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Post by dem bones on Jun 1, 2008 18:25:14 GMT
Stephen Jones (ed.) - The Mammoth Book of Monsters (Robinson, 2007) David J. Schow - Visitation Ramsey Campbell - Down There Scott Edleman - The Man He Had Been Before Dennis Etchison - Calling All Monsters R. Chetwynd Hayes - The Shadmock Christopher Fowler - The Spider Kiss Nancy Holder - Cafe Endless:Spring Rain Thomas Ligotti - The Medusa Gemma Files - In the Poor Girl Taken by Surprise Syney J. Bounds - Downmarket Robert E. Howard - The Horror from the Mound Jay Lake - Fat Man Brian Lumley - The Thin People Tanith Lee - The Hill Joe R. Lansdale - Godzilla's Twelve Step Program Karl Edward Wagner - .220 Swift Robert Silverberg - Our Lady of the Sauropods Basil Copper - The Flabby Men Robert Holdstock - The Silvering Michael Marshall Smith - Someone Else's Problem Clive Barker - Rawhead Rex Kim Newman - The Chill Clutch of the Unseen I don't even need a copy of this to tell me it's another sure-fire winner from those lovely people at Robinson! They published Dracula and everything!
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Post by carolinec on Jun 1, 2008 19:40:30 GMT
That's a super cover, Dem - who did that?
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Post by dem bones on Jun 1, 2008 20:32:00 GMT
I've no idea, because I don't have a copy. I'm just working on the theory that if I keep plugging the superb ROBINSON MAMMOTH SERIES they'll send me free stuff.
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alansjf
Devils Coach Horse
Posts: 107
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Post by alansjf on Jun 1, 2008 20:41:58 GMT
I do have a copy of this one - though not to hand. Still, I'm pretty sure that cover art is by Edward Miller.
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Post by carolinec on Jun 1, 2008 21:19:17 GMT
Ah, that might explain why I like it. Aren't Edward Miller and Les Edwards the same artist?
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stephenbacon
Crab On The Rampage
www.stephenbacon.co.uk
Posts: 78
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Post by stephenbacon on Jun 2, 2008 22:34:29 GMT
Caroline, yes the are. He's got a great website at www.lesedwards.com There are some cracking pieces of art on there - many of my favourite covers have been done by him. He's also a lovely bloke.
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Post by carolinec on Jun 3, 2008 10:43:21 GMT
Cheers, Steve! ;D
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Post by dem bones on Jun 4, 2008 7:05:05 GMT
A few notes for the time being.
Downmarket is one of the late, great Syd J. Bounds' last stories and it's cheering to see that he went out on a high. 'Jimmy', a homeless vagrant, helps out at the Fruit & Veg market where he befriends the traders, even enjoys fetching and carrying for them in return for food. England is in recession but you'd not know it from these guys - they flog crates of produce as fast as Jimmy can fetch it. Comes the night Jimmy finds himself chained to the railings before a hideous, bird-shit encrusted gargoyle perched on a plinth ...
Robert E. Howard: The Horror From The Mound: Luckless Texan farmer Steve Brill inadvertently releases the undead De Valdez when he disturbs an Indian burial mound. De Valdez celebrates his freedom by killing old Lopez who has written a history of his exploits these past two centuries. While Brill, the typical musclebound Howard hero, is reading through the papers a face appears at the window ....
I don't know how Mr. Probert feels about this, but I'd have chosen R. Chetwynd-Hayes' The Humgoo over The Shadmock any day of the week you care to mention, but then I much prefer the radically reworked version of The Shadmock in the movie version of The Monster Club to RCH's original.
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Post by Johnlprobert on Jun 4, 2008 10:41:11 GMT
Did someone mention Mr RCH?
Dem - I agree with you. I think The Humgoo is the best of the five stories in The Monster Club, and yes (!) the movie reworking of The Shadmock story is much better ("You could still love me" -Barbara Kellerman melting at the end is a classic of British horror cinema).
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stephenbacon
Crab On The Rampage
www.stephenbacon.co.uk
Posts: 78
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Post by stephenbacon on Jun 4, 2008 21:45:06 GMT
While we're on the subject, anyone know where I can get copies of any of RCH collections? I think the only one I have is Tales of Fear and Fantasy.
Is there a definitive edition - or a standout collection (or should I just get them all?)
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Post by dem bones on Jun 4, 2008 22:12:16 GMT
Hi Stephen. Thanks for joining and I hope you have fun here. Chetwynd-Hayes has his own sub-section Here, where you'll find a number of reviews which may or may not be of help. My personal preference is for his first three collections - The Unbidden, Cold Terror and Terror By Night - but I think of John Probert as our resident RCH man and i'm sure he'll tell you what a load of rubbish I'm talking and set you straight. I've not got Tales Of Fear And Fantasy - any good?
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Post by benedictjjones on Jun 5, 2008 11:07:22 GMT
^dem is this one (monsters...) worth picking up? i've seen it a few times but always end up drawn to something else.
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Post by benedictjjones on Aug 6, 2008 11:08:12 GMT
GOT IT! it's next on the reading list after i finish BBoH 3 so i'll post my thoughts once i've read and digested.
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Post by benedictjjones on Aug 18, 2008 9:23:46 GMT
really enjoyed 'down there' which surprised me as i'm not a fan of RC and haven't particually liked anything of his i've read before. 'the man he had been before' was decent also. currently reading 'the medusa' and i'm enjoying it very much.
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Post by dem bones on Jun 4, 2012 10:59:43 GMT
Joe R. Lansdale - Godzilla's Twelve Step Program: Godzilla, Kong, Gorgo, Gamera the giant flying turtle and all those other anti-social misfits, attempt to put their problems behind them and attend anger management courses under the counselling of Reptilicus. The twelve step program is tough and it's not long before the occasional lapses escalate into full scale destruction. Godzilla is approached by the CIA who have a proposal. Either he stick to "legitimate" targets - specifically, "nigger Town, Chink Village, White Trash Enclave, A Clutch of Queers, Mostly Democrats" - or they'll deport him to Japan.
Scott Edleman - The Man He Had Been Before: Six years after the zombie apocalypse, Robert, fourteen, is dragged along on a dawn raid by his all American dad, Nathan, to make a man of him. The walking dead are powerless during the day which at least provides opportunity to grab provisions and whittle their numbers down some. An encounter with a zombie kid locked in a basement finally helps Robert to remember exactly what kind of man his father had been before the uprising. The revelation depresses him.
Ramsey Campbell - Down There: Elaine's branch of the Inland Revenue have temporarily moved into a vast, dilapidated block while their own undergoes renovation. Elaine is working late, alone but for her immediate manager, Steve, and alcoholic caretaker, Tuttle, who has a penchant for leaving mouldy sandwiches about the place - or so it seems. As the stormy night drags on, Elaine becomes increasingly aware of Steve's restlessness. She supposes he has a girlfriend hidden somewhere. When he suggests - then demands - that they leave the building, she is furious, but he knows what he's about. The huge sub-basement is home to a tribe of voracious fungoid blobmen.
Kim Newman - The Chill Clutch of the Unseen: Newman's tribute to Charles L. Grant's 'Oxrun dead' paperbacks. Just as he's done for a hundred years or more, former police chief Stockton takes his morning coffee and goes wait at the station to check that no monsters disembark. This stretch of Connecticut is the place they come to die, and to the best of his knowledge, down the decades he's exterminated all but one of their number: The Invisible man.
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