The Sign in the Moonlight: And Other Stories

by David Tallerman, Duncan Kay (Illustrations), Adrian Tchaikovsky (Introduction)

A doomed mountaineering expedition attempts the slopes of Kanchenjunga, following in the footsteps of notorious occultist Aleister Crowley. A young soldier witnesses omens of another, vaster conflict in the ravaged trenches of the Somme. Two children find their innocence tested and their friendship contorted by the ancient barrow upon the hill. A ghost who can't remember ekes out an interminable existence amidst the ashes of events that can never be forgotten. Contained within these pages are weird tales in the spirit of Lovecraft, Machen, Doyle and Wells, but shot through with a modern sensibility and a questioning of the old values. Here dwell ghosts and monsters, madmen and contortionists, lost souls and misunderstood geniuses. Collected for the first time are stories diverse and strange, spanning nearly a decade in the career of author David Tallerman (Giant Thief, Patchwerk) and including the never before seen novelette The War of the Rats. "There are stories here that could come straight out of the pulp journals of the 30s, others that have the mannered feel of Victoriana ... but all are presented with the intensity and focus that characterises David’s short fiction." -- Adrian Tchaikovsky, from his introduction.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Horror

234 pages, Paperback

First published January 22, 2016

About the author

David Tallerman is the author of the comic fantasy novel The Black River Chronicles: Level One and its first sequel The Black River Chronicles: The Ursvaal Exchange, the Tales of Easie Damasco series (Giant Thief, Crown Thief and Prince Thief), and the Tor.com novella Patchwerk. His comics work includes the absurdist steampunk graphic novel Endangered Weapon B and the Lovecraftian horror miniseries C21st Gods.

David's short science fiction, fantasy and horror has appeared in over eighty markets, including Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, Nightmare and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. A number of his dark fantasy tales have been collected as The Sign in the Moonlight and Other Stories.

He can be found online at davidtallerman.co.uk.

Reviews

[Paul Ataua]

A fairly mixed bag of Lovecraft styled stories, some really good and others quite weak. 'The Burning Room', 'The War of the Rats', and 'The Sign in the Moonlight' were among the best. A reasonably good bedtime read.

[Riju Ganguly]

After a fairly long time I came across a collection of cross-genre stories which turned out to be quite riveting. But let me go story-by-story.
After the introduction by Adrian Tchaikovsky, the book unleashed the following stories: -
1. THE BURNING ROOM: A crisp ghost story where lucid prose facilitated the smooth growth of fear.
2. THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF ALGERNON WHISPER'S KARMA: One of the weaker stories, I must state.
3. THE DESERT COLD: A sharp, tragic, and brutal tale, almost poetic in its harsh beauty.
4. THE WAR OF THE RATS: A vicious, claustrophobic tale of warfare and descent of a mind into insanity.
5. THE SIGN IN THE MOONLIGHT: A brilliant story of struggle against remorseless nature as well as unnatural evil.
6. MY FRIEND FISH FINGER BY DAISY, AGED 7: Told in a remarkably childish manner, it's a grim story of Lovecraftian horror.
7. PRISONER OF PEACE: This story was not to my liking. It seemed overlong & hollow.
8. THE DOOR BEYOND THE WATER: One of the finest stories of Mythos horror that I have read in recent times, this one was a rarity where lush prose and compact narrative joined hands to create a horrific story.
9. CARETAKER IN THE GARDEN OF DREAMS: This is a dark jewel, and you HAVE to read it. Loved it.
10. A TWIST TOO FAR: Who says you need a twist for a good story? This one was predictable to its last line, but succeeded in shuddering me.
11. THE UNTOLD GHOST: One of the most poignant, tragic, and heart-wrenching stories that I have read under the cover of a ghost story.
12. A STUDY IN RED AND WHITE: Can Father Christmas stories be frightening even outside Doctor Who episodes? You MUST read this one to know.
13. A STARE FROM THE DARKNESS: This one had a lot of suspense, but eventually turned tragic. Perhaps that's where the lure of such stories lie. They all are tragic tales at the end.
14. THE WAY OF THE LEAVES: Another tragic, and yet horrifying story, almost ethereal in its beauty and inevitability.

Overall, I loved this one, and would try to find out more works of Tallerman.
Recommended.

[Chris Amies]

In "The Sign in the Moonlight" David Tallerman presents us with fourteen pieces which range across a variety of genres, ghostly, fantastical and horrific. The title story is a weird tale set in the aftermath of black magician Aleister Crowley's ill-fated 1905 attempt to climb Mount Kangchenjunga, the 'Five Treasures of the Snows.' Tallerman is clearly fond of late-Victorian and early 20th century weirdness: from the bizarre "A Twist too Far" with its fakirs and fakers to the Saki-esque "Algernon Whisper's Karma," the opening story "The Burning Room," and "The War of the Rats" in which the horrific slaughter of WW1 reveals another, more surprising conflict. "The Untold Ghost" picks up some of the atmosphere of "The Burning Room" to give us a chill and straight-down-the-line ghost story. It is pared down to the bone in a very effective way, as are the bleakly monochrome "Prisoner of Peace" and the short but chill "The Desert Cold": 'like death, like the loss of love, a bleakness and a heartbreak.'

"The Untold Ghost" brings in another recurring theme and one that is at the heart of a good ghost story, the sense that something is (at first slightly) off; as the narrator of that story says, 'its effect was simply that [...] looked wrong'. This effect is common in HP Lovecraft, where it has been called a 'wrong geometry.' Many of the stories are Lovecraftian in the best way, echoing HPL's fondness for odd civilisations and barbaric traditions, and never mind all the glubbling and unpronounceable names: "The Door beyond the Water" and "Caretaker in the Garden of Dreams" introduce us to the weird and shuddersome rituals of other worlds and strange cultures. As if to underline the distinction between what Lovecraft actually wrote and what people think he did, "My Friend Fishfinger by Daisy, Aged 7" indulges in playful overloading of Lovecraftian cliche with some of the names even being literally spelt out. Possibly playful but also deeply strange is "A Study in Red and White."

Tallerman is also a writer of what is more conventionally known as Fantasy and this influences, among others, "A Stare from the Darkness" in which he once again overturns cliche in a way that makes for a better story. The final piece in the book, "The Way of the Leaves" is a tale set in a Northern English town and on the moors above, and moves from the 1970s to the present day with an elegiac sense of loss which the reader will find in other stories here as well.

The illustrations, by the very talented Duncan Kay are very much in keeping with the style of the book, spare and dark and weird by turns.

[Sharon]

I've always enjoyed short stories and I especially enjoy horror short stories. With "The Sign in the Moonlight: And Other Stories (Digital Horror Fiction Author Collection Book 1)" by David Tallerman horror lovers get a great mix of scary tales.

The mix includes ghosts that roam a hotel; An expedition onto a cold, snowy mountain where aliens want to take over the Earth; A hidden cave where a young girl gets lost while the boy who loves her attempts to save her from a life with some strange creatures; A man living in a seemingly jail cell, not knowing how he got there and discovers that the door isn't locked and wonders what is going on outside; A strange beast who has to create scarecrows to protect his crops; A soldier during WW I stuck in a bunker where two groups of rats battle each other; A 7 year-old little girl who has a strange friend; and many other tales. All told there are about 23 thought provoking, chilling stories that are sure to keep you up at night reading them.

Author, David Tallerman knows how to tell a story suitable for scaring listeners by the campfire on a chilly night.

As with any anthology, some of the stories are a little better than others but all of them achieve the purpose of introducing readers to strange people, creatures, and places that only live in the depths of a horror writer's mind. It looks like I'll have to find the second book to of this set and see what else is living in Mr. Tallerman's head.

I have no problem recommending this terrific horror book of short stories to anyone.

"I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book, through Reading Deals, so I could give an honest review."

[Felicity Keane]

This...was a hard book for me to digest, and an even harder book to review.

I think a part of it is the subject matter. This draws quite heavily on the style of H.P Lovecraft and if that's not really your bag (baby) then you might struggle to truly relish in it. I've only read two short stories by Lovecraft (neither of which featured Cthulhu) so found it a bit hard to really get into this. That isn't to say that there was nothing here for me to enjoy. I really liked the story written from the perspective of a 7 year old girl. The writing tone was consistent and enjoyable, which made the ending that little bit more chilling. The opening story read like a traditional ghost story, which I also enjoyed as well as a very quick tale about an evil Santa monster.

Overall, if you're a fan of Lovecraft and you really enjoy his particular brand of horror stories then I think you'll really enjoy this. If you're unfamiliar with Lovecraft or if horror really isn't your thing, there's still enjoyment to be had but there could be some struggle to comprehend and enjoy the tone.

[Tracey Norman]

This collection of short stories is superb. They are so varied that I had to keep reminding myself that the same author wrote them! A clear Lovecraftian influence produces some deliciously macabre tales, while others reminded me of MR James. All are exceptionally well-written. Some make excellent use of (dark) humour, some are poignant, some are chillers, but all of them look at facets of the human condition and really make you think. Personally, I will never be able to look at meerkats in quite the same light...

[PhD in demonology]

Very mixed bag. Do not recommend unless you have nothing else.

[Robert]

Worth a quick read.

Some good tales. Some not so good.
Only a couple are memorable . Some just leave you wanting more .

[Delphine]

Read just the title story. Rating is for that story only.

[Heather Wilson]

This is a great collection of well-written stories. I found myself deeply moved or emotionally impacted by several. There were a couple I didn't care for as much, but that's to be expected in any collection. I don't want to give spoilers here of specific plots, but one story made me audibly gasp in horror and shock and I had to sit with that and process for a moment. Another few made me feel horrified and saddened. One made me laugh and make a semi-intelligible call, since I kept giggling, to my SO as I tried to relay the story. I loved how the stories contained the details they needed and left out all the stuff they didn't that authors too often add. I like it when stories connect me to characters and situations that cause me to feel what they feel and experience their experiences. It's great to read one of these a day as a special treat so you fully immerse in each story before beginning another. They're short but many of these will stay with you,haunting you. I did receive this at a free or discounted rate in exchange for my honest review, but I'd have no problems shelling out cash for this author's work.

[Bookish_predator]

4 stars

Huge thanks to David Tallerman, Digital Fiction Publishing Corp, Digital Horror Fiction and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

There are some really good stories in this and I few I wasn't too sure about but the writing is perfect and the illustrations are wonderful and evocative.

[Terry]

A few good stories ...

But the rest? No thanks! I don't like reading archaic literature, even copycat type!. Stories from the late 1800's into the early 1900's are not fun reading to me. And most of the stories were either that old, or had been written in that old-fashioned manner. Wordy, flowery, boring to me but other readers may get a kick pout off them!

[David Richardson]

Some of the stories in this book were really strange, others were outstanding. This book is pretty easy to read, not too "English". The last story in the book is worth the price of admission.