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Publisher’s Comments: Howard Lovecraft’s family has been imprisoned on a far-flung alien planet, Spot hopelessly captured, and he is slowly becoming a mindless Fishman. Accompanied by his insane father, a pistol-packing constable and his hungry cat, they must face the all-powerful ruler of the Outer Gods, a revengeful old enemy, an army of deadly monsters, and a lethal world called Yuggoth, to save the day. All Howard has to do is surrender his father’s Book. But that would mean certain doom for all of mankind.
Hello Ghouls and Boils,
Generally I take hold of every Lovecraftian piece that crosses my desk… but occasionally I like to toss them to one of my Minions who also love the Mythos. It was easy to find the perfect candidate… this is an all ages book and Marc (a lover of all things Lovecraftian) just had his first child. It seemed like a great fit. So, without further ado, I will leave this in Marc’s capable tentacles. Enjoy, my fiends!
Abstrusely,
Sarah L. Covert
P.S.
Marc will be interviewing Bruce Brown live on Saturday, February 11th at 6:30PM Eastern, Tune-in!
I got a real treat earlier this month when Sarah asked me to review the outstanding new comic, Howard Lovecraft and the Undersea Kingdom, written by Bruce Brown and Dwight L. MacPherson, with art by Thomas Boatwright.
HPL Undersea (which I’ll just be calling it for short) is the sequel to 2009’s Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom; but really this book stands alone just fine. Brown and MacPherson do a great job keeping the reader up to speed on the story with contextual clues; and anyone who knows Lovecraft’s Mythos will have a pretty good idea what is going on. I hadn’t read the Frozen Kingdom before reading HPL Undersea, though I have read it since, and it honestly isn’t necessary to read it first. (Though I would be remiss if I didn’t say that Frozen Kingdom was a fun ride, too).
HPL Undersea centers around good ol’ Howard Phillips Lovecraft as a young whippersnapper of eight-ish years old, and implies that HPL wrote all those wacky stories later in life because his dad was a cultist, and that HPL had actually met Cthulhu, Shoggoths, King Abdul (a reference to Abdul AlHazred, I’m assuming), and Azathoth while still a child. Of course, he calls Cthulhu “Spot”, but what else would a little kid call a twenty foot tall octopus-headed green humanoid?
Now, I know some die-hard Lovecraft fans might get their tentacles in a twist at someone taking such a bizarre, comedic take on “the Gentleman from Providence”, but I assure you this comic is fun, witty, and an enjoyable read despite the liberties taken. In fact, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that part of me was initially turned-off at just how glib and creative Burns and MacPherson treated their rendition of someone whom I so admire.
But it is that same glibness and creativity that quickly won me over. There is such wit in the dialog that I found myself re-reading the comic from cover to cover as soon as I had finished my first read-though. The dialog is quick and funny, although it is by no means authentically “period”. In many ways, though, the lapses into modern slang make it even funnier.
On top of the clever writing, the art is great too. Boatwright does an excellent job infusing retro-style comic art with the unspeakable horror of the Lovecraft Mythos. Some panels remind me of Sunday comics, and there is a subtle undercurrent of Calvin and Hobbes in the interplay between Howard and Spot. But Boatwright really stretches the boundaries, having some panels that look like acrylic or oil paintings next to ones that look like they could have crawled out of an old Archie comic. Really well done.
I’m not one for spoilers, but I want to give a brief summary of the plot just so you can see how off-the-rails this story is. HPL’s father is locked in Arkham Asylum, apparently having gone insane from penning “the Book”, which is for all intents and purposes the Necronomicon. Young Lovecraft has the book, but King Abdul, a not-very-nice Lizard Man and the former ruler of R’Lyeh, wants it for his own nefarious purposes. Lovecraft is thrust into an adventure with his loony dad, a salty old policeman, and of course Cthulhu to stop King Abdul’s evil plan to use the Book to bring about all kinds of nastiness.
Final Thoughts:
While not my favorite Lovecraft inspired comic book, it certainly was an enjoyable tale once I stopped being a “fanboy” and started just enjoying the comic for what it was. The art is fantastic, the writing is witty, and the story is fun in the most ridiculous way. I give this book a 4 out of 5 tentacles.
We have some terrorific news to share today from the folks at Tartarus Press. It is a little late (sorry Ray), but it is never too late for good news… I will now turn the virtual mic over to Tartarus Press. Enjoy, my fiends!
Absrtusely,
Sarah L. Covert
We are delighted to announce a paperback reprint of Quentin S. Crisp‘s short story collection, Morbid Tales. In these eight immaculately realized strange stories, Quentin S. Crisp delves deep into the decadence of contemporary life. The fresh originality of the tales and their settings: an English country garden in ‘Cousin X’; contemporary Japan in ‘A Lake’: is matched by the elegance of the writing. They are unified, perhaps, by a yearning for the achingly perfect, ecstatic moment.
Contains: Foreword by Mark Samuels, “The Mermaid”, “Far-Off Things”, “Cousin X”, “A Lake”, “The Two-Timer”, “The Tattooist”, “Ageless”, “Autumn Colours”.
ISBN 978-1-905784-36-3 Morbid Tales is a paperback book of 267 pages.
Price: £12.95/$30 inc p&p
Publisher’s Comments:
THE HOUSES ARE QUIET.
IT IS THEIR RESIDENTS WHO ARE SCREAMING…
“No-one could be that unhappy and be alive…” A chambermaid’s seemingly innocent request is granted, an act of kindness that has dire consequences for a guest at THE ELMS, MORECAMBE…
“I wish I had been right; I wish that it had been a man, or death alone, that had found her…” An unearthly light in an abandoned bungalow resolves the mystery of a missing child, but no human force has taken her. An entity that fishes for children is in THE MERRY HOUSE, SCALE HALL…
“Go beyond the graves, and they will come to you.” An invitation to a clifftop graveyard leads to a harrowing chase by things that remain unseen BEYOND ST PATRICK’S CHAPEL.
“The great delight in being part of the Save Our Shit crew was that sometimes they could persuade those designers of the present and the future to save or incorporate the past into their designs.” In THE OCEAN GRAND hotel, work is underway to upgrade the building but something is stalking the workers…
“Something white came out. Something white, screaming and screaming…” Jobs fit for heroes, they were promised after the Great War. They were given something else in THE TEMPLE OF RELIEF AND EASE.
There is a hidden agenda to paranormal researcher Richard Nakata’s investigations into these houses. A commission that witnesses cattle lowing in the cowsheds of STACK’S FARM long after they’ve been slaughtered, and a reckoning in the showhouse of 24 GLASSHOUSE, as he and his colleagues pay the price for creating their own ghost…
Simon Kurt Unsworth reinvents the classic English ghost story with a portmanteau collection that takes the haunted house genre and makes it scream…quietly.
Because the most terrifying screams are the silent ones.
Hello Ghouls and Boils,
I have known about Simon’s book, “Quiet Houses”, for some time now. I was thrilled when it found a home and when a review copy came across my desk, I knew just the Minion to assign it to. So, without further ado, I will let Marc tell you all the gory details. Enjoy, my fiends!
Abstrusely,
Sarah L. Covert
Quiet Houses, by Simon Kurt Unsworth, is the best book I’ve read in 2012. OK, it is also the first I’ve read this year, but so far we’re off to a great start!
Quiet Houses is a modern version of the classic Ghost Story. Actually, it’s a few ghost stories all wrapped into a central narrative centering around one Richard Nakata.
What can I say about Nakata? Well, he is the first protagonist in a long time who I actually truly empathize with. He reads more like a human being and less like a character. He is curious, empathetic, braver than he gives himself credit for, and yet fragile. He also has a “crisis of faith”, of sorts, though as a scientist his epiphanies come in the form of the dialectic between his belief in the empirical and his experiences based on his own psychic sensitivity.
The story follows Nakata as he conducts research into ghostly phenomena around a series of people and places. Sometimes he simply interviews people about their own experiences, but other times he is right there in the thick of the paranormal activity.
Some of the vignettes read like they may have been written as separate short stories and inserted into the Nakata narrative (second time I’ve seen this in a book I’ve reviewed for SNS, though maybe that’s just my own interpretation). These insertions in no way take away from the credibility of the work as a whole, and at no time did they feel ham-fisted or forced. On the contrary, they fit quite well into the “interview” framework Unsworth has set up.
