Peter A. Leonard on Aickman's "The Trains"

Writer and blogger Peter A. Leonard made some interesting observations about Robert Aickman's strange story "The Trains" not too long ago in this post here. His comparison of Aickman's story with Jean-Paul Sartre's "No Exit" is an unusual--but not at all inaccurate--analysis. Weird fiction, particularly written by near contemporary writers like Aickman and Ligotti who stretched their horrors into the murky waters of surrealism and unreality, has always had more than a tenuous tie to modern philosophy. Echoes of nihilism, existentialism, and a kaleidoscope of other -isms frequently abound in most weird literature of the later 20th and early 21st centuries.

Leonard also toys with the strangeness embodied in this Aickman tale, a wonderful ambiguity capturing what the author's self-described "strange stories" were all about. Several of Aickman's quotes philosophizing about the trajectory of mankind are noted here as well, with well thought selection. Scholarship and reflections of any sort about Aickman remain rare on the internet, despite his devoted cult following. So, intelligent musings like Leonard's are always a pleasure to read for the Aickman fan, and run a good chance of stimulating further serious study of his works.

-Grim Blogger