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Only the Broken Remain
A young man joins a circus where the mysterious ringmaster is more interested in watching him fail. An immigrant worker forms an unlikely alliance with his housing estate's foxes. A fraudulent accountant goes on the run, but loses herself in the dry heat of Australia.
This debut collection from Dan Coxon unearths the no man's land between dreams and nightmares, a place where the strange is constantly threatening to seep through into our everyday reality. Populated by the lost and the downtrodden, the forgotten and the estranged, these stories follow in the tradition of Thomas Ligotti, Robert Aickman and Joel Lane. Because when the dust has settled and the blood has been washed away, Only the Broken Remain.
This debut collection from Dan Coxon unearths the no man's land between dreams and nightmares, a place where the strange is constantly threatening to seep through into our everyday reality. Populated by the lost and the downtrodden, the forgotten and the estranged, these stories follow in the tradition of Thomas Ligotti, Robert Aickman and Joel Lane. Because when the dust has settled and the blood has been washed away, Only the Broken Remain.
- GenresShort StoriesHorror
179 pages, Paperback
Published October 29, 2020
90 people want to read
About the author
Dan Coxon
48 books70 followersDan Coxon is an award-winning editor and writer based in London. His non-fiction anthology Writing The Uncanny (co-edited with Richard V. Hirst) won the British Fantasy Award for Best Non-Fiction 2022, while his short story collection Only The Broken Remain (Black Shuck Books) was shortlisted for two British Fantasy Awards in 2021 (Best Collection, Best Newcomer). In 2018 his anthology of British folk-horror, This Dreaming Isle (Unsung Stories), was shortlisted for a British Fantasy Award and a Shirley Jackson Award. His short stories have appeared in various anthologies, including Nox Pareidolia, Beyond the Veil, Mother: Tales of Love and Terror and Fiends in the Furrows III. His latest anthology - Isolation - was published by Titan Books in September 2022.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 30, 2021
I reviewed this for Sublime Horror. Read the full review here: Only the Broken Remain by Dan Coxon review – ‘weird horror to chill, unnerve and, occasionally, raise a wry smile’
I don’t know whether we’re truly getting more good literary horror collections these days, or whether I’ve just had good luck in picking them out lately. Either way, Only the Broken Remain is a pleasing addition to the stack of such collections published within the past year, including London Incognita by Gary Budden, Where We Live by Tim Cooke and London Gothic by Nicholas Royle.
Coxon’s stories tend towards a theme – that of an outsider finding community, albeit of an uncertain sort, among other misfits, often eschewing reality as well as conformity. Sometimes this is inverted, as in ‘Baddavine’, a folk horror tale in which a group of villagers, tormented by the whispers of an unseen creature, form a mob to pursue it. My favourite story was ‘No One’s Child’, the richly, fascinatingly grim tale of a young evacuee forming a deadly alliance with a creepy cellar-dwelling being. I also really enjoyed ‘All the Letters in His Van’, which offers a macabre take on a certain kids’ TV show, and now I’ve finished the book, it’s this clever and devilishly funny story I find myself thinking about a lot.
I received an advance review copy of Only the Broken Remain from Sublime Horror, courtesy of Black Shuck Books.
TinyLetter | Linktree
I don’t know whether we’re truly getting more good literary horror collections these days, or whether I’ve just had good luck in picking them out lately. Either way, Only the Broken Remain is a pleasing addition to the stack of such collections published within the past year, including London Incognita by Gary Budden, Where We Live by Tim Cooke and London Gothic by Nicholas Royle.
Coxon’s stories tend towards a theme – that of an outsider finding community, albeit of an uncertain sort, among other misfits, often eschewing reality as well as conformity. Sometimes this is inverted, as in ‘Baddavine’, a folk horror tale in which a group of villagers, tormented by the whispers of an unseen creature, form a mob to pursue it. My favourite story was ‘No One’s Child’, the richly, fascinatingly grim tale of a young evacuee forming a deadly alliance with a creepy cellar-dwelling being. I also really enjoyed ‘All the Letters in His Van’, which offers a macabre take on a certain kids’ TV show, and now I’ve finished the book, it’s this clever and devilishly funny story I find myself thinking about a lot.
I received an advance review copy of Only the Broken Remain from Sublime Horror, courtesy of Black Shuck Books.
