(First attempt at this kind of thing - couldn't find a thread on it, so hopefully it'll be of interest. Also, if the cover attachment doesn't work you'll just have to
imagine it very hard...)
Michael Shea - Polyphemus (Arkham House, 1987 & Grafton, 1990)"Beyond the occult to cosmic terror..."
Polyphemus
The Angel of Death
Uncle Tuggs
The Pearls of the Vampire Queen
The Horror on the #33
The Extra
The AutopsyMichael Shea's relative lack of success - in terms of visibility, not critically - just mystifies me.
There was a brief period in the late 80's where it looked like he might be about to rise from the ranks, but it never quite happened. A shame, as despite his low output, his novels and stories are consistently good; and also consistent in tone, theme - in vision, even.
Maybe low output's part of the reason; maybe that visionary, hallucinated quality in his writing's a bit too freaky for mainstream horror or fantasy fans.
The other problem is, his work - what little there is of it - is tricky to classify. Horror, sci-fi, fantasy, humour (or all of the above)?
Anyway, I reckon he's ace.
The only gripe I have with this collection is that it doesn't include 'Fat Face', his much-reprinted Lovecraft tale (and probably his best-known: an absolute classic, very imaginative in treatment and emphasis).
So...
Polyphemus: An exploration team on a desert planet encounters the titular alien entity. The story's presented as straight sci-fi (with interesting characterization for the humans), but the monster's grotesque biology could be straight out of Lovecraft.
The Angel of Death: Sci-fi again, but tinged with horror and black humour - this time, an alien explorer comes to earth, has sex and meets a serial killer. Sounds bizarre (and it is...), but works: especially the horrific punchline...
Uncle Tuggs: As noted in the Introduction by Algis Budrys, this tale's close to Stephen King territory - the humorous, colloquial first-person narrative of an ordinary good ole boy whose day gets worse... and worse... and worse as hideous accidents and supernatural weirdness mount up around him. The way the tone shades from comedy to blackness is really superb.
The Pearls of the Vampire Queen: An excerpt from Shea's Jack Vance-influenced novel
Nifft The Lean. A cunning thief and his wingman steal the... well, the clue's in the title.
The Horror on the #33: A brilliant mash-up of urban blight, existential dread and Lovecraftian weirdness. 'The Autopsy' is generally the best-regarded piece in the book, but for me this one's the real deal. Framed as an exchange of letters, it's the story of a wino who regains consciousness on a bus one night, and sees a passenger unmask themself to reveal... what? Part of the impact of the story is that you're given enough hints to form some very nasty guesses, but it's never stated outright what the insectile monster preying on other passengers actually is. The conversation our drunken hero has with this dreadful entity is wonderfully tense.
The Extra: Has recently(!) been expanded into a novel - which disappeared almost as soon as it came out, although second-hand copies can still be found. (Maybe Shea's just really, really unlucky?)
Think of the Schwarzenegger film of
The Running Man crossed with 50's giant bug horrors, and you're not far off. It's gruesome but fun.
The Autopsy: Needs no introduction. A pure, jolting fusion of sci-fi and horror with an ending that manages to be unutterably bleak and rather uplifting at the same time. It's pretty much flawless.
...But what does anyone else reckon? His books are easily available on Amazon, for those who want to check this bold and varied collection out.
