|
Post by dem bones on Dec 31, 2022 10:28:56 GMT
Usual end of year round up. The best of the worst, stuff that stuck, etc. AnthologiesPaul Finch [ed.] - Terror Tales of the West CountryDuane Parsons [ed. ]- The Night SeasonsJames Doig [ed.] - Australian NightmaresRobert Bloch [ed.] - Psycho-PathsPeter Coleburn & Jan Edwards [eds] - Alchemy Press Book of Horror 2Christopher Wood - [ed.] The 2nd BHF Book of HorrorGene Christie [ed.] - The People of the Pit & Other Early Horrors from the Munsey PulpsDarrell Buxton - [ed.] The Ateth BHF Book of HorrorStephen Jones & David A Sutton [eds] - The Best of Dark TerrorsRichard & Hugh Lamb [eds] - Things That Wait in the DarkChristopher Philippo [ed] - Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories: Vol 5Alastair Gunn [ed] - Wimbourne Book of Victorian Ghost Stories: Vol 3Alastair Gunn [ed] - Wimbourne Book of Victorian Ghost Stories: Vol 4Alastair Gunn [ed] - Wimbourne Book of Victorian Ghost Stories: Vol 8John Miller [ed] - Polar HorrorsPeter Coleburn & Jan Edwards [eds] - Monsters: Alchemy Press Book of Horror 3Tanya Kirk [ed.] - Haunters at the Hearth Novels/ novellasReally gonna have to make more of an effort with novels next year ... Robert Marasco - Burnt OfferingsMorgan Robertson - Wreck of the TitanNicci Rae - Mad Bess WoodJoy Fielding - TranceJohn McCarty - Deadly ResurrectionSingle Author CollectionsJohn Llewellyn Probert - Chasing SpiritsJohn Llewellyn Probert - How Grim Was My ValleyTony Richards - Three Dozen Terrifying TalesBernard Taylor - This is MidnightDavid A. Sutton - En VacanciesPeter Tremayne - Aisling & Other Irish Tales of TerrorNon-fictionPeter Enfantino, Robbert Morrish, John Scoleri [eds.] - Best of Scream FactoryLynette Carpenter & Wendy Kolmar - Ghost Stories by British & American Women: A Selected Annotated BibliographyAlan Robson - Nightmare on your Street: Grisly Trails & Ghostly Tales 2Gavin Baddeley - Lucifer Rising: Sin, Devil Worship & Rock 'n RollJoseph Braddock - Haunted Houses of Great BritainMarc Alexander - Haunted InnsThomas Corum Caldas - The Hangman, The Hound & Other Hauntings: A Gazateer of Welsh GhostsG. A. Household [ed.] - The Devil's Hoofprints: The Great Devon Mystery of 1855David & Andrew Pickering - Witch Hunt: The Persecution of Witches in England Alwyn W. Turner - A Classless Society: Britain in the NinetiesJean Williams - The History of Women's FootballGeoffrey Pearson - Hooligan: A History of Respectable FearsPulp fasimilesLack of further Wildside Weird Tales reissues was disappointing, but more than made do with these. Horror Stories Sept 1935/ Weird Tales Dec 1928, bunched together as Classic Horror Pulps #1 by Gwandanaland. Eerie Stories, Aug 1937. Adventure House reissue, 2005. Ghost Stories Sept 1929. Fiction House reissue, 2021. Spicy Mystery Stories, Feb. 1937. Wildside reissue, 2004. FanzinesJustin Marriott [ed.] Paperback Fantastic Vols 1-3Carol Tyrrell [ed.] - Ghosts & Scholars #42Helen Grant [ed.] - Ghosts & Scholars #43Peter Enfantino and John Scoleri [eds] The Best of Bare BonesJustin Marriott [ed.] Paperback Fanatic 45Justin Marriott [ed.] Battling Britons #4Personal: Trialing DIY Ghost walk of Harrow-on-the-Hill, Harrow Weald, Canons Park, Queensbury & Co on 30th Sept. Nicci Rae and others picking up on haunted bench, spectral nun of St. Mary's churchyard, and the Phantom Monk of Marsh lane for 'Harrow Online' at Halloween. Nature watch and graveyard haunt at Wapping with Bride of Dem. Befriending the ducks, moorhens, coots, mallards of Squogem island, Hermitage Waterside. RIP Chris Bailey, Jet Black, Raymond Briggs, Robbie Coltrane, Martin Duffy, Andy Fletcher, Ron Goulart, Terry Hall, Wilko Johnson, Anna Karen, Keith Levine, Jerry Lee Lewis, Pele, Leslie Phillips, Sidney Poitier, Jim Seals, Peter Straub, Re Styles, R. Dean Taylor, Nicky Tesco, Dennis Waterman, Vivienne Westwood ... Bookmark commemorating centenary of Bethnal Green Library
|
|
|
Post by Shrink Proof on Dec 31, 2022 12:19:53 GMT
To which I would add the following, being a sort of personal best of 2022:-
Short Story Collections -
Ray Newman - "Municipal Gothic" (personal favourite of 2022 - investigate soonest...) Mark Andresen - "No-One Driving" Alan Hodge & Al Peters - "Whispers from the Darkness" Robert Aickman - "Compulsory Games" (RA is always worth re-reading I think)
Non-Fiction (well, sort of...) -
Andy Sharp - "The English Heretic Collection"
Magazines -
The Ghastling Cloister Fox Weird Walk
RIP -
All of the above (thanks Dem) plus John Bird. Wilko Johnson deserves a special personal mention. I saw Dr Feelgood live at Liverpool Stadium, 1975. Despite facing a militantly Scouse audience whose approach was "who are these creeps from Canvey Island playing rock like they own the fucking stuff?", no band I'd seen before had ever managed to pull off looking scary and cool at the same time. And Wilko was the scariest and coolest of them all (just - Lee Brilleaux ran him a very close second).
Personal -
Having a few things accepted for publication. Invitation to read one of my tales at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Visiting Steampunk HQ in Oamaru, New Zealand. Stonehenge exhibition at the British Museum. Finally making it to Ultima Thule (St Kilda). Seeing Scotland in all weathers, but especially in winter.
Finally, massive thanks to Dem for keeping this ghost train on the rails, and a very Happy New Year to all passengers and crew. Here's hoping that 2023 comes up with the goods...
|
|
|
Post by andydecker on Dec 31, 2022 19:10:58 GMT
Finally, massive thanks to Dem for keeping this ghost train on the rails, and a very Happy New Year to all passengers and crew. I can't repeat that heartily enough.
Onward with the show:
Anthologies Paul Finch [ed.] - Terror Tales of Northwest England Paul Finch [ed.] - Terror Tales of the Scottish Lowlands Stephen R. Bissette – Studio of Screams Pan Book of Horror Stories - diverse
Novels/ novellas For the 1st time:
Dan Abnett – The Vincula Insurgency Graham Masterton – Charnel House Michael Connelly – Angels Flight
From the shelves to re-read it:
Jonathan Valin – Natural Causes Ross Macdonald – Black Money Max Allan Collins – True Detective Robert Jordan – The Shadow Rising George G. Gilman – Eve of Evil Marc Olden – Giri
Single Author Collections Dan Abnett – Lord of the Dark Millennium David A. Sutton - En Vacancies Ramsey Campbell – Far Away & Never Anna Taborska – Shadowcats Reggie Oliver – Stages of Fear Simon Unsworth – The Martledge Variations Frederick Cowles – Fear walks the Night Agatha Christe – Hercule Poirot – The complete Short Stories
Non-fiction Pat Gilbert – Shut It: The Inside Story of The Sweeney Jac Weller – Wellington in India Tim Lucas – Spirits of the Dead Sean Howe – Marvel Comics – The Untold Stories (Re-read it for the don't know how many times) Roy Thomas – Barbarian Life -A Literary Biography of Conan the Barbarian Vol. 2 David L. Rosheim – Galaxy Magazine: The Dark and the Light Years Alexei Panshin – Heinlein in Dimension
Fanzines Justin Marriott [ed.] Paperback Fantastic Vols 1-3 Justin Marriott [ed.] Paperback Fanatic 45 Justin Marriott [ed.] Battling Britons: Reader‘s Guide
Personal: No best of the worst.
RIP All those mentioned already and Angela Lansbury, Kevin O‘Neill, Alan Grant, Neal Adams, George Perez, Dietmar Kügler (German writer of westerns, publisher and expert of the American West)
Audiobooks: 1st time: Dan Abnett – Ravenor Rogue Dan Abnett – Traitor General (Gaunt‘s Ghosts 8) Dan Abnett – Sabbat Martyr (Gaunt‘s Ghosts 7) William King – Skavenslayer (Gotrek & Felix 2)
Heard again: Richard Cornwell – Sharpe 1 to 11 Bram Stoker – Dracula Dan Abnett – Eisenhorn 1;2 Dan Abnett – Gaunt‘s Ghosts 1 – 4
Comics: Blink The Out
(As we only list the best of the worst, I will withhold my opinion on the rest of 2000AD this year.)
Lots of 70s Marvel stuff. (Who would have thought that I someday begin to like Sal Buscema.)
|
|
|
Post by johnnymains on Dec 31, 2022 21:18:20 GMT
One of each: Anthology: Datlow - Screams from the Dark: 29 Tales of Monsters and the Monstrous Novel: Naga - If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English Collection: Booth - Strange Animals Non-Fiction: McCurdy - I'm Glad My Mom Died Personal: My daughter saying she was proud of me at the launch of CELTIC WEIRD. Best thing that's happened to me since she was born. RIP: A friend who died in the last month. Not a part of the genre - just the very essence of what a fan was. (Last bit of this line deleted, as I was pissed up) FILM: EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE. Perfect film.
|
|
|
Post by Johnlprobert on Dec 31, 2022 21:51:15 GMT
Hmmmm let's have a look: Anthologies: The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories Vol 2 - James Jenkins & Ryan Cagle Single Author Collections: A Maze for the Minotaur - Reggie Oliver The Gypsy Spider & Others - Nicola Lombardi Cursed Bunny - Bora Chung (seriously - marketed as 'literary horror' but it really delivers the good stuff) Feesters in the Lake - Bob Leman (Bob Leman! His collection got reprinted!) Tomato Cain -Nigel Kneale (ditto!) Non-Fiction: Confessions of a Puppet Master -Charles Band (who would have thought a restaurant was harder to run than Empire Pictures) Personal Extremely groovy to still be alive and to have two new books out Films Best and Worst all covered here (you know you want to read the worst): johnlprobert.blogspot.com/2022/12/the-top-ten-films-of-2022.htmlLong live the Vault and Happy Sleazy New Year to all!!!!
|
|
|
Post by pbsplatter on Jan 6, 2023 13:58:33 GMT
Anthologies
Charles L. Grant (ed.) - Final Shadows Jeff Gelb & Michael Garrett (eds.) - Hot Blood David J. Schow (ed.) - Silver Scream
Graham Masterton (ed.) - Scare Care
Novels/ novellas
JG Ballard - Millennium People Jack Ketchum - The Girl Next Door Joe R. Lansdale - The Drive-In Bentley Little - The Mailman Bentley Little - The Town Bentley Little - Death Instinct Ray Garton - Darklings Guy N. Smith - Thirst Guy N. Smith - Abomination Richard Laymon - Enldess Night Chet Williamson - "Yer Skin's Jes's Soft'N'Purty," He Said. (Page 243)
Single Author Collections
Ramsey Campbell - Told By The Dead Ramsey Campbell - Alone with the Horrors (this was a rematch--I realized there were a few stories in there I'd never read) Kate Farrell - And Nobody Lived Happily Ever After John Shirley - Black Butterflies
Non-fiction
Paul Terry - The X-Files: The Official Archives: Cryptids, Biological Anomalies, and Parapsychic Phenomena Hallie Rubenhold- The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper Paul Brians - Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction, 1895–1984
Personal: Got a wife and a dog!
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Jan 6, 2023 14:25:28 GMT
Ah, I know some of these! Think I read all the books in the Hot Blood series and I'm not sure Jeff Gelb ever bettered that first volume. Really glad you like Kate Farrell's And Nobody Lived Ever After. Abomination is my second favourite GNS novel after The Slime Beast. Not the biggest fan of Laymon's Endless Night, though. Much prefer Midnight's Lair, The Woods Are Dark and (probably in a minority of one), Funland. I really have to get hold a copy of The Mailman. Congrats on your marriage (and choice of family friend). You fiend! I was mid-attempt at persuading bride of Dem that we so needed to see Blackbird when I reached "stop writing down those titles at the back."
|
|
|
Post by pbsplatter on Jan 6, 2023 15:06:52 GMT
Thanks, Dem!
I just got ahold of a bunch more of the HB series out of morbid and puerile curiosity. I was delighted by the quality of the first volume, which I understand doesn't persist across the series.
Endless Night isn't that great as Laymon goes, although it wins lots of points from me for sheer audacity (the glee with which our protagonist impersonates a woman, as well as the incipient romance between our 16 or 17 year old heroine and her 12 or 13 year old friend's brother).
The Woods Are Dark is a masterpiece, and I actually think Funland is very good (I might have read that one this year as well, come to think of it!). It has some padding in the middle, but the twist about 'Shiner' is good, the plot arc of our puerile (that word again! Hard to avoid when talking about this sort of stuff!) teen protagonist well done. And the ending in the funhouse is utterly off the wall.
Midnight's Lair I'll have to rematch with, sometime. I recall thinking it was a great set-up without enough follow-through when it came to the attack of the mutant hotel guests, but that Steve Crisp cover art beckons me back.
The Mailman is really very good, and surprisingly, well, scary/horrific.
|
|
|
Post by andydecker on Jan 6, 2023 17:21:26 GMT
Anthologies Charles L. Grant (ed.) - Final Shadows Jeff Gelb & Michael Garrett (eds.) - Hot Blood David J. Schow (ed.) - Silver Scream Graham Masterton (ed.) - Scare Care Personal: Got a wife and a dog! This is a interesting selection. Hot Blood never gets better, it is just more of the same. Less really good stories - which there are quite a few undoubtedly - , more formula stuff. Silver Scream merits a re-read, especially for the not so famous contributions which I have all forgotten. Scare Care I still haven't read, and Final Shadows I don't have, but the line-up is impressive.
Congrats on your marriage.
|
|
|
Post by pbsplatter on Jan 6, 2023 17:36:48 GMT
Thanks, Andy.
I've had Silver Scream for years but never cracked it open until this year; I'd really been missing out!
Scare Care is worth seeking out; there's some redundancies and weak pieces but several stories (including the Marc Laidlaw one) are worth price of admission alone. And just about every story in Final Shadows is aces.
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Jan 7, 2023 11:52:43 GMT
Re; Hot Blood, seems to me the first three are very strong (I love KEW's contribution to Hotter Blood) after which, well, the law of diminishing returns and all that, but each volume had enough exciting moments to keep me interested. I'd agree, Scare Care is hit and miss; Marc Laidlaw's Mars Will Have Blood would be my pick, too. Others that stuck would include Fay Weldon's Loopy, John Burke's The Tourists and GNS's Crustacean Revenge. Schow's classy Silver Scream was surely good for at least a volume two? Thanks for taking us through the Borderland series!
|
|
|
Post by johnnymains on Jan 7, 2023 14:12:41 GMT
Ah, I know some of these! Think I read all the books in the Hot Blood series and I'm not sure Jeff Gelb ever bettered that first volume. Really glad you like Kate Farrell's And Nobody Lived Ever After. Abomination is my second favourite GNS novel after The Slime Beast. Not the biggest fan of Laymon's Endless Night, though. Much prefer Midnight's Lair, The Woods Are Dark and (probably in a minority of one), Funland. I really have to get hold a copy of The Mailman. Congrats on your marriage (and choice of family friend). You fiend! I was mid-attempt at persuading bride of Dem that we so needed to see Blackbird when I reached "stop writing down those titles at the back." Watched BLACKBIRD last night. It's amazing and awful all rolled into one. Couldn't stop chuckling.
|
|
|
Post by cauldronbrewer on Jan 8, 2023 1:14:50 GMT
A belated list:
Horror anthology: The Night Wire and Other Tales of Weird Media (ed. Aaron Worth); The Ghost Slayers: Thrilling Tales of Occult Detection (ed. Mike Ashley); Polar Horrors: Strange Tales from the World's Ends (ed. John Miller), all from the British Library Tales of the Weird series
Horror collection: My Lady of Hy-Brasil and Other Stories (Peter Tremayne); Eyes of Terror (L. T. Meade)
Horror novella: Blackham's Wimpey (Robert Westall)
Horror novel: Ring Shout (P. Djèlí Clark)
Horror film: Nope (Jordan Peele); The Wind (Emma Tammi)
Horror television series: The Terror (Max Borenstein & Alexander Woo)
Horror comics: Misty Presents: The Jaume Rumeu Collection
Non-horror fiction: A Master of Djinn (P. Djèlí Clark); the Cass Neary series (Elizabeth Hand); the Jesperson and Lane series (Lisa Tuttle); the Liveship Trader series (Robin Hobb)
Non-horror television: Stranger Things (Season 4); Locke & Key (Season 1); Yellowjackets (Season 1); Wednesday (Season 1); The Dragon Prince (Season 4); Rings of Power (Season 1); The Witcher (Season 2); Paper Girls (Season 1 and only)
Non-horror film: Everything Everywhere All at Once; Glass Onion; The Menu
Music: Impera (Ghost); Fascination (The Birthday Massacre)
|
|
|
Post by Johnlprobert on Jan 8, 2023 9:18:57 GMT
Ah, I know some of these! Think I read all the books in the Hot Blood series and I'm not sure Jeff Gelb ever bettered that first volume. Really glad you like Kate Farrell's And Nobody Lived Ever After. Abomination is my second favourite GNS novel after The Slime Beast. Not the biggest fan of Laymon's Endless Night, though. Much prefer Midnight's Lair, The Woods Are Dark and (probably in a minority of one), Funland. I really have to get hold a copy of The Mailman. Congrats on your marriage (and choice of family friend). You fiend! I was mid-attempt at persuading bride of Dem that we so needed to see Blackbird when I reached "stop writing down those titles at the back." Watched BLACKBIRD last night. It's amazing and awful all rolled into one. Couldn't stop chuckling. Just whatever you do don't watch Birdemic 3 - that's a different sanity-threatening level of terrible altogether!
