Talking in the Dark

by Dennis Etchison

"Etchison is one hell of a fiction writer." -- Stephen King. Talking In the Dark collects the best work by a brilliant writer at the peak of his powers -- the author's own selection of personal favorites from four decades of writing. Among these twenty-four unforgettable tales of life on the edge are the award-winning classics "The Dark Country," "The Olympic Runner," and "The Dog Park," as well as several long-out-of-print stories and a new masterpiece written especially for this volume. This collection was nominated for a World Fantasy Award and its author is a three-time World Fantasy Award winner as well as a three-time British Fantasy Award winner. From the Publishers Weekly review of Talking In The "[A] wide-ranging collection culled from the past 30 years reveals an unexpected non-genre side to his newer tales, sometimes reminiscent of John Cheever and Shirley Jackson."

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction

368 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2001

About the author

aka Jack Martin.

Dennis William Etchison was an American writer and editor of fantasy and horror fiction. He is a multi-award winner, having won the British Fantasy Award three times for fiction, and the World Fantasy Award for anthologies he edited.

Reviews

[Shirley Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, what a twisted and tormented web Mr. Etchison weaves! A master observer and perhaps closet psychologist, Dennis spins the very basic and most base instincts of the human animal to a “what-if” nth degree, carrying the reader on a fantastic dark ride to a surprising and usually shocking end, the only predictable element of these amazing, itchy suspenseful, precisely written, by turns creepy and horrifying short stories. From the ravaging descendant daughters of the Donner Party to an infamous homicidal dwarf mystery writer, the author conjures insanely credible life into the odd, the marginal, the most bestial of characters to bring a chill of uncomfortable recognition to the reader at the same time delivering the satisfaction of an almost hypnotic exploration of words married with an expertise in storytelling almost impossible to find in more contemporary works. What a truly terrifying treasure trove of tales, indeed!

[Murray Ewing · Rating 4 out of 5]

A best of, selected by Etchison himself — what better way to get to know a writer I’d not previously read? Talking in the Dark contains 24 stories, covering the years 1972 to 2001, including his award-winners ‘The Dark Country’, ‘The Olympic Runner’ and ‘The Dog Park’.

Etchison can certainly write. He has a sparse, moody style, and it’s often a page or two into a story before I’m sure of the setting and situation, exactly, but by that time I’m totally into it. Pretty much all of the stories in this book are set in or around California. In his hands, it’s a bleak, isolating world with some pretty dark corners. Usually, it’s when people open up or reach out to others that the trouble, the horror, starts. (Think it’s a good idea to rescue a lost little girl? Read ‘Call Home’.)

I have to say it was the writing style and general tone that carried me through this book, as many of the stories, which I loved as writing, didn’t work so well, for me, as stories — the horror denouements didn’t seem sufficiently prepared for, and I’d sometimes feel a little let down when they arrived, abruptly, sometimes confusingly. Precisely because Etchison’s writing was so good, I think, I wanted something more. But towards the last third of the volume, pretty much from ‘The Dog Park’ on, something clicked and either I adjusted to Etchison or he’d changed tack a bit (these were all 1990s stories) and it worked. Significantly, these later tales don’t have supernatural elements. The horror is subtler, more about everyday human ‘monsters’ and dark psychology than, say killer dwarfs (there is a killer dwarf tale) or the science-fictional horrors of some of the early stories. So, midway through I was enjoying the book but wondering if I was going to finish it, but by the end I was wanting more.

[scoffs, calumnies, etc. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had high hopes because everybody loves Etchison, but his writing style isn't really for me: terse, clipped, hardboiled. I guess his deal is that he's a highbrow, LA-ifyed Stephen King, which, I can see it. Still there are a few really good stories in here, particularly in the latter half of the book as the later-career stories get into more oblique, Aickmanesque/head-tilting territory - "Deadspace", "The Olympic Runner", "The Dog Park", "A Wind From the South", etc. The title story, while not horror, is very effective, but the other ventures into more traditional lit-fic territory don't really do the trick. But if "terse, clipped, harboiled" sounds like your bag you'll probably like them, along with the rest of this.

[C. T. Elliott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many of these stories are not even horror or weird fiction, just sort of short "shock" vignettes. Sort of good at times, with stylistic flourishes. A little too Stephen Kingish for my tastes.

[Chris DiLeo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Etchison is a master.

THE DARK COUNTRY is one of the greatest collections of horror stories ever published, and his story "The Dog Park" is a masterclass in the art of building dread. Though Etchison never gained immense popularity, his work stands with the best of the genre. His 1986 novel DARKSIDE is an excellent example of the sort of anarchistic horror he fears—outside evil threatens to destroy a family. Many readers may shy from his horror because it explores the quotidian miseries of mortality, but I appreciate his unflinching exploration of the very tenuousness of our existence.

To that end, this collection is, like any collection of an author's work, uneven: there is the stunning, the serviceable, and the lackluster.

Even so, readers should dive in. Etchison has some macabre treats to share.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is sooooooo gooooooood. Each and every story comes with the depth and nuance you would expect from quality literature. Characters come to life and live within moody, fleshed-out worlds. The stories are carefully constructed, delicately balancing nuance and big themes. Is it horror? Unquestionably so. Terror stalks these pages. Fear you cannot hope to avoid. Etchison never skimped on the horror and never sacrificed the quality of his writing to achieve that goal. We lost a master when he passed.