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Old Devil Moon
“[Christopher] Fowler repeatedly challenges the reader to redraw the boundaries between innocence and malevolence, rationality and paranoia. His strength lies in the way he unveils the darker side of the ordinary.”—Guardian
A geologist trapped in a town without water is lured into a desperate escape plan. A boy plans a murder in an eerie funfair. A cop witnesses an inexplicable plague of madness. A teenager learns a deadly trick with his cell phone.
Christopher Fowler’s tenth collection of uniquely disturbing short stories contains the blackest humor and the darkest fears.
Christopher Fowler is the author of twelve novels, including the Bryant & May series. He lives in London.
224 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2008
5 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Fowler
264 books1,284 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Christopher Fowler was an English writer known for his Bryant & May mystery series, featuring two Golden Age-style detectives navigating modern London. Over his career, he authored fifty novels and short story collections, along with screenplays, video games, graphic novels, and audio plays. His psychological thriller Little Boy Found was published under the pseudonym L.K. Fox.
Fowler's accolades include multiple British Fantasy Awards, the Last Laugh Award, the CWA Dagger in the Library, and the inaugural Green Carnation Award. He was inducted into the Detection Club in 2021. Beyond crime fiction, his works ranged from horror (Hell Train, Nyctophobia) to memoir (Paperboy, Film Freak). His column Invisible Ink explored forgotten authors, later compiled into The Book of Forgotten Authors.
Fowler lived between London and Barcelona with his husband, Peter Chapman.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Christopher Fowler was an English writer known for his Bryant & May mystery series, featuring two Golden Age-style detectives navigating modern London. Over his career, he authored fifty novels and short story collections, along with screenplays, video games, graphic novels, and audio plays. His psychological thriller Little Boy Found was published under the pseudonym L.K. Fox.
Fowler's accolades include multiple British Fantasy Awards, the Last Laugh Award, the CWA Dagger in the Library, and the inaugural Green Carnation Award. He was inducted into the Detection Club in 2021. Beyond crime fiction, his works ranged from horror (Hell Train, Nyctophobia) to memoir (Paperboy, Film Freak). His column Invisible Ink explored forgotten authors, later compiled into The Book of Forgotten Authors.
Fowler lived between London and Barcelona with his husband, Peter Chapman.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 30, 2012
The more I read this author, the more I like him. This was the only collection of his work available at the library and the second collection I had read by him. This particular anthology showcases the author's versatility, because his stories are so much more than horror. Fowler writes variety of genres, from homage to Sherlock Holmes' perpetually overlooked landlady to really moving love story born out of an accident, from historic fiction to modern times. He switches genres with ease and infuses each story with his particular blend of dark humor. Fowler himself classifies his stories as dark urban fables and it is an apt description. Each one is a meditation on the world around us, with a twist. The plots are fresh and original, Fowler never takes the easy way out and never fails to surprise, entertain and provoke thoughts. Highly recommended.
March 6, 2020
Mixed bag
I generally like Fowler's work and there are some really fantastic pieces in here. Opening story 'The Threads' is a startling piece of body horror, and 'Cupped Hands' tackles inhumanity as horror extremely well. The breaking up of the straight fiction with pieces like 'The Night Museum' (sections of which feel like SCP entries) and 'That's Undertainment!' was also welcome.
On the whole though, a lot of the pieces ended up feeling fairly unsatisfying to me, with quite a few abrupt endings.
Of interest, it appears from the intro that everything was written exclusively for this volume, which is not something I'm used to seeing. I wonder in some ways if some stories would have benefitted by first going out to commercial short fiction markets before compilation here.
If you're a fan of dark fiction generally, or Fowler specifically, there's certainly plenty to recommend here, but the overall package is a little weak.
I generally like Fowler's work and there are some really fantastic pieces in here. Opening story 'The Threads' is a startling piece of body horror, and 'Cupped Hands' tackles inhumanity as horror extremely well. The breaking up of the straight fiction with pieces like 'The Night Museum' (sections of which feel like SCP entries) and 'That's Undertainment!' was also welcome.
