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Post by humgoo on Jun 2, 2024 15:34:34 GMT
From Valancourt Books' weekly newsletter: This should be excellent news to many horror fans. The few of Mr Bloch's stories I read over the years in anthos didn't leave a strong impression (like "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper"), so I never actively sought out his works. Recommendation is welcome ("If you're ever to read one Bloch novel/story, you should read so-and-so etc")! Valancourt has released another slew of attractive horror/supernatural titles recently (am personally interested in James Blish's Black Easter and Carl Jacobi's Revelations in Black), and you really should buy from them direct if you're from the US (a bit difficult for us outside the US due to postage)!
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enoch
Devils Coach Horse
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Posts: 120
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Post by enoch on Jun 2, 2024 17:28:39 GMT
It's certainly excellent news to me. My favorite Bloch short stories are "Enoch" (of course...), "Sweets to the Sweet," "The Hungry House," and "The Cheaters."
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Post by dem bones on Jun 3, 2024 4:44:50 GMT
Don't really go in for recommendations, but here are some I had a good time with Shorts; From Pleasant DreamsSweet Sixteen, The Light-house, Hungarian Rhapsody, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Enoch Also: The Real Bad Friend (thanks Dr. Strange), The Closer of the Way, The Dead Don't Die, A Toy for Juliette, Water's Edge, The Man Who Collected Poe, Almost Human, The Weird Tailor, The Animal Fair, The Rubber Room, Return to the Sabbath, Everybody Needs a Little Love, The Night Before Christmas, The Chaney Legacy, Freak Show Horror Scope, (these three Fear and Trembling), The Final Performance, The Warm Farewell, The Funny Farm, A Scent of Vinegar ... oh, and The Strange Island of Dr. NorkOf the novels Psycho, Night World. Not read The Scarf. Clearly appreciated The Kidnapper and Psycho 2 at time of reading but can recall little or nothing of either. The Night of the Ripper is a gloriously trashy read. I really don't go for Lefty Feep or the Dragons & Nightmare fantasies (the American equivalent of RCH at his deadliest). Very glad they're bringing him back to print.
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Post by jamesdoig on Jun 3, 2024 10:03:28 GMT
Enoch is my favourite too - I think it was the first story I read by him. I've got some letters Graeme Flanagan used for his Bio-bibliography of Bloch - I'm not sure all of them got into the small volume, but here's some of it. He's one of these people who was loved by everyone who knew him. Ray Bradbury: ![](https://i.ibb.co/tcqmN1n/Bradbury.jpg) Fritz Leiber - quite a long letter: ![](https://i.ibb.co/ygxLDhc/Leiber1.jpg) ![](https://i.ibb.co/ZzWQKMD/Leiber2.jpg) Harlan Ellison: ![](https://i.ibb.co/JvLH92W/Ellison1.jpg) ![](https://i.ibb.co/7R1GVWq/Ellison2.jpg) ![](https://i.ibb.co/QHPd5xY/Ellison3.jpg) Ramsey Campbell: ![](https://i.ibb.co/87674k4/Campbell1.jpg) ![](https://i.ibb.co/DK3Zqf3/Campbell2.jpg) Robert Lowndes ![](https://i.ibb.co/3zb8Xd0/Lowndes.jpg) I particularly like this - I'm sure it's inscribed to Bob Bloch, but I've no provenance. I'd hang it on the wall but I don't think my wife would approve: ![](https://i.ibb.co/dbrX9Dt/Leigh.jpg)
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Post by andydecker on Jun 3, 2024 10:48:53 GMT
Enoch is my favourite too - I think it was the first story I read by him. I've got some letters Graeme Flanagan used for his Bio-bibliography of Bloch - I'm not sure all of them got into the small volume, but here's some of it. He's one of these people who was loved by everyone who knew him. Wow, just wow, James. Thank you so much for sharing these letters.
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Post by andydecker on Jun 3, 2024 11:21:02 GMT
Don't really go in for recommendations, but here are some I had a good time with Very glad they're bringing him back to print. I have to say more or less the same what has been said already. My first Bloch story also has to be Enoch in one of Michel Parry's translated anthologies, The Devil's Children, which editorial gave the outrageous title Killer Rat in the Brain. No kidding. As ludicrous it is, I never forgot this one. A few other also left a strong impression. Works like That Hell-Bound Train. One story in particular I never forgot. Sadly I can't remember the title, it's about a guy who has this magical (?) ring which can reset time a minute or so. He uses it to indulge in a lot of horrible nonsense. Then his plane crashes, and before hitting the ground he uses the ring. Again and again. Of Lefty Feep I think I read one story and never one again. Also I never became a fan of his novels even if I have a few on the shelves. How much he worked on his style and matured as a writer I only understood after reading the collection Mysteries of the Worm with his early Lovecraftian stuff. Valancourt has some interesting choices here. Strange Eons has been out of print for so long. It is an interesting look back on his early works and topics.
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Post by dem bones on Jun 3, 2024 14:04:53 GMT
I've got some letters Graeme Flanagan used for his Bio-bibliography of Bloch - I'm not sure all of them got into the small volume, but here's some of it. Just checked and they're all in there, James (surprised me, too), though the RAWL tribute Graeme went with is lengthier. He also included testimonials from Mary E. Counselman ( "My Weird Little Brother, Bob"), Sam Moscowitz and Richard Matheson.
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Post by jamesdoig on Jun 4, 2024 8:27:21 GMT
He also included testimonials from Mary E. Counselman ( "My Weird Little Brother, Bob"), Sam Moscowitz and Richard Matheson. You're quite right, Dem - here's the Matheson one: ![](https://i.ibb.co/5hp2W0g/Matheson2.jpg) ![](https://i.ibb.co/60BgG2j/Matheson1.jpg)
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Post by dem bones on Jun 4, 2024 10:18:38 GMT
James, didn't you once mention that there was a second edition of Graeme's biblio or have I imagined it? One story in particular I never forgot. Sadly I can't remember the title, it's about a guy who has this magical (?) ring which can reset time a minute or so. He uses it to indulge in a lot of horrible nonsense. Then his plane crashes, and before hitting the ground he uses the ring. Again and again. This has been driving me bats since you posted it. Can anyone identify?. Other Bloch horrors I remember getting a kick from ... The Sleeping Redheads, Double Whammy, Bill ( Twilight Zone: The Movie opener), The Skull of the Marquis de Sade, The Feast in the Abbey, A Warm Farewell, The Rubber Room ....
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Post by jamesdoig on Jun 4, 2024 11:17:59 GMT
James, didn't you once mention that there was a second edition of Graeme's biblio or have I imagined it? Graeme didn't do a 2nd edition. This was the next Bloch bibliography, by Randall Larson, published in 1986: ![](https://i.ibb.co/gy0sgLD/Larson.jpg)
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Post by David A. Riley on Jun 4, 2024 17:48:53 GMT
![](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lwcurrey.com%2Fpictures%2Fmedium%2F162104.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=4eb9611990c8fa921f8125594ca45403de77eb099d3c4c955f6843ca55acf199&ipo=images) I would love to see a British reprint of Once Around the Bloch. The only copies available at the moment are second hand from the United States with ridiculously high postage rates.
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Post by andydecker on Jun 5, 2024 10:09:57 GMT
One story in particular I never forgot. Sadly I can't remember the title, it's about a guy who has this magical (?) ring which can reset time a minute or so. He uses it to indulge in a lot of horrible nonsense. Then his plane crashes, and before hitting the ground he uses the ring. Again and again. This has been driving me bats since you posted it. Can anyone identify?. That would be nice. On second thought I am no longer sure if this was really Bloch or if I confuse this with some other writer of those shorts. I took a long look at his bibliography, but no title rang a bell. Other Bloch horrors I remember getting a kick from ... The Sleeping Redheads, Double Whammy, Bill ( Twilight Zone: The Movie opener), The Skull of the Marquis de Sade, The Feast in the Abbey, A Warm Farewell, The Rubber Room .... Thinking about it, some more comes to mind. The Beetles, Lizzie Borden took an Axe, Return to the Sabbath ...
