Search Results for: Laird Barron

A Fun Hardboiled Ride with Classic Barron Horror: The Wind Began to Howl by Laird Barron

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The Wind Began to Howl (Bad Hand Books, May 16, 2023). Cover by Mayra Fersner Laird Barron has been one of most exciting authors and one of the freshest voices in horror literature for several years now. His amazing short story collections include The Imago Sequence (2007), Occultation and Other Stories (2010), The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All and Other Stories (2013), as well as novels such as The Light Is the Darkness (2012) and the incredibly creepy The…

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Making Lovecraft Look Quaint: Swift to Chase by Laird Barron

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Laird Barron is, to my mind, head-and-shoulders above any other horror writer around today. Besides being terrifying, his stories exhibit a real gift for expressing the existential angst of classic cosmic horror, that genre that was perfected so well by the late H. P. Lovecraft. But Barron has so excelled in crafting this sort of tale that calling him Lovecraftian is seemingly rather quaint. For Barron knows how to uniquely weave together seemingly disparate strands in very original ways that…

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New Treasures: Swift to Chase by Laird Barron

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In his review of the 2014 Laird Barron tribute volume The Children of Old Leech, James McGlothlin wrote: If you’re not familiar with Laird Barron, you really should be. He’s a multiple Shirley Jackson Award winner and currently on the 2014 World Fantasy Award ballot. I’ve raved about him several times on Black Gate, including here and here and here. Barron’s writing is often called Lovecraftian; but not in a pastiche sort of way.  Rather, Barron is really good at…

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Future Treasures: Man With No Name by Laird Barron

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Laird Barron is one of the modern masters of horror. James McGlothlin reviewed his latest collection for us, The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All, saying, “Barron is still one of the leading horror voices of today… I highly recommend it!” Barron’s also been highly prolific, releasing a steady steam of books in the last few years — including first novel The Croning, the novella X’s For Eyes, and the first volume of the new Year’s Best Weird Fiction anthology series from Undertow…

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Future Treasures: X’s For Eyes by Laird Barron

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Laird Barron made quite a name for himself as a horror writer early in his career, but he’s really come into his own in the last few years. He was the guest editor of Year’s Best Weird Fiction, Volume One, and the subject of the highly acclaimed tribute anthology, The Children of Old Leech. James McGlothlin reviewed his recent work for us, calling his collection The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All “a great combination of cosmic horror… [and] gritty…

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Playing in Laird Barron’s Sandbox: The Children of Old Leech

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A lot of writers have written stories in H. P. Lovecraft’s “sandbox” or have borrowed heavily from it. In fact, during his lifetime, Lovecraft encouraged this shared-world approach to his “Yog-Sothery.” Given his open attitude and the power of Lovecraft’s works, it now almost seems inevitable that a group of Lovecraftian disciples would emerge, helping to spread the fame of  his stories. It is with great excitement that one begins to see something similar emerge with contemporary weird author Laird…

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Year’s Best Weird Fiction, Volume One, edited by Laird Barron

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YEAR’S BEST WEIRD FICTION, Vol. 1, edited by the great Laird Barron for Undertow Press, is scheduled for an August release. You can pre-order it right here. This will be a brilliant inauguration for the series. Each volume will be edited by a different “guest editor” and Undertow could not have made a better choice for their first book: Barron is one of the best weird/horror writers in the field. Here is the complete Table of Contents: “Success” by Michael Blumlein, The Magazine of…

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Future Treasures: Year’s Best Weird Fiction, Volume One, edited by Laird Barron

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There’s lots of great news in this post. So grab some coffee, find a seat, and pay attention. A few months back, the folks at Undertow Publications, an imprint of the fabulous ChiZine, launched an Indiegogo funding campaign for a brand new anthology of weird fiction: Year’s Best Weird Fiction. The campaign wrapped up in September and was a rousing success. (Good news!) In fact, it was successful enough that the anthology is planned to be an annual affair. (Good news!) And…

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Amazon Discounts Laird Barron’s The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All to $1.99 for October

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Sweet! Amazon.com has made Laird Barron’s new collection, The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All, a Kindle special, pricing it at just $1.99 for the month of October. In his September 4th review for us, James McGlothlin wrote: This highly anticipated book marks Barron’s third collection of short stories (and fourth book), following both of his Shirley Jackson Award-winning collections The Imago Sequence and Occultation, as well as his 2012 debut novel, The Croning. As with his prior volumes, this one…

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Cosmic Horror and Gritty Noir: A Review of The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All by Laird Barron

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The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All By Laird Barron Night Shade Books (280 pages, $26.99, September 3, 2013) After having its delivery date pushed back multiple times, Laird Barron’s The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All has finally arrived. This highly anticipated book marks Barron’s third collection of short stories (and fourth book), following both of his Shirley Jackson Award-winning collections The Imago Sequence and Occultation, as well as his 2012 debut novel, The Croning. As with his prior volumes,…

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