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| The river styx. |
After a lengthy hiatus from posting short-story reviews, I have returned just in time for Halloween! Doggerland by Kaliane Bradley is wonderfully eerie and atmospheric, which is perfect reading for the spooky season.
The story's odd premise revolves around a lighthouse deep within a remote English heath, surrounded by lush greenery and thick fog. The narrator, a solitary lighthouse keeper, has just taken on a new apprentice to assist with the watch but for what purpose, exactly? Without giving too much away, let’s just say that not everything is as it seems and those spectral figures drifting across the heath may have roots in Greek mythology.
What I enjoyed most is that Doggerland doesn’t rely on jump scares or cheap shocks. The author successfully builds a quiet, creepy existential dread without succumbing to the usual pratfalls of supernatural horror. I am not familiar Kaliane Bradley's work although this story did win the VS Pritchett Short Story Prize in 2022, which is pretty swell.
You can read this story HERE.
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