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On an Odd Note
The discovery of piles of bones seeming to belong to a previously unknown species of monster will help to unfold a macabre and grisly tale. – A lady is found dead in her bed, the apparent victim of a murder the coroner proves could not possibly have occurred. – A merman found by fishermen off the coast of Brighton in 1745 will reveal the truth behind one of the most terrible events of the 20th century. – A desperate man makes an ill-advised bargain with a man in black – An extraordinarily horrible dummy exercises a frightful control over his terrified ventriloquist – A condemned murderer lives again through the eyes of an innocent child . . .
These are the plots of just a few of the brilliant tales you will find in this volume as you enter the bizarre world of master storyteller Gerald Kersh. With a focus on Kersh's science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories, On an Odd Note (1958) contains thirteen of his best. This first-ever reprint features a new introduction by Nick Mamatas.
Contains the following Seed of Destruction, Frozen Beauty, Reflections in a Tablespoon, The Crewel Needle, The Sympathetic Souse, The Queen of Pig Island, Prophet Without Honor, The Beggars’ Stone, The Extraordinarily Horrible Dummy, The Brighton Monster, Fantasy of a Hunted Man, The Gentleman All in Black, and The Eye.
CONTEMPORARY REVIEWS
“Gerald Kersh had a wild imagination matched by a vivid, near-hallucinatory style. Many of his concepts are so original that they blur the distinction between fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and horror, but the cumulative impact of his short stories is horrific in the extreme.” – Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural
“Kersh tells a story, as such, rather better than anybody else.” – Pamela Hansford Johnson, Daily Telegraph
These are the plots of just a few of the brilliant tales you will find in this volume as you enter the bizarre world of master storyteller Gerald Kersh. With a focus on Kersh's science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories, On an Odd Note (1958) contains thirteen of his best. This first-ever reprint features a new introduction by Nick Mamatas.
Contains the following Seed of Destruction, Frozen Beauty, Reflections in a Tablespoon, The Crewel Needle, The Sympathetic Souse, The Queen of Pig Island, Prophet Without Honor, The Beggars’ Stone, The Extraordinarily Horrible Dummy, The Brighton Monster, Fantasy of a Hunted Man, The Gentleman All in Black, and The Eye.
CONTEMPORARY REVIEWS
“Gerald Kersh had a wild imagination matched by a vivid, near-hallucinatory style. Many of his concepts are so original that they blur the distinction between fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and horror, but the cumulative impact of his short stories is horrific in the extreme.” – Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural
“Kersh tells a story, as such, rather better than anybody else.” – Pamela Hansford Johnson, Daily Telegraph
154 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1958
4 people are currently reading
141 people want to read
About the author
Gerald Kersh
107 books61 followersGerald Kersh was born in Teddington-on-Thames, near London, and, like so many writers, quit school to take on a series of jobs -- salesman, baker, fish-and-chips cook, nightclub bouncer, freelance newspaper reporter and at the same time was writing his first two novels.
In 1937, his third published novel, Night and the City, hurled him into the front ranks of young British writers. Twenty novels later Kersh created his personal masterpiece, Fowler's End, regarded by many as one of the outstanding novels of the century. He also, throughout his long career, wrote more than 400 short stories and over 1,000 articles.
Once a professional wrestler, Kersh also fought with the Coldstream Guards in World War II. His account of infantry training They Die With Their Boots Clean (1941), became an instant best-seller during that war.
After traveling over much of the world, he became an American citizen, living quietly in Cragsmoor, in a remote section of the Shawangunk Mountains in New York State. He died in Kingston, NY, in 1968.
(Biography compiled from "Nightmares & Damnations" and Fantastic Fiction.)
In 1937, his third published novel, Night and the City, hurled him into the front ranks of young British writers. Twenty novels later Kersh created his personal masterpiece, Fowler's End, regarded by many as one of the outstanding novels of the century. He also, throughout his long career, wrote more than 400 short stories and over 1,000 articles.
Once a professional wrestler, Kersh also fought with the Coldstream Guards in World War II. His account of infantry training They Die With Their Boots Clean (1941), became an instant best-seller during that war.
After traveling over much of the world, he became an American citizen, living quietly in Cragsmoor, in a remote section of the Shawangunk Mountains in New York State. He died in Kingston, NY, in 1968.
(Biography compiled from "Nightmares & Damnations" and Fantastic Fiction.)
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
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April 22, 2019A collection of weird little short stories, some pretty disturbing, beautifully written. As good as Dahl's short stories to my mind. Baffled by how this author is so comprehensively forgotten.
November 27, 2021
It's hard to believe Gerald Kersh's work was practically forgotten. These are engaging and fun and clever yarns.
The only reason it's not a five-star is because I suspect re-read value requires you to forget some of the endings, but I feel most short stories are like that.
Some stories are a few pages, others are longer and it's a nice variety while still feeling "of a piece."
Personal favorites are Seed of Destruction, Reflections in a Tablespoon, Prophet Without Honor, The Brighton Monster, and The Gentlemen All in Black.
Kersh references G.K. Chesterton's The Invisible Man in two different stories. He must have liked it.
The only reason it's not a five-star is because I suspect re-read value requires you to forget some of the endings, but I feel most short stories are like that.
Some stories are a few pages, others are longer and it's a nice variety while still feeling "of a piece."
Personal favorites are Seed of Destruction, Reflections in a Tablespoon, Prophet Without Honor, The Brighton Monster, and The Gentlemen All in Black.
Kersh references G.K. Chesterton's The Invisible Man in two different stories. He must have liked it.
