This is a tricky one to review, because for what it is (a collection of traditional-style creepy stories loosely based around technology), it works well. It just doesn't do anything particularly new or surprising. I also found that too many of the stories featured a pretentious, middle-class man complaining about 'millennial things', 'kids these days' etc. – not my cup of tea!

Still, it's very readable, and even though it was pretty clear where each story was going, it was an enjoyable enough journey to get there.

This is a collection of short stories by the Booker nominated author, John Lanchester.
This collection is a rollercoaster of a ride and takes you through so many emotions.
Some stories such as Cold Call will just haunt you for a long time after reading. Signal is equally disturbing.
Well written and compulsive reading.
This collection is recommended to all.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley in allowing me to read in return for a review.

Where would we be without our technology? Not an original question, of course, but the idea of it taking over, or worse - haunting us - is a common theme. So it is in this book of short stories. Some are horror, ghostly or just plain creepy but all very current . Ghostly stories about modern life.

The leading story of the title, Reality, is about a reality show, based largely on Big Brother, where a woman wakes up one day to find that she is in a flash house. She is joined by five other people and they wait for tasks to be given. There are no ghosts or supernatural elements in this story, nothing but fakeness, shallow showiness and emptiness. A sad reflection on our time where appearances are everything, 'Souls in torment'.

My favourite story is the first one, Signal, which is a thoroughly modern ghost story. The title reference only becomes relevant at the end. A couple offload their two young children at their rich friend's house so they can partake in adult country pursuits. The house is a dream for children with a swimming pool, cinema and lots of technology. A strange silent, tall man helps them when the parents aren't around, much to their discomfort. The theme of guilt and conscience runs through this tale as it does in some of the stories in this collection.

The appeal of this book is the updated style of favourite works by Dickens' short ghost stories, Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected and MR James. The chilling lifestyle of our modern world. A delightful surprise: some are better than others but overall this is a very enjoyable read to drop in and out of. Highly recommended.

A quirky collection of short horror stories, all centered around technology in one way or another. While a number of them are fairly predictable, they still made for an enjoyable read. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

An OK collection of stories. Lanchester is not typically a writer of horror and it does show. The best ones are the traditional ones, like "Signal", although I have to admit being quite impressed by the title story. A few of the others are turkeys - as others have pointed out, it's very clear what's happening in "The Kit" from the start. The book would be a good gift for someone who doesn't usually read horror but would like a spooky book to settle down with on a winter's night.

I loved these stories- all quite unsettling and thought provoking in their own way. I love Lanchester's style; it is both personal and abstract. Each story is distinctive in its own right and cleverly edited to achieve maximum suspense. My favourite was the farmer and his sons- so cleverly drawn.

I read Reality and Other Stories thinking that this collection of eight short tales of “horror” would be appropriate leading up to Halloween; recognising John Lanchester as a Man Booker-nominated author further upped my interest and expectations. In the end, however, this collection is pretty weak tea: Each story focuses on some element of modern life — as the blurb promises, you can expect haunted cell phones and a demonic selfie stick — and although I did like Lanchester’s character work while setting up each unique situation, every story builds to an expectedly twisty conclusion that would make second-grade Twilight Zone or Black Mirror episodes. This passes the time, but not delightfully.

Any of the stories in Lanchester's Reality, and Other Stories would not be out of place in an anthology of classic horror stories - in style, uneasiness, that creeping crawling discomfort and quiet horrors, his writing sets me in mind of MR James, Algernon Blackwood, Dickens, even, right down to visitors to fine houses stumbling upon unquiet spirits. They unsettle the reader by way of the uncanny and the not-right and the unsaid, rather than through threats and gore.
These stories are perhaps more effective for a modern-day reader, though, as Lanchester addresses and ably makes use of, technology and it's ever-present nature as a haunting in itself. For despite the Victorian style and essence, these are horror tales of the modern day - not in the sense of Black Mirror, but in a strange sense that ghosts have simply... evolved as the world has. From the sad man who never looks up from his phone, to (my personal favourite) the insufferable academic who finds himself stalked by an angry spirit through his audiobook, the spirit world finds ways to reach us, or are trapped in, those very devices that we never seem to look away from.

