I think the goings-on in this book are actually referred to in one of the earlier Oxrun Station novels. Its truly amazing that people don't realize that this is not only the worst suburb of Hartford, but maybe the worst suburb in the world. Arkham, Dunwich, and Innsmouth are vacation spots compared to Oxrun Station.Oxrun Station is still a terrible place to live; people have problems losing weight, girlfriends, going to movies, the hospital, and always stay away from the old largely torched Arms...

THE ORCHARD, by Charles Grant re-visits the town of Oxrun, where "unnatural" is the norm. In this collection of 4, loosely-linked novellas, we are treated to a sampling of the town's unhealthy history--this time, an old orchard. ". . . it created images behind my eyes that I didn't want to see, didn't want to explore." This is one of a series of Grant's books about Oxrun, but even out of "order" this particular book holds it's own with various incidents from different times. Grant is outstandi...

I was initially not much more than confused with the first story of the four (named "parts 1-4", but only quite loosely collected). Language is good and narrative pleasantly relaxed, but the story was a bit too abstract. This definitively picked up during the more engaging parts 2 and especially 3, which takes place in a strange movie theater. The last, set mainly in a mysterious hospital was another really good one. So, despite my initial hesitation, the author and the book kind of won me over....

Is it a short story collection or is it a novel? Quintessential dark fantasy / quiet horror, perfect for readers who want to experience the genre. The atmosphere takes over the plot leaving the reader with a sense of having stepped into Grant’s Oxrun Station, Connecticut just long enough to be chilled to the bone. This book will linger in your mind like the hazy memories of a nightmare.

Like Nightmare Seasons, this book is a collection of loosely connected novellas, bookended by a vignette of sorts that is intended to be Grant himself, learning more of the history of Oxrun Station. And like most collections of shorter works, there are some good stories, and some bad ones. The Orchard is split almost in half between the two.The first novella, My Mary's Asleep, is pretty terrible. It features an unsympathetic protagonist who may not be the source of the horror in the story, but i...

The first story I read by Charles L. Grant was "The Gentle Passing of a Hand" from Tales from the Nightside (1981), an exquisite story of a child who accidentally learns a magic trick that can both kill and resurrect. Admittedly a fable of the "be careful what you wish for" variety, it was Grant's style that made the biggest impression, communicating by hints and suggestion a story that felt both exhilaratingly fantastic and deeply tragic.The same sublime style is used in The Orchard (1986), a c...

Although the writing of Charles Grant has been heavily recommended I find it difficult as to Why?This book is just a total mish mash of stories that have very little to do with an orchard.Not at all impressed. Feel like I wasted my time reading this dross!Sorry Charles.

I love subtle, quiet horror and wanted to rate this more at a 4 or higher, but I just couldn't. I like Grant's writing, but his characters in this book really bugged me. In my life I have not encountered so many Young Attractive Women who blow kisses to men whenever they leave and enter a room (and Oxrun Station is awash in Young Attractive Women, kiss-blowing or otherwise, which is not my experience for most small towns). Nor have I met many women who would think it is funny for their date to m...

The Orchard was October's buddy read with my good friend Thomas Stromquist. This is my first experience with Charles L. Grant. If I find more of his books at the thrift store, I'll definitely pick them up, but he's not an author I would go shopping for. The writing is great and the horror is subtle, but the more I think about this book, the less of it I remember. I finished it two days ago and I can't remember what the second story was about aside from there was a unicorn at the end. Or somethin...

Charles L. Grant’s “The Orchard” (1986) displays a little more innovation than its generic packaging might suggest. The novel is broken into four different sections telling individual stores tied together by the titular theme. Although the narrative is a tad hallucinatory and ethereal, the overall storytelling feat is impressive.

This book is probably the most confusing one I have ever read. The main character keeps changing. The one thing that I understand is that a group of friends go for a picnic in The Orchard, and then a number of them end up dying. The main character, toward the end, is in the hospital. I couldn't really care what happened, because I couldn't keep track of what was happening.I got the wrong copy of The Orchard, which the book group will be reading, and decided to try it.

**Working my way through these again, harvesting the vibes...CREEPY. And I'm totally behind the 8-ball, but I've just picked up on how the 1st person narrative bracketing these novellas is supposed to be Charles Grant himself, writing FROM Oxrun Station...

The Orchard by Charles L. Grant (1986 TOR Horror)Review by Nickolas CookWhen 'quiet horror' was king, there were two main writers of the form: Charles L. Grant and Ramsey Campbell, each of whom put out some extraordinary genre classics throughout the 80s and early 90s. Both still practice this style, Campbell more prolifically in these latter years. But Grant was especially vocal in his insistence that all great horror was 'quiet', avoiding any reference to blood and guts in his aggregation of w...

Three stars for the book Charles Grant actually wrote; five stars for my oblivious misreading of this entire anthology. It’s not hard to read The Orchard as phantasmagoria in the tradition of George MacDonald’s Lilith, rather than as a somewhat disjointed series of nightmarish vignettes, if one somehow gets the idea that the use of first-person narrative in the early part of the book is more significant than it actually is.I was convinced this book followed the mind of one character, Herb, throu...

3.5 stars rounded up. This was my first Charles Grant read, and I'm really impressed. This was perfect for that September/Fall is Here vibe, and plenty spooky. I felt the transition from story to story was just a bit too disjointed at some points, but I loved the way everything tied together with the titular Orchard. This was part ghost story and part I'm going crazy because reality is no longer trustworthy. Highly recommended

Quiet horror. The fear that lingers. That chaotic flash in the midst of serenity. The quickest of movements out of the corner of your eye. You know that you know that you know, yet the word crazy runs through your mind. A waking dream. A silent nightmare filled with enduring dread. Take a walk through Oxrun Station, if you dare. When you see the Orchard, RUN!!!!

I hate to give this one star, but I was so confused by the plot!I felt like I was in someone's stream of consciousness during a mental breakdown.Maybe that was the point?I heard the author speak on a podcast, and I liked him, and liked a lot of what he said about writing. So I'll give his books another try.Maybe this one just wasn't for me.

Това ми е първа и определено не последна среща с литературата на Чарлс Л. Гранд и Оксрън Стейшън. Стилът му на писане е поетичен, леко тежък и определено ти влиза под кожата. Малко автори успяват да създадат такъв тих и изкарващ ти акъла ужас.Овощната градина се развива в градчето Оксрън Стейшън, което е в основата на няколко авторови произведения. Група студенти решават да си направят пикник в изгоряла овощна градина с доста съмнителна репутация. Четирите истории за прогнилите плодове на този п...

Great book! This was the first novel that I read by Charles L. Grant and I really enjoyed it. He has a poetic style of writing and he definitely knows how to create tension and creepy atmosphere in his prose. This book is split up into 4 "stories" that all intermingle in some way. I found this to be an interesting concept and my favorites were the 1st and 4th parts. I was very impressed by this novel and will definitely be checking out some more of Grant's novels in the future. All in all, fun,

more like 3.5 but I'll go in detail when I'm not on my phone and I can reflect on the book a bit more.