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Post by marksamuels on Oct 26, 2010 13:09:11 GMT
Personally, I'm rapidly coming around to the view that the type of messageboard users I refer to are best ignored, unnamed and denied the oxygen of publicity they thrive on. Within five minutes they're usually all over faceblog (or whatver it's called) going on endlessly about the criticisms and drawing even more attention to themselves. Mark S.
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Post by marksamuels on Oct 25, 2010 13:01:02 GMT
I don't think Vault's "anti-intellectual" when considered holistically. After, a quick rummage will discover threads devoted to Aickman, Machen, Campbell, James &c &c. It's more of a broad church than anything else.
Perhaps it's just not as prone to navel-gazing? Which I like. It's certainly not as far down the road like some others, i.e. more like "advertising boards" than "message boards". It seems as if they rarely talk about any other books not brought out by their own members (films, yes, strangely enough).
As for self-promotion, well, I've been banging on about my distaste for that side of things in public long before the "big argument" Des mentions. My view is that if you're worth reading, then other, unconnected, people (without prompting) will be moved to discuss what you write.
Mark S.
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Post by marksamuels on Oct 22, 2010 22:29:45 GMT
Hmm, I followed up the link to the Ramsey Campbell "Inconsequential tales" thread and the childish, shameful side of my character couldn't help wondering about the big bash at Shocklines aluded to, what was the big bust up about? Anything of particualr interest? Just being nosey in that "I have 10 minutes to kill before I pick up my daughter" way - chris I suspect it's this one: shocklinesforum.yuku.com/topic/7197/t/Shocklines-----seditious-message-board-according.html?page=1Therein, I too seem to have taken up the cudgels in the attempted annihilation of fiendish self-promoters (as ever) .... Mark S.
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Post by marksamuels on Oct 22, 2010 22:24:23 GMT
I'm still very unsure where I stand with To Lay A Ghost. Is the main character meant to be clearly just one disturbed woman, or did the writer seriously think that all women work like this? It's a pity, because it does have some redeeming features - intense atmosphere and some genuinely effective shocks - but dear God that remains one fucked-up, not-so-subtext. It's the sort of thing that the completist geek in me is glad to have seen, but that the more straightforwardly-decent chap in me is glad that he now never has to see again. Me too. Pretty mind-blowing & disturbing stuff. Like you, I also think it's wonderfully well-made. Mark S.
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Post by marksamuels on Oct 19, 2010 0:09:17 GMT
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Post by marksamuels on Oct 5, 2010 20:50:12 GMT
Well, I quite appreciated "Bernard Bought The Farm". I thought it was more like an EC comic-strip in story form than anything else; with Bernie (who's certainly a memorable, supremely nasty chap) getting his deserved come-uppance in the end. Mind you, I've heard Bernie could have escaped, and the next installment might be "Bernard Bought The Donkey Sanctuary". But that could just be a hellish rumour... Mark S.
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Post by marksamuels on Oct 2, 2010 1:17:19 GMT
It sounds good, David. Believe me, Pete's a top bloke. I've nothing but praise for him, and for Nicky (the PS team). They're a pleasure to work with. Well, I suppose I had better do that interview (thanks for the request) and show willing Do you have my email addy? If not, PM me. Mark S.
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Post by marksamuels on Oct 1, 2010 21:13:27 GMT
Glad to see things are back on track for the new revamped Prism, David, and that you're still on board.
Mark S.
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Post by marksamuels on Oct 1, 2010 9:53:13 GMT
I'm certain that Pete Crowther wouldn't have agreed to do this for mercenary motives. He's a completely honest chap. Presumably it's the new Chairman who's come up with the scheme?
Am I right in thinking that PS have issued special publications for previous WHC (and BFS?) conventions? That seems to have tipped things in their favour.
Still, I haven't been a BFS member for a couple of years now, so I'll shut up.
Anyway, sorry to hear that you won't be editing Prism, David. With you involved, the BFS seemed a better organisation.
Mark S.
