Black Country

by Joel Lane

Genres: Short Stories, Contemporary

15 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2010

About the author

Joel Lane was a British novelist, short story writer, poet, critic and anthology editor. He received the World Fantasy Award in 2013 and the British Fantasy Award twice.

Born in Exeter, he was the nephew of tenor saxophonist Ronnie Scott. At the time of his death, Lane was living in south Birmingham, where he worked in health industry-related publishing. His location frequently provided settings for his fiction.

Reviews

[Paul Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Nightjar Press] (March 2010). SB. First Edition. 280/300. Signed. 15 Pages. Purchased from cold Tonnage Books.

Feral youth. Urban decay. Dark memories.

[Paul Barnsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strange crimes are being committed in an area of the industrial West Midlands. Clayheath barely exists anymore as a result of more urbanisation, industrial decline and the building of a shopping mall.

A detective born there returns to try to solve the mystery and in doing so confronts shocking and disturbing individual and collective memories.

Joel Lane is a unique writer with important things to say about us and our society and how they interrelation.

All of his work is highly recommended and the only negative here is that this story feels slightly too short but even that adds to the gnawing unease the story creates.

Black Country is published as a chapbook (a short story) by Nightjar and is limited to 300 copies. If you can beg or buy a copy it do so.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nightjar publishes short stories in chapbook form which give the story space to breathe on the page, unhampered by being part of a magazine or a longer collection. This results in the mind being focussed on the written word much more intensely and in a story like this the format benefits. It's a simple tale, indicative of Lane's recent output, and to say too much about plot would spoil the reading process. These chapbooks are limited edition signed copies and well worth obtaining if you've read him before.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this last year but this has only just come on to GR. Another superb story from Joel. I've categorised as 'short stories' but in fact it's one story, in a nice little pamphlet type production.

[Erin Schable · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like entering another world, a haunted one.