Shudders

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31530, 18 November 1967, Page 4

Shudders

Over the Edge. New Stories of the Macabre. Edited by August Derleth. Gollancz. 297 pp.

Here is the supernatural in all its literary shapes and —particularly shades—from the grisly and spinechilling to the gentle ghost who returns to earth because of some unfulfilled wish o. promise. There are 18 stories by 18 different writers and they range in length from the short to the comparatively long. Although the contributors include a high proportion of well-known practitioners in the macabre, not one of the stories, says the publisher’s note, has appeared before in print The styles of presentation vary with the writer, but this reviewer was struck by the frequency with which the reader is plunged into the fantastical without adequate conditioning. It does seem that the unbelievable, if it is to be acceptable, should be preceded by the careful, even cunning, preparation of the reader by conjuring him into the right mood for receptivity. Admittedly this is a difficult and delicate task, but there are several stories in the collection notable for its accomplishment. They are Clark Ashton Smith’s “Told In the Desert,” August Derleth’s "The Patchwork Quilt” and Jesse Stuart’s “Crabgrass.”