Fear Across
the Mersey by Ramsey
Campbell
PS
Publishing, hardback, £25.00, August 2024, ISBN 9781803943701
Like
so many of the best short stories, ‘Concussion’ begins with a classic and
consummate ‘hook’, a device whose purpose is to grab our attention immediately
and then drag us through the narrative at breakneck pace until our efforts are
rewarded with and in a rich resolution. The hook is the first paragraph,
consisting of only two sentences, the second of which is an even bigger barb
than the first. Campbell withholds his dénouement until the very last (much
longer) paragraph and although it is perfectly plausible, it doesn’t quite
fulfil the promise of the preface. What is remarkable, however, is his
representation of the surreal or oneiric, sustained with great skill through
all the intervening paragraphs. Campbell’s effortless switches between flashbacks
and flashforwards are not only completely coherent, but provide a continual
reminder that what we are reading is one or more of a hallucination, illusion, fantasy,
or daydream.
