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Archive for November, 2009
Wednesday reviews round-up for 25th November
Posted by Paul Raven on November 25th, 2009 at 16:22
Things seem to be slowing down on the reviewing front, possibly thanks to the looming holiday season… only a week until December! Where has the year gone, I ask you? I guess that’s the upside of being busy…
Speaking of being busy, did you know that we here at PS Publishing have been busy reinventing the future? Well, we sure have, along with a bunch of other super-cool independent publishing houses as profiled by big-hitting science fiction blog io9. Go read about the others (but beware the rather creepy opening image… *shudder*).
We can expect to see plenty more “list posts” like that at this time of year, along with the inevitable best-of-the-year (and, this time round, best-of-the-decade) round-up lists. But hey, if we get even a quarter as many books mentioned in them as in Charles Tan’s best-of-2009 list at Jeff VanderMeer’s Ecstatic Days, we’ll be happy people indeed! Charles has recommended loads of other good stuff there, some of which I know, and some of which I don’t; he reads widely and with eclectic taste, so he’s an interesting man to follow.
And now a couple of reviews, the first of which sees Aimee of the My Fluttering Heart blog impressed and perplexed in equal measure by Paul Jessup‘s Glass Coffin Girls Showcase collection:
I would be lying if I said I understood it all. There seems to be more layers to this sort of work than a wedding cake. And maybe it’s a bit Forer Effect, where I’m just seeing the symbolism I like where there might just be randomness. I’m utterly confused, a little bit dazed and a little bit unused to light right now.
Definitely though, there are parts to each story that link up. The cruelty and fragility of human beings, the mirrored halves of the soul. Freedom and domesticity. Animal behaviours and model citizens. Wolves and dogs and rats and foxes. They’re all there.
[...]
Of course, this book won’t be for a lot of people. Some might be a little offended, some might be confused, some might be unmoved. If, however, you like things that are perversely pretty, like I do, then you might find yourself thoroughly enjoying this book, and perhaps even feeling guilty for it. I know, I know, I haven’t given you much to go off. But it really is a collection that deserves to be speak and be discovered for itself. And quite frankly, no matter how hard I try, I can’t explain it. It might be beyond my comprehension.
The best way I can describe Glass Coffin Girls? Like Cinderella walking over the shards of her own glass slipper, broken…the blood looks positively gorgeous against the crystalware, don’t you think?
And to finish off, The Baryon Review recounts an encounter with Gilbert & Edgar On Mars, courtesy one Mister Eric Brown:
Imagine a meeting of three of Britain’s greatest writers, George Bernard Shaw, Herbert George Wells and Gilbert K. Chesterton (GK to his friends) finishing a night of discussion at the Athenaeum and heading home. Chesterton is approached by an autograph seeker and discovers along the way that he is believed to be Wells. He thinks this will be a good story for their next meeting when is apparent something more sinister is afoot.
[...]
This is a very enjoyable tale and would make a great present for your friends who enjoy the pulpish tales of yesteryear.
Indeed – buy now to ensure things arrive in time for the Festive Season! As always, click on the cover art to be taken directly to the catalogue page for the book in question, or just pop over to the PS webstore to have a browse.
Have you read a PS Publishing title recently? If so, let us know so we can link you back from here!
Wednesday reviews round-up for 11th November
Posted by Paul Raven on November 11th, 2009 at 11:11
What, Wednesday again? Already? Well, I guess that means it’s reviews round-up time, then… here we go!
First of all, Faren Miller of the esteemed Locus magazine takes on Patrick O’Leary‘s slippery collection, The Black Heart:
In his introduction to Patrick O’Leary’s new collection The Black Heart, James Morrow refers to some of the more autobiographical stories as ‘‘exotic and uncommon journeys… expeditions the author has mounted into the Orient of himself.’’ In the Author’s Introduction that follows, O’Leary asks three questions: ‘‘What is the story we are telling ourselves? Who is the narrator? Why should we listen to him?’’
Though some of these works first appeared on Sci Fiction, we’re a long way from the realms of space opera and action adventure – often listening to confused, crass, or unreliable narrators talking about their crimes, dreams, and epiphanies. We listen because even the husband who has pornographic visions after a split with his wife in ‘‘Catching a Dream’’ and the ticked-off cello thief in ‘‘Yo-Yo Stradivarius & Me’’ (the two originals in this group of 14 works from the past decade-plus) are driven into eloquence by unexpected encounters with beauty. And his array of ordinary people, skewed self-portraits, and more or less mythical figures all seem to come up with a pungent mix of the skeptical or matter-of-fact and a jolt of wonder, without reaching any trite conclusions.
Then Horrorworld grapples with the equally unconventional Blue Canoe by T M Wright:
Blue Canoe might be the first novel I’ve ever read where I’ve had no idea what was going on while reading it. Even the end didn’t bring a breakthrough for me. The novel is difficult to follow, is repetitive at times, lacks a coherent plot, and it’s not very scary. With all that said the question begs, is Blue Canoe worth reading? The answer is a resounding YES! Because at its heart, Blue Canoe is the most personal of horror tales. It deals with the possible failing of ones mind and it’s up to the readers to decide if the horrors presented to them are real or imagined.
[...]
Happy Farmer recalls and shares with his readers all of those things above, and he takes great pains to let the reader know how important they were in his life. Only to admit later on in the next chapters that he invented them. Only to admit later on in the next chapters, that yes, in fact, they did occur, and then goes into greater detail when recounting them all over again.
Readers will find themselves playing along with Wright and trying to guess the nature of Happy Farmer’s recollections. For instance, is the character he writes about in a story at the end of the novel a young Happy Farmer? Is his constant reciting of the origins of everyday objects his way of staying grounded? Was he a serial killer? Why did his father owe the woman next door to them money?
Elsewhere, genre novelist and voracious reader Ian Sales tackles a title from the back catalogue, namely Lisa Tuttle‘s My Death:
The narrator is an American writer resident in Scotland, as Tuttle is an American writer resident in Scotland. Her career has suffered after the recent death of her husband, and in an effort to find a project to pull her life back together, she decides to write a biography of early feminist novelist Helen Ralston. Who was also an American writer resident in Scotland. My Death ends twice – although one feels somewhat rushed – and each end gives an entirely different complexion to the story. Recommended.
And finally, Leona Wisoker of Green Man Review sings the praises for Eric Brown‘s retro-tastic Gilbert & Edgar On Mars:
These days, we know that the fantastical Mars presented by Burroughs — among others — is a complete impossibility. That makes books of this sort very difficult to pull off. But the mixture of reality and surreality in this short novella, combined with Eric Brown’s skill with details, written in an excellent reproduction of the way science fiction used to sound, produces a story engaging, amusing, and just the right length.
I highly recommend this story for anyone feeling nostalgic for the “good old days” of science fiction writing, when men wore — and frequently used — swords, and no matter whether the woman was red, green, or blue, she usually jumped straight into bed with the hero (no discussion of “feelings” required first). For those readers unfamiliar with these fathers of modern fantasy and science fiction, I suggest wandering over to the nearest used book store and picking up a wide variety of books by authors such as Burroughs and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle before attempting this novella.
And there we have it! As always, click on the cover art to be taken directly to the catalogue page for the book in question, or just pop over to the PS webstore to have a browse.
Have you read a PS Publishing title recently? If so, let us know so we can link you back from here!
Preview of Horns cover art, Postscripts subscriptions and more!
Posted by Peter Crowther on November 5th, 2009 at 14:00
Hi, folks;
Fresh from a flurry of trick-and-treaters plus the now almost obligatory re-watching of a few fave movies (Forbidden Planet, Hallowe’en, the Disney Something Wicked, the original Thing From Another World plus, of course, the old TV adaptation of M. R. James’s “Oh, whistle and I’ll come to you, my lad”) and then curling up with a couple of volumes of the EC Archives, we’re reluctantly turning on the central heating and at least considering consigning shorts to the drawer until next spring. But the smoky air and short days do so lend themselves to spooky stories that it’s hard to be too fed up. And speaking of spooky stories…
Horns cover art preview – pre-order now to avoid disappointment!
Joe Hill’s epic — and, be assured, it really is epic — second novel, Horns has gone down well with PS punters… so much so, in fact, that we’re now down to just 32 traycased copies not spoken for, plus around 170 of the slipcased edition. I think it’s pretty fair to say that this title will be sold out considerably prior to publication. (Check out Vinny Chong’s first of seven illustrations, below – click through on the image to see it in a larger size).
And Steven Erikson’s Crack’d Pot Trail is heading the same way, so get your pre-orders in as soon as possible… when they’re all gone, they’re all gone!
- Pre-order Horns by Joe Hill – signed traycased edition
- Pre-order Horns by Joe Hill – slipcased edition
- Pre-order Crack’d Pot Trail by Steven Erikson – signed traycased edition
- Pre-order Crack’d Pot Trail by Steven Erikson – hardcover edition
New titles shipping, plus standing order offers under development
Meanwhile, we’ve been chin-deep in mailing out orders for the recent batch of new releases: Creatures of the Pool, Just Behind You, Grazing The Long Acre, Spook City, The Black Heart, Passing For Human, Impossible Stories II, Ars Memoriae, Old Man Scratch, Gilbert and Edgar on Mars and Enemy of the Good (aka Postscripts #19).
The early feedback on our new traycased editions has been unanimously positive — no, nix that: it’s been euphoric. So much so that we’ve fielded several requests from folks who were unable to stump up the financial commitment for the Lifetime Subscriber packages but are now interested in a discounted standing order for our titles — both standard and deluxe editions — on an ongoing basis. It’s a good idea (in fact, why didn’t we think of it?) so we’re busy running up some figures. We’ll look to make an announcement on this before Christmas.
Postscripts to get bigger, go biannual… with no change in subscription prices!
And talking of announcements… after some lengthy consideration we’ve decided on another change for the creature formerly known as Postscripts. Now approaching its seventh year, PS’s flagship publication — having already established itself as one of the premier magazines in horror, fantasy and SF short stories — has settled into life as a full-blown, bona-fide, state-of-the-art, no-questions-asked, tell-it-like-it-is, cutting-edge, where-it’s-at hardcover anthology containing all that’s exceptionally fine in the field of genre fiction.
But putting it out four times a year is taking its toll on us… so we’re going to reduce the frequency to twice-yearly but, at the same time, double the contents. Thus the only thing that readers will be short of is two sets of boards every year. So, starting with the next volume (issues 20/21), we’re dropping Postscripts to two 150,000-word books per year — each one with its own title — instead of four 65,000-word issues. But worry not — it’s not going to cost you any more for your fix.
1,2, 3, 4 and even 5-year annual subscriptions (post & packing included) are available. And while individual copies will cost £30 for the unsigned edition and £60 for the signed traycased edition (yes, the top state will now be traycased), subs will still set you back just £50 and £100 for a one-year commitment, post-free. And, as a subscriber, you’ll also receive our signed winter hardcover chapbook (priced at £15) free of charge. (Past authors in this series are Gene Wolfe, Elizabeth Hand, Joe Hill, Ramsey Campbell and, this year, Andy Duncan.)
Plus, from here on in, subscribers will receive a PS novella — of our choosing — completely free of charge as soon as they sign up. And these books will be one per year of the subscription — so if you sign up here and now for five years then you’ll receive five novellas… unsigned books for unsigned subscriptions and signed books for signed subscriptions.
So what are you waiting for? Click through below and get someone (maybe even yourself!) a Christmas gift that’ll last all year…
- One year Postscripts subscription – unsigned editions
- Two year Postscripts subscription – unsigned editions
- Three year Postscripts subscription – unsigned editions
- Four year Postscripts subscription – unsigned editions
- Five year Postscripts subscription – unsigned editions
- One year Postscripts subscription – signed traycased editions
- Two year Postscripts subscription – signed traycased editions
- Three year Postscripts subscription - signed traycased editions
- Four year Postscripts subscription – signed traycased editions
- Five year Postscripts subscription – signed traycased editions
And please note that if you want to go for five years (£250 and £500 respectively) you’ll also receive a copy of our upcoming lavishly-illustrated hardcover edition of Stephen King’s One For The Road completely free of charge (though please note that the author will not be signing any copies).
