Wild Fell begins in the small town of Alvina, Ontario, in 1960, when Sean Schwartz asks his high school sweetheart, Brenda Egan, if she believes in ghosts. Whether he’s trying to scare her into cuddling closer, looking for some excitement to end the summer before school begins again, or is entirely sincere in his question, his question is a prelude to asking Brenda if she’ll cross a mile of Devil’s Lake to Blackmore Island to explore the remains of a mansion called Wild Fell.
December 9th, 2013. Terry Weyna´s rating: 5 | Michael Rowe | Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
Beware the Dark is a new horror and dark art magazine currently scheduled to be published three times per year. A new horror magazine is always good news, as there seems to be much more horror being written than there are outlets in which to publish it (which explains why Beware the Dark is presently closed to submissions). This magazine suggests, however, that the reason there are so few outlets is that there is little good horror being written. I’m hoping that further editions of the magazine improve on the first,
November 25th, 2013. Terry Weyna | Jack Ketchum, Joe R. Lansdale, Stephen King | Horror, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
November means that it’s already the time of year when “year’s best books” lists start getting published. Publishers Weekly is the first out of the gate, with suggestions in many categories. Amazon has its lists out, too (including this list of the best Kindle books of the year). And so does Romantic Times, with many categories that deal with fantasy literature (scroll down. . . keep scrolling. . . there you are!). And various authors and celebrities discuss their favorite books of the year at Omnivoracious, beginning with George R.R.
November 13th, 2013. Terry Weyna | World Wide Wednesday | 3 comments |
Here’s a cool Kickstarter: a Joe R. Lansdale novella with illustrations by Santiago Caruso. Lots of nice goodies for supporters, and a gorgeous project. The Kickstarter is in its last few days, and doesn’t have far to go to get over the top, so go see what you can do!
The winners of the World Fantasy Awards have been announced.
The winners of the British Fantasy Awards have been announced.
The winners of the Gemmell Awards for fantasy have been announced.
November 6th, 2013. Terry Weyna | World Wide Wednesday | 1 comment |
Issue 131 is the fifth anniversary issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and it has five extraordinary tales. The first is “Cherry Blossoms on the River of Souls” by Richard Parks. Parks’ tales, usually set in an unnamed Asian country that bears a close resemblance to Japan, often deal with characters who need to find themselves. This tale is no different. Hiroshi, a boy, tends to stare down a dry well in much of his free time, for to him the well is full of music. No one else can hear it,
November 4th, 2013. Terry Weyna | Gemma Files | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Night Boat by Robert R. McCammon
The Night Boat was Robert R. McCammon’s third published novel, first appearing in 1980. Now Subterranean Press has brought it back as a (sold out) limited edition, and also made it available in e-book format for the first time. It betrays some of the faults of a then-new writer, but also has considerable power in its portrayal of Nazi submariners, as terrifying 35 years after the end of World War II as they were in the days when they lurked in the deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean — if not more so.
November 4th, 2013. Terry Weyna´s rating: 3.5 | Robert McCammon | Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Mira Grant is the science fiction side of Seanan McGuire, the fantasy writer responsible for the OCTOBER DAYE and INCRYPTID fantasy series. Her last outing was the NEWSFLESH trilogy, which I loved (especially the first book, Feed). Now she’s published the first novel in the PARASITOLOGY duology, Parasite. And it’s a doozy.
Parasitology opens with the transcription of a video recording.
October 28th, 2013. Terry Weyna and Stefan Raets | Mira Grant | Horror | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
If you’re looking for something spooky to read for Halloween, John DeNardo has some suggestions. The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 24, edited by Stephen Jones, just landed in this house last week, so I’m all set.
It’s good news for Americans that Jo Fletcher Books is moving into the American market; I’ve been drooling over books put out by this publisher for some time now, and being able to get my hands on great British fiction makes me one happy reader.
October 23rd, 2013. Terry Weyna | World Wide Wednesday | 2 comments |
Nightmare is celebrating its first anniversary with Issue 13, and it starts off with a humdinger of a story by Norman Partridge called “10/31: Bloody Mary.” The use of the date is a deliberate reminder of 9/11, and connotes a catastrophe of equal or greater weight. On 10/31 — this year, next year, last year, we’re never told — all of the monsters became real. Somehow, on Halloween, “werewolves and witches, mummies and zombies, and other nameless things the boy would rather never see” become real. The boy (the protagonist of the story) hides during the day,
October 21st, 2013. Terry Weyna | Kaaron Warren, Margo Lanagan | Horror, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Today we welcome Christopher Golden whose short story collection Tell My Sorrows to the Stones was published a few weeks ago (here’s my review). He’s here to talk about the origins of a couple of the stories in this collection and to ask you about short stories that are meaningful to you. One random commenter will win a copy of Tell My Sorrows to the Stones.
Novels are long-term relationships. Short stories, on the other hand… short stories are flings. Some of them are quick and tawdry one night stands while others are lovely first dates that don’t lead to anything more,
October 17th, 2013. Terry Weyna | Christopher Golden | Thoughtful Thursday | 14 comments |
This book made no sense to me at all. I was hoping for some explanations at the end but it…
Oh, Marion, you say "but dark" as if it were a bad thing! 😂
Hammer Studios is... reborn? I only ever read the "Kane" stories, which I found good but dark. It's a little…
Oh...and the men used the name "The Great Northern Expedition" to throw people off as to their actual destination, even…
Oh, it IS, Marion! It is!