This Is Midnight: Stories by Bernard Taylor

This is Midnight is a complete collection of the author’s short horror fiction to date. Starting with the short-story version of The Godsend in 1973, Taylor quickly became a favorite of acclaimed editor Mary Danby, who was soon to be followed by noted editors Peter Haining and Charles L. Grant who also were eager to include his stories in their anthologies and finally with his most recent tale appearing in Johnny Mains’ 2012 anthology The Screaming Book of Horror.
Two things to look forward to when a novelist turns their hand to short fiction is how are they going to handle characterization and pacing. Obviously, the writer faces a challenge that isn’t present at novel length where there is plenty of space to slowly paint a picture of the character, gradually providing details until the full character is ready to step off the page. Taylor is a master of showing rather than telling and he manages to breathe life into his characters in just a few pages. As for pacing, all too often when a novelist turns their hand to short fiction the result seems cramped and rushed as they are unused to working with the economy of the short form. Bernard Taylor ably demonstrates that this change in venue presents no obstacle for him. He’s always been a master of sustaining tension over the length of a novel and in this volume proves repeatedly that he is just as comfortable with the short form as he is with the novel.
Weighing in at over two hundred pages, this exquisite edition of This is Midnight contains all thirteen of the author’s short stories published to date as well as a new introduction specially written for this edition by Mr. Taylor. It is limited to 250 copies for sale and is signed by Taylor and cover artist Lisa Desimini.