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The Diogenes Club #(Richard Riddle, Boy Detective)
Summer Chills: Tales of Vacation Horror
A collection of horror stories in exotic locale by the likes of Dennis Etchinson, Graham Masterton, Brian Lumley, and Christopher Fowler.
476 pages, Paperback
First published May 16, 2007
4 people are currently reading
57 people want to read
About the author
Clive Barker
706 books15.2k followersClive Barker was born in Liverpool, England, the son of Joan Rubie (née Revill), a painter and school welfare officer, and Leonard Barker, a personnel director for an industrial relations firm. Educated at Dovedale Primary School and Quarry Bank High School, he studied English and Philosophy at Liverpool University and his picture now hangs in the entrance hallway to the Philosophy Department. It was in Liverpool in 1975 that he met his first partner, John Gregson, with whom he lived until 1986. Barker's second long-term relationship, with photographer David Armstrong, ended in 2009.
In 2003, Clive Barker received The Davidson/Valentini Award at the 15th GLAAD Media Awards. This award is presented "to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individual who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for any of those communities". While Barker is critical of organized religion, he has stated that he is a believer in both God and the afterlife, and that the Bible influences his work.
Fans have noticed of late that Barker's voice has become gravelly and coarse. He says in a December 2008 online interview that this is due to polyps in his throat which were so severe that a doctor told him he was taking in ten percent of the air he was supposed to have been getting. He has had two surgeries to remove them and believes his resultant voice is an improvement over how it was prior to the surgeries. He said he did not have cancer and has given up cigars. On August 27, 2010, Barker underwent surgery yet again to remove new polyp growths from his throat. In early February 2012 Barker fell into a coma after a dentist visit led to blood poisoning. Barker remained in a coma for eleven days but eventually came out of it. Fans were notified on his Twitter page about some of the experience and that Barker was recovering after the ordeal, but left with many strange visions.
Barker is one of the leading authors of contemporary horror/fantasy, writing in the horror genre early in his career, mostly in the form of short stories (collected in Books of Blood 1 – 6), and the Faustian novel The Damnation Game (1985). Later he moved towards modern-day fantasy and urban fantasy with horror elements in Weaveworld (1987), The Great and Secret Show (1989), the world-spanning Imajica (1991) and Sacrament (1996), bringing in the deeper, richer concepts of reality, the nature of the mind and dreams, and the power of words and memories.
Barker has a keen interest in movie production, although his films have received mixed receptions. He wrote the screenplays for Underworld (aka Transmutations – 1985) and Rawhead Rex (1986), both directed by George Pavlou. Displeased by how his material was handled, he moved to directing with Hellraiser (1987), based on his novella The Hellbound Heart. His early movies, the shorts The Forbidden and Salome, are experimental art movies with surrealist elements, which have been re-released together to moderate critical acclaim. After his film Nightbreed (Cabal), which was widely considered to be a flop, Barker returned to write and direct Lord of Illusions. Barker was an executive producer of the film Gods and Monsters, which received major critical acclaim.
Barker is a prolific visual artist working in a variety of media, often illustrating his own books. His paintings have been seen first on the covers of his official fan club magazine, Dread, published by Fantaco in the early Nineties, as well on the covers of the collections of his plays, Incarnations (1995) and Forms of Heaven (1996), as well as on the second printing of the original UK publications of his Books of Blood series.
A longtime comics fan, Barker achieved his dream of publishing his own superhero books when Marvel Comics launched the Razorline imprint in 1993. Based on detailed premises, titles and lead characters he created specifically for this, the four interrelated titles — set outside the Marvel universe — were Ectokid,
In 2003, Clive Barker received The Davidson/Valentini Award at the 15th GLAAD Media Awards. This award is presented "to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individual who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for any of those communities". While Barker is critical of organized religion, he has stated that he is a believer in both God and the afterlife, and that the Bible influences his work.
Fans have noticed of late that Barker's voice has become gravelly and coarse. He says in a December 2008 online interview that this is due to polyps in his throat which were so severe that a doctor told him he was taking in ten percent of the air he was supposed to have been getting. He has had two surgeries to remove them and believes his resultant voice is an improvement over how it was prior to the surgeries. He said he did not have cancer and has given up cigars. On August 27, 2010, Barker underwent surgery yet again to remove new polyp growths from his throat. In early February 2012 Barker fell into a coma after a dentist visit led to blood poisoning. Barker remained in a coma for eleven days but eventually came out of it. Fans were notified on his Twitter page about some of the experience and that Barker was recovering after the ordeal, but left with many strange visions.
