Horror, Fantasy, and other non-sci-fi genres...

[D_Davis]

Picked this up today:

http://jordankrall.files.wordpress.co m/2010/12/fistfulfeetsmall.jpg


A bizarro tribute to Spaghetti westerns, HP Lovecraft, and foot fetish enthusiasts. Screwhorse, Nevada is legendary for its violent and unusual pleasures, but when a mysterious gunslinger drags a wooden donkey into the desert town, the stage is set for a bloodbath unlike anything the west has ever seen. His name is Calamaro, and he's from New Jersey. Featuring Cthulhu-worshipping Indians, a woman with four feet, a Giallo-esque serial killer, a crazed gunman who is obsessed with sucking on candy, Syphilis-ridden mutants, ass juice, burping pistols, sexually transmitted tattoos, and a house devoted to the freakiest fetishes, Jordan Krall's Fistful of Feet is the weirdest western ever written.

[Marley]

What a great title, Fistful of feet...:lol:

Let me know how this one turns out because it sounds pretty darn cool, D.

[Russ]

What a great title, Fistful of feet...:lol:

..and should be read whilst listening to this (http://www.peoplelikeus.org/2000/a_fistful_of_knuckles.html):

http://www.peoplelikeus.org/piccies/buythis/Fistsmal.jpg

[D_Davis]

..and should be read whilst listening to this (http://www.peoplelikeus.org/2000/a_fistful_of_knuckles.html):

http://www.peoplelikeus.org/piccies/buythis/Fistsmal.jpg

Classic. This is great.

[D_Davis]

Up next...

http://i43.tower.com/images/mm101134029/headstone-city-tom-piccirilli-paperback-cover-art.jpg

[D_Davis]

So, apparently there is a book store in Clovis, Ca, that has a complete collection of the original Arkham House books. I'm scheduling some time in December to take a look; I'll also need to save a couple thousand dollars by then...

I picked up the one they had on the shelf - Lovecraft's The Dark Brotherhood - this week. Good price, too - $45. First edition, beautiful dust jacket, great binding. Some of the others range from $50-$500.

[megladon8]

Picked this up...


http://img808.imageshack.us/img808/2925/51ke0nkxiilss500.jpg



...because I thought the cover was uber-cool, and it sounded very neat.

"Like something you read on the underside of a freeway overpass in a fever dream. The Orange Eats Creeps is visionary, pervy, unhinged. It will mess you up." -Shelley Jackson

"Grace Krilanovich's first book is a steamy cesspool of language that stews psychoneurosis and viscera into a horrific new organism—the sort of muck in which Burroughs, Bataille, and Kathy Acker loved to writhe."—The Believer



It's the '90s Pacific Northwest refracted through a dark mirror, where meth and madness hash it out in the woods. . . . A band of hobo vampire junkies roam the blighted landscape—trashing supermarket breakrooms, praying to the altar of Poison Idea and GG Allin at basement rock shows, crashing senior center pancake breakfasts—locked in the thrall of Robitussin trips and their own wild dreams.

A girl with drug-induced ESP and an eerie connection to Patty Reed (a young member of the Donner Party who credited her survival to her relationship with a hidden wooden doll), searches for her disappeared foster sister along "The Highway That Eats People," stalked by a conflation of Twin Peaks' "Bob" and the Green River Killer, known as Dactyl.

With a scathing voice and penetrating delivery, Grace Krilanovich's The Orange Eats Creeps is one of the most ferocious debut novels in memory.

[D_Davis]

Re-reading one of my favorites...

http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1265757681l/60132.jpg

[megladon8]

I lent that book to my previous boss and he never gave it back :(

[D_Davis]

I lent that book to my previous boss and he never gave it back :(

I lost all of my single-volume Elric books, so I feel your pain.

[Ezee E]

I'd hate to have the last name of Moorcock.

[D_Davis]

I'd hate to have the last name of Moorcock.

At least his first name wasn't Richard.

[D_Davis]

For as long as I live, I will always remember two things from the first Elric book: the choir in which each member has been surgically altered to sing one perfect pitch, and the torture scene with Doctor Jest.

[D_Davis]

Just picked this up:

http://georgekelley.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/602569041.jpg

Cannot wait to read it; it will be first experience with Manly Wade Wellman. Silver John sounds like a character custom made for me: he's a guitar-playing, folk-singing Christian warrior who fights demons and monsters in the Appalachian mountains. He's part Solomon Kane, part Johnny Cash, part Father Thomas Merton. I've heard this is old-pulp adventure at its absolute finest, and next up on my reading stack.

[D_Davis]

http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168050781l/30036.jpg

A recent re-read has confirmed my long-held opinion that Elric of Melnibone is, indeed, my favorite fantasy series. Moorcock creates an economic Epic, and within these short 200 pages more things happen than in many other fantasies that seem to go on and on, for thousands of pages, across multiple volumes.

This first volume sets the stage for what is one of the most bizarre, emotional, and creative adventures I've encountered. In this book, Moorcock creates the tapestry of high and low fantasy and cosmic horror that makes up Elric's world, a tapestry rich with evocative imagery and strange inhabitants.

There is simply a ton of plot packed into this first volume. A world is built, battles are waged, cities are destroyed, alliances are forged, men and women are betrayed, God's and elementals are summoned, and the fate of an entire layer of a multi-verse is set in motion.

I'll be revisiting the rest of this series over the next few months.

[D_Davis]

Read the first Silver John tale this morning, Ugly Bird. Really awesome. I can tell I'm going to love the heck out of this. It's a very American Fantasy, much like how LotR is a very British Fantasy. Wellman draws upon the history, folklore, and customs of the deep south in a way similar to what Lansdale does with East Texas, only Wellman clearly likes people more than Lansdale does. I can't wait to read more.

I also just ordered the 4 Silver John novels. I bought one years ago - The Old Gods Waken - but never read it. Now I know how big of a mistake that was!

[D_Davis]

Huh, apparently Manly Wade Wellman was nominated for a Pulitzer (I think the only pulp-writer to be so), and beat out William Faulkner for a mystery prize, to which Faulkner responded:


“What a commentary. In France I am the father of a literary movement. In Europe I am considered the best modern American, and among the first of all writers. In America, I eke out a hack’s motion picture wages by winning second prize in a manufactured mystery story contest.”

What a douche-bag.

http://orelitrev.startlogic.com/v2n2/OLR-rickert.htm#faulkner

[megladon8]

Purchased three books today...


http://img.amazon.ca/images/I/519pqYr1g3L._SS500_.jpg


http://img848.imageshack.us/img848/7878/devile.jpg


http://img.amazon.ca/images/I/51mkDD-yXPL._SS500_.jpg

[D_Davis]

Looks like some good purchases, meg.

[megladon8]

Looks like some good purchases, meg.


"Person" particularly intrigues me.

I've not had much luck with this recent wave of "bizarro fiction", as (in my experience) the writing is pretty terrible.

However this seems to be considered "bizarro fiction" by simple association as it's published by a firm that deals with a lot of bizarro authors.

It's a 90 page novella.


You see him at the liquor store. You see him at the bus stop, trying to look at you without being seen. Who is he? He is a person. In this debut novel, a person walks around Chicago contemplating the possibility of starving to death on purpose. He has sex with his neighbor. He goes out to look for a job but just buys little plastic dogs from homeless people instead. Who is the person? The person is you. The person is me. The person is sitting in his room shooting an empty pellet gun at his face, feeling the slow exhaustion of a Co2 cartridge. The person sits in a bathtub reading his roommate's yearbook. He wants to create a contract mandating worldwide friendship. Person invents new and splendid ways of not getting along. You will read this book and remember why you mainly read books that have sex in them. You will become . . . a person.

[D_Davis]

Sounds interesting.

[D_Davis]

Another character that reminds me of Silver John is Roland, from the Dark Tower. I'd be shocked if Wellman's creation wasn't an inspiration for King.

Man these stories are great.

[D_Davis]

Man, Silver John is the best.

[D_Davis]

You know that feeling when you meet someone and you instantly hit it off and wonder how and why the two of you had never bet before and how you ever got along without one another? That's how I feel after reading Manly Wade Wellman's Silver John stories. Some of the best fiction I've ever read. So full of American folklore, with lots of heart and a ton of scares.

[megladon8]

Have begun reading David Maine's "Monster, 1959".

It's good so far. Like if James Morrow at his most sarcastic were to write a novelization of King Kong.

[megladon8]

I was disappointed to find that "The Old Gods Waken" is not included in that Manly Wade Wellman book.

[D_Davis]

I was disappointed to find that "The Old Gods Waken" is not included in that Manly Wade Wellman book.

It's one of the novels. Only the short stories are in Who Fear's the Devil?

There are 5 novels. All of which are OOP, of course. I ordered the 4 I was missing this week.

[megladon8]

It's one of the novels. Only the short stories are in Who Fear's the Devil?

There are 5 novels. All of which are OOP, of course. I ordered the 4 I was missing this week.


I wonder how the novels compare with the shorts.

[D_Davis]

The stories are very "monster of the week" in style. Silver John wanders into some small little town in the mountains, meets some of the local folks, hears a bit about some folklore, and then encounters the monster, or breaks a curse, or saves the people from some evil. So while they are formulaic, they are all just so wonderfully told that it doesn't really matter. I'm also consistently surprised by how much heart these have; they are very warm, even if they are also kind of creepy.

I'm interested in the novels, and will be reading The Old Gods Waken soon.

[megladon8]

Yeah it's the type of thing I have loved pretty much all my life. I've always, always loved the pulpy sci-fi and adventure stories.

I'm anxious to check out the novels. It looks like the novels are quite brief as well, none extending into 200 pages. Hopefully they're just like longer versions of the short stories.

[megladon8]

I love the way the first Silver John story opens...


"Where I've been is places, and what I've seen is things, and there've been times I've run off from seeing them, off to other places and things. I keep moving, me and this guitar with the silver strings to it, slung behind my shoulder. Sometimes I've got food with me and an extra shirt maybe, but most times just the guitar, and trust to God for what else I need."

[D_Davis]

Wellman is a great writer. Very simple and elegant, and his ear for the deep southern dialect rings true.

[megladon8]

"Monster, 1959" is a pretty interesting little spin on the King Kong story.

The monster, "K.", is, well, kind of pathetic. It has so little thought power or understanding of itself or its world that you can't help but pity it for being unaware of how very alone it is.

It's interesting how Maine communicates K.'s discovery of some rather confusing emotions (even some very primitive "thoughts"), as well as K.'s complete inability to process these happenings in its mind.

K. is a primal being who runs entirely on instinct and reflex, and who is suddenly compelled to do things that it wouldn't normally do, and doesn't know why. And it doesn't know that it doesn't know why.

[D_Davis]

That sounds pretty cool, meg.

[D_Davis]

Who Fears the Devil? by Manly Wade Wellman

It would seem the Manly Wade Wellman's Silver John stories were tailored made for me. Silver John is a guitar-playing, God-fearing, humanity-loving, traveling balladeer who roams around the Appalachian mountains fighting evil (both natural and supernatural) and writing wrongs. Think of H.P. Lovecraft by way of Uncle Remus, with a bit of Lansdale and King. As a matter of fact, I'd be surprised if both Lansdale and King weren't highly influenced by Wellman.

These stories make up what is a uniquely American fantasy, as the legends and myths are drawn from Appalachian folklore and an American-brand of Christianity. There are giants bigger than Paul Bunyan, strange creatures like the Behinder (no one has ever seen one because it always attacks from behind), witch-men cursing with the hoodoo, Satan, perhaps, Jesus makes an appearance, and all manner of evil, scary, wondrous beings.

The stories themselves are episodic in nature, entirely monster-of-the-week in their formula. I would heed the editor's suggestion and read one or two here or there, rather than digging into them all in a few sittings. So while some may argue that the stories are too samey, I would argue that Wellman had a singular idea with Silver John and perfected and nailed the execution.

Wellman's voice rings true with authenticity. Silver John's narration reads and sounds exactly how I think a character from the deep south would. The dialog is quaint without being sappy, and the descriptions of things are kind of rough around the edges, but also full of folksy insight.

In addition to the longer form stories in this collection, there are also little micro-stories (probably around ~300 words) that act as transitions and little asides. These are neat, especially "The Stars Down There," which is really one of the coolest things I've read.

If you are looking for something unique, and different, something that stands out in the glut of the fantasy and horror genres, then definitely pick up Who Fears the Devil? It is thoroughly enjoyable.

[D_Davis]

Next up...

http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178086873l/757025.jpg

[D_Davis]

Darker Than You Think, by Jack Williamson

That's it! I was on the fence about this one, but I just can't stomach the writing. The dialog is simply atrocious. And no, I don't think it's an affected, stylistic choice. It's just poorly written. The point that tipped the scale was when Barbee and April Bell met for dinner. Will Barbee is trying to learn about April, a mysterious young woman, and is prodding her with questions about her past.