On the whole though, a lot of the pieces ended up feeling fairly unsatisfying to me, with quite a few abrupt endings.
Of interest, it appears from the intro that everything was written exclusively for this volume, which is not something I'm used to seeing. I wonder in some ways if some stories would have benefitted by first going out to commercial short fiction markets before compilation here.
If you're a fan of dark fiction generally, or Fowler specifically, there's certainly plenty to recommend here, but the overall package is a little weak.
December 6, 2022
Very dark and very imaginative collection of short stories. Christopher Fowler uses many genres and styles. Excellent anthology and highly recommended.
October 6, 2024
Not generally a fan of short stories; loved most of these.
January 2, 2017
Many novelists also write short stories and it’s not at all unusual that they would publish them as collections. Very few seem to publish as many collections as Christopher Fowler, for whom “Old Devil Moon” was his ninth short story collection in around twenty years of being a published author; by comparison, Stephen King has only released eight short story collections in over forty years of publishing. The one thing these authors do have in common is that I am a huge fan of both and will read however many collections they put out.
Fowler specialises in urban horror, setting his scariest stories in places that will be familiar to many, such as in “Invulnerable”, which is a story of abuse that is effectively news more often than fiction these days, but told with a gentle touch that doesn’t sensationalise it. “The Threads” is also a story of a couple on holiday in a North African city who think themselves superior to the locals in education and breeding, but find out the hard way that isn’t the case. “The Twilight Express” is ostensibly about a funfair, but more about being emotionally trapped, which can be a horror to some and “Starless” tells a story of an aftermath of a serious public transport incident, similar to 7/7, but puts a very interesting angle on it which, like “Invulnerable”, deals with a potentially sensitive subject in a non-sensationalist way.
Fowler also keeps an eye on traditional horror and fantasy subjects. “Forcibly Bewitched” has old style enchantments and magic spells, but has a typical Fowler twist and “Turbo Satan” is an interesting combination of technology and magic, with an entirely unexpected ending. “Let’s Have Some Fun” has a wonderfully up to date feel with another nice twist and “The Spider Kiss” starts off as an almost straight police buddy story, before becoming far more unpleasant and fantastical. Interestingly, “The Uninvited” works in almost a reverse fashion, seemingly edging towards familiar horror territory, but then provided a surprisingly non-supernatural ending.
Fowler’s love of history, both real and imagined comes through as well. “Old Friends” mixes classic cinema with modern life, whilst “The Lady Downstairs” and “Heredity” look to the past, with the former being a Sherlock Holmes story and the latter would have worked as a “Downton Abbey” sub-plot until the slightly sensational ending. “Red Torch” evokes the days of cinema long past and has the feel of something autobiographical in tone, such is the personal nature of the story.
Finally, there are the touches of Fowler’s humorous side here as well. “That’s Undertainment” mocks modern cinema and “The Night Museum” is a very funny tour of a highly unusual museum. But Fowler can also do serious and emotional and “All Packed” is perhaps the best story here, as it deals with a common subject in such beautiful writing and is perhaps the most honest and heartfelt piece of writing here.
I didn’t feel as if this was Fowler’s best story collection, as there wasn’t a huge amount of consistency to it. There is a huge variation in themes and emotions evoked here, as well as multiple changes of pace. As with every Fowler collection, there are scares and laughs and you learn as well as being entertained in some parts. But there is so much here that it doesn’t feel as if it has settled down at any point and the stories sometimes feel as if the original contents list was dropped on the floor and the book put together in the order they were picked up in, as if there wasn’t quite enough time to try and remember which order they had been in originally.
Fowler’s collections are always worth reading, but the incoherency of this collection means that starting with this one isn’t recommended.