** spoiler alert **

Unfortunately I did not enjoy any of these stories (only giving one story two stars and the rest one or one and a half stars). The writing itself is fine but I just found the stories to drag and not really have much plot (in my opinion). However, while I didn't enjoy this collection, I would be interested in reading more from this author to see if it is his writing style that I don't get along with or if it was just this particular collection. I am thankful to have received a free e-copy of this book even if I didn't enjoy it in the end.

I’ve included my story summaries below that I wrote after each story along with brief thoughts. It may be that I missed something and just didn’t quite understand ‘the point’ of the stories but I just generally didn't enjoy them and they felt like a chore to read.

*SPOILERS FOR WHAT EACH SHORT STORY CONTAINS BELOW*


Signal - ⭐️ family go to visit dads friend in his new house. Children keep talking about the tall man who shows them how to do things/takes them to do things eg films but never talks and is always waving his phone around. Surprise surprise the tall man is the ghost of the previous owner. Typical ‘horror or creepy’ story completed with the truth being told and seeing a figure in a window.

Coffin liquor - ⭐️ conference trip - not what was expected topic/hotel wise. goes sight seeing and ends up in a graveyard where a count used to torture people and bury them alive. Instead of using the translating device, the main character connects their earpiece to their phone to listen to the audiobook of great expectations (which they download in a graveyard, ignoring a woman shouting at them that it’s bad) but instead of the book the MC remembers, it’s a supernatural story referring t being followed by a figure. // bored - don’t like the MC and I feel like this is going down the line of the count haunting the MC. - skimmed to the end and found it ends with a psychiatric assessment of the MC having hallucinations.

Which of these would you like? ⭐️ - in jail/a cell - briefly captures the daily routine including a brochure that the guards make the MC go through and make choices of: mask, gown, cuffs, route outside, scaffolds, hood for the scaffold, guns and finally ‘grave cuffs’. MC doesn’t know why they are there and guards won’t tell them. The whole story is the guards going through this brochure and the MC making different choices on purpose and not having their questions answered. What was the point?

We happy few - ⭐️ opens with a rant about people saying ‘no worries’ after being thanked. One of the group is a lecturer and has a student who questions everything going on in the lecture. Turns into a philosophical discussion and mentions social media/looking up students social media - personally not a discussion that engages me. Don’t really understand the point of this story either other than the irony of them using ‘no worries’ themselves at the end.

Reality - ⭐️ & 1/2 - girl wakes up in an unfamiliar yet familiar room. Trying to plan her day before the ‘others’ turn up. Reality show? Iona believes she’s alone but one by one more people appear: 6 of them in total, 3 girls including Iona and 3 boys. Internally she’s batting trying to appear cool and not trying to overanalyse what the audience wants to see. They expect tasks and evictions but that doesn’t seem to happen and will it at all? Iona thinks she’s doing well to fit in & appear the friendly girl but that’s backfired and she’s actually the joke of the place. (I-N-H-E-L-L) This could have been good but it dragged and then just ended really oddly. I clearly missed something with everyone suddenly laughing at the MC and what I-N-H-E-L-L was for.

Cold call - ⭐️& 1/2 - her father in law is the worst (but not worst in the world because she hasn’t met every one in the world). Attorney/mother whose husband is rarely around and father in law is bugging her. She forgot to call him back and discovers he had a fall. Her husband has to come home to care for his father. Father in law given an alarm system to alert for help and MC dreads it/wishing he would realise he needs to go into a home/live in help. Trying to fix her marriage with Tom (who surprises her by coming home). Then her father in law passes away and she ignored the call initially. Phones keep ringing and tormenting the MC. When she finally answers she hears her father in laws laugh. Basically just a story about caring for loved ones no matter how annoying they can be and how guilt can affect you? Maybe?

The kit - ⭐️ Jarlath is a techie & something has broken - seems like it does a lot around the house eg food prep. But he’s trying to hold off ordering a new one straight away. His boys hate work so that’s another reason to not reorder straight away. Caves and orders the new machine and let’s his youngest son build it. After a minor mistake he’s completed it and the machine is ready ‘mom’. Basically trying to teach his sons to work and help around the house instead of being spoilt with a robot helper?

