|
Post by dem bones on May 12, 2014 6:19:41 GMT
Only 5 months into the year and could well be I've already read my 'best' anthology and novel of 2014. Martin Jenson - The Village Of Fear (NEL, April 1974) Cover photo: KEEF: Design: Roger Judd Blurb Strange screams split the night air as a young woman cries for mercy - but none is given. There are untoward happenings, things without explanation. In bewilderment, the villagers can only fear a devil or an unquiet soul is abroad in their peaceful streets.
No one is safe from the violent and malevolent intruder Doors are safely bolted, eyes peer from behind curtains. There seems no end as every fresh horror is revealed, till the very fires of Hell itself are burning in their midst.
The unknown enemy that fills the night with terror is the most deadly of them all - the enemy from Within."Lament the day ye mocked the Lord your God." Meet Austin Trench of Wellesford Parish Church, the best mad vicar Midsomer never had. Steve penned the definitive review some centuries ago, and best I can do just now is confirm that Village of Fear is indeed 128 pages of total NEL 'seventies brilliance. Fab fashion statements, a biker gang (albeit of the non-horrible variety), bed-hopping Tories and shandy abuse. "We have earned the disapproval of the establishment, baby!" Great cover photo of the Dulwich fans letting off a flare in the churchyard, too. In short: a masterpiece.
|
|
|
Post by pulphack on May 14, 2014 7:02:18 GMT
Not only does it sound wonderful, but it has a patented Marcus Keef (not his real name, surprisingly... hmm)cover - lord, the number of terrible records I was tempted into hearing because of his use of phasing, flaring, surreal juxtaposition of images, etc... His stuff is ugly and beautiful at the same time, like he has an eye that confuses good design with stuff that shouldn't work at all. Too many Vertigo and Neon releases in record trading days attest to this. He also did The Tiger Man Of Terrapore around that time, didn't he? I wonder which hipster in the NEL art dept decided to hire him? I read somewhere that his biggest success was creating The Chart Show - what a wonderfully strange career!
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on May 14, 2014 8:10:21 GMT
Not only does it sound wonderful, but it has a patented Marcus Keef (not his real name, surprisingly... hmm)cover - lord, the number of terrible records I was tempted into hearing because of his use of phasing, flaring, surreal juxtaposition of images, etc... His stuff is ugly and beautiful at the same time, like he has an eye that confuses good design with stuff that shouldn't work at all. Too many Vertigo and Neon releases in record trading days attest to this. He also did The Tiger Man Of Terrapore around that time, didn't he? I wonder which hipster in the NEL art dept decided to hire him? I read somewhere that his biggest success was creating The Chart Show - what a wonderfully strange career! Keef Keef sure came up with some corkers. I suspect the above will be familiar to certain of our regulars. According to the good people at feelnumb ("useless useless info" - brothers & sisters in arms if ever there were) the setting is Mapledurham Watermilll in Oxforshire, and the witchy model was 'Louise'. Nobody knows the cats name, but chances are, it didn't survive the shoot anyway so no big deal. Trust me, mr. hack, The Village Of Fear is an absolute gem, and the Yellow Helmets the most adorable biker gang this side of Nicky Henson's immortal Living Dead mob in Psychomania (now there's a film that deserved novelisation). Having recently survived Fleshbait and marvelled at the insanity of The Orgy of Bubastis, have to say this effortlessly tops both.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on May 30, 2014 12:44:24 GMT
NovelsVillage Of Fear still way out ahead, so this pair will have to settle for dishonourable mentions. Peter Tremayne - The Morgow Rises. Giant man-eating earthworms lay waste to sleepy Cornish village. Not a Sister Fidelma mystery. Richard Laymon - One Rainy Night. An old Houngan flips when his grandson is murdered by racist teens and unleashes the Devil's rain. A typical Laymon breasts in peril extravaganza with a dash of trad. voodoo for variations sake. Anthology26th Pan Book Of Horror Stories. Clarence Paget takes over from the late H. Van Thal and series actually improves some. Alan Temperley, Rosemary Timperley, Ian C. Strachen, John H Snellings, and B Seshadri are in particularly ghastly mood. Non-fictionMartin Lacey - El Tel Was A Space Alien. When (football) fanzines were proper.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Jun 14, 2014 15:24:41 GMT
NovelsBernard Taylor - Evil intent: In which Mr. T. grabs 'Casting The Runes' by the throat and gives it a thorough kicking. Sublime 'face of a thousand bee-stings' action an early highlight. Opera-loving Mr John Callow a strong contender for bad egg of the year, even more so than Village Of Fear's Rev Austin Trench who can at least partially excused his behaviour on social isolation/ too much religion. Callow is essentially "sane" in as much as one can make such an accusation about anybody. Laurence James - The Road. By LJ's standards unbelievably restrained. Then, just when you think he's been possessed by the unquiet spirit of E. G. Swain, the carnage, the carnage. Am not sure The Road would appeal to the more rabid elements of The Witches/ killer pigs fan club, but it worked for this reader. Cyril Donson - Draco The Dragon Man. Full of himself celebrity pot-holer is literally brought down to earth by dying subterranean race. Cue an orgy of cannibal rape, murder and bodged cremations. Short fictionGraham Masterton – Laird of Dunain. Explosive kilt and sporran action. Stephen Laws - The Crawl. Motorist fails to out-distance scythe-swinging human scarecrow.
|
|
|
Post by Johnlprobert on Jun 14, 2014 18:55:33 GMT
Stephen Laws - The Crawl. Motorist fails to out-distance scythe-swinging human scarecrow. One of my favourite short stories of all time. I finally got to tell him that a couple of years ago. First published in the Steve Jones anthology DARK OF THE NIGHT from Pumpkin Press, who didn't last long and apparently did a massive runner when they folded.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Jun 15, 2014 6:43:33 GMT
Stephen Laws - The Crawl. Motorist fails to out-distance scythe-swinging human scarecrow. One of my favourite short stories of all time. I finally got to tell him that a couple of years ago. First published in the Steve Jones anthology DARK OF THE NIGHT from Pumpkin Press, who didn't last long and apparently did a massive runner when they folded. Ah, we've a stub thread for Dark Of The Night. They did Ramsey's Ghosts & Grisly Things, too, and I think there was an Elliott O'Donnell collection?
|
|
|
Post by Johnlprobert on Jun 15, 2014 7:31:48 GMT
One of my favourite short stories of all time. I finally got to tell him that a couple of years ago. First published in the Steve Jones anthology DARK OF THE NIGHT from Pumpkin Press, who didn't last long and apparently did a massive runner when they folded. Ah, we've a stub thread for Dark Of The Night. They did Ramsey's Ghosts & Grisly Things, too, and I think there was an Elliott O'Donnell collection? I have no memory of the O'Donnell, but I have Pumpkin collections by Ramsey (Ghosts & Grisly Things), Jay Russell (Waltzes and Whispers), and Peter Atkins (The Wishmaster & Others). They also did a couple of Steve Jones anthos (Dark of the Night & White of the Moon) both of which are well worth tracking down, and a great pulpy zombie novel by Hugh B Cave called Isle of the Whisperers, which is a blast and a definite read-in-one-sitting job. There were a few other bits and pieces as well (a Dennis Etchison novel called Double Edge I think) but I'm not sure what.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Jun 15, 2014 12:51:51 GMT
Much appreciate the additional info, Lord P. You are almost certainly right about the O'Donnell volume. It's most likely I borrowed Mr. Campbell's 'Ghosts & Grisly Things' plus the spook specialist's masterpiece from mobile library at same time. I think the one I read - and am certainly after - is Confessions Of A Ghost Hunter; it was another oversize PB and featured his friend Chievo the palmist in several of the case histories. The first entry involved a tramp and a "haunted" tree. Any ideas anyone?
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Jul 19, 2014 5:25:56 GMT
Post-Word Cup special! When covers were proper of the monthThomas Altman - The True Bride (Corgi, 1983) NovelsRichard Salem - New Blood. A flawed elixir of youth brings plague, murder and zero population growth to a sleepy W. Virguinia community. J. C. Conaway - Quarrel With The Moon. Bad sex, werethings, gore & intestines - the spirit of the Hamlyn 'Nasty' lives on. Watch out for tham thar scarebuggers, missy! AnthologyPaul Finch (ed.) - Terror Tales Of WalesShort horror & supernatural fictionFrom Jessica A. Salmonson (ed.'s) - Tales By Moonlight IIStephen Gresham - The Drabbletails: Jack the Ripper killed my homework. Jody Scott - Shirley Is No Longer with Us: Shopping for bra's horror. Stefan Grabinski - The Area: When vampires were still bearable. Thomas Wiloch - Mr. Templeton’s Toyshop: Temptations Ltd. - the new premises. From Ramsey Campbell, Jack Dann & Dennis Etchison (eds.) - Gathering The BonesStephen Dedman - The Wind Sall Blow For Ever Mai: Racist cop makes surprise appearance at charity football match. Sara Douglass - The Mistress Of Marwood Hagg: The Lady Eleanor's terrible curse on he who murdered her lover. Lisa Tuttle - "The Mezzotint": A modern-day Bluebeard. Robert Devereaux - Li'l Miss Ultrasound: A beauty pageant for foetuses. Fruma Klass - Jennifer's Turn: The authorities' answer to the overpopulation crisis is like something out of The LotteryNancy Holder - Blood Gothic: When vampires were still bearable 2 ( The Mammoth Book Of Vampire Stories [New Edition]) Sporting OccasionThe F--k FIFA World Cup, Brazil 2014. Non-fictionDorian Lynskey - 33 Revolutions A Minute: A History of Protest Songs (Faber, 2010). 840 pages of smashing the system - or not, as, sadly, is too often the case. Kevin S. Eden - Wire ... Everybody Loves A History (SAF, 1991) Those we have lovedEli Wallach Tommy Ramone
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Jul 21, 2014 8:31:50 GMT
Here's the bit that was supposed to go with the Terror Tales of Wales entry above except I was a bit tired & emotional when I posted it ....
