|
Post by dem bones on Apr 22, 2013 8:41:59 GMT
David Sutton & Stephen Jones (eds.) - Dark Voices # 3: The Pan Book Of Horror (Pan, 1991) Dave Carson Bob Shaw - A Real Downer Basil Copper - The Academy Of Pain Richard Easter - Amy Ramsey Campbell - The Pattern Mark Morris - The Company Lene Kaaberbol - Puss Brian Lumley - The Picnickers Melanie Tem - Christmas With Jeremy Stephen Laws - He Who Laughs Robert Hood - Nasty little Habits Charles Wagner - Vision In A T-Bird Graham Masterton - 5a Bedford Row Kathe Koja - Impermanent Mercies David J. Schow - Not From Around Here
Contributors' notesFrom the blurb: For 32 years THE PAN BOOK OF HORROR has turned the blood in your veins to red ice. In this latest chilling collection, horror's most sinister stars and nightmarish newcomers gather together to draw you into the darkest depths of dread ... Monsters ... Mutilation .... Torture .... Suicide .... Revenge .... Possession ... Dismemberment .... Death ....
In DARK VOICES 3 the reign of terror continues.Bob Shaw - A Real Downer: Arthur Graney, press officer with a Lancs based engineering firm, is usurped by Drew Swanton, a charismatic young Southerner destined for the top. Worse still, Graney's fiancée, Beth Affleck, comes on like a lovestruck teeny-bopper whenever Drew is around. For all her angry denials, Graney just knows Beth's been unfaithful to him. Nothing left for it but to make her suffer by throwing himself off the roof of the Regency building .... Richard Easter - Amy: Mrs. Bright the cleaner gets her hand stuck in the Churchills' waste-disposal unit. Fortunately, their sweet little six year old daughter is within shouting distance, but Amy Churchill is deaf and dumb. Basil Copper - The Acadamy Of Pain: The first of the late Mr. Copper's stories I ever read and still my favourite. Seldom was he this full-on nasty again. Carstairs is a sadist who collects instruments of torture to furnish the impressive dungeon at his West Country home. Dr. Sanders, his guest for the weekend, has been having an affair with Pauline Carstairs. It's not unlikely that her husband has found out, but if so, he's playing it remarkably cool .... unless he's something unpleasant up his sleeve. Robert Hood - Nasty little Habits: Ten-year-old Warwick Badger is a crude, perennially irritating nose picking nightmare of of a boy, and when mum Grace accidentally runs him over, she' is far from upset. She and husband Jim soon learn that Warwick is even more of a pain in death.
|
|
|
Post by Craig Herbertson on Apr 22, 2013 12:21:41 GMT
Looking at Bob Shaw's name, an author who I've hardly read despite his being prolific, reminds me of a guy I met in a second hand book shop in the North west of England. He had apparently befriended Bob when the author was in trying to get some of his old first editions as he didn't have some copies of his own books. He died not long after so that must have been around 1995 I think. At the time he told me the interesting fact that Bob had never had a story turned down for publishing in his whole career.
|
|
|
Post by David A. Riley on Apr 22, 2013 13:33:55 GMT
Looking at Bob Shaw's name, an author who I've hardly read despite his being prolific, reminds me of a guy I met in a second hand book shop in the North west of England. He had apparently befriended Bob when the author was in trying to get some of his old first editions as he didn't have some copies of his own books. He died not long after so that must have been around 1995 I think. At the time he told me the interesting fact that Bob had never had a story turned down for publishing in his whole career. That's amazing. I wonder how many other writers could claim the same. Not so many, I'm sure! Bob Shaw was a great guy. I only met him twice. Once was at the Preston SF Meetings, when he was a guest speaker. I remember him telling everyone about the surgeon who told him he must never drink alcohol again, having just examined his liver up close and having seen just what a terrible state it was in. Typically, he made this sound hilarious. He also told us about his experiences with Stanley Kubrick, who he worked for once on a proposed script for a short story by Brian Aldiss. This was even more hilarious. The next time I saw him was at the 1995 World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow where, sad to say, he was drinking again. Not long after that he died.
|
|
|
Post by Craig Herbertson on Apr 22, 2013 14:15:12 GMT
Looking at Bob Shaw's name, an author who I've hardly read despite his being prolific, reminds me of a guy I met in a second hand book shop in the North west of England. He had apparently befriended Bob when the author was in trying to get some of his old first editions as he didn't have some copies of his own books. He died not long after so that must have been around 1995 I think. At the time he told me the interesting fact that Bob had never had a story turned down for publishing in his whole career. That's amazing. I wonder how many other writers could claim the same. Not so many, I'm sure! Bob Shaw was a great guy. I only met him twice. Once was at the Preston SF Meetings, when he was a guest speaker. I remember him telling everyone about the surgeon who told him he must never drink alcohol again, having just examined his liver up close and having seen just what a terrible state it was in. Typically, he made this sound hilarious. He also told us about his experiences with Stanley Kubrick, who he worked for once on a proposed script for a short story by Brian Aldiss. This was even more hilarious. The next time I saw him was at the 1995 World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow where, sad to say, he was drinking again. Not long after that he died. Sad stuff. Regarding the publishing history I remember being equally surprised when I heard that, David. I vaguely remember looking something up (this was before the internet) and I think he is quoted as saying in an interview that he always just wrote for the market and was surprised when people told him that they had trouble getting published. I've only read a few short stories - always meant to read the Ragged Astronauts because its such an intriguing title. Never got round to it.
|
|
|
Post by David A. Riley on Apr 22, 2013 14:27:27 GMT
I've only read the first of the trilogy, The Ragged Astronauts, which I think I still have somewhere. A brilliant novel and well worth reading. Hope sometime to come across the others.