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Post by marksamuels on Sept 30, 2010 0:50:30 GMT
oh, bollocks to the awards! Dem, when it comes to my personal opinion, you know I want to be presented with one so I can set fire to it on stage, trample it underfoot, and cause a right old scandal at the ceremony. Abso-blooming-lutely anti-Hollywood style. Dunno about anyone else, really. But if they are going to hand 'em out, and folk want 'em, I reckon BBoH & Charlie would get my vote. Mark S.
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Post by marksamuels on Sept 29, 2010 20:33:08 GMT
It's about time Charlie picked up a BFS gong.
Apologies to Stevo, who I know reads this board. But he's got a ton of them already.
Mark S.
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Post by marksamuels on Sept 29, 2010 0:34:45 GMT
I'm sure I'll haul the old carcass along to this one. I believe Lord and Lady P might be in attendance. On a side note, & apologies for the mention, but I have a list of around 25 pulp p.back classics to flog off if anyone's interested. Drop me a PM for a list. At least it might keep the balliffs at bay for a little longer.. Mark S.
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Post by marksamuels on Sept 28, 2010 23:47:47 GMT
Ooops, I've also read
Alex Langley "Walking the Dyke"
Must admit, I thought this was pretty middling. Apart from the "in-the-know" Alex White reference from Pan #14, it left me rather cold. It's not, on the one hand, well-written enough to be meritorious. However, on the other hand, it's not outrageous enough to be memorable.
So, imo, not much more than distinctly average.
Doesn't detract from the high quality of the anthology overall, however. In fact, it's probably a decent little tale that suffers by virtue of being displayed alongside an exceptionally powerful selection.
Mark S.
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Post by marksamuels on Sept 28, 2010 21:28:28 GMT
"The Creaking" by Anna Taborska
An excellent and disturbing little tale, in which a title is used to maximum effect. The fate of the “witch” Alice, is foreshadowed very subtly and effectively in the early part of the story, in which a terrified young boy is brutalised by his father to the extent he serves up a handy scapegoat for all the self-loathing felt by himself as an individual and by the self-hatred the community in which he lives experiences. It’s tragic, it’s horrible, it’s powerful, it’s moving and it’s nasty. What’s not to like?
"The Green Bath" by Paul Finch
Pick of the anthology thus far. I’ve long admired Paul Finch, who is as accomplished an author as the very best in the field, and has only recently been afforded a degree of the recognition he truly deserves. His account of a couple’s holiday in Cornwall, of sexual obsession and a monstrous pagan force from the age of the saints is masterful. His descriptive powers when it comes to landscape are pretty much unequalled in contemporary horror fiction, and his grasp of characterisation and motives are first-rate. This is definitely another contender for Best of... anthologies.
"New Teacher" by Craig Herbertson
What seems, at first, like a slight story, is redeemed by its powerful Roald Dahl-like twist. I have to admit, this one really caught me on the hop; and my expectation was much more “Lord of the Flies” than what actually transpires. Craig pulled out the rug from under me with this beauty. Like Dem, I really enjoyed the depictions of the booze-sodden teachers clustered in the smoky staffroom; reminded me very much of how school-life used to be back in the 70s and early 80s.
"Minos or Rhadamanthus" by Reggie Oliver
Well, for sheer quality, Reggie’s story is very much on a par with Paul Finch’s and it similarly seethes with a sense of oeutre sexuality. Whereas Paul’s was obsessive, this one’s sado-masochistic. Caverner recalls his days as a public-school boy under the tutelage of the Rev. C.W. Margetson and his titular, and symbolic, twin canes alluding to Classical Greek mythology. Seeing as it’s Reggie at work, and given the fact he is, imo, the best ghost story author now living, mere sexual kicks aren’t just what this story is all about. There’s also a persuasive sense of the corrosive guilt of characters drowning in the psychological torment of having become their own worst enemy, which, coupled with an incomparably flawless prose-style, are executed with a panache far beyond the powers of most of the highly lauded writers prominent in the field today. Again, another 1st class story and a prime contender for the Best of... horror anthologies.
I retract my claim about this being possibly the best anthology I've seen this year: it is the best anthology I've seen this year.
Mark S.
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Post by marksamuels on Sept 28, 2010 16:24:45 GMT
Sunday night in Manchester? Oh well. Impossible for me. But I think there are quite a few BFSers for whom it'll be a welcome change from London. Mark S.
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