Steve Jordan - The Offspring: Something cryptozoological and deadly haunts the lake. Gary Fry - Apple of their Eyes: Student fatally swaps snakebite for cider. Stephen Volk - Matilda of the Night: Winged horror-faced banshee versus old people's home. Thana Niveau - The Face: The joys of frozen waterfall climbing in winter. Watch me everybody! What do you mean - of course it's safe! Bryn Fortey - Dialled: Zulu's never forget. Steve Lockley - Don’t Leave Me Down Here: Don't go down the mine, Dad John Llewellyn Probert - Learning The Language: The messiah of Monmouthshire is sworn to sacrifice entire population of England. One at a time. Priya Sharma – The Rising Tide: if it's not quite as cheerless as Anna Taborska's magnificent Bagpuss, it's through no lack of trying.
Those We Have Loved
James "The Rockford Files killed me. I was bleeding everywhere" Garner.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Aug 2, 2014 19:14:36 GMT
When covers were proper of the monthElliott O’Donnell – The Dead Riders (Arrow, 1964) NovelSarah Pinborough - Mayhem. 1888. The Ripper prowls Whitechapel, but Jack's the least of our concerns now the Upir has hit town. Dr. Thomas Bond, a Jesuit priest, and a mad hairdresser joins forces to do battle with the torso-tearing monster. High on atmosphere, bleak conclusion and lovers of gory bits unlikely to be disappointed. In a word: proper. Short fiction (sources; Terror Tales Of Wales, Superhorror/ The Far Reaches Of Fear, and the glorious 100 Wild Little Weird Tales). Simon Clark - Swallowing A Dirty Seed: Beginners guide to apple scrumping: the doe's and don't's. Steve Duffy - Old As The Hills: An ancient, corpse-eating pygmy race attack the village chapel. Reggie Oliver - The Druid’s Rest: The barking mad proprietor, Mr. Rhys-Griffith, has a terrible secret .... Tim Lebbon - The Flow: Respectable married mother returns home to confront her skeletons. Ray Cluley - Under The Windings of the Sea: The 'drowned city' summons the living. Paul Lewis - The Sound of the Sea: The villagers of Sŵn Y Môr are a very private people. Brian Lumley - The Viaduct: David just stepped in something unpleasant. David Drake - The Hunting Ground: Viet vets versus a giant scorpion from outer space. Joseph F. Pumilia - The Case Of James Elmo Freebish: Heads will roll and roll and roll .... Manley Wade Wellman - The Petey Car: Like Weird Tales never went away. Daphne Castell - Christina: A proper eerie trad ghost story. Ramsey Campbell - The Pattern: Always leave 'em screaming. Carl Jacobi - The Last Drive: Carjacked by a corpse. Seabury Quinn - Dark Rosaleen: Last known whereabouts believed to be Harrow Weald, North W. London .... MagazinesPaperback Fanatics 29 & 30: Includes Aus pulp atrocities, my renegade publisher hell, the power & the glory of Everest books (about time), ultraviolent adult westerns, Lair Of The White Worm rehabilitated and a series even mr. cultprint finds indefensible. There is "eclectic" and there is Paperback Fanatic. Special treatFinally getting to watch footage of The Pike in all his scaly magnificence. Thank you, yy28!
|
|
|
Post by Jason Newton on Aug 3, 2014 9:49:13 GMT
Only 5 months into the year and could well be I've already read my 'best' anthology and novel of 2014. Martin Jenson - The Village Of Fear (NEL, April 1974) Cover photo: KEEF: Design: Roger Judd Blurb Strange screams split the night air as a young woman cries for mercy - but none is given. There are untoward happenings, things without explanation. In bewilderment.the villagers can only fear a devil or an unquiet soul is abroad in their peaceful streets.
