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Nightscript #4
Nightscript: Volume 4
An annual anthology of strange and darksome tales, which this year profiles the work of 21 contemporary V.H. Leslie, J.T. Glover, Joanna Parypinski, Steve Rasnic Tem, L.S. Johnson, Daniel Braum, M. Lopes da Silva, Mathew Allan Garcia, April Steenburgh, Charles Wilkinson, Farah Rose Smith, Armel Dagorn, Cate Gardner, Jackson Kuhl, Christi Nogle, Ross Smeltzer, Jennifer Loring, Tim Jeffreys, Elana Gomel, Mike Weitz, Kirsty Logan.
"A very promising anthology." —Ellen Datlow, Best Horror of the Year
"An annual highlight of the genre." —Anthony Watson, Dark Musings
"Weirdness with truth at its heart." —Des Lewis, Real-Time Reviews
"A very promising anthology." —Ellen Datlow, Best Horror of the Year
"An annual highlight of the genre." —Anthony Watson, Dark Musings
"Weirdness with truth at its heart." —Des Lewis, Real-Time Reviews
- GenresHorrorShort Stories
237 pages, ebook
First published September 17, 2018
8 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
About the author
V.H. Leslie
31 books29 followersI came to books early and enjoyed them so much that I’ve spent the best part of my life studying them. I taught English A Level for a number of years and I still write academic articles for a range of literary publications. Although I always knew that I wanted to write fiction, it was only recently that I began in earnest. I enjoy reading and writing fiction that focuses on psychological issues and perspectives, that blurs boundaries or takes place within liminal or marginal spaces. I like stories that are driven by setting and those that make connections to other texts, to mythology, folklore and art.
My short stories have appeared in a range of speculative publications, including Black Static, Interzone and Shadows and Tall Trees and have been reprinted in a range of “Year’s Best” anthologies. I’m a Hawthornden Fellow and was recently awarded a place at the Saari Institute in Finland, where I was researching Nordic myth and folklore. I won the Lightship First Chapter Prize in 2013 and was a finalist for the 2014 Shirley Jackson Award in the category of novelette. My debut short story collection Skein and Bone garnered comparisons to M.R. James and Shirley Jackson and was nominated for both the World Fantasy Award and the British Fantasy Award. My novel Bodies of Water, hailed a “feminist ghost story” was published by Salt Publishing and has just been translated into French. I’m currently studying for my PhD in English and Creative Writing at the University of Chichester.
My short stories have appeared in a range of speculative publications, including Black Static, Interzone and Shadows and Tall Trees and have been reprinted in a range of “Year’s Best” anthologies. I’m a Hawthornden Fellow and was recently awarded a place at the Saari Institute in Finland, where I was researching Nordic myth and folklore. I won the Lightship First Chapter Prize in 2013 and was a finalist for the 2014 Shirley Jackson Award in the category of novelette. My debut short story collection Skein and Bone garnered comparisons to M.R. James and Shirley Jackson and was nominated for both the World Fantasy Award and the British Fantasy Award. My novel Bodies of Water, hailed a “feminist ghost story” was published by Salt Publishing and has just been translated into French. I’m currently studying for my PhD in English and Creative Writing at the University of Chichester.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 20, 2019
Definitely the strongest volume of Nightscript to date, in my humble opinion. While not every story was perfect, of course, the flow of them was impeccable, and brought out the subtle strengths of the weaker tales in a way that made this anthology shine with the secret brilliance of a black diamond, made all the more beautiful for its flaws.
November 21, 2018
Now in its fourth permutation, C.M. Muller’s NIGHTSCRIPT anthology continues to house — within its slate-scrubbed clapboard, concealed behind murky panes — a series of stories which, due to their strangeness and peculiarity, may have never otherwise discovered a proper home.
A shrewd student of a number of creative mediums, Muller is neither clumsy nor casual in his execution of these annual projects; and it really is a demonstrative exercise in voice and vision — his conjuring, capturing, and making incarnate (from font, to paper, in artwork, in tonality) a singular aesthetic.
