“Death, after all, is not a great thing to want for.” #nightjarpress

In my post on Nicholas Royle’s “Finders, Keepers” I mentioned that he was the man behind Nightjar Press, publishers of some very striking little chapbooks. I’ve read a few of these now and covered them on the blog, but it’s been a while since I picked one up. However, the release of a recent new batch (they tend to come out in groups) reminded me about them and so I couldn’t resist purchasing a pair. Nightjars tend to be short, unsettling stories which linger in the mind and these two were no exception! Halls of Residence by Dan Lockton Lockton is a designer and researcher who seems to have mostly written non-fiction works; “Halls…” is described as his first published short story, and on the basis of it I hope he produces more. Short and sharp, it follows a narrator who’s off to attend a conference at a university. It transpires that the accommodation he’s provided with is in one of the student halls which is at the point of collapse. However, he feels uncomfortable in the place which…