Robert Aickman

[ElHI]

I don't know if Aickman has been cited as an influence by Ligotti himself, but am I the only one to think that there is more than a feeble link between those two?

I would have to look at it more closely, and try to write something somewhat elaborate on the subject, but as far as I recall them, such stories as (in no particular order) : The Swords, Into The Wood, The Hospice, The Clock Watcher, The Next Glade, The Trains,... come to my mind as good examples of similarities both in subject and in style.

I may also add that they are among the few authors that I can read again and again with the same pleasure...

[Brian Lavelle]

For me, and his writing is a special pleasure of mine, the best of Robert Aickman's work is suffused with that same oneiric quality as Ligotti's, coupled to a sense of foreboding and helplessness. Perhaps his work isn't as nihilistic as TL's but the poetry is certainly there.

The stories you mention, ElHI, are all excellent examples of Aickman's style but, for those who've never tried it, most of his work is worthy of reading (and, of course, re-reading - I completely agree that Aickman's stories merit closer inspection a third, fourth, fifth time...).

Particular favourites of mine are The Houses of the Russians, The Inner Room and The Same Dog, as well as those in the previous post.

Tartarus Press publish the definitive collected "strange stories", as Aickman liked to call his work (often, his ghostly fiction contains no apparent ghosts at all) but it's also fairly easy and inexpensive to pick up copies of the US editions of Cold Hand in Mine and Painted Devils on Abebooks.

[Plug] See my site below for more details.

[ElHI]

Brian,

How can I have forgotten that we had such an eminent aickmanologue as yourself in the ranks of TLO. It surely is not a coincidence!

And you have every right to plug your excellent Aickman site!

	TLO THOMAS LIGOTTI ONLINE

[Brian Lavelle]

ElHI,

You are very kind. Thanks for your comments about the site - my aim is to spread the word as far as possible about Aickman and it's a bit of a labour of love. Sadly, one other thing he shares with Thomas Ligotti is his relatively unknown status in the greater scheme of things. I think Aickman is perhaps the best writer who no one ever reads, and he deserves better than that.

As for the epithet aickmanologue, I've never been described as that before! Perhaps I should have a T shirt made up...

[hopfrog]

I just obtain'd ye two volume Centipede Press Masters of the Weird Tale edition edited by S. T. Joshi and containing "An Afternoon with Aickman" by T.E.D. Klein. I first began to read Aickman many years ago at ye insistence of one of his obsess'd admirers, J. Vernon Shea.

Is Walter de la Mare mentioned in the intro?

[Robert Adam Gilmour]

A while ago I talked about it being gutsy that Aickman put himself and EJ Howard in the Fontana anthologies but eventually I remember that Ronald Chetwynd Hayes, Mary Danby, Rosemary Timperley and maybe others also did this afterwards in their Fontana, Pan (and Armada?) anthologies.

Perhaps this was a standard practice in british anthologies before Aickman did it?

It is preposterously egocentric, but Aickman's stories genuinely compare well with the finest in the genre, and his method of structuring the anthologies to make a particular artistic statement is commendable. While he probably was biased toward Elizabeth Jane Howard, I do believe he'd have rated the story extremely highly if he weren't madly in love/obsessed with the author. Three Miles Up and The Trains deserve their place in an anthology purporting to contain 'great ghost stories' more than a few of the forgettable ones included in the range's volumes.

The situation reminds me of Mick Garris creating the Masters of Horror show and including himself among Argento and Carpenter, which is obviously absurd, though after seeing and enjoying Critters 2, Psycho 4 (it's weirdly good!) and the delirious trashterpiece Sleepwalkers I no longer view Garris as just the guy who made boring Stephen King miniseries I fell asleep watching.

Didn't expect to end up mentioning Critters 2 in an Aickman thread.

[yellowish haze]

Next month I am finally planning to order COLLECTED STRANGE STORIES OF ROBERT AICKMAN. This is going to be quite a treat... and an expensive one!

I have heard that Aickman has written two novels which have never been published. I was wondering if they will ever draw attention of the publishers...

[Brian Lavelle]

Only one novel ('Go Back At Once') remains unpublished, although I suspect it isn't as "strange", supernatural or dark as his short stories. Both of the published novels are lesser works than some of his best stories, although still enjoyable.

There are three unpublished plays ('Allowance For Error', 'Duty' and 'The Golden Round') and a magnum opus entitled 'Panacea: A Synthesis', which I believe to be a vast philosophical tract.

Perhaps some day, someone will oblige and publish these items...