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Everything You Need
An aimless driver in the mountains comes upon something that’s both more and less than he hoped for. A child discovers why you should always stay in bed if you wake up in the middle of the night. A homeowner unpacks the wrong bag of groceries, and comes to suspect his neighbors might have secrets that he doesn’t want to know. A cable shopping channel presenter is confronted with disgruntled customers from a *very* long way out of town ... and a man sets himself to rid the world of one of its most famous lies, and winds up destroying himself instead.
Michael Marshall Smith’s last short story collection was hailed as “stellar” by Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) and a “major publishing event” by Ellen Datlow, and it won the International Horror Guild Award. You’re invited to return to the short fiction of New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author Michael Marshall Smith: it is Everything You Need.
Michael Marshall Smith’s last short story collection was hailed as “stellar” by Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) and a “major publishing event” by Ellen Datlow, and it won the International Horror Guild Award. You’re invited to return to the short fiction of New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author Michael Marshall Smith: it is Everything You Need.
300 pages, Hardcover
First published August 23, 2013
18 people are currently reading
413 people want to read
About the author
Michael Marshall Smith
253 books1,057 followersMichael Marshall (Smith) is a bestselling novelist and screenwriter. His first novel, ONLY FORWARD, won the August Derleth and Philip K. Dick awards. SPARES and ONE OF US were optioned for film by DreamWorks and Warner Brothers, and the Straw Men trilogy - THE STRAW MEN, THE LONELY DEAD and BLOOD OF ANGELS - were international bestsellers. His most recent novels are THE INTRUDERS, BAD THINGS and KILLER MOVE.
He is a four-time winner of the BFS Award for short fiction, and his stories are collected in two volumes - WHAT YOU MAKE IT and MORE TOMORROW AND OTHER STORIES (which won the International Horror Guild Award).
He lives in Santa Cruz, California with his wife and son.
He is a four-time winner of the BFS Award for short fiction, and his stories are collected in two volumes - WHAT YOU MAKE IT and MORE TOMORROW AND OTHER STORIES (which won the International Horror Guild Award).
He lives in Santa Cruz, California with his wife and son.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
October 2, 2013
Not every author pounding the keys these days regularly receives accolades from the likes of Neil Gaiman and Graham Joyce, and fewer still have experienced major market success in dark fiction under two pen names that are remarkably similar, dropped surname or not. But Horror writer Michael Marshall Smith (who writes as Michael Marshall for his Crime novels) isn't just any author. He's that rare breed of Bestseller who can hopscotch back and forth over often stubborn dividing lines in contemporary genre literature with the ease of playground children, collecting accolades every time his soles touch the ground.
After experiencing global success with his most recent crime novel, Killer Move (with his next, We Are Here, currently available in the UK, arriving stateside in 2014), Michael Marshall throws on the careworn Smith rucksack and burrows down into his Horror roots with the collection Everything You Need, published just last week by Paul Miller's award-winning specialty press Earthling Publications. Smith, who got his early start in radio comedy writing and performing for the BBC, moved into penning Horror in the early 1990's, selling the first short piece he ever wrote, "The Man Who Drew Cats," which earned him a 1991 British Fantasy Award for Short Fiction in his debut outing. Not a bad way to start a career, which only ascended from there, taking in numerous other honors (including four more British Fantasy Awards, an August Derleth Award, and a Phillip K. Dick Award) and critical accolades until the present day.
Which brings us to Everything You Need.
This is a rich and varied collection, not just spanning genres, but breaking them in twos and threes, and sometimes committing the cardinal sin of not adhering to any at all. The stories on the whole are dark and fantastical, often subtle, intensely thoughtful, even playful, with one piece embracing an interesting exercise in meta fiction. In these eighteen well-crafted tales, Smith seems to work out all the demons that have been collecting in the basement, bringing to bear a muscled arm steeled by decades of writing acclaimed Speculative and Crime Fiction, further seasoned by fatherhood, marriage, and a move from the Old World to the New. A knowing yet still refreshingly curious wisdom infuses these stories, making them at once relateable while simultaneously intensely innovative, drawing on themes and unsettling situations not easily mined by those who haven't lived the way Smith has, done what he has done, seen what he has seen, either with his eyes open or closed.
As my reading time has been so limited lately, I worked through this collection slowly, taking it with me to various locations, reading in the morning, at lunch, and in the wee hours. I can remember specific weeks, even months, based on certain stories read during those times. We lived together for a bit, this collection and I, and when I was finished, it felt as if I had been through Something, emerging out the other end somehow altered, containing new, often unwholesome truths. I had circumnavigated a queer but vaguely recognizable globe, taking in a vast array of heady sights, sounds, and disquieting sensations not commonly found in my own backyard... unless I did a little vigorous digging. That's a special kind of writing, able to replicate the familiar tinged with the profoundly alien and infinitely ominous. This is the stuff of Michael Marshall Smith.
It is difficult to find a weak link in this group of three times six, and many of the stories are quite exceptional, stacking up against anything written today. The book opens with "This Is Now," one of the best pieces in the collection in terms of creating pure dread based on weaving something unexplainable into the worn cloth of the commonplace. Based on the interesting (and wonderfully illuminating) story notes included at the end of the book, my mind drew jittery conclusions about what was happening that didn't quite match up with what the author intended, which I'm sure would please him greatly. "Unbelief" dips into Smith's reservoir of Crime, while "Walking Wounded" deals with a recurring theme of relationship issues, wrung through the author's unforgiving meat grinder. "The Seventeenth Kind" shows Smith's humorous (spelled "humourous," I reckon) side with a creative, madcap satire of QVC, followed by a glimpse into another three letter world (OCD) via "A Place For Everything."
The next three stories - "The Last Barbecue," "The Stuff That Goes On In Their Heads," and "Unnoticed" - represent an incredibly powerful trio that gets to the meat of the collection, with the latter story vying for best of show. "The Last Barbecue," paired together with "The Things He Said," share a similar foundational Horror subgenre that I (and pretty much everyone else these days) really enjoy, but which I won't spoil here. Needless to say, they are two pieces bringing a refreshing melancholy to a trope easily buried under mounds of moldering flesh. "The Stuff That Goes On In Their Heads" intensely resonated with me as a father, with a concluding stanza that is as devastating as it was unexpected. "Unnoticed" just hums with Big W Weird, reading like a slow burn Ligottian headtrip, set in Smith's new home of Santa Cruz, California. Creating unsettling situations without relying upon immediate threats, instead trusting the atmosphere and mood, is a very difficult thing to pull off successfully, but MMS knocks it out of the park.
The pace of textured storytelling continues unabated with "The Good Listener," which busts out of any confining genre, and stands proud as an ode to that peculiar distance that grows between most fathers and their ever-questing sons, who are so often forced to find out who their dad really was only after the old man is gone. "Different Now" treads familiar Smithian ground of choices made and the looming specter of regret, becoming horrifyingly tangible in the form of labyrinthine London topography. A very powerful piece that made me physically uncomfortable. Set in a similar postal code is "Substitutions," which brings a "what if?" element to something as superficially mundane as home grocery delivery.
"Author of the Death" shows that the creation undertaken by writers doesn't necessarily stop when the computer is shut off or the manuscript goes to print, and playing God on the page isn't without residual consequence. "Sad, Dark Thing" - the three word phrase suggested by noted editor and Smith's long time friend Stephen Jones - was the first story written by MMS about his new home in northern California, and it reads like he's been living there his whole life, exploring those dusty, forgotten roads between towering trees, unfortunately finding out where they eventually lead. An honestly spooky story, which deftly gets to the marrow of good and classic Horror.
"What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night" garnered the British Fantasy Award in 2011, and it's easy to see why. This is a bleak, terrifying tale, arresting in its originality (and simplicity), which once again draws from primal terrors born of a) a fear of the dark, and b) keeping safe one's family. This story stayed with me long after I read it, and pops up often when waking up during the darkest, quietest times of the night.
The penultimate tale, "The Woodcutter," reads like an instant classic (or modern fairy tale?), and could anchor a much larger piece, set in the universe that this story creates. It is interesting that the protagonist is a street magician working his trade in London, while the story itself was the very first started and completed from Smith's new home in the United States. Sometimes it is easier to see a place half a world away, when the wider canopy fades into the ether, and the details never before noticed begin to emerge in the mind's eye. The collection closes with the title piece, that again mines the subtle Weird, and leaves the reader walking away a bit dazed, totally impressed, and also a bit hopeful. Again, another rarity in speculative fiction.
Overall, Everything You Need is aptly (knowingly?) titled, as the collection does indeed have it all for any fan of cerebral dark fiction. Michael Marshall Smith proves that you certainly can go home again, and do so as a conquering hero returned, as long as that home contains a healthy amount of unnatural shadows and things that just... don't... quite... fit..
After experiencing global success with his most recent crime novel, Killer Move (with his next, We Are Here, currently available in the UK, arriving stateside in 2014), Michael Marshall throws on the careworn Smith rucksack and burrows down into his Horror roots with the collection Everything You Need, published just last week by Paul Miller's award-winning specialty press Earthling Publications. Smith, who got his early start in radio comedy writing and performing for the BBC, moved into penning Horror in the early 1990's, selling the first short piece he ever wrote, "The Man Who Drew Cats," which earned him a 1991 British Fantasy Award for Short Fiction in his debut outing. Not a bad way to start a career, which only ascended from there, taking in numerous other honors (including four more British Fantasy Awards, an August Derleth Award, and a Phillip K. Dick Award) and critical accolades until the present day.
Which brings us to Everything You Need.
This is a rich and varied collection, not just spanning genres, but breaking them in twos and threes, and sometimes committing the cardinal sin of not adhering to any at all. The stories on the whole are dark and fantastical, often subtle, intensely thoughtful, even playful, with one piece embracing an interesting exercise in meta fiction. In these eighteen well-crafted tales, Smith seems to work out all the demons that have been collecting in the basement, bringing to bear a muscled arm steeled by decades of writing acclaimed Speculative and Crime Fiction, further seasoned by fatherhood, marriage, and a move from the Old World to the New. A knowing yet still refreshingly curious wisdom infuses these stories, making them at once relateable while simultaneously intensely innovative, drawing on themes and unsettling situations not easily mined by those who haven't lived the way Smith has, done what he has done, seen what he has seen, either with his eyes open or closed.
As my reading time has been so limited lately, I worked through this collection slowly, taking it with me to various locations, reading in the morning, at lunch, and in the wee hours. I can remember specific weeks, even months, based on certain stories read during those times. We lived together for a bit, this collection and I, and when I was finished, it felt as if I had been through Something, emerging out the other end somehow altered, containing new, often unwholesome truths. I had circumnavigated a queer but vaguely recognizable globe, taking in a vast array of heady sights, sounds, and disquieting sensations not commonly found in my own backyard... unless I did a little vigorous digging. That's a special kind of writing, able to replicate the familiar tinged with the profoundly alien and infinitely ominous. This is the stuff of Michael Marshall Smith.
