The Unsettled Dust

by Robert Aickman

'Reading Robert Aickman is like watching a magician work, and very often I'm not even sure what the trick was. All I know is that he did it beautifully.' Neil Gaiman

For fans of the BBC's Inside Number 9 and The League of Gentlemen

Aickman's 'strange stories' (his preferred term) are constructed immaculately, the neuroses of his characters painted in subtle shades. He builds dread by the steady accrual of realistic detail, until the reader realises that the protagonist is heading towards their doom as if in a dream.

The Unsettled Dust was first published as a collection in 1990. Aickman received the British Fantasy Award for 'The Stains'.

'We are all potential victims of the powers Aickman so skilfully conjures and commands.' Robert Bloch

• ISBN10: 0571311733
• ISBN13: 9780571311736
• Publish Date: 4 September 2014 (first published 4 October 1990)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Faber & Faber
• Edition: Main
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[Cameron Trost]

Having read and quite liked "The Trains" and "Ringing the Changes", I was hoping to find a handful of great Aickman stories. This collection, although rich in atmosphere and architectural detail, was a little disappointing. The tales lack narrative and direction, thus coming across as dream sequences rather than works of fiction. This may have been Aickman's point, but it gave me the impression that they had been poorly planned or left unfinished.