Barker is one of the leading authors of contemporary horror/fantasy, writing in the horror genre early in his career, mostly in the form of short stories (collected in Books of Blood 1 – 6), and the Faustian novel The Damnation Game (1985). Later he moved towards modern-day fantasy and urban fantasy with horror elements in Weaveworld (1987), The Great and Secret Show (1989), the world-spanning Imajica (1991) and Sacrament (1996), bringing in the deeper, richer concepts of reality, the nature of the mind and dreams, and the power of words and memories.
Barker has a keen interest in movie production, although his films have received mixed receptions. He wrote the screenplays for Underworld (aka Transmutations – 1985) and Rawhead Rex (1986), both directed by George Pavlou. Displeased by how his material was handled, he moved to directing with Hellraiser (1987), based on his novella The Hellbound Heart. His early movies, the shorts The Forbidden and Salome, are experimental art movies with surrealist elements, which have been re-released together to moderate critical acclaim. After his film Nightbreed (Cabal), which was widely considered to be a flop, Barker returned to write and direct Lord of Illusions. Barker was an executive producer of the film Gods and Monsters, which received major critical acclaim.
Barker is a prolific visual artist working in a variety of media, often illustrating his own books. His paintings have been seen first on the covers of his official fan club magazine, Dread, published by Fantaco in the early Nineties, as well on the covers of the collections of his plays, Incarnations (1995) and Forms of Heaven (1996), as well as on the second printing of the original UK publications of his Books of Blood series.
A longtime comics fan, Barker achieved his dream of publishing his own superhero books when Marvel Comics launched the Razorline imprint in 1993. Based on detailed premises, titles and lead characters he created specifically for this, the four interrelated titles — set outside the Marvel universe — were Ectokid,
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 9, 2008
After reading the first seven short stories in this compilation, I stopped. They just weren't what I was expecting. I like horror stories, and I enjoy the short story format, but these just weren't that scary or weird or horrific. They were just OK. I feel bad that I didn't finish the rest of the stories, because there could be a gem in there, but I figured if the first third of the stories weren't that good, what are the chances the rest of them will be great? So I stopped.
July 12, 2011
Looking for a chill in the summer heat? Pick up this anthology of vacations gone horribly wrong. Think you're safe at home? You are... until the neighbors get back with the most interesting slides. Interested in seeing the Real Mexico or Egypt? Are you really sure? This was a book I picked up on a whim and it gave me the whim-whammies back. I found only one in here I'd read before. A very nice collection!
September 3, 2023
I love the theme and concept but this collection had so many weak stories in it. My copy had the same fantastic cover art that shows on Good Reads and it's gloriously kooky. I read this over 2 summers piece by piece and I'm glad to finally be done with it.
I do not recommend overall but if able to find some of the stronger tales elsewhere
"Seeing The World" by Ramsey Campbell:
short & sweet, spooky, and weird. A perfect start to this anthology. Annoying neighbors want to show off their boring vacation pics... Or is another, more sinister reason they've insisted you come have a look?? Mwahaha! Bizarre in a good way.
"The Threads" by Christopher Fowler:
a truly unlikable English couple on holiday in Egypt. They try to rip off some locals selling their wares and pay a surprisingly nasty price. Very Tales From the Crypt! Another great story for this collection.
"Little Dedo" by Nancy Holder:
Another unlikable couple on vacation but in France. I guess it meets the same thematic criteria as the last one on paper but, honestly, it sucked and that makes it feel out of place here. A lady is keeping her pregnancy a secret from her husband whom she hates. She imagines that the fetus inside her is a gargoyle and blah blah. No thanks.
"The Dark Country" by Dennis Etchison:
more unlikable characters accidentally(?) murder a local kid in Mexico and cover it up. Boring, tough to get through because the words on the page to actual story ratio is all wrong. I kept thinking it'd turn into something more but my meager expectations were not met.
"The Anguish of Departure" by Roberta Lannes:
Thank glob for this story. This collection was beginning to feel like a chore. Suitably creepy, and did not overstay its welcome. Another couple, in Italy this time, there's something pulling them apart. Mysterious paintings, unresolved familial trauma. Legitimately don't know what was going on but in a good way. Let's the vibe hang in the air instead of over explaining.
