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Post by dem bones on Feb 16, 2015 12:35:09 GMT
but then I'm left with the feeling that everyone's in on the joke except me. I almost felt like the author was poking me and saying, 'Hah, hah. You're stupid. You don't get it.' I don't get that from Rebecca Levene's story, but think I understand where you're coming from. Some of the - to my way of thinking - pretentious, clever-clever items Stephen Jones saw fit to include in certain volumes of Mammoth Best New Horror (circa 10-17) drove me bats and led to *ahem* "a bit of a falling out" with a few people. Have only found opportunity to (re)read one more from End Of The LineSpoiler warning Best you skip what's written below , especially if you've not read Mr. Bestwick's story. ***** Simon Bestwick - The Sons of The City: Six months after Manchester's inaugural underground railway system collapsed resulting in several civilian deaths, local journalist Terry Knightley tracks down Mike Jolley, the corrupt councillor who faked his own death rather than face justice over his part in the tragedy. Jolley, who has no intention of allowing Knightley to walk free, unburdens himself of a terrible secret concerning a subterranean mutant tribe, the Marakh Shehn, who, over several generations, have developed a phenomenal capacity for tunnelling and an appetite for human meat. Successive councils have kept these molemen onside by providing them the odd tramp or hooker to feast upon in return for their co-operation. The uneasy truce held until a local businessman bribed all and sundry to pass his plans for a tube station. The Marakh Shehn always were, and remain, fiercely protective of their territory. If you're a fan of Deathline and/ or Creep, chances are you'll love this one. Its a proper pulp horror gem!
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Post by ohthehorror on Feb 20, 2015 19:14:51 GMT
You and me both Dem. I've been distracted by Richard Laymon over the past few days, and then I was killing a bit of time in the Library this morning only to come across a copy of The Grin of the Dark by Ramsey Campbell, so that'll be the next distraction now.
However, I did manage to read The Sons of the City by Simon Bestwick. I meant to google Manchester and any proposed underground system but just haven't got to it. Is it true? The multiple attempts at an underground system I mean. Either way it's a great story, and I see what you mean by it being a 'proper pulp horror gem'. If I hadn't known better I'd have been quite happy to believe it was a story from one of the old pulps. Has a feel of The Molemen Want Your Eyes about it. I hope there's some truth to the attempts at a Manchester underground. It would almost legitimize a sneaky little half-belief in Molemen or the Marakh Shehn slinking around underneath the towns and cities of England. I love the idea of a race of subterranean creatures reeking their vengeance by sinking bits of England when the mood takes them. Very good. I'm going to have to go re-read The Molemen Want Your Eyes now.
EDIT: Never mind, I've now stopped being lazy and have googled Manchester and it's ever-so-nearly underground system. There's a great little article by the guardian that sums it all up very nicely. Apparently there's what the article describes as a 'hole' under the Arndale centre to this day(although not accessible to the public), which judging from the accompanying photo was the beginnings of a tunnel which was to link it to Piccadilly and Victoria. Government cuts were to blame for it all going ka-put by all accounts. Likely story. Cuts my arse... I know what it was!!
You all probably knew all of this already of course, but it was nice to discover it myself.
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Post by dem bones on Feb 21, 2015 12:14:47 GMT
I certainly didn't and am grateful to you for sparing us the legwork (as it were). So Sons Of The City is a work of non-fiction! Should have realised that from the first sentence. The documentary evidence Jolley provides is way too convincing to be made up. I'm pretty sure it's the Arndale shopping centre comes under attack from Cthulhoid atrocities who infiltrate the anti-government movement in the Fall's TNWRA on the Grotesque album, too. Drag of it is, now I've designated the remainder of The End Of The Line as strictly for tube journeys, I've none on the immediate horizon and may not get around to the title story until Easter! I'm guessing you'll have spotted this by now, but there are several tube horrors & hauntings awaiting you on the Shrink Proof's thread, Railways - the end of the line, though Mr. Bestwick's story perhaps more readily qualifies for Subterranean Cannibals.
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Post by ohthehorror on Feb 21, 2015 16:47:01 GMT
Funny Things by Pat Cadigan is my next random selection, and what a beauty it is too. This entire story could have been a dream or the ravings of a madman(woman...) and yet we just know it isn't. We meet her in the midst of her grief. Her husband, Tommy, having had an incident on the underground, his possessions all that remain. Or are they? So now we go on a journey with her through a strange underground world where nothing is quite as it should be and Tommy may not be quite as dead as we first thought. Or is he?
So, his wife, who unless I missed it is never actually named chases around after Tommy and the woman we're sure is with him who we're also sure is as much his wife as ours is. It's a very confusing but fascinating world which I'd imagine was a lot of fun to write about. Maintenance tunnels lead from London stations to stations in Prague while Transport Police seems to know more than is usual. There's a nice little twist at the end which I probably should have seen coming a mile off but me being me, just didn't.
A very clever story, and a lot of fun too. I always had the sense that I was just a little lost in a world that wasn't quite real, or maybe it's the other way around and it's actually that bit more real than this one, at least for those that discover it. Either way, I enjoyed it immensely.
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Post by ohthehorror on Feb 22, 2015 16:33:11 GMT
Next up, The Rounds by Ramsey Campbell. This is only the second short of Ramsey's I've read, the other being Down There which I loved. This one felt less like a horror story and more like a kind of sci-fi thriller though. A man is concerned when he watches a Muslim woman leave a battered old briefcase on the train and chases after her returning it to her. He does his best not to let any prejudices get in the way and after handing it back continues on his journey. It's not as simple as that though as it turns out and the briefcase turns up again. This time he hands it to a station worker and once again continues on his journey. At this point our Mr Conrad appears to be re-living a previous moment in time or at least a similar moment, the same people are seen, the time is once again 7 minutes to 6 and he looks down to find he now has the briefcase.
It was all going so well for me right up until the last half page or so when everything starts to get all a bit timey-wimey and confusing. There's clearly a bit of time manipulation going on, and I get the impression Mr Conrad is more than he appears and is just beginning to figure that out himself. I'm not at all sure I get the significance of the lack of passenger's shadows at the end either. I'm not sure if I'm just over-thinking things or if it's deliberately supposed to be a bit confusing at the end but I'm left with the feeling that I'm missing something.
I really liked the slow, menacing undercurrent to this story even if it did defeat me at the very end. Whenever I read a story whether it's a short or not, I'm always hoping for that subtle menacing/eerie/creepy feeling that's lurking just beneath the surface but is quite rare to find I think. It was definitely present here, and I loved it for that reason. I hope to find more like this given time.
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