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With Ravens Passing the Moon
A vampire visits the cinema. An old man fills his house with clocks. And a young girl tries to get her grandmother into heaven.
These, and ten other strange tales of death and dying wait for you in this short story collection from Paul John Lyon.
These, and ten other strange tales of death and dying wait for you in this short story collection from Paul John Lyon.
258 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 17, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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July 2, 2025I've read a few books by Lyon now, and always enjoyed them. This one was no exception.
I love his dark (British) wit and his strong, distinct voice. His work is always entertaining.
Themes here include death and time. Lyon writes from the POV of children very well. Maybe he hasn't lost touch with his inner child, which is a good thing IMO. It's not childish, it's childlike, and there's a huge difference.
They're all good stories, but my absolute favourite has to be A Red Unbroken Mile.
I love his dark (British) wit and his strong, distinct voice. His work is always entertaining.
Themes here include death and time. Lyon writes from the POV of children very well. Maybe he hasn't lost touch with his inner child, which is a good thing IMO. It's not childish, it's childlike, and there's a huge difference.
They're all good stories, but my absolute favourite has to be A Red Unbroken Mile.
June 30, 2025
I'm a big fan of Paul John Lyon's writing. I loved everything about this collection...the excellent writing, the running themes of death, silence, and The End, and his brilliant usage of literary devices. My favourites...
~Timekeeping
~The Complaint
~DEAR
~The Mexicans Have Complained Quite Strongly About the Noise
(his use of repetition in this one is extremely effective)
The last piece is a novelette.
With Ravens Passing the Moon is a stunning story about a young girl, her nana's soul, and a raven.
~Timekeeping
~The Complaint
~DEAR
~The Mexicans Have Complained Quite Strongly About the Noise
(his use of repetition in this one is extremely effective)
The last piece is a novelette.
With Ravens Passing the Moon is a stunning story about a young girl, her nana's soul, and a raven.
August 17, 2025
I’ve read everything Mr Lyon has published and there are some favorite stories here that I had previously read from his blog. It says a lot that I was excited to read them again. It’s rare to get a short story collection like this with such a steady thematic thread running through the stories. Here are stories that grapple with death, atonement and the legacy of a person’s life. They are full of shocking little twists that make me think that the author is a modern day M.R. James.
June 7, 2025
It's about time...
...and death. It's nice to read a collection with a central theme running through it. Anthologies do it but collections not so much. And it works really well with Paul's voice.
We have a writer clinging to life via his assistant; a man trying to outrun death; a vampire who just wants to see his reflection before he dies; another writer - on his deathbed - wanting to control the narrative. All of these stories, and the rest which make up the 13 tales, show us the pathos, the crooked humour, the love, the loneliness and inevitability of death following life. Paul weaves these threads of emotions through everyday lives of those whose time is up.
The Complaint - a story about a kid's first and last day working at a funeral parlour - had a slap of an ending. A Red Unbroken Mile - about a runaway - broke me.
If you want a collection of tales that take you somewhere, with characters you think about after you turn the page and actually make you think about the time you have left and what you should do with it, then give this one a go.
...and death. It's nice to read a collection with a central theme running through it. Anthologies do it but collections not so much. And it works really well with Paul's voice.
We have a writer clinging to life via his assistant; a man trying to outrun death; a vampire who just wants to see his reflection before he dies; another writer - on his deathbed - wanting to control the narrative. All of these stories, and the rest which make up the 13 tales, show us the pathos, the crooked humour, the love, the loneliness and inevitability of death following life. Paul weaves these threads of emotions through everyday lives of those whose time is up.
The Complaint - a story about a kid's first and last day working at a funeral parlour - had a slap of an ending. A Red Unbroken Mile - about a runaway - broke me.
If you want a collection of tales that take you somewhere, with characters you think about after you turn the page and actually make you think about the time you have left and what you should do with it, then give this one a go.
July 29, 2025
Paul John Lyon is a terrific writer. He's got an easy style and a big heart and the skill of an old-fashioned storyteller. You can practically feel the warmth of the campfire on your face while he weaves his twisty, supernatural stories in the air.
Yup, I'm a fan.
A couple of my favorite works in this collection are the Vonnegut-esque "The Mexicans Have Complained Quite Strongly About The Noise" and the feels-like-a-lost-Twilight-Zone episode "The End." Actually, that black-and-white TV Twilight Zone sensation could describe quite a few of the offerings here: "Sunrise at the Sunset" features a vampire who wants to watch a movie. "Stella Is Not Here" is a quirky yet disquieting take on life after death. "The Complaint" is a funny tale of a man's first and last day as a clerk in a funeral home. It's all great fun. 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑅𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑠 𝑃𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑜𝑜𝑛 has my highest recommendation.
Yup, I'm a fan.
A couple of my favorite works in this collection are the Vonnegut-esque "The Mexicans Have Complained Quite Strongly About The Noise" and the feels-like-a-lost-Twilight-Zone episode "The End." Actually, that black-and-white TV Twilight Zone sensation could describe quite a few of the offerings here: "Sunrise at the Sunset" features a vampire who wants to watch a movie. "Stella Is Not Here" is a quirky yet disquieting take on life after death. "The Complaint" is a funny tale of a man's first and last day as a clerk in a funeral home. It's all great fun. 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑅𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑠 𝑃𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑜𝑜𝑛 has my highest recommendation.
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