It is difficult to find a weak link in this group of three times six, and many of the stories are quite exceptional, stacking up against anything written today. The book opens with "This Is Now," one of the best pieces in the collection in terms of creating pure dread based on weaving something unexplainable into the worn cloth of the commonplace. Based on the interesting (and wonderfully illuminating) story notes included at the end of the book, my mind drew jittery conclusions about what was happening that didn't quite match up with what the author intended, which I'm sure would please him greatly. "Unbelief" dips into Smith's reservoir of Crime, while "Walking Wounded" deals with a recurring theme of relationship issues, wrung through the author's unforgiving meat grinder. "The Seventeenth Kind" shows Smith's humorous (spelled "humourous," I reckon) side with a creative, madcap satire of QVC, followed by a glimpse into another three letter world (OCD) via "A Place For Everything."
The next three stories - "The Last Barbecue," "The Stuff That Goes On In Their Heads," and "Unnoticed" - represent an incredibly powerful trio that gets to the meat of the collection, with the latter story vying for best of show. "The Last Barbecue," paired together with "The Things He Said," share a similar foundational Horror subgenre that I (and pretty much everyone else these days) really enjoy, but which I won't spoil here. Needless to say, they are two pieces bringing a refreshing melancholy to a trope easily buried under mounds of moldering flesh. "The Stuff That Goes On In Their Heads" intensely resonated with me as a father, with a concluding stanza that is as devastating as it was unexpected. "Unnoticed" just hums with Big W Weird, reading like a slow burn Ligottian headtrip, set in Smith's new home of Santa Cruz, California. Creating unsettling situations without relying upon immediate threats, instead trusting the atmosphere and mood, is a very difficult thing to pull off successfully, but MMS knocks it out of the park.
The pace of textured storytelling continues unabated with "The Good Listener," which busts out of any confining genre, and stands proud as an ode to that peculiar distance that grows between most fathers and their ever-questing sons, who are so often forced to find out who their dad really was only after the old man is gone. "Different Now" treads familiar Smithian ground of choices made and the looming specter of regret, becoming horrifyingly tangible in the form of labyrinthine London topography. A very powerful piece that made me physically uncomfortable. Set in a similar postal code is "Substitutions," which brings a "what if?" element to something as superficially mundane as home grocery delivery.
"Author of the Death" shows that the creation undertaken by writers doesn't necessarily stop when the computer is shut off or the manuscript goes to print, and playing God on the page isn't without residual consequence. "Sad, Dark Thing" - the three word phrase suggested by noted editor and Smith's long time friend Stephen Jones - was the first story written by MMS about his new home in northern California, and it reads like he's been living there his whole life, exploring those dusty, forgotten roads between towering trees, unfortunately finding out where they eventually lead. An honestly spooky story, which deftly gets to the marrow of good and classic Horror.
"What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night" garnered the British Fantasy Award in 2011, and it's easy to see why. This is a bleak, terrifying tale, arresting in its originality (and simplicity), which once again draws from primal terrors born of a) a fear of the dark, and b) keeping safe one's family. This story stayed with me long after I read it, and pops up often when waking up during the darkest, quietest times of the night.
The penultimate tale, "The Woodcutter," reads like an instant classic (or modern fairy tale?), and could anchor a much larger piece, set in the universe that this story creates. It is interesting that the protagonist is a street magician working his trade in London, while the story itself was the very first started and completed from Smith's new home in the United States. Sometimes it is easier to see a place half a world away, when the wider canopy fades into the ether, and the details never before noticed begin to emerge in the mind's eye. The collection closes with the title piece, that again mines the subtle Weird, and leaves the reader walking away a bit dazed, totally impressed, and also a bit hopeful. Again, another rarity in speculative fiction.
Overall, Everything You Need is aptly (knowingly?) titled, as the collection does indeed have it all for any fan of cerebral dark fiction. Michael Marshall Smith proves that you certainly can go home again, and do so as a conquering hero returned, as long as that home contains a healthy amount of unnatural shadows and things that just... don't... quite... fit..
August 15, 2016
Edit....cleaning up my Currently Reading shelf so marking this as read, even though I'm a little more than halfway through. Will continue to read offline every now and then.
I'll be dipping into this one between novels.
So far, the first two stories have been okay. Mildly creepy...
3) The Stuff That Goes On In Their heads - Excellent story! This is the type of stuff I expect from MMS. 5 stars
4) Unnoticed - This reminded me of a Twilight Zone (or Outer Limits or Amazing Stories) episode I saw back in this 80s or so. I read it last night and this morning it's still wriggling under my skin for some reason. Very good. 4 stars
5) The Good Listener - A son traces his father's last day. I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I feel left hanging. I guess I didn't get it. 3 stars
6) Substitutions - This was okay. 3 stars
I'll be dipping into this one between novels.
So far, the first two stories have been okay. Mildly creepy...
3) The Stuff That Goes On In Their heads - Excellent story! This is the type of stuff I expect from MMS. 5 stars
4) Unnoticed - This reminded me of a Twilight Zone (or Outer Limits or Amazing Stories) episode I saw back in this 80s or so. I read it last night and this morning it's still wriggling under my skin for some reason. Very good. 4 stars
5) The Good Listener - A son traces his father's last day. I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I feel left hanging. I guess I didn't get it. 3 stars
6) Substitutions - This was okay. 3 stars
Want to read
July 18, 2016This book is copy 689 of 1000 signed and numbered copies signed by Michael Marshall Smith .
