Egaeus Press have just announced the publication on 17 June 2017 of Buried Shadows, a collection of ten stories by John Howard. Anyone who is interested in modern, character-based supernatural fiction with a strong European sensibility will want to have a copy.
Readers will find in these stories that the element of the uncanny is always subtly deployed: we can never be quite sure where the events of this world end and the influences of other forces or other planes begin to overlap.
They will also find stories that do not just rely on the supernatural dimension: they have credible, vulnerable, humane characters coming to terms with the doubts and dilemmas integral to our existence. The settings, often in European cities and provinces, and sometimes also in lesser-known historical tableaux, are unfamiliar but soon important to us: we are drawn into them.
These qualities are all achieved in a clear, concise prose that is both contemporary but also timeless: we recognise the succinct, chiselled style of the modern short story but we also hear echoes and resonances from the great tradition in fantastic literature. And most of all, John Howard’s thoughtful stories are perceptive explorations of how people respond when they face difficult questions about love, courage, trust, and society.
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