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Probably Monsters
There are such things as monsters, and you'll find many of them here. Be they bloodsucking fiends or shambling dead things, scuttling crawlies, or strange creatures with wings, they're here within these pages. And some of them, maybe the worst of them, they look like us. They're people.
Probably Monsters is a collection of 20 dark, disturbing stories by the awardwinning Ray Cluley.
You've been warned.
Here be monsters.
Probably Monsters is a collection of 20 dark, disturbing stories by the awardwinning Ray Cluley.
You've been warned.
Here be monsters.
436 pages, Paperback
First published February 17, 2015
7 people are currently reading
223 people want to read
About the author
Ray Cluley
87 books39 followersRay Cluley is a British Fantasy Award winner with stories published in various magazines and anthologies. Some of these have been republished in ‘best of’ volumes, including Ellen Datlow’s Best Horror of the Year series and Nightmares: A New Decade of Modern Horror, as well as Steve Berman’s Wilde Stories: The Year’s Best Gay Speculative Fiction, and Benoît Domis’s Ténèbres. He has been translated into French, Polish, and Hungarian, and Chinese.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
February 23, 2016
When I found out that Probably Monsters was Ray Cluley's first collection of short fiction, I was frankly a bit shocked. With the amount of times I'd seen his name included in anthologies, high end dark fiction journals, award lists (he won a British Fantasy Award in 2013 for Best Short Story and has garnered other accolades and honors), and year-end Best Ofs, I figured he had several dozen stories penned and a few collections under his belt.
But no, and so much the better, because Cluley has allowed himself time to write, ruminate upon, then cull the best work from his oeuvre, which plays to the benefit of us his readers, as he presents twenty brilliantly crafted stories that range vastly in setting, tone, subgenre, and even genre itself. Paul Tremblay recently wrote in an interview he conducted with Peter Straub for the Los Angeles Review of Books that Straub is now entering his fifth decade of "blurring genre and literary fiction." Blurring. I like that. Cluley does this, as well. I'm sure many of the great dark fiction and horror writers, or at least the ones I most admire and enjoy, do that these days.
Clulely writes British, and he writes American, and he writes as if he's a native of nowhere and everywhere at the same time. He's deft with his language, balanced, showing enough poetry to woo you while never slathering on so much cologne that you're running for the exit once you move in close. His is a strong, confident, beautiful voice, enhancing the telling while never getting in the way of the interesting plotting and characters, pulling up all the sadness and horror and guts of this world and others beyond it and laying it out for us to ponder. In short, it's the ideal voice of contemporary literature. That he happens to also write about monsters of every species is just the cherry on top. I prefer my literature topped with monsters, don't you?
Probably Monsters roars from the gates with a snarl, as the opening story "All Change" is a powerhouse start to the collection, and fitting, as it features a smorgasbord of creative and horrific beasties. You can see Cluley's mind running wild a bit, having fun creating creatures of all shapes, sizes, and textures. The boy playing monsters. I loved the big H Horror of this story, and how it shifts the mind into a particular setting for what is assumed to come.
This mindset is immediately challenged by "I Have Heard the Mermaids Singing," which is more of a quiet literary piece, taking place in Nicaragua and centering around the dangers of the free diving lobster industry, shadowed by native superstition. An excellent, interesting, melancholy story that could appear in any fine fiction journal anywhere in the world. Hemingway could have written this story if he had a bit more heart and stylistic art, or Hunter Thompson, if he remained sober long enough.
"The Festering" inspired the cover to the collection, and is a dark piece of new weird fantasy. I'm not even sure I know what "new weird" is, but it somehow seems to fit this tale of a teenager girl who whispers all of her secrets into her bedroom desk, while dealing with a desperately lonely mother and the inappropriate attention from the neighbor down the hall. This is one of my favorite stories in Probably Monsters, and is a perfect example of balancing the real with the surreal in one story, offering up brutal truth and the fantastical without sacrificing the impact of either.
"At Night, When the Demons Come" reads like the opening to a gritty, bleak-as-shit horror novel, or even a big Hollywood film. More mainstream and genre-heavy than his other tales to this point, the story is set in a post-apocalyptic world reminiscent of McCarthy's The Road, albeit a version of the story menaced by a plague of winged succubae instead of your garden variety hungry hungry humans.
"Night Fishing" was the first story I read by Cluley back in the pages of the tragically departed Shadows & Tall Trees. After reading this tale of a man tasked with fishing the bodies of Golden Gate Bridge suicide victims from the San Francisco Bay on the overnight shift, I was immediately hooked. "Night Fishing" has the feel of an instant classic, like the sort of story you're taught in university English classes, when the themes get more challenging, and the tone more bleak. Another one of my favorites in this collection.
"The Death Drive of Rita, nee Carina" is another punishing story full of sadness and horror, dealing with the survivors of cars accidents and how one deals with personal survival and the loss of loved ones; while Cluley returns to that new weird territory with "Bloodcloth," which is a dark bit of near future fantasy that puts one in the mind of China Mieville or Michael Swanwick.
"Pins and Needles" is piece of dark literature that explores broken people, and how they act out. I'm not real wild about the ending, but the main character is so fascinating, not to mention his relationship with a woman he meets on the bus, that this story stands out as a highlight of Probably Monsters.
The next three pieces stand as an exceptional trio that can survive in a supernatural vacuum, embodying the best of what true horror fiction is about while also able to draw breath in the real world. "Gator Moon" takes us to the American south, and again - much like in "I Have Heard the Mermaids Singing" - plays with local folklore while addressing deep seated issues of race, inequality, recompense, and revenge. "Where the Salmon Run" is another favorite of mine, full of melody and sadness and regret, set amid a backdrop of the brutal, raw boned beauty of Kamchatka's salmon streams in eastern Russia. "Indian Giver" brings us back to the New World (where Cluley also sets "No More West"), and explores the clumsy horrors unleashed upon the native people of the Americas, and some that are unleashed in return. This story was selected for Ellen Datlow's upcoming Best Horror of the Year, Volume 8, marking Cluley's third time appearing in this renowned series ("Bones of Crow" appeared in Volume 6, and "At Night, When the Demons Come" was chosen for Volume 3).
And these are just the standouts, the real humdingers amongst twenty quality tales. A few didn't quite make it for me, but even in the ones that missed the mark, you can see the creativity, the freshness. The natural ability seasoned by the work put in. Each one deserves a close reading, much contemplation, and an enormous amount of respect.
Ray Cluley's Probably Monsters is an important collection of contemporary horror fiction. It's a deep, complex, coffee-black book with bite and heat and fragrance and several punches to the temple, and pushpins to the soul. This is true front of table stuff, and comes highly, highly recommended.
But no, and so much the better, because Cluley has allowed himself time to write, ruminate upon, then cull the best work from his oeuvre, which plays to the benefit of us his readers, as he presents twenty brilliantly crafted stories that range vastly in setting, tone, subgenre, and even genre itself. Paul Tremblay recently wrote in an interview he conducted with Peter Straub for the Los Angeles Review of Books that Straub is now entering his fifth decade of "blurring genre and literary fiction." Blurring. I like that. Cluley does this, as well. I'm sure many of the great dark fiction and horror writers, or at least the ones I most admire and enjoy, do that these days.
Clulely writes British, and he writes American, and he writes as if he's a native of nowhere and everywhere at the same time. He's deft with his language, balanced, showing enough poetry to woo you while never slathering on so much cologne that you're running for the exit once you move in close. His is a strong, confident, beautiful voice, enhancing the telling while never getting in the way of the interesting plotting and characters, pulling up all the sadness and horror and guts of this world and others beyond it and laying it out for us to ponder. In short, it's the ideal voice of contemporary literature. That he happens to also write about monsters of every species is just the cherry on top. I prefer my literature topped with monsters, don't you?
Probably Monsters roars from the gates with a snarl, as the opening story "All Change" is a powerhouse start to the collection, and fitting, as it features a smorgasbord of creative and horrific beasties. You can see Cluley's mind running wild a bit, having fun creating creatures of all shapes, sizes, and textures. The boy playing monsters. I loved the big H Horror of this story, and how it shifts the mind into a particular setting for what is assumed to come.
This mindset is immediately challenged by "I Have Heard the Mermaids Singing," which is more of a quiet literary piece, taking place in Nicaragua and centering around the dangers of the free diving lobster industry, shadowed by native superstition. An excellent, interesting, melancholy story that could appear in any fine fiction journal anywhere in the world. Hemingway could have written this story if he had a bit more heart and stylistic art, or Hunter Thompson, if he remained sober long enough.
"The Festering" inspired the cover to the collection, and is a dark piece of new weird fantasy. I'm not even sure I know what "new weird" is, but it somehow seems to fit this tale of a teenager girl who whispers all of her secrets into her bedroom desk, while dealing with a desperately lonely mother and the inappropriate attention from the neighbor down the hall. This is one of my favorite stories in Probably Monsters, and is a perfect example of balancing the real with the surreal in one story, offering up brutal truth and the fantastical without sacrificing the impact of either.
"At Night, When the Demons Come" reads like the opening to a gritty, bleak-as-shit horror novel, or even a big Hollywood film. More mainstream and genre-heavy than his other tales to this point, the story is set in a post-apocalyptic world reminiscent of McCarthy's The Road, albeit a version of the story menaced by a plague of winged succubae instead of your garden variety hungry hungry humans.
"Night Fishing" was the first story I read by Cluley back in the pages of the tragically departed Shadows & Tall Trees. After reading this tale of a man tasked with fishing the bodies of Golden Gate Bridge suicide victims from the San Francisco Bay on the overnight shift, I was immediately hooked. "Night Fishing" has the feel of an instant classic, like the sort of story you're taught in university English classes, when the themes get more challenging, and the tone more bleak. Another one of my favorites in this collection.
"The Death Drive of Rita, nee Carina" is another punishing story full of sadness and horror, dealing with the survivors of cars accidents and how one deals with personal survival and the loss of loved ones; while Cluley returns to that new weird territory with "Bloodcloth," which is a dark bit of near future fantasy that puts one in the mind of China Mieville or Michael Swanwick.
"Pins and Needles" is piece of dark literature that explores broken people, and how they act out. I'm not real wild about the ending, but the main character is so fascinating, not to mention his relationship with a woman he meets on the bus, that this story stands out as a highlight of Probably Monsters.
The next three pieces stand as an exceptional trio that can survive in a supernatural vacuum, embodying the best of what true horror fiction is about while also able to draw breath in the real world. "Gator Moon" takes us to the American south, and again - much like in "I Have Heard the Mermaids Singing" - plays with local folklore while addressing deep seated issues of race, inequality, recompense, and revenge. "Where the Salmon Run" is another favorite of mine, full of melody and sadness and regret, set amid a backdrop of the brutal, raw boned beauty of Kamchatka's salmon streams in eastern Russia. "Indian Giver" brings us back to the New World (where Cluley also sets "No More West"), and explores the clumsy horrors unleashed upon the native people of the Americas, and some that are unleashed in return. This story was selected for Ellen Datlow's upcoming Best Horror of the Year, Volume 8, marking Cluley's third time appearing in this renowned series ("Bones of Crow" appeared in Volume 6, and "At Night, When the Demons Come" was chosen for Volume 3).
And these are just the standouts, the real humdingers amongst twenty quality tales. A few didn't quite make it for me, but even in the ones that missed the mark, you can see the creativity, the freshness. The natural ability seasoned by the work put in. Each one deserves a close reading, much contemplation, and an enormous amount of respect.
Ray Cluley's Probably Monsters is an important collection of contemporary horror fiction. It's a deep, complex, coffee-black book with bite and heat and fragrance and several punches to the temple, and pushpins to the soul. This is true front of table stuff, and comes highly, highly recommended.
January 15, 2016
The stories in this collection are beautifully written, dark, and often heartbreaking. Truly wonderful work.
January 3, 2016
https://anaslair.wordpress.com/2016/0...
These stories all have a few things in common: they are capable of infusing you with all sorts of feelings. Throughout them I was terrified, bemused, sad, cheated, baffled, nostalgic, amongst others I cannot really name.
I believe the strength of this book is that the line between reality and dream/supernatural/myth is stretched so very thin. Not many authors can do that with the artistry Mr Cluley presented us in this collection and I could tell he did quite a lot of research on some subjects.
There were all sorts of characters, with a huge range of age, sex, location, race and sexuality. I think there is something in each story that everyone can relate to. Some characters even appear normal, if quirky, and then the author flips it on you and you find out that maybe they are not, but sometimes cannot be really sure, or if there even is anything supernatural involved.
There were all sorts of themes too. I don't believe I had ever seen an anthology with such diversity and yet a common theme.
Each of the stories was thought-provoking in their own way and entertained me as only the best horror can.
However...
Only a collection of short stories as good as this could make me realize that this is simply not a genre I can do. In the end, even with such quality, most of them left me wanting and I did not particularly care for some endings.
They are short stories. There cannot be that much development and that just doesn't seem to be something I can handle well. I did like some, even loved a couple, their endings included, but I always wanted more.
Alas, I absolutely loved the thought that every single one of us, given the right circumstances, can become a monster. And that bittersweet taste at the end of some stories, where I just asked myself what the heck had happened and how such a piece of writing could come out of a person's mind assured me that, even though I don't appreciate the genre, I can definitely appreciate quality.
The notes at the end of the book with comments on how the author was inspired to write each story were a welcome plus.
The stories I found most intense, and therefore enjoyed the most are The Festering, Bloodcloth and Beachcombing. I just realized reading this that the focus of each is a child. Definitely some of the most disturbing tales I have read feature children, but it's the way Cluley did it that was so mesmerizing.
The author mentioned in the notes Tommy from Beachcombing is coming back in his novel Sullivan Dunn but I have not seen that one around. I would definitely like to read it, though, something a bit lengthier by the author.
A few thoughts on each tale:
All Change
This first story was quite intriguing. The protagonist is a man in his late 70s looking for something we are not quite sure what could possibly be. It's like he has this inbuilt radar that will tell him where to look. Little by little we are fed the information we need but in such little pieces that it never really comes together until the end. A crafted built story and the ending was very eerie.
I Have Heard the Mermaids Singing
This one was very slow for me. There was a lot of talk about lobsters and mermaids and I kept wondering when it would get interesting.
Sadly, neither the story nor the characters kept me intrigued, but I did enjoy the setting and that the author tried to raise awareness to issues in Nicaragua.
The Festering
This one was powerful. It was scary, creepy, disgusting and so, so sad. I felt disturbed reading the entire thing.
It is dreadful and horrifying that so much wrongness and anger could go around in a vicious circle.
At night, When the Demons Come
Not the best one to read when you wake up at 3am and can't go back to sleep.
This one is a post-apocalyptic tale that is terrifying and makes you wonder what you would do to survive.
The writing is magnificent as usual and I did not see that ending coming.
Again I finished the story feeling immensely sad and disturbed.
Night Fishing
This is an eerie story which approaches several sensitive matters such as inter-racial relationships, homosexuality, trying to be something you're not, utter desperation... The last few lines left me a bit wanting after such a good set up but the rest of the story was very touching.
Knock-Knock
This one is told through the eyes of a child, which I always find extra creepy. I could never tell how old our narrator was but he was young. The author was completely successful in conveying the terror a child feels under such circumstances and the ending was, as usual, very sad but expected. At least we get hopeful hints about the kid's future throughout the story, that was nice.
The Death Drive of Rita, Nee Carina
I wasn't sure what to think about this one, to be honest. Disturbing as usual, especially because the line between sanity/reality and dream/invention was stretched so thin.
The Man Who Was
This story approaches homosexuality as well but in a completely different manner. The development of the story was quite well achieved both because the narrator had a completely different voice of the previous stories and the suspense was deliciously frustrating. Everytime I felt I, as our narrator, was going to get the answer to the big mystery behind the General, something would interrupt. The ending, again, left me lacking because it felt too farfetched even for fiction.
Shark! Shark!
This was probably the one I enjoyed the least. Having a completely different narrating voice was interesting but the way it was done was not. I felt it dragged on and on. I get the point that the narrator tried to give subtle hints throughout the story but reading stuff like In the middle of the room, though, is a large fish tank. As in the tank is large, but also as in it could hold a large fish. Both definitions apply. got tiresome.
The ending was surprising enough but after such a development it just wasn't enjoyable, there was simply too much redundancy throughout the story.
Bloodcloth
This one was right up my alley, my type of horror. Again, primarily seen through the eyes of a child trying to figure out why things are the way they are and why she is not supposed to do certain things - or other people for that matter.
However, I felt too much was left unexplained and I wish it had been further developed, if not to a full novel then at least a novella. It could be awesome.
The Tilt
This story features two gay friends, one male and one female, visiting a citadelle in France.
I enjoyed the development and particularly the ironic ending that I never saw coming, which is always a pleasant surprise.
Bones of Crow
Not sure what to say about this one except it was very symbolic.
Creepy, of course but the ending made sense in a twisted way.
The notes at the end brought my attention to things I had not contemplated, besides the cancer thing which seemed obvious.
Pins and Needles
Wow. This guy was pretty messed up. And what's even scarier is that it felt like he suffered from some kind of mental illness. To think there could be people like this out there, living their own lives and doing these little acts to get noticed. And what an ending... Perfect conclusion.
Gator Moon
Guilt leads you to do strange things.
Once again myth bleeds over to reality and what you get is a very creepy story of a haunting that just won't go away.
Where the Salmon Run
This one takes place in Russia and is full of analogies.
Another story where myth and reality merge in the mind of a woman who has been through a very traumatic experience.
There's a lot of talk about salmon, for sure.
Indian Giver
This tale appears to take place when the settlers took over northern american from the indians.
I think the characters were a lot more scared than me. Ok story.
A Mother's Blood
Postpartum depression taken to an extreme. Wow.
Intense thoughts, stuff I never imagined to see on paper.
The Travellers Stay
A story where people who visit a motel never leave. Not a new theme, but interesting twist to it.
Though why anyone would stay in a hotel full of cockroaches in the first place, regardless how tired they were, is beyond me.
No More West
Much too short to account to anything relevant. Only slightly piqued my interest.
Beachcombing
Another of my favourites. A young boy can touch things and feel the emotions of those who handled them.
It is such a heartwarming and at the same time heartbreaking tale. I truly enjoyed it.
In the end, these stories manage to grip your attention while addressing extremely sensitive matters. They will most likely stay at the back of your mind for a while, perhaps even creep into your dreams.
All I can say is that I would love to read a longer piece by the author and that this one in particular comes highly recommended to fans of the genre.
Very hard to beat this horror anthology.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
These stories all have a few things in common: they are capable of infusing you with all sorts of feelings. Throughout them I was terrified, bemused, sad, cheated, baffled, nostalgic, amongst others I cannot really name.
I believe the strength of this book is that the line between reality and dream/supernatural/myth is stretched so very thin. Not many authors can do that with the artistry Mr Cluley presented us in this collection and I could tell he did quite a lot of research on some subjects.
There were all sorts of characters, with a huge range of age, sex, location, race and sexuality. I think there is something in each story that everyone can relate to. Some characters even appear normal, if quirky, and then the author flips it on you and you find out that maybe they are not, but sometimes cannot be really sure, or if there even is anything supernatural involved.
There were all sorts of themes too. I don't believe I had ever seen an anthology with such diversity and yet a common theme.
Each of the stories was thought-provoking in their own way and entertained me as only the best horror can.
However...
Only a collection of short stories as good as this could make me realize that this is simply not a genre I can do. In the end, even with such quality, most of them left me wanting and I did not particularly care for some endings.
They are short stories. There cannot be that much development and that just doesn't seem to be something I can handle well. I did like some, even loved a couple, their endings included, but I always wanted more.
Alas, I absolutely loved the thought that every single one of us, given the right circumstances, can become a monster. And that bittersweet taste at the end of some stories, where I just asked myself what the heck had happened and how such a piece of writing could come out of a person's mind assured me that, even though I don't appreciate the genre, I can definitely appreciate quality.
The notes at the end of the book with comments on how the author was inspired to write each story were a welcome plus.
The stories I found most intense, and therefore enjoyed the most are The Festering, Bloodcloth and Beachcombing. I just realized reading this that the focus of each is a child. Definitely some of the most disturbing tales I have read feature children, but it's the way Cluley did it that was so mesmerizing.
The author mentioned in the notes Tommy from Beachcombing is coming back in his novel Sullivan Dunn but I have not seen that one around. I would definitely like to read it, though, something a bit lengthier by the author.
A few thoughts on each tale:
All Change
This first story was quite intriguing. The protagonist is a man in his late 70s looking for something we are not quite sure what could possibly be. It's like he has this inbuilt radar that will tell him where to look. Little by little we are fed the information we need but in such little pieces that it never really comes together until the end. A crafted built story and the ending was very eerie.
I Have Heard the Mermaids Singing
This one was very slow for me. There was a lot of talk about lobsters and mermaids and I kept wondering when it would get interesting.
Sadly, neither the story nor the characters kept me intrigued, but I did enjoy the setting and that the author tried to raise awareness to issues in Nicaragua.
The Festering
This one was powerful. It was scary, creepy, disgusting and so, so sad. I felt disturbed reading the entire thing.
It is dreadful and horrifying that so much wrongness and anger could go around in a vicious circle.
At night, When the Demons Come
Not the best one to read when you wake up at 3am and can't go back to sleep.
This one is a post-apocalyptic tale that is terrifying and makes you wonder what you would do to survive.
The writing is magnificent as usual and I did not see that ending coming.
Again I finished the story feeling immensely sad and disturbed.
Night Fishing
This is an eerie story which approaches several sensitive matters such as inter-racial relationships, homosexuality, trying to be something you're not, utter desperation... The last few lines left me a bit wanting after such a good set up but the rest of the story was very touching.
Knock-Knock
This one is told through the eyes of a child, which I always find extra creepy. I could never tell how old our narrator was but he was young. The author was completely successful in conveying the terror a child feels under such circumstances and the ending was, as usual, very sad but expected. At least we get hopeful hints about the kid's future throughout the story, that was nice.
The Death Drive of Rita, Nee Carina
I wasn't sure what to think about this one, to be honest. Disturbing as usual, especially because the line between sanity/reality and dream/invention was stretched so thin.
The Man Who Was
This story approaches homosexuality as well but in a completely different manner. The development of the story was quite well achieved both because the narrator had a completely different voice of the previous stories and the suspense was deliciously frustrating. Everytime I felt I, as our narrator, was going to get the answer to the big mystery behind the General, something would interrupt. The ending, again, left me lacking because it felt too farfetched even for fiction.
Shark! Shark!
This was probably the one I enjoyed the least. Having a completely different narrating voice was interesting but the way it was done was not. I felt it dragged on and on. I get the point that the narrator tried to give subtle hints throughout the story but reading stuff like In the middle of the room, though, is a large fish tank. As in the tank is large, but also as in it could hold a large fish. Both definitions apply. got tiresome.
The ending was surprising enough but after such a development it just wasn't enjoyable, there was simply too much redundancy throughout the story.
Bloodcloth
This one was right up my alley, my type of horror. Again, primarily seen through the eyes of a child trying to figure out why things are the way they are and why she is not supposed to do certain things - or other people for that matter.
However, I felt too much was left unexplained and I wish it had been further developed, if not to a full novel then at least a novella. It could be awesome.
The Tilt
This story features two gay friends, one male and one female, visiting a citadelle in France.
I enjoyed the development and particularly the ironic ending that I never saw coming, which is always a pleasant surprise.
Bones of Crow
Not sure what to say about this one except it was very symbolic.
Creepy, of course but the ending made sense in a twisted way.
The notes at the end brought my attention to things I had not contemplated, besides the cancer thing which seemed obvious.
Pins and Needles
Wow. This guy was pretty messed up. And what's even scarier is that it felt like he suffered from some kind of mental illness. To think there could be people like this out there, living their own lives and doing these little acts to get noticed. And what an ending... Perfect conclusion.
Gator Moon
Guilt leads you to do strange things.
Once again myth bleeds over to reality and what you get is a very creepy story of a haunting that just won't go away.
Where the Salmon Run
This one takes place in Russia and is full of analogies.
Another story where myth and reality merge in the mind of a woman who has been through a very traumatic experience.
There's a lot of talk about salmon, for sure.
Indian Giver
This tale appears to take place when the settlers took over northern american from the indians.
I think the characters were a lot more scared than me. Ok story.
A Mother's Blood
Postpartum depression taken to an extreme. Wow.
Intense thoughts, stuff I never imagined to see on paper.
The Travellers Stay
A story where people who visit a motel never leave. Not a new theme, but interesting twist to it.
Though why anyone would stay in a hotel full of cockroaches in the first place, regardless how tired they were, is beyond me.
No More West
Much too short to account to anything relevant. Only slightly piqued my interest.
Beachcombing
Another of my favourites. A young boy can touch things and feel the emotions of those who handled them.
It is such a heartwarming and at the same time heartbreaking tale. I truly enjoyed it.
In the end, these stories manage to grip your attention while addressing extremely sensitive matters. They will most likely stay at the back of your mind for a while, perhaps even creep into your dreams.
All I can say is that I would love to read a longer piece by the author and that this one in particular comes highly recommended to fans of the genre.
Very hard to beat this horror anthology.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
May 6, 2015
This is a horrible, horrible book. It forced me to gather together everything I have ever written and burn it all in my back garden in the dead of night. The bar has been raised and I must begin again and strive to attain this level in my own short stories. I had read many of these stories before in Black Static and had enjoyed and appreciated them, but, to see them all collected together really showcases just what a talent Ray Cluley is, and places the collection up with Nightshift by Stephen King, How to make Monsters by Gary McMahon, You Are the Fly by James Cooper, 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill, and North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud on my list of favourite single-author collections. Back to the word mines I go with renewed dedication, for to produce just one story of this caliber would be a delight.
March 18, 2016
Even after all we’ve learned of mankind’s potential for harm, we still feel a small sense of shock whenever we engage with genre fiction and discover that the writer’s most horrendous creations look uncomfortably familiar to ourselves. British author Ray Cluley’s first collection Probably Monsters seems to promise one thing while delivering something else; the curlicue tentacle weaving from the forbidden drawer on the book’s cover puts one in mind of the eldritch terrors of H. P. Lovecraft, but Cluley is one of the rare writers of dark fiction who seems to operate outside the long shadow of that infamous scribe from Providence and who writes of terrors unsettlingly closer to home.
With very few exceptions, Cluley’s monsters are described in simple terms with a minimum of the florid detail that seems irresistible to horror authors. And, as in the case of many of the book’s contents, sometimes the monsters we came expecting are nowhere to be found at all. In their place are characters whose tenuous grasp on humanity places them in a twilit world where they appear from one angle as our mother or our best friend but with a subtle shifting look more like… something else.
There are usual suspects here to be sure. The collection’s lead-in, “All Change,” is a Valentine’s to the literature that informs Cluley’s aesthetic bent, referencing everything from Bradbury’s eternal October Country to the denizens of Moreau’s island as we join a voracious reader taking his passion to new heights with a mission to eliminate all of the “real” hideous monsters hiding in plain sight. The story reaches a note of quiet poetry in its final passages that will recur again throughout the collection.
Over the course of the next two tales, “I Have Heard the Mermaids Singing” and “The Festering”, the focus shifts from the threat of supernatural takeover to the hardships of living within social and familial constructs built upon foundations of abuse. The reporter observing the poverty and desperation of the Nicaraguan fishing community may be a removed witness to the greater trauma occurring in “I Have Heard…” but he is just as moved by his questionable encounter with the luminous as Ruby is, the teeange girl from “The Festering” who seeks an outlet from dealing with her alcoholic mother by having sex with an older male neighbor and confessing her deepest secrets to the growing mass of protoplasm living in her bedroom drawer.
It’s here that we see Cluley at some of his most refined, elegiac, and moving; even if Ruby’s blobby companion has more screen-time than the briefly-glimpsed mermaids of the earlier story, both creatures act as fitting symbols for the hardened worlds Cluley’s characters populate, especially in the case of “The Festering,” where Ruby’s ordeal of trying to forge her own personality while also dealing with an irresponsible parent will undoubtedly resonate with those who grew up in similar circumstances. As these tales will illustrate along with others—such as with the tragic Charon-as-lover character towing the bloated corpses of suicides from the San Francisco Bay in “Night Fishing”—one must eventually learn to leave the dead behind and give vent to our darkest thoughts lest both of them devour us like the cancer they can become.
Children and young adults serve as the focal point for a number of Cluley’s fiction. “Knock-Knock” is an affecting tale of a sensitive boy literally living in the shadow of his father’s cruelty, here literalized as a menacing shade that haunts the boy’s nights by asking for admittance into his son’s one safe space. As in “The Festering”, Cluley shows adeptness at assuming a convincing adolescent tone as J-J attempts to make sense of the world around him, most poignantly in describing the one-sided struggle of his mother to provide him with as normal and loving an environment as possible. A ghost story without a ghost, as Cluley says in the book’s end notes, and one most effectively told.
The eponymous creature of “Bloodcloth” proves a more tangible and immediate threat to maturing preteen Tanya, as it does for the inhabitants of her village who work to appease the plasma-sucking fleshbeast under penalty of mutilation and death. At its best the story resembles a gloomy fantasy version of a Dust Bowl drama dealing with characters barely scraping by under conditions they don’t understand and won’t rebel against, likely for the rest of their lives.
The author introduces us to two enigmatic adult personas in “The Death Drive of Rita, nee Carina” and “The Man Who Was.” The former is a disturbing glimpse into the renewed life of an auto accident survivor, a widow and childless mother who now copes with her trauma by constructing an altar to a mechanized god who smiles upon the good works she commits by staging collisions on the interstate. Even when the plot appears to be operating under convenience, “Death Drive” generates a cold shiver of dread in applying a tragic, human face to the seemingly random crashes that appear to occur on the roads with clockwork regularity. The latter tale’s subject is more ambiguous, and rightfully so, as an event planner becomes romantically involved with the dazzlingly handsome and charismatic General. The title becomes the source of great teasing at first, as our curious hero tries to find out just what kind of man the General was and is, and after being repeatedly stymied in his mission he finds out more than he bargained for about how deep the General’s wartime scars truly run. And yet, can he say he knows “the man who was” any better than he did when he started out? Cluley should consider employing the slightly-antiquated voice used here in future stories; in his capable hands it goes down like a fine sorbet.
Even when utilizing mythic beasts of a more traditional strain as in “At Night, When the Demons Come” and “Shark! Shark!”, Cluley refuses to rest on his laurels and instead provokes his readers with uncompromising and immersive narratives that demand attention. The survivalist nature of the narrator’s attitude in “At Night” proves surprising and damning, a harsh antidote to the typical teamwork and bruised bonding that we see in other post-apocalyptic stories. Though the tale’s theme of female subjugation gets played a bit on the nose towards the end, it remains memorable for the hardened resolution of its climax. What amuses one most about “Shark! Shark!” is that it’s perhaps the most traditional story of the collection and yet is told in a devoutly non-traditional manner. You can sense Cluley’s glee at forgoing fourth-wall pretensions as he relates the bloody yarn of the husband-and-wife directing team of a new killer shark epic contending with a real man-eater on the set directly to the audience and dropping all manner of in-jokes and references along the way for our constant amusement. It comforts us in its reaffirming of beloved stories we’ve heard before while hooking us with a fresh approach that reels us along to its chummily droll conclusion. Quite deserving of its British Fantasy Award win.
As successful as a good amount of the stories are, Probably Monsters shows the slight risk authors run by including too many of their stories in one collection. One or two weak-by-comparison stories in a compendium of a dozen will do little to hamper the overall strength of the volume, while collections ranging around twenty stories, as Cluley’s does, have a higher potential for less-polished work getting through the gate. A tighter editorial hand might have ensured that curious trifles like “No More West” and “A Mother’s Blood” had been reconsidered or revised before inclusion. Though well-written and convincingly characterized, the standard issue “Indian Giver” still can’t generate a sterling recommendation for its well-trod plot of the Wronged Native American getting spiritual vengeance on the Nasty White Man. At other times, Cluley is conversely too obscure in his description of action (the inadvertent-murderer’s comeuppance in the Lansdalean Southern noir “Gator Moon”) and overly direct at other times (the bordering-on-absurd sexual assault from “Pins and Needles”).
The collection comes out strong thanks to a trio of tales that show Cluley at the top of his game. The most fantasy-oriented of the group, “The Travellers Stay,” is another case of the author’s sleight of hand: it starts out as the thing you expect—a painful family “vacation” receives an intermission at a rundown, out-of-the-way motel—but then becomes the thing you didn’t see coming, a meditation on what we expect from our lives and from ourselves, the ultimate emptiness of dreams, and the transition from human being to cockroach. The other two stories just barely straddle the line of unreality. “Where the Salmon Run” is arguably a straight drama, no questions needed, but there’s a certain alien coldness to the atmosphere that makes it feel as if the Russian environmentalist coming back to her homeland is at the mercy of wild forces demanding of her a sacrifice upon her prodigal return. If there’s anything in Probably Monsters that serves as testament to the point that Cluley is a damn fine writer regardless of genre labels, it’s this one.
So leave it to him to bring everything to a close with “Beachcombing”, a brief, silent encounter on the seashore between a boy who can see the history of an object by touching it and a man contemplating the endless ebb and flow of life. In many ways it is the ideal short story, bound to its solitary setting and allowing everything outside of it to fade away. There is only the boy and the man, treasures that are found, hope that is lost, artifacts left behind, questions left unanswered, and wishes made. It is the last trick in the book, the final moment when we come in expecting to see monsters only to discover there are none. There is only us.
Whether there is any comfort to be found in that or not is entirely up to you.
With very few exceptions, Cluley’s monsters are described in simple terms with a minimum of the florid detail that seems irresistible to horror authors. And, as in the case of many of the book’s contents, sometimes the monsters we came expecting are nowhere to be found at all. In their place are characters whose tenuous grasp on humanity places them in a twilit world where they appear from one angle as our mother or our best friend but with a subtle shifting look more like… something else.
There are usual suspects here to be sure. The collection’s lead-in, “All Change,” is a Valentine’s to the literature that informs Cluley’s aesthetic bent, referencing everything from Bradbury’s eternal October Country to the denizens of Moreau’s island as we join a voracious reader taking his passion to new heights with a mission to eliminate all of the “real” hideous monsters hiding in plain sight. The story reaches a note of quiet poetry in its final passages that will recur again throughout the collection.
Over the course of the next two tales, “I Have Heard the Mermaids Singing” and “The Festering”, the focus shifts from the threat of supernatural takeover to the hardships of living within social and familial constructs built upon foundations of abuse. The reporter observing the poverty and desperation of the Nicaraguan fishing community may be a removed witness to the greater trauma occurring in “I Have Heard…” but he is just as moved by his questionable encounter with the luminous as Ruby is, the teeange girl from “The Festering” who seeks an outlet from dealing with her alcoholic mother by having sex with an older male neighbor and confessing her deepest secrets to the growing mass of protoplasm living in her bedroom drawer.
It’s here that we see Cluley at some of his most refined, elegiac, and moving; even if Ruby’s blobby companion has more screen-time than the briefly-glimpsed mermaids of the earlier story, both creatures act as fitting symbols for the hardened worlds Cluley’s characters populate, especially in the case of “The Festering,” where Ruby’s ordeal of trying to forge her own personality while also dealing with an irresponsible parent will undoubtedly resonate with those who grew up in similar circumstances. As these tales will illustrate along with others—such as with the tragic Charon-as-lover character towing the bloated corpses of suicides from the San Francisco Bay in “Night Fishing”—one must eventually learn to leave the dead behind and give vent to our darkest thoughts lest both of them devour us like the cancer they can become.
Children and young adults serve as the focal point for a number of Cluley’s fiction. “Knock-Knock” is an affecting tale of a sensitive boy literally living in the shadow of his father’s cruelty, here literalized as a menacing shade that haunts the boy’s nights by asking for admittance into his son’s one safe space. As in “The Festering”, Cluley shows adeptness at assuming a convincing adolescent tone as J-J attempts to make sense of the world around him, most poignantly in describing the one-sided struggle of his mother to provide him with as normal and loving an environment as possible. A ghost story without a ghost, as Cluley says in the book’s end notes, and one most effectively told.
The eponymous creature of “Bloodcloth” proves a more tangible and immediate threat to maturing preteen Tanya, as it does for the inhabitants of her village who work to appease the plasma-sucking fleshbeast under penalty of mutilation and death. At its best the story resembles a gloomy fantasy version of a Dust Bowl drama dealing with characters barely scraping by under conditions they don’t understand and won’t rebel against, likely for the rest of their lives.
The author introduces us to two enigmatic adult personas in “The Death Drive of Rita, nee Carina” and “The Man Who Was.” The former is a disturbing glimpse into the renewed life of an auto accident survivor, a widow and childless mother who now copes with her trauma by constructing an altar to a mechanized god who smiles upon the good works she commits by staging collisions on the interstate. Even when the plot appears to be operating under convenience, “Death Drive” generates a cold shiver of dread in applying a tragic, human face to the seemingly random crashes that appear to occur on the roads with clockwork regularity. The latter tale’s subject is more ambiguous, and rightfully so, as an event planner becomes romantically involved with the dazzlingly handsome and charismatic General. The title becomes the source of great teasing at first, as our curious hero tries to find out just what kind of man the General was and is, and after being repeatedly stymied in his mission he finds out more than he bargained for about how deep the General’s wartime scars truly run. And yet, can he say he knows “the man who was” any better than he did when he started out? Cluley should consider employing the slightly-antiquated voice used here in future stories; in his capable hands it goes down like a fine sorbet.
Even when utilizing mythic beasts of a more traditional strain as in “At Night, When the Demons Come” and “Shark! Shark!”, Cluley refuses to rest on his laurels and instead provokes his readers with uncompromising and immersive narratives that demand attention. The survivalist nature of the narrator’s attitude in “At Night” proves surprising and damning, a harsh antidote to the typical teamwork and bruised bonding that we see in other post-apocalyptic stories. Though the tale’s theme of female subjugation gets played a bit on the nose towards the end, it remains memorable for the hardened resolution of its climax. What amuses one most about “Shark! Shark!” is that it’s perhaps the most traditional story of the collection and yet is told in a devoutly non-traditional manner. You can sense Cluley’s glee at forgoing fourth-wall pretensions as he relates the bloody yarn of the husband-and-wife directing team of a new killer shark epic contending with a real man-eater on the set directly to the audience and dropping all manner of in-jokes and references along the way for our constant amusement. It comforts us in its reaffirming of beloved stories we’ve heard before while hooking us with a fresh approach that reels us along to its chummily droll conclusion. Quite deserving of its British Fantasy Award win.
As successful as a good amount of the stories are, Probably Monsters shows the slight risk authors run by including too many of their stories in one collection. One or two weak-by-comparison stories in a compendium of a dozen will do little to hamper the overall strength of the volume, while collections ranging around twenty stories, as Cluley’s does, have a higher potential for less-polished work getting through the gate. A tighter editorial hand might have ensured that curious trifles like “No More West” and “A Mother’s Blood” had been reconsidered or revised before inclusion. Though well-written and convincingly characterized, the standard issue “Indian Giver” still can’t generate a sterling recommendation for its well-trod plot of the Wronged Native American getting spiritual vengeance on the Nasty White Man. At other times, Cluley is conversely too obscure in his description of action (the inadvertent-murderer’s comeuppance in the Lansdalean Southern noir “Gator Moon”) and overly direct at other times (the bordering-on-absurd sexual assault from “Pins and Needles”).
The collection comes out strong thanks to a trio of tales that show Cluley at the top of his game. The most fantasy-oriented of the group, “The Travellers Stay,” is another case of the author’s sleight of hand: it starts out as the thing you expect—a painful family “vacation” receives an intermission at a rundown, out-of-the-way motel—but then becomes the thing you didn’t see coming, a meditation on what we expect from our lives and from ourselves, the ultimate emptiness of dreams, and the transition from human being to cockroach. The other two stories just barely straddle the line of unreality. “Where the Salmon Run” is arguably a straight drama, no questions needed, but there’s a certain alien coldness to the atmosphere that makes it feel as if the Russian environmentalist coming back to her homeland is at the mercy of wild forces demanding of her a sacrifice upon her prodigal return. If there’s anything in Probably Monsters that serves as testament to the point that Cluley is a damn fine writer regardless of genre labels, it’s this one.
So leave it to him to bring everything to a close with “Beachcombing”, a brief, silent encounter on the seashore between a boy who can see the history of an object by touching it and a man contemplating the endless ebb and flow of life. In many ways it is the ideal short story, bound to its solitary setting and allowing everything outside of it to fade away. There is only the boy and the man, treasures that are found, hope that is lost, artifacts left behind, questions left unanswered, and wishes made. It is the last trick in the book, the final moment when we come in expecting to see monsters only to discover there are none. There is only us.
Whether there is any comfort to be found in that or not is entirely up to you.
March 31, 2015
Book Review originally published here: http://www.iheartreading.net/reviews/...
Probably Monsters is a delightful collection of spine-chilling horror and dark fiction stories by author Ray Cluley. I read a lot of short story collections in the horror genre, and I have to be honest: this is one of the best collections I’ve ever read. So if you want to crawl under a blanket and enjoy a chilling night, I would highly recommend this book.
The first story, “All Change” reminded me of classics like Poe’s stories. The protagonists finds himself battling more monsters than he wanted to take on. While a delightful read, it didn’t quite have the same amount of horror as other stories in the collection. However, it set the town nicely, and already displayed to the reader that author Ray Cluley is a master of words, and knows how to create an eerie atmosphere. The second story, “I Have Heard The Mermaids Sing” is scarier than the first, and relies heavily on atmosphere to get the horror punch across. At the same time, the story also focuses on some very real issues, and manages to describe another culture. Although a short story, by the end of it, I felt like I’d known the protagonist half my life. One needs to be a master at writing in order to achieve such a thing.
Next up was “The Festering”, and oh my, how I loved this one. It’s about a girl who has a drawer where she pours all her secrets in, and more I won’t say, but it was creepy, yucky, and intriguing at the same time. “At Night, When The Demons Come” is a tough story to read – it’s just so raw, so dark, so bleak, but at the same time it packs a powerful message, and it shows the author’s almost limitless creatviity. This was one of my favorite stories from the collection.
“Night Fishing” is a sad story more than anything, dark fiction rather than horror, and it is simple yet powerful. “Knock Knock” turns your usual ghost story upside down, providing an interesting perspective on the matter. I liked the twist toward the end. Once again, the characters came across as very realistic, like real people. “The Death Drive of Rita, Nee Carina” was wow. Just wow. I have no other way to describe it. It’s a horrible story, dark and twisting, yet the way the author tells it, one feels almost sympathetic toward the protagonist. The end seemed weird, almost too strange, but from the POV of the character, it made perfect sense.
“The Man Who Was” is haunting. Of all the stories, I think this one will stick to me the most, because at the end, well it’s just gut-wreching really. The kind of scene that stays with you longer after reading, the kind of pain and terror that crawls into your skin and doesn’t let you go. “Shark! Shark!” was a welcome reprieve after the more emotionally-loaded stories I’d just mentioned. It’s basically a story about people shooting a shark film, and the narrator is hilarious. It’s still dark, but it made me laugh out loud, so it’s not bleak or depressing, instead it’s a fun, wicked story.
“Bloodcloth” offered so much originality that my mouth hung open the entire time I read it. Seriously, I’d never read anything like it, especially with the “bloodcloth” (I won’t explain what it is, just read the story for that). Tanya, the protagonist, was a delightful character, and I was sad to see the story over. “The Tilt” is about Carcassonne, which I’ve wanted to visit since forever, so naturally, I enjoyed it too. It’s a bit more mainsteam than the other stories, but I liked it nevertheless. I’m not sure if it’s the originality of these stories, or the author’s flawless writing style, but I have trouble finding one story I didn’t like.
Next up, “Bones of Crow”. I liked the metaphores here, how the story remains vague, having an open interpretation. Had it been more straightforward, I probably wouldn’t have liked it so much, but now I could interpret it in different ways, and I always enjoy that. “Pins and Needles” was creepy because of how ordinary the story is. The way it started out, it could’ve happened to just about anyone, and that’s what really brought chills to my spine. But the ending, well, I still have nightmares about that. The creep factor is high n this one.
“Gator Moon” was all right, but again, more traditional. I didn’t find it as inspiring and scary as the other stories. “Where The Salmon Run” was another solid story, and managed to add in some cultural perspectives too, about the Kamchatka track, about the lives of people who look for salmon. It wasn’t scary as much as it was dark and depressing, but stil enjoyable. “Indian Giver” was another scary read though, and I liked the way the story was told (a story retold from one man to another, rather than the reader actually witnessing it happening). It was a nice change, and allowed for the main character’s thoughts to be analyzed too. Next up, a short one, “Mother’s Blood”. Now, this one might’ve been a bit close to home. I can understand the perspective from the main character so well that it almost scares me. Luckily, these thoughts remain in stories, not real life, and I’m certain most people, once they think it through, will be able to relate to what the protagonist is going through.
“The Travellers Stay” was an all right read. It was slightly familiar (everyone knows a horror story about a motel, I’m sure) but still, the author managed to pack enough character development and original twists to make it entertaining. “No More West” was a bit vague, and I had to read it twice to fully understand what had happened. A more traditional story, but still good. The book ends on a high note, with “Beachcombing,” one of my favorites from the collection, and while not scary, certainly leaves one in a thoughtful, dark mood.
The collection as a whole is intriguing and powerful, and it features so many different protagonists – other collections sometimes offer more generic protagonists, the standard stereotypes, but here you’ve got a whole cast passing by, from people struggling with their sexuality, to little children, to girls who want to grow up too soon, to people who have gone through terrible ordeals. The writing is excellent, and I would recommend it to just about everyone who likes horror.
Probably Monsters is a delightful collection of spine-chilling horror and dark fiction stories by author Ray Cluley. I read a lot of short story collections in the horror genre, and I have to be honest: this is one of the best collections I’ve ever read. So if you want to crawl under a blanket and enjoy a chilling night, I would highly recommend this book.
The first story, “All Change” reminded me of classics like Poe’s stories. The protagonists finds himself battling more monsters than he wanted to take on. While a delightful read, it didn’t quite have the same amount of horror as other stories in the collection. However, it set the town nicely, and already displayed to the reader that author Ray Cluley is a master of words, and knows how to create an eerie atmosphere. The second story, “I Have Heard The Mermaids Sing” is scarier than the first, and relies heavily on atmosphere to get the horror punch across. At the same time, the story also focuses on some very real issues, and manages to describe another culture. Although a short story, by the end of it, I felt like I’d known the protagonist half my life. One needs to be a master at writing in order to achieve such a thing.
Next up was “The Festering”, and oh my, how I loved this one. It’s about a girl who has a drawer where she pours all her secrets in, and more I won’t say, but it was creepy, yucky, and intriguing at the same time. “At Night, When The Demons Come” is a tough story to read – it’s just so raw, so dark, so bleak, but at the same time it packs a powerful message, and it shows the author’s almost limitless creatviity. This was one of my favorite stories from the collection.
“Night Fishing” is a sad story more than anything, dark fiction rather than horror, and it is simple yet powerful. “Knock Knock” turns your usual ghost story upside down, providing an interesting perspective on the matter. I liked the twist toward the end. Once again, the characters came across as very realistic, like real people. “The Death Drive of Rita, Nee Carina” was wow. Just wow. I have no other way to describe it. It’s a horrible story, dark and twisting, yet the way the author tells it, one feels almost sympathetic toward the protagonist. The end seemed weird, almost too strange, but from the POV of the character, it made perfect sense.
“The Man Who Was” is haunting. Of all the stories, I think this one will stick to me the most, because at the end, well it’s just gut-wreching really. The kind of scene that stays with you longer after reading, the kind of pain and terror that crawls into your skin and doesn’t let you go. “Shark! Shark!” was a welcome reprieve after the more emotionally-loaded stories I’d just mentioned. It’s basically a story about people shooting a shark film, and the narrator is hilarious. It’s still dark, but it made me laugh out loud, so it’s not bleak or depressing, instead it’s a fun, wicked story.
“Bloodcloth” offered so much originality that my mouth hung open the entire time I read it. Seriously, I’d never read anything like it, especially with the “bloodcloth” (I won’t explain what it is, just read the story for that). Tanya, the protagonist, was a delightful character, and I was sad to see the story over. “The Tilt” is about Carcassonne, which I’ve wanted to visit since forever, so naturally, I enjoyed it too. It’s a bit more mainsteam than the other stories, but I liked it nevertheless. I’m not sure if it’s the originality of these stories, or the author’s flawless writing style, but I have trouble finding one story I didn’t like.
Next up, “Bones of Crow”. I liked the metaphores here, how the story remains vague, having an open interpretation. Had it been more straightforward, I probably wouldn’t have liked it so much, but now I could interpret it in different ways, and I always enjoy that. “Pins and Needles” was creepy because of how ordinary the story is. The way it started out, it could’ve happened to just about anyone, and that’s what really brought chills to my spine. But the ending, well, I still have nightmares about that. The creep factor is high n this one.
“Gator Moon” was all right, but again, more traditional. I didn’t find it as inspiring and scary as the other stories. “Where The Salmon Run” was another solid story, and managed to add in some cultural perspectives too, about the Kamchatka track, about the lives of people who look for salmon. It wasn’t scary as much as it was dark and depressing, but stil enjoyable. “Indian Giver” was another scary read though, and I liked the way the story was told (a story retold from one man to another, rather than the reader actually witnessing it happening). It was a nice change, and allowed for the main character’s thoughts to be analyzed too. Next up, a short one, “Mother’s Blood”. Now, this one might’ve been a bit close to home. I can understand the perspective from the main character so well that it almost scares me. Luckily, these thoughts remain in stories, not real life, and I’m certain most people, once they think it through, will be able to relate to what the protagonist is going through.
“The Travellers Stay” was an all right read. It was slightly familiar (everyone knows a horror story about a motel, I’m sure) but still, the author managed to pack enough character development and original twists to make it entertaining. “No More West” was a bit vague, and I had to read it twice to fully understand what had happened. A more traditional story, but still good. The book ends on a high note, with “Beachcombing,” one of my favorites from the collection, and while not scary, certainly leaves one in a thoughtful, dark mood.
The collection as a whole is intriguing and powerful, and it features so many different protagonists – other collections sometimes offer more generic protagonists, the standard stereotypes, but here you’ve got a whole cast passing by, from people struggling with their sexuality, to little children, to girls who want to grow up too soon, to people who have gone through terrible ordeals. The writing is excellent, and I would recommend it to just about everyone who likes horror.
March 1, 2015
Shaina's rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ½
Original review here: http://shainareads.blogspot.com/2015/...
Disclaimer goes here: I received an advance review copy of Probably Monsters from NetGalley for my honest review. Thanks to Chizine Publications for the chance to read it!
The last time I reviewed a horror collection, I mentioned that I hadn't found that horror book, the one that would scare me as much as some of my favorite/oh-lord-why-did-I-do-this-to-myself horror films. Well, I found it, and... oh lord, why did I do this to myself?
I first got this book in the middle of February, and it took me just about two weeks to get through it. It isn't very long—my e-ARC came to 327 pages for twenty short stories—but I kept having to put it down because it was making me so, so uncomfortable.
The most unnerving parts of these stories weren't the supernatural elements (though those were plentiful and awesome); I was much more disturbed by the things that could happen in everyday life. Cluley addresses this in his foreword to the collection:
For instance, the most horrifying story in the collection for me was "The Death Drive of Rita, nee Carina." I don't want to spoil too much, but I'm just going to tell you that there are lots of car accidents in it and, as you might guess, not all of them are really accidents. A bit over-the-top, for sure, but as an already uneasy driver, I couldn't help but think of this story the next time I got behind the wheel. In summary, ugggggggh.