TinyLetter | Linktree
December 23, 2020
I have read (and reviewed) way more than my usual quota of collections and anthologies in 2020 and the main reason is a simple one: The standard is incredibly high! Hot on the heels of Gary Budden’s excellent
London Incognita
we have another absolute beauty, Dan Coxon’s sublime Only the Broken Remain, a collection of totally unique short stories which dance around the horror genre, but probably resides more comfortably under the banner of ‘weird fiction’. If you are after “Boo!” type scares, blood and guts, or twist endings, this is not that kind of book and it is much better for it, being a series of snapshots of uncanny or strange moments and moods. Normally I read collections rather slowly, but I devoured Only the Broken Remain straight through and found myself looking forward to what delights lay ahead in the next offering.
You can read Tony's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
You can read Tony's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
February 7, 2021
Only The Broken Remain by Dan Coxon features 14 fabulous stories that I guess you could classify as weird horror with a British flavour. However I think Dan Coxon is one of those rare writers that are hard to pin down and define. The award winning author has been published in many prestigious magazines such as Black Static, Nightscript, Not one of Us, Unsung Stories and many others. He's also the editor of the critically acclaimed Tales From The Shadow Booth anthologies as well as This Dreaming Isle.
This collection, which I immensely enjoyed, features a motley crue of down and outs, people who once lived like us but had something about them irreparably broken. Yet they are still unwilling to give up, choosing instead to forge a survival when and where they can find it.
Most of these stories start off sounding normal and mundane but when you look closer you realise there is something not quite right. All these stories united by a thread of cold anxious dread seeping in through the pages. Darkness is always underfoot and there's no telling how it will strike. It's a quiet sort of horror that creeps in slowly from the edges of normalcy but once it has you it is final.
These stories exert a powerful realness, that they could happen to anyone, they warn that any one of us could slip through the cracks of society and find themselves lost and alone.
I loved the attention to details in these stories, Dan Coxon paints a really vivid picture full of atmosphere but keeps the pace moving quickly.
I really enjoyed all these tales but my stand out favourites were;
Stannislav in Foxtown
Previously published in one of my all time favourite magazines; Black Static. This tale features a disenchanted immigrant, Stannislav moving to the UK for want of a better life but ends up working in a chicken shop. Mistreated each day by his boss Mr Sharples, starving and abused he forms an unlikely friendship, and in numbers there is strength.
Only The Broken Remain
Possibly the darkest tale in this anthology. This was creepy from the first word. Allison the young woman of the tale had been to hell and back and would be on the road to recovery if it weren't for the fact she can't any sleep. Her new neighbours are the source of some strange night-time activities and when she battles with her agoraphobia to go and knock on their door, she realises there is no next door. But where are the noises coming from?
Baddavine
Set in an isolated small community somewhere by the sea, this is British folk horror at its best. One day a father and daughter hear a strange whisper when they spend the day at the coast. At first the father thinks it is just childlike imagination but then he starts to hear it too, so does the rest of his small village. Baddavine, the voice rasps over and over again. It drives them mad and one night they all go together to challenge the intruder.
Rut
Down and out Cedric works at a pub, terrorised by Gary Chiltern and his gang. Each day gets a little harder but he needs this job. Gradually he is pushed away from society and starts to find refuge in the local woods that have a rich history with his family. It's the perfect haven until Chiltern spots him going there alone one night...
All the Letters in His Van
A couple embark on a walking holiday with the intent to relax and get a break from their crumbling attempt to start a family of their own. They end up up getting lost but thankfully find a quaint little village to rest in.
This collection, which I immensely enjoyed, features a motley crue of down and outs, people who once lived like us but had something about them irreparably broken. Yet they are still unwilling to give up, choosing instead to forge a survival when and where they can find it.
Most of these stories start off sounding normal and mundane but when you look closer you realise there is something not quite right. All these stories united by a thread of cold anxious dread seeping in through the pages. Darkness is always underfoot and there's no telling how it will strike. It's a quiet sort of horror that creeps in slowly from the edges of normalcy but once it has you it is final.
These stories exert a powerful realness, that they could happen to anyone, they warn that any one of us could slip through the cracks of society and find themselves lost and alone.
I loved the attention to details in these stories, Dan Coxon paints a really vivid picture full of atmosphere but keeps the pace moving quickly.
I really enjoyed all these tales but my stand out favourites were;
Stannislav in Foxtown
Previously published in one of my all time favourite magazines; Black Static. This tale features a disenchanted immigrant, Stannislav moving to the UK for want of a better life but ends up working in a chicken shop. Mistreated each day by his boss Mr Sharples, starving and abused he forms an unlikely friendship, and in numbers there is strength.