|
|
|
Post by 𝘗rincess 𝘵uvstarr on Jan 13, 2023 13:55:18 GMT
Here is everthing I read this last year (that was in book form). I hope to do better this year. I'm planning to read more 18th/19th century Gothic fiction.
Fiction
The Children's Crusade Treece, Henry The Camomile Carswell, Catherine The Amber Princess Treece, Henry Ombria in Shadow McKillip, Patricia A. Jane-Emily Clapp, Patricia By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept Smart, Elizabeth The Invisible Man Wells, H.G. Midnight Is a Place Aiken, Joan Esperanza's Box of Saints Escandón, María Amparo Imagined Corners Muir, Willa Ward of the Sun King Butler, Mildred Allen An Edinburgh Reel McGregor, Iona Death Wore A Diadem McGregor, Iona Tamburlaine the Great, Part 1 Marlowe, Christopher Katharina Luther: Nun, Rebel, Wife Boileau, Anne South Riding Holtby, Winifred The Old Curiosity Shop Dickens, Charles The Best of Saki Saki Sun Horse, Moon Horse Sutcliff, Rosemary The Scouring of the White Horse (Barnes & Noble Digital Library): Or, the Long Vacation Ramble of a London Clerk Hughes, Thomas Aurora Leigh Browning, Elizabeth Barrett The Border Lord Westcott, Jan Tea in the Heather Roberts, Kate Good Morning, Midnight Rhys, Jean Where the Apple Ripens and Other Stories Kesson, Jessie Silent Close No. 6 Maron, Monika The Sorceress of the Strand Meade, L.T. The Spirit Hollows Brewer, P.R. * Fonthill: A Comedy Menen, Aubrey
Non-fiction
Aquagenesis: The Origin and Evolution of Life in the Sea Ellis, Richard Towards Emancipation: German Women Writers of the Nineteenth Century Diethe, Carol Seasons of My Life: Story of a Solitary Daleswoman Hauxwell, Hannah In Memory of England Vansittart, Peter Christina of Sweden Stolpe, Sven Moon In Eclipse: A Life Of Mary Shelley Dunn, Jane Unruly Times: Wordsworth and Coleridge in Their Time Byatt, A.S. The Craces: Royal Decorators, 1768-1899 Aldrich, Megan A Book of Old Edinburgh Dunlop, Eileen Hildegard von Bingen's Physica: The Complete English Translation of Her Classic Work on Health and Healing Hildegard of Bingen Power of Gentleness: Meditations on the Risk of Living Dufourmantelle, Anne Bowling for Communism: Urban Ingenuity at the End of East Germany Demshuk, Andrew Princess Mary: The First Modern Princess Basford, Elisabeth The Sun King: Louis Fourteenth at Versailles Mitford, Nancy Hannah More Collingwood, Jeremy Saint Simon at Versailles Saint-Simon, Louis de Rouvroy d Emilie du Châtelet, Philosophe des Lumières Debert, Pascale Christopher Marlowe: A Biography Rowse, A.L. Working Women of Early Modern Venice Chojnacka, Monica Carolina of Orange-Nassau: Ancestress of the Royal Houses of Europe Bloks, Moniek * A Short History of Cahiers du Cinema Bickerton, Emilie Rimbaud: L'heure de la fuite Borer, Alain The Currency of Eros: Women's Love Lyric in Europe, 1540-1620 Jones, Ann Rosalind A Sultry Month: Scenes Of London Literary Life In 1846 Hayter, Alethea In My Father's Bakery: A Bronx Memoir Korman, Marvin Multiple Sclerosis: New Hope and Practical Advice for People with MS and Their Families Rosner, Louis J. Winter In Mallorca Sand, George Sophie Germain: An Essay in the History of the Theory of Elasticity Dworsky, N. The Lodger Shakespeare: His Life on Silver Street Nicholl, Charles Simon Forman: Sex And Society In Shakespeare's Age Rowse, A.L. Emmy Noether Tent, M.B.W. The Foundations of Geometry Hilbert, David
Edited to say this is all the books I read last year, not this year. I'd have to be Susan Sontag or Colin Wilson to have managed that amount already.
|
|