There are some very tense moments, as Nakata or the various one-off heroes tell their stories. Unsworth’s descriptions are vivid, and I could easily envision the places and people he wrote about. In a few of the scenes (particularly the walking trail and SOS crew chapters) I could literally envision myself there, and consider my life the richer for having seen those places.
So, how were the ghost stories themselves, you ask? Brilliant for the most part, I answer. Unsworth is inventive and creative, taking old tropes and time-honored tales of haunted places and inserting his own unique take on the underlying reasons and catalysts for the ghostly presences.
But alas, there is always a negative. In Quiet Houses, I found that the tension and drama building up to each climax to be far superior to the climaxes themselves. Unsworth has such a subtle touch in ramping up the adrenaline of his characters (and his readers) that it came as a big letdown to me when, time and again, the ghostly manifestations read too much like the “jump scenes” so popular in bad modern horror films. I had high hopes that the big reveals would be handled with the same delicacy that permeated the rest of the novel, but such was not the case. These scenes just seemed disappointingly out of character with the rest of the book’s flavor.
Final Thoughts:
This is an excellent book. Characterization, setting, plotting, tension, pacing — all these are handled beautifully. Plus, the stories are FUN to read. Other than the actual manifestations, which are a bit over-the-top for my tastes, these ghost stories are suspenseful and scary. Had the climaxes been written as skillfully and subtly as their setups, I would have given Quiet Houses a perfect review; but as it is this book still gets a resounding 4 1/2 out of 5 tentacles.
Please help us in welcoming our newest staff member, Paul Weir – the mastermind behind Mr. Clown (learn more about him on our staff page).
He and I enjoyed our Friday the 13th Twitter-a-thon so much that we have decided to make this a monthly event.
February 25th (at 11PM Eastern) we will be watching Prom Night with world class scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis! We’ll be sure to mention it again as we get closer so if you don’t have it you can rent it and tweet-along with us!
Welcome aboard, Paul! We are glad to have you amongst our horde!
Written by:Adam Christopher Published by: Angry Robot
Page Count: 448 pages ISBN-10: 0857661930 ISBN-13: 978-0857661937 Where to buy: Amazon, Angry Robot, and other fine book retailers
Publisher’s comments: The stunning superhero-noir fantasy thriller set in the other New York.
It was the last great science hero fight, but the energy blast ripped a hole in reality, and birthed the Empire State – a young, twisted parallel prohibition-era New York.
When the rift starts to close, both worlds are threatened, and both must fight for the right to exist.
Adam Christopher’s stunning debut novel heralds the arrival of an amazing new talent.
Hello Ghouls and Boils,
Today we are proud to present a review of Empire State by our tentacular Assistant Editor Floyd Brigdon. I have not heard much about this book, but it seems like a very interesting cross-genre book. I am sure I will be adding it to my very long list of books to read in my “free time” (translation: when my review pile dwindles).
Since this book has Noir elements, I find this the perfect time to remind you about our interview with the phantastic author Trent Zelazny. The live interview will begin at 6:30PM Eastern and we will leave the line open for call-in questions for the full half hour of the show. We’ll be discussing his latest book Destination Unknown and who knows what else! So do tune in and don’t be shy – call in with your questions! The player will be on SNS early in the day. If you don’t hear the show begin at 6:30, refresh the page.
And now back to your regularly scheduled program… I will leave things on Floyd’s capable hands. Enjoy, my fiends!
Abstrusely,
Sarah L. Covert
When I first dove into Adam Christopher’s Empire State, I expected something like a superhero-noir-mystery-action/adventure-blowout. After finishing the novel, I can safely tell you that it is absolutely nothing like that. It delivers nothing at all like the story that I had envisioned when I read the little bit that is available on Angry Robot’s website about the novel.
But what it does deliver is so, so much more than I could have ever imagined.
Early in my reading of Empire StateI was considering calling the novel a mixed bag. I thought that the opening was very engaging and almost immediately gripping. Christopher doesn’t waste any time at all with background or backstory but, instead, throw the reader immediately right into the thick of things and that is a definite plus. On the negative side, however, there were many transitions in the first few chapters (really the first third of the book) that were very jarring, with scenes shifting in the middle of a page. I was reading this on a Kindle and thought, for a while, that maybe the effect was due to a formatting error, but these transitions often left me with more than a few “What the hell?” moments.