Fowler specialises in urban horror, setting his scariest stories in places that will be familiar to many, such as in “Invulnerable”, which is a story of abuse that is effectively news more often than fiction these days, but told with a gentle touch that doesn’t sensationalise it. “The Threads” is also a story of a couple on holiday in a North African city who think themselves superior to the locals in education and breeding, but find out the hard way that isn’t the case. “The Twilight Express” is ostensibly about a funfair, but more about being emotionally trapped, which can be a horror to some and “Starless” tells a story of an aftermath of a serious public transport incident, similar to 7/7, but puts a very interesting angle on it which, like “Invulnerable”, deals with a potentially sensitive subject in a non-sensationalist way.
Fowler also keeps an eye on traditional horror and fantasy subjects. “Forcibly Bewitched” has old style enchantments and magic spells, but has a typical Fowler twist and “Turbo Satan” is an interesting combination of technology and magic, with an entirely unexpected ending. “Let’s Have Some Fun” has a wonderfully up to date feel with another nice twist and “The Spider Kiss” starts off as an almost straight police buddy story, before becoming far more unpleasant and fantastical. Interestingly, “The Uninvited” works in almost a reverse fashion, seemingly edging towards familiar horror territory, but then provided a surprisingly non-supernatural ending.
Fowler’s love of history, both real and imagined comes through as well. “Old Friends” mixes classic cinema with modern life, whilst “The Lady Downstairs” and “Heredity” look to the past, with the former being a Sherlock Holmes story and the latter would have worked as a “Downton Abbey” sub-plot until the slightly sensational ending. “Red Torch” evokes the days of cinema long past and has the feel of something autobiographical in tone, such is the personal nature of the story.
Finally, there are the touches of Fowler’s humorous side here as well. “That’s Undertainment” mocks modern cinema and “The Night Museum” is a very funny tour of a highly unusual museum. But Fowler can also do serious and emotional and “All Packed” is perhaps the best story here, as it deals with a common subject in such beautiful writing and is perhaps the most honest and heartfelt piece of writing here.
I didn’t feel as if this was Fowler’s best story collection, as there wasn’t a huge amount of consistency to it. There is a huge variation in themes and emotions evoked here, as well as multiple changes of pace. As with every Fowler collection, there are scares and laughs and you learn as well as being entertained in some parts. But there is so much here that it doesn’t feel as if it has settled down at any point and the stories sometimes feel as if the original contents list was dropped on the floor and the book put together in the order they were picked up in, as if there wasn’t quite enough time to try and remember which order they had been in originally.
Fowler’s collections are always worth reading, but the incoherency of this collection means that starting with this one isn’t recommended.
October 14, 2012
This is another one of Christopher Fowlers collections of short eerie and unnerving stories. I guess there are many such collections out there - both from a single author or a collection of them - in the full spectrum of fame and notoriety. However I have always had a love for the works of Christopher Fowler- there is a quality about that that makes me associate with the character - the location or the situation however extreme or difficult it is. I am not sure if its his style or the locations he uses (I love the history of London and he has used that so well in books like Roofworld) or even just the way his writing seems to flow so naturally. Either way again it is a great joy to read his work and I repeatedly go back to it time and time again, however like may collections of short stories you do start to see repartition - however after a break away from his works this book is as much fun to read as it was the day i bought it.
January 7, 2023
I love Christopher Fowler's short stories - I have read most of his collections and also bought most of them - in many cases his stories are preludes or first versions of longer books - but I think he is at his best in this form. If you have never read his stories start here and get them all - you are in for a treat.
April 28, 2012
Not as good as some of his previous collections, most of them seemed rather aimless. My rating goes up significantly for "all packed" which is an exceptionally emotional evocation of a difficult subject.
December 26, 2008
I love dark short stories. Most of these are quite good!
March 27, 2010
Intriguing short stories that create a world within the short story while all stories end up with someone fucked. I went to Morroco so I can identify with that story.
March 4, 2011
Original, insightful and skilfully written, although I felt sort of sad and icky when I was finished most of them. Except the Night Museum one, that was funny.
January 10, 2013
A great collection of well written short stories, some with twists in the style of Fredric Brown, some are very moving plus a couple of amusing vignettes.
Recommended.
Recommended.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews