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The Nightmare Men: “A Doctor, Darkly”

The Nightmare Men: “A Doctor, Darkly”

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800px-carmillaIt’s always best to begin at the start, to quote no one in particular. We’ll start with the introductions: my name is Josh Reynolds and I wanted to be a detective when I grew up…no, not just a detective.

I wanted to be an occult detective. I wanted to be Donald Pleasance hunting down the Horse of the Invisible, or Peter Cushing making a cross out of candlesticks and shoving them right all up in Christopher Lee’s fang-y mug. I wanted to be Carl Kolchak, Thomas Carnacki and Dr. Strange. I wanted to bust up eldritch cults, Draculas and devil-worshipping biker gangs.

Unfortunately, my wife won’t let me. So, instead, I scratch the monster-hunting, ghost-busting itch by writing…well, stuff like this. ‘This’, of course, being ‘The Nightmare Men’ (of which this is the first installment, natch), a series of semi-regular essays on the subject of occult detectives; one part introduction, one part analysis, all awesome, all the time. Basically, if you’ve ever wanted a primer on occult detectives, the Nightmare Men is for you. And we begin with the granddaddy of them all…

Sheridan Le Fanu’s Dr. Martin Hesselius.

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Goth Chick News: Old Dog, New “Twixt”

Goth Chick News: Old Dog, New “Twixt”

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image002The cool thing about Francis Ford Coppola (minus the “Ford” bit if you followed his work in the ‘80’s) is that, chances are he’s responsible for at least one movie in your top ten, regardless of your favorite genre.

From The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, to Peggy Sue Got Married and The Cotton Club, Coppola has never stuck to one movie “type,” but instead stretched his creativity into many corners for better or worse. Love them or hate them (or in some cases both), I’m betting Coppola movies can be found among your favorite quotes, your DVD collection or your Netflix queue.

But though he’s easily associated with making “an offer (you) can’t refuse,” Coppola is possibly least known for his forays into horror; though arguably this is his roots.

Beginning in 1963 with his first big budget film The Terror starring Jack Nicholson in one of his first roles and Boris Karloff in one of his last, Coppola followed up with Dementia 13 later that same year.

By his own admission, horror is where Francis Ford got a foothold in Hollywood.

However, it would be another thirty years before Coppola would return to the genre that gave him his break.

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The 2011 Locus Award Winners

The 2011 Locus Award Winners

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hundred-thousandThe 2011 Locus Awards were announced last weekend. The winners are:

Best Science Fiction Novel: Blackout/All Clear, Connie Willis (Spectra)
Best Fantasy Novel: Kraken, China Miéville (Macmillan UK; Del Rey)
Best First Novel: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit UK; Orbit US)
Best Young Adult Book: Ship Breaker, Paolo Bacigalupi (Little, Brown)
Best Novella: The Lifecycle of Software Objects, Ted Chiang (Subterranean)
Best Novelette: “The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains”, Neil Gaiman (Stories)
Best Short Story: “The Thing About Cassandra”, Neil Gaiman (Songs of Love and Death)
Best Magazine: Asimov’s SF
Best Book Publisher: Tor
Best Anthology: Warriors, George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois, eds. (Tor)
Best Collection: Fritz Leiber: Selected Stories, Fritz Leiber (Night Shade)

You can find the complete list of winners and nominees at Locus Online.

The Locus Awards are presented to winners of Locus Magazine’s annual readers’ poll. The award was first given in 1971, for works published in 1970. According to Locus, the awards frequently draw more voters than the Hugo and Nebula Awards combined.

July/August Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine Now on Sale

July/August Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine Now on Sale

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fsf-july-aug11The May/June double issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction went on sale June 28.

Robert Reed, one of the most prolific and impressive contributors to F&SF over the past decade, has the cover story this issue: a big new novella titled “The Ants of Flanders.” Novelets are Peter David’s “Bronsky’s Dates with Death,” Steven Saylor’s “The Witch of Corinth,” and KJ Kabza’s “The Ramshead Algorithm.”

Short stories this issues are “The Way it Works Out and All,” by Peter S. Beagle, “Less Stately Mansions,” by Rob Chilson, “Hair” by Joan Aiken, “Sir Morgravain Speaks of Night Dragons and Other Things,” by Richard Bowes, and “Someone Like You,” by Michael Alexander.

Plus the regular departments, including Charles de Lint’s column “Books to Look For,” book reviews by Elizabeth Hand, “Plumage From Pegasus: A Short History of the ETEWAF Revolution,” by Paul Di Filippo, “Films: Free Will Hunting,” by Lucius Shepard, and “Science: Pattern Recognition, Randomness, and Roshambo,” by Paul Doherty & Pat Murphy.

F&SF is published six times a year; issues are 258 pages.  It is the longest-running professional fantasy magazine in the country, and has been published continuously since 1949.

The cover price is $7.50. The magazine’s website, where you can order subscriptions and browse their blog, is at www.sfsite.com/fsf/.

F&SF is edited by Gordon van Gelder. The cover this issue is by Maurizio Manzieri. We covered the May/June issue here.

The Year’s Best SF & Fantasy 2011, edited by Rich Horton

The Year’s Best SF & Fantasy 2011, edited by Rich Horton

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yearsbest2011The third volume of Rich Horton’s Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy (Prime Books), my favorite annual Year’s Best collection, shipped in early June, and my copy finally arrived last week. Imagine my surprise to find this on the dedication page:

For two editors who got me started on the route to putting together these books: Dave Truesdale and John O’Neill.

You don’t have to imagine how honored I feel, because I can tell you that right now: pretty damn honored. I’ve been publishing Rich’s excellent articles and reviews since the early days of the SF Site, shortly after he was introduced to me by, yes, Dave Truesdale, who was publishing his short fiction reviews at Tangent. Thanks, Rich. And thanks, Dave.  Owe you one.

As for the book, it’s excellent as always. This year it features thirty stories that showcase the very best in contemporary SF and fantasy, from the finest writers in the field: Gene Wolfe, Robert Reed, Paul Park, Carol Emshwiller, and many others. In fact, this year’s volume is even more awesome than usual, as it features “The Word of Azrael” from BG 14, by our very own Matthew David Surridge, as well as “Braiding the Ghosts” (from Clockwork Phoenix 3) by our website editor C.S.E. Cooney.

C.S.E. had a particularly good year last year, in fact: two additional tales made Rich’s Recommended Reading list, including “Household Spirits” (from Strange Horizons; read the complete story here) and her novella The Big Bah-Ha (from Drollerie Press), alongside Robert J. Howe’s novella from BG 14, “The Natural History of Calamity.” We covered the 2009 edition of Year’s Best SF & Fantasy here.

Congratulations to all the contributors, and to Rich on another superb volume. If you’re looking for one book this year to point you to the cream of the crop in modern SF & fantasy, this is the one.

2010 Bram Stoker Award Winners

2010 Bram Stoker Award Winners

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straub-a-dark-matter2Yes, these awards were actually given out last week, so technically this isn’t news. But I’m just getting around to it now, and you probably forgot who won already, so I’m sure this is still useful. Glad we could be of service.

The winners of the 2010 Bram Stoker Awards for Superior Achievement in the horror field are:

Novel: A Dark Matter, Peter Straub (DoubleDay)
First Novel (tie): Black and Orange, Benjamin Kane Ethridge (Bad Moon Books) & Castle of Los Angeles, Lisa Morton (Gray Friar)
Long Fiction: “Invisible Fences,” Norman Prentiss (Cemetery Dance)
Short Fiction: “The Folding Man,” Joe R. Lansdale (Haunted Legends)
Anthology: Haunted Legends, Ellen Datlow & Nick Mamatas, eds. (Tor)
Collection: Full Dark, No Stars, Stephen King (Simon & Schuster)
Non-Fiction: To Each Their Darkness, Gary A. Braunbeck (Apex)
Poetry Collection: Dark Matters, Bruce Boston (Bad Moon Books)

The Bram Stoker Awards have been presented annually by the Horror Writers Association since 1987. Winners are selected by ballot among active members of the HWA. In 2011 three new Categories will be added: Superior Achievement in a Screenplay; Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel; and Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel.

What about Superior Achievement in a video game? Any year that doesn’t include an award for Dead Rising is missing the boat, in my opinion.

The complete list of nominess for 2010 is here.

Goth Chick News: Time To See More Dead People

Goth Chick News: Time To See More Dead People

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image0101Believe me, fighting off the urge to be snarky every time I read something about Slasher Films is an exercise in self control.

If you recall, back in January I told you about the Guns ‘n Roses guitarist “Slash” who had just announced the launch of his new horror movie production company with a very cheesy name.

This had all the elements that make for a good rip on how running around looking like a rock and roll version of Son of Svengoolie doesn’t automatically mean you can make a palatable scary movie. However, before I was able to launch into a truly hardy, sarcastic tirade I was struck by the seemingly intriguing story lines that would be the first few big screen releases.

Maybe, just maybe this was going to be good after all.

Originally, Slasher Films announced four new projects; Nothing to Fear, Theorem, The Other Kingdom and Wake the Dead, billed as a film version of the graphic novel by Steve Niles who also happens to be Slash’s business partner.

This week we learned which of these concepts are going to become reality first.

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Matthew Wuertz reviews Black Gate 15

Matthew Wuertz reviews Black Gate 15

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bg-15-cover2Long time reader Matthew Wuertz contributes one of the first reviews of our latest issue on his blog, Adventures of a Fantasy Writer:

The immense tome is now the standard size, much to the chagrin of mail carriers everywhere. For those who love adventure fantasy, however, it is a welcome change for the bi-annual publication.

This is one of the best issues I’ve read. There is a mix of old and new writers, and there is even a theme around strong female protagonists (or “Warrior Women” as John puts it). If you’ve read Black Gate in the past but have fallen away from it in recent times, this is an excellent issue to jump back in with. If you’ve never read Black Gate, check them out.

Matthew has particular praise for “World’s End” by Frederic S. Durbin, “Groob’s Stupid Grubs” by Jeremiah Tolbert, “The Lions of Karthagar” by Chris Willrich, and stories by John R. Fultz and Maria V. Snyder. But he reserves his highest praise for “The Oracle of Gog,” the first story in an ambitious new S&S sequence by Vaughn Heppner:

Lod has survived as hunters’ bait and seeks to end his slavery. Meanwhile, the Nephilim, Kron, comes to his master – the terrible Firstborn named Gog – who has peered into the future and sees a threat. Kron’s mission is to eliminate that threat, while Lod’s mission is to simply survive in his newfound freedom. This was my favorite tale within the issue. Heppner’s narrative style wrapped me into each scene and into the characters’ minds. I hope to see more stories of Lod in future issues.

Read Matthew’s complete review here.

You can get more details on Black Gate 15 here, and purchase copies for just $18.95 (shipping included) at our online store.

First Official Photos of The Hobbit released

First Official Photos of The Hobbit released

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ew-hobbit-bilbo

From Entertainment Weekly.

So far so good, though I can’t say I’m surprised, given the precedent set by the wonderful scenery and set-pieces of The Lord of the Rings films. Martin Freeman couldn’t have been a better casting choice, visually, for the part of Bilbo (though I picture Mr. Baggins as slightly more rotund).

As I’m sure it was for many others The Hobbit was my gateway to fantasy and, largely, to reading in general. As such I have very high expectations for this film (or more accurately, films). I have little doubt The Hobbit is going to look great, but my hopes and fears are pinned to the faithfulness of the script. And the amount of screen time allotted to Beorn kicking ass at the Battle of Five Armies.

Goth Chick News: Colin Farrell Can Bite Me

Goth Chick News: Colin Farrell Can Bite Me

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image0022If you’re looking for a sparkly vampire who marries humans rather than eats them, check back in around November when I can promise you there will be no mention of such atrocities here.

No way.

Here at Goth Chick News we do not condone the colorization of black and white movies, the censoring of controversial reading material or, blasphemy of blasphemies, the wussification of folklore monsters. Here, the Wolfman is not “misunderstood,” Frankenstein is the name of the doctor, not the monster and vampires are ruthless killers without the slightest bit of angst.

In other words; Colin Farrell.

If unlike me, you don’t have a widget countdown clock on your computer screen checking off the minutes until August 19th then let me remind you that is the release date for Fright Night.

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