NIGHTSCRIPT, IV expectedly contains a number of top-notch stories penned by (as Muller is wont to do) many “unknown” scribblers — this is one of the fantastic aspects of the series, as Muller places emerging names in close proximity with established writers, as is the case in N.IV with appearances by V.H. Leslie (“Sugar Daddy”) and Steve Rasnic Tem (“By the Sea”). I was personally taken with L.S. Johnson’s “A Harvest Fit For Monsters” (a grim and ambiguous tale of war-torn grief); Farah Rose Smith’s “Of Marble and Mud” (a crisply written narrative focusing on the frightening and fragile bond between two sisters); and Mike Weitz’s “Rainheads” (bearing bleak shades of apocalyptic horror). Joanna Parypinski’s “The Thing In the Trees” is a personal highlight for me—one of the most haunting and deftly-handled tales I’ve encountered for quite some time.
NIGHTSCRIPT alumnus Charles Wilkison (“The Dandelion Disorder”) makes a welcome appearance, as well as Christi Nogle (“Cinnamon to Taste”) and Daniel Braum (“The Monkey Coat”). Resonating, still, for me are the stories “There Has Never Been Anyone Here” by J.T. Glover; “By The Sea” by the aforementioned Mr. Rasnic Tem; and Kirsty Logan’s “My House Is Out Where the Lights End,” which serves as the publication's breathtaking, closing punctuation.
Another part of Muller’s magic is his sapient strategy in weaving an ambiguous melody in the sequencing of the tales, yielding a unique resonance and eloquent undulation to each installment.
NIGHTSCRIPT is, of course, an annual celebration of the pleasant melancholies of autumn; but its contents are suitable for any timeframe in which a reader can carve out some solitude, as the well-crafted tales call for your attention and close-reading consideration. More than this, NIGHTSCRIPT is — in Muller’s mental landscape — a vital venue for voices often lost beneath the wind-swept blanket of brittle, burnt-orange leaves — an otherwise unnoticed sibilance existing in the shadowed, foreboding fringes of a rickety-limbed forest.
A shrewd student of a number of creative mediums, Muller is neither clumsy nor casual in his execution of these annual projects; and it really is a demonstrative exercise in voice and vision — his conjuring, capturing, and making incarnate (from font, to paper, in artwork, in tonality) a singular aesthetic.
NIGHTSCRIPT, IV expectedly contains a number of top-notch stories penned by (as Muller is wont to do) many “unknown” scribblers — this is one of the fantastic aspects of the series, as Muller places emerging names in close proximity with established writers, as is the case in N.IV with appearances by V.H. Leslie (“Sugar Daddy”) and Steve Rasnic Tem (“By the Sea”). I was personally taken with L.S. Johnson’s “A Harvest Fit For Monsters” (a grim and ambiguous tale of war-torn grief); Farah Rose Smith’s “Of Marble and Mud” (a crisply written narrative focusing on the frightening and fragile bond between two sisters); and Mike Weitz’s “Rainheads” (bearing bleak shades of apocalyptic horror). Joanna Parypinski’s “The Thing In the Trees” is a personal highlight for me—one of the most haunting and deftly-handled tales I’ve encountered for quite some time.
NIGHTSCRIPT alumnus Charles Wilkison (“The Dandelion Disorder”) makes a welcome appearance, as well as Christi Nogle (“Cinnamon to Taste”) and Daniel Braum (“The Monkey Coat”). Resonating, still, for me are the stories “There Has Never Been Anyone Here” by J.T. Glover; “By The Sea” by the aforementioned Mr. Rasnic Tem; and Kirsty Logan’s “My House Is Out Where the Lights End,” which serves as the publication's breathtaking, closing punctuation.
Another part of Muller’s magic is his sapient strategy in weaving an ambiguous melody in the sequencing of the tales, yielding a unique resonance and eloquent undulation to each installment.
NIGHTSCRIPT is, of course, an annual celebration of the pleasant melancholies of autumn; but its contents are suitable for any timeframe in which a reader can carve out some solitude, as the well-crafted tales call for your attention and close-reading consideration. More than this, NIGHTSCRIPT is — in Muller’s mental landscape — a vital venue for voices often lost beneath the wind-swept blanket of brittle, burnt-orange leaves — an otherwise unnoticed sibilance existing in the shadowed, foreboding fringes of a rickety-limbed forest.
July 13, 2021
Due to the consistent quality of fiction in this collection, I've begrudgingly added many new authors to my reading list. How the hell am I going to find the time for all this?
January 27, 2021
A story that is a perfect coda to this book’s hyper-imaginative and osmotic obliquity, its often sporadically feisty and creatively sullen symphony.
The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of my observations at the time of the review.
The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of my observations at the time of the review.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews