Valancourt Books discussion

The Valancourt Book of Horror Stories: Volume One

Spanning two hundred years of horror, this new collection features seventeen macabre gems, including two original tales and many others that have never or seldom been reprinted.

This is the second read of an ongoing Valancourt Books buddy read thread! Jump to page 2 of the thread to join us.

Valancourt Books is an independent small press located in Richmond, VA. They specialize in the rediscovery of rare, neglected, and out-of-print fiction.

JOIN US!! Perfect for fans of classic horror, Gothic and other genres. Feel free to jump right in!

Reads completed:

I may jump in from time to time.

I still haven't read THE MUMMY, but also up for I AM YOUR BROTHER, THE DEADLY DOWAGER, ALL SOULS NIGHT, NIGHT THINGS (Talbot)..... Pretty much anything from Valancourt. :)

I'm pretty booked up right now, but I'll follow along.

all of those sound good. especially night things, the deadly dowager and the mummy.

Maxine, what do you think? We have it narrowed to 3 so far.... Char, have you read all of these already???

Latasha, do you have those?

I do not.

We could start with The Mummy, I'd also go for Night Things, too. I probably can't start until the weekend though.

Maxine wrote: "We could start with The Mummy, I'd also go for Night Things, too. I probably can't start until the weekend though."

The weekend is good for me--those were the two that I have been "really" wanting to get to--I bought Night Things over a year ago, I think......

Kimberly wrote: "Maxine, what do you think? We have it narrowed to 3 so far.... Char, have you read all of these already???

Latasha, do you have those?"

I read Night Things and really enjoyed it. I still think about that house at times. I haven't read the other two. Yet.

Charlene wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Maxine, what do you think? We have it narrowed to 3 so far.... Char, have you read all of these already???

Latasha, do you have those?"

I read Night Things and really enjoyed it...."
Then we need to have you squeeze in a read with us, Char... ;)

I left room to read the latest Valancourt release: Spectral Shadows: Three Supernatural Novellas. Any interest in that one? (I loved the previous two Westall's released by Valancourt.)

Charlene wrote: "I left room to read the latest Valancourt release: Spectral Shadows: Three Supernatural Novellas. Any interest in that one? (I loved the previous two Westall's released by Valancourt.)"
Absolutely! I just added it to my Amazon cart. I think I get the e-version free once I buy the paperback...... give me a day to check ;)

i'll join in for that one if y'all don't mind. I read antique dust and I liked it. but I think I keep getting it confused with another one I did not like very much.

Charlene wrote: "I left room to read the latest Valancourt release: Spectral Shadows: Three Supernatural Novellas. Any interest in that one? (I loved the previous two Westall's released by Valancourt.)"

Oh, great idea, I'd love to read that one!

Yeah? Awesome! Let's see what Kimberly has to say. :)

Charlene wrote: "Yeah? Awesome! Let's see what Kimberly has to say. :)"

I'll order the paperback today, and see if it gives me the kindle for free. I loved both Westall's collections, but especially Munchester Castle!

I'll see if I can join in this month! What's the first read?

Cathie wrote: "I'll see if I can join in this month! What's the first read?"

Hi Cathie! It looks like we'll be reading Spectral Shadows by Robert Westall, a collection of three of his novellas. It would be great to have you join the buddy read!

Hello and welcome, Cathie! :)

what day are we starting?

We start this weekend :) Everyone sort of goes at their own pace and we meet here to discuss the books, using spoiler tags ideally.

ok

I've got mine....But I'll probably start the 5th.... (Dad's birthday is tomorrow). :)

Kimberly wrote: "I've got mine....But I'll probably start the 5th.... (Dad's birthday is tomorrow). :)"

Sounds good Kimberly, I'll probably start on the fifth too.

Happy birthday to your Dad, Kimberly!

Charlene wrote: "Happy birthday to your Dad, Kimberly!"

I've always been a "Daddy's girl"--it's good to see him (and I claimed "the making of the cake" long ago for him. ) :D

Happy 4th, everyone!

Happy Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July! We're going to watch the fireworks on the beach and then it back to reading :)

Damn, fireworks on the beach sounds like a blast!

I'm working my way through the first story here. I'm not familiar with a lot of the words being used to describe bombers and such, but I'm still enjoying it.