Just checked on Bob Shaw on wikipedia and it turns out he died in February 1996 of cancer, so not the drink, as it turns out, at least not according to that source. Still a tragic loss. He was only 64.
|
|
|
Post by Craig Herbertson on Apr 22, 2013 17:45:58 GMT
I've only read the first of the trilogy, The Ragged Astronauts, which I think I still have somewhere. A brilliant novel and well worth reading. Hope sometime to come across the others. Just checked on Bob Shaw on wikipedia and it turns out he died in February 1996 of cancer, so not the drink, as it turns out, at least not according to that source. Still a tragic loss. He was only 64. I'll definitely put it on the hit list then. He was definitely very talented (from the few shorts I've read) but although he was widely published I get the impression he never quite built a big cult following. That's just an impression. I remember clearly being in that bookshop talking to the owner who was rather a nice bloke and who was clearly very upset about Bob not even having his own books.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Apr 23, 2013 8:45:20 GMT
Lene Kaaberbol - Puss: Every night Puss brings bloody presents to their bed. His mistress finds the dismembered mice and birds a big turn on, but her lover is disgusted. One of them will have to go.
Charles Wagner - Vision In A T-Bird: Recently split from his girlfriend, he spends the lonely weekend nights driving aimlessly through LA, where a serial killer is at large targeting single males. A skull-faced blond in a T-bird shows him more than passing interest.
Stephen Laws - He Who Laughs: Everyone's big pal Martin Rogers models himself on Tom Fool, a 14th century Jester purchased by a mad Baron who left him in no doubt that he'd be killed should he cease to amuse. Eventually Tom was walled up alive when the Baron discovered he'd been having an affair with his wife. Rogers is an unpleasant character who keeps files on his acquaintances, knowing their weaknesses making them easier to manipulate. He admits as much to college friend Peter Marsh who, shocked and disgusted, stops hanging out with him.
Some years after they've graduated, Rogers contacts Marsh, insisting he meet him at a pub in the North East on urgent business. Marsh obeys the summons despite himself. Rogers has located the remains of Tom Fool to a slimy subterranean chamber and wants his once friend along for the exhumation ...
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on May 16, 2013 18:34:32 GMT
Another pair from Dark Voices 3, both with a contemporary Weird Tales feel to them. The Masterton story is especially effective.
Mark Morris - The Company: Just four weeks ago she was a schoolgirl but all it has taken is one interview for Melody Taylor to land a dream job among the army of secretaries at Grace Toys & Novelties: you don't need a four year old in a Mighty Mouse t-shirt or the lecherous scruff shambling home with Rambo III and Chainsaw Hookers videos under his arm to tell you this is 1991 and not 2013. Melody has landed on her feet and no mistake. The manager has taken a shine to her, her colleagues are happiness personified, and even the factors are inordinately content with their lot. But why does Mr. Grace insist the new girl take home a catalogue to study? And how comes the faces on the merchandise resemble those of the employees? Melody is naive enough to investigate.
Graham Masterton - 5a Bedford Row: Worthing, August 1967. David Moore, nineteen, unemployed, drifts down to the coast, arriving on Mrs. Bristow's doorstep just as the undertaker is removing the corpse of recent tenant, Mrs. Coates. He fails to recognise this as a bad omen and takes a room regardless. This place really is purgatory on earth so he can't believe his luck when Nancy Bright, the busty mini-skirt girl in room seven, chats him up and invites him down the pub for a meal and a few pints. Nancy's estranged husband, Vince, is a biker; he sends her maintenance every week but otherwise has nothing to do with her or two-year-old Simon. Back at Bedford Row, she invites David in for a coffee and shows him her nipple rings. One trademark Masterton bad-sex interlude later and the pair are inseparable .... or so it seems to David. Unfortunately, there's a third man in Nancy's life, the undead Mr. Bristow, a centuries-old energy vampire who lives in the wardrobe and drains his conquests of every tiny spark of life, ultimately absorbing them entirely into himself ....
Pop culture references: Hendrix (Hey Joe) and the Kinks (Waterloo Sunset) on the transistor radio, Guards fags (Mrs. Bristow chainsmokes for England), Watney's Red Barrel.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Jun 15, 2013 11:42:55 GMT
Two best-of-book contenders on the spin.
