Tenebrous Tales by Christopher Richard Barker available on kindle

I was sorry that I missed out on getting a copy of Christopher Richard Barker's short story collection Tenebrous Tales when it was originally published by ex-occidente. I have just learned, courtesy of D. F. Lewis, that it is now available on kindle. 

Barker also has an interesting blog: Elegant Horrors, which is well worth perusing.

The collection includes:

The Melancholy Haunting of Nicholas Parkes 

Subtle Differences

The Motiveless Pursuit

Snow Train

The Sinister Cupboard

The Man Who Fell Awake

The Tableaux

The Cliff Path

Drill Head

The Thing in the Tree

Chris Barker

Word from Des Lewis is that Chris Barker is seriously ill. I hope that he isn't but, if he is, I also hope he recovers quickly. I have only ever met him face to face once, which was at Fantasycon earlier this year; we ended up shaking hands. He is a well read, intelligent and oftentimes amusing literary critic. His story, The Melancholy Haunting of Nicholas Parkes, is also one of the best ghost stories I've read in years, and I look forward one day to having the opportunity to read the rest of his collection, Tenebrous Tales. A very favourable review of this collection by Des Lewis is included in the forthcoming December issue of Prism.

Chris Barker

In earlier threads I have written about Chris Barker.
FantasyCon 2010, though, was the first time I actually had the opportunity to meet him, when I spotted him, stood at one end of the hotel bar, chatting with Reggie Oliver. Not to my surprise, when I went up to him and introduced myself, I found him a really nice bloke. I had already noticed his blogsite, horrorwatch, had closed down. I am glad it has. It's been my opinion, rightly or not, that he does not handle internet debates very well. He is much better to talk to face to face. He is also a much better writer than I think those who have become bitter enemies of his would like or imagine.

Anyway, I'm glad to have met Chris Barker, after having occasionally sparred with him in the past, and been able to shake hands at last.

Click on this link to see my comments on Chris Barker's story, The Melancholy Haunting of Nicholas Parkes.

The Melancholy Haunting of Nicholas Parkes

Some time ago when Chris Barker was still on speaking terms with me - or as near to that as you can get on the internet, as we have never met face to face - he emailed me a copy of this long short story. For various reasons I never got round to reading it, even after I discovered it was to be included in his collection, Tenebrous Tales, published by ex-occidente press.

On an impulse, though, I decided a couple of days ago to read it.

I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised to find what a well written, fascinating story this is, with at least one scene which is efficiently and effectively creepy in a true Jamesian fashion. Based largely on the true life story of Nick Drake, Nicholas Parkes' life, which ended with suicide in the mid seventies, is looked back on in retrospect by his present day obsessive fan, who becomes increasingly enthralled by the dead singer-song writer's spirit. The story moves at a leisurely pace, but is so well written and full of such well portrayed scenes, that I found myself engrossed by it, complete with a very satisfying conclusion.

If the other stories in Tenebrous Tales are up to this standard, then it will be an excellent collection. Unfortunately, because so many people have been turned against Mr Barker by his online persona, it is all too likely far fewer people will read this book than should. Perhaps time will eventually prove in Chris Barker's favour, though, and when today's disputes and antagonisms have been long forgotten, the stories won't.