‘A Nest of Nightmares (Paperbacks from Hell)’ – Lisa Tuttle (Valancourt Books)

 

Page Count: 237 Pages

So I’m on a ‘phased return to work’ right now and what that means is that I spend half the day at my desk and the other half is spent in my comfy chair, sometimes watching a movie but more often than not, reading :o) It’s been lovely actually, definitely a good way to get back into the swing of it after some time out.

Yesterday afternoon (and a small part of yesterday evening) was the result of another trip to my shelves to pick a book that I’d bought and really should have read by now. This time round, I went for ‘A Nest of Nightmares’; I don’t think I’ve come across a bad Valancourt Horror/’Paperbacks from Hell’ book yet so I had a feeling that reading this book would be time well spent :o)

And… Not every short story, in this collection, found its mark but that was never going to happen to be fair (law of averages and all that); there was definitely plenty here to unsettle and disturb though.

In Lisa Tuttle’s stories, the everyday domestic world of her female protagonists is invaded by the bizarre, the uncanny, the horrific. In ‘Bug House’, a woman who goes to visit her aunt is shocked to find she is dying – but even more shocking is what is killing her. The divorcing couple in ‘Community Property’ arrive at a macabre solution for how to divide ownership of a beloved pet. In ‘Flying to Byzantium’, a writer travelling to a science fiction convention finds herself caught in a strange and terrifying hell. The thirteen tales in this collection are highly original and extremely chilling, and they reveal Tuttle to be a master of contemporary horror fiction.

Never before published in the United States and highly sought-after by collectors, A Nest of Nightmares (1986) is a classic of modern horror. This new edition features the original paperback cover art by Nick Bantock and a new introduction by Will Errickson.

It was cold outside yesterday but inside it was positively chilling while I was in ‘A Nest of Nightmares’. Seriously. Out of the thirteen stories inside, ten or eleven hit the spot and that’s a very good return from where I’m sat. ‘A Nest Of Nightmares’ is very much a ‘go on then, just one more story…’ kind of read and I don’t regret a single one of them.

I’m not going to go into too much detail for individual stories here; I really believe that you need to experience them for yourselves if you haven’t already. What I will say is that in this collection, Tuttle leaves you in no doubt that she in charge here, demonstrating a sense of timing (in each tale) that is almost uncanny. You’re either led through a tale that grows progressively more tense or lulled into into a false sense of security before being hit with a stunning ending. Tuttle is not only great at either approach, she’s more than happy to switch it up at a whim and you never know what you’re getting from story to story.

I also got a lot out of Tuttle’s ability to take something completely normal and send it off in a direction that more often than not, I never saw coming. Tuttle’s world is our world but with that hint of the supernatural (or just the capacity for horror) that makes each story compelling. Special mention has to go to ‘Community Property’ because I could actually see that situation taking place. Horror isn’t just fiction.

The book wasn’t all plain sailing but having said that, I’m not sure I could come up with a short story collection where every story was a hit; at some point that is just as much on the reader as the author. ‘A Nest Of Nightmares’ sat unread for far too long, I’m glad that I finally took a chance and gave it a read.