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Post by dem bones on Dec 6, 2013 16:11:53 GMT
Stephen Jones & David A. Sutton (eds) – Dark Voices 6: The Pan Book of Horror (Pan, 1994) Louis Rey Mark Timlin – What Are They Doing in the Hyacinth House? Nicholas Royle – The Trees David Case – The Cannibal Feast Kathe Koja & Barry N. Malzberg – Modern Romance Tom Cullen – The Longest Kiss Sherry Coldsmith – The Accomplice John Brunner – Written Backwards Hugh B. Cave – Just Another H.P.L. Horror Story Peter Valentine Timlett – Flies J. L. Comeau – Siren Geoff Smith – The Punch-Line Norman Partridge – Spyder W. Elizabeth Turner – Golgotha C. Bruce Hunter – The Travelling Salesman Scores Again Daniel Fox – Where It Roots, How It Fruits Nancy Holder – As Green as Hope Itself Michael Marshall Smith – The Fracture Lisa Morton – Sane Reaction Kim Newman – Where the Bodies Are Buried II: Sequel HookBlurb: THE WORLD FANTASY AWARD AND BRITISH FANTASY AWARD NOMINATED SERIES
THE PAN BOOK OF HORROR presents TODAY's Masters Of Terror
For 35 years THE PAN BOOK OF HORROR has turned the blood in your veins to red ice. In this latest chilling collection, horror's masters of menace and the talents of tomorrow gather together to bring you face-to-face with your worst nightmares ... MULTIPLE PERSONALTIES ... MYTHIC TERRORS MEXICAN GHOSTS ... MAN-EATING PLANTS...MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS ... METAMORPHOSIS... MURDER.... MANIACS .... MAGGOTS and much more
In DARK VOICES 6 the reign of terror continues.While on the subject of Dark Voices, here's a stub post for the final number in the series, before its reinvention as Dark Terrors: The Gollancz Book Of Horror Stories. These are shorts are most certainly in the tradition of the original series. David Case - The Cannibal Feast: Tyler the explorer and his native guide, Mugabi, are captured by cannibals. As the screaming Mugabi is prepared for dinner, their amiable chief, resplendent in top hat and Saville Row threads, cheerfully explains the process in meticulous detail. In deference to his guest status, Tyler is given a choice of three deaths .... Tom Cullen - The Longest Kiss: Ruth finds a steamy Polaroid of her sister, Elaine in errant husband's wallet. Never cheat on a seamstress.
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Post by erebus on Dec 10, 2013 12:12:00 GMT
Thanks to your post on this and the previous volumes I have some of these coming in the next few days ( why do I do it around Christmas ? ) Your earlier posts on the other volumes helped too. I always felt put of from getting these for some reason. Probably because through ignorance I thought the switch was to dramatic. And the covers never inspired me to buy them, although this volume is a good cover I may add. Plenty of reading to be done. And there is this Christmas thing ( Bah Humbug ! ) going on, but once I'm home and dry I may add my two pennies worth about the books .
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Post by dem bones on Dec 12, 2013 10:09:12 GMT
Thanks to your post on this and the previous volumes I have some of these coming in the next few days ( why do I do it around Christmas ? ) Your earlier posts on the other volumes helped too. I always felt put of from getting these for some reason. Probably because through ignorance I thought the switch was to dramatic. And the covers never inspired me to buy them, although this volume is a good cover I may add. Plenty of reading to be done. And there is this Christmas thing ( Bah Humbug ! ) going on, but once I'm home and dry I may add my two pennies worth about the books . Be interested to hear what you make of them, mister e! You're not wrong. The series is a shift away for sure. The mindless sadism of old has largely been discarded and it's unlikely that some of the selections would have got within bleeding distance of the Herbert Van Thal volumes, but that's not to say the Dark Voices are lacking in proper horrible horror moments.
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Post by dem bones on Dec 12, 2013 17:18:45 GMT
Five more, all of them 'good' - whatever that is. Flies is absolutely maggot-tastic!
Mark Timlin - What Are They Doing in the Hyacinth House?: Celine, a super-morbid Goth princess, summons the Devil in a New York recording studio reputedly built on the site of an Indian burial ground. Her demand; that six legendary rock stars be returned to Earth for a one night jam session. Sadly, Elvis, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Kieth Moon & John Bonham have not worn at all well.
Peter Valentine Timlett - Flies: With the death of his beloved father in a car accident and his relationship with his despised mother on ice, fourteen-year old Ben learns to provide for himself by selling fat, juicy maggots to the village fishermen. Ben farms his big beauties in a forgotten shed backing onto the neighbouring Forbes Farm. When his ma announces her intention of selling up and marrying Stanton Forbes, Ben sees an opportunity to replenish his stock.
Sherry Coldsmith - The Accomplice: Moira's latest guy can only get off with a girl if he hits her. Nothing too violent, just a tap or a mild slap. Moira finds herself liking it enough to ask what he's thinking about during these intimate moments, what would he really like to do?
He demonstrates.