Only The Broken Remain
Possibly the darkest tale in this anthology. This was creepy from the first word. Allison the young woman of the tale had been to hell and back and would be on the road to recovery if it weren't for the fact she can't any sleep. Her new neighbours are the source of some strange night-time activities and when she battles with her agoraphobia to go and knock on their door, she realises there is no next door. But where are the noises coming from?
Baddavine
Set in an isolated small community somewhere by the sea, this is British folk horror at its best. One day a father and daughter hear a strange whisper when they spend the day at the coast. At first the father thinks it is just childlike imagination but then he starts to hear it too, so does the rest of his small village. Baddavine, the voice rasps over and over again. It drives them mad and one night they all go together to challenge the intruder.
Rut
Down and out Cedric works at a pub, terrorised by Gary Chiltern and his gang. Each day gets a little harder but he needs this job. Gradually he is pushed away from society and starts to find refuge in the local woods that have a rich history with his family. It's the perfect haven until Chiltern spots him going there alone one night...
All the Letters in His Van
A couple embark on a walking holiday with the intent to relax and get a break from their crumbling attempt to start a family of their own. They end up up getting lost but thankfully find a quaint little village to rest in.
February 13, 2023
Dan Coxon's stories are all filled with such quiet, uncanny threat. Genuinely not a bad story in here.
February 26, 2021
Short stories are tough—for writers as well as readers. With only a little time to make an impact, many end up falling flat and forgettable. Thankfully for us readers, Dan Coxon knocks it out of the park with the short stories in Only The Broken Remain, his collection of dark and disturbing fiction featuring the downtrodden of the world.
There are several stand-outs amongst these fourteen stories, not least of which is the opener, "Stanislav in Foxtown." In it, an immigrant works day in and day out at a local chicken joint, until he befriends some foxes that live in the area. Stan and his foxes grab your attention immediately, and the descriptions in this story are indicative of the amazing prose that permeates the entire collection. Not every story landed for me, though. Particularly towards the middle of the collection, I found that some stories didn't commit to their premises, and the ending was a little too vague.
Without a doubt, I'd have to say that my favorite story was "No One's Child," a story about a young English girl who is sent to the country during the London air raids who finds a creature in her guardian's cellar. The descriptions in this story, the setting, and the absolute brutality were absolutely phenomenal and this is a story that will stick with me for awhile.
This is an all-the-good-bits abbreviated review. For my full review, check out my blog.
Disclaimer: the author provided me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
There are several stand-outs amongst these fourteen stories, not least of which is the opener, "Stanislav in Foxtown." In it, an immigrant works day in and day out at a local chicken joint, until he befriends some foxes that live in the area. Stan and his foxes grab your attention immediately, and the descriptions in this story are indicative of the amazing prose that permeates the entire collection. Not every story landed for me, though. Particularly towards the middle of the collection, I found that some stories didn't commit to their premises, and the ending was a little too vague.
Without a doubt, I'd have to say that my favorite story was "No One's Child," a story about a young English girl who is sent to the country during the London air raids who finds a creature in her guardian's cellar. The descriptions in this story, the setting, and the absolute brutality were absolutely phenomenal and this is a story that will stick with me for awhile.
This is an all-the-good-bits abbreviated review. For my full review, check out my blog.
Disclaimer: the author provided me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
February 7, 2021
I am very happy to recommend Dan Coxon’s sublime Only the Broken Remain, a collection of totally unique short stories which dance around the horror genre, but probably resides more comfortably under the banner of ‘weird fiction’. If you are after “Boo!” type scares, blood and guts, or twist endings this is not that kind of book and it is much better for it, being a series of snapshots of uncanny or strange moments and moods. Since his first short story arrived in the 1990s Coxon has had over fifty stories published, and with such an impressive range of short fiction to draw upon, it is no surprise this collection is so strong, with all the stories being previously published. There are no fillers, and although I liked some more than others, it is an incredibly rounded collection which often focuses upon people at the fringes of society, loners, the disenfranchised and those with nobody to turn to for help.
Considering many of the stories were built around isolation, two of my favouries slightly broke this mould, as they both featured more than one character. Baddavine was both a beautiful and ultimately very sad tale, the locals in a rural community begin to hear weird noises in the wind, which they suspect to be a creature they then begin to hunt. Even though the main character is a family man, the feeling of isolation which threads the collection is instead connected to the creature. The sheer variety of the tales on offer is highly impressive and the final story, All the Letters in his Van was surely one of the strangest and quirkiest. A couple out walking lose track of the time and find themselves stranded in a remote village where nobody wants them to leave and even give them a cottage to live in. This was classic weird horror at its finest.
