A Maze for the Minotaur

by Reggie Oliver

This is the eighth volume of stories by Reggie Oliver to be published by Tartarus Press and marks the fact that we have published over one hundred of his tales. Oliver’s work is notable for its style, wit, humour and depth of characterisation, and also for its profound excursions into the disturbingly bizarre and uncanny. Behind a façade of classical elegance his stories consistently defy convention.



‘The Crumblies’ is a haunted house story, but is the house haunted by the dead, or the living? A retired civil servant is tormented by guilt, but is it guilt about a real, or an imagined event? In the title story, why are the inhabitants of a high-class brothel so terrified by a client who just likes to throw jam tarts at them? In these and other mysteries, we are taken to a farmhouse in the Dordogne, a Suffolk ‘Rehab Clinic’, a private island in the Thames, Victorian St John’s Wood, the Edinburgh Festival in 1979, and many other unusual destinations.





Contents: ‘The Old Man of the Woods’, ‘Coruvorn’, ‘The Wet Woman’, ‘A Maze for the Minotaur’, ‘Shadowy Waters’, ‘A Fragment of Thucydides’, ‘The Crumblies’, ‘Monkey’s’, ‘Collectable’, ‘Via Mortis’, ‘A Cabinet of Curiosities’, ‘The Armies of the Night’, ‘A Tartarean Century: Author’s note’.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Weird Fiction, Fiction

340 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 4, 2021

About the author

Reggie Oliver is a stage actor and playwright. His biography of Stella Gibbons was praised as “a triumph” by Hilary Spurling in the Daily Telegraph, his play Winner Takes All, was described as “the funniest evening in London”, by Michael Billington in The Guardian, and his adaptation of Hennequin and Delacour’s Once Bitten opened at the Orange Tree Theatre in London in December 2010.

He is the author of four highly-praised volumes of short fiction: The Dreams of Cardinal Vittorini (Haunted River 2003), The Complete Symphonies of Adolf Hitler (Haunted River 2005), Masques of Satan (Ash Tree 2007), and Madder Mysteries (Ex Occidente 2009). His stories have appeared in over 25 anthologies and, for the third year running, one of his stories appears in The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, the most widely read and popular of contemporary horror anthologies.

Reviews

[Ronald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book marks the fact that over a hundred of Reggie Oliver's stories have been published by Tartarus Press, with its usual high production values. There are ghost stories in this book, like in his previous books, but the stories also show more variance in genre.

"The Old Man in the Wood". A Brit purchases real estate in France which is haunted by a ghost. 3.5 stars

"Coruvorn". The protagonist is a lawyer who has dreams where he is a god in another world. A courtroom rival is involved in the dream. It might not just be dream though. 4 stars

"The Wet Woman". The narrator is an actor in a rehab clinic where a supernatural female entity brings trouble and death. 4 stars

"A Maze for the Minotaur". When I saw the title of this story, I expected a Borgesian style story. But the story is far from it. It is a naturalistic story of revenge against an abusive client of prostitutes.
3.5 stars

"Shadowy Waters" The narrator gets supernatural help in his conflict with others over the estate of a deceased former lover.
3.5 stars

"A Fragment of Thucydides" A murder mystery about a scholar's death. 3 stars

"The Crumblies" A couple buys a house which turns out to be haunted. 3.5 stars

"Monkey's" A gruesome, violent, science fiction-horror story about a strange creature on a little island in the UK. 3.5 stars

"Collectable" The narrator works in a senior citizens home where he interacts with a former dancer and actress who is mostly forgotten. 3.5 stars

"Via Mortis" A supernatural mystery story that takes place in an old chapel that was converted into a theater. 3.5 stars

"A Cabinet of Curiosities" This section is comprised of whimsical, supernatural stories each about 4 pages long. For example, a school vanishes but reappears later. 3.5 stars

"The Armies of the Night". I see reviewers divided on this novella. The story takes place in the 1930s, where J. Edgar Hoover and H.P. Lovecraft are characters. An FBI agent's investigation leads him to Cthulhu Mythos-like beings. I was entertained. 3.5 stars

The illustrations are by Reggie Oliver too. Rounding up my rating for the book to 4 stars

[Nancy Oakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

well, that was certainly fun. And luckily I got the cheeto fingerprints off the back cover.

full post here:
http://www.oddlyweirdfiction.com/2021...

Tartarus continues to delight with this newest volume, A Maze For the Minotaur and Other Strange Stories, by Reggie Oliver. The first time I encountered this most prolific writer was some time back with his The Dracula Papers, Book I: The Scholar's Tale (Chomu Press, 2011), after which I began collecting his books as well as several anthologies containing this author's short stories. He is yet another writer whose tales tip my world ever so slightly askew while reading. That's a good thing. The publication by Tartarus of this the eighth volume of stories by this author is also a milestone: it "marks the fact that they have published over one hundred of his tales." Here's to one hundred more.

The dustjacket blurb notes that

"Oliver's work is notable for its style, wit humour and depth of characterisation, and also for its profound excursions into the disturbingly bizarre and uncanny"

and I have to tip my hat to this man who's given me so many hours of reading pleasure over the last few years, and to Tartarus as well for bringing forth this eighth volume of Oliver's stories. It is definitely one not to miss whether you are a regular fan of Oliver's stories, or a reader drawn to the realm of the strange or the weird. Don't be surprised if you find yourself feeling a bit off kilter after reading this book -- it's part and parcel of the Oliver experience.

most highly recommended.

[Canavan · Rating 4 out of 5]

✭✭✭½

“The Old Man of the Woods” (2019) ✭✭✭½
“Coruvorn” (2018) ✭✭✭½
“The Wet Woman” (2021) ✭✭✭✭
“A Maze for the Minotaur” (2019) ✭✭✭½
“Shadowy Waters” (2019) ✭✭✭½
“A Fragment of Thucydides” (2019) ✭✭½
“The Crumblies” (2020) ✭✭✭½
“Monkey’s” (2020) ✭✭✭✭
“Collectable” (2020) ✭✭✭½
“Via Mortis” (2021) ✭✭✭½
“A Cabinet of Curiosities” (2006, 2009) ✭✭½
“The Armies of the Night” (2017) ✭✭

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of twelve stories, several of which are of almost novella length, is a perfect read for admirers of Jamesian 'Pleasing Terror'. It contains tales of horror, crime, various shades of darkness, all refined with wit and erudition that we have come to expect from the author.
Recommended to those who enjoy reading.

[Side Real Press · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe I have said elsewhere that I regard the author as one of the best living writers in the genre and as it is always a pleasure to read his work. I now tend not to read the anthologies he appears in but prefer to wait until they are collected together as here, with two previously unpublished stories to boot. I prefer my Oliver neat as it were.

Writing of ’neat’, what I like about Oliver is that his works are very well written, concisely constructed but with an eye for the telling detail, an almost sly aside in description that brings them to life. Take for example our first indication of what Mrs Belling in ‘A Maze for the Minotaur’ might be like. “Mabel seated herself in the window of Mrs Belling’s ‘drawing room’ as she chose to call it (rather than a parlour) and looked down into the garden below.” Already we have an indication that Mrs Belling might be a snob, or have ideas above her station or a sense of her own (possibly false) importance. Similarly, our first experience of Mr Souter (in ‘Shadowy Waters’) reveals something about that character and the narrator: “A man in his late forties or perhaps fifties with sandy hair; he wore a tween jacket, a mustard coloured waistcoat, and green trousers. The impression of a fogeyish dandy was enhanced by a pair of side-whiskers, and a silk cravat of white spots on a red ground. I have no strong objections to unconventional attire, but I was wary.” I think one seed the influence of Robert Aickman here, a comment that leaves an open doorway for speculation by the reader. But whereas Aickman might be more enigmatic, both subsequent stories leaves us confirmed in our suspicions. It’s clever, thoughtful writing.