Moira gives him his marching orders, only to regret it when he no longer stops by. As she recalls their all-action sex life, so her days becomes an all-consuming orgy for one until she can stand it no longer and invites his latest, brutalised ex over for mutual abuse fun. Meanwhile, some sick bastard is raping and killing the neighbourhood's cats, dogs and even a dolphin ....
C. Bruce Hunter - The Travelling Salesman Scores Again: Salesman Sam's business trip to a Florida town turns out more eventful than he'd have liked. After offloading his wares, he picks up Cindi, a promiscuous schoolgirl, for a romp in the haystacks. Unfortunately her Pa catches them at it. Sam is thrown in jail for five months until the girl's pregnancy is confirmed whereupon he's given the choice between shot-gun weapon or plain old shotgun. Sam opts for the former. After all, he's an expert in ridding himself of unwanted female company.
Geoff Smith - The Punch-Line: Aspiring gag-writer James Woodruff avenges himself on porcine comic William 'The King of Comedy' Walter, a sweary Bernard Manning type, who stole his material and made a sick sick joke at his late father, Woody's expense.
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Post by dem bones on Dec 14, 2013 12:28:31 GMT
It's been well odd - and very rewarding - revisiting Dark Voices Vols. 5 & 6 after so many years. With some stories, will reach the last few pages and "oh, now I remember ...", but others, several of the best among them, ring no bells whatsoever. A case in point is this next by legendary weird/ spicy/ shudder/ any-paying-market pulp legend, Hugh B. Cave. Sixty-plus years had passed since the likes of Stragella and Murgenstrum terrorised Strange Tales and the great man was still bashing the typewriter to good advantage. Despite its title, Just Another H.P.L. Horror Story. quite simply, isn't. Lovecraft has zero to do with it, neither do Cthulhu and his minions. Instead;
Harry Bane, a robust 62 year old, wants rid of his arthritic wife, Norina, so he'll be free to set up home with comely and sexually acrobatic Grace Walton. Harry studies various murder journals until he despairs of ever hitting upon a foolproof method of murdering Norina at no personal risk. On a whim, he investigates the gloomy, derelict farmhouse that once served as home to legendary author, Horace P. Linfear ("among lovers of horror stories [his name] ranked right up there with those of Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft."). Harry communes with his idol who is, apparently, in full agreement that Norina and her equally despised cat, Puss, must go. The dead author devises a complex strategy involving mass deception, wisteria, and a pillow. It all goes to plan, but come the anniversary ...
Old Horace always was a card.
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Post by dem bones on Dec 15, 2013 18:46:20 GMT
W. Elizabeth Turner - Golgotha: Short short. An unpleasant experience for Dorothy the tour guide while supervising a small school party through the catacombs, when a dishevelled woman in a filthy sweatshirt demands a very particular souvenir of her visit. Didn't do much for me, not that it matters. Much preferred;
Lisa Morton - Sane Reaction: John, aka 'The Picasso Killer', has honed his The Toolbox Murders tribute act to something approaching perfection. Tonight's victim, Ann, has chosen a particularly bad night to attend her first singles party. Back at her apartment, the urbane, handsome gent lets slip the mask and sets to brutalising his latest plaything. This time, however, he's underestimated his prey.
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Post by dem bones on Dec 31, 2013 7:41:33 GMT
John Brunner - Written Backwards: A bad case of sibling rivalry leads to Time Team horror on the Pluxeter Hill excavation site. Colin Tulke despises his younger brother, the much loved pop archaeologist Barrie. While he, Colin is lumbered with shrill misery guts Kathleen forever griping that his teaching post doesn't earn enough to keep her in the luxury she deserves, there's good old Barrie, radiating his smugness from the TV screen, wealthier than the Mob, wed to glamorous Californian trothy blonde Tallulah, and screwing co-host Sarah and whoever else he fancies into the bargain. So when Barrie presents him with a blank lead tablet - used by our ancestors for the purpose of cursing an enemy - as something to show the kids back at school, Colin puts it to good use. If there's anything in Barrie's mumbo jumbo, then he's signed his own death warrant. If not, Colin will expose him as a fraud and watch the bastard's celeb status evaporate overnight!
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Post by dem bones on Jan 4, 2014 7:38:18 GMT
Kathe Koja & Barry N. Malzberg - Modern Romance: A bit of a brain-strainer so not best suited to my fragile condition. Sharon is apparently wasting away in hospital. Her partner is suitably appalled that he could think of sex at a time like this, but sure enough, he has the most tenacious hard-on. Evidently, his beloved wife doesn't consider herself that beloved at all, and safe in the knowledge that she will long outlive him, reveals herself as the Faerie Queen. Plenty of sex, but I can't have been feeling that randy as this left little impression.
Norman Partridge - Spyder: The complex and competitive platonic relationship between James Dean and Vampira re-imagined. In Mr. Partridge's version, TV horror hostess 'Rigamortia' is an accomplished Occultist with a neat line in Necromancy, and Dean, desperate for a break, is happy to benefit from her strange gift. With Rebel Without A Cause (or something very like it) he achieves his dream, and spurns Rigamortia who is not one to forget a slight. It is amazing what a few drops of blood in a petrol tank will do.
