A disappointment, 06 Jan 2008
I've been a Fowler fan since his first novel, "Roofworld", first appeared in paperback, but this collection was a huge disappointment for me. Only a couple of stories resonated with me - particularly "All Packed", which was simply stunning - and for some reason I found myself struggling to get the urge to pick this one up to read it. Maybe it was just me, but the collection seemed to be missing that certain something to make it special, and that was definitely present in his others such as "Personal Demons", "The Bureau of Lost Souls" and "City Jitters". There was a time when I preferred Fowler's short stories to his novels, but now I think my opinion has switched. A disappointment.

Welcome back!, 13 Dec 2007
Old Devil Moon is Christopher Fowler's first short story collection in nearly five years. The wait has been a long one but was it worth it? The answer is a resounding YES. The short story is a difficult thing to pull off but when it is done right it can send a shiver down the spine that the longer forms of prose just can't. The Old Devil Moon is a definite spine tingler. From the achingly atmospheric and melancholic "The Twilight Express" through the laugh-a-long barmyness of "The Night Museum" to the shuderingly intimate "All Packed" The Old Devil Moon delivers time after time and delivers in ways and forms that will keep you guessing, not only right to the very end of each story, but also where the next perfectly formed piece will take you. But be warned! This is an eclectic collection that will have your emotions on a rollercoaster. So if you want a safe ride down the middle lane of the fictional highway then this is not for you. However, if you fancy a horse whipped coach ride on the foggy cliff edge of a rampant imagination then you can not do better than Old Devil Moon.

Dark, suspenseful, and finally here!, 11 Dec 2007
As the author's website promises a signed copy to the first person who reviews the book on Amazon, I thought it would be nice to be the first person to review the book who has actually read it (ie the first to review it after the publication date), rather than before. And I thought it would be nice, in this vein, to say something about the book itself!

Christopher Fowler has been writing for about twenty years, and seems to always suffer from book shops not knowing where to place his novels and collections of short stories. Are they crime, or horror? This short story collection, his tenth, belongs most firmly in the latter category.

The author, in his preface, questions the need for a book about a dark and strange world, and quotes a large number of real life dark and strange stories to prove the point - many of which, if they were fiction, would sound laughable. However, the stories themselves make one glad that Mr Fowler bothered. From his own backyard of Kings Cross in 'Exclusion Zone', to Africa and the Middle East in 'The Threads' and 'Cupped Hands', Fowler tells genuinely unnerving tales of the world that lies just beneath the facade that most of us see on a daily basis. Classical Fowler themes are revisited, including, on several occasions, the horrific effects when westerners try to take advantage of what they perceive as being less civilised cultures, always with results that are unsettling and disturbing.

Fowler's work makes one look at the world in a slightly different way, and the closest analogy that I can draw is to compare his short stories to those found in Clive Barker's Books of Blood. Whilst Barker has gone onto worldwide fame and fortune, this seems somehow to have eluded Fowler to some degree, despite the success of the Bryant & May crime novels. This is truly an injustice, and any fans of crime, horror or any other genre should give him a go. Beneath the book's slightly cheap looking cover are 20 or so gems which are asking to be read, and read again - it will be worth your time if you do so.

Good Read for Christmas, 08 Dec 2007
I haven't read the book yet because Amazon are taking so long to dispatch it. I ordered it months ago.

I have still rated it 5 stars because I know I'm in for a good read and will post a full review when I've read the book.

Just fantastic, as always......, 05 Dec 2007
It always amazes me that Chris Fowler is not more popular, mention his name to my friends & all I get is a blank stare. Christopher who ???
This latest collection of short stories is getting back to what he does best, a superb collection of 'Urban Unease'. If you have never sampled his work before then this is an excellent place to start, his most recent books feature the ageing detective duo 'Bryant & May' are great reads, but I prefer a lot of his earlier work, with 'Soho Black' being a particular favourite. This collection is as good as any of his earlier work & is a good way to get into this seriously under-subscribed authors back catalogue. Chris, you are our favourite Author. (Phil & Donna) xxx

A disappointment, 06 Jan 2008
I've been a Fowler fan since his first novel, "Roofworld", first appeared in paperback, but this collection was a huge disappointment for me. Only a couple of stories resonated with me - particularly "All Packed", which was simply stunning - and for some reason I found myself struggling to get the urge to pick this one up to read it. Maybe it was just me, but the collection seemed to be missing that certain something to make it special, and that was definitely present in his others such as "Personal Demons", "The Bureau of Lost Souls" and "City Jitters". There was a time when I preferred Fowler's short stories to his novels, but now I think my opinion has switched. A disappointment.

Welcome back!, 13 Dec 2007
Old Devil Moon is Christopher Fowler's first short story collection in nearly five years. The wait has been a long one but was it worth it? The answer is a resounding YES. The short story is a difficult thing to pull off but when it is done right it can send a shiver down the spine that the longer forms of prose just can't. The Old Devil Moon is a definite spine tingler. From the achingly atmospheric and melancholic "The Twilight Express" through the laugh-a-long barmyness of "The Night Museum" to the shuderingly intimate "All Packed" The Old Devil Moon delivers time after time and delivers in ways and forms that will keep you guessing, not only right to the very end of each story, but also where the next perfectly formed piece will take you. But be warned! This is an eclectic collection that will have your emotions on a rollercoaster. So if you want a safe ride down the middle lane of the fictional highway then this is not for you. However, if you fancy a horse whipped coach ride on the foggy cliff edge of a rampant imagination then you can not do better than Old Devil Moon.

Dark, suspenseful, and finally here!, 11 Dec 2007
As the author's website promises a signed copy to the first person who reviews the book on Amazon, I thought it would be nice to be the first person to review the book who has actually read it (ie the first to review it after the publication date), rather than before. And I thought it would be nice, in this vein, to say something about the book itself!

Christopher Fowler has been writing for about twenty years, and seems to always suffer from book shops not knowing where to place his novels and collections of short stories. Are they crime, or horror? This short story collection, his tenth, belongs most firmly in the latter category.

The author, in his preface, questions the need for a book about a dark and strange world, and quotes a large number of real life dark and strange stories to prove the point - many of which, if they were fiction, would sound laughable. However, the stories themselves make one glad that Mr Fowler bothered. From his own backyard of Kings Cross in 'Exclusion Zone', to Africa and the Middle East in 'The Threads' and 'Cupped Hands', Fowler tells genuinely unnerving tales of the world that lies just beneath the facade that most of us see on a daily basis. Classical Fowler themes are revisited, including, on several occasions, the horrific effects when westerners try to take advantage of what they perceive as being less civilised cultures, always with results that are unsettling and disturbing.

Fowler's work makes one look at the world in a slightly different way, and the closest analogy that I can draw is to compare his short stories to those found in Clive Barker's Books of Blood. Whilst Barker has gone onto worldwide fame and fortune, this seems somehow to have eluded Fowler to some degree, despite the success of the Bryant & May crime novels. This is truly an injustice, and any fans of crime, horror or any other genre should give him a go. Beneath the book's slightly cheap looking cover are 20 or so gems which are asking to be read, and read again - it will be worth your time if you do so.

Good Read for Christmas, 08 Dec 2007
I haven't read the book yet because Amazon are taking so long to dispatch it. I ordered it months ago.

I have still rated it 5 stars because I know I'm in for a good read and will post a full review when I've read the book.

Just fantastic, as always......, 05 Dec 2007
It always amazes me that Chris Fowler is not more popular, mention his name to my friends & all I get is a blank stare. Christopher who ???
This latest collection of short stories is getting back to what he does best, a superb collection of 'Urban Unease'. If you have never sampled his work before then this is an excellent place to start, his most recent books feature the ageing detective duo 'Bryant & May' are great reads, but I prefer a lot of his earlier work, with 'Soho Black' being a particular favourite. This collection is as good as any of his earlier work & is a good way to get into this seriously under-subscribed authors back catalogue. Chris, you are our favourite Author. (Phil & Donna) xxx

Why isn't Fowler on the best seller's list?, 19 Apr 2004
t's starting to get me worried about how undervalued Fowler is - his full-length books are some of the best, paciest horror novels written in the past decade, and his collections of short stories never fail to impress. Yet, he isn't recognised for his genius outside the select few.

Rant aside, once again we have a fine collection of short stories on offer, although lacking the edge of the Uncut selection, they also show that Fowler has branched out into different forms of storywriting. This is clear from the first tale, We;re Going Where The Sun Shines Brightly, which is an idyllic look back to a trip around France on a double decker. OK, so it's still pretty dark in the final third, yet you don't see it coming - let alone expect something like it.

Of course, there are some classic Fowleresque stories on offer, such as Seven Feet (in my opinion, the best story in the book - although not for those with rat allergies), The Green Man and Hop are all great horror tales that conjour up lurid images of the events. Other stories also stick with the urban paranoia Fowler usually exhibits, such as American Waitress and Above the Glass Ceiling, which work very well in drawing the reader in.

Yet the departures from his usual style make this book memorable. The most notable of these are One Night Out, which is a well-written story involving a man's father returning from the dead for, you guessed it, one night, while Emotional Response is a fantastic story of two women jilted in love, plotting their revenge (no, not involving weapons, just a broken heart), that conveys the main character's spite and heartbreak so well. Meanwhile, Feral is a nice, quick and easy joke about urban foxes, pigeons and bin bag murderers, The Scorpion Jacket is a work of twisted fantasy about tailoring and ancient Constantinople, and Hitler's Houseguest being an interesting curio. However, the final tale, Cairo 6.1, feels to be a bit of a let-down when compared to the rest, as the big twist is given away far to early, and isn't saved by the punchline.

Not quite the absolute best of Fowler, but a very worthwhile addition to the collection. Now, can they hurry up and get the Disturbia picture off the ground, so he can enjoy some long-overdue success and plaudits?

Fowler back at his best, 22 Mar 2004
I can't begin to say how glad I am that Christopher Fowler's short stories are back on track after the disappointing 'Personal Demons'. 'Demonized' is a totally brilliant compendium of dark stories which will leave you feeling both emotional and gratified. From Fowler's opening introduction into how some of the stories were written to the very closing pages you will not be disappointed. Each story gets better and better with the turn of a page, my personal favourites are 'Hop' about a man who believes the soul of a dead murderess out for revenge is hopping into the bodies of children including his own daughter and 'Personal Space' about an 80 something old lady whose house gets taken over by drug addicts. These are just two examples of superbly written dark fiction demonstrating a different type of horror, the horror of mankind; what we do to ourselves and each other. Nothing is better than the feeling you get after reading a really excellent book, and this is no exception. The stories are not all full of hardship and sorrow, as Fowler says in his intro, some have a happy ending, some a sad one, and others are left open. A well deserved 5 stars! Welcome back Fowler!

A disappointment, 06 Jan 2008
I've been a Fowler fan since his first novel, "Roofworld", first appeared in paperback, but this collection was a huge disappointment for me. Only a couple of stories resonated with me - particularly "All Packed", which was simply stunning - and for some reason I found myself struggling to get the urge to pick this one up to read it. Maybe it was just me, but the collection seemed to be missing that certain something to make it special, and that was definitely present in his others such as "Personal Demons", "The Bureau of Lost Souls" and "City Jitters". There was a time when I preferred Fowler's short stories to his novels, but now I think my opinion has switched. A disappointment.

Welcome back!, 13 Dec 2007
Old Devil Moon is Christopher Fowler's first short story collection in nearly five years. The wait has been a long one but was it worth it? The answer is a resounding YES. The short story is a difficult thing to pull off but when it is done right it can send a shiver down the spine that the longer forms of prose just can't. The Old Devil Moon is a definite spine tingler. From the achingly atmospheric and melancholic "The Twilight Express" through the laugh-a-long barmyness of "The Night Museum" to the shuderingly intimate "All Packed" The Old Devil Moon delivers time after time and delivers in ways and forms that will keep you guessing, not only right to the very end of each story, but also where the next perfectly formed piece will take you. But be warned! This is an eclectic collection that will have your emotions on a rollercoaster. So if you want a safe ride down the middle lane of the fictional highway then this is not for you. However, if you fancy a horse whipped coach ride on the foggy cliff edge of a rampant imagination then you can not do better than Old Devil Moon.

