This latest presentation of John Collier's own, particular, and inimitable brand of literary moonshine contains the story, “Thus I Refute Beelzy,” which recently disturbed and baffled the less imaginative readers of The Atlantic. It contains other tales, among its twenty-four, that would not only baffle and disturb but horrify them. By these same tales, more imaginative readers will be delighted, for almost every one of the double-dozen can be labeled accurately: Collier—Grade A. And that is a respectable label.

Moving among occult phenomena with the familiarity of a Machen or a Blackwood, Mr. Collier moves without their solemnity. In the presence of the supernatural and magical, he is gay and impudent. He is a collector of demons, a connoisseur of jinn, and an old acquaintance of the Devil himself, who has more than once provided him with admirable copy; and it is obvious that fiends, large and small both, clutter the world in which he lives.

But neither they nor Hell hold any terrors for him: he is as much at ease with them, or there, as with his tobacconist or in his tub. When writing of matters eerie, awesome, terrifying, macabre, or horrible, his manner is candid and calm; while humor, like a playful imp, disports itself in even his most fearsome stories. Luscious ladies, no less than fiends, engross him, and with sex he deals slyly but without smirking.

Impossibility is the foundation on which Mr. Collier prefers to build: the more outrageous his yarn, the more plausible his spinning. Grant him an ell and he will lead you, unquestioning and entertained, for a mile. His brevity is a model to be studied by those who would make small words do big jobs. He achieves his strongest effects by underwriting. He is master of the double and triple twist.

The plots? I shall not pare them to synopses, for fantasy strips badly. Readers unfamiliar with Mr. Collier's work should at once correct their unhappy state by way of Presenting Moonshine. Those who do know his work will not wait upon reviews. Relaxation is good for even the most serious-minded persons, even in times that try men's souls. Relaxation and refreshment are provided in abundance by John Collier's unpredictable imagination.