Feathered Fiends?

Earlier this week, I finished 'The Story Keeper', the second novel by Anna Mazzola. If you want moody Gothic with a heroine coming to terms with herself and her past, you've come to the right place!

September 1857: Audrey Hart escapes a miserable home life to the Isle of Skye, pursing her dream of becoming a folklorist.  As well as stories of fairies and magic, she comes to seek the truth about herself, as this is where her mother died in tragic circumstances.  Audrey enters the employ of the reclusive Miss Buchanan and struggles to earn the trust of the local people, scarred by the unkindnesses of the Buchanan family.  Everything changes when Audrey finds the body of a young, local girl washed up on the shore.  While she suddenly gains acceptance in the community, she also finds herself part of something more sinister.  Can the mythical Sluagh, the spirits of the dead in the form of flocks of black birds, really be abducting the young women of Skye, or is something more Earth-bound - and more terrible - at work?

You Have Been Warned!

I had a lovely surprise recently.  I discovered that I owned a book of Neil Gaiman short stories that I hadn't read!  After that, it didn't take me long to get stuck into 'Trigger Warning'.

'Trigger Warning'
by Neil Gaiman
(Headline, 2015)

'Trigger Warning' is Neil Gaiman's 2015 compilation of short stories and 'disturbances', encompassing tricky tales, tributes and poetry, plus a welcome addition to the 'American Gods' canon called 'Black Dog'.  A fictional girlfriend is realised in 'The Thing About Cassandra', while Sherlock Holmes returns in 'The Case of Death and Honey'.  Revenge is cold in 'The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains...' and the seaside sinister in 'My Last Landlady'.  A quiet, middle-class existence is threatened in 'Adventure Story', while a fairy tale kingdom is at risk in 'The Sleeper and the Spindle'.  Recent losses are felt with 'The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury' and 'The Return of the Thin White Duke'.  Meanwhile, the blood is chilled by a hungry spirit in 'Click-Clack the Rattlebag' and a hidden threat in 'Feminine Endings'.

This book is classic Gaiman, taking the reader by the hand and leading them through a twilight world of horror, fantasy and myth.  Much like the great Ray Bradbury, Gaiman's work is driven by his characters and their passions, meaning that there's something here even for people who don't normally read these genres.  It also means that there's variation in 'Trigger Warning'; I laughed, I cried, I found it hard to sleep at night...

Even so, the title of this book bothered me.  Somehow, 'trigger warning', the notice that is commonly used to alert readers / viewers to something that they may find upsetting, didn't really fit.  Perhaps in a world where the news seems like a 24 hour sci-fi / horror channel, the spooky has stopped seeming quite so threatening.  Or maybe it's because, unlike the truly horrifying, these are only fictional stories.

I loved this book, as I've loved many of Gaiman's other short story collections, not just for the fiction, but also for the delightful introductions in which the author gives each piece context and hints at the joy he seems to feel as a professional maker-upper-and-writing-downer.  I love the image of him dashing to his nearest and dearest each time he's finished something to share what he's created.

I would encourage the curious to at least give Neil Gaiman a go.  There have been some fantastic adaptations of his work recently on radio and TV, including a haunting reading of 'The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains...' by Bill Paterson, which I thoroughly recommend.

Now, I think I've gushed enough.  Perhaps I should've put a trigger warning on this post in case you might find the enthusiasm nauseating!

Now, what next...

Related Sites

Review of 'Fragile Things' by Neil Gaiman.

BBC production of 'The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains...' performed by Bill Paterson.

Neil Gaiman reading 'The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury'

Bred of Devon

I've always had a fondness for those books of local legends that you find in Tourist Information Centres across the UK. One of the best areas for such stories has to be the West Country, so during a recent trip I read 'Devonshire Folk Tales' by professional storyteller Michael Dacre.

'Devonshire Folk Tales' is a joyful romp through stories of yore from one of the country's most

'Devonshire Folk Tales'
by Michael Dacre
(History Press, 2010)

beautiful and boisterous counties.  From the giant origins of these lands to encounters with fairies good and bad, to the nefarious activities of wicked rogues and ghastly encounters with ghosts and ghouls, not to mention much mischief of a truly devilish sort, this short book covers a lot of ground without leaving the confines of this enchanting county.

The worry with reading a book like this is that it's possible to get swept up in it and begin to wonder what kind of superstitious back water you're going to find yourself paddling around in.  Fortunately, Dacre's tone remains mischievous throughout, managing to thrill rather than chill the reader.  No sleepless nights here, thank you!

The variety of topics is excellent, as is the passion with which the stories are told.  Dacre clearly loves both folk tales and the county that inspired them, not to mention the people that tell/told them.  Such hand-me-down myths and legends are a dialect all their own and should be treasured as much as any regional accent or words.  Through this book, Dacre preserves and shares not just the voices of generations long gone, but more recent enthusiasts and it's hard not to be swept up in the sense of community and fun that comes with such storytelling.

I would recommend 'Devonshire Folk Tales' for anyone who wants a locally themed book to dip into during their visit to the county.  It gives a glimpse beyond the stereotypical cream teas and buckets and spades to the character of an area that is so much more than a tourist trap.

Now, what next...