Dark, suspenseful, and finally here!, 11 Dec 2007
As the author's website promises a signed copy to the first person who reviews the book on Amazon, I thought it would be nice to be the first person to review the book who has actually read it (ie the first to review it after the publication date), rather than before. And I thought it would be nice, in this vein, to say something about the book itself!

Christopher Fowler has been writing for about twenty years, and seems to always suffer from book shops not knowing where to place his novels and collections of short stories. Are they crime, or horror? This short story collection, his tenth, belongs most firmly in the latter category.

The author, in his preface, questions the need for a book about a dark and strange world, and quotes a large number of real life dark and strange stories to prove the point - many of which, if they were fiction, would sound laughable. However, the stories themselves make one glad that Mr Fowler bothered. From his own backyard of Kings Cross in 'Exclusion Zone', to Africa and the Middle East in 'The Threads' and 'Cupped Hands', Fowler tells genuinely unnerving tales of the world that lies just beneath the facade that most of us see on a daily basis. Classical Fowler themes are revisited, including, on several occasions, the horrific effects when westerners try to take advantage of what they perceive as being less civilised cultures, always with results that are unsettling and disturbing.

Fowler's work makes one look at the world in a slightly different way, and the closest analogy that I can draw is to compare his short stories to those found in Clive Barker's Books of Blood. Whilst Barker has gone onto worldwide fame and fortune, this seems somehow to have eluded Fowler to some degree, despite the success of the Bryant & May crime novels. This is truly an injustice, and any fans of crime, horror or any other genre should give him a go. Beneath the book's slightly cheap looking cover are 20 or so gems which are asking to be read, and read again - it will be worth your time if you do so.

Good Read for Christmas, 08 Dec 2007
I haven't read the book yet because Amazon are taking so long to dispatch it. I ordered it months ago.

I have still rated it 5 stars because I know I'm in for a good read and will post a full review when I've read the book.

Just fantastic, as always......, 05 Dec 2007
It always amazes me that Chris Fowler is not more popular, mention his name to my friends & all I get is a blank stare. Christopher who ???
This latest collection of short stories is getting back to what he does best, a superb collection of 'Urban Unease'. If you have never sampled his work before then this is an excellent place to start, his most recent books feature the ageing detective duo 'Bryant & May' are great reads, but I prefer a lot of his earlier work, with 'Soho Black' being a particular favourite. This collection is as good as any of his earlier work & is a good way to get into this seriously under-subscribed authors back catalogue. Chris, you are our favourite Author. (Phil & Donna) xxx

Why isn't Fowler on the best seller's list?, 19 Apr 2004
t's starting to get me worried about how undervalued Fowler is - his full-length books are some of the best, paciest horror novels written in the past decade, and his collections of short stories never fail to impress. Yet, he isn't recognised for his genius outside the select few.

Rant aside, once again we have a fine collection of short stories on offer, although lacking the edge of the Uncut selection, they also show that Fowler has branched out into different forms of storywriting. This is clear from the first tale, We;re Going Where The Sun Shines Brightly, which is an idyllic look back to a trip around France on a double decker. OK, so it's still pretty dark in the final third, yet you don't see it coming - let alone expect something like it.

Of course, there are some classic Fowleresque stories on offer, such as Seven Feet (in my opinion, the best story in the book - although not for those with rat allergies), The Green Man and Hop are all great horror tales that conjour up lurid images of the events. Other stories also stick with the urban paranoia Fowler usually exhibits, such as American Waitress and Above the Glass Ceiling, which work very well in drawing the reader in.

Yet the departures from his usual style make this book memorable. The most notable of these are One Night Out, which is a well-written story involving a man's father returning from the dead for, you guessed it, one night, while Emotional Response is a fantastic story of two women jilted in love, plotting their revenge (no, not involving weapons, just a broken heart), that conveys the main character's spite and heartbreak so well. Meanwhile, Feral is a nice, quick and easy joke about urban foxes, pigeons and bin bag murderers, The Scorpion Jacket is a work of twisted fantasy about tailoring and ancient Constantinople, and Hitler's Houseguest being an interesting curio. However, the final tale, Cairo 6.1, feels to be a bit of a let-down when compared to the rest, as the big twist is given away far to early, and isn't saved by the punchline.

Not quite the absolute best of Fowler, but a very worthwhile addition to the collection. Now, can they hurry up and get the Disturbia picture off the ground, so he can enjoy some long-overdue success and plaudits?

Fowler back at his best, 22 Mar 2004
I can't begin to say how glad I am that Christopher Fowler's short stories are back on track after the disappointing 'Personal Demons'. 'Demonized' is a totally brilliant compendium of dark stories which will leave you feeling both emotional and gratified. From Fowler's opening introduction into how some of the stories were written to the very closing pages you will not be disappointed. Each story gets better and better with the turn of a page, my personal favourites are 'Hop' about a man who believes the soul of a dead murderess out for revenge is hopping into the bodies of children including his own daughter and 'Personal Space' about an 80 something old lady whose house gets taken over by drug addicts. These are just two examples of superbly written dark fiction demonstrating a different type of horror, the horror of mankind; what we do to ourselves and each other. Nothing is better than the feeling you get after reading a really excellent book, and this is no exception. The stories are not all full of hardship and sorrow, as Fowler says in his intro, some have a happy ending, some a sad one, and others are left open. A well deserved 5 stars! Welcome back Fowler!

Unpickupable..., 14 Nov 2001
In his introduction Fowler is somewhat scathing of Stephen King- claiming his style has all the finesse of an orthapedic shoe, but that some of his ideas make reasonable films. He seems to think (and indeed says) that he himself is doing something more daring, more 'challenging'. His horror fiction is not 'the normal sort'. OK, horror short fiction doesn't have to be werewolves, vampires etc, but sorry, I'd still like to have a plot. Reasonable dialogue. Some form of structure. Development. Perhaps the occasional juicy little surprise. Not much of that on show here. What's in this book is a series of stories with fairly basic ideas which are not developed. They range from the blindingly obvious (the hotel owner taking revenge on people he feels are responsible for his bad fortune: get this- he poisons them...challenging enough?), to the surreal (a lottery winner wins a horrible fate.) I can handle surreal, and some of my favourite short stories are very much open ended. But they are so for a reason... King may not be the most elegant of prose writers, but he knows how to tell a story, and he can keep you turning the page... there wasn't one story here that worked for me. If you are looking for truely challenging horror short fiction which is not concerned with the traditional elements of horror fiction i'd recommend trying the Borderlands series edited by Thomas F Montelone.

Ideas looking for complete stories., 18 Oct 2001
In the author's introduction he has a bash at Stephen King- explaining his (King's) stories 'make good films' but the style is like an orthapedic boot. I'd argue King's stories actually make pretty lousy films on the whole, but they do have some good ideas and characters a reader can care about. This collection struck me as having neither. Sketchy ideas. Incomplete plots, and a general feeling of "So what?". Fowler talks about the stories being daring. Being different. Being Urban horror. Didn't see it myself. If you want short stories that are really original, really unsettling and follow Fowler's aim for 'no blood, no monster' I'd suggest looking at the Borderlands series. For me, this collection was a complete dud.

His best collection yet, 25 Oct 2000
I make no secret of the fact that Christopher Fowler is my favourite author but "Personal Demons" is his best short story collection yet.

As usual the stories contained here are horrific in his usual style ("urban horror" - no monsters or what have you, just nasty people & nasty places) but there are hints throughout of Christopher Fowler seeking a new direction for his work to take, as witnessed with his latest novel, "Calabash", which is also well worth a read.

For those of you who read "Spanky", the first tale here completes the tale nicely ("Spanky's Back In Town") and although the rest are uniformly excellent "Phoenix" chilled me to the bone.

If you like horror and have never tried Fowler's work, buy this to see what you're missing, and then buy the rest because they're all as good as each other. Brilliant stuff.

A disappointment, 06 Jan 2008
I've been a Fowler fan since his first novel, "Roofworld", first appeared in paperback, but this collection was a huge disappointment for me. Only a couple of stories resonated with me - particularly "All Packed", which was simply stunning - and for some reason I found myself struggling to get the urge to pick this one up to read it. Maybe it was just me, but the collection seemed to be missing that certain something to make it special, and that was definitely present in his others such as "Personal Demons", "The Bureau of Lost Souls" and "City Jitters". There was a time when I preferred Fowler's short stories to his novels, but now I think my opinion has switched. A disappointment.

Welcome back!, 13 Dec 2007
Old Devil Moon is Christopher Fowler's first short story collection in nearly five years. The wait has been a long one but was it worth it? The answer is a resounding YES. The short story is a difficult thing to pull off but when it is done right it can send a shiver down the spine that the longer forms of prose just can't. The Old Devil Moon is a definite spine tingler. From the achingly atmospheric and melancholic "The Twilight Express" through the laugh-a-long barmyness of "The Night Museum" to the shuderingly intimate "All Packed" The Old Devil Moon delivers time after time and delivers in ways and forms that will keep you guessing, not only right to the very end of each story, but also where the next perfectly formed piece will take you. But be warned! This is an eclectic collection that will have your emotions on a rollercoaster. So if you want a safe ride down the middle lane of the fictional highway then this is not for you. However, if you fancy a horse whipped coach ride on the foggy cliff edge of a rampant imagination then you can not do better than Old Devil Moon.

Dark, suspenseful, and finally here!, 11 Dec 2007
As the author's website promises a signed copy to the first person who reviews the book on Amazon, I thought it would be nice to be the first person to review the book who has actually read it (ie the first to review it after the publication date), rather than before. And I thought it would be nice, in this vein, to say something about the book itself!

Christopher Fowler has been writing for about twenty years, and seems to always suffer from book shops not knowing where to place his novels and collections of short stories. Are they crime, or horror? This short story collection, his tenth, belongs most firmly in the latter category.

The author, in his preface, questions the need for a book about a dark and strange world, and quotes a large number of real life dark and strange stories to prove the point - many of which, if they were fiction, would sound laughable. However, the stories themselves make one glad that Mr Fowler bothered. From his own backyard of Kings Cross in 'Exclusion Zone', to Africa and the Middle East in 'The Threads' and 'Cupped Hands', Fowler tells genuinely unnerving tales of the world that lies just beneath the facade that most of us see on a daily basis. Classical Fowler themes are revisited, including, on several occasions, the horrific effects when westerners try to take advantage of what they perceive as being less civilised cultures, always with results that are unsettling and disturbing.

Fowler's work makes one look at the world in a slightly different way, and the closest analogy that I can draw is to compare his short stories to those found in Clive Barker's Books of Blood. Whilst Barker has gone onto worldwide fame and fortune, this seems somehow to have eluded Fowler to some degree, despite the success of the Bryant & May crime novels. This is truly an injustice, and any fans of crime, horror or any other genre should give him a go. Beneath the book's slightly cheap looking cover are 20 or so gems which are asking to be read, and read again - it will be worth your time if you do so.

Good Read for Christmas, 08 Dec 2007
I haven't read the book yet because Amazon are taking so long to dispatch it. I ordered it months ago.

I have still rated it 5 stars because I know I'm in for a good read and will post a full review when I've read the book.

Just fantastic, as always......, 05 Dec 2007
It always amazes me that Chris Fowler is not more popular, mention his name to my friends & all I get is a blank stare. Christopher who ???
This latest collection of short stories is getting back to what he does best, a superb collection of 'Urban Unease'. If you have never sampled his work before then this is an excellent place to start, his most recent books feature the ageing detective duo 'Bryant & May' are great reads, but I prefer a lot of his earlier work, with 'Soho Black' being a particular favourite. This collection is as good as any of his earlier work & is a good way to get into this seriously under-subscribed authors back catalogue. Chris, you are our favourite Author. (Phil & Donna) xxx

Why isn't Fowler on the best seller's list?, 19 Apr 2004
t's starting to get me worried about how undervalued Fowler is - his full-length books are some of the best, paciest horror novels written in the past decade, and his collections of short stories never fail to impress. Yet, he isn't recognised for his genius outside the select few.

Rant aside, once again we have a fine collection of short stories on offer, although lacking the edge of the Uncut selection, they also show that Fowler has branched out into different forms of storywriting. This is clear from the first tale, We;re Going Where The Sun Shines Brightly, which is an idyllic look back to a trip around France on a double decker. OK, so it's still pretty dark in the final third, yet you don't see it coming - let alone expect something like it.

Of course, there are some classic Fowleresque stories on offer, such as Seven Feet (in my opinion, the best story in the book - although not for those with rat allergies), The Green Man and Hop are all great horror tales that conjour up lurid images of the events. Other stories also stick with the urban paranoia Fowler usually exhibits, such as American Waitress and Above the Glass Ceiling, which work very well in drawing the reader in.

Yet the departures from his usual style make this book memorable. The most notable of these are One Night Out, which is a well-written story involving a man's father returning from the dead for, you guessed it, one night, while Emotional Response is a fantastic story of two women jilted in love, plotting their revenge (no, not involving weapons, just a broken heart), that conveys the main character's spite and heartbreak so well. Meanwhile, Feral is a nice, quick and easy joke about urban foxes, pigeons and bin bag murderers, The Scorpion Jacket is a work of twisted fantasy about tailoring and ancient Constantinople, and Hitler's Houseguest being an interesting curio. However, the final tale, Cairo 6.1, feels to be a bit of a let-down when compared to the rest, as the big twist is given away far to early, and isn't saved by the punchline.

Not quite the absolute best of Fowler, but a very worthwhile addition to the collection. Now, can they hurry up and get the Disturbia picture off the ground, so he can enjoy some long-overdue success and plaudits?

Fowler back at his best, 22 Mar 2004
I can't begin to say how glad I am that Christopher Fowler's short stories are back on track after the disappointing 'Personal Demons'. 'Demonized' is a totally brilliant compendium of dark stories which will leave you feeling both emotional and gratified. From Fowler's opening introduction into how some of the stories were written to the very closing pages you will not be disappointed. Each story gets better and better with the turn of a page, my personal favourites are 'Hop' about a man who believes the soul of a dead murderess out for revenge is hopping into the bodies of children including his own daughter and 'Personal Space' about an 80 something old lady whose house gets taken over by drug addicts. These are just two examples of superbly written dark fiction demonstrating a different type of horror, the horror of mankind; what we do to ourselves and each other. Nothing is better than the feeling you get after reading a really excellent book, and this is no exception. The stories are not all full of hardship and sorrow, as Fowler says in his intro, some have a happy ending, some a sad one, and others are left open. A well deserved 5 stars! Welcome back Fowler!

Unpickupable..., 14 Nov 2001
In his introduction Fowler is somewhat scathing of Stephen King- claiming his style has all the finesse of an orthapedic shoe, but that some of his ideas make reasonable films. He seems to think (and indeed says) that he himself is doing something more daring, more 'challenging'. His horror fiction is not 'the normal sort'. OK, horror short fiction doesn't have to be werewolves, vampires etc, but sorry, I'd still like to have a plot. Reasonable dialogue. Some form of structure. Development. Perhaps the occasional juicy little surprise. Not much of that on show here. What's in this book is a series of stories with fairly basic ideas which are not developed. They range from the blindingly obvious (the hotel owner taking revenge on people he feels are responsible for his bad fortune: get this- he poisons them...challenging enough?), to the surreal (a lottery winner wins a horrible fate.) I can handle surreal, and some of my favourite short stories are very much open ended. But they are so for a reason... King may not be the most elegant of prose writers, but he knows how to tell a story, and he can keep you turning the page... there wasn't one story here that worked for me. If you are looking for truely challenging horror short fiction which is not concerned with the traditional elements of horror fiction i'd recommend trying the Borderlands series edited by Thomas F Montelone.

