This is a collection of short stories from early in Ramsey Campbell's career. I found it somewhat lacking. Maybe it was scary in the 70s? -- I dunno. It had neither the over-the-top weirdness of his earlier Lovecraft pastiches like, THE INHABITANT OF THE LAKE, nor the polished eeriness of his latter writing. The stories were all rather uneventful and bland. At the end of each I'd often say, "That's it?" The stories had too much focus on trivial concerns. It made for a very muddled and dry read.

I'd go over a few examples, but honestly they're all pretty much forgettable. Thank goodness Campbell improved over the years and took a different direction. I like subtle, but there's a point were you can become to subtle to be effective -- nothing more than a big yawn. ( )

Well, maybe I just don't get it, but I did not enjoy any of these stories. I found the writing to be juvenile, the stories to lack any thread, and nothing scary. ( )