"The Cave" by Basil Copper:
Wonderful voice, felt very old timey. A mysterious beast afflicts a remote village in the alps. The locals cast knowing gazes at each other but dare not speak about it to the tourist passing through. Chefs kiss. Five stars. All of that.
"Survival of the Fittest" by Scott Edelman:
Thought it was veering someplace sinisterly supernatural when a man with a secret on a trip interacts with a prying flirty stranger but ends up being an admittedly moody, touching story about loneliness and grief. Does not belong in this collection!
"The Landlock" by Elizabeth Massie:
The bait and switch within this story is what I expected in the previous story in the Galápagos. A woman fed up with "the oppressive garbage pit of my American City, and of my vast, polluted country" (been there, girl) volunteers to help rebuild a school in Belize destroyed by a hurricane. The real reason she volunteered is to spend her free time trying to commune with a more primeval and unspoilt land. She gets what she's looking for but in a real monkeys paw way.
"Richard Riddle, Not Detective, in 'The Case of the French Spy" by Kim Newman:
First off-- terrible title. I got about 1/3 through and am quitting this one. The "gee whilikers" style dialogue is too distracting for me. I skipped ahead until almost the end and I don't think the Lovecraftian payoff is enough to make me go back and read the rest.
"In the Pines" by Karl Edward Wagner:
This author's reputation precedes him and I even though I've only read one other short story by him I was very much looking forward to his piece in this collection. It was very well written, interesting characters and circumstance and kind of popped off the page although the story itself was lackluster to me. I was hoping this one would reinvigorate me but it's really feeling like a chore again.
"A Gentleman from Mexico" by Mark Samuels:
I liked the vibe, I liked that I didn't know where it was going, I didn't like that it ended up going nowhere. An author in Mexico City is writing weird fiction, others believe his consciousness has been replaced by that of Howard Philip Lovecraft. Neat, right? Unfortunately anticlimactic.
"The City of Love" by Joel Lane :
I have questions about what was going on and I think that's a good thing. The obscured sex and violence in this one makes each feel more extreme than what's on the page.
"The Charnel House" by D. Lynn Smith:
Really really good! Another westerner out of their depth in Egypt is looking for a spiritual awakening through travel. It takes a while to get to the fireworks factory but I enjoyed the journey and the atmosphere.
"Millwell" by Glen Hirshberg:
At least it mostly fit the theme of the collection. The hint at climate change apocalypse caused by a rapidly melting glacier and the realistic dangers that creates was way scarier than whatever else the story was trying to hint at. Too long for what it was.
"The Bohemian of the Arbat" by Sarah Pinborough:
A good start with a lot of interior character building that fleshes out a young, beautiful woman who marries for money into someone you can empathize with. Great storytelling, great ending, just weird enough. I don't know but I loved it.
"Not Our Brother" by Robert Silverberg:
Just okay. Set in Mexico once again. The title is a translation from Nauhtl to English of the name of shape-shifting malevolent beings. Didn't cultivate a sense of foreboding and didn't give me any substantial chills.
"The Sun, the Sea, and the Silent Scream" by Brian Lumley: "The valley seemed alight with torches now, and not only the electric sort. "Considering these people were Greeks, they seemed remarkably well organized. That was a thought I'd keep in mind, something else I would have to ask about." LMAOOOO
After watching the eldritch body horror slowly but surely consume the British tourists at an extremely off the beaten path Greek beach I absolutely love the off the cuff racism of the stuffy Englishman protagonist. He also slapped his wife to mellow her out after a bout of hysterics about the previously mentioned eldritch creatures - - some kind of crab/lice like super parasite. This story ruled. It had a great voice and a cool hook and I've come to love the title of it too. It perfectly encapsulates what I was hoping and expecting from this collection and therefore is probably the best story here.
"Being Right" by Michael Marshall Smith:
I enjoyed this one. Lots of efficient character building in it and a ominous vibe that did not really pay off. It was touching and sweet and I liked it but I was disappointed that it wasn't scarier and especially that it didn't have a monkeys paw/Tales from the crypt kind of twist.
"In the Hills, the Cities" by Clive Barker:
I've been waiting for this one! It has a reputation that precedes it. Let me tell you Clive Barker is a real one. This was so vivid and gruesome and bizarre! "...they let an insane concensus replace the tranquil voice of reason" INDEED.
"Incognita, Inc." by Harlan Ellison: A light little fantasy story with zero chills or thrills to be found. I don't think I've read anything by Harlan Ellison before even though I've seen of adaptations of his work. TBH I didn't care for his style here. The author's details and flourishes kind of impeded my imagining rather aided it. Very much the opposite of Clive Barker. I don't know just my opinion.
I do not recommend overall but if able to find some of the stronger tales elsewhere
"Seeing The World" by Ramsey Campbell:
short & sweet, spooky, and weird. A perfect start to this anthology. Annoying neighbors want to show off their boring vacation pics... Or is another, more sinister reason they've insisted you come have a look?? Mwahaha! Bizarre in a good way.
"The Threads" by Christopher Fowler:
a truly unlikable English couple on holiday in Egypt. They try to rip off some locals selling their wares and pay a surprisingly nasty price. Very Tales From the Crypt! Another great story for this collection.
"Little Dedo" by Nancy Holder:
Another unlikable couple on vacation but in France. I guess it meets the same thematic criteria as the last one on paper but, honestly, it sucked and that makes it feel out of place here. A lady is keeping her pregnancy a secret from her husband whom she hates. She imagines that the fetus inside her is a gargoyle and blah blah. No thanks.
"The Dark Country" by Dennis Etchison:
more unlikable characters accidentally(?) murder a local kid in Mexico and cover it up. Boring, tough to get through because the words on the page to actual story ratio is all wrong. I kept thinking it'd turn into something more but my meager expectations were not met.
"The Anguish of Departure" by Roberta Lannes:
Thank glob for this story. This collection was beginning to feel like a chore. Suitably creepy, and did not overstay its welcome. Another couple, in Italy this time, there's something pulling them apart. Mysterious paintings, unresolved familial trauma. Legitimately don't know what was going on but in a good way. Let's the vibe hang in the air instead of over explaining.
"The Cave" by Basil Copper:
Wonderful voice, felt very old timey. A mysterious beast afflicts a remote village in the alps. The locals cast knowing gazes at each other but dare not speak about it to the tourist passing through. Chefs kiss. Five stars. All of that.
"Survival of the Fittest" by Scott Edelman:
Thought it was veering someplace sinisterly supernatural when a man with a secret on a trip interacts with a prying flirty stranger but ends up being an admittedly moody, touching story about loneliness and grief. Does not belong in this collection!
"The Landlock" by Elizabeth Massie:
The bait and switch within this story is what I expected in the previous story in the Galápagos. A woman fed up with "the oppressive garbage pit of my American City, and of my vast, polluted country" (been there, girl) volunteers to help rebuild a school in Belize destroyed by a hurricane. The real reason she volunteered is to spend her free time trying to commune with a more primeval and unspoilt land. She gets what she's looking for but in a real monkeys paw way.
"Richard Riddle, Not Detective, in 'The Case of the French Spy" by Kim Newman:
First off-- terrible title. I got about 1/3 through and am quitting this one. The "gee whilikers" style dialogue is too distracting for me. I skipped ahead until almost the end and I don't think the Lovecraftian payoff is enough to make me go back and read the rest.
"In the Pines" by Karl Edward Wagner:
This author's reputation precedes him and I even though I've only read one other short story by him I was very much looking forward to his piece in this collection. It was very well written, interesting characters and circumstance and kind of popped off the page although the story itself was lackluster to me. I was hoping this one would reinvigorate me but it's really feeling like a chore again.
"A Gentleman from Mexico" by Mark Samuels:
I liked the vibe, I liked that I didn't know where it was going, I didn't like that it ended up going nowhere. An author in Mexico City is writing weird fiction, others believe his consciousness has been replaced by that of Howard Philip Lovecraft. Neat, right? Unfortunately anticlimactic.
"The City of Love" by Joel Lane :
I have questions about what was going on and I think that's a good thing. The obscured sex and violence in this one makes each feel more extreme than what's on the page.
"The Charnel House" by D. Lynn Smith:
Really really good! Another westerner out of their depth in Egypt is looking for a spiritual awakening through travel. It takes a while to get to the fireworks factory but I enjoyed the journey and the atmosphere.
"Millwell" by Glen Hirshberg:
At least it mostly fit the theme of the collection. The hint at climate change apocalypse caused by a rapidly melting glacier and the realistic dangers that creates was way scarier than whatever else the story was trying to hint at. Too long for what it was.
"The Bohemian of the Arbat" by Sarah Pinborough:
A good start with a lot of interior character building that fleshes out a young, beautiful woman who marries for money into someone you can empathize with. Great storytelling, great ending, just weird enough. I don't know but I loved it.
"Not Our Brother" by Robert Silverberg:
Just okay. Set in Mexico once again. The title is a translation from Nauhtl to English of the name of shape-shifting malevolent beings. Didn't cultivate a sense of foreboding and didn't give me any substantial chills.
"The Sun, the Sea, and the Silent Scream" by Brian Lumley: "The valley seemed alight with torches now, and not only the electric sort. "Considering these people were Greeks, they seemed remarkably well organized. That was a thought I'd keep in mind, something else I would have to ask about." LMAOOOO
After watching the eldritch body horror slowly but surely consume the British tourists at an extremely off the beaten path Greek beach I absolutely love the off the cuff racism of the stuffy Englishman protagonist. He also slapped his wife to mellow her out after a bout of hysterics about the previously mentioned eldritch creatures - - some kind of crab/lice like super parasite. This story ruled. It had a great voice and a cool hook and I've come to love the title of it too. It perfectly encapsulates what I was hoping and expecting from this collection and therefore is probably the best story here.
"Being Right" by Michael Marshall Smith:
I enjoyed this one. Lots of efficient character building in it and a ominous vibe that did not really pay off. It was touching and sweet and I liked it but I was disappointed that it wasn't scarier and especially that it didn't have a monkeys paw/Tales from the crypt kind of twist.
"In the Hills, the Cities" by Clive Barker:
I've been waiting for this one! It has a reputation that precedes it. Let me tell you Clive Barker is a real one. This was so vivid and gruesome and bizarre! "...they let an insane concensus replace the tranquil voice of reason" INDEED.
"Incognita, Inc." by Harlan Ellison: A light little fantasy story with zero chills or thrills to be found. I don't think I've read anything by Harlan Ellison before even though I've seen of adaptations of his work. TBH I didn't care for his style here. The author's details and flourishes kind of impeded my imagining rather aided it. Very much the opposite of Clive Barker. I don't know just my opinion.
December 31, 2019
Majority of these stories were boring and predictable. I feel like I wasted a lot of time reading them- BUT there were a few stand outs that were truly scary, and extremely well written. 4 stars because I enjoyed a few tremendously. Would have been five stars if it had only included the following stories and none of the drivel:
The Cave, by Basil Copper impressed me. So did the Charnel House, by D. Lynn Smith. These two were compelling and creative, built around local mythologies. In The Pines, by Karl Edward Wagner was really captivating. The story featured psych-horror elements which I loved. The scenery was vivid and the writing style was beautiful in its way.
The beat story- even among the stand outs was: The Sun, The Sea and The Silent Scream, by Brian Lumley. If you were to only read one story from this collection, choose this one. It’s scary. It’s extremely well written. It’s worth your time.
The Cave, by Basil Copper impressed me. So did the Charnel House, by D. Lynn Smith. These two were compelling and creative, built around local mythologies. In The Pines, by Karl Edward Wagner was really captivating. The story featured psych-horror elements which I loved. The scenery was vivid and the writing style was beautiful in its way.
The beat story- even among the stand outs was: The Sun, The Sea and The Silent Scream, by Brian Lumley. If you were to only read one story from this collection, choose this one. It’s scary. It’s extremely well written. It’s worth your time.
August 26, 2011
Couldn't get through the first half of the book. A lot of the authors are British and I sometimes have a hard time reading British authors because I don't know what they're talking about. So, I'll shelf this one and maybe come back to it.
September 8, 2009
A good collection of scary vacation stories...kind of like tales from the crypt sort of thing. Also turned me on to some good authors that I want to read more of.
September 14, 2022
An exceptionally strong collection of stories, including one of my all-time favorites, "In the Hills, the Cities," by Clive Barker. Each of the stories was a solid entry. There weren't any that I found myself skimming through just to finish them. The overall theme is travel, especially, of course, in the summer. But as you will discover in these stories, few vacations ever go as planned. Some are outright horrifying. This book is a solid 8/10. I have no problem recommending this collection.
July 17, 2018
Terrible. Usually I can find a few decent short stories in these collections but even Clive Barkers story was bland and dragged out.
April 19, 2016
I don't really love reading short story collections, they're just not my thing. I borrowed this book from my Little Free Library.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews