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The Unheimlich Manoeuvre
by
The Unheimlich Manoeuvre is a collection of short stories based around ideas of the domestic uncanny – the Unheimlich. The stories in this collection don’t fall into the conventional ‘haunted house’ bracket, but explore the psychological horror that occurs when home is subverted as a place of safety, when it becomes surreal, changes, and even disappears…
In these stories, a ...more
In these stories, a ...more
Hardcover, First, 142 pages
Published
July 16th 2016
by Boo Books
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There are some wonderful stories here.
Single author collections -especially first ones - can be erratic affairs, a wildly mixed bag, the result of a new author experimenting, trying to find their won voice through different styles. Tracy Fahey doesn't have that issue. Her voice is her own and her obsessions plainly evident. There are themes linking these tales - quiet desperation, domestic disharmony, the troubling nature of the uncanny - but no repetition. Each well-crafted story throws a ...more
Single author collections -especially first ones - can be erratic affairs, a wildly mixed bag, the result of a new author experimenting, trying to find their won voice through different styles. Tracy Fahey doesn't have that issue. Her voice is her own and her obsessions plainly evident. There are themes linking these tales - quiet desperation, domestic disharmony, the troubling nature of the uncanny - but no repetition. Each well-crafted story throws a ...more

This review first appeared on scifiandscary.com. I received a free copy of the book to review.
‘The Unheimlich Manoeuvre’ is a beguiling, unsettling collection of short stories that’s well worth your time if you have a taste for subtle, creepy horror. The 13 tales it contains are well written and varied enough to keep things interesting. Despite that variety, there are common themes running throughout the book that makes this feel like a well thought out, deliberate collection rather than the ...more
‘The Unheimlich Manoeuvre’ is a beguiling, unsettling collection of short stories that’s well worth your time if you have a taste for subtle, creepy horror. The 13 tales it contains are well written and varied enough to keep things interesting. Despite that variety, there are common themes running throughout the book that makes this feel like a well thought out, deliberate collection rather than the ...more

Review Posted On Kendall Reviews - March 21, 2019
Tracy Fahey, an Irish writer of Gothic fiction, is published in more than twenty US and UK anthologies. The Girl In The Fort, her first novel, was published by Fox Spirit Press in 2017, and Black Shuck Books released her second collection, New Music For Old Rituals in 2018. Two of her short stories, ‘Walking The Borderlines’ and ‘Under The Whitethorn’ were longlisted for Honourable Mentions in The Best Horror of the Year Volume 8. In 2017, her ...more
Tracy Fahey, an Irish writer of Gothic fiction, is published in more than twenty US and UK anthologies. The Girl In The Fort, her first novel, was published by Fox Spirit Press in 2017, and Black Shuck Books released her second collection, New Music For Old Rituals in 2018. Two of her short stories, ‘Walking The Borderlines’ and ‘Under The Whitethorn’ were longlisted for Honourable Mentions in The Best Horror of the Year Volume 8. In 2017, her ...more

This is a very assured first collection. It's been described as domestic horror but it's anything but mundane. Even where the stories are set abroad they have a very claustrophobic quality. Large events that affect whole communities are focused through the microscope of personal interactions, which are beautifully observed. Although there are twists, Tracy Fahey never plays for cheap shocks.
Recommended.
Recommended.

This collection of short stories are definitely uncanny, a few disturbing, a few horrific! They are very subtle, they aren’t gory, bloody but by the end you get that knowledge of wrongness! A good read! Creepy-Long Shadows! Disturbing-Ghost Estate, Phase II, The Woman Next Door, Walking The Borderlines! I could go on & on, just pick this one up and see for yourself!!

What attracted me to this book was the title. Like everyone else I had heard of the Heimlich manoeuvre but not the unheimlich manoeuvre and thanks to an informative introduction by Cate Gardner, I now know that it is a German word meaning uncanny or weird and these 14 short stories were spot on with this definition.
The stories that stood out for me were:
Coming Back is a story about a girl coming out of a coma and the after effects of her recovery. With the help of a mysterious visitor, she ...more
The stories that stood out for me were:
Coming Back is a story about a girl coming out of a coma and the after effects of her recovery. With the help of a mysterious visitor, she ...more

Although I hadn't read any of Tracy Fahey's fiction, despite her writing being well within my favourite genre of horror, I picked up a copy of this at a recent-ish convention and can honestly say it is one of the best collections I've read in a long-time.
I won't name a favourite story, and although one or two weren't my cup of tea, the quality of writing is superb throughout.
Read this, especially if you like your horror fiction urban and modern with a nod to J G Ballard.
I won't name a favourite story, and although one or two weren't my cup of tea, the quality of writing is superb throughout.
Read this, especially if you like your horror fiction urban and modern with a nod to J G Ballard.

You can find my full review of The Unheimlich Manoeuvre on my speculative fiction book blog.
Summary: if you can get your hands on this book, do. It is superb.
Summary: if you can get your hands on this book, do. It is superb.

Full review of this exceptional collection of horror short stories is here: http://www.spookyisles.com/2017/03/un...

I first heard of Tracy Fahey’s The Unheimlich Manoeuvre in a review by Jim Mcleod, the head of the Ginger Nuts of Horror site (I'm a fellow reviewer on the site). Tracy’s book was in his list of top horror books read in 2018. I am a HUGE fan of short story collections, and the review alluded that this book contained the type of darkness I like most.
I’m so glad I picked this one up. The book is a perfect mix of ghost stories, revenge stories and stories about loss. Subject matter aside, I love ...more
I’m so glad I picked this one up. The book is a perfect mix of ghost stories, revenge stories and stories about loss. Subject matter aside, I love ...more

Fahey clearly has a style all of her own. It feels very gothic, but the stories mostly have modern settings. Perhaps this is not new, but it felt very fresh to this reader. Stories set in present day housing estates and family situations, but with a classic sense of dread. Brilliant characters, captivating writing and plenty of dread. I'm so glad I picked up this book!
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Tracy Fahey writes Gothic fiction. Her short fiction collection, The Unheimlich Manoeuvre, was shortlisted in 2017 for Best Collection in the British Fantasy Awards, and was rereleased in 2018 by The Sinister Horror Company. In 2016 two of her short stories, 'Walking The Borderlines' and 'Under The Whitethorn' were long listed for The Best Horror of the Year Volume 8. She is published in more than
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