Well I just got my copy from Valancourt....so will join in when I get to it :).....which should be soonish :))

I finished the first story at lunch. I ended up enjoying it quite a bit!

Trev wrote: "Well I just got my copy from Valancourt....so will join in when I get to it :).....which should be soonish :))"

Welcome, Trev!

I'm hoping to start this one ASAP! I actually started the first few pages and already like the tone.

Maxine wrote: "Trev wrote: "Well I just got my copy from Valancourt....so will join in when I get to it :).....which should be soonish :))"

Welcome, Trev!

I'm hoping to start this one ASAP! I actually started t..."

Hi Trev! I just started this one today....but stopped after 6% because I'm too sleep deprived and didn't want to miss anything. Loving the tone, like Maxine said--it's reminding me a little of the Cathedral one....the writing style, that is. :) I LOVE the fact that when I buy the paperback from Amazon, I can get the kindle version--immediately--for free! The paperback just shipped out today, but I'm able to read along with everyone. :)

Hi Kim and Maxine I shall be starting soon :) As I loved the Muncaster Cathedral I have great hopes for this book. I am typing this from Bristol Crown Court...waiting for the judge to return....I better sign off :))

Charlene wrote: "I finished the first story at lunch. I ended up enjoying it quite a bit!"

I finished the first story last night, it was great! Interesting idea (view spoiler)[a haunted war plane, I got the shivers when Dadda said "they shouldn't have laughed at him" (hide spoiler)].

Maxine wrote: "Charlene wrote: "I finished the first story at lunch. I ended up enjoying it quite a bit!"

I finished the first story last night, it was great! Interesting idea [spoilers removed]."

OMG--that was the best line, Maxine! I shivered when I read that, too!! I started the second story last night, but didn't get very far--however, it has my attention!

Maxine wrote: "Charlene wrote: "I finished the first story at lunch. I ended up enjoying it quite a bit!"

I finished the first story last night, it was great! Interesting idea [spoilers removed]."


That was AWESOME. Why is this the first (view spoiler)[ haunted war plane I've ever read? It's such a cool idea. (hide spoiler)] There were a couple of times where I broke out into goosebumps and that never happens. Just thinking of those (view spoiler)[ voices from the past coming to life again, gives me the chills. (hide spoiler)]

Charlene wrote: "Maxine wrote: "Charlene wrote: "I finished the first story at lunch. I ended up enjoying it quite a bit!"

I finished the first story last night, it was great! Interesting idea [spoilers removed]."..."

That one was easily a 5 star story! I loved Westall's other Valancourt collections--when the paperback eventually arrives, it will look nice alongside the others. ;)

I found the first story particularly poignant. The claustrophobic feeling and atmosphere within the bomber described superbly by Westall made for very tense reading. Once we added the supernatural element it was easy to feel and understand the horror felt by those poor men

My fav character so far is in the second story The Wheatstone Pond....Mossy Hughes always propping up the bar in the "Duke of Portland"....a good old cockney character no sooner through the door than Mossy will buy you a drink :) "Mr Morgan...What you havin? Guinness Bitter, innit?"

The first story was excellent but the second is even better!!

Trev wrote: "My fav character so far is in the second story The Wheatstone Pond....Mossy Hughes always propping up the bar in the "Duke of Portland"....a good old cockney character no sooner through the door th..."

Mossy was my favorite character in the second one, as well! (I just finished that one last night!)

Kimberly wrote: "Trev wrote: "My fav character so far is in the second story The Wheatstone Pond....Mossy Hughes always propping up the bar in the "Duke of Portland"....a good old cockney character no sooner throug..."

I noticed you were flying (no pun intended with the first story!) Kim I'm just up to the halfway stage and I'm so impressed.....there is such an underlying edgy feeling in the second story....I'm just waiting for it all to kick off :)

Trev wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Trev wrote: "My fav character so far is in the second story The Wheatstone Pond....Mossy Hughes always propping up the bar in the "Duke of Portland"....a good old cockney character..."

I have a "favorite" in mind, but I really enjoyed that ominous atmosphere that Westall imbedded into all three. I can't wait to talk about all of them! My little guy wouldn't go to sleep tonight (my son with DS), and I usually stay with him (reading my kindle paperwhite ;) ) until he falls asleep. Okay, so he's usually asleep within minutes, and I stay hiding in his room until I get too tired to read any more...LOL! Today, he actually "forced" me to stay until I was at 98%--so then of course, I just had to finish.....