Having finished the novel and being able to look back at those moments, I am happy to say that Empire State is one of those novels where almost everything in it… even the “flaws”… makes sense in the long run.
The story is a huge mash-up of a lot of different genre tropes and ideas. You have some superheroes, some steampunk elements and some science fiction ideas all blended with noir imagery and, at its backbone, a good old detective story. But if I had to pick just one label to put on this novel I would use “pulp” because Empire Stateoften felt like a classic pulp story… and some of the chapters even use the good old cliff-hanger endings. The novel plays around with all of these very broad genres and styles but it consistently refuses to succumb to the temptation to be stereotypical itself. The characters are larger than life (and very unusual in some surprising ways) and the story that they are involved in unfolds with a captivating pace (and I loved the nod to Fredric Wertham).
I can tell that Adam Christopher had a great time while writing this novel. You can almost feel that in every part of the story and it is an infectious feeling.
Final Thoughts: Empire State both defied and exceeded my initial expectations. It is a very enjoyable read that I would suggest to anyone who has the vaguest of interest in the genres that it touches on. I found out about one of the neatest and most unique aspects of the novel when I was reading its afterward. Christopher and Angry Robot have made the world of Empire State that is open to other creators and writers and have already spawned a number of works building onto the original piece (including an RPG!). Now that alone should tell you something about how inspirational this novel truly is. I give it and enthusiastic five out of five tentacles and look forward to seeing what comes next from the pen of Adam Christopher.
Marc Nocerino is back with another installment of “Through a Monitor, Darkly”, chroniclling his exploration of all things dark and mysterious in the world of webcomics and he really has a doozy for us this time. When I started reading over his column, I briefly clicked over to the comic that he is reviewing…. and about a half an hour later I remembered what I had been doing in the first place. Marc continues to do a first-rate job of finding all kinds of interesting things to look at for us and I think that this month’s installment is particularly noteworthy.
I hope you enjoy it, too!
Floyd
Welcome back, dear readers, and Happy New Year. In honor of the last new year that the Mayans bothered to etch into a chunk of rock I decided to do something a little different for January’s installment of Through A Monitor, Darkly.
There really is something about darkening up those tales that we all heard as kids that sends undeniable shivers down my spine.
Simply put, Hobo Lobo is in a league of its own in terms of creativitiy. It is a flash-based story, with virtual pages you actually “turn” in what feels like a seamless little online chapbook. A few of the pages even have little slideshows embedded in them, making it a very different kind of experience from your average static online comic.
The artwork is creepy. No, really; it’s creepy as hell. Živadinovic executes his pictures with an almost bi-polar admixture of audacity and subtlety, often with both elements in the same panel. There are so many little treasures in the backgrounds that I find myself re-viewing each page a couple of times just to make sure that I’m taking it all in.
Oh, and did I mention that there is even some sound thrown in there for good measure? Not throughout the whole thing, no, that would be too obvious; just in a couple of spots. And it’s nothing to make you jump, like those stupid viral videos; just little noises that add real ambience.
The storyline verges on the political, but it isn’t overbearing and Živadinovic keeps it ambiguous as to just who he is referring to. Don’t worry, I’m not getting all 99% on my readers here or anything… This isn’t Occupy Teh Interwebz. But there is something almost universally relatable about dick-bag politicians trying to oust the “disagreeable” elements of their society, and Hobo Lobo wraps this concept around the framework of the old Pied Piper story.
Final Thoughts: Hobo Lobo isn’t your average horror webcomic, but if you are looking for a sinister but quirky look at the injustices of greed and prejudice as told through the lens of an age-old fairy tale (or if you just like cool stuff) go spend a few minutes with Živadinovic’s creation. It is innovative, beautifully drawn and conceived, and just dark enough that I think it will appeal to horror lovers.
Written by:Trent Zelazny Published by: ipicturebooks Page Count: 156 ISBN-10: 1596879203 ISBN-13: 978-1596879201 Where to buy: Amazon (paperback), Amazon (eBook), and other fine book retailers
About the Book: (mild spoilers)
Brian has found solace in alcohol, while Kate spends most of her time sedated. Until the night on the mountain road, and the briefcase they suddenly come to possess—an important briefcase that was not intended for them. Now, battling with their own inner struggles, the two of them become the targets of an unknown adversary less interested in the briefcase than in the games he can play. As their lives threaten to completely fall apart, Brian and Kate must find the strength not only to work together, but to face the horrible tragedy that haunts them both.
