My review of The Parts We Play by Stephen Volk on BFS Website

My review of Stephen Volk's short story collection from PS Publishing, The Parts We Play, is now on the British Fantasy Society website.
"A satisfyingly varied and well-written collection of stories by screen- and short-story writer Stephen Volk.
"Although I enjoyed reading all of the stories in this collection, these are some that made the biggest impact on me. The opening, Celebrity Frankenstein, is a satirical take on our obsession with reality TV and the cult of the celebrity, with a modern update of the Frankenstein myth..."
To read the rest of the review follow this link. 

Book Review: The Parts We Play by Stephen Volk

THE PARTS WE PLAY by Stephen Volk

PUBLICATION DATE September 2016
COVER ART Pedro Marques
INTRODUCTION Nathan Ballingrud
PAGES 339

EDITIONS
Unsigned Jacketed Hardcover — ISBN  978-1-786360-20-5  [£20]
200 Slipcased JHC signed by Stephen Volk, and including the chapbook "Supporting Roles" featuring two additional stories — ISBN 978-1-786360-21-2  [£50]

Reviewed by David A. Riley

A satisfyingly varied and well-written collection of stories by screen- and short-story writer Stephen Volk.

Although I enjoyed reading all of the stories in this collection, these are some that made the biggest impact on me. The opening, Celebrity Frankenstein, is a satirical take on our obsession with reality TV and the cult of the celebrity, with a modern update of the Frankenstein myth. Bless, on the other hand, is a psychologically disturbing tale of a mother’s longing for a daughter and her inability to differentiate between what she wishes and what is actually happening. Where the story is ultimately heading is not exactly unexpected, but it is nonetheless heartrending for all of that. A confessional from a highly unreliable narrator who has lost contact with reality. I had already heard of The Arse-licker before reading it here and perhaps therefore was almost prepared for it – almost but not quite! I can easily understand how this story has gained the reputation it has. Gruesomely, even stomach-churningly nasty, it’s a story only a writer as accomplished as Stephen Volk could get away with – which he does with deceptive ease!  After this, it was almost a relief to embark on The Peter Lorre Fan Club, which starts off as a brilliantly knowledgeable dialogue about Peter Lorre between two old friends whose paths had diverged dramatically over the intervening years. It has the kind of Nazi horrors that used to be the hallmark of some of Charles Birkin’s darker tales, though he never succeeded in making you like the victim quite so much as here, nor whose fate is quite as excruciatingly drawn out and cruel. Another highlight was The Shug Monkey, a Professor Challenger story. I am not usually a big fan of pastiches like this, but The Shug Monkey works and has a deeply disturbing twist at the end which I am sure Conan Doyle would never have imagined. The Magician Kelso Dennett is a wonderfully narrated story of a magician’s dangerously crazy publicity stunt in a down-at-heel seaside town, filled with strands of undercurrents that head towards what you know is going to be a grim finale. As with all of the tales in this collection, Stephen Volk fills it with believable characters and a strong sense of place. Seagate may not be real, but I feel like I have been there before – I probably have! Although I have read a few disturbing tales set around Bonfire night, they never fail to excite a certain amount of trepidation, undoubtedly because, of all our annual celebrations, this is the only one involving fires and explosives and the burning of effigies, and, in reality, an awful lot of potential danger to life and limb. Newspaper Heart centres around a lonely boy who befriends the Guy he and his mother create out of old clothes, stuffed with newspapers rolled into balls, and a cheap plastic mask. But there is more than just loneliness behind the boy’s friendship, and the climax is a dark mixture of longing, horror, and family secrets. 

There are no poor stories in this collection. Consistently well-written and absorbing, it is one of the best single-author collections I have read in recent years. Stephen Volk is one of the best practitioners of the horror story active today. A true master of the genre!

Whitstable by Stephen Volk

I have just had my first review posted on Hellnotes, a review of Stephen Volk's novella Whitstable.


