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Allybird (Allybird)
Username: Allybird

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 88.111.138.146
Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 07:03 pm:   

Apologies if a thread has been started but I couldn't find it. Read Gary Fry's comments earlier on another thread and picked the book up.

Read Kate's 'The Pier.' Good tale...I don't think I'll be going to Brighton again without recalling that story and the imagery...:>).

Dipped in again and found Stephen Volk's. That will be another which will stay in my head for a long time...

Anyone else besides Gary Fry and I pick this up?

http://mortburypress.webs.com/7thblackbookofhorror.htm
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Gary Fry (Gary_fry)
Username: Gary_fry

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.31.244.154
Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 07:11 pm:   

Come on, folks, Charles is giving these away. Support him.
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Gary Fry (Gary_fry)
Username: Gary_fry

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.31.244.154
Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 07:12 pm:   

£5.50 plus free postage!! Believe me, the guy's taking a hit here for the genre. Get it bought or I'll come round your houses and kick your cats.
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Allybird (Allybird)
Username: Allybird

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 88.111.138.146
Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 07:19 pm:   

Well said Gary! (hey ...not about the cats!) I'm reading Reggie Oliver's next.

It didn't have a big launch at Fantasycon and it should have had!
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Gary Fry (Gary_fry)
Username: Gary_fry

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.31.244.154
Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 07:24 pm:   

I'm reading the Illustrated Man's necks.
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Zed (Gary_mc)
Username: Gary_mc

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.96.253.77
Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 07:36 pm:   

Just ordered a copy...thanks for remnding me. I meant to pick up a copy at FCon, but didn't even get to Charlie's table things were so insane.

Gary - I still owe you for Finchy's book. I'll Paypal you this week, as soon as I get paid.
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Mick Curtis (Mick)
Username: Mick

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.177.115.63
Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 07:38 pm:   

Got my copy at FCon but not yet got around to dipping into it.
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John Forth (John)
Username: John

Registered: 05-2008
Posted From: 82.24.1.217
Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 08:03 pm:   

I still haven't finished the third Black Book
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Gary Fry (Gary_fry)
Username: Gary_fry

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.31.244.154
Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 08:07 pm:   

Lazy!

Zed, OK, but remember: I know where you live . . . and you don't have a cat to moderate my fury.
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Simon Bestwick (Simon_b)
Username: Simon_b

Registered: 10-2008
Posted From: 86.24.209.217
Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 08:09 pm:   

As posted elsewhere, bought it and am reading it.

Here's wot I writed on that other thread:

'Alternating between Mr Finch's new Gray Friar collection (sadly I'm already down to the last story) and the 7th Black Book of Horror. The Finch collection is superb, as you'd expect. The Black Book also has a very fine contribution from the Wigan Wonder, and from both Lord and Lady P (like other commentators, I found the ending of Lord P's tale particularly bleak and disturbing- well done sir!) and a nice piece from Anna Taborska, but so far the standout has to be Reggie Oliver's 'Minos or Rhadamanthus' (closely followed by the Finch tale). Good story by Steve Volk, solid genre fare by David A. Riley and Gary Power... yum.'

Still more to read... must get to it.
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John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert)
Username: John_l_probert

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.152.74.159
Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 08:15 pm:   

Thank you so much Mr Bestwick! I actually think that's the nastiest story I've ever written. It's certainly the first time I've felt a bit uncomfortable reading one of my tales to an audience.
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Carolinec (Carolinec)
Username: Carolinec

Registered: 06-2009
Posted From: 82.38.75.85
Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 08:16 pm:   

Yes, I got mine at FCon - signed AND DOODLED (!!) by several of the contributors.

Kate's story is brilliant - very atmospheric, very creepy. I spent a lot of my childhood on one of the piers which inspired this story (the burnt-out - and now rebuilt? - pier at Weston-s-Mare), so I was walking the pier in my mind alongside the main character when I read this.

I cheated on two of the stories - Lord P's story and the Reggie Oliver one. I haven't read them - I went to the respective readings at FCon.

John's is nicely nasty, if you see what I mean, with a final punchline to die for. Reggie Oliver's reading/story just blew me away. "Wow!" is about the only word to describe it.

And, funnily enough, I skipped to Stephen Volk's story too - loved it! It was really kind of sad, yet rather sweet too, in a very strange sort of way.

Haven't got any further with the book yet as I've been busy since I got back from FCon, and I tend to skip from one anthology/collection to another when I read anyway. But this really does look like being an excellent addition to my collection (all 7 Black Books so far - so, Gary, try to kick my cat and I'll break both your legs!)
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Simon Bestwick (Simon_b)
Username: Simon_b

Registered: 10-2008
Posted From: 86.24.209.217
Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 08:17 pm:   

I think the tale packs a particular punch because we've all seen other tales from you in similar vein that end in a more blackly comic way- whereas this doesn't have a punchline. Just a punch.

I really need to go back and get all the other Black Books. Only got Five through Seven so far.
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Zed (Gary_mc)
Username: Gary_mc

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.96.253.77
Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 08:19 pm:   

I love it when Lord Probert does bleak - he doesn't do it often, but when he does the heavens tremble!
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Carolinec (Carolinec)
Username: Carolinec

Registered: 06-2009
Posted From: 82.38.75.85
Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 08:19 pm:   

Ooops, we cross posts, Simon. I know you were responding to Lord P, not to me. I see you love the Reggie Oliver story too - did you go to his reading?

And, yes, get the rest of the Black Books - that's an order!
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Carolinec (Carolinec)
Username: Carolinec

Registered: 06-2009
Posted From: 82.38.75.85
Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 08:20 pm:   

I'm going to have to stop posting on this thread - everyone's posting at the same time as I am.
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John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert)
Username: John_l_probert

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.152.74.159
Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 08:33 pm:   

Zed you're a lovely man and that's a lovely enough comment for me to forgive you for kissing Johnny Mains
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Gary Fry (Gary_fry)
Username: Gary_fry

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.31.244.154
Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 08:37 pm:   

You don't scare me, Caroline.

[runs for cover!]
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Zed (Gary_mc)
Username: Gary_mc

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.96.253.77
Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 09:16 pm:   

Dearest chum, if it makes it any easier I was thinking of you when I did it.
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Allybird (Allybird)
Username: Allybird

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 88.111.138.146
Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 09:21 pm:   

'I love it when Lord Probert does bleak - he doesn't do it often, but when he does the heavens tremble!'

Indeed. A very powerful story, and that last line...
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John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert)
Username: John_l_probert

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.152.74.159
Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 10:09 pm:   

Thanks very much Ally!

On a slightly more negative note, can I be the first to warn RCMB members about James Stanger's 'Bernard Bought the Farm'? Or at least to suggest that it's treated with extreme caution. If you know the Pan Horrors I'd say this was the 'Kowlongo Plaything' of the Black Book series. If you don't then you might be better off steering clear of those 16 pages!
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Matthew Fryer (Matthew_fryer)
Username: Matthew_fryer

Registered: 08-2009
Posted From: 90.202.180.87
Posted on Saturday, September 25, 2010 - 11:55 pm:   

Ordered.
I've only read #6 so far, but if the quality of that was anything to go by, I'm in for a treat.

And what a bargain. I kinda felt guilty paying such a low price.
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Gary Fry (Gary_fry)
Username: Gary_fry

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.31.244.154
Posted on Sunday, September 26, 2010 - 09:08 am:   

So did I at FCon, where I got it for a straight fiver. I asked Charles why so cheap and he said he hoped more people would buy it at this price. So come along, guys. Support him. He's doing sterling work.
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Zed (Gary_mc)
Username: Gary_mc

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.96.253.77
Posted on Sunday, September 26, 2010 - 01:18 pm:   

Yep, Charlie deserves some support. Top man.
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Carolinec (Carolinec)
Username: Carolinec

Registered: 06-2009
Posted From: 82.38.75.85
Posted on Sunday, September 26, 2010 - 01:32 pm:   

>>On a slightly more negative note, can I be the first to warn RCMB members about James Stanger's 'Bernard Bought the Farm'? Or at least to suggest that it's treated with extreme caution. If you know the Pan Horrors I'd say this was the 'Kowlongo Plaything' of the Black Book series. If you don't then you might be better off steering clear of those 16 pages!<<

My curiosity got the better of me - I had to go and look. Lord P is right. If you're of a sensitive disposition, particularly when it comes to cruelty to animals, don't read this one! I couldn't get very far with it - had to give up.

Makes me wonder if James Stanger is a pseudonym? This story has clearly been written as a homage to "Kowlongo Plaything" and "Love on the Farm". I have a feeling there are going to be some very bad reviews of the content of this story. But full marks to Charlie for including it. It's clearly very "Pan-like" (especially thinking of the later Pans).

I read a few more tales in the book yesterday. But got to dash off and do lunch now - I'll post some more comments/thoughts on those stories later. Basically, very good stuff indeed ...
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Allybird (Allybird)
Username: Allybird

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 88.111.138.146
Posted on Sunday, September 26, 2010 - 01:57 pm:   

So who is James Strange? That obviously isn't his real name.
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Allybird (Allybird)
Username: Allybird

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 88.111.138.146
Posted on Sunday, September 26, 2010 - 02:13 pm:   

James Stranger...do we all know this person from the board?

'On a slightly more negative note, can I be the first to warn RCMB members about James Stanger's 'Bernard Bought the Farm'? Or at least to suggest that it's treated with extreme caution. If you know the Pan Horrors I'd say this was the 'Kowlongo Plaything' of the Black Book series. If you don't then you might be better off steering clear of those 16 pages!'

Good advice.
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Allybird (Allybird)
Username: Allybird

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 88.111.138.146
Posted on Sunday, September 26, 2010 - 02:29 pm:   

Stanger...
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Simon Bestwick (Simon_b)
Username: Simon_b

Registered: 10-2008
Posted From: 86.24.209.217
Posted on Sunday, September 26, 2010 - 03:04 pm:   

Too much Guinness, Ally? Or not enough coffee...
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Simon Bestwick (Simon_b)
Username: Simon_b

Registered: 10-2008
Posted From: 86.24.209.217
Posted on Sunday, September 26, 2010 - 03:11 pm:   

I found the Stanger story unpleasant but it worked at least (for me) as a study of how a monster is made. It actually wasn't the story I most disliked. 'Walking The Dyke' by Alex Langley takes the cake for that one. Cheap, nasty and maybe just a tad misogynistic into the bargain. It has nowhere near the gore and violence of the Stanger piece, but for me at least left a far nastier taste in the mouth.
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Carolinec (Carolinec)
Username: Carolinec

Registered: 06-2009
Posted From: 82.38.75.85
Posted on Sunday, September 26, 2010 - 03:16 pm:   

OK, some more quick comments on the rest of the stories I've read so far .. not too much, as I don't want to give away spoilers for anyone who hasn't read these stories yet:
(but sorry if there MAY BE SPOILERS below)

Joel's "Morning's Echo" - loved this - a strange and rather beautiful detective story with a difference!

"Telling" by Steve Rasnic Tem - *very* scary this one. I read it last thing before bed and that was a bit of a mistake! Great story though.

"Walking the Dyke" - Alex Langley - a bit of a cheeky one this - when you read it, you'll realise the title is somewhat un-PC! Nice story though.

Anna Taborska's "The Creaking" - judging by her contribution to the Black Books so far, this lady writes exceptionally good stories. I think this is the best so far. Starts off like a nice fairy tale and ends up as something very black and terrifying - great stuff!

"New Teacher" by Craig Herbertson - a good twist to this tale! You read it and think you know exactly where it's going - but then it goes some place else. Nice one!

"The In-Betweeners" by Tony Richards - very much enjoyed this one. I don't want to give too much away but it gives you an entirely new "take" on those groups of teenagers who tend to hang around on street corners worrying folk about what they're up to.

Funny, too, that the book should start with a story about a pier (Kate's superb story, of course) and end with this one which involves a pier. I don't know if the positioning of these tales was a deliberate editing move, Charlie?

Still plenty more great tales for me to read in this book. With the exception of the "Farm" one, I've enjoyed them all immensely so far.
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Carolinec (Carolinec)
Username: Carolinec

Registered: 06-2009
Posted From: 82.38.75.85
Posted on Sunday, September 26, 2010 - 03:25 pm:   

Simon - interesting to read your comments about "Walking the Dyke". I know it's un-PC (as I said in my post which I was making at the same time as you did yours), but I just found it a bit "cheeky", a little amusing really (the story overall that is, not the cheap reference to homosexuality).

That's one of the great things about the Black Books, I think. Charles clearly knows the Pans like the back of his hand and somehow manages to include stories which reflect those included in the PBoH in *all* its incarnations. Not every type of tale suits every reader, but he's done a damn good job in editing these volumes in such a way that they really are a true homage to the long history of the PBoH.
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Allybird (Allybird)
Username: Allybird

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 88.111.138.146
Posted on Sunday, September 26, 2010 - 03:34 pm:   

Not enough of both
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Allybird (Allybird)
Username: Allybird

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 88.111.138.146
Posted on Sunday, September 26, 2010 - 03:35 pm:   

I think coffee today, Simon.
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Simon Bestwick (Simon_b)
Username: Simon_b

Registered: 10-2008
Posted From: 86.24.209.217
Posted on Sunday, September 26, 2010 - 03:36 pm:   

I've really enjoyed what I've read so far, on the whole. There's much more there that I enjoy than stuff I dislike. They are like the Pan books when they'd found their own style but before they became completely horrible.
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Hubert (Hubert)
Username: Hubert

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 78.22.237.21
Posted on Sunday, September 26, 2010 - 04:04 pm:   

Where can one get in touch with 'Charles'? I'd like to pay with an International Money Order.
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John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert)
Username: John_l_probert

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.152.74.159
Posted on Sunday, September 26, 2010 - 04:04 pm:   

On the whole the Black Books are great, and that includes Volume 7 - I'm reading it to Kate at the moment and we've just been chuckling at the cheekiness of Alex Langley's tale. Stephen Volk's left us feeling quite moved last night. And yes, I did read the Stanger piece aloud!
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Allybird (Allybird)
Username: Allybird

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 88.111.138.146
Posted on Sunday, September 26, 2010 - 04:10 pm:   

'I've really enjoyed what I've read so far, on the whole. There's much more there that I enjoy than stuff I dislike. They are like the Pan books when they'd found their own style but before they became completely horrible.'

Agreed, Simon.
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Carolinec (Carolinec)
Username: Carolinec

Registered: 06-2009
Posted From: 82.38.75.85
Posted on Sunday, September 26, 2010 - 04:43 pm:   

Hubert - you can pay with PayPal via his site:
http://mortburypress.webs.com/7thblackbookofhorror.htm

Or you could email him at the address on his site to arrange some alternative method of payment. I won't put the email address here (spammers!), but if you go to the home page of the website above, the email address is at the bottom of that page. Hope this helps.
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Hubert (Hubert)
Username: Hubert

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 78.22.237.21
Posted on Sunday, September 26, 2010 - 04:56 pm:   

Great, Caro! Thanks a lot.
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Steve Bacon (Stevebacon)
Username: Stevebacon

Registered: 09-2008
Posted From: 90.211.103.120
Posted on Monday, September 27, 2010 - 10:14 pm:   

Started this last night. Kate's tale is superb, I agree. It was on my mind all night.
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Allybird (Allybird)
Username: Allybird

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 88.104.129.3
Posted on Monday, September 27, 2010 - 10:38 pm:   

Dipping in and out and not in order...

Got to Paul Finch's story, The Green Bath...he is a master of dialogue. He actually, so rightly, 'reverses' the order of words occasionally, in a way that most writers are reluctant to do...but spot on. I won't quote here but you can tell that he has really listened to how people speak.
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Steve Bacon (Stevebacon)
Username: Stevebacon

Registered: 09-2008
Posted From: 90.209.220.4
Posted on Saturday, October 02, 2010 - 12:47 am:   

Reggie Oliver's story is superb. Might possibly be my favourite of his.
Lord P's is fantastically dark. He never fails to deliver.
David Riley's tale is heartbreaking; I didn't want it to end the way it did.

I'm thoroughly enjoying this anthology. I don't want to finish it.
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Gary Fry (Gary_fry)
Username: Gary_fry

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.31.170.240
Posted on Saturday, October 02, 2010 - 08:32 am:   

Reggie's is a cracker, yes.
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Kate (Kathleen)
Username: Kathleen

Registered: 09-2009
Posted From: 81.152.74.159
Posted on Saturday, October 02, 2010 - 08:35 am:   

I was a bit misty-eyed at the end of Reggie's reading and it was a real treat to hear him read the story aloud. I'll certainly read it again on my own but nothing's going to compare with the live version.
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Carolinec (Carolinec)
Username: Carolinec

Registered: 06-2009
Posted From: 82.38.75.85
Posted on Monday, October 04, 2010 - 09:37 pm:   

Seconded, Kate! If you drag Lord P up to Yorkshire for Halloween you can hear him read it live again at the Halifax Ghost Story Festival. I'm going to be there!
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Gary Fry (Gary_fry)
Username: Gary_fry

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.180.210.199
Posted on Monday, October 04, 2010 - 09:51 pm:   

Wasn't overly keen on the Richards' tale. Bit pulpy. He's done better tales set in his fictional seaside town, such as his excellent British Invasion story.
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Steve Bacon (Stevebacon)
Username: Stevebacon

Registered: 09-2008
Posted From: 90.209.220.4
Posted on Monday, October 04, 2010 - 11:29 pm:   

Steve Volk's is excellent. I loved the voice.

Joel tells a great story in so few words. Stunning.

I didn't mind the Stanger tale, though I detected him trying to push too many buttons.

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