About the Author:
Trent Zelazny is the author of Destination Unknown, To Sleep Gently, Fractal Despondency, Shadowboxer, The Day the Leash Gave Way and Other Stories, and A Crack in Melancholy Time. He was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He has lived in California, Oregon, Arizona, and Florida. He currently roams throughout the country aimlessly. He also loves basketball.
Hello Ghouls and Boils,
Today I am thrilled to bring you a new review from the prolific and terrorifically talented Trent Zelazny. I have also wrangled him into yet another live interview! Mwahahahaha! So tune in on Sunday the 29th at 6:30M Eastern and we’ll have the call-in lines open the whole time. The player will be up here on SNS the day of the show. If you don’t hear anything at 6:30PM, try refreshing your browser. Well, I think you have waited long enough – let’s get to the review. Enjoy, my fiends!
Abstrusely,
Sarah L. Covert
Warning: Be sure you have sturdy seats because you will be clinging to the edge of the with each turn of the page.
From start to finish I couldn’t wait to turn the (digital) page of this book. I took my Kindle with me everywhere I went hoping I would have a few moments to sneak in more reading.
Brian and Kate travel down a treacherous road together, both literally and figuratively. When something is thrown into their lives they must make decisions together, despite the fact that their lives were crumbling around them – even before fate stepped in. But fate wears many faces, so the couple is trepidatious and rightfully so.
Along with being a master of suspense, Trent is also adept at characterization and dialogue. There were moments in the book where I felt as if I was a fly on the wall, an eavesdropper. This alone speaks volumes.
When I was a young girl I loved mysteries (Nancy Drew, Cherry Ames, anything written by Agatha Christie) and Noir films. I stayed up late reading or watching as much as I could. I even listened to the old radio plays – The Shadow was a favorite. But when I was introduced to the likes of Poe, Lovecraft, and Chambers… my attention shifted to the “darker” side of literature. But Trent’s books tend to land somewhere in the middle. In the foggy, misty, murk — a place I quite enjoy.
Final Thoughts:
Cuddle up with your favorite blanket and a cup of tea in reach and settle in… I doubt you will be able to put this one down. As usual, Trent Zelazny does not disappoint. He brought his A game (and then some) to this new offering. I recommend this to book to those who enjoy a great suspenseful journey with a deeper underlying plot… or people who just like a good book! Once again I have to give the rare 6 out of 5 tentacles toDestination Unknown!
Sarah L. Covert - Creator/Editor/Reviewer/Columnist/Reporter
P.S.
What are you doing still sitting here — go buy this one now, my wicked ones. You will not be sorry.
Today I have some terrorific news to share. Bloody Parchment has selected the winners for this year’s anthology! One of Charlotte’s own will be in this book – so show your support and be sure to give S.L. Schmitz her props. (Holds for applause…) Now I shall leave the announcement up to the folks at Bloody Parchment.
Abstrusely,
Sarah L. Covert
In first place, we have Christina Vincent (Inferna). Congratulations, Christina. You have won a comprehensive round of edits for a novel-length work. Our runners-up are Brett R Bruton (Hidden things, Lost Things) and Jenny Robson (Healing Hands), who have each won an assessment of their first chapter of a novel or a short story.
Our other finalists are Mico Pisanti (Fluoride in the Water), Lee Mather (Masks), Stacey Larner (Duck Creek Road), Toby Bennett (A Few Withered Leaves), SL Schmitz (The Woman Who Sold the World), Benjamin Knox (Wither), Austin Malone (Excerpt for Bryan) and Joan De La Haye (Death Express).
Craig Mullins brings you news on the "unfilmable".
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The Musings of Lady Lovecraft.
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This Yellow Madness - Author Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. lays down some words!
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Henry Covert - Writer, Artist, Musician -- upcoming projects and pop culture musings.
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Win Scott Eckert - Editor and Author -- upcoming projects, pic o 'the day, and more...
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Robin Spriggs - phantastically talented author of 4 books, and nearly 200 poems and short stories. (This is his fan site. You can also find Robin on FB!)
