AntonyFound a copy of Moonflow by @bitterkarella in my local book shop. Been meaning to pick up a copy anyway; I've heard great things.
#horror #weirdfiction #bookstodon #HorrorBooks #readingcommunity #reading
Bobby D.This Pride Month, Deep Cuts in a Lovecraftian Vein has invited guests to review classic works of gender transition and identity. This week, please enjoy:
“Teoquitla the Golden” (1924) by Ramon de las Cuevas: A Review by Luana Saitta
“Teoquitla the Golden” (1924) by Ramon de las Cuevas: A Review by Luana Saitta
A hunched-over white man, limbs chained, is being led by two jaguar warriors brandishing war club and shield across a crowded square. Great Aztec idols survey the tableau of what is surely the prel…
November GrauI've just finished number 8 in Black Shuck's Great British Horror series, Something Peculiar. Earlier numbers were themed, but this one is more just "any colour as long as it's weird". It must have done well because two more Something Peculiars have since come out, and in fact I began with the second one (Great British Horror Volume 9, do keep up) by accident. That was a fantastic book but I've already lathered about that all over Bluesky so won't go into it again.
This Something Peculiar was a bit of a disappointment after the second one. The GBH series has had its blips in the past, mainly caused by the inclusion of stories by writers who are obviously not quite ready for publication, and that applies here too. With the colossal magnanimity for which I am justly revered I will refrain from naming any of these rookies, but I don't know what Maxim Jakubowski's excuse is for his inability to string a sentence together properly after all these years (as showcased in "The Book Collector" here.) I remember my Dad bitching about him nearly thirty years ago and have no idea how he keeps getting published.
But on to the good. Ally Wilkes is a fairly new writer who I've come to associate with quality, and her tale of online horror "Black-Eye" lives up to her usual standard. It's written as a series of transcripts of influencer videos with a bit of concise description to link things up, and in addition to holding your attention well it also makes you think about the psychological burdens faced by influencers, many of whom are hardworking young people acting under harsh financial pressures and exposed like coalmine canaries to the noxious fumes of today's putrid internet, often with no support from either their elders or the platforms that make money off their backs. Wilkes doesn't labour the point but her characters are treated with a sympathy and lack of mockery that does her credit. And while there is quite a body of horror fiction about the internet now, Wilkes' in-depth use of a wide variety of user interface features to generate unease is a cut above average. Comment panes, emojis, mic effects and the interplay between a main window and smaller secondary windows (perfect for those corner-of-the-retina scares)...there's a lot going on here.
My other pick of the book is "Fell Creatures" by Reggie Oliver, a slow-burning piece of dollshouse-cum-body-horror that also sees this most sophisticated of horror authors wielding his literary scalpel on the class system. Again, this story benefits from likeable characters, and for me the ability to make characters come to life within a short word count will often make the difference between an okay story and a really good one.
There are other decent stories from the likes of Gemma Files, Stephen Gallagher, Verity Holloway and Steve Toase, and in terms of variety of theme and style this anthology scores well. I've already got the third Something Peculiar on my shelf waiting to be read, though I'm going to take a detour via M John Harrison first with a re-read of his splendid collection The Ice Monkey.
https://blackshuckbooks.co.uk/gbh8/
#WeirdFiction #HorrorFiction #Horror #ReggieOliver #AllyWilkes
This Something Peculiar was a bit of a disappointment after the second one. The GBH series has had its blips in the past, mainly caused by the inclusion of stories by writers who are obviously not quite ready for publication, and that applies here too. With the colossal magnanimity for which I am justly revered I will refrain from naming any of these rookies, but I don't know what Maxim Jakubowski's excuse is for his inability to string a sentence together properly after all these years (as showcased in "The Book Collector" here.) I remember my Dad bitching about him nearly thirty years ago and have no idea how he keeps getting published.
But on to the good. Ally Wilkes is a fairly new writer who I've come to associate with quality, and her tale of online horror "Black-Eye" lives up to her usual standard. It's written as a series of transcripts of influencer videos with a bit of concise description to link things up, and in addition to holding your attention well it also makes you think about the psychological burdens faced by influencers, many of whom are hardworking young people acting under harsh financial pressures and exposed like coalmine canaries to the noxious fumes of today's putrid internet, often with no support from either their elders or the platforms that make money off their backs. Wilkes doesn't labour the point but her characters are treated with a sympathy and lack of mockery that does her credit. And while there is quite a body of horror fiction about the internet now, Wilkes' in-depth use of a wide variety of user interface features to generate unease is a cut above average. Comment panes, emojis, mic effects and the interplay between a main window and smaller secondary windows (perfect for those corner-of-the-retina scares)...there's a lot going on here.
My other pick of the book is "Fell Creatures" by Reggie Oliver, a slow-burning piece of dollshouse-cum-body-horror that also sees this most sophisticated of horror authors wielding his literary scalpel on the class system. Again, this story benefits from likeable characters, and for me the ability to make characters come to life within a short word count will often make the difference between an okay story and a really good one.
There are other decent stories from the likes of Gemma Files, Stephen Gallagher, Verity Holloway and Steve Toase, and in terms of variety of theme and style this anthology scores well. I've already got the third Something Peculiar on my shelf waiting to be read, though I'm going to take a detour via M John Harrison first with a re-read of his splendid collection The Ice Monkey.
https://blackshuckbooks.co.uk/gbh8/
#WeirdFiction #HorrorFiction #Horror #ReggieOliver #AllyWilkes
Spooky Readers Book ClubThere’s a difference between imagining something… and realizing it doesn’t feel imaginary anymore.
At what point does something you created stop belonging to you?
Joachim BoazZealia Bishop (1897-1968) was born on this day. Best known for collaborating on three short stories with H. P. Lovecraft. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?15071
L, C. C. Senf, 1929; R, Virgil Finlay, 1939
#weirdfiction #fantasy
Perseid Prophecies MagazineLast chance to get your short story, science essay, or cover art submitted for our summer issue!
Submissions close today!
Guidelines at the 🔗⏬️
https://perseidprophecies.ca/submissions/
Hey folks, do you like capitalism?
Yeah, me neither. I wrote a short horror story inspired by it. Free to read.
Web: https://www.ferenbrooke.com/short-stories/fabric.html
Gemini: gemini://ferenbrooke.com/short-stories/fabric.gmi
Obligatory cat pic included below. Not relevant but cute.
#writingcommunity #horror #horrorlit #shortstory #weirdfiction #bookstodon #horrorcommunity
Submissions for our summer issue close tomorrow!
Check our guidelines.
https://perseidprophecies.ca/submissions/
awmwritesMay Book Club - AWM Talks About Annihilation The Book
