Book Review: Hasty for the Dark: Selected Horrors by Adam L.G. Nevill
Title: Hasty for the Dark: Selected Horrors
Author: Adam L.G. Nevill
Release date: October 31st, 2017
Recently, I devoured Nevill’s phenomenal novel ‘No One Gets Out Alive.’ Once I was finished that, I decided to dive directly into a few of his other books I have but haven’t read yet, and it was while searching my Kindle that I saw I still needed to read this collection. I’ve previously read his two three-story-free colllections on Amazon as well as his stunning Wyrd and Other Derelictions, so I knew I was in for some classic and solid Nevill-ness.
I was going to take my time reading this one, but as events occurred – namely me having a horrible case of food poisoning, I blasted through this while dealing with my stomach abandoning me in my moment of need!
What I liked: Nevill opens this one with a short introduction, telling us that he wanted to collect his short stories in a publication order and put it all in one place, allowing the reader to have an easy go-to book to read all of his short work. It works brilliantly and other than the opener, which is less paranormal and more claustrophobic over public transit, this one showcases why Nevill is one of the best, dark fiction authors working today.
I’d read a few of these stories already, but it was neat to dive back into them, as it had been three years in the case of a few of them, and this time apart seemed to kick me between the legs. How so? Back in my review that was posted on December 18th, 2019, I said this about ‘Always in Our Hearts’ – “I personally didn’t really enjoy this one. We follow a hired driver who head a location to pick up his next ride. On the surface it had some potential, but I just didn’t connect.’ ARE YOU KIDDING ME! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PAST STEVE?!!? Because, now, after having reread it, it was one of my favorite stories in this collection. It plays upon the strengths of odd characters and a seemingly unrelated even in the driver’s past, but when Nevill brings it full circle, HOLY COW!
‘The Angels of London’ was another great one, which I really loved the first time around. ‘Call the Name’ was an excellent slab of Lovecraftian horror and ‘Hippocampus’ is one of the finest pieces of short fiction ever put to page and one of the inspiration pieces to Nevill’s ‘Wyrd and Other Derelictions,’ having stories without any ‘real’ characters.
‘Little Black Lamb’ finished this one off and wow – what can I say. It was so spellbinding and essentially a fully developed folklore story without any outward or obvious folklore moments.
What I didn’t like: I’d say that the opener almost feels out of place now, after reading the stories that follow it. It’s a fun story for sure, but just didn’t deliver the same Nevill-ness that I’ve grown to absolutely love. For completionism sake I’m happy it was there, but the atmosphere was far off from the others.
Why you should buy this: If you’re a fan of Nevill then this one will most likely already be on your shelves or on your Kindle. If you’ve not read any of his long reads yet, this is a fantastic place to start and see just what you’re in for. Another amazing release from a living legend.
5/5