April 26, 2022
A este autor (como a muchos otros) lo conocí gracias a los ensayos de Emiliano González. En esta colección de relatos breves, que van del terror a la ciencia ficción con sus buenas dosis de humor y absurdo, nos deja claro que no necesitamos complicarnos tanto para contar una buena historia (aunque para llegar a esa "simpleza" se necesita muchísimo trabajo). La peculiaridad de las voces de sus personajes y narradores hacen muy amena la lectura. Recupero esta frase de "The Eye": "El terror no tiene sentido. Por eso es tan terrible. Ahí yace la esencia de la pesadilla: en la verdad divorciada de la razón".
June 22, 2015
A nice mixture of horror, suspense, and thriller stories that is reminiscent of the old One Step Beyond series or Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Kind of outdated but a simple, engaging read all throughout the book.
September 22, 2024
A fun collection of expertly-arranged weird stories--murderous little kids, Balkan asssassins, alcoholism that affects one brother but not the other (kinda cheap twist reveal in that one), buried treasure, an island peopled by circus performers caught in an unfortunate love triangle, a transplanted criminal cornea that warps a little boy, atomic-powered time travel, and an end-times prophecy about what comes after the end of the Cold War.
Nick Mamatas does his best to whip the reader into a sense of Kersh's greatness, which seems a little much--though I take his point about Kersh's devotion to odd little bits of narrative, strange editorials he indulges in that don't quite fit the streamlined slick-magazine fiction template. And you have to admire how vividly he inhabits and warps these essentially pulpy constructions wherein decrepit old men at bars have a tale to tell--every one feels quirky, individual, not quite something you've read before, even if you more or less have. I can't see how you'd reread this, unless you were looking specifically at the mechanics of story construction. But as a tutorial in that very punk notion, the weirdness of the midcentury mainstream, this is exemplary.
Nick Mamatas does his best to whip the reader into a sense of Kersh's greatness, which seems a little much--though I take his point about Kersh's devotion to odd little bits of narrative, strange editorials he indulges in that don't quite fit the streamlined slick-magazine fiction template. And you have to admire how vividly he inhabits and warps these essentially pulpy constructions wherein decrepit old men at bars have a tale to tell--every one feels quirky, individual, not quite something you've read before, even if you more or less have. I can't see how you'd reread this, unless you were looking specifically at the mechanics of story construction. But as a tutorial in that very punk notion, the weirdness of the midcentury mainstream, this is exemplary.
September 13, 2024
Idiosyncratic is the word that best describes this collection. Sometimes absurd, sometimes odd, but always entertaining, Kersh's stories are things unto themselves and defy easy description. They meander, and sometimes depend too much on twist endings, but they're always compelling and told with such bright confidence that you can't help but get swept away. It's a damn shame he's been largely forgotten.
May 23, 2018
Enjoyably weird little stories about unusual misadventures with unusual characters. There may be some familiarity with a few of the concepts (ventriloquist's dummy, Faust stand-in, etc.), but they're still their own thing, and they're all well-written. In the same arena as John Collier, Fritz Leiber, and John Keir Cross, among others.
April 25, 2018
Interesting stories!
December 20, 2022
Startling, entertaining, imaginative
These old authors spoil one for the new blood
These old authors spoil one for the new blood
March 23, 2013
This is a small paperback collection, printed once, by Ballatine Books in 1958. It contains thirteen of Kersh's short stories, published in literary magazines and cheap periodicals in the 1940's and 50's. Its original price was 35¢. In it are the transitionary stories from Kersh's realistic fiction to his more outlandish science-fiction and horror. We find outlandish tales such as "Reflections in a Tablespoon" where a man encouters a waiter from a restaurant he used to visit, and they reflect on the tragedies that unfolded to the former restaurant owner. These types of stories evolve into more fantastical, such as 'The Queen of Pig Island", where two circus midgets, a wrestler, and a lady born with no limbs live out their days stranded on an desert island. 'The Brighton Monster' finds Kersh evoking Lovecraft. 'The Gentleman All in Black" is a faustian bargain with the devil.
This book is an essential keystone for understanding the career arc of Gerald Kersh, who started off with realistic WWII novels concerning his time in the British Coldstream Guards (a bit like the US Marines), then spent many years writing great novels of London's seedy underbelly of crime, poverty, and the scheisty lowlifes who scrounge and meek out a living there, then eventually turning from fantastic but plausible tales to more adventurous, fantastical and creative tales of conspiracies and the supernatural.
Hats off to the artist who changes and evolves and pursues his own interest. Or perhaps Kersh just did what sold. In any event, his keen storytelling edge make all of his books very good and cool reading material.
This book is an essential keystone for understanding the career arc of Gerald Kersh, who started off with realistic WWII novels concerning his time in the British Coldstream Guards (a bit like the US Marines), then spent many years writing great novels of London's seedy underbelly of crime, poverty, and the scheisty lowlifes who scrounge and meek out a living there, then eventually turning from fantastic but plausible tales to more adventurous, fantastical and creative tales of conspiracies and the supernatural.
Hats off to the artist who changes and evolves and pursues his own interest. Or perhaps Kersh just did what sold. In any event, his keen storytelling edge make all of his books very good and cool reading material.
May 14, 2015
The guy's a very nice stylist, and the first several offerings were strong indeed. Unfortunately though he too often used the "here's a story I heard a while ago" approach, along with retaining his given name. The last few were pretty goofy, and almost made me give this collection 3 stars. Then too there was the all too familiar item about the ventriloquist and his dummy, appearing in print just a year after the movie Dead Of Night (although perhaps somehow or other he actually was the one to inspire the Michael Redgrave segment in that flick).
July 22, 2025
I liked when everyone thought the japanese fellow was a fishman (so racially insensitive it loops around to being not racist at all?)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews