Robert Aickman

Cold Hand in Mine

Patrick Book

Cold Hand in Mine was first published in the UK in 1975 and in the US in 1977. The story 'Pages from a Young Girl's Journal' won the Aickman World Fantasy Award in 1975. It was originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1973 before appearing in this collection.Cold Hand in Mine stands as one of Aickman's best collections and contains eight stories that show off his powers as a 'strange story' writer to the full, being more ambiguous than standard ghost stories. Throughout the stories the reader is introduced to a variety of characters, from a man who spends the night in a Hospice to a German aristocrat and a woman who sees an image of her own soul. There is also a nod to the conventional vampire story ('Pages from a Young Girl's Journal') but all the stories remain unconventional and inconclusive, which perhaps makes them all the more startling and intriguing.'Of all the authors of uncanny tales, Aickman is the best ever . . . His tales literally haunt me; his plots and his turns of phrase run through my head at the most unlikely moments.' Russell Kirk

Lea de Sousa

2.5/5 ⭐ stars - In the end Aickman's overly embellished writing style ruined it for me. 

In full honesty I didn't manage to finish this collection. I got through three stories before calling it quits. All three stories couldn't keep my attention, I felt my mind drifting constantly and it was a real struggle to have to focus on his words as they were very dense and overly elaborate, and the endings felt so unresolved (apparently this is his signature thing?). 

I enjoy reading a story that completely ropes me in and these stories are definitely not meant to be devoured in one sitting. This is a case of 'it's good but it's just not for me'.

Cold Hand in Mine

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