Susan Price (1) (1955–)

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of ghost stories, especially well-written, evocative, psychologically astute ones. Susan Price’s collection Hauntings ticks all three boxes, and more besides.

The ghost story, at least if it’s to be done well, isn’t an easy form to master. (Having written a few myself, some of which were more successful than others, I can speak from experience.) The ghost story is often categorised as a sub-genre of horror, yet usually contains few of the show more over-the-top theatrics that characterise a much more showy kind of horror. The ghost story, instead, relies on the slow, careful evocation of place and mood and a mounting sense of dread or uncertainty, followed by the careful, controlled release of tension. A good ghost story, it’s fair to say, is a great deal easier to read than to write.

Price, however, knows exactly what she’s doing, and the stories in this collection are an unqualified success. These are tales set on the curious, queasy border between this world and another, a border which may or may not exist only in the mind (this uncertainty is partly what lends the ghost story it’s curious power, perhaps). Most of them are set, very recognisably, in more-or-less contemporary Britain, and yet they allow us to experience another world and time. An old farm, slowly being swallowed up by urban sprawl, seems to coexist with another dimension, which is also perhaps in danger of disappearing. A young woman lives another life through her dreams. A terrorised victim of school bullies finds that she can have her revenge – at a price. A fraudulent medium experiences something truly unearthly. The tensions and power play of an ordinary marriage attract, or create, a supernatural force.

What anchors these stories and makes them so believable and powerful is that they are set in a realistic, tangible world. It’s a world of suburbs and pubs, farms and industrial estates. The characters too are real people: they speak in local dialect, behave as everyday people do, and often seem to be way too down-to-earth to be afflicted by supernatural happenings. So when the supernatural arrives it seems all the more urgent and real, and all the more unsettling.

Though these stories will almost certainly send a shiver up your spine, they are not primarily horrifying. They are rooted in folk tales, folk history, and legend. Like many ghost stories, they are often also curiously comforting – that death might not be the end has always been a seductive idea, which is perhaps why ghost stories were dreamed up in the first place. In one particularly memorable moment in one of the stories, a witness cannot bear to look: not, as you might think, because he’s scared, but because he can’t bear the thought that there might be nothing there after all.

These are ghost stories just the way I like them: stories that suggest that, just beyond the realm of ordinary perception, there is another world; and that, sometimes and in some places, the veil can be lifted, and that world can be glimpsed or experienced. This may or may not be true, but it’s a powerful idea; and that power is channelled carefully in Hauntings, and crafted to create these marvellously-realised tales. If you like ghost stories, you’ll love this. show less

A really good romp, but obvious that there is a lot of thought and intelligence underpinning it, so a very satisfying read. The characters really come alive to me as the author treats them all as human individuals. No cardboard characters or stereotypes here. The time travel framework allows a great juxtaposition of two cultures. The 16th century and the 21st century passions work out wonderfully differently, yet splendidly the same, from the same stuff of human life. And good fun.

This is a time travel/sci-fi/historical fiction/romance, which also places it beyond the genres I normally read. That's a good thing! The reviews of this book here on LT and also on Amazon range from the effusive to the tepid to the scornful, and I understand all of those reactions. This book has a lot going for it. FUP, a British 21st century corporation, has developed "The Tube," a device that allows time travel. The tube is set up to transport employees to the 16th century borderland of show more England and Scotland, where they plan to exploit the land's abundant natural resources, and eventually open the area for authentic time-travel tourism (but first something needs to be done about the authentic smells, mud, cramped towers, food, and pillaging natives). The company has established agreements with and purchased land from local governments on both sides, but also must deal with the Sterkarms, a fierce, lawless group that inhabits this border, and looks out for itself. Andrea, a 21st-century anthropologist 'embedded' with the Sterkarms, is studying them, feeding the FUP information, but has also been embraced by them, and falls in love with Per, the leader's son. Thus, Andrea is caught between the two worlds, and her loyalties torn between the Sterkarms, who think the "Elves" only wish to trade, and her employer, who wishes to exploit and subdue. These worlds collide disastrously when Per is critically wounded, and Andrea convinces Windsor, her boss, to bring him to the 21st side to receive life-saving treatment. Windsor sees an opportunity to hold Per hostage and thereby control the Sterkarms, and Per sees an elf trap from which he must escape at all cost, and worse: a clear picture of FUP's ruthless goals. Susan Price does a fine job presenting Andrea's moral dilemma -- neither side is perfect. The Sterkarms are vicious and violent, but also loving and loyal. The 21st century workers are exploitative and arrogant, but also people with families just doing their jobs. Unfortunately, all Andrea does with her moral and cultural dilemma is dither.

What rings true: the historical aspects of the story, and the Sterkarms. Windsor and FUP deride them as childish and barbarian, and they certainly act that way. They make agreements, but then cheerfully ignore them. But, as with dispossessed people anywhere and anytime, why shouldn't they look out for themselves? Also ringing true: the corporate greed of FUP. The 16th century is just there, ripe for the taking, and plans are underway to exploit the natural resources for unimaginable profit. Mentioned in passing: a similar operation underway in South America, where the company is now importing rare wood and other natural wonders. What rings false is the extreme caricature of the evil 21st century CEO. I could almost hear the melodramatic boos and forewarning piano music. Also ringing false was the romance between Andrea and Per. There wasn't much there except the author's word that they were in love, and much of their dialog was awkward and contrived.

I have trouble starring and rating books. I usually award either 5-stars, for those truly wonderful, best-of-the-year books, or 2-stars, for disappointing books. This book has enough good and not-so-good to be a solid 3-star read.

Price, S. (2003). The Sterkarm handshake. London: Point. show less

I read this some years ago and was captivated, and a re-read hasn't disappointed. Somehow the time travel/science fiction aspect is convincing, leaving you to enjoy the love story and the moral choices and struggles the characters go through. Andrea has been sent through to the English/Scots borders in the 16th century to research the Sterkarms: violent outlaws or courteous hosts? Or both? But she falls in love with their son and heir Per, threatening her bosses' plans: to plunder the rich show more natural resources of the past.
Who is more violent and immoral, the reivers who give a home to a homeless man from the 21st century, or the moderns who still fight cruel wars, exterminate species, and are prepared to trick the men of the past into losing their heritage?
Marketed for teenagers, but I think it's more of an adult book. The 16thC parts seem very real; there's a lot of violence, yet you definitely want the Sterkarms to win; the moderns are mostly horrible, except Joe. Andrea can be irritatingly indecisive and weepy, but that's probably more realistic than a super-clever feisty heroine would have been. show less