|
Post by dem bones on Jan 26, 2016 20:38:49 GMT
Conrad Williams - The Offing: "The sand and salt are coming. It will bury us, you watch. We're all going to sleep." Still not sure I fully understood this eco-horror story. The coastal resort is fast emptying as the traders realise there is something seriously up with the sea. Mum and Dad remain oblivious. He's a globe-trotting wildlife and scenery photographer, she's a dipso with a grating line in hip boho-speak. Fearne, thirteen, and resentful of being dragged away from school during term-time, heeds the superior wisdom of the locals. Dad's gone missing and, while mum gets on with her drinking, the girl sets out through the salt-laden sand for the beach hut. What she finds inside is .... very morb-o, as mum might say.
This next is more my thing; high on suspense and the horrors are worth the wait.
Peter James - Sun Over the Yard Arm: (A Twist Of The Knife, 2014). To celebrate his retirement from the bank, Tony Trollope, lifelong sailing enthusiast, readies his beloved yatch for a round-the-world cruise with Juliet, ever-faithful wife. There's has been a perfect marriage, or so Juliet believed until very recently. What's with all his sudden furtive behaviour? Is he having an affair? Adrift during a force ten gale on the Indian Ocean, Tony's dream voyage turns to nightmare, as does his smug face. Can Juliet guide the battered craft to Sri Lanka? What revelations await her there?
Lovely ending.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Jan 28, 2016 7:45:56 GMT
Simon Strantzas - First Miranda: We all came from the sea, Miranda and her sisters more-so than most. So when Jules cheated on his wife, he cheated on an unforgiving marine army. It won't end well for him, will it? There's a graphic novel in this next for sure. Simon Clark & John B. Ford - The Derelict of Death : (Steve Lines & John B. Ford [eds], The Derelict of Death & Other Stories, Rainfall, 2003). A tribute to William Hope Hodgson if I am not very much mistaken. Salvage ship Jenny Rose is quietly going about its business when an enormous satanic face of fire and darkness appears before them on the ocean. A silent ship, ominously coated in stinking black fungi, emerges from the Devil's mouth and drifts toward them at improbable speed. Only the apprentice, Will Jessop, glimpses the cowled figure at the helm before it vanishes. It must be his nerves. Captain Reynolds, no less disturbed than his men, enlists nine brave volunteers to accompany him aboard the sinister vessel, which is when the going gets really weird ... The factual interludes are very enjoyable to research and write, D. With Ocean, I could have produced another 20 there were so many myths and legends to choose from. Glad you're having fun with it so far. They certainly add something. Was looking at the Fontana equivalent, Sea Tales Of Terror, and it's among the volumes that dispensed with the 'factual' stuff altogether. It's a duller book as a consequence. Sharkbait: On July 30th 1945, the cruiser USS Indianapolis was sunk in shark-infested waters by a Jap submarine. Author provides a ghastly account of the fate which befell the 800 lucky 'survivors.' Almost certainly the most horrific item in entire book. Echoes of an Eldritch Past: Meanwhile off the coast of Chile, A Cthulhu tribute act stirs on the ocean floor.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Feb 3, 2016 13:10:50 GMT
Back to the murky depths
Jan Edwards - The Decks Below: Cthulhu Mythos malarkey. Action-heroine Georgi, who has already survived an encounter with Nyarlathotep relatively unscathed, is now lured into confrontation with another of the Deep Ones. The beautiful but deadly Cef, spawn of Hydra, has already effortlessly wiped out the crew of HMS M2, so even a hand that shoots fire and ice may not be enough to save Georgi's hide on this occasion. Is this story part of a series?
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Feb 4, 2016 5:56:45 GMT
Paul Finch - Hell in the Cathedral. (The Shadows Beneath, Enigmatic Press, 2000). Four holidaymakers in Sicily are lured to an undersea cave complex by a treacherous guide who has made it his business to provide happy meals for the resident giant octopus. The super-mollusc sets to picking off the terrified tourists one by one. High on suspense and no shortage of splatter. A scratch & sniff version would annihilate your nasal passages.
Adam Golaski - Hushed Will Be All Murmurs. The erotic nightmare of a drowning man? Seriously disconcerting imagery, but I'd be a liar if I claimed to understand this story.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Feb 5, 2016 22:33:34 GMT
Be warned. Immerse yourself in Terror Tales Of The Ocean's final story and you may well feel ..... The Urge.
Robert Shearman - And This Is Where We Falter: Pointless my even attempting a blow-by-blow account of this extraordinary closing novella. As with each Shearman story I've read, far better to ditch the obsessive note-taking and lose yourself in the strangeness of it all.
A fallen oak in the churchyard dislodges a handsome black coffin, that of the Vicar's Great-Grandfather. Closer inspection reveals that the dead man somehow inscribed a lengthy and very exciting account of a sea voyage on the interior ... until he ran out of room. Great-Granddad's tale of mass suicides, caskets from the bottom of the sea and all manner of surreal goings-on so enthuses our Holy man by proxy - he has no belief in God - that he simply must learn the outcome at whatever cost to soul and sanity ...
Despite the nightmarish quality of it all, the story ends on an upbeat note as protagonist learns there is beauty after death and neither 'God' nor 'Satan' have anything to do with anything.
So, barely out of January and already a strong 'Best Anthology of 2016' contender. As mentioned at back of the book, next in the series will be Terror Tales of Cornwall, and we know of at least two others in the planning stages!
|
|
|
Post by paulfinch on Feb 9, 2016 13:55:32 GMT
Thanks for that, D.
Glad you enjoyed and approved.
Just a quick note. TERROR TALES OF THE OCEAN was officially published in December, so if it is a contender for Anthology of the Year - which I sincerely hope it is - it's going to have to be for 2015 rather than 2016. But hey, I'm splitting hair a bit there. Really glad you thought it a worthwhile effort. All the authors did us proud, not to mention Neil Williams's cover, which is frankly gobsmacking.
|
|
|
Post by ripper on Feb 12, 2016 10:13:13 GMT
It's good to hear that Paul has more volumes of 'Terror Tales' in the pipeline. This series goes from strength to strength.
|
|
|
Post by paulfinch on Feb 12, 2016 15:04:08 GMT
As a quick update, guys. Lynda Rucker and Adam Nevill's stories have already been selected for reprint in Year's Best anthologies.
Lynda in Year's Best Weird (Mike Kelly)
Adam in Year's Best Horror (Ellen D).
|
|
|
Post by ripper on Feb 14, 2016 9:40:19 GMT
Excellent news about Lynda and Adam, Paul.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Feb 14, 2016 11:56:32 GMT
Congrats to both. I like the cover artwork for the forthcoming Terror Tales Of Cornwall, too. Splash will never seem the same. Neil Williams
|
|
|
Post by andydecker on Feb 14, 2016 21:05:33 GMT
Is this the crime novelist Paul Finch?
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Feb 15, 2016 7:25:35 GMT
Is this the crime novelist Paul Finch? The very same, Andy. Here's his blogspot.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2016 22:54:48 GMT
Congrats to both. I like the cover artwork for the forthcoming Terror Tales Of Cornwall, too. Splash will never seem the same. Neil Williams Terror indeed. This young lady seems quite accommodating. Seems to have dropped her pasties somewhere, mind.
|
|
|
Post by andydecker on Feb 20, 2016 18:45:07 GMT
Congrats to both. I like the cover artwork for the forthcoming Terror Tales Of Cornwall, too. Splash will never seem the same. Neil Williams Terror indeed. This young lady seems quite accommodating. Seems to have dropped her pasties somewhere, mind.
Good for her. Considering how awful and prude coverart has become again, this is for me a selling point. This regression to 50s shamefulness is really wearisome.
Thanks for the info, dem. Appreciated. One of These days I have to read one of his many books.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Feb 21, 2016 15:11:11 GMT
Thanks for the info, dem. Appreciated. One of These days I have to read one of his many books.
I've no hesitation in recommending the DS Mark 'Heck' Heckenberg novels, Andy. They are best read in order, so, when you're ready, start with Stalkers and see how you get on.
|
|