Blood Will Have Its Season

Blood Will Have Its Season

Written by: Joseph S. Pulver
Published by: Hippocampus Press (August 20, 2009)
Page Count: 286
ISBN-10: 0981488889
ISBN-13: 978-0981488882
Where to Buy:
Amazon
Hippocampus Press
Powells
Publisher’s Comments:
The dark, forbidding alleys of our ruined cityscapes; the hopeless lives of brutalized whores, amoral hit-men, and vengeful victims of violence-these are the landscapes and characters that fill the stories, poems, and prose-poems of Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. in his first collection. And yet, there is a strange and intoxicating beauty to Pulver’s creations, for they transport the reader out of the mundane and into the unearthly by the effortless stroke of a dazzling metaphor. Many of Pulver’s stories are innovative riffs on the enigmatic mythology of The King in Yellow, pregnant with the demonic witchery of the original. With this collection, Pulver has placed himself in the forefront of contemporary fantasy and horror literature.

“The prose of Joe Pulver can take its place with that of the masters of our genre-Poe, Lovecraft, Campbell, Ligotti-while his imaginative reach is something uniquely his own.” -From S. T. Joshi’s Foreword
“In this innovative, hypnotic collection, Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. has proven himself to be a perversely masterful sculptor of our dreams.”-Jeffrey Thomas

“Joe Pulver is a dark star is the merciless cosmos of weird fiction. His work is as brutal as it is beautiful.” -Wilum Pugmire

“In an earlier day I feel sure Joe Pulver would have been arrested for writing some of the stuff in this collection. Maybe he will be yet! How can he write, with such intricate delicacy, thunderous prose that fairly rips up the pages it is printed on? I wish I knew!” -Robert M. Price

Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. is the acclaimed author of the Lovecraftian novel Nightmare’s Disciple and author of many short stories that have appeared in magazines and anthologies. He has received several Honorable Mentions in Datlow & Windling’s The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror.

Hello Ghouls and Boils,
I first met Mr. Pulver a couple of years ago at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival. He was there to do a reading of his work. Though he was nervous about reading in front of the crowd – with gentle encouragement from his friends, he braved the HPLFF stage. I was enthralled with the poetic nature of his words, given the subject matter. Fast-forward to this year when Joseph told us all about his new book — Blood Will Have Its Season — a collection of short stories and poetry. I must admit, I was very excited to read the new material. I have read some of Joe’s work in the past, always enjoyed it. Let’s say I was not disappointed… dear fiends – without further delay – I give you my thoughts on Blood Will Have Its Season by Joseph S. Pulver… Enjoy Wicked Ones!

Blood Will Have Its Season is a collection of 41 short stories and poetry by acclaimed author Joseph S. Pulver. The book begins with a forward from editor and Lovecraft Scholar S.T. Joshi. He informs us that Joe has finally found his voice in short story form… and I agree. I was impressed with what I heard and read of Mr. Pulver’s work prior to BWHIS — but now I am simply in awe.

Some short story collections read a little like a portfolio of the author’s work. Each story is different in style and often genre as well. This collection was cohesive and although each story was very different, I didn’t feel like I ever stepped outside of the universe Mr. Pulver created.

Joe incorporates the mythos of other strange tale authors – like Lovecraft or Chambers – into his universe, but you never feel as if he is rehashing the same tales. These are new and wholly different. Currently my favorite stories in the collection are “PITCH nothing…”  - a cautionary tale about the power of books and “Lovecraft’s Sentence” – a story about a hack and his meeting with a certain specter. Both are examples of everything I love about the strange tale genre.

Pulver has a way of immediately drawing you into his world – and holding you prisoner as you go (willingly) into the dark abyss of his imagination. I was captivated by the haunting poetry of his prose. There are few who can write horror in such a way that you become enamored with the beauty – Lovecraft, Chambers, Poe… I will now be adding Pulver to this list. Thank you for the beautiful nightmares sir.

Final thoughts:
This is the best short story collection I have read in a very long time. I recommend this book to anyone who likes Strange Tales, Horror, Short Stories or Dark Poetry – it is a wonderful, spellbinding trip (that I have taken twice already) through the darkest reaches. I give this book a 5 out of 5!