| Author | Message | ||
     Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.148.243.36 |
Wot ho, I'm off work with the shivers, hence the daytime post... Just wondered if anyone had read the two new RC's yet? Usually I devour these as soon as I get them, but this year I thought I would hold back & read some other peoples work first, not a reflection on RC's work, more a reflection on how good some of you other guys & dolls are getting. so far I have read; - The Witnessses Are Gone - Joel Lane. First class stuff as mentioned elsewhere. Vardoger - Stephen Volk - A fine Novella, with a great twist, the ending feels about 5 pages too long, but I really enjoyed this, Volk ramps up the tension almost from the first page. Conjure - Mark West - Just started on this before the lurgee struck, only a couple of chapters in but like the Volk, Mark pulls you into the tale from the get go. Full review to follow on completion! All these books are novellas BTW..They suit my lifestyle pretty well at the moment, cheers! gcw | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
Did you ever finish How To Make Monsters, mate? | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.148.243.36 |
Yes mate indeed I did, It was the last book I read prior to Fantasycon'09, and I finished it just after I got back, quite frankly... It was your best yet. (gotcha!) gcw  | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
What, that's your full review? You lazy sod. ;-) | ||
| Mark West (Mark_west) Username: Mark_west Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.39.177.173 |
Thanks, Gary, I look forward to the full review! | ||
| Mark West (Mark_west) Username: Mark_west Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.39.177.173 |
That's gcw Gary, not Mr McMahon Gary. | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.148.243.36 |
Ok.... My faves were: - The Unseen - A great tale of how we don't 'see' people who fall through the cracks (I'm as guilty as the next person here). A Stillness In the Air -reminded me of a film..Mememto perhaps? I could see Guy Pearce in this one. Once A Month, Every Month - I must be sick, but I actually, almost found this blackly amusing in the way it portrayed a typical family just 'getting by'. Those were my faves, I ealso enjoyed 'Something In The Way' immensely, though I did feel you didn't quite 'pull it in' successfully at the end, it seemed to fall back on the 'nameless, formless, thing' in the corner trick which often seems to get horror writers out of trouble! Also, 'A Bit Of The Dark' was possibly a little too ambitious for the material - maybe would have worked better if trimmed back. That said, there was nothing in this book I winced at, up there with 'Dirty Prayers' I reckon. i have enjoyed your short stories more that your novellas so far...that said, I am REALLY looking forward to reading 'Hungry Hearts', I have ony flicked through it so far, but it looks like a book where you seem really comfortable writing - does that make sense? I love that cover too, no offence to the excellent Vincent Chong, but a lot of horror books can look a bit the same at the moment... There yer go! gcw | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
there was nothing in this book I winced at Oh, how very generous of you.  | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.148.243.36 |
..Oh come on! gcw!  | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.148.243.36 |
(I am trying to mix violins, fuck it's hard to mix violins) gcw | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
Let's hope it doesn't make me wince. | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.148.243.36 |
It will if I don't get it right.. Zed, did you completely skip my NICE comments just to pick up on my one inadvertant 'damned with faint praise' comment?? For fuck's sake man, I like your books! -  gcw! | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
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| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.148.243.36 |
"It will if I don't get it right.. " (I am doing a special 'Middle Of the Road'mix for 55-years-young-Mick Curtis!) gcw | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.148.243.36 |
....maybe that thing in the corner in 'Something In the Way' was Zed's wounded ego.....  gcw | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
 | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.148.243.36 |
 gcw | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.148.243.36 |
Anyway, once Zed has stopped his blubbering, let's get back to the original question....  gcw} | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.179.61.66 |
(I am doing a special 'Middle Of the Road'mix for 55-years-young-Mick Curtis!) ...seems you're accusing young Gary McM of being a bit touchy over his work - would never happen to you would it, master gcw? | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.148.243.36 |
Ooh get you! gcw | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.148.243.36 |
Bloody violins... They are the hardest thing I have ever had to mix. Gawd knows how hard the Cello will be... gcw | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.179.61.66 |
Very much looking forward to hearing all this new stuff, gcw - top marks for trying different approaches. How did you mic the violins? Did you record at your place or somewhere different? | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.148.243.36 |
Barnham Broom Road Studios for everthing except Pee-anners (A bit hard to get up the stairs..!). The process of recording violins is easy enough, same as a guitar, position a decent microphone over the top of the violins sound holes. Like Pianos, mixing is the problem...positioning the violin in the track, and EQ'ing it so it doesn't sound too harsh..but also doesn't get lost in the track. Not easy - But great fun! gcw | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.148.243.36 |
Incidently, a mate of mine said I was pretentious & disappearing up my own arse to include violins & cellos, and pianos. Moi?? gcw | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.37.199.45 |
No, he's equating sax with violins. | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.148.243.36 |
(Hargh!) gcw | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
To answer your original question, GCW, I'm cock-teasing myself with both "Creatures" and the collection. Not sure how long I can hold out, though.  | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.148.243.36 |
Same here dude. Keep kicking against the pricks Zed y'hear..? gcw | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.179.61.66 |
No, he's equating sax with violins. D'oh! | ||
| Simon Strantzas (Nomis) Username: Nomis Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 99.227.90.149 |
I love that cover too, no offence to the excellent Vincent Chong, but a lot of horror books can look a bit the same at the moment... The HTMM cover? Bless you. | ||
| Giancarlo (Giancarlo) Username: Giancarlo Registered: 11-2008 Posted From: 85.116.228.3 |
I have read neither. The bastard (Italian?) mail service seems to have delivered my books to the trash bin! I'll have to order both titles anew as a second try. If it fails again, I'll have to become an abstainer from Ramsey. As a compensation, I can have all the Edward Lee I want. Lee may have his merits but it would be both an ontic and ontological regression to me. Please, all of you, will you cross fingers on my behalf? Thanks from my very heart! | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.189.166 |
I will keep my fingers crossed for you, Giancarlo, if you'll do the same for me. I still haven't received my copies of Creatures of the Pool and Just Behind You (I preordered them months ago), although I did receive Spook City. My PS Ramsey books always seem to reach me late or go missing (last time they were sent to Bangkok!). Must be hobgoblins and gremlins playing tricks with the mail... it's nearly Halloween after all! | ||
| Giancarlo (Giancarlo) Username: Giancarlo Registered: 11-2008 Posted From: 85.116.228.3 |
It's a deal, Huw! To western mythology, Hermes-Mercurius, as messenger of/from the Gods, should be the divine patron over Mail Service. Let's hope he will smile upon us both! | ||
| Simon Strantzas (Nomis) Username: Nomis Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 38.113.181.169 |
If it helps, my copy of Just Behind arived yesterday, and I preordered it on day one. Luckily, I had no clue it was released, so it's arrival was a complete surprise. (Actually, when I saw the PS mark on the box, I assumed it was my contributor's copy for the next issue of the magazine.) BTW, did you guys here know that Vinnie Chong did the cover for "Bullrunning for Girls" and that Gary McMahon just had "Different Skins" published? How come I'm always the last to hear about this stuff? | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.222.21 |
Bugger off Strantzas |