She gives in saying, "For you I'll drop my painted veil," and after telling Will Barbee about her past, finishes with, "It's that cheap ugly background that I built my illusion to hide."

Yuk!

Who talks like that? It's all so very amateurish. And thus far, the entire thing has been like that. Characters say the most on-the-nose thing they can say, and act in ways that are not not natural, in ways that only serve the plot; they aren't characters, but are, instead, plot devices.

That this is considered a "Fantasy Masterwork" leads me to question the choices of the imprint.


***

Anyhow, that poor decision was replaced by:

http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n1/n7615.jpg

Read the first 50 pages on the way home from work, and it is amazing. I am totally in love with Manly Wade Wellman's style and storytelling. He really is the original Lansdale, only without the misanthropy, and a more positive outlook on religion. The Silver John tales are simply wonderful examples of uniquely American fiction. I love the Appalachian setting, the southern dialog, and John as a character.

[D_Davis]

I am definitely going to be collecting everything by Manly Wade Wellman I can get my hands on. Bank account be damned! This dude was truly amazing.

[D_Davis]

I just ordered:

Selected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman #3
Selected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman #4
Stranger on the Heights

[D_Davis]

I can safely say that I like this Silver John novel even more than the short stories. Wellman takes things slow, and lets the language of the people and the setting take over.

I love the dialog, and descriptions used here, but I could see some people having trouble with them. They are folksy to their core, and yet the sound true and genuine. I don't get the sense that Wellman was faking it to appeal to a certain audience, like Sarah Palin probably does.

At one point, Silver John describes a woman as "being taller for a woman than he was for a man." I love that.

Wellman is also saying something interesting about religion, and about how different people worship in different ways.

It's all really good.

[megladon8]

Is that the first of the Silver John novels? Or do they not really need to be read in any particular order?

I love that cover.

[D_Davis]

Is that the first of the Silver John novels? Or do they not really need to be read in any particular order?

I love that cover.

This is the third. The first is The Old Gods Waken. They're kind of like the Hap and Leonard books, in that each novel is a self-contained story, but John makes mention of his past adventures. In this one there have been more than a few callbacks to some of the short stories I read, and a few things that I'm not familiar with.

[megladon8]

This is the third. The first is The Old Gods Waken. They're kind of like the Hap and Leonard books, in that each novel is a self-contained story, but John makes mention of his past adventures. In this one there have been more than a few callbacks to some of the short stories I read, and a few things that I'm not familiar with.


But nothing that leaves you feeling totally lost and wanting to drop it and wait 'til you read the previous books?

[D_Davis]

But nothing that leaves you feeling totally lost and wanting to drop it and wait 'til you read the previous books?

Oh no. At one point John says that something reminded him of some Druids he ran across up on Wolter Mountaint, and I think that's from The Old Gods Waken, but I haven't read that yet. That's about the extent of the continuity.

[megladon8]

Oh no. At one point John says that something reminded him of some Druids he ran across up on Wolter Mountaint, and I think that's from The Old Gods Waken, but I haven't read that yet. That's about the extent of the continuity.


Very cool. So again, your "monster of the week" comparison is pretty apt. Like "X-Files" episodes, they'll occasionally make mention of previous encounters, but nothing that makes it impossible to follow what's going on.

[D_Davis]

Very cool. So again, your "monster of the week" comparison is pretty apt. Like "X-Files" episodes, they'll occasionally make mention of previous encounters, but nothing that makes it impossible to follow what's going on.

Yeah, exactly.

[megladon8]

A lot of the other series' in the "Planet Stories" line (collecting works of old pulp authors) seem really neat.

It'd be interesting to check some more of them out.

[D_Davis]

A lot of the other series' in the "Planet Stories" line (collecting works of old pulp authors) seem really neat.

It'd be interesting to check some more of them out.

Me, too. I might subscribe for a year.

I want to get this one:

http://paizo.com/image/product/catalog/PZO/PZO8021_500.jpeg

[megladon8]

YES! That's actually the one I have saved in my Amazon wishlist to throw on my next order.

[D_Davis]

YES! That's actually the one I have saved in my Amazon wishlist to throw on my next order.

I thought you'd like that one.

[megladon8]

Kind of reminds me of this...

http://img.amazon.ca/images/I/51cWKRV1eyL._SS500_.jpg

[D_Davis]

Oh yeah, that's right. Forgot about that. I remember you mentioning that before.

Check this publisher out:
http://www.haffnerpress.com/

Also, I discovered this artist today. He's done some Silver John illustrations, and I really like his stuff:

http://boatwrightartwork.blogspot.com/

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-irJ104HOWCM/TdMh7sT2eyI/AAAAAAAAAhI/DAspPz2JfGw/s320/Gigan%2Bvs%2BGodzilla_color.jp g

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ERDlZLP6nT4/TcvkuU87A5I/AAAAAAAAAe4/r4vqTB5wx9I/s200/DocOck_Color.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iDI53gPjLGs/Tcp7FPTUuNI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/Urb3xUCv8Jc/s1600/Mickey%2Bvs%2BCthulu.jpg

[megladon8]

I strongly recommend checking out Doug TenNapel, D.

"Iron West" and "Tommysaurus Rex" in particular.

They're pretty much tailor-made for you. Of course, that could mean you'd end up hating them :lol:

[D_Davis]

The Lost and the Lurking, by Manly Wade Wellman

The first Silver John novel I've read, and I totally loved it. In this longer form, Wellman is able to take his time and allow the language and dialect of the deep south take over. It's a really a book driven by the characters and their conversations with one another. Almost a third of the book has John locked up in jail, and so while there is very little physical action during this portion, there is a lot of stuff going on mentally, as John battles wits with a witch-lady, is haunted by a malevolent spirit, and unwillingly dabbles in some black arts.

The story is also thoughtful about religion, which is something I really appreciate. While John is a Jesus-man, he doesn't pass judgment on others. He knows that there are many possible paths to the truth and the goodness, and so long as people aren't hurting others with their beliefs, he lets them be.

At the end of the day, The Lost and the Lurking is simply a wonderfully told tale, full of folksy charm, respectful regional characters, and some great writing. And while it's not particularly challenging, it is relentlessly entertaining and good-natured.

[Spun Lepton]

I'm not a fan of IO9's design, so apologies for linking there. But, this should interest most everybody in this thread.

The 19th-century illustrator whose imagination fueled the work of H.P. Lovecraft (http://io9.com/5806399/the-19th-century-illustrator-whose-imagination-the-work-of-hp-lovecraft/gallery/1)

You've probably seen his work before. They link to a Wikipedia article with a ton of images.

[D_Davis]

I'm not a fan of IO9's design, so apologies for linking there. But, this should interest most everybody in this thread.

The 19th-century illustrator whose imagination fueled the work of H.P. Lovecraft (http://io9.com/5806399/the-19th-century-illustrator-whose-imagination-the-work-of-hp-lovecraft/gallery/1)

You've probably seen his work before. They link to a Wikipedia article with a ton of images.

Dore is amazing. I have a book of his biblical word carvings - probably my favorite artist.

[megladon8]

There's something inherently eerie about the old wood cut illustrations.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Dore is indeed fantastic. His illustrations of industrial London are just incredible.

[D_Davis]

I just ordered 2 books:

Merkabah Rider: Tales of the High Planes Drifter, and The Mensch With No Name.


The last of an ancient order of Jewish mystics capable of extraplanar travel, The Merkabah Rider roams the demon haunted American West of 1879 in search of the renegade teacher who betrayed his enclave. But as the trail grows fresher, shadows gather, and The Hour Of The Incursion draws near... Four novella episodes in one book.

In a town hungry for blood, the Rider encounters a cult of Molech worshippers bent on human sacrifice('The Blood Libel'). A murderous, possessed gunman descends upon a mountain town, and only the Rider stands in his way ('Hell's Hired Gun'). A powerful ju ju man with powers rivalling the Rider's own holds a fledgling Mexican boomtown in his sway ('The Dust Devils'). Finally the Rider faces the Queen of Demons and a bordello full of antedelluvian succubi ('The Nightjar Women').

In other words, it sounds like the greatest thing ever made.

[D_Davis]

Started F. Paul Wilson's The Tomb, the first of the Repairman Jack series.

EDIT: not in the mood for this right now. 50 pages in and it's done nothing for me.

[megladon8]

Picked these up today...

http://img.amazon.ca/images/I/51ia%2Bk77F%2BL._SS500_.jpg

That one is over 1100 pages long (a freaking mammoth) and cost me $9.99 brand new. It features stories by Raymond Chandler, Dashiel Hammett and others, as well as two full novels of the period.


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51WLZX5aP5L._SS500_.jpg

[D_Davis]

Nice! I almost bought that very Conan book yesterday.

I picked these up today:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/252168_187426537974665_1000012 19601760_511753_240632_n.jpg

(I will never read that in public)

and...

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/250845_187426827974636_1000012 19601760_511756_20625_n.jpg

[megladon8]

That really does look like a gay porno.

[D_Davis]

That really does look like a gay porno.

Bad gay porn, LARP style.

[megladon8]

Bad gay porn, LARP style.


Michael MORE-COCK and Joe Hard MANS-TAIL present...

[megladon8]

Almost done with "Monster, 1959".

Was really surprised by how sex filled it got about halfway through. There's a solid 50 pages that detail one sexual encounter after another. Nothing overly graphic, just some dirty talk and descriptions of gyrating hips and the like, but still, it was unexpected.

I'm finding much of the human story to be fairly uninteresting. Where the story really shines is dealing with K. and the way he reacts to what is happening around him.

I'm also not sold on Maine's way of "painting the time" so to speak. Each section of the book is a year (1956, 1957, 1958, and finally 1959) and each section begins with a chapter where he just lists off a bunch of important world events from that year.

I find those sections a little tedious, but luckily they're quite brief. Chapters rarely last 10 pages in this book.

[D_Davis]

Up next...

http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1179635165l/939468.jpg

This book is going to kick so much ass.

[megladon8]

The ending to "Monster, 1959" was kind of...eh.

Maine ends it on this "flash forward" to 2059 and this tribal story that's just a repeat of a scene which occurred near the beginning of the book, in which Maine just makes a few very pedestrian "points" about story telling and its importance in culture and society.

I felt the ending of the book would have been much more affecting without that.

Maine's writing is so-so. He uses a lot of similes and metaphors that felt like quite a reach, and others that were like eighth grade lit. class examples (stuff like "soared like an eagle" and "howled like a wolf" - you couldn't think of a more interesting way to say that? Or just say "soared" and "howled"?)

I really enjoyed the semi-psychological take on the monster and the way it viewed the world. That, to me, was the most interesting aspect of the book.

[D_Davis]

Strangers on the Heights, by Manly Wade Wellman

This is a 10 out of 5.

In-freaking-credible.

Vampire, zombies, werewolves, devil worshipers, alien beings, Fortean Societies, ancient civilizations, esoteric knowledge, action, romance, bro-mance, ESP, Lovecraft, Bierce, teleportation, and arcane mysticism, all crammed into 100 pages of pure pulp, knock-yer-socks-off entertainment.

Word for word, one of the most relentlessly entertaining stories I've ever read. And while the writing itself is a little clunky - Wellman is perhaps a bit too economical with his words - it doesn't even matter because it is just all so much fun.

I just hope that I continue to discover stories this good for the rest of my life.

There is a second short story in the book called Nuisance Value, but I haven't read that yet.

[D_Davis]

You know, I think it's official: genre fiction doesn't get any better than Manly Wade Wellman.

[D_Davis]

http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1185735566l/1602670.jpg

Finally reading this, the genesis of weird fiction, cosmic horror, and strange fantasy, without which we probably wouldn't have the Cthulhu mythos. In this short 100 page volume, Dunsany creates an entire divine cosmology on to which Lovecraft, Smith, Howard, Lumley, Dereleth, and others would add throughout the ages. Really, really good.



In the mists before THE BEGINNING, Fate and Chance cast lots to decide whose the Game should be; and he that won strode through the mists to MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI and said: "Now make gods for Me, for I have won the cast and the Game is to be Mine." Who it was that won the cast, and whether it was Fate or whether Chance that went through the mists before THE BEGINNING to MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI—none knoweth.
Before there stood gods upon Olympus, or ever Allah was Allah, had wrought and rested MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI.

There are in Pegana Mung and Sish and Kib, and the maker of all small gods, who is MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI. Moreover, we have a faith in Roon and Slid.


And it has been said of old that all things that have been were wrought by the small gods, excepting only MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI, who made the gods and hath thereafter rested.


And none may pray to MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI but only the gods whom he hath made.


But at the Last will MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI forget to rest, and will make again new gods and other worlds, and will destroy the gods whom he hath made.


And the gods and the worlds shall depart, and there shall be only
MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI.

[D_Davis]

I am so stoked to start Merkabah Rider this weekend.

[D_Davis]

The Gods of Pagana, by Lord Dunsany

Epic in theme and scope, but told with poetic brevity, Lord Dunsany's The Gods of Pegana is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. Within these one hundred pages, Dunsany creates a pantheon of gods and a divine cosmology that is as rich and as illustrative as any other author might have done in thousands of pages.

Written in a language inspired by the King James Bible, the book evokes an old world feeling; I felt as though I was reading a mythology that was not a hundred years old, but one that was thousands of years old. It is mystical and otherworldly, awe-inspiring and haunting.

With the written word, Dunsany breaths life into a highly imaginative, complex, and intricate mythological history of a world that never was except for in the minds of the readers and those who dream of things that exist outside of the realms of reality.

[D_Davis]

I hope this is as awesome as I am hoping it is...

http://www.innsmouthfreepress.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/MerkabahRider.jpg

[megladon8]

Where did you hear of that one?

[D_Davis]

Where did you hear of that one?

Goodreads.

It's a weird western based on Hebrew mythology.

[megladon8]

Very cool. Look forward to hearing about it.

[D_Davis]

Markabah Rider is officially one of the coolest things I've ever read. I'm glad I have at least a general background on Old Testament history and Judaism, because this book goes really deep into the mythology and religion of the Jewish people and the Old Testament era. It is steeped in Jewish mysticism and the conventions of horror and the spaghetti western.

I just can't escape my love for religious-themed genre fiction. First Silver John, and now this.

[megladon8]

I've begun reading a book by Richard Adams (of "Watership Down" and "Shardik" fame) called "The Girl in a Swing".

It's a supernatural romance/horror story about a young man with psychic abilities, and his mysterious relationship with an even more mysterious foreign girl.

Adams writes beautifully.

[D_Davis]

Merkabah Rider: Episode One: The Blood Libel

The Rider rides into a town where he finds that his kind - a Jew - are not wanted. There are some problems in Little Jerusalem, a neighboring town; it seems that a cult of Canaanites has been kidnapping children and feeding them to the great demon Molech. And thus the stage is set for a supernatural-soaked frenzy of mystic horror and western action.

I was first struck by how well-written Merkabah Rider is. For some reason, I was under the impression that it was going to be more juvenile and workman-like. But that's not the case at all. Erdelac is a very solid writer, with a unique style. And, what's more, he seems to have really done his research. I am glad that I have at least a basic knowledge of Old Testament, Biblical history and mythology, because Erdelac goes pretty deep with all the folklore.

Secondly, I was struck by how fast paced the whole thing is. Erdelac wastes no time in getting to the good parts. And there are a ton of good parts. The Rider fights spirits, demons, and evil men with his Volcanic pistol (destined to be one of those famously-cool weapons we nerds like to gush about), rides through the astral plane on a spirit-steed, and hears rumors about a certain group of Elder gods that might be making an appearance in his travels.

It is, quite simply, one of the coolest things I've ever read. It feels like something tailor made for me, and it feels genuine and sincere.

****

Up next, Episode Two

[D_Davis]

I've begun reading a book by Richard Adams (of "Watership Down" and "Shardik" fame) called "The Girl in a Swing".

It's a supernatural romance/horror story about a young man with psychic abilities, and his mysterious relationship with an even more mysterious foreign girl.

Adams writes beautifully.

Sounds interesting. Liked Shardik alright, and Watership is great.

[D_Davis]

Merkabah Rider: Episode Two: The Dust Devils

More and more, these tales are reminding me of the Elric Saga. Take that as you will. Like Elric, The Rider is one uber-cool dude, who always seems to have exactly what he needs to thwart his enemies, but he is also highly flawed and conflicted. However, because he is the hero, we always know that he will pull through, and so the dramatic tension is found more in how the situations shape The Rider and what he learns.

The Dust Devils opens with The Rider walking into a small Mexican town (A rider who doesn't ride...). He meets some banditos and tells them he's from the north, and that he's heading south. He and the banditos then play a lengthy game of poker during which the seeds are sewn for a new and harrowing adventure.

What is most remarkable about these tales is how deftly Erdelac switches between western, action, and horror, and how expertly he conveys the conventions of each. This second episode begins with a lengthy scene straight out of a Leone western - it is slow, drawn out, methodical, and suspenseful. Then The Rider is fighting a giant windmill demon for his very life, and then finally finds himself in a mine being overrun by zhambis. And each of these parts flows organically from one to the next.

It really is an incredible reading experience.

[D_Davis]

Picked this up today:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/248970_189328401117812_1000012 19601760_525244_5948196_n.jpg

[D_Davis]

Merkabah Rider: Episode Three: Hell's Hired Gun

I didn't think it was even possible, but the third episode of The Rider's saga is even better than the first two; and not just by a little bit. No. This third episode is, without a doubt, once of the coolest things I've ever read.

After discovering an absolutely brutal massacre at a Christian Mission, The Rider heads into the hills continuing the search for his betraying teacher, Adon. It is now winter, and The Rider finds himself face-to-face with a terrible snow storm, and nearly parishes because of the freezing cold. He's rescued by an old eccentric Christian preacher. The preacher nurses The Rider back to health, and in doing so stares deep into his soul. He reveals The Rider's heart, and The Rider is humbled. The old preacher then tells the story of Medgar Tooms, the man responsible for the Mission massacre, and many others. Tooms is a man possessed by hatred, who, together with a heard of feral pigs, is hell-bent on destroying anything he can.

In Medgar Tooms, Erdelac creates a monstrous villain that is also sympathetic, and because of the character's motivation and actions, The Rider and the preacher are able to talk about redemption theology. This entire episode is hinged upon the ideas of life and death, love and loss, and forgiveness and redemption. It is by far the most emotionally moving of the first three episodes, and because of this all the action and horror is all the more powerful and tangible.

[megladon8]

These sound pretty neat, D, I'm just reluctant to check them out because I'm really not "in the know" with Judaism or its history - which the books seem to lean on, no?

[D_Davis]

These sound pretty neat, D, I'm just reluctant to check them out because I'm really not "in the know" with Judaism or its history - which the books seem to lean on, no?

I can't imagine a single person into westerns, weird fiction and horror not liking these books; hands down, the coolest things I've ever read.

And for the Hebrew words and terms, there is a glossary in the back that is really useful.

It's just like discovering any kind of new folklore or mythology - at first things seem foreign, but you learn the lingo as you go.

[megladon8]

I'm thinking of doing something I try to never, ever do - abandon a book.

I've read about 100 pages of "The Girl in a Swing" and it's just not capturing me at all. The prose are beautiful, but I am not invested in the story or characters at all.

I never like to do this at all, but I feel great to be reading, and I don't want to break this reading spell by forcing myself to read something I am not enjoying.

[D_Davis]

I have no problem at all in abandoning a book. Put one down you're not liking for something that you might like more.

***

And up next...

Merkabah Rider: The Mensch With No Name: Episodes 5-8

The third set of tales was announced, and it's called Have Glyph Will Travel.

[D_Davis]

Merkabah Rider Rider: Episode Four: The Nightjar Women

While episode four of the The Rider's saga is my least favorite of the first book, it is still a dang fine read. This one reminded me a lot of Takashi Miike's Masters of Horror episode, Imprint. I'm not saying that one ripped off the other, but they are similar in that they both have prostitution and abortion as key and central elements.

In this episode, The Rider faces off against Lilith, and her demonic whores in an attempt to discover what is happening to all the children and men in the small township of Tip Top. This is probably the most character driven of the novellas, and I really enjoyed these moments. The Rider here is at his most humane and vulnerable as he struggles with lust and genuine love. He is also at his most vulnerable at the hands of Lilith; you see, Lilith knows his true name, and uses this information to have parley with The Rider. Lilith tells The Rider all she knows about his renegade teacher Adon, and The Rider cannot believe what she tells him; and yet he knows it's true.

I was a tad disappointed in how this episode ended - with more action and violence. I was actually enjoying the slower pace of the novella, and wanted The Rider and Lilith to talk more. Erdelac's decision to end on a note of action was not a bad one, nor was it forced, and, truth be told, there are some amazingly cinematic moments found in the climatic battle. It's just that I was enjoying my time spent with The Rider and the characters, and wanted more of that.

[D_Davis]

The fifth episode of Merkabah Rider just blew my mind. Best scenes of action I've ever read. And there is one thing that a certain character does that is the coolest thing ever. If I had 30 million dollars, I'd hire Tarsem Singh to direct a movie of this episode. He's the only director I know of with the artistic vision to handle this amount of awesome.

[D_Davis]

Went to the U-Book Store last night. For new books, it has the best selection of SFF in Seattle, with a lot of stuff from the smaller presses. Whenever I go there, I try to only buy stuff that I've never heard of before; if I'm looking for something specific I'd rather get it on Amazon, for a cheaper price.

Anyhow, I picked up:

Chasing the Dragon, by Nicholas Kaufmann


Centuries ago, St. George fought and killed a dragon-or so the legend goes. The truth is somewhat different. George failed in his mission, and the Dragon still walks the Earth, protected by an undead army, hiding in the shadows and slaughtering men, women, and children for its prey. Each of George's descendants through time has been tasked with killing the Dragon, and each has failed. Twenty-five-year-old Georgia Quincey is the last of the line. But Georgia is also an addict, driven to the warm embrace of the needle by the weight of her responsibility and the loss of everything and everyone she has ever loved.Thief of Broken Toys, by Tim Lebbon


When a father loses his son and his wife leaves him, he cannot tear himself away from the small fishing village where the boy's memories reside. They're all he has left. Thinking that his life is all but over, he takes to wandering the cliffs, carrying broken things that he always promised his son he would fix, but never did. They're a sign of his failure, and they keep little Toby close. And then he meets the thief of broken toys, and everything begins to change.The Alchemist, by Paolo Bacigalupi


Magic has a price. But someone else will pay. Every time a spell is cast, a bit of bramble sprouts, sending up tangling vines, bloody thorns, and threatening a poisonous sleep. It sprouts in tilled fields and in neighbors' roof beams, thrusts up from between street cobbles, and bursts forth from sacks of powdered spice. A bit of magic, and bramble follows. A little at first, and then more--until whole cities are dragged down under tangling vines and empires lie dead, ruins choked by bramble forest. Monuments to people who loved magic too much.Sometime Never, by William Golding, John Wyndham and Mervyn Peake

[D_Davis]

Merkabah Rider: Episode Five: The Infernal Napoleon

What is The Infernal Napoleon? The Infernal Napoleon is a demonic canon - part machine, part beast - crafted by Satan himself for use in the epic battle between God's hosts and the fallen angels. And, unfortunately for The Rider, it is the weapon that an evil, demonic, black midget is going to use to destroy him.

The opening episode in the second book of The Rider's saga is basically a ~40 page action sequence. Erdelac takes the classic siege scenario and crafts one of the most balls-to-the-walls entertaining thing I've ever read. I don't want to give anything away, but just remember the name Gersh. Gersh does some of the most amazingly awesome stuff I've ever read. I had this huge giddy smile on my face while reading this on the bus on the way home yesterday. That coupled with the book's cover must have given the people around me the impression that I was insane.

But I'm not. However, this episode is insanely rad.

[megladon8]

It's so cool that you've connected so deeply with this series, D.

I absolutely love that feeling, regardless of what it is - a book, album, film, TV show, whatever.

[D_Davis]

The first five pages of the sixth episode completely blew my mind. Not to give too much away, but fans of weird fiction and the mythos will fall even more in love with The Rider's saga.

So freaking awesome.

[megladon8]

...Cthulhu?

[D_Davis]

...Cthulhu?

Not quite, but close, and then some....

Let's just say that Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, and HP Lovecraft are paid a lot of respect.

[megladon8]

Not quite, but close, and then some....

Let's just say that Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, and HP Lovecraft are paid a lot of respect.


...

...

...

Ia Fhtagn?

[D_Davis]

It's really cool how Erdelac ties his world into the mythos.

[megladon8]

It's really cool how Erdelac ties his world into the mythos.


Well you've won me over, I have to check these out.

Just wish the volumes weren't so darn pricey. I'll have to wait 'til I have a little more disposable income, as they're not available through my library.

[D_Davis]

Merkabah Rider: Episodes Six and Seven: The Damned Dingus, and The Outlaw Gods

The episodes in book two of the Merkabah Rider saga feel less like loosely connected standalone novellas, and more like long chapters to a continuing story. They are still episodic in nature, lacking some of the transitional material between them as one might find in a novel, but the individual episodes are more tightly woven and connected.

It is in episodes six and seven that Erdelac reveals his master plan, and in doing so he caused my jaw to hit the floor. There are hints of what is to come all the way back in episode one, but in episode six things become more clear and the stakes are raised for The Rider a considerable amount. What's most spectacular is how well constructed everything is. Erdelac treats his readers with the respect to GET IT, and doesn't pander or over-explain. Let's just say that you'll be extremely pleased if you're a fan of Lovecraft, Smith and Howard.

In episode six, The Rider teams up with Doc Holiday for a time. While this episode is bookended by some amazing moments, the middle section is probably my least favorite of the episodes thus far. Episode seven, on the other hand, is pure awesome all the time. This episode is absolutely EPIC, as The Rider leads an army of undead soldiers in a huge battle against the minions of a certain Elder God, one of The Outlaw Gods.

Erdelac continues to impress the heck out of me, and The Rider's saga has now become the measuring stick by which I will compare all mythos fiction.

[megladon8]

So it turns out Chapters has the first volume of the "Merkabah Rider" series.

...

...in the YA section??

[D_Davis]

So it turns out Chapters has the first volume of the "Merkabah Rider" series.

...

...in the YA section??

It's more of a children's book, especially the episode about the fallen angels performing abortions to use the fetuses as demonic soldiers.

[D_Davis]

I need Merkabah Rider: Have Glyph Will Travel, NOW!

Holy crap - episode eight was awesome. So freaking awesome. The trip to hell and The Rider's parlay with Satan was amazing.

And that cliff hanger ending...never have I wanted to read something more than I do now.

[D_Davis]

Up next...

http://www.chizinepub.com/images/covers/chasing-dragon_small.jpg

[D_Davis]

Chasing the Dragon, by Nicholas Kaufmann

What a spectacular book. Chasing the Dragon is exactly the kind of thing that's really popular right now. It's an urban fantasy, a modern update to the myth of St. George and the Dragon. It's about a girl who fights monsters. And, it uses the problem of drug addiction in an interesting and meaningful manner. It's topical and kind of angsty; it's a perfect mixture of horror and action.

However, what makes this completely unlike so many other modern urban fantasies is that it is a 130 page standalone novella. Nicholas Kaufmann does in a fraction of the time what many other others take an entire series to do. I was thoroughly impressed with Kaufmann's skill. Through succinct language and brevity he sets up a world using established mythologies, an interesting character with real feelings and motivations, and a villain that, while mythological, makes sense in context with the narrative.

I will definitely be checking out more from this author, and I can't recommend this enough. Just pick it up.

[D_Davis]

Up next, another novella from Chizen press...

https://www.horror-mall.com/images/P/TLebbon_Cover_FINAL%28Large%29 .gif

[Irish]

I will definitely be checking out more from this author, and I can't recommend this enough. Just pick it up.

Meat puppets make me think of these guys (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-HFbNhTTKQ), not zombies. :P

[D_Davis]

Meat puppets make me think of these guys (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-HFbNhTTKQ), not zombies. :P


In SF, the term dates back to a Le Guin story in the late '70s, and then of course Gibson used it in Neuromancer.

[Irish]

In SF, the term dates back to a Le Guin story in the late '70s, and then of course Gibson used it in Neuromancer.

http://i.imgur.com/Z6Snx.jpg

[D_Davis]

http://i.imgur.com/Z6Snx.jpg

I don't think I did anything there.

Did I?

:|

[D_Davis]

The Thief of Broken Toys, by Tim Lebbon

The Thief of Broken Toys is a very small and personal story about a man dealing with the death of his son and his broken marriage. It is a tad overly-sentimental, but what do you expect with that premise? There is a a supernatural angle to the story, but it never feels fully explored or utilized. It's as if Lebbon is afraid to really dive into the depths of that part of the narrative; it feels more like he was trying to write a mainstream prize-winning novella, and not a great genre novel.

It is well written, and there are some great moments. I never felt fully invested in the main character's life, and I wanted more of the supernatural because the idea that Lebbon presents is neat.

[D_Davis]

Took the day off today to take care of some business, and stopped by a book store (of course). Picked up:

Synthesis & Other Virtual Realities (Arkham House), by Mary Rosenblum
The Dream Master, by Zelazny
Sleepwalker, by Michael Cadnum
Best of Weird Tales (Barnes & Nobles), ed. John Betancourt
Weird Tales, ed. Marvin Kaya

Kwaidan, by Lafcadio Hearn - this is a beautiful newer edition. Full color, glossy paper throughout, with what must be a few dozen Edo period woodblock prints. Just a nice looking book all around.

[megladon8]

Tim Lebbon's "Berserk" has some genuinely chilling moments.

It's nothing brilliant, but it's a very quick read. I'd recommend checking it out if you're ever looking for a quick, creepy read.

[D_Davis]

Tim Lebbon's "Berserk" has some genuinely chilling moments.

It's nothing brilliant, but it's a very quick read. I'd recommend checking it out if you're ever looking for a quick, creepy read.

I might be done with Lebbon. Read a few things from him now, and none of them have done much for me. There are plenty of other authors out there to be read.

[D_Davis]

Just got the original Cowpunk anthology.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/251044_191737777543541_1000012 19601760_543804_7294867_n.jpg

[megladon8]

I might be done with Lebbon. Read a few things from him now, and none of them have done much for me. There are plenty of other authors out there to be read.


Fine.

[D_Davis]

Next up...

http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1280380849l/8677530.jpg

[Irish]

2011 Horror Writers Association’s Bram Stoker Awards

Winner: A Dark Matter by Peter Straub

Superior Achievement in a First Novel (tie)
Black and Orange by Benjamin Kane Ethridge
Castle of Los Angeles by Lisa Morton

Superior Achievement in Long Fiction
Invisible Fences by Norman Prentiss

Superior Achievement in Short Fiction
The Folding Man by Joe R. Lansdale

More: http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/06/2011-bram-stoker-award-winners

[D_Davis]

I recently ordered the anthology with that Lansdale story.

***

"The Space-Eaters," by Frank Belknap Long

This is one of my favorite all-time weird tales, and not because of its creep nature or imaginative story. While it has those things, the reason why I love it so much is its wicked sense of humor. I think this is a trait that separated Long from many of the others in the Lovecraft circle, especially HPL himself. While HPL could often be ultra-serious, to a fault, Long was often funny. And in this story, he actually makes fun of that very thing. The main characters in the story are Long (it's from his POV) and HPL, and for pages HPL goes on a tirade about how insufferable most horror fiction is, and about how simple minded most people are. Long really paints him as an incurable douche-bag, and I wouldn't be surprised to discover that true. Long's character in the story takes HPL's ranting in stride, humoring him and, it seems, putting up with him.

[megladon8]

H.P. Lovecraft had quite a sense of humor in his stories, I thought.

But yes, I gather he was a rather strange individual.

[D_Davis]

H.P. Lovecraft had quite a sense of humor in his stories, I thought.


Maybe I just don't get the humor. Like in Duke Nukem Forever.

[megladon8]

Maybe I just don't get the humor. Like in Duke Nukem Forever.


I do believe there is a painting out there of Lovecraft receiving oralsex from twin nympho cheerleaders.

[D_Davis]

I'm alternating stories between the Long book and this:

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/7d/55/21e1810ae7a0194a45179110.L.jpg

This is my first experience with Merritt, and it won't be my last. The title story is a fantastic pulp-style adventure. While it suffers from some of the Orientalism of the period, and the fascination with the strangeness of the other, it doesn't feel as mean-spirited as some of the other pulp stuff. At one time Merritt was considered one of the masters of fantasy, but for some reason his name has fallen out of favor over the decades. I recently purchased around ten titles, and I'm really looking forward to getting into him.

[D_Davis]

I'm really interested in reading more from George MacDonald. As one of the founding fathers of modern fantasy, he was a great inspiration to C.S. Lewis and Tolkien.

For one thing, he looked damn cool:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/George_MacDonald_by_Jeffrey_of _London_c1870.jpg/200px-George_MacDonald_by_Jeffrey_of _London_c1870.jpg

And he was also a Christian minister and theologian. He was kicked out of his own church for being too liberal. He rejected much of Calvinism, and used many of his fantasy stories to explore his theological theories.

So yeah, really looking forward to reading his fantasy and his works of theology. Should be awesome.

[D_Davis]

A couple from Merritt:

"The Fox Woman"

While this may not have been the best story to kick off my time spent with Merritt, it was still a really fun read. It is a tale of revenge with a supernatural angle, steeped in the kind of Orientalism and 'fear of the other' typical to these kinds of pulp stories. However, it doesn't feel quite as mean-spirited as some of the other classic pulp tales written by authors like Howard or Lovecraft. The Orientalism here feels more like an affected narrative choice, or a call back to an era used for effect. This long short story does feel a little incomplete, and I wonder if it was actually going to be the beginnings of a novella; the book was published after Merritt's death, so that would make sense.

I've never really understood the practice of publishing story fragments and unfinished work. Either hire a writer to finish the tale, or keep it unpublished. Actually, the internet is now a great place to publish such stories.

*****

"The People of the Pit"

This early (1917) short horror story is excellent. Typical to the pulp traditions, it is about a group of white explorers exploring - looking for gold, those greedy bastards! - where they don't belong. They discover a crawling, disfigured man who tells them about his ordeal as a captive of the titular people. This tale is genuinely creepy, and Merritt describes things in an ornate manner creating a haunting atmosphere of dread and fear. Highly recommended.

[D_Davis]

Great review of Cisco's The Great Lover
http://www.bookotron.com/agony/Current/Current_Review_5.html

[Irish]

Great review of Cisco's The Great Lover
http://www.bookotron.com/agony/Current/Current_Review_5.html

That's a review of the scifi novel Robopocalypse .. ? :confused:

[D_Davis]

That's a review of the scifi novel Robopocalypse .. ? :confused:

Weird. :)

http://www.bookotron.com/agony/reviews/2011/cisco-the_great_lover.html

[D_Davis]

"Grab Bags are Dangerous," by Frank Belknap Long

OK, so it's beginning to become more evident that overt racism was one of the unifying traits of the weird tale. Are they merely products of their time? Perhaps. Although I wonder if there was something more to it, something that touches upon humanities instinctual fear of the other. This story is actually quite good; it's about a man dressing up as Friar Tuck for a child's birthday party. He is to deliver presents from a gunnysack. However, the sack he uses contains a twisted and deadly secret. He discovers that the bag once belonged to an Arab! An Arab who lived in a room that "only an Arab could live in." Could the thing in the bag be the physical manifestation of America's fear of the middle-east, of the brown? I think it makes a lot of sense.

*****

"Through the Dragon Glass," by A. Merritt

Coming off of the masterpiece that was "The People of the Pit," I knew that my chances of being disappointed with what was next were high. And while this story was not nearly as good as that previous one, it was still very awesome. I am thoroughly impressed by Merritt, and I can easily imagine him becoming one of my favorite classic weird/fantasy authors. I enjoy his style more than Lovecraft's and Clark's, so that's saying something. Like "The Fox Woman," this story deals with Orientalism, and like "The People of the Pit," it is about a white explorer discovering something that he shouldn't. This story has a particular nasty moment when the main character describes his stupid, yellow man servant. Why is he stupid? Because he can't speak English. However, the story is well-told and entertaining; it details an act of thievery during the Boxer's Rebellion and an ancient piece of art that holds an otherworldly secret. If you can get over the bits of cultural imperialism, a good time is sure to be had.

[D_Davis]

"The Drone," by A. Merritt

So far, this has been my least favorite story in the collection. It's not bad, it just doesn't elevate itself in any way past mediocre. It starts off with a bang, and I really thought that it was going to go somewhere interesting, but Merritt dials things way back as the narrative progresses. It feels more like a set-up for an entire collection based around the idea of a Fortean Society that investigates humankind's ability to change into animal forms. It's a quick and entertaining read, but it lacks any real tension.

*****

"Fisherman's Luck," by Frank Belknap Long

Well what do you know, another weird tale about those creepy Chinamen! This one takes the Orientalism a little too far; the slur "chink" is used multiple times by a character. Man, I can't imagine any Asian person reading these tales when they were published, or even now. It's starting to get to me a bit, but I'm interested in exploring why these authors chose to use Orientalism as their main source of horror; I imagine that the cultural study of this facet of the weird tale will be rewarding. It can't just be mean-spirited-ness; there has to be something more, something deeper rooted. Anyhow, this story is about a guy who has a magic fishing pole and he catches the head of a chinaman who has been dead for many years.

[megladon8]

It took me a second to realize that the "*****" was a separation between your two reviews.


I was deeply confused when you wrote that "The Drone" was basically kind of disappointing, then gave it 5 stars.

[D_Davis]

"The Last Poet and the Robots," by A. Merritt

In this story there is a man named Lau, who is, of course Chinese. But he's a good guy! Throughout most of the story, Merritt refers to him as the Chinese, and sometimes calls him Lau. However, at the end of the story, Merritt calls him Lau, the Chinese. That's the most in-depth that the character is ever described.

The story itself is quite good, and unique. Sometime in the future, mankind has been enslaved by the very robots we've created. However, a small group of artists and intellectuals have escaped to a man-made, underground habitat where they continue to create while monitoring the surface of the planet until one of them devises a way to destroy the robots.

The story is a mix of SF and fantasy and contains some wonderful descriptions of the strange sights and sounds of the setting. Merritt is very good at creating atmospheric, otherworldly locales, and with this one I really felt as though I was reading something fantastic.

*****

"The Elemental," by Frank Belknap Long

This would have made a fantastic episode of The Twilight Zone. For reals. In it, a man is possessed by a force elemental and is seemingly blessed with incredible powers. That is, until his blessing turns into a curse and he finds himself in a dire situation.

Long is very good at constructing his short stories, and "The Elemental" is expertly plotted. Things move briskly, and yet everything is clear and concise. While this story isn't really brilliant, it is nonetheless a solid SF-morality tale.

[D_Davis]

"The Hounds of Tindalos," by Frank Belknap Long

Truly a classic of the genre. "The Hounds of Tindalos" contains everything that made the weird tale such a unique kind of fiction. It is a story of a man who takes his quest for material and spiritual knowledge too far, much too far, and of the doom that befalls him once his quest for knowledge is terminated.

It's hard to imagine that someone actually wrote this story, or that there was a time before this story existed. It all just seems too perfect, and like the hounds themselves, it should seem that this story would have existed throughout all of eternity; perhaps it was not created at all, perhaps Long stumbled upon it during some drug-induced occult experience during which he traveled to other dimensions coming face to face with the chaos that existed before this flimsy realm we call reality was put into order.


(Oh yeah, it also contains some of the racism. The drug responsible for the horrific revelation that the American explorer takes is, of course, of Chinese make)

[D_Davis]

Now reading...

http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1271880061l/859561.jpg

[D_Davis]

It's so crazy to think that without George MacDonald, we may not have had Narnia, The Hobbit, and Alice in Wonderland. He was a huge inspiration on Tolkien, one of his books planted the seeds for Lewis' conversion from atheist to theist, and he played an instrumental part in getting Carroll to publish Alice. And yet he is largely overlooked today.

[D_Davis]

http://dangerousdansbookblog.blogspot .com/2011/06/merkabah-writer-interview-with-edward.html?spref=fb


Will there be more Merkabah Rider in the future? A full length novel, perhaps?
The third installment, Have Glyphs Will Travel, should be out by the end of this year. This’ll be another episodic novel, meaning it’s like a novella collection, same as the other two. I try to invoke the old Zebra Conan paperbacks, but they’re really sequential, like novels with extra-long chapters. However, I intend to complete the series sometime next year with a full length traditionally structured novel, yeah. I wanted to end it that way, like how Conan’s career unofficially ends with The Hour of The Dragon. The Rider’s also going to appear in a one-off short story called The Shomer Express in Pill Hill Press’ forthcoming monster hunter anthology, The Trigger Reflex. That should be out this year. I’ve been kicking around the idea of a collection of Civil War-era stories, featuring the Rider’s weird war adventures, and some of his travels in the west immediately after his discharge. That’d be down the road though, after the proper series ends.

[Marley]

The Merkabah Rider series does sound intriguing. I'll keep an eye out for it.

[D_Davis]

Started reading "At the Mountains of Madness" this morning. Haven't really read HPL since high school....it's been about 15 years.

I've been listening to the HPPodcraft, a podcast that examines all of HPL's work. It's really good. (http://hppodcraft.com/)

I also just ordered this:

http://cthulhulives.org/radio/images/coveratmom.jpg

A modern day radio-play of the tale. (http://cthulhulives.org/radio/DART/dart-atmom.html)

HCXiCS0f1gg

[Marley]

Oh cool, I love me some HP Lovecraft. Very cool link. *bookmarked*

For those who have read Game of Thrones, when does it actually get good? I'm currently around page 400 and I understand that this is a detailed and bloated high-fantasy series that requires a little bit of patience to get going but still, something interesting happen already! So far, the book reminds me of a day-time soap-opera with boring and flat characters. Considering that I have nearly reached the half-way mark, forcing myself to finish it shouldn't be too difficult but I really hope Martin has a few tricks up his sleeve and the narrative improves.

[D_Davis]

For those who have read Game of Thrones, when does it actually get good? I'm currently around page 400 and I understand that this is a detailed and bloated high-fantasy series that requires a little bit of patience to get going but still, something interesting happen already! So far, the book reminds me of a day-time soap-opera with boring and flat characters. Considering that I have nearly reached the half-way mark, forcing myself to finish it shouldn't be too difficult but I really hope Martin has a few tricks up his sleeve and the narrative improves.

That's pretty much why I gave up on that book - twice. It's a ren-soap-opera, more of an alt-history political narrative. Not my kind of fantasy. I need something more Dunsanian, otherworldly, and mythological. Often times, when I hear people praise the book (or the series) they talk about the violence, death, and sex, or the politics, and none of these are qualities that I desire in my fantasy fiction.

I prefer the sword and sorcery of Howard and Smith, or the myth-making of Dunsany and Lovecraft, or the meta-narrative of The Dark Tower, or the weird adventures of Moorcock, Cisco and Elderac.

I've heard that something fantastic and supernatural starts to happen in the fourth book....so keep at it!

[Irish]

For those who have read Game of Thrones, when does it actually get good? I'm currently around page 400 and I understand that this is a detailed and bloated high-fantasy series that requires a little bit of patience to get going but still, something interesting happen already!

I read the first book while watching the TV show. The book really only gets going in its last 200 pages or so. The prose never improves.

I bought the second book but haven't read it yet. It's 1,000+ pages long and I keep thinking that my time would be better spent reading something else.

[D_Davis]

At the Mountains of Madness, by H.P. Lovecraft

On the surface, At the Mountains of Madness should be something that I detest.

I am a fan of brevity, and Lovecraft is the master of purple-prose, saying in impossibly-dense paragraphs what other authors would say in sentences.

I am a fan of showing, and Lovecraft's tales tend to be the ultimate in telling, using the passive voice to tell, tell, tell.

I am a fan of contextual plot, and Lovecraft unleashes one of the hugest loads of INFODUMP ever unloaded, even giving Moby Dick a run for its money as King of the INFODUMP.

These things are things that I always look for in my fiction, and they are things that Lovecraft rarely does.

However, I love this novella, and after this most recent re-read, I love it even more. In many ways, this tale can be read as the closing chapter of the first mythos cycle. It is a collection of nods and reveals as we, the readers, learn of the Old Ones and their cosmic journey and battles with the spawn of Cthulhu and the Mi-Go; we learn of the Shoggoths and of the creation of the human race; we learn of the Plataea of Leng,and of ancient lost cities; we learn of these things in great detail, as the two main characters - Danforth and Dyer - explore the hideously captivating and mysterious city of the Elder Things.

It's almost as if Lovecraft was apologizing for keeping readers in the dark for so long, of telling us that the things he was thinking were too terrible, too horrible to be put into words. Most of this novella is nothing but an incredibly long INFODUMP, an insanely-detailed decent into the cosmic history of things that we should not contemplate for the sake of our own sanity.

And it is a beautiful thing indeed.

And here is hoping that it is never, ever made into a film.

[D_Davis]

http://howardworks.com/wordsworth-righthandofdoom.jpg

Reading this now.

[D_Davis]

The Genetics of Horror: Sex and Racism in H.P. Lovecraft's Fiction (http://www.contrasoma.com/writing/lovecraft.html)




H.P. Lovecraft's racism, if recent publications are an accurate indication, is slowly being understood to be not merely an embarrassing personal failing, or the product of a conservative New England upbringing at the turn of the twentieth century. Early apologists viewed Lovecraft's racism as an unimportant element that occasionally surfaced in the background of his literature; today it is viewed as a key element in understanding Lovecraft's fiction and the nature of the world he created with it. There has been much writing dealing with the presence of atavism, hereditary memory and biological determinism in Lovecraft, and his racism thus surfaces as a means of understanding how these forces work in his fiction. However, another of Lovecraft's unconventional views (though by no means as initially apparent or bombastic as his racism) intersects at this point. What is glaringly conspicuous by its absence in Lovecraft's tales of degeneration and cursed ancestry is the very means by which these themes come into being. In a word: sex. Lovecraft's anxiety over sex and women has been well documented and pondered over by his biographers,1 (http://www.contrasoma.com/writing/lovecraft.html/#footnote1) yet it is rarely discussed in connection with his fiction, apart from the occasional note that Lovecraft excluded women in his stories because of the confusion and apprehension he felt towards them. More importantly, the subjects of women, sex and reproduction are almost never connected with Lovecraft's tales of degeneration and the racism that underlies them.

[megladon8]

While packing up books last night I came across three volumes of Howard fiction I had completely forgotten I had...


http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/3479/kulll.jpg

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/6436/kaneg.jpg

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/3565/horrorj.jpg

[Winston*]

Reading China Mieville's The Scar. I like how he spent a lot of time setting up this vivid city in Perdido Street Station, and then for the follow up ditches it and sets the whole thing on the ocean.

HBO should make a show of this series: Women with insects for heads and cactus people.

[D_Davis]

Meg - those editions are nice. I want to pick up the volume of horror.

Wintson - I need to read some Mieville. I tried reading Perdido Street Station about 5 years ago, but I didn't get into it. I think I'd appreciate him more now.

[megladon8]

Mieville is...unique.

He's like Neil Gaiman for people who hate Neil Gaiman...if you catch my drift.

[Winston*]

Mieville is...unique.

He's like Neil Gaiman for people who hate Neil Gaiman...if you catch my drift.

I don't. What do you mean?

[Marley]

That's pretty much why I gave up on that book - twice. It's a ren-soap-opera, more of an alt-history political narrative. Not my kind of fantasy. I need something more Dunsanian, otherworldly, and mythological. Often times, when I hear people praise the book (or the series) they talk about the violence, death, and sex, or the politics, and none of these are qualities that I desire in my fantasy fiction.

I prefer the sword and sorcery of Howard and Smith, or the myth-making of Dunsany and Lovecraft, or the meta-narrative of The Dark Tower, or the weird adventures of Moorcock, Cisco and Elderac.

I've heard that something fantastic and supernatural starts to happen in the fourth book....so keep at it!


I finished this novel the other day and to be honest, I really don't think this series would appeal to you at all, D.

The soap-opera elements became more tolerable as the novel switches gears around page 500 to more of the interesting drama concerning the political tensions between the different factions of the realm that lead to war. So yeah, a slow-burn and I'm glad that I stuck with it since this first book sets up the foundation for the rest of the series. The prose isn't profound and is sometimes uneven but its far from terrible. Martin does a really good job of creating a vivid world and succeeds to write some fine escapist high-fantasy literature. Sure, some of the characters fall flat but there are several stand-out ones that overshadow the others. I've also been catching up on the HBO series and not surprisingly, they are doing an excellent job with the adaptation. In many respects, I think it might even be better than the books.

[megladon8]

I don't. What do you mean?


Describing his books sounds very much like you are describing something by Gaiman. He uses high concepts to tell stories in dark fantasy worlds that often co-exist with our "normal" world. That certain ethereal tone Miéville captures is reminiscent of Gaiman's "Sandman" and high fantasy works like "American Gods" and "Neverwhere".

However, Miéville is a much more accomplished writer, with a more distinct style of prose and feels to, generally, be a more capable storyteller.

Not that I am a Gaiman-basher, I just think he's a little over-hyped. He has some really intense fans.

I think Miéville may appeal to those who are interested in a Gaiman-esque narrative and view of fantasy fiction, but with a more unique style.

[Winston*]

The Mieville "Bas-Lag" books I'm reading don't intersect with our world though. Based on these, I'd compare him more to a serious Terry Pratchett.

[D_Davis]

From what I know, Mieville has more in common with the new weird, while Gaiman is mostly urban-fantasy. Mieville is more like Cisco, Vandermeer, and authors like these. Actually, he was one of the founding authors of the new weird. Gaiman's stories usually take place in our world, and he twists familiar things to make them fantastic, where as authors like Mieville tend to create completely foreign, alien, and weird lansdscapes and settings which feel entirely unfamiliar.

[megladon8]

From what I know, Mieville has more in common with the new weird, while Gaiman is mostly urban-fantasy. Mieville is more like Cisco, Vandermeer, and authors like these. Actually, he was one of the founding authors of the new weird. Gaiman's stories usually take place in our world, and he twists familiar things to make them fantastic, where as authors like Mieville tend to create completely foreign, alien, and weird lansdscapes and settings which feel entirely unfamiliar.


This hasn't been my experience with Miéville at all.

The few things I've read by him have taken place in our world, where there is an "underworld" of magic and cults.

Which is why I see a large connection to Gaiman.

[Irish]

This book consists of ideas, images, & quotations hastily jotted down for possible future use in weird fiction. Very few are actually developed plots--for the most part they are merely suggestions or random impressions designed to set the memory or imagination working. Their sources are various--dreams, things read, casual incidents, idle conceptions, & so on.

Bruce Sterling publishes a list of Lovecraft's undeveloped story ideas:

http://www.wired.com/beyond_the_beyond/2011/07/h-p-lovecrafts-commonplace-book/

[kuehnepips]

For those who have read Game of Thrones, when does it actually get good? ... I really hope Martin has a few tricks up his sleeve and the narrative improves.

The narrative never improves and Martin doesn't use tricks.

Nonetheless I loved the four books madly and just re-read them recently, awaiting the fifth, which should be in my house next week *does a happy dance*

Meanwhile I'm reading the third Shadowmarch-book (T. Williams). Not recommended.

[D_Davis]

Bruce Sterling publishes a list of Lovecraft's undeveloped story ideas:

http://www.wired.com/beyond_the_beyond/2011/07/h-p-lovecrafts-commonplace-book/

that's pretty cool. Lot's of ideas there.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I read the past couple pages, which has me excited to read Robert E. Howard. Right now, I'm working through a Clark Ashton Smith collection called The Maker of Gargoyles. Like most, I was drawn to him via the Lovecraft connection, but Lovecraft's stories were dominantly about curious scientists and artists who confronted beings of cosmic size and indifference (or miscegenated horrors). The short story "The Maker of Gargoyles" is much more about carnal temptation, and I was shocked and delighted by how far it went

An excerpt (with potential spoilers):

He would have said, if asked for the reason of his satisfaction, that he was proud of a skilful piece of handiwork. He would not have said, and perhaps would not even have known, that in one of the gargoyles he had imprisoned all his festering rancor, all his answering spleen and hatred toward the people of Vyones, who had always hated him; and had set the image of this rancor to peer venomously down for ever from a lofty place.

It felt to me like the story would've been a perfect fit for Corman during his Poe streak; I imagined the story as Gothic and technicolor and gloriously over-the-top. Cast Peter Lorre as the sculptor, invent a corrupt priest role for Vincent Price. Argh, what could've been.

The other stories I've read are solid but less impressive. In descending order. "The Abominations of Yondo" is an imaginative weird fantasy. "The Nameless Offspring" is an effective Machen/Lovecraft ode to miscegenation. "Thirteen Phantasms" and "The Resurrection of the Rattlesnake" are unexceptional-but-respectable horror stories.

[D_Davis]

DaMU, you should definitely, and I mean definitely read The Merkabah Rider saga. You will absolutely love it. Even after all of the weird fiction I've read, I gotta say, it's my favorite. It combines the mythos with Jewish and Hebrew folklore all in a weird western setting with crazy monsters and great action.

As far as Klarkash-Ton ;) goes, I like him....in small doses. He was an absolutely amazing writer. Probably the best prose stylist of the pulp authors. I really like the atmosphere he creates, but sometimes I just don't care for the stories. Know what I mean?

Have you read A. Merritt? I just got into him this year. Another pulp author that predates Lovecraft. His story "The People of the Pit" is a masterpiece. It must have been a huge influence on Lovecraft. It is amazing.

[D_Davis]

It felt to me like the story would've been a perfect fit for Corman during his Poe streak; I imagined the story as Gothic and technicolor and gloriously over-the-top. Cast Peter Lorre as the sculptor, invent a corrupt priest role for Vincent Price. Argh, what could've been.


I agree. It actually blows my mind how few of the great pulp/weird tales have been adapted to the screen (small or large). They're so cinematic, and full of adventure!

That recent Solomon Kane film was pretty awesome.

And speaking of that bad-ass Puritan, "The Moon of Skulls" is awesome. So freaking good.

[Dead & Messed Up]

DaMU, you should definitely, and I mean definitely read The Merkabah Rider saga. You will absolutely love it. Even after all of the weird fiction I've read, I gotta say, it's my favorite. It combines the mythos with Jewish and Hebrew folklore all in a weird western setting with crazy monsters and great action.

I'll keep an eye out for it next time I'm at Dark Delicacies. Sounds very fun.


As far as Klarkash-Ton ;) goes, I like him....in small doses. He was an absolutely amazing writer. Probably the best prose stylist of the pulp authors. I really like the atmosphere he creates, but sometimes I just don't care for the stories. Know what I mean?

Oh sure. He's painting well, but his subjects aren't always colorful enough for me. As I said, the "Rattlesnake" and "Thirteen Ghosts" stories were bland.


Have you read A. Merritt? I just got into him this year. Another pulp author that predates Lovecraft. His story "The People of the Pit" is a masterpiece. It must have been a huge influence on Lovecraft. It is amazing.

Haven't read him. Another author to add to my never-ending list.

[D_Davis]

I want this.

http://www.cthulhulives.org/store/images/boxheader.gif (http://www.cthulhulives.org/store/store.lasso?1=product&2=50)

[D_Davis]

The Right Hand of Doom & Other Tales of Solomon Kane, by Robert E. Howard

Solomon Kane is a great and entertaining character, and Howard paints him with broad strokes. Even though we know next to nothing about the character's past, or his life specifically, by reading these tales we learn a great deal about the man and his ideals through his actions. Kane is blessed and cursed with the determination of a fanatic; he rights the wrongs he perceives and will stop at nothing to see his mission complete. While Howard doesn't necessarily pass judgement on Kane's Puritan rage, he doesn't let him off the hook either.

The best story in this collection is "The Moon of Skulls." It must have been one of the influences on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and it even contains the overt racism and fear of the other as Spielberg's film does. However, it also contains a death-defying adventure into the heart of an ancient city fraught with peril, black magic, and a discovery that harkens back to the days of Atlantis.

Not enough can be said about Howard's ability to write concise and exciting action sequences. They are never too long, easy to follow, cinematic and exciting.

While I haven't yet read a lot of Howard's fiction, I definitely plan on reading more in the future. Although I imagine that reading too many Howard stories in a row could become tiresome. But a tale here and there will be awesome.

[Marley]

The narrative never improves and Martin doesn't use tricks.

Nonetheless I loved the four books madly and just re-read them recently, awaiting the fifth, which should be in my house next week *does a happy dance*

Meanwhile I'm reading the third Shadowmarch-book (T. Williams). Not recommended.

I recently finished "A Clash of Kings" and enjoyed it a hell of a lot more than "Game of Thrones" although upon further reflection, the latter has considerably grown on me now that I have a more thorough understanding of the seven kingdoms along with the major players. Martin's prose can be uneven at times but he's a wonderful story-teller and I have grown to love many of the characters. I'll probably take a little break now before reading "A Storm of Swords" to mix up my reading material a bit.

Duly noted on the T. Williams books. I tried reading "Dragonbone's Chair" a long time ago but could not force myself to finish it.

[megladon8]

Reading is on hold until the move is complete.

Packed up all my shelves of books and comics.

It was kind of sickening to see how many boxes of books I have. They filled the entire trailer.

[kuehnepips]

That's why I've been living in the same house since 1991.

[D_Davis]

Even if the audio sucks, it was still worth the $25.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/281903_204744989576153_1000012 19601760_594602_7630198_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/285539_204745232909462_1000012 19601760_594603_3991481_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/282087_204745556242763_1000012 19601760_594604_7578503_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/284491_204745822909403_1000012 19601760_594606_7815743_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/268370_204746029576049_1000012 19601760_594608_4381922_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/284466_204746252909360_1000012 19601760_594610_4423391_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/269875_204746516242667_1000012 19601760_594611_6583230_n.jpg

[D_Davis]

Really looking forward to reading this:

http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1271945142l/8077093.jpg

Sounds awesome. Turns out, I've seen a film - The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao - based on one of the author's books - The Circus of Dr. Lao. I think I'm going to like this author a great deal. This particular book is a collection of weird westerns, written in the 1950s, all set in the fictitious city of Manacle, Arizona.

I got this book in a lot of vintage Pyramid books I purchased off of eBay; it looks like there are some really cool discoveries to be made here. I got 25 vintage paperbacks for only $50, and I've already discovered that a few of them sell for $5-15 a piece, so not bad.

[kuehnepips]

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one."

On page 473 of A Dance with Dragons

[Dukefrukem]

I re-read World War Z during my vacation and it wasn't as good as I remember it. I don't know how this is going to translate into a movie.

Also read this:

http://assets.notebookforums.com/1/1f/1f0a1597_51kENMUo-BL._BO2204203200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-clickTopRight35-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg

It's short and it's a doctor's perspective on Zombie biology and a fictional little tale of some scientists trying to find a "cure".


I'm 300 pages deep into this:

http://assets.notebookforums.com/4/47/471fbc48_412BCA5JbH-L._BO2204203200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-clickTopRight35-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg

The most interesting insight into the US space race, spy race, arms race and R&D at Area-51. This is nonfiction and Im hooked.

[Winston*]

I read Some of Your Blood the other day, Davis. It was really good. Are all of Theodore Sturgeon's works southern gothicised takes on familiar genre tropes?

[D_Davis]

I read Some of Your Blood the other day, Davis. It was really good. Are all of Theodore Sturgeon's works southern gothicised takes on familiar genre tropes?

Glad you liked it - it's really good. But no, not all of his stuff is in that style, but it all has a very humanistic and empathetic style.

[Winston*]

Glad you liked it - it's really good. But no, not all of his stuff is in that style, but it all has a very humanistic and empathetic style.
The first part of More than Human has the same Faulkneriness. What else would you recommend?

[D_Davis]

The first part of More than Human has the same Faulkneriness. What else would you recommend?

My favorite novel of his is The Cosmic Rape, aka To Marry Medusa. That and Some of Your Blood. I've read about 1/4 of his short stories - mainly his very early ones - and liked a lot of them. I need to read many, many more though. I have the entire 13 volume set.

Oh, and I also like Godbody, his last novel.

[MadMan]

I finally got my hands on a copy of Carrie by Stephen King. I'm looking forward to reading the first book he ever wrote.

[megladon8]

"More Than Human" is bloody masterful, IMO.

[D_Davis]

The Moon Pool, by A. Merritt

The Moon Pool is a classic adventure story. One might say it is cliche, if one didn't know that it was Merritt who helped to invent everything that we now consider cliche in these kinds of stories. There are secret worlds to explore, lost races to meet, and strange, wondrous, and dangerous sites to behold.

It does tend to go on for a little too long, and parts of it could definitely be trimmed. It feels as though it was written in chunks, as some chapter-groupings are exciting and feel necessary, while other chapter-groupings are somewhat dull and meandering.

However, the good out-does the bad, and Merritt delivers an incredibly tale. I'd love to see a film made of this, perhaps even an animated film; the world in which the characters explore is brimming with imaginative locales and wild creations.

My over-all rating my possibly be closer to 3.5 than 4 out of 5, but there are definitely moments of excellence, and so I'm averaging it out.

[D_Davis]

Started this morning...

http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298111699l/750532.jpg

So good!

[D_Davis]

The Circus of Dr. Lao....wow! What a discovery! Cannot believe I stumbled upon Charles G. Finney and Wellman in the same year; the literary gods are definitely smiling upon me.

Dr. Lao is one of the most bizarre and strange things I've ever read, and it is so well written. For the life of me I can't figure out why Finney isn't more popular now; once again I discover a new favorite author who's works are sadly OOP and somewhat hard to find.

The book doesn't really have a plot. It's about a circus that comes rolling into a small Arizona town (I think most of Finney's books take place in a fictional Arizona, and are more like weird westerns than anything else). The circus is unlike anything the town folks have ever seen.

The first 20 or so pages focus on the circus parading around the town and introduces the reader to the main characters. Then the remaining pages detail an encounter each of the characters has with Dr. Lao or one of the many sideshow freaks like a gorgon, Apollonius the magician, the hound of the hedges, a satyr, a werewolf, etc.

Written in the early 1930s, I imagine the book was considered extremely risque; there is open talk about deviant sex, and lots of "hells" and "goddamns." It also deals with xenophobia and fear of the other; Finney was way ahead of the game.

I'm not done with the book (about 1/4 left to go) but I know it will end up being one of the very best books I'll read this year, and I cannot wait to read more from Finney.

[D_Davis]

The Circus of Dr. Lao, by Charles G. Finney

The Circus of Dr. Lao is a haunting, bizarre and enigmatic literary experience completely unlike anything I've ever read. I loved every single page of this strange tale, but I'll be damned if I know what it's all about.

Finney works wonders with words, and crafts a story revolving around a weird little traveling circus arriving in the small, po-dunk Arizona town of Abalone. Abalone is populated by all manner of people, and as the circus parades around the town before properly opening, Finney details the population's perception of the strange creatures on display. There is the thing that is either a man or a bear, a golden ass, a satyr, an sea-serpent, a green leaf-colored dog, and all kinds of seemingly-real monsters.

But they can't be real. Can they? They must be fakes. Right?

There are many, many layers to The Circus of Dr. Lao, and as each is peeled away Finney simply introduces more oddities and questions. The story itself deals with sexual deviancy, occult worship, the power of suggestion, the fear of otherness, and the self-discovery of truth, and sometimes we don't like what we learn.

And what's more, the weirdest part of the book is found in the appendix (coming right after one of the most incredibly befuddling endings I've ever experienced), entitled: The Catalogue (an explanation of the obvious which must be read to be appreciated). In this mysterious addendum, Finney describes every character that appears in the book, and many that don't, sub-divided into sections including sex and archetype, animal and deity and so one.

This novel has haunted me for a week, and I doubt it will leave the corners of mind any time soon. It is, indeed, like many have said, a masterpiece of fantasy. It is rare to read something truly different and unique, but Finney's The Circus of Dr. Lao is such a thing, and it is simply a treasure to be cherished.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I watched the movie a year or two back, and I wasn't too taken with its bizarre mood shifts and Oriental mysticism, although the concept itself seemed interesting. The book sounds deeper and more confident.

[D_Davis]

I watched the movie a year or two back, and I wasn't too taken with its bizarre mood shifts and Oriental mysticism, although the concept itself seemed interesting. The book sounds deeper and more confident.

The movie has very, very little to do with the book. It shares the basic premise and the title.

However, I also really like the film.

I'd say the film is OK to good, while the book is an absolute masterpiece.

[D_Davis]

Picked up some cool Horror/Fantasy anthologies yesterday. All on sale. Featuring stories from Wellman, Lansdale, Poe, Le Fanu, Lovecraft, Smith, Aickman, etc.

Phantastic Book of Ghost Stories - ed. Richard Dalby
100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories - ed. Saeeantonio & Greenberg
The Vampire Archive - ed. Otto Penzler
The Mammoth Book of Extreme Fantasy - ed. Mike Ashley
Vampires and Other Horrors - Chancellor Press
The American Fantasy Tradition - ed. Brian M. Thomsen

[Chac Mool]

Just finished Dan Simmons' "Song of Kali", about a journalist's descent into personal (and physical) hell during a few days in Calcutta.

It's a terrific little novel. The star is Simmons' evocative description of the city itself, with its chaotic sounds, smells, sights, pervasive poverty and degradation, violence. But what stuck with me was the central premise, that cities like Calcutta are like black holes of misery and violence -- of evil -- that rend the very fabric of space and time and pull visitors into their orbit in order to spread that evil.

[D_Davis]

Just finished Dan Simmons' "Song of Kali", about a journalist's descent into personal (and physical) hell during a few days in Calcutta.


I haven't read any Simmons, but he's been on my radar for a long time.

[D_Davis]

Really looking forward to starting this this week:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3ngWgUFzmq4/TiS7R4-rSNI/AAAAAAAAAQI/lPt-NdzngwA/s1600/lonesome+dove.jpg

[Dead & Messed Up]

100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories - ed. Saeeantonio & Greenberg

I like this collection very much. Varied authors, great for quick reading.

[D_Davis]

I like this collection very much. Varied authors, great for quick reading.

Yeah, it looks great. Many of these B&N anthologies are excellent; good survey of authors and styles.

[Sven]

Just finished Dan Simmons' "Song of Kali", about a journalist's descent into personal (and physical) hell during a few days in Calcutta.

It's a terrific little novel. The star is Simmons' evocative description of the city itself, with its chaotic sounds, smells, sights, pervasive poverty and degradation, violence. But what stuck with me was the central premise, that cities like Calcutta are like black holes of misery and violence -- of evil -- that rend the very fabric of space and time and pull visitors into their orbit in order to spread that evil.

Whoa. Sounds neato. I have only read Hyperion and its sequel and both were amazing, the first especially.

[kuehnepips]

Whoa. Sounds neato. I have only read Hyperion and its sequel and both were amazing, the first especially.

Now, this surprises me really.

I was waiting waiting waiting for A Dance with Dragons and now I'm disappointed.

Someone pass me a bottle please.

[D_Davis]

Started Lonesome Dove this afternoon. Hope I like it; it's a long one.

[D_Davis]

50 pages into Lonesome Dove, and I can tell I'm going to like this one quite a bit. Right now it's just focusing on introducing the characters, and there are a lot of them. I've enjoyed Lorena's chapter the best, and I hope there her and Gus's relationship continues to be interesting.

[D_Davis]

The first 90 pages of LD have totally sucked me in. Wish I could sit outside and read it all day long. Things get really good when Deets and Jake show up.

[megladon8]

The first 90 pages of LD have totally sucked me in. Wish I could sit outside and read it all day long. Things get really good when Deets and Jake show up.


McMurtry, right? I got that one for 50 cents at the library a few years back but never got around to reading it because of its daunting length. I guess I should get around to that.

[D_Davis]

McMurtry, right? I got that one for 50 cents at the library a few years back but never got around to reading it because of its daunting length. I guess I should get around to that.

Yep. It's sooooo good.

It really takes its time with the characters.

[D_Davis]

So Lonesome Dove is basically The Lord of the Rings, except rather than a quest to take a ring to a volcano, the quest is to take a heard of cattle to Montana. And so far, I like it more than LOTR.

[Irish]

No. Really. Just no. LD is nothing like LoTR. Seriously, just stop that shit.

[MadMan]

Carrie is nicely short by King standards, and if I'm not mistaken it was his first book. Its a bit unnerving that King is so good at writing really creepy, at times rather disturbing, material. The book after all begins with Carrie being pelted with tampons, followed later on by her own mother committing rather stark and brutal child abuse that had me raising my eyebrows. There is something to be said about a novel covering a teenager with growing powers she doesn't even understand, and King wisely builds up the growing storm to come, until it explodes in a rage that is both terrifying and startling. Considering that he started his career with this and then 'Salem's Lot, I'd say he was off to an excellent start early on.

[D_Davis]

No. Really. Just no. LD is nothing like LoTR. Seriously, just stop that shit.

It's actually a lot like it. They are both pulling from and building upon the myths of their countries of origin. Both are stories about assembling a party of characters to take something somewhere to better themselves and their land. LOTR takes it's time with the characters, especially at the beginning; it takes a long time for the quest to begin and for them to leave the shire. LD is similar, in that it is almost 200 pages before the party leaves Lonesome Dove to start its quest. The parties in the two books are assembled, and each of the main characters has his own specialty or "power."

[kuehnepips]

Who Fears the Devil? by Manly Wade Wellman

... If you are looking for something unique, and different, something that stands out in the glut of the fantasy and horror genres, then definitely pick up Who Fears the Devil? It is thoroughly enjoyable.

Yes it is. Thanks for the recommendation.

Have you ever read Potocki's Manuscript found in Saragossa?

[D_Davis]

Yes it is. Thanks for the recommendation.

Have you ever read Potocki's Manuscript found in Saragossa?

I have not, but I've heard of it and it sounds interesting. Should probably be on my radar.

[D_Davis]

Just ordered these:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51wAP03%2BMbL._SL500_AA300_.jp g

http://cd.pbsstatic.com/l/76/1076/9780515091076.jpg

http://img.amazon.ca/images/I/41PRMEZC1WL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Joe R. Lansdale under a pseudonym.

[Irish]

It's actually a lot like it. They are both pulling from and building upon the myths of their countries of origin. Both are stories about assembling a party of characters to take something somewhere to better themselves and their land. LOTR takes it's time with the characters, especially at the beginning; it takes a long time for the quest to begin and for them to leave the shire. LD is similar, in that it is almost 200 pages before the party leaves Lonesome Dove to start its quest. The parties in the two books are assembled, and each of the main characters has his own specialty or "power."

This is akin to saying that The Big Sleep is the same as The ABC Murders because they both involve parlor room mysteries with a detective at the center, or that Star Wars, Mad Max, and The Matrix are all the same because they all follow the hero's journey, or that The Sun Also Rises is the same as Tender is the Night because the both focus on disaffected expatriates in post-war Europe, or that, well, any big old adventure story is the same as any big old adventure story (The Three Musketeers, Gargantua and Pantagruel, Jacques the Fatalist, Count of Monte Cristo, Don Quixote, or hell even Candide).

In other words, it's an entirely superficial and shallow assessment. Saying so reduces any work to its basest components and renders it lifeless. McMurty goes places in Lonesome Dove that Tolkien never dreamed of (and to be fair they weren't places JRR was interested in going).

If you read everything through that smudgy genre-filled lens, eventually it'll come back and bite you on the ass. This is one of those times.

[D_Davis]

Everything is connected. That's how I view things. I'm a huge proponent of the monomyth, and it is especially true in works of genre fiction.

All fiction is fantasy.

***

Anyhow, picked this up yesterday at Borders.

http://images.betterworldbooks.com/006/The-Complete-Western-Stories-of-Elmore-Leonard-9780061242922.jpg

This will probably be the last book I ever buy at a Borders. That's a little sad.

[Irish]

Everything is connected. That's how I view things. I'm a huge proponent of the monomyth, and it is especially true in works of genre fiction.

All fiction is fantasy.

Given your posts in other places, this kind of rigid and limited thinking is striking.

"All fiction is fantasy" is so broad as to be meaningless, and also ignores that not all stories are based around Campbell's idea of the monomyth, not even in genre fiction.

[D_Davis]

No story is based (well I guess some are in a more post-modern way: Hiero's Journey, Snowcrash, etc...)around Campbell's idea of the monomyth; Campbell simply pointed out similarities in mythology that he observed. I do the same. For me, reading is all about connecting the dots. It's something I've always done - this is like this, which is like that, which is also a lot like this, and that is similar to this....and so on. It's how I explore fiction, discover new authors and books, and enjoy the hobby. I am constantly tracking lines through works of fiction.

[D_Davis]

Half way through LD, and it continues to be awesome. I'm taking my time with it, and really enjoying every page, every passage, and each scene. The drama and tension build slowly, and the characters are given room to grow. I love spending time with them.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Just learned that Penguin is releasing...

http://sampaints.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/machen_small.jpg

I thought they did a fantastic job assembling Lovecraft's works, and this book not only carries similar notes from weird tale scholar S. T. Joshi, it also carries a whip-smart introduction from Guillermo Del Toro.

Also, I just love the simple elegance of Penguin paperbacks.

[megladon8]

Ooo...very cool.

When's it being released, DaMU?

[Dead & Messed Up]

Ooo...very cool.

When's it being released, DaMU?

I just checked the Canada site, and it said September 27th, so it may already be in stores.

It doesn't have "The Great God Pan," though.

[megladon8]

:lol:

It doesn't have "The Great God Pan", yet the cover is a big image of Pan?

[Dead & Messed Up]

:lol:

It doesn't have "The Great God Pan", yet the cover is a big image of Pan?

Well you know. It's Penguin's equivalent of giving Keira Knightley boobs on a movie poster.

[D_Davis]

Machen definitely deserves wider recognition.

I'm pretty sure that Joshi dislikes The Great God Pan, and he and I rarely see eye-to-eye on anything. At the very least he doesn't think it is as good as its reputation suggests.

I, on the other hand, think it is a masterpiece. I've read about 1/2 of Machen's material, and it's my personal favorite.

[D_Davis]

Two duds right in a row (Sleepwalker and Kwaidan)....

Now on to something that won't be duddy, I hope.

Little, Big, by John Crowley.

[D_Davis]

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/240/458535100_7fa8d4dd5a.jpg

Little, Big is pretty good so far. It's entirely dream-like and surreal, pastoral and glacially paced. It really does feel like glimpsing another world through a cloudy mirror. I can see why so many authors consider it an unappreciated masterpiece. It's got that robust vibe to it like Gormenghast or The Worm Ouroboros, two books that Little, Big has inspired me to read soon.

If you're looking for a romantic fairy tale to read, and want something dense and challenging, check this out. I hope it holds my interest for all 600 pages - that's my only worry.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Took me nearly a year, but I finally read all of The King in Yellow.

Excellent stuff. The collection begins with a run of supernatural tales, but things shift into more traditional Romantic storytelling halfway through. I was not expecting that at all, and it took some adjustment of expectations, since the first half keeps hinting about the eponymous "King in Yellow," which is an in-universe play that drives people mad. But throughout, Robert Chambers paints a vivid picture of turn-of-century France, and his prose is slyer than I expected. The best story here, "The Demoiselle d'Ys (http://www.sff.net/people/doylemacdonald/kiy_dys.htm)," combines his first-half supernaturalism and second-half love stories into an effective and affecting tale of tragic love unbound by time.

Really glad I read this. I'm slowly but surely moving past Lovecraft, into his peers and influences. After Clark Ashton Smith and Robert Chambers, the next step is M. R. James.

[D_Davis]

"The Repairer of Reputations" is a masterpiece. Easily one of my all-time favorite weird tales.

[D_Davis]

April 2012

http://www.liljas-library.com/img/other/windthroughthekeyhole_us.jpg

[Dead & Messed Up]

This is one of those situations, like Spielberg making a new Indiana Jones movie, where I have no options.

[D_Davis]

It's going to be awesome. I cannot wait.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Finished 100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories. Very fun collection. A lot of oddballs and unexpected treats. May discuss more in-depth tonight. Recommended for fans of horror, but it also could work as a splendid primer for people who want to see the variety of the genre.

[D_Davis]

That has some Lansdale in it, right? Also, Wellman?

[Dead & Messed Up]

That has some Lansdale in it, right? Also, Wellman?

It has a Lansdale in it, yes. I'm not sure about Wellman. I'm at work now - left the book at home.

[D_Davis]

11/22/63 is getting some great reviews. Can't wait for next week!

[D_Davis]

11/22/63 is in my hot little hands. It smells particularly good.

[D_Davis]

150 pages into 11/22/63, and it is fantastic. By god can King spin a yarn. I've been on a cycle lately of liking every other King book, and I was afraid of this one since Under the Dome was so good (I think it's his singular masterpiece). I also usually don't like King's more personal stories, and was a tad disappointed when I found out that this was written in first-person POV. I prefer the epic King, the one who paints with broad brush strokes.

However, he is totally nailing the voice here. It feels so good to be in the hands of plot's master craftsman.

This is definitely a companion piece to Under the Dome, but so far the politics here are not defined with as much bombast and hyperbole.

[D_Davis]

One of my favorite things about Stephen King is the way he sets stuff up and knocks 'em down; he's a master of the shotgun rule. He masterfully does this on page 150 of 11/22/63. Here the main character, a high school English teacher, says that in all of fiction and nonfiction there is only one question the reader asks, and that is "What happened?" And it is the authors job to answer that questions with "This happened. And this. And this, too." And at the end of that chapter, I was totally like "WHAT HAPPENED?" Amazing. When it comes to spinning a yarn, King is in a class by himself.

I'm also really surprised by how deftly King has introduced an element of horror to 11/2/63. I was not expecting that. The time that the main character is spending in Derry has impending sense of doom.

And he's handling the time-travel elements with more skill than just about any author I've ever read. At one point the main character asks about the grandfather paradox, what happens if I go back in time and kill my own grandfather? To which another character answers "Why the fuck would you do that?"

Man is this novel amazing.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I was lukewarm on this new novel, but you're wearing me down. I'm also thinking that you might be right with your judgment of Under the Dome. The more I think about it, the more I love it. It's easily in my top five.

[D_Davis]

I was lukewarm on this new novel, but you're wearing me down.

I don't think you should be. It's getting rave reviews:

http://www.npr.org/2011/11/01/141911595/book-review-11-22-63
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/books/review/11-22-63-by-stephen-king-book-review.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2&ref=stephenking
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/nov/02/112263-stephen-king-review
http://www.mercurynews.com/books/ci_19282206
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2011/11/06/traveler-seeks-to-alter-past.html

It's really amazing so far. So succinctly written, and masterfully plotted. Just a real ripper.


I thought we pretty much agreed that Under the Dome was really good? 11/22/63 is definitely a companion piece to that book, in thematic way.

[D_Davis]

I woke up at 3 a.m. this morning thinking about 11/22/63. Got up and read for about an hour before falling back to sleep. At one point, I teared up a bit. I was caught totally unaware by a sweet little moment. I might be liking this one as much as Under the Dome.

[D_Davis]

While I'm still enjoying 11/22/63, the love-story aspect does go on for a little too long without any of the thrill/tension from the first two parts of the book. There are some lovely moments during the middle portion, but not enough to keep me fully engaged. I'm still really liking it. It's just that I wasn't expecting the beginning to be so captivating - I was expecting a slow, character-driven love story from the get-go. But after being surprised by some good thrills and horror in the beginning (the section in Derry), the middle portion drags just a bit. However, the good stuff is creeping back in, and I can't wait to see where it all goes.

[dreamdead]

How's the main character? A cipher for the narrative, or actually developed? This review (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/13/RVKU1LN96H.DTL)is what I fear whenever I get to it, that the engaging aspects of the narrative are everything but our central narrator (which is also one of Under the Dome's flaws in my mind, despite the wonderful flow of that text's plot)...

I'm thinking I'll read Don DeLillo's historical take on Oswald, Libra, and then check this out too, just to see how they relate.

[D_Davis]

The main character's motivations are my main concern with the novel. I've questioned them a few of times even though I'm greatly enjoying the scenarios his decisions create. So yes, it can be problematic at times.

[D_Davis]

Conversely, I'm also happy that the main character isn't, simply, a got-nothing-to-lose-so-why-the-hell-not kind of guy. King doesn't make his 2011 life something to escape from, so in that sense it's kind of interesting. He doesn't have an ideal life, but it's not terrible. I think, maybe, he's just idealistic and wants to make things better, and then he's given a really fantastic way to make a huge change.

In this sense, I think it mirrors some of the modern day politics that King has addressed here and in Under the Dome. Right now, a lot of people want to make a difference, they want things to change for the better. However, what can they (we) do? If given the chance, would you go back in time to stop the 9/11 attacks from happening?

[D_Davis]

11/22/63, by Stephen King

With 11/22/63 King takes us back to one of the watershed moments of U.S. History - the assassination of John F. Kennedy. In many ways, this novel is a companion piece to Under the Dome. Both are politically charged, dealing with issues important to King. But while Under the Dome is more bombastic, casting its evil in the light of fundamentalist Christianity and Tea Party politics, 11/22/63 is more subdued, and instead it couches its evil in the era that right-wing America wants to take "take our country back" to.

The book is basically divided into three sections. The first and third sections are fantastic - some of King's very best. I was not expecting the shotgun start, and the ending, a place where King sometimes stumbles, is one of his very best; I'd say it's pitch perfect. The final third also contains one of King's very best written paragraphs, and the events that transpire on that fateful day in Texas are as thrilling as they come - I simply couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

Unfortunately the middle portion goes on for a little too long. It's not bad, it's just kind of a disappointment after the amazing beginning. The plot stalls and we are given a pretty good little love story. Again, it's not bad, and it did hold my attention, but I did start to wonder when things were going to get exciting again.

Another problem has to do with character motivation. I've heard this mentioned in a couple of other reviews, and I'm of two minds about it. On one hand, the motivations of Jake/George, the main character, are hard to believe. He is basically just a catalyst for the plot. He does some crazy things - like volunteering to back in time to save JFK, for one! - and King never really presents any kind of grounding motivation.

On the other hand, however, I appreciate that King didn't make Jake/George simply a man-with-nothing-to-lose type character. He didn't go back in time to escape his POS modern life. He is not running away from something, he was actually running towards something. And by the end of the book I saw this more as a positive, especially given the politics of the book.

In these crazy socioeconomic and politically troubled times we live in, the desire to DO SOMETHING is stronger than ever. This can be seen in the misguided attempts behind the Tea Party movement, and even more so now in the desire to overthrow the corporate coup of America beating away in the heart of the Occupy movement. I think people now, more than ever, want to do something, no matter how drastic, to make things better. And this is exactly what Jake/George sets out to do. He is a modern day hero, and ultimately he is one that makes sense in these times even if his literary motivations are flimsy.

[D_Davis]

Just picked up the 40th Anniversary edition of The Exorcist. Blatty claims that the original was a first draft, and he always wanted to do a second, updated version. From what I've read, there are very few changes - there is one additional scene with a new character, and some new lines of dialog. I hope it is more in line with King's unabridged The Stand than it is with Lucas's Star Wars tinkering.

[D_Davis]

Finally ordered a first edition of

http://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/729294-L.jpg

Signed by Cisco.

[D_Davis]

I know that William Peter Blatty is a brilliant writer. I've seen and read almost everything he's done. However, whenever I start to read something by him I'm always shocked by just how good he is. I started the 40th Anniversary Edition of The Exorcist this morning, and it is just amazing.

[D_Davis]

Have Glyphs Will Travel, the 3rd installment of the coolest series of books ever written is out!

I absolutely cannot wait to get lost again in the world of The Merkabah Rider. This is fantasy perfection of the highest order.

[D_Davis]

So I don't know if it's because of the new updated version, or just because I'm getting more out of it during my third read, but I have to say that The Exorcist is better than ever. I used to rate Legion above it, but now I'm not quite sure. I will say one thing for sure - it shames every other piece of pop-horror I've ever read by a country mile (how long is a country mile?) in every way possible. It is smarter, funnier (this is one that often surprises people, but what should you expect from Blatty, and author who the New York Times said "nobody writes funnier lines," than?), scarier, and contains more humanity - on top of all of that, it is simply a masterfully written novel brimming with some of the very best character interaction I've ever encountered.

I was skeptical when Blatty said that this new version was the one he wanted to be remembered for, and now I am not.

[D_Davis]

Reading Every Shallow Cut, by Tom Piccirilli. It's a cool little noir thriller with a somewhat sinister and slightly supernatural undercurrent.

[D_Davis]

If you ever find yourself at the book store browsing the SF, horror, crime and mystery sections, and you see a little logo that says "CZP" on the spine of one of the books, just pick it up and buy it.

Chances are, you'll probably at least like the book, if not love it.

I love that CZP, or Chizine Publications, is releasing a bunch of genre-related novellas, especially in this day and age of bloated, epic series. You can pick up one of these small volumes, read it in a sitting or two, and have a complete experience without having to wait years for the next entry in a series only to be disappointed.

Tom Piccirilli's Every Shallow Cut is a great little noir thriller with a subtle supernatural undercurrent - there is something sinister and dark bubbling under the surface of this story about a man who has nothing else to lose, nothing worth a damn anyhow; except for his dog, Churchill, that is.

It's well written, taught, and packs an emotional punch. And what's best is that it leaves you wanting more.

[D_Davis]

Finally reading through all of the stories in the first three volumes of Clive Barker's The Books of Blood. So good. I've read a few of the stories before. "The Yattering and Jack" is still as awesome as ever.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Finally reading through all of the stories in the first three volumes of Clive Barker's The Books of Blood. So good. I've read a few of the stories before. "The Yattering and Jack" is still as awesome as ever.

Love, love, love his work here. Stories like "The Age of Desire," "In the Hills the Cities," and "Down, Satan!" remain vivid and haunting to me, despite reading them years ago. I prefer them substantially to his longer novels.

[D_Davis]

Have Glyphs Will Travel is now in my possession.

Five episodes of weird-western fiction...I cannot wait.

[megladon8]

From my (admittedly limited) experience with Clive Barker, he's really not good with full novels.

"The Hellbound Heart" is just about the longest thing I've read by him that was still any good. And while I did really like that book, I think his short stories are much better.

Still haven't finished all of the "Books of Blood". I should get on that.

[D_Davis]

From my (admittedly limited) experience with Clive Barker, he's really not good with full novels.


I like his shorter work as well, but Weaveworld is among my most favorite fantasies, and The Great and Secret Show is also amazing.

I'll be kicking off 2012 with Imajica.

Absolutely cannot wait for The Scarlet Gospel.

[megladon8]

I like his shorter work as well, but Weaveworld is among my most favorite fantasies, and The Great and Secret Show is also amazing.

I'll be kicking off 2012 with Imajica.

Absolutely cannot wait for The Scarlet Gospel.


I'll have to check out "Weaveworld" eventually, too. You've recommended that to me in the past I just never got around to it.

[D_Davis]

If you like genre fiction, and you're not reading the Merkabah Rider saga, you're reading the wrong books. Period. Wow.

[D_Davis]

Episode 9 of the Merkabah Rider saga, "The Long Sabbath," raises the bar of gruesome action to a level I've never encountered before. We're talking lawnmower scene from Dead Alive levels of gore, multiplied. The building tension and the evolving, epic nature of the main set piece is absolutely jow dropping. It also includes the nastiest stampede I've ever witnessed. Just brutal. And all so, so, SO good.