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Post by dem bones on Jun 5, 2024 10:54:20 GMT
Thanks James. Looks like they compliment one another, with the Larson book providing criticism, reviews, etc. I would love to see a British reprint of Once Around the Bloch. The only copies available at the moment are second hand from the United States with ridiculously high postage rates. Maybe between them the Valancourt reissues and Jim Nemeth's site will spark a Bloch revival? Way too much of his stuff is out of print. On second thought I am no longer sure if this was really Bloch or if I confuse this with some other writer of those shorts. I took a long look at his bibliography, but no title rang a bell. Andreas, 'That Hellbound Train's protagonist has a stop-watch to halt time, but by the terms of his pact, he can only use it once. For those yet to dabble, The Opener of the Way is a solid selection from his pulp years, might be a good place to start if you're in it for the long haul. The Cloak: ( Unknown, May 1939) Beetles: ( Weird Tales, December 1938) The Fiddler's Fee: ( Weird Tales, July 1940) The Mannikin: ( Weird Tales, April 1937) The Strange Flight of Richard Clayton: ( Amazing Stories, March 1939) Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper: ( Weird Tales, July 1943) The Seal of the Satyr: ( Strange Stories, June 1939) The Dark Demon: ( Weird Tales, November 1936) The Faceless God: ( Weird Tales, May 1936) The House of the Hatchet: ( Weird Tales, January 1941) The Opener of the Way: ( Weird Tales, October 1936) Return to the Sabbath: ( Weird Tales, July 1938) The Mandarin's Canaries: ( Weird Tales, September 1938) Waxworks: ( Weird Tales, January 1939) The Feast in the Abbey: ( Weird Tales, January 1935) Slave of the Flames: ( Weird Tales, June 1938) The Shambler from the Stars: ( Weird Tales, September 1935) Mother of Serpents: ( Weird Tales, December 1936) The Secret of Sebek: ( Weird Tales, November 1937) The Eyes of the Mummy: ( Weird Tales, April 1938) One Way to Mars: ( Weird Tales, July 1945) Asked by Graeme Flanagan "which of your own Weird Tales stories do you regard as your favourites, and which do you like the least?", Bloch cited "Lucy Comes to Stay," "Catnip," "Sweets to the Sweet," "Enoch," "The Cheaters," "One Way to Mars," "The Bogey Man Will Get You," and I suppose I'd better evidence my gratitude to "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper." As to which I like least – most of the rest in varying degrees. Looking back, I can't imagine how some of them got printed" which seems unduly harsh. Running through the titles, I remember most despite not having read them for, in some cases, close to a decade, maybe longer. Midnight Pleasures is mostly work from the late seventies through the eighties. Hit and miss as the rest, though the stories I liked - Pranks, The Rubber Room, The Night Before Christmas, Everybody Needs A Little Love - I liked a lot.
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Post by humgoo on Jun 5, 2024 12:08:23 GMT
Thanks a lot for the sharing and the suggestions! And wish Valancourt every success in this project as well as all their other ventures!
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Post by andydecker on Jun 5, 2024 12:25:47 GMT
and I suppose I'd better evidence my gratitude to "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper." As to which I like least Have to say I am with you there. Always have a hard time to understand why this story is so revered. Taken for itself it is rather basic. But of course it introduced a concept which 80 years later is still used. Andreas, 'That Hellbound Train's protagonist has a stop-watch to halt time, but by the terms of his pact, he can only use it once. This I had forgotten. So either he used the idea twice or some other did his own version.
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