July 25, 2015
My first introduction to Smith was via a short story he contributed to Mondo Zombie. The story was Things He Said (it is also included in this collection) and it made a very good impression, certainly enough to look for more of his work. This anthology was equally impressive. Nice to see Smith's imagination expands far outside of traditional staples such as the increasingly ubiquitous zombies.The stories themselves fall between the genres, but they are certainly surreal enough to appeal to a variety of genre readers, particularly those whose tastes tend toward the darker things. What Smith seems to be particularly adept at is taking a reality and tilting it just enough to create something still recognizable, yet undeniably strange. Quite literally he unsettles. His stories are unsettling, odd, interesting, thoroughly original with a sort of sad beauty to them. The overall mood tends toward the bleak. This isn't a particularly happy bunch of stories, but then again it's more realistic that way, isn't it. They reminded me of Ramsey Campbell work, but done well. Same mood, but conveys in an entertaining manner instead of tediously somnolent one. Comparison's aside though, Smith seems to have established his very own style of reality off kilter. Some real stands out here were story of a magician, and the surprisingly (in a welcome surprise sort of way) humorous and light tale of a shopping network host's particularly odd day at work. In general though, definitely a very strong collection showcasing a considerable talent. Recommended.
October 22, 2015
I love short story collections.
But I never seem to particularly enjoy them while I'm reading them. The appreciation happens at the end. Especially if the author includes a section about the origins of said stories.
As I was getting closer to the end of this collection, I kept thinking about if this would be a 3 or 4 star book. I was really leaning towards 3 and then the book was over and I read about he origins of the stories. That extra section at the end reminded me about all that I read and I realized that yes, I did enjoy them.
But I never seem to particularly enjoy them while I'm reading them. The appreciation happens at the end. Especially if the author includes a section about the origins of said stories.
As I was getting closer to the end of this collection, I kept thinking about if this would be a 3 or 4 star book. I was really leaning towards 3 and then the book was over and I read about he origins of the stories. That extra section at the end reminded me about all that I read and I realized that yes, I did enjoy them.
November 6, 2013
A fine collection of stories mostly from the last decade, with several original to this volume. Smith is a clean, sometimes sparse, stylist with an eye for the telling character detail and thought-provoking ways to send the world askew. Each story presents some character or situation that comes from just the "wrong" angle to offer a disorienting and often horrific perspective on the mundane. These are all put together in a lovely package of high quality materials and sharp design from the talented folks at Earthling Publications, a specialty press.
May 28, 2022
Great collection of horror stories. I loved the ending of these stories. Great writing I will be reading more books by this author.
Want to read
May 10, 2014Earthling, listen, I would have bought this on day one had it been released in Kindle format.
July 8, 2018
I love a well-written short story. To me they are the literary equivalent of a delicious amuse bouche, or satisfying afternoon quickie. They bridge the gap when I am in between novels and can be deeply enjoyable. Too, I think the ability to write a really good short story, to find a way to develop characters, create an engaging story arc and do so with a constant economy of words takes real skill. Any author who can do this consistently, with originality and flare, is truly a talent worth recognizing.
So Michael Marshall Smith was recommended to me by a friend who knows my love of the short story. I found a Kindle single and was immediately intrigued by his writing style -which seems to be this unique blend of fantasy/sci-fi/ horror. He writes just left of center from reality. Needless to say, I enthusiastically moved on to "Everything You Need" which didn't disappoint at all. Some of the stories are simple and terrifying "The Stuff that Goes On In Their Heads" and "What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night" others are a bit more fantastical "The Woodcutter" "The Gist" But all of them are enjoyable, incredibly unique and well written.
To be 100% honest, I am fairly shocked that there aren't more people reading this author who, in my opinion, ranks up there with Neil Gaiman and Stephen King in his mastery of the short form- especially his mastery of the somewhat paradoxical satisfying open ending.. Anyway, I'm excited to seek out what else he has to offer, which apparently includes other novels under other pen names.
So Michael Marshall Smith was recommended to me by a friend who knows my love of the short story. I found a Kindle single and was immediately intrigued by his writing style -which seems to be this unique blend of fantasy/sci-fi/ horror. He writes just left of center from reality. Needless to say, I enthusiastically moved on to "Everything You Need" which didn't disappoint at all. Some of the stories are simple and terrifying "The Stuff that Goes On In Their Heads" and "What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night" others are a bit more fantastical "The Woodcutter" "The Gist" But all of them are enjoyable, incredibly unique and well written.
To be 100% honest, I am fairly shocked that there aren't more people reading this author who, in my opinion, ranks up there with Neil Gaiman and Stephen King in his mastery of the short form- especially his mastery of the somewhat paradoxical satisfying open ending.. Anyway, I'm excited to seek out what else he has to offer, which apparently includes other novels under other pen names.
September 25, 2013
Fall is definitely in the air! It's amazing to me how quickly the seasons changed here - September hit and bam (massive deluge aside) it's fall. This is so surreal compared to back home in Louisiana where we have about two seasons: hot and not so hot. And that's totally fine with me except that I actually kind of love fall. Not the cold mind you, just fall. Fall doesn't mean pumpkin lattes for me, it means Halloween and an even more intense craving for horror than I suffer from the rest of the year. ('Cause let's face it, it's always there. At least for me.) So it's perfect that this month marks the release of Earthling Publication's latest collection from Michael Marshall Smith, EVERYTHING YOU NEED.
If you've not read Michael Marshall/Michael Marshall Smith before, you are most definitely missing out. While he's been published for years it was actually the release of THE STRAW MEN that caught my attention. It was the first in a trilogy that was released during my bookseller days. Since then, he's penned a number of additional titles including THE SERVANTS, BAD THINGS, and KILLER MOVE. And he's got a new release due out here in the States in February from Mulholland. In the midst of all of that, he's somehow found the time to compile a new collection of shorts featuring a selection of previously pubbed pieces and all new stories (with story notes!!!!) in EVERYTHING YOU NEED.
Throughout the years I have become increasingly more fond of short stories and it's all thanks to authors like Michael Marshall Smith. The stories in EVERYTHING YOU NEED run the gamut from fun ("The Seventeenth Kind") to freaky ("Sad, Dark Thing," which I had the pleasure of reading last fall) and everything in between. Some, like "The Stuff That Goes on in Their Heads," will make you ponder deeper thoughts while others will scare the ever living crap out of you. They make for dark and dreary bedtime stories - the kind that make you double check locks and turn on lights even though you know it won't help - and that's exactly what I enjoy about them!
Smith conveys so much emotion and detail in each of the stories, something that always amazes me in shorts in particular, how, in just a few pages, the author can ensnare the reader and leave them breathless with anticipation and utterly worn out by the end.
While I did truly enjoy each and every story in this collection, I must say my personal favorites were "Author of the Death," "Unnoticed," "The Woodcutter," and "The Last Barbecue."
If you've not read Michael Marshall/Michael Marshall Smith before, you are most definitely missing out. While he's been published for years it was actually the release of THE STRAW MEN that caught my attention. It was the first in a trilogy that was released during my bookseller days. Since then, he's penned a number of additional titles including THE SERVANTS, BAD THINGS, and KILLER MOVE. And he's got a new release due out here in the States in February from Mulholland. In the midst of all of that, he's somehow found the time to compile a new collection of shorts featuring a selection of previously pubbed pieces and all new stories (with story notes!!!!) in EVERYTHING YOU NEED.
Throughout the years I have become increasingly more fond of short stories and it's all thanks to authors like Michael Marshall Smith. The stories in EVERYTHING YOU NEED run the gamut from fun ("The Seventeenth Kind") to freaky ("Sad, Dark Thing," which I had the pleasure of reading last fall) and everything in between. Some, like "The Stuff That Goes on in Their Heads," will make you ponder deeper thoughts while others will scare the ever living crap out of you. They make for dark and dreary bedtime stories - the kind that make you double check locks and turn on lights even though you know it won't help - and that's exactly what I enjoy about them!
Smith conveys so much emotion and detail in each of the stories, something that always amazes me in shorts in particular, how, in just a few pages, the author can ensnare the reader and leave them breathless with anticipation and utterly worn out by the end.
While I did truly enjoy each and every story in this collection, I must say my personal favorites were "Author of the Death," "Unnoticed," "The Woodcutter," and "The Last Barbecue."
October 16, 2013
excellent as usual. never disappointed in Mr marshall or Mr smiths stuff. looks like autocorrect has stopped me posting this review in an ee cummings stylee? oops. I was particularly freaked by the short story he wouldn't show his wife. creepy. recommended.
September 30, 2017
Trying to get my head around what I didn't like about this collection. Most of the stories seem to be one trick ponies. Not uncommon for short stories but none of these really left an impression (except "The Woodcutter"....that was solid). But for the most part they were pretty sketchy and hazy. No real answers or reveals; simply a "draw your own conclusion" ending with a bit of an X-Files vibe.
Not that every story has to be wrapped up with a pretty little bow at the end. And having more questions than answers at the end isn't always empty storytelling. But it seemed like so many of these stories merited a bit of a more detailed treatment---good ideas which the author chose to explore via the short story as opposed to a novel which left out a lot of the detail I would have liked to have had. When I read the one line teaser in the author notes for several of the stories I have to admit, I was intrigued. But after finishing each one with no real payday I was mostly just meh.
Some of the stories have been recognized with various literary nominations, some award winning. So perhaps they just aren't my thing. Didn't have any outright dislike for any of them, just nothing memorable. Though "The Woodcutter" was my gem of the book (and the most recent, according to the author's epilogue notes); I also liked the title story as well as "Sad, Dark Thing".
Not that every story has to be wrapped up with a pretty little bow at the end. And having more questions than answers at the end isn't always empty storytelling. But it seemed like so many of these stories merited a bit of a more detailed treatment---good ideas which the author chose to explore via the short story as opposed to a novel which left out a lot of the detail I would have liked to have had. When I read the one line teaser in the author notes for several of the stories I have to admit, I was intrigued. But after finishing each one with no real payday I was mostly just meh.
Some of the stories have been recognized with various literary nominations, some award winning. So perhaps they just aren't my thing. Didn't have any outright dislike for any of them, just nothing memorable. Though "The Woodcutter" was my gem of the book (and the most recent, according to the author's epilogue notes); I also liked the title story as well as "Sad, Dark Thing".
April 26, 2023
How have I never heard of Michael Marshall Smith before now? This was a really fun (and spooky) anthology of short stories, and I look forward to reading more. On with the review, story by story.
This is Now ★★★
“Black hair whipped up around their faces in the wind, and they looked like absences ill-lit.”
Three teenage boys decide to go over an electric fence to see exactly what they're being kept away from, or what the fence is keeping in.
The Woodcutter ★★★
“The big problem with life, I've come to see, is there's never any going back.”
A drifter named Spike goes around various London pubs, doing magic tricks for money. While out walking, he passes a man who makes a strange gesture at him, which he sees again a few times after. We soon learn that he's been banished from his home, wherever that is, and that he's being watched in this one. Very much like a modern fairy tale, especially with that title.
The Last Barbecue ★★★★
“You make do with what you got, right? You were always telling me that.”
Written as a transcript from CCTV footage of Lake Tahoe, after “The Death”. Two brothers have a conversation at the end of all things.
The Stuff That Goes On in Their Heads ★★★
“Boys need strong fathers. Men who are strong, and kind, not full of anger and guilt.”
A young boy named Ethan tells his parents that he's being bullied by a fellow classmate named Arthur. Ethan's father decides to intervene. The ending to this one left me reeling a bit, I'll admit.
Unnoticed ★★★
“Why couldn't he hear the other hand clapping?”
A homeless man named Tony shares a story of spotting a previously unnoticed building, how it keeps changing, and what he finds inside. Shortly after seeing the building, people start to appear that only he can see, which leads us to understand Tony's current situation.
The Good Listener ★★★
“Somewhere in the cloud is everything you've done. If you want, you can get it back.”
A man decides to recreate the last few days in his father's life, who passed tragically in a car accident. The last day has a gap of 14 hours that are unaccounted for, and he tries to find out what his father was up to during that time. This story was a good reminder that it's okay to leave some things unsaid.
And A Place for Everything ★★
“The breakthrough had come less than a week ago.”
One of the most serious cases of OCD that I've ever read about.
Substitutions ★★★
“Difference is difference, whether it be big or small, and it may even be that the smaller differences feel the most enticing.”
Grocery delivery orders get mixed up and a man starts to wonder about the customer behind the order that he accidentally received, eventually taking it a step further. I love how this one goes in a completely different direction than you expect.
Different Now ★★
“What started as a run of the mill argument had suddenly escalated out of control, bored misery giving way to alarm.”
After yet another fight with his partner, Chris goes out looking for her only to find that things are no longer the same.
Unbelief ★★1/2
“Habit and ritual are some of our greatest comforts, but they're a gift to people like me.”
A man with an unusual job works on Christmas Eve. Don't want to give too much away here, and I'm not entirely sure what to make of the ending.
Walking Wounded ★★★
“For a moment he saw the flat as she did, and almost believed he could hear the rustling of gifts from another woman, condemned to storage but stirring in their boxes, remembering the places where they had once stood.”
A man and his current girlfriend move out of the house he shared with a previous girlfriend, in an attempt to start fresh and make some new memories. He sustains an injury during the moving process to his ribs. It gradually starts to get worse and reminds him (and us) that some relationships take longer to shake than others.
Author of the Death ★★★
“I don't want to die in the end.”
What happens when an author is approached by his own characters? And what happens to his characters when the author dies suddenly?
Sad, Dark Thing ★★★
“There is little sadder than a tongue for which only one speaker remains.”
A man aimlessly driving takes a detour onto a long forgotten road and makes a stop that will change his own sad and lonely life. A nice little spooky story.
The Seventeenth Kind ★★★★
“It sounded like a loud, liquid cough, mixed up with the sound of a handful of nails being dropped on a metal surface.”
The very amusing story of a home shopping network presenter and his “close encounter.” You can't help but like Jim and be glad that his ability to never stop talking ends up saving his life.
What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night ★★★
“Am I on the floor? What the hell am I doing on the floor?”
A simple but effective story told from the perspective of a young girl. It's about being afraid of the dark, and about how scary it is being a parent and trying to keep your family safe.
The Things He Said ★★★
“The real important thing is when you wake up, you know what's what -”
A man remembers all of the words of wisdom (and otherwise) that his father told him over the years while he does what he must to survive in his current situation. This story pairs well with “The Last Barbecue”.
The Gist ★★ ½
“Pork with an exit strategy.”
A book translator with a real gift for languages is given a new book to decipher from one of his regular customers. If only it were that easy.
Everything You Need ★★★★
“Remember. Everything you need – it's in here.”
The story of Sheila and John, married for decades before John passes. Sheila is now forced to deal with the paperwork and contracts, something that was always John's duty. A very good story about dealing with grief and a reflection on married life.
The Darkening Tree ★★★
A short poem at the end.
This is Now ★★★
“Black hair whipped up around their faces in the wind, and they looked like absences ill-lit.”
Three teenage boys decide to go over an electric fence to see exactly what they're being kept away from, or what the fence is keeping in.
The Woodcutter ★★★
“The big problem with life, I've come to see, is there's never any going back.”
A drifter named Spike goes around various London pubs, doing magic tricks for money. While out walking, he passes a man who makes a strange gesture at him, which he sees again a few times after. We soon learn that he's been banished from his home, wherever that is, and that he's being watched in this one. Very much like a modern fairy tale, especially with that title.
The Last Barbecue ★★★★
“You make do with what you got, right? You were always telling me that.”
Written as a transcript from CCTV footage of Lake Tahoe, after “The Death”. Two brothers have a conversation at the end of all things.
The Stuff That Goes On in Their Heads ★★★
“Boys need strong fathers. Men who are strong, and kind, not full of anger and guilt.”
A young boy named Ethan tells his parents that he's being bullied by a fellow classmate named Arthur. Ethan's father decides to intervene. The ending to this one left me reeling a bit, I'll admit.
Unnoticed ★★★
“Why couldn't he hear the other hand clapping?”
A homeless man named Tony shares a story of spotting a previously unnoticed building, how it keeps changing, and what he finds inside. Shortly after seeing the building, people start to appear that only he can see, which leads us to understand Tony's current situation.
The Good Listener ★★★
“Somewhere in the cloud is everything you've done. If you want, you can get it back.”
A man decides to recreate the last few days in his father's life, who passed tragically in a car accident. The last day has a gap of 14 hours that are unaccounted for, and he tries to find out what his father was up to during that time. This story was a good reminder that it's okay to leave some things unsaid.
And A Place for Everything ★★
“The breakthrough had come less than a week ago.”
One of the most serious cases of OCD that I've ever read about.
Substitutions ★★★
“Difference is difference, whether it be big or small, and it may even be that the smaller differences feel the most enticing.”
Grocery delivery orders get mixed up and a man starts to wonder about the customer behind the order that he accidentally received, eventually taking it a step further. I love how this one goes in a completely different direction than you expect.
Different Now ★★
“What started as a run of the mill argument had suddenly escalated out of control, bored misery giving way to alarm.”
After yet another fight with his partner, Chris goes out looking for her only to find that things are no longer the same.
Unbelief ★★1/2
“Habit and ritual are some of our greatest comforts, but they're a gift to people like me.”
A man with an unusual job works on Christmas Eve. Don't want to give too much away here, and I'm not entirely sure what to make of the ending.
Walking Wounded ★★★
“For a moment he saw the flat as she did, and almost believed he could hear the rustling of gifts from another woman, condemned to storage but stirring in their boxes, remembering the places where they had once stood.”
A man and his current girlfriend move out of the house he shared with a previous girlfriend, in an attempt to start fresh and make some new memories. He sustains an injury during the moving process to his ribs. It gradually starts to get worse and reminds him (and us) that some relationships take longer to shake than others.
Author of the Death ★★★
“I don't want to die in the end.”
What happens when an author is approached by his own characters? And what happens to his characters when the author dies suddenly?
Sad, Dark Thing ★★★
“There is little sadder than a tongue for which only one speaker remains.”
A man aimlessly driving takes a detour onto a long forgotten road and makes a stop that will change his own sad and lonely life. A nice little spooky story.
The Seventeenth Kind ★★★★
“It sounded like a loud, liquid cough, mixed up with the sound of a handful of nails being dropped on a metal surface.”
The very amusing story of a home shopping network presenter and his “close encounter.” You can't help but like Jim and be glad that his ability to never stop talking ends up saving his life.
What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night ★★★
“Am I on the floor? What the hell am I doing on the floor?”
A simple but effective story told from the perspective of a young girl. It's about being afraid of the dark, and about how scary it is being a parent and trying to keep your family safe.
The Things He Said ★★★
“The real important thing is when you wake up, you know what's what -”
A man remembers all of the words of wisdom (and otherwise) that his father told him over the years while he does what he must to survive in his current situation. This story pairs well with “The Last Barbecue”.
The Gist ★★ ½
“Pork with an exit strategy.”
A book translator with a real gift for languages is given a new book to decipher from one of his regular customers. If only it were that easy.
Everything You Need ★★★★
“Remember. Everything you need – it's in here.”
The story of Sheila and John, married for decades before John passes. Sheila is now forced to deal with the paperwork and contracts, something that was always John's duty. A very good story about dealing with grief and a reflection on married life.
The Darkening Tree ★★★
A short poem at the end.
July 12, 2025
These stories don't have tentacled monsters. Or creatures with fangs and claws tearing people to bits.
Well, maybe there are...but it's not quite so..overt.
The stories have more of a Twilight Zone kind of creepiness.
If the world went sideways or you looked round the corner and it was different from how it was.
My kind of creepy.
As with any collection there are ones you're not so keen on and ones that grab your attention all the way...
One amusing one was Author of the Death. Sure it's been done before but....
( The other one of these kind of character meets author stories I liked was Terry Pratchetts Final Reward short story)
Another amusing SF tale is The Seventeenth Kind. A Shopping Channel presenter finds a a product that actually works with those useless Universal remotes. Silly but funny.
In all a good collection.
Well, maybe there are...but it's not quite so..overt.
The stories have more of a Twilight Zone kind of creepiness.
If the world went sideways or you looked round the corner and it was different from how it was.
My kind of creepy.
As with any collection there are ones you're not so keen on and ones that grab your attention all the way...
One amusing one was Author of the Death. Sure it's been done before but....
( The other one of these kind of character meets author stories I liked was Terry Pratchetts Final Reward short story)
Another amusing SF tale is The Seventeenth Kind. A Shopping Channel presenter finds a a product that actually works with those useless Universal remotes. Silly but funny.
In all a good collection.
November 6, 2024
A mixed collection of more or less weird stories. Some clearly seemed like a good idea at the time, like the one about the telemarketer whose show is hijacked by comedy extraterrestrials, or "Author of the Death", a pretty unoriginal author-meets-character skit. There are two or three unspectacular zombie stories, and several pieces like "Different Now" and "Walking Wounded" that with varying success analyse relationships and emotions by making metaphors literal or otherwise weirding the environment. The best of the bunch, I thought, were "Unnoticed", a dreamy and quite unsettling atmosphere piece, and "The Woodcutter", a great modern-day take on fairies with some very well-executed violence. None of these are remotely terrifying - only one or two are even slightly creepy - and the prose never rises above the functional, but there's enough invention and variety here to make the collection a worthwhile read.
June 30, 2020
I really liked Spares by this author and Only Forward totally blew me away. This mostly horror anthology wasn't quite up to that level, but worth reading. There were a couple of good and unconventional zombie stories.
January 15, 2018
Wonderful prose...
Sometimes sentimental...
Closer to home than some collections of the imaginative...
I remember small casts of characters, often just the inner monologue of one...
Sometimes sentimental...
Closer to home than some collections of the imaginative...
I remember small casts of characters, often just the inner monologue of one...
July 24, 2018
I'm a huge Michael Marshall/Michael Marshall Smith fan, and this is a great book, full of short stories. Full of fun stories. Intelligent, gripping, and funny.
April 21, 2022
Scary, weird, unique short stories
November 12, 2016
Michael Marshall Smith is one of the few authors whose work I have followed consistently over long period of time, ever since I read Spares some time in the late nineties. Since Smith is good at communicating about and around his stories, this also means following his life a little bit. He started out in England, where he wrote his first three fantastic hard-boiled sci-fi novels, then he moved to the Pacific Northwest which yielded the Michael-Marshall-Thrillers. Recently, he moved to California.
There's a common thread of the fantastic in the mundane and the resulting wry commentary to all three periods in Smith's writing, but they are different from each other the same way bands change their sound in different decades. The stories in Everything You Need are mostly from the third period, which seems more mellow than the rather nihilistic second one. The Stand-out story is clearly "What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night", but there are a few others that stick in my mind, like "The Gist", "Unnoticed" and "The Woodcutter". There's a clever metafictional riff in "The Author of the Death" and a unique take on Zombies in "The Things He Said".
I personally could do without the slightly angsty tales from the northwestern period, mostly about the supposed darkness of our minds, like "Walking Wounded" and "Sad, Dark Thing". Instead, I sometimes wish Smith would return more often to the whimsical weirdness of his early stories in What You Make It. People change and that's a good thing, too, but at least this collection has "The Seventeenth Kind", which is as wonderful and funny as they come.
There's a common thread of the fantastic in the mundane and the resulting wry commentary to all three periods in Smith's writing, but they are different from each other the same way bands change their sound in different decades. The stories in Everything You Need are mostly from the third period, which seems more mellow than the rather nihilistic second one. The Stand-out story is clearly "What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night", but there are a few others that stick in my mind, like "The Gist", "Unnoticed" and "The Woodcutter". There's a clever metafictional riff in "The Author of the Death" and a unique take on Zombies in "The Things He Said".
I personally could do without the slightly angsty tales from the northwestern period, mostly about the supposed darkness of our minds, like "Walking Wounded" and "Sad, Dark Thing". Instead, I sometimes wish Smith would return more often to the whimsical weirdness of his early stories in What You Make It. People change and that's a good thing, too, but at least this collection has "The Seventeenth Kind", which is as wonderful and funny as they come.
September 6, 2016
Great collection of short stories by Michael Marshall Smith. They border between fantasy and horror, with everything from a tongue-n-cheek alien encounter with a cable shopping channel promoter to the much creepier Walking Wounded and the hilariously awful Unbelief. The stories aren't elaborate, but they are good and often have a final twist at the end that I can't see. Good writer, and good stories. One of the saddest but sweetest stories is the title one, about a widow dealing with the death of her much beloved husband. Feelings of loss and loneliness abound in these stories; sometimes, as in the title story, they are resolved. But sometimes, as in Different Now, or Sad, Dark Thing, they never are.
September 29, 2016
More like a 4.5 rating. Although, the rating is based on how I feel about the anthology, not so much as a high recommendation to other folks. I don't necessarily believe this book will be everyone's cuppa. See me after class if you wanna talk specifics.
I enjoyed this much more than the previous MMS collection. Everything I enjoyed and didn't care for in the previous anthology were intensified and polished like jewels in this collection. The typical cynical MMS male character, the slow unwinding of the plot, the minimal use of horror elements... all worked out supremely well. These stories are honed art. Finding new short stories by MMS are treats for yourself and a palate cleanser between stories by unknown authors. Love.
I enjoyed this much more than the previous MMS collection. Everything I enjoyed and didn't care for in the previous anthology were intensified and polished like jewels in this collection. The typical cynical MMS male character, the slow unwinding of the plot, the minimal use of horror elements... all worked out supremely well. These stories are honed art. Finding new short stories by MMS are treats for yourself and a palate cleanser between stories by unknown authors. Love.
December 20, 2014
Another fine collection of stories from one of my favorite authors. I still wish we'd get another Michael Marshall Smith novel, even as the Michael Marshall books veer closer to that territory. In the meantime, his short stories are so good that they fill the space when a new collection appears. Some formatting issues and misplaced/misspelled words (Sad, Sark Thing?) brought me out of the fiction at times, but I chalk those up to self-publishing here.
May 15, 2016
I'm a huge Michael Marshall fan, ever since discovering the Straw Men years ago. I'm also a fan of the short story form which I find intriguing. This collection had its hits and a few misses but overall Marshall's prose and wit comes through turning something that might have been ordinary into much more. One story in particular, The Gist, I am still in awe over. Definitely made my top list of short stories. A worthwhile addition for any Marshall addict.
December 12, 2013
Mr. Smith writes stories that start so normal and then become something very different. I have come to expect this of Michael Marshall Smith and he delivered for me. The story notes at the end of the book give some insight into his inspiration for each story. Who better to write a story about unpacking his groceries and where it could lead?
October 7, 2014
I found most of the previously published stories a bit conventional (and sometimes longwinded and overly domestic for my taste), though largely enjoyable. The new stories, like The Woodcutter and the Unnoticed, tend to be more odd and edgy and memorable. The lovely Good Listener is gentle and elegiac, quite different from the rest of the collection.
Read
July 19, 2015Somehow it didn't quite work for me.
But if you like straightforward horror you might like it — reminds me of younger Stephen King and similar authors. Maybe that's a problem — it's published in 2013, but "The Seventeenth Kind" wouldn't be out of place in 1980 or earlier.
And some of them are just too much like responses in /r/WritingPrompts (e.g. "Unbelief").
But if you like straightforward horror you might like it — reminds me of younger Stephen King and similar authors. Maybe that's a problem — it's published in 2013, but "The Seventeenth Kind" wouldn't be out of place in 1980 or earlier.
And some of them are just too much like responses in /r/WritingPrompts (e.g. "Unbelief").
Currently reading
May 23, 2024"Author of the Death" - An author meets one of his own characters on the street but is frightened and struck by a cab. The character regrets being stuck in a story that doesn't even end but merely stops.
"The Good Listener" - The protagonist's father dies in an automobile accident and he duplicates the itinerary in an attempt to find closure.
"The Good Listener" - The protagonist's father dies in an automobile accident and he duplicates the itinerary in an attempt to find closure.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 29, 2016
This is an outstanding collection.
http://opionator.wordpress.com/2013/1...
http://opionator.wordpress.com/2013/1...
January 7, 2014
I think this is a follow up to What You Make It (his previous collection of short stories), which was pretty much perfect. This is almost as good.
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