Sardonicus and Other Stories

by Ray Russell

Includes the novella, Sardonicus, and 16 other short stories.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Fantasy, Gothic, Anthologies, Science Fiction

143 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Ray Russell was an American editor and writer of short stories, novels, and screenplays. Russell is best known for his horror fiction, although he also wrote mystery and science fiction stories.

His most famous short fiction is "Sardonicus", which appeared in the January 1961 issue of Playboy magazine, and was subsequently adapted by Russell into a screenplay for William Castle's film version, titled Mr. Sardonicus. American writer Stephen King called "Sardonicus" "perhaps the finest example of the modern gothic ever written"."Sardonicus" was part of a trio of stories with "Sanguinarius" and "Sagittarius".

see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Russell and http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-ent...

Reviews

[Nandakishore Mridula · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title story, Sardonicus, is terrific. Stephen King has called it the finest example of modern gothic horror ever written, and I would agree. This tale of a man with a horrible rictus of a grin pasted on his face, who uses his captive wife as a bait to lure a doctor to cure him, has all the required trappings: the lonely castle, the trapped heroine, the intrepid hero, the dank cellars full of the instruments of torture... you name it, it's there. The hero is brave, the heroine is beautiful and helpless, and the villain is monstrous. But the author has managed to infuse the right quantity of grey into the character of Sardonicus to keep the story interesting, and to prevent it from descending into cliche.

Apart from this, the remaining stories are all so-so. Most of them are very short and quite readable. Almost all of them contain elements of crime, fantasy, or science fiction, and quite a few rely on the trick ending to create its effect. But after a point, the device becomes jaded. Except for the title story, none of them are must-reads.

A good book to while away a couple of hours.

[Davonna Juroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for only SARDONICUS.

Sardonicus is a gothic short story that was printed in Playboy Magazine in 1961. True to the gothic genre, this story takes place in a dark castle and tells the story of a physician (lots of physicians in the gothic) who is held by his will to fix the deformed face of the master Sardonicus. Excellent creepy premise!

Really, this story could almost be the precursor to an 1800's version of The Joker. Batman would be appalled!

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title story is a terrific Gothic horror novella, and also included are sixteen short stories. Some of the others are extremely short, one-punch pieces that reminded me quite a bit of Frederic Brown. Russell was the fiction editor of Playboy Magazine for years, but many of these appeared in F & SF and other genre magazines in the 1950's. Good stuff!

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Go read Haunted Castles instead - it's one of the greatest collections of horror fiction I've ever read. This contains some stories from Haunted Castles but is a lesser selection.

[Williwaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I don't have this book yet. Copies seem to start in the $25 range, which is a lot to pay for an old mass market paperback!

I found the title story in a hardcover anthology called "13 Short Horror Novels." I wouldn't call Sardonicus a "novel," however. Instead, it is a short story of approximately 30 pages.

At any rate, Sardonicus is a wonderful tale. Although penned in the early 1960's, it has the feel of Poe or an earlier gothic-style writer. The story employs tropes you've probably encountered before (like a skull-shaped castle, and a journey to an exotic locale), but there are also uniquely disturbing elements, such as the incurable rictus of the central character. Rich veins of sex, death, greed, and betrayal run through the story, all of which made this a breeze to read.

The plot is compelling; the writing is elegant. The only reason I'm limiting the review to 4 stars is that I don't know the quality or character of the other stories in this book.

For others who may be seeking out Sardonicus, the classic title story: I just discovered that it is also available in a mass market paperback from 1971 called "Sagittarius," published by Playboy Press. Ray Russell was a fiction editor for the magazine.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I believe it is entirely possible for a man to possess not a single one of the virtues, to be a demon in human flesh.”

Exquisitely written, yet direct. Along with Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca" and Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House," Ray Russell's "Sardonicus" is perhaps the pinnacle of 20th century gothic literature. Rarely has the evil of man been as beautifully analyzed as a manifestation of oneself as it is here, because true malevolence comes from within, not without. Or, "...to paraphrase Sardonicuss very words-not from God above or the Fiend below, but from within his own breast, his own brain, his own soul."

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm thankful that I found this at a reasonable price from some unsuspecting thrift store on eBay because this (much like the other big-ticket item I found for cheap, "The Voice of the Clown") isn't worth the exorbitant prices charged by horror paperback scalpers online. The title story is the best of the bunch by a long shot. It's a solid, respectable gothic horror pastiche. The rest is standard mid-century SF/supernatural fiction stuff, nothing particularly interesting here but also nothing particularly dull either. Save your money and watch the William Castle movie instead, I'm sure it's a better experience overall.

[Donovan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sardonicus only, haven't read the other stories

[T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gets the Gothic element pretty well.

[Libby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed "Sardonicus" and a couple of the other stories, like "The Cage", but got a bit bored near the end and did not read the last couple stories. Not quite as much horror as I expected.

[Wildefire Luna · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Chef’s kiss*

[Krishnakumar Muraleedharan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories remind you of Twilight Zone episodes. Sardonicus is easily the best of the lot.

[J. P. Wiske · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very mixed bag, both in quality and in content: Gothic Horror, Dystopian Sci-fi, "literary", Historical Satire, and who knows what else. "Sardonicus" is rightly viewed as a gem of gothic horror. If not for the fact that it has been reprinted in literally dozens of separate anthologies (as well as a couple of Ray Russell's own collections!), I would say it's worth the price of admission. But as I said, there are any number of other places you could find this story. Unfortunately, nothing else in this collection comes close, and many fall desperately short. Of those that were more than tolerable, I would mention only two: "The Exploits of the Argo" and "I Am Returning". "Montage" is superficially clever, but frustratingly doesn't stand up to much logical scrutiny. Everything else sturck me as disposable entertainments, at best.

[Debra]

Stephen King recommended book. Noted as "important to the genre we have been discussing" from Danse Macabre, published in 1981.

[Paul Blocklyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sardonicus can also be found in Classic Tales of Horror and the Supernatural, ed. Bill Pronzini, Barry Malzberg, and Martin H. Greenberg, William Morrow, 1982.