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Toys in the Attic
Brian guessed he should have been grateful when Mr. Stockbridge pressed the tin soldier into his hand. It wasn't every child at Windhaven Orphanage who received a present from the formidable Raymond Stockbridge. But Brian wasn't happy at all. In fact, Brian was scared... His best friend Davey had disappeared and already his clothes and comic books had vanished—as if Davey had never existed. But Brian knew his friend's most secret hiding place. And there, with a chill of terror, he found another tin soldier exactly like the one Mr. Stockbridge had given him. It was all a deadly game—and now it was Brian's turn to play...
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 20, 2023
Fun stuff from Ed Gorman, AKA Daniel Ransom when he is slumming for Zebra. Toys in the Attic tells the tale of a midsize midwestern town essentially ruled by the Stockbridge family since WWII. In the orphanage in town, Windhaven, reside many traumatized boys and girls, and this tale starts with one, Brian, whose best friend and fellow orphan Davey died just a few days ago. Behind the orphanage lays a nasty swamp, percolating with toxic chemicals dumped by one of the Stockbridge's industries and therefore covered up. Something in the swamp beckons little Brian...
Toys in the Attic is actually more complicated than it seems at first pass, e.g., some 'toxic avenger' trope, and Ransom has many subplots running around the main. Our main protagonist, Diane, is the sheriff in town, and she is concerned about the latest death at the orphanage. Yet, she also knows that to start digging will incur the wrath of the Stockbridge family; one sheriff 15 years ago also looked into the death of an orphan and his career was ruined. Ransom populates the novel with eccentric characters to say the least-- the Stockbridge family itself, Mrs. Kilrane (nee Stockbridge) who presides over the orphanage with an iron hand and her lackeys, the kids at the orphanage, the browbeaten mayor, and many others. Ransom's/Gorman's trademark prose and style give some grace to the text as does his ability to capture the essence of a scene with no wasted works, and not a little dry wit. Recommended for fans of vintage horror! 3.5 toy soldier stars!!
Toys in the Attic is actually more complicated than it seems at first pass, e.g., some 'toxic avenger' trope, and Ransom has many subplots running around the main. Our main protagonist, Diane, is the sheriff in town, and she is concerned about the latest death at the orphanage. Yet, she also knows that to start digging will incur the wrath of the Stockbridge family; one sheriff 15 years ago also looked into the death of an orphan and his career was ruined. Ransom populates the novel with eccentric characters to say the least-- the Stockbridge family itself, Mrs. Kilrane (nee Stockbridge) who presides over the orphanage with an iron hand and her lackeys, the kids at the orphanage, the browbeaten mayor, and many others. Ransom's/Gorman's trademark prose and style give some grace to the text as does his ability to capture the essence of a scene with no wasted works, and not a little dry wit. Recommended for fans of vintage horror! 3.5 toy soldier stars!!
May 14, 2017
80s classic about a town controlled by a family and missing children planning revenge on their murderer. I really liked the motif with the tin soldier and the eerie setting with the blue light over the swamp. Gives you some creepy hours reading!
March 12, 2017
TOYS IN THE ATTIC by Daniel Ransom, pseudonym of the late Ed Gorman, is a perfect example of why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Published in 1986, the cover of the original mass market edition from Zebra is … well, not great. A boy, with vaguely glowing eyes, sits in darkness with a giant toy solider that looks a lot like a nutcracker.
Bad cover art, but it doesn’t take more than a few pages to realize this is a well written novel that’s going somewhere any self-respecting horror fan should be eager to follow.
The premise of the novel: a very old orphanage in a secluded small town seems to be cursed. Children have been disappearing or dying in accidents at the place for many years, and of course, since they are orphans, no one ever made too much noise about it. The orphanage is run by a corrupt family that pulls all the strings in town. The Stockbridge family has town politicians and law enforcement in a stranglehold, living in fear of their jobs if they dare do anything in defiance of the family’s patriarch, Raymond Stockbridge.
It just so happens that the orphanage is located near a swamp into which a chemical plant has been dumping dangerous chemicals for quite some time. The story opens as one of the main boys in the book, Brian, hears the voice of his recently deceased friend calling him to the swamp late at night. And so the trouble begins.
Two of the book’s main characters are a female sheriff, Diane, who’s fairly new to the job so not at all under the thumb of Stockbridge, and the town’s former sheriff, John, who was asked to retire because he started asking the wrong questions after the death of an orphan a few years back. Now, as Diane digs into the latest incident at the orphanage, she detects the pattern and contacts the former sheriff. He’s in a bad place personally: now a complete drunk, ridden with guilt, who’s just about given up. They join forces and the fun begins. The small town corruption works its way through the novel nicely, putting up roadblocks for the investigation at every turn. It turns out there are supernatural forces at work which are never fully explained, but that was okay with me because the story was just so fun to read. There are some passages in the book that were not only surprisingly honest about the human condition, but tender, with genuine depth. That said, this was not a “literary” horror novel, nor do I believe it was meant to be anything other than sheer entertainment.
For a true 1980s horror fan, this book fires on all pistons. It does lean heavily on a few horror clichés, but Ed Gorman knows what he’s doing here, so it all worked for me just fine. The novel moved along at a good clip, with no dull moments, and was completely devoid of self-indulgent artistry; the story never takes itself so seriously that you have to stop enjoying yourself. Good writing, excellent pacing, and sympathetic characters winding through a plot that ticks all the boxes of my favorite horror tropes – along with a couple of nice twists – makes TOYS IN THE ATTIC a recommended read.
Bad cover art, but it doesn’t take more than a few pages to realize this is a well written novel that’s going somewhere any self-respecting horror fan should be eager to follow.
The premise of the novel: a very old orphanage in a secluded small town seems to be cursed. Children have been disappearing or dying in accidents at the place for many years, and of course, since they are orphans, no one ever made too much noise about it. The orphanage is run by a corrupt family that pulls all the strings in town. The Stockbridge family has town politicians and law enforcement in a stranglehold, living in fear of their jobs if they dare do anything in defiance of the family’s patriarch, Raymond Stockbridge.
It just so happens that the orphanage is located near a swamp into which a chemical plant has been dumping dangerous chemicals for quite some time. The story opens as one of the main boys in the book, Brian, hears the voice of his recently deceased friend calling him to the swamp late at night. And so the trouble begins.
Two of the book’s main characters are a female sheriff, Diane, who’s fairly new to the job so not at all under the thumb of Stockbridge, and the town’s former sheriff, John, who was asked to retire because he started asking the wrong questions after the death of an orphan a few years back. Now, as Diane digs into the latest incident at the orphanage, she detects the pattern and contacts the former sheriff. He’s in a bad place personally: now a complete drunk, ridden with guilt, who’s just about given up. They join forces and the fun begins. The small town corruption works its way through the novel nicely, putting up roadblocks for the investigation at every turn. It turns out there are supernatural forces at work which are never fully explained, but that was okay with me because the story was just so fun to read. There are some passages in the book that were not only surprisingly honest about the human condition, but tender, with genuine depth. That said, this was not a “literary” horror novel, nor do I believe it was meant to be anything other than sheer entertainment.
For a true 1980s horror fan, this book fires on all pistons. It does lean heavily on a few horror clichés, but Ed Gorman knows what he’s doing here, so it all worked for me just fine. The novel moved along at a good clip, with no dull moments, and was completely devoid of self-indulgent artistry; the story never takes itself so seriously that you have to stop enjoying yourself. Good writing, excellent pacing, and sympathetic characters winding through a plot that ticks all the boxes of my favorite horror tropes – along with a couple of nice twists – makes TOYS IN THE ATTIC a recommended read.
January 8, 2015
This is not a truly great book, by any means, but Ransom aka Ed Gorman's writing is so damn likable and good that I have to give it four stars. Its a three star affair all the way plotwise, but Gorman's writing is literally too great for this material and shines with strangely touching and beautiful passages. Its like if a talented director like Scorcese or Richard Linklater made a b-horror film. The "horror" herein, again, isn't impressive, but Gorman's pacing and prose really is. I can't wait to read more of Gorman's Daniel Ransom books. File under Extremely Likeable Horror Novels.
March 13, 2023
Classic 1980s zebra horror book. And I mean that in the best way! This is my second book by Daniel Ransom (AKA Ed Gorman) and I definitely love his writing style. He leaves you guessing always up until the end and his endings are always fascinating. I’ve only read two books, but never have I been board reading one of his horror novels. If you’re thinking about reading a Daniel Ransom zebra title don’t think twice and do it! You’ll be happy you did. 4 stars
April 21, 2020
Goddawful. The back of the book has the plot wrong (and misspells the name). The front cover pictures a nutcracker instead of a tin soldier.
In between those two pages is an unreadable mess.
In between those two pages is an unreadable mess.
September 16, 2022
Toxic landfill across from the orphanage which Brian was staring at outside of his window. The swamp looked like it was a bubbling boiling cauldron with blueish glow. Brian was given to the state when he was 4, his mother couldn't cope. The Sockbridges owned pretty much the whole town. Brian will be given a tin soldiers. Hardly anybody at the orphanage was given one by the scary, powerful and rich Mr Stockbridge. After Brian's friend from the orphanage had been buried Brian will find a tin soldier hidden in his room. A body was found near the swamp, burnt , spontaneous combustion seemed to be the cause of death. The blue glow from the swamp was communicating with Brian, controlling him, giving him headaches. People wanting to give nefarious information about the Stockbridge's are being killed. Brian will break a tree in half with his supernatural powers, oozing liquid out of an unfortunate persons head and set a car on fire. The headaches increase. Brian will disappear into the swamp. Mr Stockbridge spent 6 months in a mental institution. Mutations are appearing on dead victims and children who were murdered from the orphanage are living in the swamp. Typically zebra.
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November 10, 2019good
November 30, 2021
It was a good fast read. What I didn't care for was it has nothing to do with toys in the attic. Not really. The toy soldier didn't play a big part in the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 26, 2023
A quick read that's surprisingly well-written for the genre.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews