This was an incredibly impressive short story collection. I have only read one or two stories by Fowler before and watched a very average film adaptation of one, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I was fascinated by the author that writes urban horror. In the genre overpopulated with "a family moves to a small town/remote location/rural locale/etc. to start a new life and ancinet evil awakens/something goes amiss/children become posessed/etc." stories, it is so refreshing and remarkable to read someone who understands that real horror can just as easily lie in the heart of a busy metropolis. Not all the stories were equal and special mention goes to Fowler's apocalyptic tale,an arabian nights style one and the one about the strangest housesitting gig ever. The last story in the collection is particularly excellent, because of how it brings the rest of the stories together. Fowler has the brass balls to liken Stephen King's elegance of writing to that of an orthopedic boot, so it's a good thing that with this collection he proves he has the goods to make such bold statements. I'm definitely going to read more of his work. Highly recommended.
Possibly the collection does not live up to its introduction, where Fowler offers some home truths about the horror genre (e.g. Stephen King's prose is "as elegant as an orthopaedic boot."), but there are some fine things in it. "Unforgotten", which manages to combine a sort of Jamesian antiquarianism with anti-capitalism, is probably my pick of the lot, although "The Man Who Wound a Thousand Clocks" is a strange, effective fable, and "Phoenix", in which a man discovers he is one of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, deserves credit for sheer cheekiness. Some stories, such as "Armies of the Heart" and "Still Life" (the latter a bizarre riff on "Brief Encounter") don't quite catch fire, and others are spoiled by platitudinous philosophizing: noteworthy among the latter is "Inner Fire", which remains a memorable picture of London overwhelmed by a new ice age, despite an annoyingly upbeat ending. "Looking for Bolivar" is a clever bit of whimsy, but in no sense weird fiction. Altogether, a mixed bag, but Fowler is always interesting. One would like to see the cream of his ten collections of short stories assembled into a "Best of".
What do You think about Personal Demons (1998)?
I tried to imagine where Bolivar might have gone, but the dog knew so many stores and bars in the neighbourhood I had no idea where to start. He had a better social life than me.I usually like reading collections of short stories, but I think Christopher Fowler is better at writing novels. I found some of the stories quite interesting, but none of them were that memorable, and the one about the hotel which performed taboo services for special guests was especially disappointing.The best story by a long way was "Looking for Bolivar", about an Englishman who moved to New York, and how his life changed when he agreed to house sit for a stranger.
—Isabel (kittiwake)