Ideas looking for complete stories., 18 Oct 2001
In the author's introduction he has a bash at Stephen King- explaining his (King's) stories 'make good films' but the style is like an orthapedic boot. I'd argue King's stories actually make pretty lousy films on the whole, but they do have some good ideas and characters a reader can care about. This collection struck me as having neither. Sketchy ideas. Incomplete plots, and a general feeling of "So what?". Fowler talks about the stories being daring. Being different. Being Urban horror. Didn't see it myself. If you want short stories that are really original, really unsettling and follow Fowler's aim for 'no blood, no monster' I'd suggest looking at the Borderlands series. For me, this collection was a complete dud.

His best collection yet, 25 Oct 2000
I make no secret of the fact that Christopher Fowler is my favourite author but "Personal Demons" is his best short story collection yet.

As usual the stories contained here are horrific in his usual style ("urban horror" - no monsters or what have you, just nasty people & nasty places) but there are hints throughout of Christopher Fowler seeking a new direction for his work to take, as witnessed with his latest novel, "Calabash", which is also well worth a read.

For those of you who read "Spanky", the first tale here completes the tale nicely ("Spanky's Back In Town") and although the rest are uniformly excellent "Phoenix" chilled me to the bone.

If you like horror and have never tried Fowler's work, buy this to see what you're missing, and then buy the rest because they're all as good as each other. Brilliant stuff.

Why isn't Fowler on the best seller's list?, 19 Apr 2004
t's starting to get me worried about how undervalued Fowler is - his full-length books are some of the best, paciest horror novels written in the past decade, and his collections of short stories never fail to impress. Yet, he isn't recognised for his genius outside the select few.

Rant aside, once again we have a fine collection of short stories on offer, although lacking the edge of the Uncut selection, they also show that Fowler has branched out into different forms of storywriting. This is clear from the first tale, We;re Going Where The Sun Shines Brightly, which is an idyllic look back to a trip around France on a double decker. OK, so it's still pretty dark in the final third, yet you don't see it coming - let alone expect something like it.

Of course, there are some classic Fowleresque stories on offer, such as Seven Feet (in my opinion, the best story in the book - although not for those with rat allergies), The Green Man and Hop are all great horror tales that conjour up lurid images of the events. Other stories also stick with the urban paranoia Fowler usually exhibits, such as American Waitress and Above the Glass Ceiling, which work very well in drawing the reader in.

Yet the departures from his usual style make this book memorable. The most notable of these are One Night Out, which is a well-written story involving a man's father returning from the dead for, you guessed it, one night, while Emotional Response is a fantastic story of two women jilted in love, plotting their revenge (no, not involving weapons, just a broken heart), that conveys the main character's spite and heartbreak so well. Meanwhile, Feral is a nice, quick and easy joke about urban foxes, pigeons and bin bag murderers, The Scorpion Jacket is a work of twisted fantasy about tailoring and ancient Constantinople, and Hitler's Houseguest being an interesting curio. However, the final tale, Cairo 6.1, feels to be a bit of a let-down when compared to the rest, as the big twist is given away far to early, and isn't saved by the punchline.

Not quite the absolute best of Fowler, but a very worthwhile addition to the collection. Now, can they hurry up and get the Disturbia picture off the ground, so he can enjoy some long-overdue success and plaudits?

Fowler back at his best, 22 Mar 2004
I can't begin to say how glad I am that Christopher Fowler's short stories are back on track after the disappointing 'Personal Demons'. 'Demonized' is a totally brilliant compendium of dark stories which will leave you feeling both emotional and gratified. From Fowler's opening introduction into how some of the stories were written to the very closing pages you will not be disappointed. Each story gets better and better with the turn of a page, my personal favourites are 'Hop' about a man who believes the soul of a dead murderess out for revenge is hopping into the bodies of children including his own daughter and 'Personal Space' about an 80 something old lady whose house gets taken over by drug addicts. These are just two examples of superbly written dark fiction demonstrating a different type of horror, the horror of mankind; what we do to ourselves and each other. Nothing is better than the feeling you get after reading a really excellent book, and this is no exception. The stories are not all full of hardship and sorrow, as Fowler says in his intro, some have a happy ending, some a sad one, and others are left open. A well deserved 5 stars! Welcome back Fowler!