I was uncertain how I would feel about a novella whose central character was Peter Cushing, especially one set during probably the darkest period of the actor’s life, immediately after the death of his wife, Helen, in 1971. It would take a writer of great sensitivity to create a story that could cover this period without veering dangerously towards the utterly tasteless or maudlin. Happily, Stephen Volk has proven with this book to have been more than up to the task, and has created not only a gripping story but a vivid vignette about one of Britain best loved actors, full of fascinating and credible details and insights.
For obvious reasons it is for the most part a book about sadness. It is no secret that Cushing was crushed by his wife’s death. Not only were they close as husband and wife but she was his spiritual partner too. He relied upon her tremendously. Once she had gone he felt directionless, his life all but pointless and, if not for his strong Christian faith and the certainty he would eventually rejoin his wife in the afterlife, may have been tempted towards suicide.
Weighed down with an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness, a chance encounter with an eleven year old boy gives him a sudden sense of purpose. Mistaking the actor for the real Van Helsing, whom the boy had seen at the cinema in Dracula, he pleads with him to help fight what he sees as a real vampire. Of course, Cushing realises that the man, the boy’s step-father-to-be, is not a vampire at all but something just as traumatic, a real life monster. Volk’s intermixing of this fictitious tale with the coming to terms of Cushing’s loss is brilliantly well written.
While there is no visceral violence there is a growing sense of menace. Worse, though feeling old and fragile, having lost three stones in weight during his wife’s illness, the actor seems barely able to cope with his own problems, never mind those of the boy, even though he feels obligated to help him in any way he can.
There are some fascinating details about Cushing’s relationship with Hammer and film-making in general. And the final confrontation with the abusive “step-father” in an empty cinema which is playing the only recently released The Vampire Lovers, some of whose scenes show a symbolic synchronicity with real life, is masterly.
Whitstable is obviously a labour of love, by a writer who feels genuine affection for its subject. It is also a book written by someone who knows his subject well, not only through research perhaps but because Stephen Volk has had direct experience in the creation of TV programs and films (Ghostwatch, Afterlife, The Awakening, to mention but three). The book works also as a tense thriller and has moments of intensity, particularly in Cushing’s face to face confrontations with the much stronger, younger and vicious abuser.

The Halifax Ghost Story Festival - 29th - 31st October 2010 - A Report

The weather was blustery by the time we arrived late on Friday afternoon at Dean Clough, which is on the edge of Halifax, and parked outside our hotel for the weekend. The Travel Lodge is at the far end of the enormous mill complex, a five minute stroll to where the festival was being held. Fortunately, overnight the weather improved to become fine and bright, if slightly cold, ideally suited for what we had come for.

Our first introduction to the weekend's events was a thirty minute ghost story, Lily Rose by Canadian playwright Aurora de Pena in the gloomily atmospheric Viaduct Theatre, which is literally inside an old, brick-built viaduct with a cobblestone floor. There then followed a kaleidoscopic series of 60-second plays pioneered by Screaming Media Productions, using minimal props and sets, enhanced by the superb choreography of the actors. Lily Rose was a chilling vignette, involving three principle actors. The 60-second plays, each following immediately after the previous one, had barely a pause in between. The overall impression was one of almost delerious horror and all credit must go the the troupe of actors who took part in it for their stamina. A good start to the weekend's events.

After this we went to the nearby Viaduct Cafe Bar, which became a kind of focal point for the festival, where we enjoyed a couple of glasses of house red before retiring for the night.

The following day (Saturday) started at 11 am with a session organised by Tartarus Press. This included a fascinating talk by Mark Valentine on the Yorkshire ghost story writer W. F. Harvey, author of The Beast with Five Fingers, and an illustrated lecture by Gail-Nina Anderson, "The Ghost in the Grave", which followed the curious links between Dante Gabriel Rosette's famous paintings of his wife and so many other well known icons. The session finished with Reggie Oliver's customarily masterful reading of one of his stories, this time Minos or Rhadamanthos, which is to be published shortly by Tartarus Press and recently appeared in The Seventh Black Book of Horror.

