well and his influence can still be read today in the works of Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, Joe R Lansdale, Jack Ketchum and numerous other horror writers who unwittingly or otherwise have followed in his blood stained footsteps.
And whilst some of the stories in this collection feel strangely familiar its only because Bloch was there first - so forget Lovecraft, this is tightly worded, cents per syllable artistry of the highest order. Recommended.
June 5, 2024
The book I'm reading is called The Selected Stories of Robert Bloch, Volume One: Final Reckonings
Mannikins of Horror - 3☆
Almost Human - 3☆
The Beasts of Barsac - 4☆
The Skull of the Marquis de Sade - 2½☆
The Bogey Man Will Get You - 2½☆
Frozen Fear - 2☆
The Tunnel of Love - 2☆
The Unspoken Betrothal - 1½☆
Tell Your Fortune - 2☆
The Head Man - 3½☆
The Shadow from the Steeple - 2☆
The Man Who Collected Poe - 2☆
Lucy Comes to Stay - 3½☆
The Thinking Cap - 2☆
Constant Reader - 2☆
The Pin - 2☆
The Goddess of Wisdom - 4☆
The Past Master - 3☆
Where the Buffalo Roam - 2½☆
I Like Blondes - 5☆
You Got to Have Brains - 3☆
A Good Imagination - 4☆
Dead-End Doctor - 2½☆
Terror in the Night - 3☆
All on a Golden Afternoon - 1☆
Founding Fathers - 1☆
String of Pearls - 4☆
Mannikins of Horror - 3☆
Almost Human - 3☆
The Beasts of Barsac - 4☆
The Skull of the Marquis de Sade - 2½☆
The Bogey Man Will Get You - 2½☆
Frozen Fear - 2☆
The Tunnel of Love - 2☆
The Unspoken Betrothal - 1½☆
Tell Your Fortune - 2☆
The Head Man - 3½☆
The Shadow from the Steeple - 2☆
The Man Who Collected Poe - 2☆
Lucy Comes to Stay - 3½☆
The Thinking Cap - 2☆
Constant Reader - 2☆
The Pin - 2☆
The Goddess of Wisdom - 4☆
The Past Master - 3☆
Where the Buffalo Roam - 2½☆
I Like Blondes - 5☆
You Got to Have Brains - 3☆
A Good Imagination - 4☆
Dead-End Doctor - 2½☆
Terror in the Night - 3☆
All on a Golden Afternoon - 1☆
Founding Fathers - 1☆
String of Pearls - 4☆
July 25, 2011
I loved half of the stories in this collection and did not enjoy the other half at all. Bloch employs a few different styles, he does Grand Guignol style horror, eerie sci-fi, noir and Lovecraft. He also frequently blends these styles. I don't enjoy Noir and I don't enjoy Lovecraft so found these types of stories very boring but they were still well done. There are some real gems in this collection, Bloch deserves all the credit he receives.
September 13, 2008
Though I haven't read all of the short stories in this anthology, I think I get the point. Nothing really horrifying here, but fun, surprising horror stories nonetheless.
October 23, 2011
one of the greats.
October 8, 2015
Bloch is excellent as always, and these short stories are definitely worth a gander.
April 28, 2013
Masterful. Rediscovering him was a great joy.
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