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| Think this guy can't scare you? Think again. |
Last night, I was perusing my collection of horror
anthologies—a collection of collections!—when I alighted on The Mammoth Book of
Best New Horror, from 2002 (and purchased somewhere around that time). Having recently
become interested in the fiction of Thomas Ligotti, his name on the cover
caught my attention and I flipped to the table of contents.
That's when I spotted it... a Ramsey Campbell story with a title that was
altogether new to me!
For context, I've been a fan of Campbell's work since my teens, getting to know
him first as one of Stephen King's most talented contemporaries, then as one of
the modern masters of Lovecraftian mythos fiction (kind of a backwards “reeling
in” of his actual career trajectory). But whatever the subject matter, Campbell
is an uncontested master of the short story form, and his inclusion in an
anthology is usually reason enough for me to pick it up. Campbell’s short stories are so well regarded,
in fact, that whenever he’s collected, his name usually has pride of place among
the first two or three mentioned on the cover.
Not so, for some reason, with this particular edition of Best
New Horror. Which is odd, because the story in question, “All For Sale”, is an
absolute beast.
I can’t say too much about it, because it’s short and
compact and I don’t want to spoil any aspect of it for you. Suffice it to say that "All
For Sale" is goddamn terrifying. An incredibly effective slice of
all-too-possible life… the way the bottom can drop out from underneath you in one
sickening moment, the way the rational mind can sometimes have trouble keeping
up with the reality of a horrifying situation... the mounting tension, the
unforgiving hopelessness that resolves into a visceral dread... it's a fucking
masterpiece.
In trying to think why this story hasn't been more widely anthologized,
I kept coming up blank. It's lean, it's mean, it works like gangbusters, and it
packs a powerful punch, the kind that bruises for days... It’s got everything you
would think anthology editors love about short genre fiction. Also, it’s got deep
literary roots, which, if I elaborate, will give away too much, so for now, I
won’t. And so, for now, as far as I can tell, the only two places you can find
it are in the above-mentioned Best New Horror (2002) and in a prohibitively
expensive and difficult to come by all-Campbell collection, Told by the Dead
(2003).
Or, thanks to Google Books’ inability to go through every single
anthology in their system to make sure that complete stories don’t slip through
their random-page-omission method of “respecting” publishers’ copyright claims…
you can
read it here and now, on the web, for free.
I recognize that this is not ideal, particularly for Mr. Campbell,
who—despite being widely and justifiably recognized as a leading figure in horror,
or dark fantasy, or “the weird”, or whatever nomenclature has been assigned to
this most primal and powerful of literary forms of late—is not immune from the
vicissitudes of fiscal fortune. However, seeing as I am not responsible for
Google’s boo-boo in this instance, and seeing as I believe Campbell’s work (in
general and this piece, specifically) is of such high quality that anyone
reading it is all but certain to seek out more of it—via venues that are more financially
remunerative for author and publishers both—I feel justified in pointing it
out.
Enjoy! And, if you’re new to the work of Ramsey Campbell… you’re
welcome.
Sincerely,
Yer old pal Jerky