The stories generally find us in familiar Oliver territories. Actors, resting or otherwise (‘The Wet Woman’, ‘Via Mortis’), feuding academics (‘ A Fragment of Thucydides’) and private (or at least posh) schools (‘Monkey’s’). With exception of ‘Via Mortis’ which is a ‘straight’ ghost story, all three relate to power, the wielding of it and who is complicit in its enactment. Usually, this results in an unpleasant surprise for someone, or possibly all involved- ‘The Wet Woman[s]’ practical pleasantry by some of the characters takes a turn for the odd (a tale that reminded me oddly of Marianne Faithful and Brian Jones) and the brutality of ‘Monkey’s’ stains all concerned. Power relationships are also very much to the fore in the volumes titular tale where a patron at an 1890’s brothel has some odd and extreme tastes which need to be avenged.

As I have (hopefully) implied above, a number of these stories are not supernatural per se but of course, there also are a number of them in this volume. ‘The Old Man of the Woods’ and ‘The Crumblies’ are hauntings of a sort, Oliver is too clever a writer to make it too straightforward while ‘Stormy Water’ is perhaps the most ‘traditional’ seeming- a disputed will at the centre of proceedings. In contrast, ‘Coruvorn’ in which the titular character believes he is a sort of God is perhaps the oddest tale here and certainly one of the highlights of the book.

However, the standout for me is ‘Collectable’ in which a resting actor turned care worker forms a special rapport with a faded and senile occupant at the care home he works in. This is also a tale of power imbalances, the power of memory and the ability of body and mind to escape/elude a variety of ‘realities’. This is a subtle and delicately told tale that works on a variety of levels- this is Oliver at his very best.

It is thus somewhat saddening to have to report that a number of the remaining pieces did not work at all for me. I have indicated elsewhere my general dislike for whimsey in my fiction, with the exception of the mighty Ogdred Weary, all praise be unto him et cetera. The pieces collected under the umbrella title ‘A Cabinet of Curiosities’ fall into the whimsical territory- it's a bit of a dead zone for me. Even more puzzling is the inclusion of the ‘The Armies Of The Night’ a humorous ’hard-boiled’ detective tale in which the J Edgar Hoover sets up a special investigation department, the Human Protection League in order to protect the USA against potential attack by aliens. He is particularly worried that H. P. Lovecraft seems to have a little too much knowledge of what is going on and sends an agent to befriend him and find out the score. You will either love or loathe it. Well, ‘loathe’ is perhaps a strong word, but let's say I didn’t love it.

This should have been a solid four-star review but sadly the latter tales are fatal for me. This is a pity as the best stories here really are superb. Oliver fans will want this book regardless but newcomers to his oeuvre (where have you been all this time?) may want to look to his earlier volumes.

[Doug Bolden · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this collection, Oliver takes M. R. James's admonition—"Ghosts, Treat Them Gently"—to heart. Though the original essay was a bit more in line with treading lightly, but effectively, with literary ghosts, Oliver goes for a bit more of a literal meaning. While a few of the stories have spirits-of-the-deceased being involved in deaths—directly or tangentially—the fatal side-effects of the hauntings are often mitigated by circumstances either obviously, as in one story where a character is saved by ghostly intervention, or through subtext. In this collection's ghostly-tales, the protagonist often takes something like pity on the ghost, or at least the cause of the haunting, or works with them.*

It would be improper, though, to consider this a precisely a collection of ghost stories. There are ghost stories, sure, but there is also a Dunsanian story—"Coruvorn"—that deals with a dream theogony's descent into holy war. There is a murder mystery—"A Fragment of Thucydides"—dealing with an academic dispute that, despite a rather abrupt and perhaps unsatisfying handling of the conclusion, is pleasantly different [even with its presumed digs at Inspector Morse]. The eponymous story—"A Maze for Minotaur"—deals with a rather odd fetish, high-end prostitution, and a fairly simple form of revenge. That story as well as a couple of others has hints of what you might call a rather E.C. Comics resolution: horror as a kind of moral arbiter.

A couple of stories—"The Crumblies" [which has perhaps my favorite background flair in this entire collection] and "Collectables"—are less about ghosts and more about old age and the way our past haunts us and others. In fact, one of the two main themes for the collection as a whole deals with being of an age where the past is a form of haunting. This shows up in a number of the stories. the other main theme is the will to power and the influence we have over others and how real-world monsters are maybe more subtle than any story can properly portray. Or, well, in the case of something like "Monkey's", maybe not so subtle.

A large part of my enjoyment of this collection is how many fit outside of Oliver's usual mode. There's the aforementioned murder mystery and the sort of E.C. Comics' revenge plot story, but even more "in mode" stories might have a bit of additional excitement or different flair. Even more obvious are the brief tales sampled from Oliver's "Cabinet of Curiosities"—originally published in Madder Mysteries—that make for short, weird and fun reading. Their 1-3 page format allows Oliver to focus entirely on the punch and to indulge in a bit of silliness. They are sort of like stories that he might write boiled down to just their core. I would love to see more of them, but the initial collection is well out of print and costly, so I do not know if such a possibility is likely.

The biggest derivation is the longest work in the book—"Armies of the Night"—a completely against-type novella in which Oliver delves into a full on Lovecraftian fiction that involves the FBI, gangsters, deep ones, gun fights, and Lovecraft as a character. This novella combines parody, action, and intrigue in a way that feels fairly un-Oliver (despite the presence of a theatrical production as a central element). It was interesting, and I would enjoy seeing more in this vein, but it was also a bit jarring.

Despite all of this, perhaps my favorite story in this collection—"Via Mortis"—is the the most stereotypical of Oliver. An ex-actor thinks back to a strange thing that happened in his youth and it generally plays out like many of his standard beats. Still, I quite enjoyed the pacing and the characters used as well as its ability to tell its story without overplaying its hand.

Reggie Oliver continues to be one of the greatest living contributors to ghost-and-ghost-adjacent horror and this collection only cements that while also expanding some of the concepts that might be associated with Oliverian fiction. I look forward to more.

As something of an aside, Tartarus Press also continues to print absolutely gorgeous books and the two of them are a good match. The binding was perhaps a little tight in this one, but still it is not hard to imagine this book being a treasure of my shelves for years to come, like all of their work.

=====
* At least one protagonist treats the ghost quite gently, indeed.

[Randy Money · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection of strange stories. Oliver is a throwback of sorts, a Brit with a theater background and, apparently, a classical education, like an E. F. Benson or an L. P. Hartley, who writes sentences that flow seamlessly one to the next and devotes his erudition to the classic ghost story. The stories in this collection are all entertaining, and the collection ends with a Lovecraftian confection located partly on Broadway, mixed with appearances by J. Edgar Hoover and his right-hand man, Clyde Tolson, wrapped in a Dashiell Hammett plot and liberally spiced with Damon Runyon dialog.

[Zac Hawkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing quite like getting absorbed in a void world of Reggie Oliver.
Continues to be one of my favourites in the business today.

[Abe Ziesing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! This was my first time reading Reggie Oliver and I'm an instant fan. He is at the top of the scale in a literary sense, and yet manages to be simultaneously down to earth in a very comforting way. He's like eating your favorite homecooked meal and then realizing that it's also super nutritious. This book of short stories is a superb mix of supernatural and gothic horror tales with variety in plots and settings that are linked often linked stylistically and thematically. The reading order of the stories is perfect and added to my enjoyment like the perfect track order of a great music album. It ends on a very big high note with perhaps the best story of the lot in which J. Edgar Hoover and H.P. Lovecraft make highly entertaining appearances, and are sewn into a tale that exhibits Reggie Oliver's virtuosic writing abilities. It's like a difficult literature professor's writing assignment - connect these two unlikely characters in a zombie apocalypse in 15,000 words or less - and Mr. Oliver nailed it with an A+. Witty, charming, and fun!