Charity - ⭐️⭐️ charity shop worker. Gets a donation from an older lady who it’s assumed her husband has passed. Discusses how many children as a past teacher the MC would have influenced and how those students still recognise them. In the box is a strange selfie stick which a former student buys. She comes back and seems different and the stick is doing well for her but is strange. One of the friends comes back and tells the MC that Alice (the girl) is sick and needs help. MC goes to the house of the donor of the picture/box and discovers deceased partner became fascinated with their ancestors - picture is of a ancestor. Went to Democratic Republic of Congo and came back different. Reveals he had discovered dark truths of ancestors. Selfie stick was brought on the trip & made him self obsessed with appearance in pictures but not have self care when eating. Died with selfie stick in his hand. MC goes to take selfie stick back from Alice. MC tries selfie stick and discovers the image is their skeleton, eyeballs hanging out and maggots moving all over the skull in the picture. I actually liked this story but I felt like it dragged and could have been shorter (show the donation, Alice buying the selfie stick then skip to her coming back a few weeks later and something being wrong).

1.5 rounded down

A collection of 8 short stories centred around a "technology gone wrong" theme, each with a (supposed) horror twist.

I'm sad to report that hardly any of these stories landed for me: the twists were incredibly obvious and not at all creepy. There's no depth to these stories, little nuance, and all the protagonists have the same voice. I felt no suspense or particular urge to read on, other than in the first story - Signal. I'll reserve comment on the final twist of this story, but it followed the theme of the rest of the book. Incidentally this story is available online, so perhaps give it a read if you want to see if this collection is for you.

The stories read very quickly, but I'm afraid that's about the only thing that worked in their favour. Disappointing stuff, as I really enjoyed Fragrant Harbour. I'm not sure who I'd recommend this to, as those who enjoy creepy stories will likely find these tales pretty tepid.

Solid collection of modern ghost stories all centred on modern technology, giving new meaning to the phrase A Ghost in the Machine! These stories feature a haunted selfie stick, a ghost looking for a WiFi connection, a neverending reality TV show and a spooky Audible download. Some are more successful than others - We Happy Few and The Kit are slight, but Charity and in particular Cold Call are very well done. A collection that smacks of a writer having a lot of fun!

I found this book enthralling and full of food for thought. Ghost stories that features a lot of technological aspects and plenty of social commentary.
Some are quite terrifying, all of them have got the right creepy factor.
The author is a talented storyteller and I loved his style of writing.
A fascinating read that I strongly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This was a great little book to read and I got through it in just a couple of days. Lanchester begins his stories in the middle of some stressful or absorbing situation for his characters, and he writes characters that get the reader's interest very fast.

Lots of these stories had so much humour in them too. The title story, Reality, is an hilarious view of life in a reality TV show (or is it?) as seen through the eyes of one of the contestants. Lancheser does a brilliant job in creating a character that you want to hate but that you see elements of yourself in at the same time.

Reality is an unsettling read but others are more creepy and sinister. I found the story, Which of These Would You Like, pretty terrifying and disturbing.

Others are a combination of creepy and highly engaging, such as Cold Call. Coffin Liquor is laugh out loud funny while being very unsettling at the same time. The beauty of the stories is that I think it's easy for the reader to identify with the characters, or at least with aspects of them, and so sympathise with their plight.

Once again, Netgalley has led me to read an author that I had not read previously, beyond a few London Review of Books articles. I have already been recommending this book and will definitely look out for other Lanchester stories too.

Think about everyday technology, from a selfie stick to a robot helper, now imagine that here is a sinister/mystical element to them all Gadgets as the new talismans of the 21st century if you will. Lanchester manipulates this very basic premise into an array of short stories that gently scare and challenge, whilst critiquing our reliance on the latest 'thing'. Some of the stories are perhaps a little contrived in order to 'meet the brief', but those that are most successful like the creepy 'Signal' make up for it.

This collection of stories all have an uncanny digital twist; something that I haven’t seen before. The individual stories range from the more traditional ghost story to a treatise on our own existence, you cannot say that Lanchester doesn’t give you any variety! This collection is perfect for someone wanting a ghost story for our modern times, Lanchester pays homage to Dickens and Poe but always puts his own spin on the genre.

Reality and Other Stories feature Ghost stories for the digital age by the Booker Prize–longlisted author of The Wall. Selfie-sticks with demonic powers. Cold calls from the dead. And that creeping suspicion, as you sit there with your flat white, that none of this is real. In 2017, inspired in part by Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw,” the acclaimed English novelist John Lanchester published a ghost story in The New Yorker. “Signal” was a sensation among readers and was featured on public radio―and it was the first short story of any kind Lanchester had ever written. Since then he’s written several more eerie stories of contemporary life and the perils of technology that plunk the reader down in the uncanny world of The Twilight Zone or Black Mirror, and Reality and Other Stories gathers the best of them.

A mysterious tall man haunts a country house in search of a cell signal; a translator at an academic conference starts hearing things over his headset that nobody should hear; a family discovers their dependence on the latest technological gadget goes to the very foundations of human relations and the merry contestants in a reality TV show may actually be... somewhere very hellish indeed. Reality and Other Stories is a book of disquiet that captures the severe disconnection and distraction of our time. John Lanchester has become renowned for his highly perceptive and scalpel-sharp chronicling of contemporary life. These stories get under your skin and into with your psyche and most have a surreal, speculative or creepy vibe to them.

The theme that ties all of these stories together is the observations Lanchester makes about the impact of technology and its effects on our human connections with one another and the distraction it undoubtedly causes in everyday life. Highly recommend. Many thanks to Faber for an ARC.

What an absolute treat these short stories are! I haven’t read a collection with such flair and consistency since Michael Marshall Smith’s collections.
It’s populated with characters who don’t believe in the supernatural, but that’s ok, because the supernatural very much believes in them....
Hard to pick a favourite, so I won’t try. From the poignancy of ‘Signal’ to the disconcerting ‘Reality’ there isn’t a wasted word. Pleasing twists on horror tropes such as a haunted bone relic, phone calls from the dead and the delightfully Jamesian academic who simply refuses to countenance anything unearthly.
The book was over far too soon and I hope John Lanchester turns his hand to more like this in the future.

A well written and always creepy set of short stories from John Lanchester with plenty of social commentary on modern life.
Like all short story collections the range of enjoyment varies with each tale. This was a strong collection for me with the standout tales being Signal, a modern take on the classic ghost story and Charity, of all things about a haunted selfie stick.
These tales won’t leave you unable to sleep but will definitely leave you with a sense of unease. Well worth a read during October.
Thanks to NetGalley and Faber for the early copy.

"Reality" consists of eight uncanny stories, all of which involve some aspect of our modern connected world whether it is mobile phones, reality TV, or smart technology. As one would expect from the author of "Capital", this is a book full of satirical observations and social commentary, much of which is very enjoyable. Some of the stories felt unsubtle and predictable; however there are also some very creepy moments and one or two are truly chilling.

I do enjoy a short story horror collection every now and then, especially as Halloween is just around the corner.

The tone that was set in the first two stories gave me real uncanny vibes. I enjoy gothic horror novels, so it's something I thoroughly enjoy reading. After the third story, the plot lines started to shift a bit more towards Black Mirror with a lot of emphasis on modern technology.

I found a few of the stories to be mediocre. The endings would either be a bit weak for my taste, a bit too easily predicted or the story itself would not be thrilling or interesting enough.

There are a few gems in this collection though. Ones that kept me reading and guessing and ones that will stick with me due to the gruesomeness of them. I guess that's always the case when it comes to short story collections. They are hardly ever completely perfect for everyone.

I've had John Lanchester's The Wall on my TBR list forever, I think it's time I check that one out as I do enjoy his writing.

My favourites are Signal, Coffin Liquor, Cold Call & Charity.

My rating of the short stories:
Signal: 4 stars
Coffin Liquor: 5 stars
Which of these would you like? 3 stars
We happy few: 1 star
Reality: 2 stars
Cold Call: 4 stars
The Kit: 2 stars
Charity: 4 stars

This book will be published on the 1st of October.