Not After Midnight and Other Stories

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The Breakthrough is a weird little story, and the author doesn’t seem to feel entirely comfortable with it. It doesn’t really go anywhere, is more eerie than tense, and it suffers particularly from the necessity of a massive info-dump. Far too much of it feels like set-up – and set-up of the kind particular to supernatural and near-supernatural stories, where an excessive degree of simultaneously credulity and calmness is required on the part of the characters. On the other hand, it IS eerie – and the characterisation of the narrator is particularly impressive. His character is never complex or original, but the vividness of it, and the ease and brevity with which that vividness is created, is something to be admired. The plot doesn’t particularly make much sense. Overall, it’s not a very satisfying story to rest a collection on, but as an interesting little morsel (and it is the shortest of the five, I think) thrown in among the rest it’s not a bad space-filler. A man sent to assist with a computer learns that science experiences in secluded locations never end well. How will these two mesh during the show? What will they find out they have in common? What about their differences? Find out now.

SPOILER] I started to realise I'd been to that part of Crete when I saw mention of the island of Spinlonga. It's in the bay surrounded by the town of Elounda, and you can get boat trips to Spinalonga, which was a leper colony. I thought then that Grey had somehow caught leprosy, maybe from drinking the barley water from the old pot discovered there... which would have been silly, and, probably not very amusing. The show is recorded "live-to-tape," so there's no telling what will happen. Be sure to listen in and share the show with others who might enjoy or benefit from it. An engineer is sent to join a team of scientific researchers at a base in the middle of the Norfolk marshes. When he arrives, he finds that the place is almost deserted and what remains of the team have become obsessed with a device called Charon, which already has strange uses ('calling' animals and children from miles away, for example) and is intended for an even more sinister purpose.I would like to thank my wonderful guests, Marlayne Giron and DC Glenn, for putting up with my shenanigans and being on the show. We had a conversation that was both entertaining and meaningful. All of them reach a satisfying conclusion, and I look forward to reading more of her short stories in the future, mainly ”The Birds”.

I’ve never read anything by Du Maurier – and to be honest, I doubt I ever would have done, had I not stumbled upon/been given a couple of old editions of her work. Seemed a shame to throw them out, I thought, or to keep them if I detested her work, so I decided to give her a chance, starting with this collection of her short stories. I’m glad I did.Don't Look Now" (5 stars)-John and Laura are a married couple trying to rediscover each other after the lost of a child. However, something or someone still seems to be with them. I loved the Gothic elements in this story and the ending. Endearingness: 3/2/3/2/3. Not the warmest, most friendly stories, but some are reasonably likeable. That said, this is a fine collection of stories by an exceptional author. I really enjoyed her writing style and the the way that she was able to bring various settings around the world to life. That said, I don't think any of the stories really hit it out of the park. Maybe I expect more from the author of Rebecca and Jamaica Inn but I felt like she set up several of the stories for a big finish and then....they just ended. I award this anthology ★★★½ stars out of five although at least half a star is awarded out of respect for Dame Daphne. As a result, it’s no surprise that the writing did occasionally give me pause. It is never, strictly speaking, bad writing; though I don’t think there were more than a handful of sentences that I actually enjoyed for their look or their sound. Rather, it has a tendency to the functional, and this amplifies the datedness of some of it. In particular, a lot of the dialogue feels stilted, old-fashioned, unrealistic. It is a cosy, Victorian sort of style. But in all honesty, this was not much of a problem for me – the prose did its job, and was obviously not what the reader was meant to be there for. How will these two mesh during the show? What will they find out they have in common? What about their differences? Find out on Here.