There followed a lunch break, after which writers Mark Morris, Nicholas Royle and Conrad Williams read one of their own ghost stories and Stephen Volk showed a clip from his ITV series, Afterlife, as well as giving a brief talk about this and the problems of getting genre fiction on screen.

Following another break, Jeremy Dyson, who has a new West End production running at the moment called "Ghost Stories", read Robert Aickman's The Inner Room, which Tartarus Press have published as a slim softcover limited edition specially for the festival. As you would expect from a professional of Jeremy Dyson's calibre, this was a brilliant experience, though how he managed this reading without pausing for a drink I don't know! There followed a discussion between him and Ray Russell about Robert Aickman, of whom they are both keen fans. After this we were entertained with a rare screening of Aickman's The Cicerones, written and directed by Jeremy Dyson and starring Mark Gatiss.  

Fortunately we had already pre-booked a meal in the cafe bar before the next event, and could barely believe how delicious the pumpkin soup, assorted breads, cheese and fruit were. A good preparation for  Spirits with the Spirits. This involved actors Fine Time Fontayne and Sandra Hunt reading five horror stories, including The Monkey's Paw, inbetween breaks for the audience to sample different drinks.

After this, at around midnight, we finally made our way once again back through the deserted mill complex to our hotel, a pleasantly eerie experience, enhanced by the lights that shone up the tall, stone-built walls.

Luckily, the clocks went back that night so we got an extra hour in bed, before having to pack our bags and dump them in our car before going to Sunday's events. These started with the Annapurna Indian Dance: After Life, which was a retelling of Hindu myths in the Viaduct Theatre. The costumes and vigour of the performances were impressive, as were the brief explanations provided of the symbolic meaning behind them.  

The main event for us on Sunday, though, was the afternoon's screenings of M. R. James' "Ghost Stories for Christmas" from the 1970s. Their director, Lawrence Gordon Clark, was there to be interviewed about them by film critic and author Tony Earnshaw.  This was definitely one of the event's highlights, as were the big screen showings of Lost Hearts, The Treasure of Abbot Thomas and A Warning to the Curious. There should also have been a screening of The Ash Tree, but unfortunately there was a fault with the copy and that had to be dropped.

And then it was over and we had to set off home. It had been a fantastic weekend, though, and one which we thoroughly enjoyed, both in the events we were able to see and in the various people we met. We would like to add that the staff at Dean Clough were exceptional and we would like to give special thanks to Terry, the front desk receptionist who went out of her way to be helpful.

We hope that another event like this will be held next year at Dean Clough. From Gail-Nina Anderson we understand there is every chance one will, though probably later in the year as a Winter Ghost Story Festival. If it is, we'll be there!

Gail-Nina Anderson delivering an illustrated

 talk on "The Ghost in the Grave"

Mark Morris reads one of his rare ghost stories.

Jeremy Dyson with Ray Russell

Fine Time Fontaine and Sandra Hunt during the reading of five ghost stories, including The Monkey's Paw

The Viaduct Theatre beneath Dean Clough and, literally, inside a viaduct.

Part of the Indian Hindu dance performance

The Halifax Ghost Story Festival - 29th - 31st October 2010

We arrived back home earlier tonight after one of the best weekends we've spent away for ages. The Halifax Ghost Story Festival was a tremendous success and credit must be given to those who organised and took part in it. Tomorrow Lin and I will give a report on it. In the meantime, here are a few photos:

Mark Morris, Conrad Williams, Nicholas Royle and Stephen Volk

Reggie Oliver

Jeremy Dyson reading Robert Aickman's The Inner Room

Dean Clough, site of the festival. This used to be the world's largest carpet manufacturer.

The Ten-headed King from the Annapurna Indian Dance show, After Life

TV director, Lawrence Gordon Clark (right) being interviewed inbetween screening of three of his famous "Ghost Stories for Christmas" produced for the BBC in the 1970s - Lost Hearts, The Treasure of Abbot Thomas and A Warning to the Curious.