Valentine’s subject is J. Milton Hayes, author of the dramatic monologue ‘The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God’, here cursed with immortality and obscurity. What makes this short piece works so well is the narrative voice, which combines old and contemporary in a way that utterly convinces as the voice of a man who has remained physically young for a hundred years. There’s also an effective contrast between the vein of humour running through the narration and the more quietly spoken terror of the events described.

Rating: ***½