What are you reading? — Page 62

Various (Editor: Black, Andy) - Necronomicon Three

Following Vol 01 and 02, this shows a change of publisher, and two aspects are immediately apparent. The type is larger. Same amount of pages, but with larger type the word count will be less. In addition, many images are iffy. Several are so poor as to resemble Xerox copies. Lastly, the typos are off the scale. Where is the editor throughout?

Alright, the good stuff: Opening with a humorous interview with Brian Yunza (Necronomicon, The Dentist, Dagon, From Beyond, Re-Animator), who doesn’t take his output too seriously.

Back to back articles on Scream And Scream Again (stylistically all over the place), and Baron Blood (now on my list) and others.

“The Modern Fantastic” roves from Carpenter’s The Thing to Lynch’s Fire Walk With Me, studying both films in depth.

Editor Black offers a nice remembrance of Soledad Miranda.

Essay on Herzog’s Nosferatu will be a must for fans of the film or director. Likewise another chapter on Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn, with emphasis on colleague Tarantino.

As always with this collection, a few resemble overwritten college papers, fine for those who long for additional psychological explanations for their Slashers.

There is an excellent argument for Stivaletti’s Wax Mask, another one that passed below radar, both mine and the public’s it seems.

Should I mention Wicker Man, Eyes Without A Face, Faceless? Final essays conclude another strong group of film essays.

Here’s hoping Black will rein in the typos by volume 4, and quality proof those images.

Stoker, Bram - “Gibbet Hill”

City dweller, escaping the London bustle, escapes to Surrey for a day trip.
Climbing the hill, he spies a young married couple, fellow tourists, and a trio of children.
The children later engage in a odd ritual involving a flute, dance, and a snake.
Whereupon our narrator becomes spellbound.
Recently discovered “forgotten story” is cropping up from various presses.
Mine hailed from a small Penrith bookshop, from where I have found other gems.

Collins, Max - Quarry’s Ex

Quarry is Collins’ gravy train, professional hitman, although by now, quasi retired.
He makes a living offering services to targets, dropping the killers and snuffing whoever hired.
Noir pulp all the way, in the vein of Mickey Spillane.
Quarry runs into his two-timing ex, Joni, now married to a director of exploitation flicks.
Joni is curvy and is still sexy. So is Tiffany, lead actress, ex-Playmate Of The Year.
So is Ginger, one of the young production team gofers. Waitresses, maids? All attractive.
Women are dolls, men vary from bikers to mobsters.
This provides a bit of a backstory, younger days, his progression into the world of contracts.
Collins writes old-fashioned, two-fisted stories for men.
If you enjoy those kind of novels, you should like this one.

Shelley, Mary ?? - The Ghost Of The Private Theatricals

Parents died when the children were young.
Next, the children were separated. Ida with a stern grandmother, Hermine with a cheery aunt.
Brother Otto enjoys free range between families, who seem estranged owing to old grievances.
Age 18, Ida is permitted to travel to visit sister Hermine, in a well placed castle.
For entertainment, a decision is made to enact a private theatrical.
Servants, friends, family, all engaged, whether active parts, or stagecraft or wardrobe.
Hectic and elaborate. Above all others, Hermine throws herself into the bustle.
Dense prose, at times extended, other instances gushy. Know your preferences, friend.
Recently discovered “forgotten story” published in 1843, written by M.S.
Mary Shelley? Some authorities say yes, others say not so fast.
Quality chapbook from Adam Newell’s bookshop in Penrith.

Various (Editor: Pardoe, Rosemary) - Ghosts & Scholars Book Of Landscape Figures

Editor Pardoe hints that this may be the final G&S assortment. Here’s hoping she has a change of heart.

Not all locations feature chalk drawn figures, as “The White Round” indicates. The narrator relates the quest; two of the globes are visible, yet the third is hidden, for good reason.

Many figures have vanished, through neglect or obfuscation. “Figures On A Hillside” suggests the latter, although our characters’ curiosity regarding the sinister Shuttle-go borders on reckless.

“Chalk” is pitch black humor. The vain, careless girl, much, much too pretty for casual layabouts.

One yarn tries to be funny – tries hard and fails. To hammer home every attempt, the author resorts to italics, ALL CAPS, and a river of exclamation points!!! Akin to the stale comedian going, “Get it? Get it?”

“The Regulars” were at their usual pub, when one inquired about the painting behind the bar. Of the founder. The scion who built seven pubs, five of which form a star. Alcohol, they say, clouds judgment and spurs inquisitiveness. Oh, our lads are resourceful.

‘Whatever really happened to Parnell?’ asks one of the more insistent fellows of the club. “Dyrehill Park” is an old-fashioned yarn. Fireplace, armchairs, cigars and whiskey. Suffice to say, Parnell, an amateur historian, went “looking”.

Lo, those amazing ghost experts, whether televised, podcasters, or scribblers. Bunch of right wallys if you ask me. What? Yes, I know, you didn’t ask me. Eric somehow finds himself in the Ghost Hunters’ Club, out to find “The Lickey Beast”. Of course, our perky host and he cameraman see nothing – that lot wouldn’t see a ferret in their living room. Yet Eric, along with another guest, senses a presence. And the presence senses him in return.

An imaginative array here. Not simply hillside chalk on moonlit rambles. Let these inspire you. Create something in your own tired backyard. Perhaps the Asherah pole.

Marvick, Louis - Maculate Vision And Other Stories

Vision stained, vision polluted. A thick half dozen stories, many that earlier appeared in an Side Real Press collection, now OP.

The title piece is a dark amusement. An inheritance with a blasted provision. Yet, Eddie so needed the money, he accepted the uncanny painting. He knew his uncle was up to something.

“Is For Ilinx” wears better a second read around. The Texas caricature still rings off-key, but heightens the disparity between boorish wealth and jaded experience. Conte cruel, this one.

“Of Interactive Surveillance And The Circular Firing Squad” draws us into the rarefied world of Classical music prodigies, tasked with tutoring untrained children, damaged in various ways. The tone is one of anxiety and confusion, building to a grotesque finale.

Zagava has published several Louis Marvick books, and appears to be championing his works. He is well worth investigation by fans of Weird Lit with a taste for extended style over gore and fluids.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King

Russell, R B - The Woman Who Fell To Earth

The woman would be Catherine, who fell to her death on Tanya’s roof. Once friends, they had cooled after Catherine wed Tanya’s favorite uncle, and began appropriating.
Is there a police investigation of just how Catherine fell, apparently, from open sky? Alas.
Catherine was the champion of an esoteric horror writer cum hack. After his death, she had jealously guarded his papers, as well as the sixtystone *.
Tensions notwithstanding, Catherine’s will made Tanya the executrix of everything. Almost immediately, interlopers appear: rivals, cheats, liars, poseurs, thieves.
All simmering the narrative. Until – midway – an unexpected individual arrives.
The plot becomes haphazard, loose, improvised, bordering on what I call fantasy island.
I will guess the author was being playful, lightening the tone, although I found it awkward.
I read to the conclusion, hoping, hoping, yet the energy had drained and the tale sputtered out.

• Sixtystone: an in-joke or knowing reference. To familiarize yourself, read Machen’s Three Imposters first; it’s a brief novel. If time pressed, read the story “The Novel Of The Black Seal.”

Hall, Leland - Sinister House

Pierre and Annette flee the grime and soot perils of Gotham for upstate New York. Small, rural Forsby. Fresh air and a wholesome setting to raise their children.
Neighbors and friends Eric and Julia live near enough in a run down dwelling that has seen better days. Julia had fallen in love with it at first sight, despite the flaws.
So much for domestic bliss.
The decaying house shelters a malignant spirit, bent on inflicting harm, then escalating.
Published in 1914, following the Great War, the narrative dawdles along. No flappers, no Roaring Twenties tempo here. The look and outlook of characters seem to presage a Norman Rockwell painting.
While the supernatural elements are dangerous, there are simply not enough of those forces. Instead, Hall fills the book with the kitchen sink dramas of Annette & Pierre & Eric & Julia.

Gardner, Erle Stanley - The Count Of 9

Private eyes Cool & Lam are involved in another mystery.
Bertha, less so much in this outing.
While she provides security for a shindig, guarding the penthouse elevator, a second jade statue is still stolen, along with a six foot blowpipe.
Donald Lam is a charmer, though, and soon sweet talks a bevy of lovelies.
Extremely fast moving read filled with arrogant boasters and brawny cops.
Did I mention the females? Ripe curves who find testosterone the greatest aphrodisiac.
Overall mystery is pretty fair, and Gardner keeps one guessing throughout.
The writer also plays fair and never cheats or adds revelations.
Typical of 50’s innuendo, don’t expect corks to pop in your presence.

Kidō, Okamoto - Master Of The Uncanny

Not Horror per se, but strange tales, generally unexplained. Often relating to animals or (not so) ordinary objects. Perhaps best for those who enjoy FLIT.

The stranger appears at the doorstep of the woodcutter. His son, usually sociable, is terrified. “The Kiso Traveler” is polite enough, yet his presence makes others uneasy.

It was an ugly little antique. A carved monkey with glittering eyes that seemed to watch. “The Monkey’s Eyes” is one of possessing, watching.

“The Snake Spirit” involves the snake catcher. Most villages know of one nearby. Pythons can grow quite large, with appetites to match. The catcher has techniques, but one specific snake seems immune to all human snares and wiles.

Masuemon loved “Crabs”. Not to play with, nor merely regard, but as the dinner course. Except, when it appears they may be poisoned, and a friend prophesies more may be tainted. But why?

“The White Haired Demon” distracts the aspiring time and again during his bar examination. To the point he has failed time and again. He does not understand why it haunts him, although when he finally tells his father, the older man urges him to give up that ambition, return home and find a new career. This is a meandering tale that takes several turns.

This is not a collection or horrors, none are action oriented. Many have ambiguous conclusions, but all show and elegant charm. Kidō’s style is understated. Characters not always fully fleshed, yet the scenes and scenery are always well described and atmospheric.

Youngson, Anne - Meet Me At The Museum

Fifty years after being mentioned in an introduction, Tina writes Professor Glob of Silkeborg…
Mind you, he is long gone, but her query is answered by the museum curator.
From thence springs a lively correspondence between Tina and Anders.
That is much of the charm of this novel. Reading their letters, seeing their friendship deepen and progressing with each missive.
That is also the weakness of the book, and I have to set aside my skepticism and disbelief.
Ours is an era when few write actual letters. When even writing a paragraph is too taxing for most.
I found one early remark sadly accurate. “I have found that is no use to write … more than three or four lines because whoever receives it will not read to the end.”
That phrase hung with me throughout the exchanges, and I stayed disassociated.
Near the end, one of the characters receives a sharp turn which felt more like the heavy hand of the author. Then again, the time frame of the novel is barely more than a year, so I suppose compression of events might be forgiven.