Co-owner of the distinguished British publishing house Tartarus Press, editor, author and music composer RB Russell has collected in one hefty volume most of his short stories. The book includes tales of very different type and content, which have in common one feature: good quality.

Commenting upon every single story would be tedious and in a way, useless. Thus, I will mention only the stories that I’ve especially liked and which, to me, make the book absolutely worth reading.

“The Shepherd” is a very original, odd piece where a group of men carry a potential bomb bound to cause the end of the world.
“The Company You Keep” is a short but unforgettable story featuring a loner unwillingly involved in a crime by two former acquaintances.
The quite unusual, deeply disturbing “InfoDataAnalysis” tries to ascertain the real nature and the secret purposes of an odd organization.
“Whistle” is a very short but splendid masterpiece which just deserves to be read rather than to be commented upon.
“Frame Inverted” is an extremely entertaining, nicely built spy story.
“The Spaces in Between” is a subtly disquieting version of the doppelganger theme.
In “Decision,” possibly my favorite story in the book, many things look weird and reality is totally elusive.
Previously unpublished “ The Coverham Statuette” is an extremely dark, upsetting yet fascinating story revolving around an unusual, mysterious artifact.

In short, a highly recommended collection.

Order copies directly from Tartarus Press here.

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Mario Guslandi was born in Milan, Italy, where he currently lives. He became addicted to horror and supernatural fiction (too) many years ago, after accidentally reading a reprint anthology of stories by MR James, JS Le Fanu, Arthur Machen etc. Most likely the only Italian who regularly reads (and reviews) dark fiction in English, he has contributed over the years to various genre websites such as Horrorworld, Hellnotes, The British Fantasy Society, The Agony Column and many more. See all his recent reviews for us here.