R.L. Robinson ‘No Light in August: Tales From Carcosa and the Borderland’ Review

Written by: Dave Robertson

“No Light in August” is a rare find: a collection of stories that immerse the reader in a dark world full of mystery and horror.

I’m sure the author’s style has been compared to Lovecraft’s and I will jump on that wagon. Like Lovecraft, R.L. Robinson’s stories put us in another age, another time, another place. Even the stories set in modern times have an edge that’s slightly twisted and frightening. We are faced with situations so far from normal, so shocking, so inexplicable, that the mind recoils in terror.  As in Lovecraft’s best, the writer gives our imagination a push into the horrific and the reader’s mind does the rest. As a reader, I appreciate authors who don’t over describe or over explain. I’m smart enough to connect the dots and I love it when an author lets me do that.

R.L. Robinson’s writing style is real and gritty. The characters are individuals with their own pasts and their own motivations, well developed even though we’re talking short stories here.

In these stories, we get an introduction to the land of Carcosa and The Borderlands. These are places full of secrecy and darkness. Things happen here, bad unspeakable things done by people (and others) who don’t follow the comfortable rules our society has come to rely on. When the rules are gone, we have nothing to protect us, and that is truly frightening.

No Light in August: Tales From Carcosa and The Borderlands is an interesting read and one I’d highly recommend to horror fans. It works simultaneously on different levels. It’s the type of work that many people will enjoy, though they won’t all necessarily come to the same conclusions or find the same aspects scary. Do your imagination a favor and pick up this short story collection right here.

Rating: 4.5/5