No one is safe from the violent and malevolent intruder Doors are safely bolted, eyes peer from behind curtains. There seems no end as every fresh horror is revealed, till the very fires of Hell itself are burning n.their midst.
he unknown enemy that fills he night with terror is the most deadly of them all - the enemy from Within."Lament the day ye mocked the Lord your God." Meet Austin Trench of Wellesford Parish Church, the best mad vicar Midsomer never had. Steve penned the definitive review some centuries ago, and best i can do just now is confirm that Village of Fear is indeed 128 pages of total NEL 'seventies brilliance. Fab fashion statements, a biker gang (albeit of the non-horrible variety), bed-hopping Tories and shandy abuse. "We have earned the disapproval of the establishment, baby!" Great cover photo of the Dulwich fans letting off a flare in the churchyard, too. In short: a masterpiece. I enjoyed this as a younger man.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Sept 12, 2014 3:31:03 GMT
NovelRoland Topor - The TenantDishonourable MentionsJeff Rice - The Night Stalker. Seedy reporter Carl Kolchak investigates vampire murders in LA. Robert Westbrook - Insomnia. It's so cold in Alaska. Caroline Graham - Murder At Madingley Grange. A 'twenties-themed murder mystery weekend fast gets out of hand. AnthologiesAugust Derleth - The Night Side. Personal highlights include: Alan Nelson - Professor Pfaff's Last Recital John Metcalfe - The Smoking Leg John D. Swain - One Head Well Done H. R. Wakefield - The First Sheaf H. P. Lovecraft - The Colour Out Of Space Margery Lawrence - Mr. Minchin's Midsummer Denys Val Baker - The Face In The Mirror Nelson Bond - The Mask Of Medusa Hugh Lamb - Cold FearFrederick Cowles - The House In The Forest Robert Aickman - Laura Arthur Porges - The Man Who Wouldn't Eat David A. Sutton - A Little Bit Of Egypt John Blackburn - Aunty Green VariousRobert Aickman - Wood: R. A. Lafferty - Fog In My Throat: The serum don't work. Michael Arlen - The Ghoul Of Golders Green: A macabre precursor to You've Been Framed, only difference being there is a point to the mischief and it is actually funny. From Peter Haining & Peter Cushing's Tales Of A Monster HunterVictor Rousseau - The Curse of Amen-Ra: Victor Rousseau - The Beetle Horde: Louisa May Alcott - Lost in a Pyramid, or the Mummy's Curse: Karl Tanzler von Cosel - The Secret of Elena's Tomb: One way love, one way romance, two-way post mortem sex. Rex Dolphin - Off The Map: A quiet country village where it is always the eve of the Great plague. Anna Taborska - Cyril's Mission: In the six months since Father Cyril, 60, has been re-assigned to Mortkirk, his old parish in the northeast, two infants, Mary Croft and Ollie Frampton, have gone missing. The villagers fear a paedophile and suspicion falls on the Holy Man, whose ruddy face betrays a fondness for Sainsbury's whiskey. That this story is included in a theme anthology called Worms doesn't occur to them. H. De Vere Stacpoole - Deep In The Forest: Carnivorous plant versus native S. American tribe. Gerald Kersh - The Brighton Monster: Tattooed wrestler hit by a nuclear bomb. Steffan B. Aletti - The Last Work of Pietro of Apono: A martyr unwittingly helps conjure a vampire demon. Donald R. Burleson - Night Bus: All aboard for the Cemetery Gates. Gustav Meyrink - The Purple Death: Norman Partridge - The Mummy's Heart: Morbid obsession of the momentmummy fiction Those we have lovedArchie Roy Sam 'Peff' Peffer Kirby McCauley Lauren Bacall Robin Williams Richard Attenborough James Alexander Gordon Jeff 'Nash The Slash' Plewman
|
|
|
Post by pulphack on Sept 12, 2014 5:03:11 GMT
One for the 'those we have loved section' - I discovered this week that JT Edson died in July. He was 86, I think. Retired since 2002 his last handful of westerns were published in the USA and not here. For all his faults (rabid hatred of liberals and modern western writers, his love of 'foxy boxing' when he was otherwise so prurient, etc) you could ignore these like you do your dotty uncle at Xmas parties as he was a cracking storyteller in his day. I loved his Company Z westerns set in the 1920's, some of which used JG Reeder as a character, and his Rockabye County westerns contemporary to their 1960's & 70's time of writing. 1860's-80's westerns are not my thing, but he was EVERYWHERE when I was a kid and sold 27 million copies of 130 titles. His introductions and footnotes are a hoot, too. Oh, and he used to write strips about jungle hunters and army dog units for DC Thompson comics in the '60's (he was an ex-army dog handler himself). For Vault regulars, he may be best remembered for the short Bunduki series, a son of Tarzan thing that he stopped after he had problems with the Burroughs estate (he had permission for the first four and then they got difficult about the money he was willingly paying them from his royalties, so being JT he told them where to go).
|
|