Tartarus Press

publishers

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The Long Retreating Day

by

John Gaskin

 

The ten atmospheric tales which make up The Long Retreating Day are the stuff of things flickering at the edge of experience.

 

We witness a student quarrel which brings forth its own bitter harvest; ancient gods that live in human nature are denied or worshipped at fearful cost; hubris at its darkest in academic life; malevolence that can linger from the past; and the shadows cast by future events. Sardonic, dramatic, urbane and sinister, these stories are grounded in real landscapes and informed by the strengths and failings of the human spirit.

 

Contents: 'Preface', 'Three Songs of Youth', 'The Conceit of the Dancing Man', 'Tapiola', 'St John's Wood', 'The High-Stepping Man', 'The Long Retreating Day', 'From Lydia with Love and Laughter', 'The Bay Platform', 'Rigor Mortis', 'Road Closed', 'Omega', 'Three Songs of Age'.

 

Now only available as an ebook: £4.99

 

Reviews

'Economically written and deeply felt nightmares of atmospheric subtlety and stark spiritual horror. . . reaffirming the importance of structure and lyricism in a genre too often represented by slap-dash sensationalism.' William Simmons, Hellnotes

'...if you like solid, elegant fiction apt to make the act of reading almost a physical pleasure, then this is a book you shouldn't miss for any reason. . . . this volume is a literary gem that everybody should be entitled to enjoy.' Mario Guslandi, Agony Column

'At their best, Gaskin's stories are excellent...' Simon Kurt Unsworth, All Hallows