A few other scary standouts: "A Mother's Blood" (gah motherhood), "Pins and Needles" (mostly because I hate hate hate shots/getting blood drawn), "Knock-Knock" (domestic violence) and "The Festering" (child abuse/neglect with some graphic sex stuff thrown in).
Then there were the few that scared me less than they made me smile, laugh or cry. "Shark! Shark!" is as ridiculous and funny as the title, and the final story, "Beachcombing," was a surprisingly tender piece about how a child might perceive suicide.
All in all, this collection is fantastically written and will appeal both to those looking for the visceral and the psychological. All I can say is that I'm really glad I'm done reading it and am going to take a long break from horror. Ray Cluley, you scary.
Original review here: http://shainareads.blogspot.com/2015/...
Disclaimer goes here: I received an advance review copy of Probably Monsters from NetGalley for my honest review. Thanks to Chizine Publications for the chance to read it!
The last time I reviewed a horror collection, I mentioned that I hadn't found that horror book, the one that would scare me as much as some of my favorite/oh-lord-why-did-I-do-this-to-myself horror films. Well, I found it, and... oh lord, why did I do this to myself?
I first got this book in the middle of February, and it took me just about two weeks to get through it. It isn't very long—my e-ARC came to 327 pages for twenty short stories—but I kept having to put it down because it was making me so, so uncomfortable.
The most unnerving parts of these stories weren't the supernatural elements (though those were plentiful and awesome); I was much more disturbed by the things that could happen in everyday life. Cluley addresses this in his foreword to the collection:
"Nowadays, when people ask me what I'm writing about, I tend to say 'probably monsters.' Sometimes the monsters are blood-sucking fiends with fleshy wings, and sometimes they're shambling dead things that won't rest. Sometimes. Sometimes they're people, people like you and me (well, maybe you, certainly not me) and these ones are everywhere. But sometimes they're worse than any of these. They're the things that make us howl in the darkness, hoping no one hears—monsters we've perhaps made ourselves and struggle to overcome. Despite what our parents may have told us, there are such things as monsters. Lots of them." (pg. 7)
For instance, the most horrifying story in the collection for me was "The Death Drive of Rita, nee Carina." I don't want to spoil too much, but I'm just going to tell you that there are lots of car accidents in it and, as you might guess, not all of them are really accidents. A bit over-the-top, for sure, but as an already uneasy driver, I couldn't help but think of this story the next time I got behind the wheel. In summary, ugggggggh.
A few other scary standouts: "A Mother's Blood" (gah motherhood), "Pins and Needles" (mostly because I hate hate hate shots/getting blood drawn), "Knock-Knock" (domestic violence) and "The Festering" (child abuse/neglect with some graphic sex stuff thrown in).
Then there were the few that scared me less than they made me smile, laugh or cry. "Shark! Shark!" is as ridiculous and funny as the title, and the final story, "Beachcombing," was a surprisingly tender piece about how a child might perceive suicide.
All in all, this collection is fantastically written and will appeal both to those looking for the visceral and the psychological. All I can say is that I'm really glad I'm done reading it and am going to take a long break from horror. Ray Cluley, you scary.
March 4, 2015
I'm a great lover of short stories in speculative fiction, my first love in scifi having been Ray Bradbury which happens to be the author Ray Cluley waxes nostalgic about most in the first story of this collection. I wanted a review copy of this book based solely on the title and cover art. The cover shows tentacles making their way out of a dresser drawer, making me think of Lovecraft (another author Cluley was inspired by). And when it comes to monsters, I've a had a thing for weird creatures since my teens.
Probably Monsters doesn't disappoint after evoking the memory of these great writers. His style varies from tame to hardcore to fun. I was continually impressed by his imagination and story building. The characters and complex and unpredictable, the stories have satisfying twists twists. I think he shines brightest with the stories in which he mashes together the horrors encountered in reality and the supernatural horrors of more typical horror tales.
A piece of writing from the story "At Night, When the Demons Come" that really hit me as beautifully haunting:
A little note I want to add - this book is gender and LGBT friendly. I love finding books that have characters that aren't necessarily (although one story in particular is and it's a great one) about being gay but simply a story that happens to have a LGBT protagonist or character in it. The more I see this I feel there have been big steps forward in society regarding LGBT issues. It's very different from my youth which I think of as the days of Ellen Degeneres making headlines and having her show canceled.
Probably Monsters doesn't disappoint after evoking the memory of these great writers. His style varies from tame to hardcore to fun. I was continually impressed by his imagination and story building. The characters and complex and unpredictable, the stories have satisfying twists twists. I think he shines brightest with the stories in which he mashes together the horrors encountered in reality and the supernatural horrors of more typical horror tales.
A piece of writing from the story "At Night, When the Demons Come" that really hit me as beautifully haunting:
"There came next a wailing shriek I never in whatever life I've got left ever want to hear again. If that rooftop scream was a woman birthing death, this one sounded like the demon clawed her own abortion. The shards of it went through you like jagged porcelain and as it trailed off it thinned to a fiery hot needle in your ears. The way the wind shipped it into a ricochet pulled it through you like infected thread, yanking the line tight till you clutched your head against the pain. When the other one joined in I wished for death just so the chorus would end.
"It stopped eventually though the reverberations of those screams will be with me forever as a tortured background noise as permanent as thought. I can still hear it now when I close my eyes, finding myself in the same darkness."
A little note I want to add - this book is gender and LGBT friendly. I love finding books that have characters that aren't necessarily (although one story in particular is and it's a great one) about being gay but simply a story that happens to have a LGBT protagonist or character in it. The more I see this I feel there have been big steps forward in society regarding LGBT issues. It's very different from my youth which I think of as the days of Ellen Degeneres making headlines and having her show canceled.
May 30, 2015
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book through Netgalley.com.
This is one of the best short stories anthologies I’ve read in a while. Actually, it’s one of the best I’ve read period.
The author, Ray Cluley, masters his words like some of my favorite supernatural/horror writers. For instance, I felt there was a bit Poe, Lovecraft or Gaiman in there. His stories are strong, emotionally packed. They can be creepy or fascinating or disturbing or all at the same time.
I loved the way how everything seems so normal, and yet this normality slowly slips into the supernatural. The narration is very smooth and brings us in odd and bizarre places even before we realize it.
Some stories crept into my dreams at night, and most stayed with me for a while (or actually, are still in a corner of my mind).
I’ll clearly keep an eye on future productions of this author, and recommend him warmly to all horror/supernatural lovers.
And remember, monsters are not always those who look the part.
This is one of the best short stories anthologies I’ve read in a while. Actually, it’s one of the best I’ve read period.
The author, Ray Cluley, masters his words like some of my favorite supernatural/horror writers. For instance, I felt there was a bit Poe, Lovecraft or Gaiman in there. His stories are strong, emotionally packed. They can be creepy or fascinating or disturbing or all at the same time.
I loved the way how everything seems so normal, and yet this normality slowly slips into the supernatural. The narration is very smooth and brings us in odd and bizarre places even before we realize it.
Some stories crept into my dreams at night, and most stayed with me for a while (or actually, are still in a corner of my mind).
I’ll clearly keep an eye on future productions of this author, and recommend him warmly to all horror/supernatural lovers.
And remember, monsters are not always those who look the part.
December 8, 2015
I received a free copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Probably Monsters is a collection of horror short stories. Every story follows a completely different set of characters, each story is set in a completely different environment, so they are not connected to each other.
I really enjoyed each of the stories, though of course there were some I liked more than others. Overall I can say that all the stories were very, very creepy and Cluley managed to build suspense in each of them. They were also super bizarre and weird, definitely out of the ordinary, I would say.
There is some sexually explicit content, so if that puts you off you should stay away from this book.
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy short stories, who like a good, creepy horror story and who are looking for a really strange and weird read.
Probably Monsters is a collection of horror short stories. Every story follows a completely different set of characters, each story is set in a completely different environment, so they are not connected to each other.
I really enjoyed each of the stories, though of course there were some I liked more than others. Overall I can say that all the stories were very, very creepy and Cluley managed to build suspense in each of them. They were also super bizarre and weird, definitely out of the ordinary, I would say.
There is some sexually explicit content, so if that puts you off you should stay away from this book.
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy short stories, who like a good, creepy horror story and who are looking for a really strange and weird read.
March 17, 2015
I really liked this collection of horror/weird/sort of sci-fi sometimes stories. As with all anthologies, I enjoyed some stories more than others; At Night When the Demons Come, Knock Knock, The Man Who Was, Bloodcloth, and Beachcombing were the ones that stood out the most to me. The other stories were also good though. Each had a unique element to it that made it interesting and fun to read. I really liked the diverse characters. There is something for everyone here. A lot of the stories have a dark edge to them that goes deeper than just a scary story. I enjoyed this a lot.
I received and ARC of this collection in exchange for review.
I received and ARC of this collection in exchange for review.
February 27, 2015
This review is for an ARC copy from NetGalley.
Probably Monsters is a collection of short stories in the horror genre. Each has its own personality, though of course, some are better... There is some violence (shocking for a horror book huh?) and there is a bit of sexually explicit content, though if you were worried about either, I don’t think you would pick up a horror book in the first place. Over all, a decent fast read!
Probably Monsters is a collection of short stories in the horror genre. Each has its own personality, though of course, some are better... There is some violence (shocking for a horror book huh?) and there is a bit of sexually explicit content, though if you were worried about either, I don’t think you would pick up a horror book in the first place. Over all, a decent fast read!
February 28, 2015
I really enjoyed each of the stories in this collection. Brilliantly crafted short horror stories, not for the faint hearted but still jolly good fun. Overall I can say that all the stories were very, very creepy and Cluley managed to build the necessary suspense in each of them despite their length. They were also super bizarre and super weird, definitely out of the ordinary, but I loved them.
September 6, 2015
This is pretty impressive so far. Cluley constructs unusual situations; the narratives are often just slightly and tantalizingly incomplete. And he keeps nudging them into tense and surprising (non)-resolutions. My very minor quibble: as a prose stylist, he's maybe a little less tight and original than my favorites, like Brian Evenson.
June 24, 2017
A varied horror and dark literary fiction collection of exceptional quality by one of the best voices in the genre. Highly recommended. My favorite stories were (in no particular order): I Have Heard the Mermaids Sing; The Festering; At Night, When the Demons Come; The Death Drive of Rita, nee Carina; The Tilt.
June 3, 2025
It's hard to believe this book came out ten years ago, even more so my delay in reading it. Part of this is because I select my next read randomly, but also because I knew I was familiar with many of these stories, having read at least eleven of them on first magazine publication, and in hindsight it was better to give it a while, to partially forget some of these stories before diving in again and mixing them with (to me) new ones.
Cluley has a rich, evocative way with words. Almost every story evokes a new location as if Cluley has been resident there for quite some time, his characters nodding to him as they lift themselves off the page like old friends. It is this grounding in reality which makes the horror - whether it comes violently or subtly - much more effective. There are few stereotypes here: good people are capable of cruelty, and vice versa; fantasy and reality blur. Other than a handful of tales which didn't quite gel for me (you can see this is a first collection, when comparing to his second, "All That's Lost", which came out a couple of years back and is superb), this is a great selection of stories; proper literature, not just coathangers to hang scrappy, secondhand horror from, but heartfelt examinations of the human condition. Belatedly, I highly recommend it, and whilst I believe this edition is no longer in print it can also be obtained from Vulpine Press. Check it out.
Cluley has a rich, evocative way with words. Almost every story evokes a new location as if Cluley has been resident there for quite some time, his characters nodding to him as they lift themselves off the page like old friends. It is this grounding in reality which makes the horror - whether it comes violently or subtly - much more effective. There are few stereotypes here: good people are capable of cruelty, and vice versa; fantasy and reality blur. Other than a handful of tales which didn't quite gel for me (you can see this is a first collection, when comparing to his second, "All That's Lost", which came out a couple of years back and is superb), this is a great selection of stories; proper literature, not just coathangers to hang scrappy, secondhand horror from, but heartfelt examinations of the human condition. Belatedly, I highly recommend it, and whilst I believe this edition is no longer in print it can also be obtained from Vulpine Press. Check it out.
April 16, 2019
There are around 2 decent stories in this collection. The majority of this book screams pretentiousness and one can only assume this reflects the authors personality and a sense of a delusion of grandeur perhaps? He writes like he has a captive audience who know his style, however this seems to not be the case. Would not recommend and definitely would not read anymore by Cluley. Shame really as the cover is very nice and it seemed so promising. Will be going to the charity shop. Sorry.
June 5, 2023
Probably Monsters is a collection of short horror stories. As a whole, I loved the concept, and it takes me back to many Stephen King and Neil Gaiman anthologies, which do this kind of thing a lot better. Each story ranges from fantastical to visionary, to downright scary. Even the settings vary all over the globe, which I appreciated. Overall I give this collection 4 stars.
July 12, 2023
There is one story in here that was included in one edition of Best Horror of the Year: "At Night, When the Demons Come." It is very good. It's probably what led me to buy the book. "Shark! Shark!" is also worth the price of admission. The rest are pretty run of the mill, not at all scary and some just boring. 1 star might seem harsh but I have rated much better books 2 stars.
December 16, 2019
A wide variety of stories, all written with compassion and heart, and very few clunkers. For preference, I wouldn't have assembled the collection with three of its final four stories being only a handful of pages in length - it makes finishing the book feel rushed and anti-climactic.
April 10, 2015
The title and the cover art are stunning. When I checked out the TOC I was delighted to see the stories were numerous and of reasonable length. Cluley provides an absolutely amazing array of character diversity and locales. Cluley proves to be whimsical and sensitive. I'd probably recommend Probably Monsters to some folks I know.
However, I could only drum up a two star rating for the book. Lately I've been in an anthology kick and this doesn't match the quality of folks like Helen Marshall or Laird Barron.
There wasn't a single story I felt passionate about after reading. There was a genuine lack of atmosphere. As much as I appreciate the abundance of woman centric stories, well, I wish there'd been a story that didn't involve sex, loss of family, pregnancy, violence against women... a story with a woman kicking some ass instead of dealing with what's considered 'woman issues'.
Perhaps I'm not intellectual enough to get some of the stories, but there just wasn't enough atmosphere and plot to keep me interested. I expected more horror and a lot less tongue in cheek and wtf was that? moments.
However, I could only drum up a two star rating for the book. Lately I've been in an anthology kick and this doesn't match the quality of folks like Helen Marshall or Laird Barron.
There wasn't a single story I felt passionate about after reading. There was a genuine lack of atmosphere. As much as I appreciate the abundance of woman centric stories, well, I wish there'd been a story that didn't involve sex, loss of family, pregnancy, violence against women... a story with a woman kicking some ass instead of dealing with what's considered 'woman issues'.
Perhaps I'm not intellectual enough to get some of the stories, but there just wasn't enough atmosphere and plot to keep me interested. I expected more horror and a lot less tongue in cheek and wtf was that? moments.
February 10, 2017
It has its ups and downs, but ultimately this is a great collection. There was only one story where I was like, "this is bad" and several that were refreshingly good, so I feel it balances out.
March 17, 2016
Strange and wonderful horror stories!
Ray Cluley's stories take you by the hand and bring you into a world of beautiful nightmares. From the very first tale, he shows you that his vision of our ordinary existence is only a veil over a reality filled with extraordinary creatures that coexist (and coincide) with the pain, misfortune, and loss we share from day to day. I had read a few of his stories in BLACK STATIC, but I've got to thank author T.E. Grau for recommending Mr. Cluley's collection. It's definitely one of the best collections I've read this year.
Highly recommended!
Ray Cluley's stories take you by the hand and bring you into a world of beautiful nightmares. From the very first tale, he shows you that his vision of our ordinary existence is only a veil over a reality filled with extraordinary creatures that coexist (and coincide) with the pain, misfortune, and loss we share from day to day. I had read a few of his stories in BLACK STATIC, but I've got to thank author T.E. Grau for recommending Mr. Cluley's collection. It's definitely one of the best collections I've read this year.
Highly recommended!
January 11, 2024
Taken individually I would have rated half of these stories five stars and the rest one to three. The interesting thing (to me and no one else) is the fact that it is the stories that I would have rated badly that my mind keeps turning over in the small hours of morning. Intelligent, well written, challenging and (mostly), insightful. I don't often read horror these days because I am old(ish) and have too much to lose in terms of kids and partner and my mind makes enough darkness from the evening news. I liked this though. The best of these stories I would even say I loved.
Read
April 19, 2015ARC for review.
Was unable to download this to either Kindle or Sony Reader, so I was reading in bits and pieces until my license for it expired. I was quite enjoying many of the stories so hopefully I'll finish it some day.
Was unable to download this to either Kindle or Sony Reader, so I was reading in bits and pieces until my license for it expired. I was quite enjoying many of the stories so hopefully I'll finish it some day.
September 11, 2022
Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.
April 6, 2015
A very good short story collection
For a full review, please go to http://www.examiner.com/review/probab... and follow me on Twitter @josenher
For a full review, please go to http://www.examiner.com/review/probab... and follow me on Twitter @josenher
June 19, 2015
an excellent, eclectic collection of stories.
January 16, 2017
Awesome. Enjoyed it.
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