I'm just over halfway through the book, (I took a quick break to read the latest McCammon), and I'm enjoying the Wheatstone Pond story quite a bit.
Mossy Hughes cracks me up. I can picture him so vividly.

The dreams that Jeff is having about Hermione are very disturbing, aren't they?

Brief thoughts on the first story, “Blackham’s Wimpey”.

Minor spoilers.

I’ve always thought of Robert Westall’s writing as “solid” — i.e., there’s nothing particularly fancy or tricky about it, either in terms of style or plot. He’s a solid, workmanlike writer. That comes through in this first story. As a ghost story there’s nothing very unusual going on — the story follows most of the typical ghost story conventions, but, as I implied, it’s all done very well so it’s for the most part pretty effective. Westall quite slowly ratchets up the tension so that by the time our crew makes it flight in S-Sugar the reader is on the edge of his/her seat even though we pretty much know what’s going to happen.

Westall makes good use of the setting even though I occasionally found myself wishing for a little less detail and little less slang. (I spent a fair amount of time googling various phrases.) I was particularly interested in the sense of fatalism that the author talks about (“on the chop list”), although this isn’t always well integrated with the ghost story itself.

I remember having a back-and-forth discussion with Charlene about Westall’s stories in Antique Dust, in which I expressed misgivings about the “meandering” quality of Westall’s tales. I had that same problem with this story — particularly the end, where the author goes on at length about what happens to our crew after the big climax in a way that kind of drains the reader’s interest. Which bring me to my final (minor) gripe about the story — the climax. (view spoiler)[The crew’s interaction with Gehlen was marvelously creepy when confined to what is basically a cramped aluminum tube high in the atmosphere removed from other human contact. When it occurs in a crowded airfield with everyone else present, it loses that effect and is almost on the verge being as a bit silly. (hide spoiler)]

✭✭✭½

Final note: Those who like Westall’s writing might consider seeking out the works of John Gordon, another British writer who, like Westall, wrote supernatural fiction that was somewhat artificially categorized as being for “adolescents”. Most of his stuff is sadly out of print.

Canavan wrote: "Brief thoughts on the first story, “Blackham’s Wimpey”.

Minor spoilers.

I’ve always thought of Robert Westall’s writing as “solid” — i.e., there’s nothing particularly fancy or tric..."

Nice to "see" you, Canavan!

There was a good amount of slang in that story that I didn't understand. I started off googling a couple of things, and then I just went with it and figured it out from the surrounding text.

Charlene wrote (in part):

There was a good amount of slang in that story that I didn't understand. I started off googling a couple of things, and then I just went with it and figured it out from the surrounding text.

You’re right, Charlene. Much of it’s decipherable from the context.

Not slang, but there were one or two allusions to “Butcher” Harris, who I looked up. This was a historical figure that I actually was already familiar with with, although I had always heard him referred to by another nickname, “Bomber” Harris. Sir Arthur Harris was the guy in charge of RAF Bomber Command during the last half of the war and remains controversial to this day for his advocacy of area as opposed to precision bombing. The rather horrific bombing of Dresden, for example, was one of his legacies. I think Westall’s feelings about this policy are made pretty clear via the comments of his narrator.

Minor spoilers?

I just started the collection’s second novella, “The Wheatstone Pond”, over my lunch break and it promises to be another good one. Two quick thoughts. First, what is it about bodies of water that lend them to making good ghost stories? Is it that they lay in plain sight, yet hide critical details from us? I was thinking about classic stories like “The Tarn”, “The Dead Pool”, and “The Red Lodge”. I’m sure there are similar stories others could mention.

Second, we have another narrator in the antiques biz, although not the same person as the one from Antique Dust. I couldn’t help but notice (or least imagine that I notice?) that, like Geoff Ashden, Jeff Morgan is one of those people who reduces women to the sum of their body parts.

I just finished The Wheatstone Pond and thought it was excellent.

Yes, we do have another antique dealer here in Jeff Morgan. I think he respected Hermione for her brains, but could not help but notice the rest of her while he was at it. :)