Ramsey Campbell - The Pattern: No idea if it's intentional, but this reads like a claustrophobic - and bloody - take on Hester Holland's The Scream. Tony and Di move to the Cotswolds and a charming, if remote cottage on Ploughman's Path. Di is struggling to complete her latest children's' book, The Song of the Trees (about Dryads; sounds really good, too), for which Tony has provided illustrations. They're growing tetchy on account of the piercing shriek emanating from a patch of woodland. Tony learns from the initially tight-lipped drinkers at The Farmer's Rest that his new home has a terrible reputation. It would be better that they move on before tragedy strikes yet again.
Kathe Koja - Impermanent Mercies: This truly 'Weird Tale' has stuck in my brain for close on twenty years. Andy's dog, True, was decapitated by a train, but he's OK now, or, at least, his head is, as the boy had the good sense to retrieve it. Andy patiently explains to horrified grown-up pal Ellis, "He can do stuff. he always could." True's talents include human speech, mind-reading, an unerring gift for prophecy, and a terrifying growl when displeased. Ellis, a freelance photographer, begs for a picture, but True will only agree if his own demands are met. They're pretty sick ones.
|
|
|
Post by cauldronbrewer on Jun 18, 2013 16:32:09 GMT
Ramsey Campbell - The Pattern: No idea if it's intentional, but this reads like a claustrophobic - and bloody - take on Hester Holland's The Scream. Tony and Di move to the Cotswolds and a charming, if remote cottage on Ploughman's Path. Di is struggling to complete her latest children's' book, The Song of the Trees (about Dryads; sounds really good, too), for which Tony has provided illustrations. They're growing tetchy on account of the piercing shriek emanating from a patch of woodland. Tony learns from the initially tight-lipped drinkers at The Farmer's Rest that his new home has a terrible reputation. It would be better that they move on before tragedy strikes yet again. This may have been the first Campbell story I ever read (or maybe it was "The Voice of the Beach"), and it's still one of my favorites among his stories.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Jun 19, 2013 18:56:16 GMT
This may have been the first Campbell story I ever read (or maybe it was "The Voice of the Beach"), and it's still one of my favorites among his stories. A very appropriate selection for the series, too, I thought. Wouldn't have been out of place among the grimmer offerings in the 8th & 9th volumes of the Pan Books. And another good 'un; Brian Lumley - The Picnickers: As a youngster, Sandy spent the summer holiday with his Uncle Zachery in the North East. As an overworked GP to the mining community of Harden, Unc was forever out paying home visits, leaving Sandy to find his own amusement. Rejected by the local kids as a posh outsider, Sandy befriends the children of whichever gypsy family are currently camped in Slaters Copse. But not this latest lot. He doesn't like their creepy triangular eyes. Sandy takes to spying on them through his binnoculars. Another tragedy at the pit. Joe Anderson is mangled and laid to rest in the village cemetery. Uncle Zachary is horrified to learn that the grave has been disturbed, and unspeakable things done to the corpse. How strange that his nosey parker nephew should have seen the gypsies "picnicking" at the very spot. It is all too much for Muriel, Joe's widow, who takes her own life. The reverend Fawcett takes plenty of convincing, but eventually agrees to use Muriel's specially prepared coffin as a trap to snare the graveyard ghouls ...
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Jun 24, 2013 19:31:58 GMT
Last, but by no means least;
Melanie Tem - Christmas With Jeremy: Four years on from his death, Claudia is determined to enjoy Christmas with her little boy. Husband Lee and surviving son, Sean, are, of course, banned. They'd only spoil things with their treacherous insistence that Jeremy has no use for presents, that, hard as it is to accept the tragedy, she really needs to move on. That's why Claudia keeps Jeremy's room padlocked, a wise decision as it turns out, for dead kid is jealous of Sean, and throws a fit if mother shows his hated even a hint of affection ....
David J. Schow - Not From Round Here: "Move somewhere else. Don't live here ... This ain't for boys like you, with your fag hairdos, and your little Japanese cars, and your satellite TV ..."
Yuppie City slicker Carl Taske moves his family to the remote mountainside sub-hamlet of Point Pitt on the outskirts of San Francisco. Wife Suzanna and three year old Jilly thrive in their beautiful, cavernous new home, and Carl's only slight concern is how their neighbours will take to them. In the early weeks, only gnarly old hayseed Creighton Dunwoody speaks to him, and that mostly to tell him that he ain't doing right by his wife and kid by living here. Carl suspects that the old boy's hostility is due to embarrassment. Shortly after they moved in, Suzanne caught Ormly, Dunwoody's retarded, man mountain of a son, prowling naked in the woods after dark, and it seems to be a regular thing with him. And then - the horror. Something tears Brix the Alsatian limb from limb and eats out his innards. The following night, Carl looks in on the sleeping Jilly just as a clawed, oily black monstrosity is getting to work on her. Carl stands transfixed, coming in his pants (the Thing has that effect on people), as the creature does to her what it did to the dog. Taske takes up his rifle and heads over to the Creighton place for some straight answers. Appalling as the situation is, it's about to get a whole lot worse.
|
|