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REVIEW: AUDIO CD: M R James' Spine Chillers, BBC Audio.
Even more tasty than a mince pie at Christmas, even more traditional than turkey, a ghost story is the thing which completes the festive feel.
And the BBC have turned to a master of the genre for Spine Chillers, a sparkling, shivering hour and a quarter in the company the great M R James.
James wrote to be read aloud, and he wrote with the keenest mix of craft, drama and atmosphere, all of which converge beautifully in the five tales brought to life on an audio CD to cherish.
Sir Derek Jacobi is absolutely the right voice to put them into context in the M R James role, and then the dramatisation takes over, taking you into the chilling heart of James' world – a world where things don't just go bump in the night, they appear at windows, they chase you, they get into your mind and they drive you mad.
At times these dramatisations are just a touchy bitty, understandably rapid to fit their new format – but that's no bad thing if they inspire you to go back to enjoy the fuller pleasures of the originals at a later date.
But for the moment, turn the lights down, turn the fire up, clutch tight at your cocoa and let those disembodied voices send a shiver down your spine.
In Oh, Whistle, and I'll come to You, My Lad, Professor Parkins embarks on a terrifying journey of discovery after he removes a curious artefact from the ruins of a Templar preceptor. Figures start to appear – horrors Parkins has himself unwittingly summoned.
Even more enjoyable is The Tractate Middoth – the tale of diligent curator David Garrett caught up in the machinations of the mysterious Dr Rant when he's sent to retrieve an obscure manuscript from the library stacks.
A will is at stake; a malevolent force is pulling the strings from beyond the grave; and it's impossible not to feel the frisson too.
Completing the collection, Lost Hearts tells of a young boy haunted by two ghostly children and in The Rose Garden, terrifying forces are unleashed when the Goodmans tear down their old summer house.
Finally Number 13 takes us to the Danish town of Viborg, where Dr Anderson puts himself in terrible danger as he investigates why the hotel he's staying at does not contain a room 13.
This isn't the last word on James and wasn't intended to be. You'll get that in the books themselves. But this latest BBC CD is an excellent distillation of James' very special ability to add the super to the natural and to make you wonder just exactly what awaits behind each door, each window….
Just perfect for Christmas.
ISBN 9781405678155; RRP: 12.99; Duration: 1 hour 15 mins on 1 CD.
The above title is available from all good bookshops, online at www.bbcshop.com or by BBC Audiobooks direct mail on 0800 136 919. To purchase as a download go to www.bbcaudiozone.com.
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Tuesday 14 February 2012
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