Kim Newman - Where the Bodies Are Buried II: Sequel Hook: The continuing adventures of Rob Hackwill's disillusioned creator, Allan Keyes. After the dreadful sequel, Hackwill's Back!, in which he had no hand, Keyes is prevailed upon to provide an outline for Where the Bodies Are Buried III in 3-D and rescue the franchise. As was the case with L. P. Hartley's 'W.S', Keyes' fictional monster is resentful of his 'father's indifference and determines to show him the error of his ways. Neither is it a bed of roses for the screen slasher, Mal Gariazzo, who has taken to believing his own publicity. Rob Hackwill will not be portrayed as a cuddly, comedy bogeyman!
A decent second instalment for sure, but I much prefer the first and, especially, third episodes.
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Post by dem bones on Jan 19, 2014 18:29:34 GMT
Nancy Holder - As Green As Hope Itself: New Mexico. Heavily pregnant Gabriella, sixteen, is preyed upon by Llorona, "she who weeps", a demon ghost who steals the newborn of others because she murdered her own. Only the midwife and Gabriella's Ma stand between her and evil one. Will their combined efforts be enough? Clue. It's a proper horror story.
Michael Marshall Smith - The Fracture: David learns the hard way that a man with a conscience and a dreadful case of OCD shouldn't attempt two serious romances at the same time in the hope neither woman learns of the others existence. Distracted by a telephone call from an irate customer, David can't be sure he put his letters to Rachel and Susan in the correct envelopes. A frenzied dash across Kentish Town and Kings Cross to intercept the post ends in frustration, and he returns home to fret the night away. That is when the stern looking fellow in the raincoat manifests in the street below his window, brandishing the letters he can only have stolen from the pillar box. A quiet pint in The Porcupine culminates in a threatening encounter with a beer monster who knows all about David's complicated love life, and an equally unnerving brush with a crying boy in the street - the kid bitterly informs him "I hate you" - edge him further into madness. On returning home to his flat with Susan, he is met by a welcoming committee. "Schizophrenic? I'm Bleeding Quadrophenic." as Pete Townsend once wrote. Another brilliant MMS novella, almost as good as the superb More Bitter Than Death in volume 5.
Daniel Fox - Where It Roots, How It Fruits: Could be tiredness, more likely I'm just plain thick, but didn't get into this at all. The gist seems to be that Highway 61 is the road to hell, so don't go striking any deals with a gent named Elias Crawshaw should he offer you a lift. References Dylan, Bettie Smith, Elvis, Martin Luther King and James Earl Ray. Daniel Fox is AKA phenomenally successful crime author Chaz Brenchley.
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Post by dem bones on Jan 20, 2014 6:08:15 GMT
Finally, for Dark Voices 6 - how typical that Pan should cancel the series when it was enjoying a brilliant run of form; Nicholas Royle - The Trees: An excursion to M. R. James country, ostensibly to introduce Jane to his parents, though what he really intends is to explore the road leading to haunted Speedwell, the village that fell into the sea. According to a work colleague, the trees arc overhead "until they form a tight canopy" killing the light; the effect so terrified Clive and his wife that they turned the car around and drove away as fast as they could. He, inadvisedly, drives straight through and on to the beach. Something terrible slips into the back seat ..... J. L. Comeau - Siren: When his Porsche - an anniversary present from heiress wife Helen - goes off the road in the back of beyond, Alabama, there's nothing for it but that Oliver Parrish, lawyer turned best-selling author, sets out on foot in the hope of discovering what passes for civilisation in these parts. Eventually he arrives at a roadhouse, The Tomcat Club, a biker hangout, and, behind the bar, Charise, the most gorgeous young woman he's ever seen. Best of all, she's crazy for him! The one-eyed crone of a proprietress takes her seat at the bar. Miss Willis, hideous as her barmaid is pretty, is promptly mauled by a mangy cat. She laughs off the scratches, boasting to an appalled Oliver that her pet is entitled to hate her on account of she cut his balls off. Jobey Hunt, her downtrodden, geriatric husband, obviously shares the cats contempt of the woman. Once the surly bikers have finished their pool match, Charise invites Oliver to her room. She tells him that the Tom Cat Club sees few new faces, in fact the last was Lester Crimmons, soon to achieve notoriety as a serial killer specialising in under-age girls. Oliver thinks of his three beautiful daughters and shudders. Should he really be doing this? One exhausting sex session later and Oliver awakens to find that .... he isn't Oliver any more, or rather, he is, but he's exchanged bodies with Charise! Miss Willis maliciously explains the finer details of her Hex, and what wifey and his three precious little daughters can expect when his usurper arrives home. There is an escape clause, but, even if Oliver/ Charise can bring him/herself to take it, will he be in time to save his family? Graham Masterton contributed an amusing instant gender bend story to the first Hot Blood collection, but Comeau's is even more effective.
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