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Post by dem bones on May 11, 2012 8:54:24 GMT
Justin Marriott (ed.) - Paperback Fanatic #22 (May 2012) Fanatical Thoughts Results Of Reader Survey: Justin Marriott, Brian Emrich, Clive Davies, David Barraclough, James McRobert, Don Bailey, Murray Ewing, and a cast of thousands. Fanatical Mails: Bill Halvorsen, Dwayne H. Olson, Colin Clynes, Clive Davies, David Drage, David Southall, Bam!!!, John Gallagher, Andy Boot, Johnny Mains, Nigel Taylor, Kev Demant, Andreas Decker.
Justin Marriott - Forbidden Knowledge: Tandem & Award Occult Paperbacks. Justin Marriott - Fading Galaxies: The History of two legendary SF publications, Galaxy and If Justin Marriott - Double Agent: Martin Cruz Smith's psuedonymous Nick Carter and Inquisitor titles. Justin Marriott - Confessions Of A Sex Researcher: Bernardt J. Hurwood. Undercover investigations and horror anthologies. Justin Marriott - The Monster Club: Charles Birkin & R. Chetwynd-Hayes. The Tandem-Award paperbacks. Cranston McMillan - Planet Of The Tie-ins. Those Planet Of The Apes novelisations in full. Robert Bloch cover gallery
The Paperback Dungeon John Mains - Confessions of a Compulsive Book Buyer Joe Kenney - Glorious Trash: David Alexander's Phoenix series. Graham Andrews - Robert Bloch's The Couch'Review' to follow ......
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Post by dem bones on May 12, 2012 16:25:50 GMT
some initial thoughts on the latest feast for eyes and brain. My pick of the issue is, perhaps unsurprisingly The Monster Club. Eleven whole pages devoted to those unlikliest of bedfellows, Charles Birkin and R. Chetwynd-Hayes - that can't have happened often. It's a shame Birkin's first collection, Devil's Spawn (Philip Allan, 1936), and the Creeps series fall outside Paperback Fanatic's remit (perhaps we need a sister publication for mouldering hard-cover lovers), as they include some of his nastiest stories, a number of which were later reworked for the paperbacks. i'm sure Birkin had a jolly time compiling these volumes, and he'd laugh his tits off to learn that they are now considered "classics" (though not as much as he would if he knew he'd become an increasingly trendy name to drop of late). Taken as a whole, it's possible that the Creeps perpetrate more crimes versus literature than even the Not At Night's. Leaving 'Lloyd'/ Birkin's contribution's aside, too many of the stories build to some appalling situation, only for the author to pull his or her punch at the last. But they're fun, and every once in a while, genuinely disturbing. RCH was arguably at his best in the 'seventies. The later books for Kimber (those i've read, at least) have their moments but they can be incredibly frustrating - he would insist on self-sabotaging his stories with ghastly attempts at humour. Stephen Jones has long threatened a 'Best of' collection, and it's certainly a strong selection, but i'd prefer a compilation of his thirteen straightest/ saddest horror and ghost stories, if only to nail the myth that he was only about dreaming up rubbish new monsters with cripplingly unfunny names. The Death Of Me from The Unbidden (which includes my favourite RCH line, "For I desire to be negative. To be blotted out, to rest in the deep, deep pit of never was - never will be - must never be again."), Cold Terror's An Act Of Kindness or the deathly grim The Monster in his final Tandem collection, Terror By Night are proof that he could, and often did come up with the goods. Michel Parry's report on his final visit to RCH's house ends on quite the most heartbreaking paragraph to appear in PF to date. Have yet to sample the sexy spies genre so i only know Bernardt J "The Man From T.O.M.C.A.T" Hurwood for his horror anthologies and the Interview With The Vampire rip-off, By Blood Alone. i'd put him in the frame for ghost-editor of two Barnabus Collins anthologies, The Dark Shadows Book of Vampires and Werewolves and The Dark Dominion (both 1970) for Paperback Library, too. How do his, uh, sex surveys shape up against Paul Tabori's? Have had a copy of Robert Bloch's The Couch hanging around doing nothing for ages, but after reading Graham Andrews' celebration of book and film, will put that right over coming weeks. I'm not sure Graham's appraisal of H. P. Lovecraft will pass without incident .... God help you all, but i can already feel a part two coming on ....
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Post by andydecker on May 14, 2012 20:14:53 GMT
Again a great issue. The Cruz Smith article was interesting. I also think the Hayes novels very generic, I looked again into Assault on England some time ago, but didn´t finish it. On the other hand I never was a big fan of Cruz Smith, never could share the enthusiasm about Gorki Park. Loved the scans of the old Galaxy magazines. Great blurbs. These magazines really were a virtual writer work shop. Today you begin with a 500+ pages novel, back then you did lots of short stories. A different age. Planet of the Apes was fun. Again not a favorite of mine. Never read one of those, just watched the movies. Still, the first movie has one of the best endings ever. Must have been a really memorable moment back then in the cinema, to see this. It is a tie with Soylent Green is people. A highlight of course was the Birkin/RCH article. Why is this writer out of print? Everything under the sun gets done as an Ebook or a small press reprint, but not Birkin. And the prices for his old books are a bit steep. An impressive write-up. RCH is not one of my favorites. He had quite a few translations, but at the time I hated those silly stories. The Shadmock, oh boy. It´s okay for a children´s line, but in adult horror? Michel Parry's report on his final visit to RCH's house ends on quite the most heartbreaking paragraph to appear in PF to date. Well said. How incredibly sad.
