‘In The Pines’ and ‘Where The Summer Ends’ – Karl Edward Wagner

 

‘In The Pines’ – 31 Pages
‘Where The Summer Ends’ – 28 Pages

I’ve been trying to make some room on my bookshelves, just recently, and… Yeah… You can guess how that’s gone ;o)
It’s weird is what it is. I’ve managed to clear a couple of large bags worth of books, so I know I’ve got rid of a decent amount, but it has made very little impact on the state of my shelves… I guess I’m just really good at utilizing shelf space. Anyway...

One good thing, that has come out of this, is that I’ve been rediscovering books that I’ve been meaning to read and then not only put them to one side but also covered them in books that I’ve been meaning to read. Now there’s a challenge for me, find a pile of books and read the book at the very bottom…

I came across the Karl Edward Wagner collection ‘In A Lonely Place’, the other day, and remembered that while I’d meant to dip in and out of it, I’d never made it past reading ‘More Sinned Against’. I figured I take another shot at it and sat down for a read, choosing… The title is a bit of a giveaway ;o)

For me, Karl Edward Wagner will always about discovering Kane’s ‘Dark Crusade’, on Norwich Market, and a period (a little more recently) where I suddenly found myself picking up other ‘Kane’ books that I’d never been able to find in paperback. It’s a little too easy for me to forget that Wagner was also well regarded for his horror fiction. If I do one thing before the end of the year (apart from find a new job, obviously), it will be to read more short stories, from this collection, and make sure that I don’t forget it again. If ‘In The Pines’ and ‘Where The Summer Ends’ are anything to go by (‘More Sinned Against’ as well), I’ll have more good reading to look forward to.

I was all undecided about whether to tackle each story individually, or not, but the opening paragraphs for each are very similar in tone and worth talking about together.

The bottom line is that I’m very hard pressed to think of another horror author who sets the scene as well as Wagner does in these two short stories. He is equally adept at capturing the loneliness of both forgotten countryside and urban wasteland; really making each setting feel like a character in its own right. And we all know that ‘lonely settings’ are never quite as lonely as they appear… Without saying as such, Wagner makes it clear that these backdrops feel lonely for a reason, and then the actual stories can begin.

‘In The Pines’ is a ghost story that seems to deliberately signpost its ending, no surprises as to what is in store for ol’ Gerry… Having said that though, this tale is no less unsettling for that approach as Wagner shows how Gerry deliberately isolates himself from his wife, making Renee’s gradual encroachment inevitable, and all the more insidious. I’ll be honest, I can understand Gerry’s motivations but he is still an unpleasant character so I wasn’t too upset by his fate. ‘In The Pines’ is a little bit moralistic then but that just complements a story where I had to keep reading because although I could see the end coming, Gerry couldn’t.

‘Where The Summer Ends’ is a cautionary tale about the perils of not checking in during a conversation, just to make sure that you’re on the same page. Gradie was literally telling Mercer, and Linda, what the danger was but some people will never think to ‘open the curtains’ (as it were) and see what’s on the other side. Mercer and Linda’s fate is sealed and again, Wagner ramps up the tension by actually telling us what is coming while our two leads race towards it.

Add another lonely backdrop, that encourages feelings of being watched, and ‘Where The Summer Ends’ is just as unsettling a tale and the abrupt ending made me realize that I’d been holding my breath for the last page and a bit.

I am going to have to make sure that ‘In A Lonely Place’ doesn’t get lost in another pile of books; I’m excited to see if the rest of the book meets the standard set by these opening tales.

You can read my thoughts on ‘More Sinned Against’ over Here.
And while ‘Sticks’ features in this collection, I’ve already talked about it, over Here.