tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post1178801111095430382..comments2024-03-06T11:11:48.095-08:00Comments on Too Much Horror Fiction: Cold Hand in Mine by Robert Aickman (1975): The Image WithinWill Erricksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-17374533945033708092018-09-03T12:32:18.611-07:002018-09-03T12:32:18.611-07:00The very fact that Aickman leaves so much obscured...The very fact that Aickman leaves so much obscured, unexplained, and unresolved is what makes his stories stick with me. John T. Plunkethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01866240943188777318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-41546358434698243542017-03-01T13:25:07.853-08:002017-03-01T13:25:07.853-08:00Thanks for your review... I ordered an old hardbac...Thanks for your review... I ordered an old hardback of Cold Hand,and so far I'm really enjoying it; I love the cool, detached voice, and it doesn't carry that somewhat stuffy (or pompous?) quality of Blackwood or MR James. The first person voice is 'The Swords' is really unusual.. I'm sure I'll track down some more of his stuff. Swellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17552879723914734056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-28251019006302928432017-02-16T05:51:05.801-08:002017-02-16T05:51:05.801-08:00I think you might have an overly-narrow idea of wh...I think you might have an overly-narrow idea of what makes for horror, if you want to exclude Aickman thus, even partially. <br /><br />And, of course, the publishers were calling all sorts of fantasy and horror "sf" in the late '70s because they thought it would have a guaranteed sales floor thus. No, but lots of thinking is lazy. Doubleday published the SHADOWS and WHISPERS Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18104399586348314594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-87966072709833341802017-02-05T17:43:55.864-08:002017-02-05T17:43:55.864-08:00He also had a posthumous novella called "The ...He also had a posthumous novella called "The Model" that was pretty good, although I've completely forgotten the plot. Padded Cellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01333715189318909706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-84572347263056989932017-02-02T06:11:38.115-08:002017-02-02T06:11:38.115-08:00Big fan of Aickman. "The Swords" was my ...Big fan of Aickman. "The Swords" was my gateway, and still unsettles. "The Hospice," "The Stains," and the (often anthologized) classic "Ringing the Changes." Valancourt Books recently reprinted his one novel, "The Late Breakfasters" along with some uncollected stories.Joe Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00028283065457396419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-13905451441736922432017-01-30T05:40:17.901-08:002017-01-30T05:40:17.901-08:00Excellent review. I love Aickman. His stuff is v...Excellent review. I love Aickman. His stuff is very dreamlike, like Thomas Ligotti or Ramsey Campbell. Campbell's one that I didn't appreciate when I was younger (I was a teenage gore-hound), but now I think he's brilliant and can't get enough of his stuff. Same with Aickman and Ligotti. They seem to be writing to your subconscious as much as to your forebrain, and you find Zwolfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02364540771153476179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-79892233178088291202017-01-28T18:07:38.026-08:002017-01-28T18:07:38.026-08:00Great review, Will, and I (mostly) agree with your...Great review, Will, and I (mostly) agree with your favorites. "Meeting Mr. Millar," "The Hospice," and "The Swords" were definitely the standouts for me, as they all gave me that eerie "frisson" I'm always looking for. "Pages From a Young Girl's Journal" (which I also first read in that excellent antho) never really connected with me for Jack Tripperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05033020329763413508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-30972060343518380782017-01-28T08:51:12.090-08:002017-01-28T08:51:12.090-08:00I would agree that Blackwood is easier to read, bu...I would agree that Blackwood is easier to read, but that is not at the expense of Aickman being a lesser writer. Mr. Aickman's writing is unclassifiable and is lost on publishers of popular -- and even literary -- fiction. Aickman's label of "Strange" and Will's "Uncanny" both are certainly light years closer than "Science Fiction"! I think his greatest Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11926491868571442274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-18240672370814953192017-01-27T13:50:48.494-08:002017-01-27T13:50:48.494-08:00Aickman is okay. I recommend "The Fetch"...Aickman is okay. I recommend "The Fetch" from The Wine-Dark Sea. <br /><br />Also, Algernon Blackwood is an easier read than Aickman. <br />Padded Cellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01333715189318909706noreply@blogger.com