Tales for a Dark Evening

by Graham Joyce

A collection of some of the very best of Graham Joyce stories including the award-winning novella "Leningrad Nights".

Genres: Short Stories, Horror, Fantasy, Fiction

166 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Graham Joyce (22 October 1954 – 9 September 2014) was an English writer of speculative fiction and the recipient of numerous awards for both his novels and short stories.

After receiving a B.Ed. from Bishop Lonsdale College in 1977 and a M.A. from the University of Leicester in 1980. Joyce worked as a youth officer for the National Association of Youth Clubs until 1988. He subsequently quit his position and moved to the Greek islands of Lesbos and Crete to write his first novel, Dreamside. After selling Dreamside to Pan Books in 1991, Joyce moved back to England to pursue a career as a full-time writer.

Graham Joyce resided in Leicester with his wife, Suzanne Johnsen, and their two children, Joseph and Ella. He taught Creative Writing to graduate students at Nottingham Trent University from 1996 until his death, and was made a Reader in Creative Writing.

Joyce died on 9 September 2014. He had been diagnosed with lymphoma in 2013.

Reviews

[Xenia Girdler · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection of short tales left me wanting. I have read two of Joyce’s novels; Some kind of Fairytale and The Tooth Fairy. I found each to be rich in character and complexity. Unfortunately these stories were sometimes rich in promise but rarely fulfilled or upheld it.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not often a fan of short stories but these were great little tales.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange stories, some flashes of brilliance in the writing and ideas. I think his longer novels are better, but nevertheless I enjoyed them (mostly).

[Jason Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I'm a big fan of Joyce's novels, these short stories didn't do much for me. His trademark is edgy, creepy entities subtly protruding into everyday life - like a shark's fin glimpsed too close to the beach. In these tales, it's as if the shark is floundering in a puddle: the short form means that the fantastic elements are foregrounded, and at the same time there isn't the space to slowly and meticulously develop them.

For instance, the story The Pylon concerns a group of children who play beneath an electricity pylon that seems to have some spooky power of its own. But in so brief a tale this is barely more than flatly stated, with neither its cause nor its consequences clear. One unresolved mystery like that might serve to spice a collection; but several of these tales follow a similar formula.

I am perhaps over-harsh, having expected stories more pointed from the author of books like The Tooth Fairy. But if I wasn't entirely satisfied with the resolutions, Joyce's other trademark, razor-sharp characterisation with dialogue that bleeds off the page, is much in evidence; so the collection is never less than enjoyable.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love Joyce's short fiction. He's a very HUMANE writer, and accordingly these stories are dark but never bleak -- lovely tales beautifully told. It is a super-short collection and I read it in a day.

[Melanti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent, but I think I prefer his full length novels.

I especially liked "Leningrad Nights", but a couple of the others didn't quite have enough meat in them to be a satisfying story.

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellence collection. Reminds me of his novels that I like best. Requiem, Indigo, Dreamside.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joyce is a slow burn kind of writer, so his short stories fall short of his longer fiction. Still, this is a worthy read for the first story alone.