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Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch)
Username: Mark_lynch

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 212.74.96.200
Posted on Friday, December 19, 2008 - 07:50 pm:   

Aha! Picked up SHADES OF DARKNESS from the Post Office today*. And what a lovely book it looks to be. I'm itching to start it. Only question is, do I read through the stories in order or by the ones I suspect will become my favourites? Joel, for instance, has one of his police spooky crossover pieces, which I do so love . . .

I shan't be reading this one in the bath . . . Far too nice. Got a 50p Neal Asher book as my current bath book.

* Alas, the book is not available for purchase at the PO.
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Simon Bestwick (Simon_b)
Username: Simon_b

Registered: 10-2008
Posted From: 86.24.165.182
Posted on Friday, December 19, 2008 - 07:55 pm:   

Ah! Got home today and found the postman had tried delivering a package... wondered what that could've been. Looking forward to reading it.
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Alansjf (Alansjf)
Username: Alansjf

Registered: 09-2008
Posted From: 94.194.134.45
Posted on Friday, December 19, 2008 - 08:35 pm:   

Probably not going to see a copy of this before January, but really looking forward to it - a cracking TOC.
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Simon Strantzas (Nomis)
Username: Nomis

Registered: 09-2008
Posted From: 99.225.111.224
Posted on Friday, December 19, 2008 - 11:23 pm:   

Haven't seem mine yet, but hopefully soon.
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Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch)
Username: Mark_lynch

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 212.74.96.200
Posted on Saturday, December 20, 2008 - 10:20 am:   

I read the opening story last night, by Steve Duffy. Best piece of his I've read. Really, really enjoyed. Thought the only slightly weak aspect of the tale was the ocassional slip into Lovecraftian language -- the Old Ones, eldritch, etc. Could just as well have done without that and still had a great tale. But a great opener. I know the rest of the antho can't be as good, cos one of my stories is in there, but I'm looking forward to reading the rest . . .
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Simon Strantzas (Nomis)
Username: Nomis

Registered: 09-2008
Posted From: 99.225.111.224
Posted on Saturday, December 20, 2008 - 12:38 pm:   

Mark, you ought to review the book as Des reviewed mine recently: each time you finish a story, come back to this thread a post a review of it. That will inspire you to read the entire thing, cover to cover.
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Mick Curtis (Mick)
Username: Mick

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.159.82.181
Posted on Saturday, December 20, 2008 - 01:00 pm:   

Might have to get this - I love the ATP anthologies I've bought so far.
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Matthew_fell (Matthew_fell)
Username: Matthew_fell

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 216.232.189.136
Posted on Saturday, December 20, 2008 - 06:39 pm:   

Simon noted . . . Haven't seem mine yet, but hopefully soon. . . .

What do you expect, Simon? You live just across the country from us, and Mark lives halfway across the world; so it's natural that packages mailed the same day will arrive with Mark first - this is Canada, after all.

Christopher
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Simon Strantzas (Nomis)
Username: Nomis

Registered: 09-2008
Posted From: 99.225.111.224
Posted on Saturday, December 20, 2008 - 07:07 pm:   

Oh, there's no surprise here Christopher. None at all. I'm sure I'll see it before Christmas; I'm just not sure which Christmas. . . .
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Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch)
Username: Mark_lynch

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 212.74.96.200
Posted on Saturday, December 20, 2008 - 08:58 pm:   

Aye, aye, Simon! So . . .

Read a few more tales. Doing them in order so far. Enjoyed all the ones I’ve read. Anyway, possible spoilers ahead, but no biggies.

Second tale is by Second Simon, as we may lovingly know him on here. Or Simon Bestwick as he’d probably prefer, it being his name and all . . . What struck me about this one was how appropriate a paraphrase of something Douglas E Winter used to describe James Herbert’s work was for Simon’s voice in this one: “a rough and tumble style”, which perfectly suits his protagonist. I saw the ending coming, but that didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the muscle in the piece, the pace and brief descriptions, the staccato jag of sentences that built up almost in a frenzy toward the switchback resolution; it conveyed a sense of violence that seemed a likely outcome at one point, before I figured things out a few pages from the end and the violence ebbed from the piece in a nicely considered ending.

If Simon B’s tale cuts to the quick with the modernity of its prose, then the next tale falls back on an older tradition of ghost story telling, I thought, with its more conservative approach. It took me longer to get into this one, perhaps because of the tone, which while having a sort of “timeless feel” also left it floating unanchored period-wise. I thought it was something set well back in the last century or earlier at one point, only later realising that was half due to a misreading on my part. Once I was clear on where things stood, I enjoyed its shades of James’s ghostly hotel room tale and the deeply creaky atmosphere. Tradition, this one, seemed to be saying. Mannered. Had an edge of a kink of the strange in its ending, which I think I need to read again to understand better.

The always-dependable Paul Finch then. A mingling of old tradition with urban ugliness here, leaving you questioning just who among the cast is the worst of the worst after all.

Also read Reggie Oliver’s piece. What’s to say? Jamesian? Of course. He does what he does very, very well, and it’s a pleasure to read him. This speaks tradition too, and in a fine and erudite voice, a tale to read and look up from expecting the whiff of a snuffed candle to be hanging in the air.

And then I’m up to Ian Rogers, a writer I’ve not heard of before but which I’ll keep an eye open for more of. Minor quibble of shifting character viewpoints aside (and you could argue because of the protagonists’ “gifts” that this is not only acceptable but a valid contributory to the story) I enjoyed this very much indeed. His dialogue’s pretty much effortless and he gives us some appealing characters we’re happy to spend time with. The tale’s a postcard piece, really, but that doesn’t matter. Postcards can be enjoyable, don’t need great narrative leaps. Its got strength without pyrotechnics. I think we’re gonna see an awful lot more of this guy.

And that’s where I am with things so far, feeling very, very pleased to have been included in the anthology.

The crime writer Martin Edwards told me a few years ago that being published is a privilege. After the number of rejections my stories usually receive (even more than Simon Strantzas gets after a month’s residency in a singles bar), it’s a very, very nice feeling to have a story not only get accepted on a first reading – as happened here, Barbara and Christopher were the first to read my piece in here – but to have it appear in such a plush and lovely book. I’m genuinely flattered and proud to be included.

I’ll say this, too. What I like so far about the collection is that the voices, while clearly working in the tradition of the ghost tale, are mixed. Too often with anthologies the editor’s preference for a certain type of storytelling or voice runs the length of the book without room for any individuality. Here, Barbara and Christopher have allowed modern and older voices to mingle, to great effect, so that you’re not quite sure what you’re going to get next while still being confident of a certain degree of quality.

Next story in a while!
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Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch)
Username: Mark_lynch

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 212.74.96.200
Posted on Saturday, December 20, 2008 - 08:59 pm:   

I do have one complaint though! The rear inside flap of the hardcover jacket is blank. I'd've liked a bio and possible picture of the editors there.
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Matthew_fell (Matthew_fell)
Username: Matthew_fell

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 216.232.189.136
Posted on Saturday, December 20, 2008 - 09:15 pm:   

There's a bio of the editors within the book itself. You certainly didn't need a picture of us: we were trying to keep the horror for the written word. . . .

Christopher
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Simon Strantzas (Nomis)
Username: Nomis

Registered: 09-2008
Posted From: 99.225.111.224
Posted on Sunday, December 21, 2008 - 03:56 am:   

After the number of rejections my stories usually receive (even more than Simon Strantzas gets after a month’s residency in a singles bar)...

Hey!

I mean, it's true, but: Hey!
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Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch)
Username: Mark_lynch

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 212.74.96.200
Posted on Sunday, December 21, 2008 - 08:05 pm:   

Sorry, matey.

Read another couple of tales. “In Old Oaks” first, by Kerris McDonald; then Mark Samuels’s (wasn’t he a member here for a couple of days, until he saw Albie and ran away?) “Thyxxolqu”. Again, enjoyed all I’ve read.

“In Old Oaks” reminded me a bit of Stephen Gallagher’s stuff, strong background detail and some lovely and plush descriptions of the central tree in question, neat and effective characterisation with straightforward but believable dialogue that sounds like something overheard (which is the real trick, isn’t it?). I wasn’t at all surprised to read that McDonald writes erotica under another name, because her descriptions of the tree had a sensual quality that I enjoyed a lot. Liked this one a lot, though the appearance of the supernatural entity was perhaps a little bit too quickly upon the protagonist without any notice, almost as if the writer wanted to get on with the piece all of a sudden.

“Thyxxolqu” was a bit more miserabilist. Central protagonist didn’t seem to like much and wouldn’t do well on one of Paul McKenna’s positivity change your life courses. I’m not a big fan of the pure miserabilist stuff, do prefer a modicum of hope and light in stuff, so I was very pleased at the suggestiveness of the ending. Anyway, dealing well with the tricky problem of how to convey the collapse and transformation of language, this shorter tale has a really neat idea about a type of ghost I’d never thought of before. Cunning stuff.
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Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch)
Username: Mark_lynch

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 212.74.96.200
Posted on Monday, December 22, 2008 - 07:27 pm:   

On to Lawrence Connolly’s “Flames” after the Mark Samuels tale. I’m a sucker for spooky tales in snow, and here we’ve got a spooky snow tale mixed with a haunted house tale. Not sure how well the initial crime set-up worked in context with the rest, a s it seemed a bit convenient, but it was engaging and kept me reading.

And that led to “Soft Little Fingers” by David A Riley, which had some seriously creepy imagery all wrapped up in a neat tale well told. I close my eyes and I can see the car speeding along the streets, that stirring in the back seat, the pale face pressing up against the rear windscreen.

Frances Oliver’s tale, “The King of Majorca”, was a rich joy. Vivid and a feast of prose, it has echoes like the cathedral so much of it takes place in. Characters I enjoyed reading about, a mystery that beguiles more than repulses. Nothing directly graphic, though with a heavy sense of blood being let throughout. A enchanting torture at its heart. A piece to immerse yourself in.

“Monster” by Melanie Tem, one of the shorter pieces, follows. As you’d expect from her, a perfectly confident piece told with complete command from its start to its end. Nice twist.
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Huw (Huw)
Username: Huw

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 218.168.176.50
Posted on Monday, December 22, 2008 - 08:31 pm:   

My copies arrived today, just in time for Christmas. A splendid looking book, as usual, from Ash-Tree.
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Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch)
Username: Mark_lynch

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 212.74.96.200
Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2008 - 07:26 pm:   

And more of SHADES OF DARKNESS read, all still very enjoyable.

Christopher Harman’s “The Children” is a big old feast of a ghost story, one I was delighted to fall into the details of. It’s dense stuff, with some Ramsey-esque language at its best that I was particularly pleased with. Here there’s a slow build-up, going through Jamesian moves and motifs here and there, leading up to a suggestively dark ending that I enjoyed (strange word but appropriate) a lot. Enjoyment was slightly marred in the last section by what I came to realise was a formatting error in the print. A pity, really, as everything’s so wonderful in the book, a real pleasure to open and read, from the paper quality to typeface and set-out. Wasn’t sure about the title of this piece, though, but a great and unsettling finish.

Following the very British ghostliness and approach of “The Children” comes a very American piece of fiction in “Cargo”. E Michael Lewis has a good ear for his first-person prose and dialogue. He evokes the US military flight transport and turns it into a ghostly setting to great effect. I’d say it’s one of the ghost stories that seems to have appeared “in the tradition of” Lucius Shepherd’s “Delta Sly Honey”. Liked this one a lot as well. Suggestive and told almost in passing, like the most authoritative ghost stories are told. Lingers.

“A Bit of A Giggle” brings us back to a British approach, and an older type of storytelling. I found this one more difficult to get into, the dialogue particularly troublesome. Once I _was_ into it though, I enjoyed its tongue in cheek approach and dark humour, though I felt it was more likely set in the 1950s or 60s than the present day.

“Archangel” is a more traditional piece of ghostliness, well constructed and written, with some especially lovely conjuring of the scenes and settings. Probably overused exclamation marks in the Irish priest’s dialogue, but otherwise a deft and nicely thought out piece, recalling the best traditions of the ghostly tale.

Next up some barnstorming storytelling by some bloke called Gary McMahon. Again, a piece with traditional echoes, but brought up to date in the telling by uses of emails in the epistolary form to move things along. A couple of stock phrases and clichés threw me out of the piece in places (most notably at the end of the first section, that “slept like a log” one), but the urgency in the piece carried me along at the usual McMahon breakneck (if you’ll forgive the pun, considering the story’s called “BrokenBack Isle) pace. Loved the back-story and naming of the giant. But I shan’t say any more, for fear of spoiling things. Must say this though: the monsters were outstanding . . .
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Barbara Roden (Nebuly)
Username: Nebuly

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 216.232.189.136
Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2008 - 07:42 pm:   


quote:

Enjoyment was slightly marred in the last section by what I came to realise was a formatting error in the print.




What sort of formatting error, Mark?


quote:

“A Bit of A Giggle” brings us back to a British approach, and an older type of storytelling. I found this one more difficult to get into, the dialogue particularly troublesome. Once I _was_ into it though, I enjoyed its tongue in cheek approach and dark humour, though I felt it was more likely set in the 1950s or 60s than the present day.




I have a feeling it is set back in the 1950s or 1960s, Mark, although it's never spelled out in the story.


quote:

“Archangel” is a more traditional piece of ghostliness, well constructed and written, with some especially lovely conjuring of the scenes and settings. Probably overused exclamation marks in the Irish priest’s dialogue.




You should have seen the exclamation points in his dialogue before I started removing them. . . .
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Barbara Roden (Nebuly)
Username: Nebuly

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 216.232.189.136
Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2008 - 08:19 pm:   

Took a look at 'The Children'; all I can say is oh dear, don't know how that happened. On the bright side, none of the text is missing.
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Joel (Joel)
Username: Joel

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 91.110.150.121
Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2008 - 09:21 pm:   

I wouldn't call Mark Samuels' 'Thyxxolqu' miserablist, since its horror comes from a new and external threat rather than the intrinsic corruption of our society as it already is. It is awful good though.

And don't you just know, without a shadow of doubt, that the title came from some Internet trading site that gives you a randomly generated password?
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Zed (Gary_mc)
Username: Gary_mc

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.96.242.126
Posted on Monday, December 29, 2008 - 01:59 am:   

Thanks for the comments, Mark. And in my defence, cliches are surely allowed in a first-person narrative - I don't know anyone who doesn't speak in cliches. That's why they become cliches.

I've been reading this too, and have enjoyed the tales so far.
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Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch)
Username: Mark_lynch

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 212.74.96.200
Posted on Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - 07:13 pm:   

And still I’m on with the anthology, read some more pieces.

“Old Man’s Pantry” is an interesting tale, and especially so from a technical point of view. Manages to keep a steady momentum going over near enough ten pages, which was quite a feat, I thought, slipping in the back-story without pulling the eye from what lies ahead, while keeping the protagonist jogging. No dialogue either, which is another interesting aspect of the tale for me. Builds up a good feeling of threat and concludes neatly enough, with a sense of genuine threat in the final pages. Good stuff.

One day Joel Lane’s going to write a police procedural/ supernatural crossover novel. It’s going to be a hundred and ten, hundred and twenty thousand words long, will combine all the good things his short stories of similar approach take and will do ninety thousand in the first few months of its mass-market paperback release. It’ll probably be the best supernatural/crime crossover this country’s produced since HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES*. No one else is writing this sort of thing just now – not as well as Joel, anyway. His story “A Mouth To Feed” again uses a police detective as protagonist, and the tale makes good use of the police’s investigative abilities to spin an unsettling story that in its own way transplants the old (possibly-) Satanic ritual tales from the manor house to the modern-day settings we’re more accustomed to in the early 21st Century. The police detective is such a wonderful character to be facing such an investigation. The language of the police procedural – especially UK police procedurals – is employed usefully to cut to the quick of the piece, giving it a matter-of-fact clarity that grounds the supernatural. The final images in the quarry do not leave the mind easily because of this. More please, Mr L!

“In Vitro” by bestselling author Michael Cox is a real gem. After the modernity of Joel’s piece, we’re transported back to a snowy Christmas Eve in cloisters, a century and a bit ago, the evening of the meeting of the “Spook Story Society”, and the telling of a very traditional tale of a haunted icon. Dedicated to MR James, it’s no surprise as to how the tale unravels. The pleasure is not in the twists of the tale – we can see them coming a mile off – but in the delicious telling. With the same elegance and attention to detail that appeared in his novel THE MEANING OF NIGHT, we’re there, with the protagonists. The walk home at night from the station gave me one of the finest chills I’ve had in a while.

Marion Pitman’s “Out of Season” next. Tricky to say much about this one, story-wise, without giving the ending away or what type of supernatural tale it is. So . . . Engaging narrative. Nice settings. Didn’t outstay its welcome. Enjoyed it very much.

Then we’re onto WASHINGTON POST mentioned-in-passing author Simon Strantzas’s “Under the Overpass”. Twisty title aside, I was really taken away by the mood of this one, enjoyed the first half considerably, enjoying the nostalgia that seeped through and the unsettling creep of dread that slowly insinuated itself into the piece. I was there with the kids, knew them and how it felt to be one of them. Second half, though not as consuming as the first half, neatly furthered our understanding while leaving us nicely baffled as to the supernatural aspects of the piece. I should say that almost everything – with one incident aside – in this tale is suggested rather than stated in overwrought sentences that too many writers would go for. Good stuff from the fella.

And then, well. Me. “The Apartment of Bryony Hartwood.” If Simon’s piece is suggestive, mine isn’t! I think one of the things I’ve really appreciated reading the anthology is just how important the placement of the stories in relation to each other is in making for a rewarding experience. How well my effort works after Simon’s I can’t really say. It’s always hardest to judge your own stuff. I should probably’ve deleted the first “phone” in the line where one character’s “phone voice” calls the protagonist back to the “phone”, and should the cat in Cheshire cat have been capitalised? I meant to ask at the time but, being a bear of little brain, managed to forget. Anyway, I hope my piece doesn’t let the anthology down, and I thank Barbara and Christopher for including it.

Only three more pieces to go now . . .


* I know, I know. Technically not a supernatural novel. But still . . .
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Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch)
Username: Mark_lynch

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 212.74.96.200
Posted on Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - 07:20 pm:   

>>Thanks for the comments, Mark.

My pleasure, mate. Enjoyed the tale.

>>cliches are surely allowed in a first-person narrative - I don't know anyone who doesn't speak in cliches. That's why they become cliches.

Yeah, fair comment, I suppose, though I still think they're best avoided. All the tales have had one stock phrase or cliche in so far -- my own included! I only mentioned the one I pointed out in your piece cos of its placing, at the end of a section break, made it more obvious and drew my eyes to others.

>>I have a feeling it is set back in the 1950s or 1960s, Mark, although it's never spelled out in the story.

That's what I thought, Barbara, but then there's mention of a policeman with a radio-telephone towards the end. I don't know when they were introduced, but I have a feeling it was in the 70s. May have been better having the copper fumbling with it as new technology or something, I don't know. That's what threw me, anyway.

>>I wouldn't call Mark Samuels' 'Thyxxolqu' miserablist, since its horror comes from a new and external threat rather than the intrinsic corruption of our society as it already is.

Ahh. That'll be the definition, then. I always thought it was meant in relation to fiction dealing with 35-year-old single blokes wandering around moaning while something possibly superntural happened but may not have done. A sort of spooky version of "sad git lit".
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Joel (Joel)
Username: Joel

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 91.110.142.1
Posted on Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - 07:59 pm:   

Thanks for your kind comments on 'A Mouth To Feed', Mark. The future scenario you envisage for my writing is certainly appealing – so are flying pigs, not least because pork wings would combine flavour with relatively low fat content. We'd all need crash helmets to go out though.

"I always thought [miserabism] was meant in relation to fiction dealing with 35-year-old single blokes wandering around moaning while something possibly superntural happened but may not have done." That's not the essence of miserablism. It's just the marketing gimmick. Which, in retrospect, could have been improved on.
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Simon Strantzas (Nomis)
Username: Nomis

Registered: 09-2008
Posted From: 99.225.111.224
Posted on Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - 09:04 pm:   

I never thought I'd see the day Mark said anything nice about my work. I'm flabbergasted!

In seriousness, many thanks Mark for the comments, and for taking me up on the challenge (if it could be called that) of reviewing the entire book. I'm sure Barbara and Christopher feel the same way, even if they aren't saying so.

As for Zed: if you take away his cliches, all he'll have left are a few conjunctions. How is he supposed to write after that?
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Barbara Roden (Nebuly)
Username: Nebuly

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 216.232.189.136
Posted on Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - 09:34 pm:   

Yes, thanks for doing this, Mark; interesting to read your reaction to the various stories.

A good deal of thought goes into the running order of our anthologies: we take into consideration the length of the stories, their theme and tone, and their plots, to make sure we don't get all the long stories one right after the other, or three antiquarian ghost stories in a row, or two stories with similar plots too close together (for example, in Shades of Darkness we wanted to keep Paul Finch's and Marion Pitman's stories apart, because although they have very different tones, styles, and characters, the plot device in both stories are very similar.

Your own story is a lot more fantasy-oriented than the others, but that's one of the advantages of having a fairly loose definition of what constitutes 'the supernatural'. It also helps that we don't have anyone breathing down our necks telling us what we can and can't include.

It'll be interesting to see what you make of the final three stories, particularly Glen Hirshberg's.
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Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch)
Username: Mark_lynch

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 212.74.96.200
Posted on Thursday, January 01, 2009 - 09:49 pm:   

No thanks needed, Barbara: I've really enjoyed this. I'd been toying with the notion of it before Simon suggested it, and as no one -- namely Ramsey -- objected . . .

Okay, then.

And so the last three tales in the book, Helen Grant’s “Grauer Hans”, Barbara’s “Back Roads”, and Glen Hirshberg’s “Esmeralda”.

The first of them, then, “Grauer Hans”, which feels like a retelling of an old fairy tale but which may well be completely original for all I know. It’s an old staple, the threat to a youngster beyond the night window, and its location and feel of the truth about it makes for an arresting telling. Interesting subtext about growing older and seeing things with the wisdom of adulthood, which of course the very best fairy tales all have.

Barbara’s “Back Roads” is a big old Stephen King-like tale, with a perfect King-like narrator unfolding his tale in a colloquial round-the-campfire manner that sits perfectly for the tale. Rich and full of character and great dialogue, every step along the back roads felt laid in just the right spot. Saw where it was going about halfway through, but that in no way distracted me from the enjoyment of reading it. Good stuff.

And finally, last of them all, is actually as near as dammit a science fiction story, or one set in the hinterlands between SF and the ghost story. Glen Hirshberg’s “Esmeralda.” I liked this one a lot, though some insane part of me mistakenly decided – without any prompting from anything written – that the narrator was female, when of course the narrator isn’t, but is actually a fella. Plonker: tis I. The tale itself is just beautifully told, and the guy could’ve written probably much anything and I’d’ve enjoyed it. As it was, it’s a great story to end on for all sorts of reasons, not least the inspiration behind the story and the fact it’s in a bound paper and hardcover edition. But really it's had to say any more withough hurting this one, so I’ll say no more.

Over all summary, then? Couldn’t really have asked for more. Beautifully bound, handsome book with a considerately stacked bunch of tales that seem to compliment each other, whilst also being uniquely their writers’ own individual work. The only other anthology I’ve read from cover to cover this last twelve months is DARK ALCHEMY, and though I may be biased, I think there’s a better collection of tales here, though on an individual tale comparison I don’t think there’s a piece quite as good as Elisabeth Hands’s “Winter’s Wife” in DA. I’m proud and honoured to be in such good company. Happy New Year.
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Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch)
Username: Mark_lynch

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 212.74.96.200
Posted on Thursday, January 01, 2009 - 09:53 pm:   

>>Thanks for your kind comments on 'A Mouth To Feed', Mark. The future scenario you envisage for my writing is certainly appealing

It's the police procedural elemnt combined with the supernatural, Joel. I think in the way you do it it's perfect fit. I find too often that modern Brit police procedurals are limited by the use of language the writers have to employ, which is often as hackneyed and staid as the police reports officers have to write. By subverting it by including the supernatural you're actually using its bare bone essence to reveal the fantastic in believable terms. You get the best of both worlds out of the forms.

That novel's just asking to be written . . .
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Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch)
Username: Mark_lynch

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 212.74.96.200
Posted on Thursday, January 01, 2009 - 09:55 pm:   

>>As for Zed: if you take away his cliches, all he'll have left are a few conjunctions. How is he supposed to write after that?

I'm more worried about the fact he says everyone he knows speaks in cliches. We're his only mates, aren't we? Cheeky sod . . .
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Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch)
Username: Mark_lynch

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 212.74.96.200
Posted on Thursday, January 01, 2009 - 10:07 pm:   

>>The only other anthology I’ve read from cover to cover this last twelve months is DARK ALCHEMY, and though I may be biased, I think there’s a better collection of tales here, though on an individual tale comparison I don’t think there’s a piece quite as good as Elisabeth Hands’s “Winter’s Wife” in DA.

Should of course have read:

The only other anthology I’ve read from cover to cover this last twelve months is DARK ALCHEMY, and though I may be biased, I think there’s a better collection of tales here in SHADES OF DARKNESS, though on an individual tale comparison I don’t think there’s a piece quite as good as Elisabeth Hands’s “Winter’s Wife” which appears in DA.
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Barbara Roden (Nebuly)
Username: Nebuly

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 216.232.189.136
Posted on Thursday, January 01, 2009 - 10:49 pm:   


quote:

Barbara’s “Back Roads” is a big old Stephen King-like tale, with a perfect King-like narrator unfolding his tale in a colloquial round-the-campfire manner that sits perfectly for the tale. Rich and full of character and great dialogue, every step along the back roads felt laid in just the right spot. Saw where it was going about halfway through, but that in no way distracted me from the enjoyment of reading it. Good stuff.




Thanks, Mark; glad you enjoyed the story. I had a lot of fun writing it, and while I never thought of it as being King-like, I suppose it is in some ways. Tim kept coming downstairs as I was writing it, asking if I'd done any more, and having me read the new bit to him; in that way he turned the tale into a cliffhanger, and seemed pleased by how it all turned out.
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Joel (Joel)
Username: Joel

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 217.37.199.45
Posted on Friday, January 02, 2009 - 06:32 pm:   

Glen Hirschberg's 'Esmeralda' is exceptionally good, a brave and compelling story that goes on working in your mind for days afterwards. Its inclusion in SHADES OF DARKNESS represents some kind of convergence of the 'traditionalist' and 'modernist' tendencies in the weird fiction genre, as this story is everything that 'slipstream' fiction is meant to be. The appearance of a superb cross-genre story in an Ash-Tree Press anthology in the same year that BLACK STATIC published a story about H.P. Lovecraft suggests that the walls are crumbling down and the border guards are drunk. It puts me in a ridiculously good mood.
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Zed (Gary_mc)
Username: Gary_mc

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.96.242.126
Posted on Friday, January 02, 2009 - 11:12 pm:   

I read Glen Hirschberg's 'Esmeralda' this evning, and once again remembered why he's one of my favourite short story writers. It's a brilliant - one of the best of 2008, and as Joel says, it serves as a grand link between the traditional and the modern weird tale.
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Simon Bestwick (Simon_b)
Username: Simon_b

Registered: 10-2008
Posted From: 86.24.165.182
Posted on Friday, January 02, 2009 - 11:15 pm:   

The only story I've not read in there yet is Barbara's- saving it till last. Some great stories this year. Brokenback Isle stands out, as does Grauer Hans, along with A Mouth To Feed and, in particular, Under The Overpass. Might just have to rate that as my overall favourite. Although it's very hard to pick- I think there was only one story there I didn't like. Ash-Tree Press does it again.
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Zed (Gary_mc)
Username: Gary_mc

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.96.242.126
Posted on Friday, January 02, 2009 - 11:24 pm:   

I read yours and Joel's first, mate (as usual), and loved it. Joel's is breatakingly good, too.

Bastards.
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Simon Strantzas (Nomis)
Username: Nomis

Registered: 09-2008
Posted From: 99.225.111.224
Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2009 - 12:20 am:   

Hey, thanks Simon! That means a helluva lot to me.

I've only read one story in the book so far, but hope to get to them all soon. The book is positively teaming with my favourite writers.
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Joel (Joel)
Username: Joel

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 91.110.131.88
Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2009 - 02:45 am:   

I think you meant 'teeming', Simon. Though the idea of teaming with you is not without appeal.
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Joel (Joel)
Username: Joel

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 91.110.131.88
Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2009 - 02:57 am:   

Thanks again on the Lane commentary front, Mark. I actually thought of it the other way round: I wanted to bring something of modern crime fiction into the occult detective sub-genre. Which I love, but there's often an elitism about it that bothers me. I feel like shaking Carnacki hard and asking him "What part of 'unknown' do you not understand?" I want to set up an occult detective who is crime-literate but supernatural-naive. The polar opposite of the Dennis Wheatley scenario.
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Simon Strantzas (Nomis)
Username: Nomis

Registered: 09-2008
Posted From: 99.225.111.224
Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2009 - 08:11 am:   

hee hee! It looks like Freud slipped something in my drink!
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Joel (Joel)
Username: Joel

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 91.110.225.37
Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2009 - 12:03 pm:   

Actually, Nomis, I did wonder whether 'curb' in 'Under the Overpass' was a Freudian slip (it should be 'kerb', of course) or a crafty Freudian pun. Especially as there's another pun embedded in the story which I won't reveal.

In fact I can't say much that's spoiler-free about 'Under the Overpass' except that it's a powerful, bleak and worrying piece, a combination of metaphysical ghost story and confessional allegory. I think a lot of city people find a place rather like the one you describe (if not always quite as disturbing), and it impacts on their future life for better or worse.
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Simon Strantzas (Nomis)
Username: Nomis

Registered: 09-2008
Posted From: 99.225.111.224
Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2009 - 01:09 pm:   

Thanks, Joel. If you've read the "author notes" at the back of the book, you'll see that the story was inspired by your tale "Beyond the River", so I owe you quite a bit more.

Oh, and on this side of the Atlantic, we spell it "curb", just like "tire" also means the wheel of a car and not just feeling exhausted. I go back and forth a fair bit with how to spell in my work because, as a Canadian, we are influenced by our Commonwealth roots and our proximity to the USA. Adding to the challenge is the fact that I read more from British authors than I do North American, so really I get all sorts of spelling influences thrown at me. The philosophy I've tried to take with it is this: it doesn't matter if I use the British spelling of one word, like "colour", and the American of the next, like "curb", in the same work as long as I use that spelling consistently throughout the tale. It seems the only rational choice as I'd never be able to strip any of those spelling influences from my work.

You're welcome to email me the other pun if you wish, assuming the giggling fit it gives you is too much to bear.
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Joel (Joel)
Username: Joel

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 91.110.225.162
Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2009 - 02:36 pm:   

Ah. I'm sorry. My ignorance.
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Joel (Joel)
Username: Joel

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 91.110.225.162
Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2009 - 02:40 pm:   

P.S. That was not a sarky response. There's no emoticon for 'honest'.
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Joel (Joel)
Username: Joel

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 91.110.225.162
Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2009 - 02:46 pm:   

Puns are not always comic in effect – there's a fine example in Shirley Jackson's THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, and a magnificently grim play on words in August Derleth's 'Mrs Manifold'. And don't even get me started on Ramsey's use of the pun to explore madness} and despair.
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Simon Strantzas (Nomis)
Username: Nomis

Registered: 09-2008
Posted From: 99.225.111.224
Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2009 - 03:09 pm:   

Hey, no worries. I didn't take it as snark. And you're right, of course, about puns, and about Ramsey being a perfect example
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Gcw (Gcw)
Username: Gcw

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.145.240.86
Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2009 - 09:25 pm:   

Simon,

Your book is in my work bag to be read in lunchtimes when I start work again next week.

gcw
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Simon Strantzas (Nomis)
Username: Nomis

Registered: 09-2008
Posted From: 99.225.111.224
Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2009 - 11:01 pm:   

Thanks, GCW, although the though fills me with strange dread.


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Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch)
Username: Mark_lynch

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 212.74.96.200
Posted on Monday, January 05, 2009 - 08:16 pm:   

>>The only story I've not read in there yet is Barbara's- saving it till last. Some great stories this year. Brokenback Isle stands out, as does Grauer Hans, along with A Mouth To Feed and, in particular, Under The Overpass. Might just have to rate that as my overall favourite. Although it's very hard to pick- I think there was only one story there I didn't like.

Fortunately I'm not feeling paranoid today . . .

Simon (S), I think there was a typo in your piece: a build where you meant built.
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Gary Fry (Gary_fry)
Username: Gary_fry

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.0.112.152
Posted on Monday, January 05, 2009 - 08:43 pm:   

I just got a great program called TalkAloud which reads out prose in a very realistic voice - perfect for spotting typos, etc. Recommended.
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Gary Fry (Gary_fry)
Username: Gary_fry

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.0.112.152
Posted on Monday, January 05, 2009 - 08:45 pm:   

Whoops! It's called TextAloud.

I shoulda run that last post through it. And this one.
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Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch)
Username: Mark_lynch

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 212.74.96.200
Posted on Monday, January 05, 2009 - 09:18 pm:   

Works in American English or British English, Gary? And what's it do with Yorkshire dialect?!
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Gary Fry (Gary_fry)
Username: Gary_fry

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.0.112.152
Posted on Monday, January 05, 2009 - 09:20 pm:   

Both, mate. You can fiddle with its settings. (It gets all fruity.)

It also pronounces unknown words phonetically, but it's pretty damned good.
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Simon Strantzas (Nomis)
Username: Nomis

Registered: 09-2008
Posted From: 38.113.181.169
Posted on Monday, January 05, 2009 - 10:50 pm:   

My computer has a very advanced voice built-in, but I don't like using them. The sound of my own fiction puts me to sleep.
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Tony (Tony)
Username: Tony

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.168.4.162
Posted on Tuesday, January 06, 2009 - 12:42 am:   

Ha! Talk about changing subject.
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Alansjf (Alansjf)
Username: Alansjf

Registered: 09-2008
Posted From: 94.194.134.45
Posted on Thursday, January 15, 2009 - 12:06 pm:   

Back on topic, my copy arrived in the post this morning, and it's gone right to the top of my tbr pile. Though I did waver for a second or two, as that meant relegating Ellen Datlow's Poe ...
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Huw (Huw)
Username: Huw

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 218.168.198.187
Posted on Thursday, January 15, 2009 - 12:12 pm:   

Never mind Poe, I still haven't finished Inferno! It's in my towering, teetering to-be-read pile, along with Shades of Darkness, the latest Best New Horror, and a gazillion other anthos and collections that seem to have piled up faster than I can read them...

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