Stanislav in Foxtown was another highlight, an immigrant with poor English skills fantasising about murdering the mean Mr Sharples, the owner of the fried chicken shop where he works. After feeding scraps to a few stray foxes, events take a highly unexpected turn when he becomes drawn to the animals, leading to a terrific ending. The dark humour continues in the excellent Roll Up, Roll Up, in which unemployed Robbie (he would have undoubtedly loved a job in the chicken shop!) ends up working for a circus, even though he is clumsy and has no skills. But he is desperate for a job and will try his hand at anything. You will find yourself quickly poor Robbie all the way as things escalate, including an unforgettable trip to the highwire and an ending which nail’s Coxon’s style, in which not everything is explained, but it remains a satisfying experience.
2020 will not provide many better collections than Only the Broken Remain, so let this author take you by the hand into some very strange and isolated places. Many are unconventional snapshots of the uncanny and although there were a few which really left me hanging, wishing for a few pages more, it was a great collection. If you have never tried Coxon before, he has a distinctive literary voice which is well worth tapping into and this is the perfect place to start.
Considering many of the stories were built around isolation, two of my favouries slightly broke this mould, as they both featured more than one character. Baddavine was both a beautiful and ultimately very sad tale, the locals in a rural community begin to hear weird noises in the wind, which they suspect to be a creature they then begin to hunt. Even though the main character is a family man, the feeling of isolation which threads the collection is instead connected to the creature. The sheer variety of the tales on offer is highly impressive and the final story, All the Letters in his Van was surely one of the strangest and quirkiest. A couple out walking lose track of the time and find themselves stranded in a remote village where nobody wants them to leave and even give them a cottage to live in. This was classic weird horror at its finest.
Stanislav in Foxtown was another highlight, an immigrant with poor English skills fantasising about murdering the mean Mr Sharples, the owner of the fried chicken shop where he works. After feeding scraps to a few stray foxes, events take a highly unexpected turn when he becomes drawn to the animals, leading to a terrific ending. The dark humour continues in the excellent Roll Up, Roll Up, in which unemployed Robbie (he would have undoubtedly loved a job in the chicken shop!) ends up working for a circus, even though he is clumsy and has no skills. But he is desperate for a job and will try his hand at anything. You will find yourself quickly poor Robbie all the way as things escalate, including an unforgettable trip to the highwire and an ending which nail’s Coxon’s style, in which not everything is explained, but it remains a satisfying experience.
2020 will not provide many better collections than Only the Broken Remain, so let this author take you by the hand into some very strange and isolated places. Many are unconventional snapshots of the uncanny and although there were a few which really left me hanging, wishing for a few pages more, it was a great collection. If you have never tried Coxon before, he has a distinctive literary voice which is well worth tapping into and this is the perfect place to start.
November 17, 2020
A hugely impressive collection of short stories not quite horror but a celebration of the weird and strange
Full Review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
Full Review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
June 26, 2021
This is an interesting and imaginative collection of stories which takes the reader deep into weird territory. There's a good balance between mundane sociological realism and visionary strangeness; in Coxon's world, it seems, the more mundane a place seems, the more likely it is to harbour some sort of peculiarity and/or menace. At times, the stories give a bit too much away (we don't need two sightings of the green man figure in 'Rut') and at others they are frustratingly inconclusive, but rather that than the overly neat or rationalised ending. Am I alone in discerning quite a marked Raoul Dahl influence at times? The opening story may have a lot of contemporary trappings, but Stanislav's relationship with the foxes, and the sense of nature righting human wrongs reminded me of stories from 'Henry Sugar' as well as 'Fantastic Mr Fox'. Just a thought.
Coxon's well worth watching as a writer and, to judge from 'This Dreaming Isle', an anthologist. And it's always good to support Black Shuck. Woof woof!
Coxon's well worth watching as a writer and, to judge from 'This Dreaming Isle', an anthologist. And it's always good to support Black Shuck. Woof woof!
December 10, 2024
A solid collection, this. Tense, non-obvious stories, well-written and creepy. Nothing is obvious (except from the very last story), nothing stated definitely, the dread sneaks in, taps you on the back with icy-cold hand, and whips away.
February 12, 2025
Review to come.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews