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Post by franklinmarsh on Aug 25, 2015 11:43:54 GMT
Call of the Damned
Weird story - might work well as a radio play. Two chaps are chatting on the 'phone. Although they both have an interest in the occult, one takes it quite seriously whereas the other uses it as a research tool for horror novels. The serious student is getting in a little too deep...an effective little shocker with one of Chas's hanging endings. Nifty nod to Dennis Wheatley!
The Revelations of Dr Maitland
Dr Maitland has been ingesting a strange kind of drug that can move you (or at least your mind, or possibly soul) through time. It helps if you believe in reincarnation. I hope it's not too much of a spoiler if I mention that there are zombie soldiers in this story.
Tourist Trap
Stereotypical brash US tourist visits stereotypical English village in search of his ancestors. Unfortunately for him, the people of the village have very long memories and things get a little less stereotypical. I felt for our American friend in this one.
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Post by franklinmarsh on Aug 26, 2015 11:43:35 GMT
Face to Face
Downright oddity. Narcissistic egoist's life starts to go awry when he begins to notice a face appearing at his shoulder, or behind people he's with. Most disconcerting (especially when he's on the job with Shirley). Rather underwhelming denouement, but good stuff along the way especially a scene in a cinema.
The Coughing Coffin
Wind up! Efficiently done.
The Madness Out of the Sea
As with the Coughing Coffin, it's a tale told tale, but this one's pretty epic. Lovecraftian, Moorcockian, brilliantly sexist. Another one that strikes me would make a good radio adaptation.
Death on the Line
An old favourite. Mysterious.
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Post by franklinmarsh on Aug 27, 2015 8:27:13 GMT
The Necronomicon
Lovecraft (obviously). Two men talking. Chas really has carved out this quirk as his own style. Despite the fact the story consists mainly of two men talking, it's still exerts a fascination.
A Bit Tasty
The old classic! Sexist or feminist? Funny either way
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Post by franklinmarsh on Aug 27, 2015 11:57:24 GMT
A Fistful of Vengeance
Seems to me a stroke of genius to include a Western in a horror collection. Would that I could do this. Reminiscent of the Leone Italian westerns, this was tremendous. And even better...
To Summon a Flesh-Eating Demon
"Now who's being all Hammer House Of Horror?" I do love this one. Charlie's finest. Two old gits of professors try to impress a student, one of them promoting a book of ritual magic, the other pooh-poohing everything about it. Guess who's in the right? A belter.
The Strombolli Collection is gonna have to go some to come up to the standard of these two.
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Post by franklinmarsh on Aug 27, 2015 20:01:25 GMT
The Strombolli Collection is gonna have to go some to come up to the standard of these two. And oh boy does it. From the deceptively lurid opening, the blummin' thing twists and turns like a decapitated snake, moving at the speed of light towards it's sickening finale. A smashing collection, building up from the obsessive Lovecraft homages and dual dialogues, to those final three stories which set the pulses racing. Bravo!
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Post by dem bones on Aug 28, 2015 12:21:36 GMT
The Strombolli Collection is gonna have to go some to come up to the standard of these two. And oh boy does it. From the deceptively lurid opening, the blummin' thing twists and turns like a decapitated snake, moving at the speed of light towards it's sickening finale. A smashing collection, building up from the obsessive Lovecraft homages and dual dialogues, to those final three stories which set the pulses racing. Bravo! A Dr. Terror classic and no mistake. That The Strombolli Collection, Face To Face, Call Of The Damned and The Madness Out Of The Sea were written especially for the book bodes well for a second collection. I absolutely adore Charlie's matey bibliophiles, surely the most ghastly shower of unctuous, back-slapping, back-stabbing bastards ever to walk the earth. Thank goodness they're not drawn from life!
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Post by franklinmarsh on Feb 22, 2018 21:58:27 GMT
'Kinell! (Possibly more to follow)
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Post by Dr Terror on Feb 22, 2018 23:29:08 GMT
Yes, you wait three years for a new book from Mortbury Press, and when one finally comes along it's this... Yeah, I know, truly sickening!
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Post by johnnymains on Feb 23, 2018 15:28:42 GMT
Ooooh, this is going to be one to read!
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Post by franklinmarsh on Feb 23, 2018 19:37:11 GMT
Not 'arf!
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Post by Dr Terror on Feb 24, 2018 11:59:58 GMT
Tell that to all the people reading Joe Pasquale's book!
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Post by fritzmaitland on Oct 31, 2021 15:04:47 GMT
October 31st - And now, the end is near, and so I fa-a-a-a-ce, the final curtain, Ha ha ha! You could say this a rather odd way to finish the month, but, for me, this is a special book, by a special man. To round it all off, I went with a favourite, and arguably Chas's finest -
A Fistful Of Vengeance. I'm all for a horror western (as will be seen shortly) so this graveyard adventure with Crazy Cal Harper was just the ticket. After interrupting fellow bank robber and ex-pal about to feel Glad (saloon girl Gladys) all over, Cal learns that the gold they heisted before his jail time is buried in a coffin in a vast civil war necropolis, Cal blasts his former ally, takes advantage of the paid for Glad and then gets a-searchin'. Helped by a crow (ho ho), he evades a bounty killer, but is goldless until he has to exhume a second coffin, in a grave bearing his own name...
To Summon A Flesh-Eating Demon. I'll never tire of this. The only one of Chas's stories he inserted into a Black Book, and it's a marvel. A jokey almost wind up tale of two academics falling out over rare occult journals, impressionable students, and the titular ritual, which, if done correctly (getting the rite right) will not only prove one of the Profs right, but lead to a gore-filled fun finale with a groan-inducing payoff. Huzzah! Happy Hallowe'en all.
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