The Great Nocturnal was Jean Ray's third collection of short fiction, published in 1942, ten years after the commercial failure of Cruise of Shadows, and containing a mix of new and old work. The titular novella (a new work at the time of original publication) is the centerpiece here. The other tales are shorter and, in my opinion, not as compelling as Ray's longer texts. However, keep in mind my general lack of interest in ghost stories told by drunken sailors. It's interesting to read translator Scott Nicolay's description in the afterword of the connective tissue between this volume, Cruise of Shadows, the unfinished novella 'Aux lisières des ténèbres' ('On the margins of darkness'), and Malpertuis. Earlier French editions of this collection also included reprints of the two novellas found in Wakefield's edition of Cruise of Shadows, which restores them to their original positions in that second Ray collection. So when French readers first read The Great Nocturnal it was much more substantial than this edition, which as noted above only contains the one novella followed by a handful of fairly slight stories. I only make a point of noting this because I had expected the entire book to be either an advancement from Cruise of Shadows or at least on par with it, when in fact it shares more in common with Ray's first collection Whiskey Tales. This is because, excepting the novella 'The Great Nocturnal' (which is indeed on par with Ray's other novellas found in Cruise of Shadows) and one other tale entitled 'The Seven Castles of the Sea King', the rest of the stories are from the Whiskey Tales era. In short, Ray's storytelling and prose style continues to intrigue me, but I definitely prefer his longer, more developed works exploring 'intercalary' worlds to his brief drinking tales.2020 short-stories wakefield ...more20 s Orrin GreyAuthor 89 books332

In his translator's afterword, Scott Nicolay - who, it must be continuously reiterated, is doing the proverbial lord's work in getting these volumes to anglophone audiences myself - makes a compelling argument for why this book is not a minor footnote in the career of Jean Ray, the "Belgian Poe."

Yet, without the classics "The Gloomy Alley" and "The Mainz Psalter," which are now in their proper place in Cruise of Shadows, this volume can't help but feel slight by comparison, no matter how sinister or singular the title novella may be.4 s Rick PowellAuthor 56 books26

Extensively researched and translated by Scott Nicolay, this short collection of stories is a good introduction to the Belgian Poe. Unknown in most circles, Jean RayÂ’s weird fiction will stick to you for a long time. Reading these stories is akin to entering a fever dream where the scares are not in your face as they are crawling under your skin. Highly recommended. 1 Tom1,085

A Belgian writer of eerie stories in the tradition of Poe, some of Jean RayÂ’s stories were translated into English during the 1930s and published in such pulp treasures as Weird Tales. In workman- fashion, he cranked out and published stories by the dozens, under varieties of pseudonyms. Thanks to the efforts and Wakefield Press and translator Scott Nicolay, RayÂ’s oeuvre is being represented by fresh translations, new editions, and (I believe) a complete edition.

Although Nicolay believes that Nocturnal is not RayÂ’s strongest work, he also believes it is his most consistently representative of RayÂ’s themes and methods. An excellent afterward puts sets the stories in this collection within the context of his other works, pointing out the interrelationships among character, incident, and place.

The stories aim to stir unease within readers, anxiety and fear of the loathsome and morally wrong. Ninety years later, the dread may be less palpable, but the stories are still fun to read. The story telling is ardent but not over-the-top, and NicolayÂ’s translation uses contemporary (but not anachronistic) idioms, keeping the language fresh and easy to engage with.1 Jed Mayer523 15

The novella after which this collection is named is essential Weird fiction, a kind of urban M. R. James tale, or Machenesque puzzle story with some early Ligotti elements: absolutely wondrous and strange. The rest of the collection? Not so much. As with the other volumes in Wakefield Press' Jean Ray series, the editing and translation by Scott Nicolay is superb, although I have to say it's a little galling to read an extensive analysis of a fascinating-sounding posthumous novella that serves as the precursor to many of the tales here, and then to wonder why it couldn't have been included in the present collection, which clocks out at a mere 90 pages of fiction. Nevertheless, that title story is pure gold.1 Des Lewis1,071 79

After reading this astonishing work I somehow felt a whole curse pass through me simply by dint of typing out this storyÂ’s title above! It is as if by absorbing a literary gestalt you can BECOME it, as if sea-sickness is catching, plagues that come in first, second and third wavesÂ… perhaps more.

The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long to post here.
Above is one of its observations at the time of the review.


Jeffrey PowandaAuthor 1 book15

Third collection of short stories from Jean Ray (pen name of Belgian writer Raymond de Kremer), originally published in 1942. It's a thin volume with only five stories. But the title story and the last story in this collection, “The Centipede,” are both foundational stories in the weird canon. For my full review, see https://bit.ly/3lrPyQU.jean-ray short-stories Dylan Rock534 9

A fine collection of weird tales from the criminally underrated Belgium writer Jean Ray. Theses stories of phantoms, supernatural events and murders all topped with copious amounts of alcohol and nautical charm as many of the stories involve the Sailors. I would highly recommend this collection to anyone who is a fan of the writers Edgar Allan Poe, Ambrose Bierce and Robert Aickmancurrently-own Lance Grabmiller507 17

The title story, which takes up about half the book, is exactly the sort of Lovecraftian tale of horror I love about Jean Ray. The rest of the stories in the book are mostly rather minor and forgettable.1900-1950 press-wakefield Ira Smith314 20

This is the first book by Jean Ray that I have read, and I really d it. Very atmospheric stories. The title tale was really well written. Looking forward to his other books. chris486 14

Men who enslave time by not allowing one day to differ from the next are stronger than death. ("The Great Nocturnal")horror short-fiction weird-fiction Death Jon116

Excellent set of tales. Arrili4

For short stories I thought this is an okay read for someone wanting to slowly ease into horror books. For me personally it wasnÂ’t scary enough and sometimes I got confused on the way things were described but thatÂ’s only because I raised the expectations and IÂ’m very literal in how things are described so the abstract? way things were interpreted sometimes flew past me or it could be how itÂ’s translated idk but overall okay but not something IÂ’m gonna go back and re-read sadly. The dark dreary tones set were still eerie to appreciate though. Jared57 1 followerRead

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