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on May 14, 2012 21:22:00 GMT
Why is this writer out of print? Birkin is extremely obscure. There are only about five of us interested in him. Do not be fooled by the fact that every single one of his stories is synopsized on Wikipedia; I know who did those.
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Post by dem bones on May 14, 2012 22:13:28 GMT
Why is this writer out of print? Birkin is extremely obscure. There are only about five of us interested in him. Do not be fooled by the fact that every single one of his stories is synopsized on Wikipedia; I know who did those. But he's not really that obscure, not in the UK at least, or at least he wasn't. Hugh Lamb, Mike Ashley, Richard Dalby have long rated him. Mike even included his photo on the cover of Who's Who In Horror & Fantasy Fiction and John Pelan credits him with almost single-handedly keeping the horror genre alive in the 'sixties (even I wouldn't go that far!). i know we've damn near exhausted the 'which version of 'Alex White' was responsible for The Clinic' subject elsewhere, but having just reread it alongside The Orphanage, The Harlem Horror and Marjorie's On Starlight, i'm now more convinced than ever that, if it wasn't Birkin, then the author could have carved out a career as his tribute act.
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on May 15, 2012 9:52:50 GMT
But he's not really that obscure By "obscure" I mean I swear I had never heard of him before I found this message board. In fact, it was as if an alternate reality opened up, one in which the past had been subtly altered to accommodate the existence of Charles Birkin. I have since acquired some seemingly solid evidence in the form of old American paperback editions of his collections, but I look at them wonderingly, half expecting them to suddenly dissolve into the air and for all references to Birkin to disappear from this board.
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Post by David A. Riley on May 15, 2012 9:58:24 GMT
Oh, I agree. People on the Vault are much more in the know about writers like Birkin and RCH than even most horror fans. Birkin's stories are certainly hard to come by these days. Compared to Aickman he is certainly obscure and, other than regulars here, under appreciated.
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on May 15, 2012 10:29:19 GMT
People on the Vault are much more in the know about writers like Birkin and RCH than even most horror fans. But I was familiar with Chetwynd-Hayes, of course.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on May 15, 2012 11:32:01 GMT
Compared to Aickman he is certainly obscure and, other than regulars here, under appreciated. Aickman may be less obscure than Birkin, but I find his stories more obscure than Birkin's.
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Post by David A. Riley on May 15, 2012 12:21:03 GMT
Compared to Aickman he is certainly obscure and, other than regulars here, under appreciated. Aickman may be less obscure than Birkin, but I find his stories more obscure than Birkin's.
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Post by dem bones on May 15, 2012 18:26:40 GMT
But he's not really that obscure By "obscure" I mean I swear I had never heard of him before I found this message board. In fact, it was as if an alternate reality opened up, one in which the past had been subtly altered to accommodate the existence of Charles Birkin. I have since acquired some seemingly solid evidence in the form of old American paperback editions of his collections, but I look at them wonderingly, half expecting them to suddenly dissolve into the air and for all references to Birkin to disappear from this board. goddamit! Franklin, we've been rumbled! Other personal highlights from #22. Forbidden Knowledge, essentially a crash-course in the Tandem-Award occult - and torture (!) - titles. I seem to remember we've had a similar piece on the NEL Black magic paperbacks (fiction and non-fiction), how about a sequel examining similar titles from Arrow? My pick of this issues 'stuff i'm not the least interested in' material is the tragi-comic soap opera surrounding the final years of If and Galaxy. Were it not for the Birkin-RCH feature, this would have been a serious best of issue contender. A desperate merger, ill-conceived editorial appointments, unpaid artists in mutiny, whistle-blowers threatened with litigation - if the fall of these publications is really the demise of Tandem-Universal in microcosm, then they can't be accused of doing things by halves. Also of note, Cranston's typically exhaustive trawl through the Planet Of The Apes paperbacks (fuck my luck that i've only got one of the ropey ones). The readers' poll threw up some interesting results and i had plenty fun trying to put names to the uncredited suggestions. Regardless of the relatively poor showing for 'More Gothics', i reckon you could get a great gallery from the Paperback Library and, of course, many of their titles are horror novels in disguise. Very glad the proposed 'price guide' met with so little enthusiasm - it would have been time-consuming, energy-sapping and obsolete before the magazine came back from the printer. Am a little uneasy at the prospect of "Interviews with big collectors" which is not the same as saying it's a rubbish idea - Pulp fair superstar Peter Chapman's appearance on the Antique's Roadshow, for example, was a rare treat - just that i've witnessed enough on-line pissing contests to see me through several lifetimes. I'd hate for a similar outbreak in the pages of PF, so would like to go on record as a conscientious objector. By the way, the competition is impossible. i've said it before but it bears repeating. Paperback Fanatic is the Vault you can take to bed with you - but better.
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Post by jamesdoig on May 16, 2012 9:41:33 GMT
My copy arrived today - very cool indeed . I didn't know there was a Tandem occult series before I saw this. The Monster Club was terrific, as was the Robert Bloch gallery. The Paperback Dungeon works for me, particularly Confessions of a Compulsive Book Buyer - as a junk shop tragic, that column really appeals - it's always good reading about great finds.
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Post by Johnlprobert on May 17, 2012 7:28:36 GMT
I ordered mine yesterday! Thanks everyone (especially Dem) for banging on about it frequently enough that it still had a high profile when I popped in for my customary browse!
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