Newsletter give-away winner
Last month saw us sending copies of Forever Twilight volumes 1 and 2 to Antti Vaisanen of Finland, who tells us that our email brought a happy ending to a week of battling with swine flu… hope you’re on the mend, Antti!
This month, one lucky newsletter subscriber will net themselves a copy of The Black Heart by Patrick O’Leary, just for the privilege of receiving our monthly emails. We’ll draw the winner on Monday 16th November, so you’ve got until then to sign yourself up (if you’re not already, naturally).
Okay, that’s about it for now. We’re all-hands-to-the-pump preparing our new poetry line and the two massive short story celebrations being helmed by Steve Jones… and, of course, we’ve got a few more surprises up our sleeves.
But more stuff next time, which will be our final newsletter of the year.
Until then, look after each other . . . and happy reading.
Pete
Wednesday reviews round-up for 4th November
Posted by Paul Raven on November 4th, 2009 at 14:03
Last week was one of those rare occasions where we had no fresh reviews to mention, but this week has seen enough come in to balance out the lack. So let’s get straight to it, shall we?
First of all, MonsterLibrarian tucks into Terry Lamsley‘s R.I.P.:
Conrad is an elderly man who stands on the brink of something extraordinary – a gateway between life and death. The gateway is a construct of his friend Gwillam’s genius, a theory that has obsessed him, forcing him to give up his family and life. The payoff is seeing what is on the other side of life. Unfortunately, Gwillam didn’t completely understand everything and the gateway winds up consuming him. As a strange fog thickens in the streets, it threatens to bury everything in Conrad’s little town if something isn’t done about it.
R.I.P. is an intriguing novella that is hard to put down once it is started. Mr. Lamsley draws the reader in with tidbits of information, almost like a mystery novel, until the story is unfolded before him near the end. R.I.P. is a unique ghost story that combines technology with mysticism for a satisfying result. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a short ghost story that will keep them glued to the pages.
Then Adam Groves of Fright.Com takes a look at PostScripts #19: Enemy Of the Good, finding it satisfactory overall:
The contents are varied enough in style, quality and subject matter that it’s difficult to render any sort of overall verdict–to some of you I’m sure that fact will be off-putting, while others will take it as a strong recommendation. As for me, I’ll say this: I didn’t actively dislike any of the stories, which should be recommendation enough.
Groves picks out some pieces for more detailed discussion, such as Chris Beckett’s story:
“The Famous Cave Paintings on Isolus 9″ [...] concerns a cosmonaut writer who travels to a distant planet whose primitive inhabitants live underground, wherein a series of cave paintings lead to intriguing speculations on the nature of religion and reality itself. I found the story a bit overwritten, but it has a powerfully haunting air.
There’ll be more from the award-winning Chris Beckett here at PS in the near future, by the way – so watch this space, won’t you?
Groves also takes a look at Gilbert & Edgar on Mars by Eric Brown, which…
… begins with [G.K.] Chesterton leaving a meeting with his colleagues George Bernard Shaw and H.G. Wells, and running into an odd little man he takes for a leprechaun. The latter mistakes Chesterton for Wells, and invites him back to his abode, allegedly to inscribe some books. What the man actually leads Chesterton into is a portal that deposits him on the planet Mars.
[Gilbert & Edgar on Mars is] a spirited romp, opulently written and full of old world charm. It references Mars-friendly writers like Ray Bradbury and Philip K. Dick as well as the fiction of its reality-based protagonists, and does so without sacrificing the sense of fun and adventure that’s part and parcel to all good pulp fiction.
And finally there’s a Ramsey Campbell double-header from Carl Hays of Booklist, who enjoyed Creatures Of the Pool:
For his latest novel, Campbell explores some stranger features of Liverpool’s background in a pleasurably unsettling fusion of fiction and history. Gavin Meadows gives eclectic and occasionally tiresome—especially for disruptive American tourists—guided excursions highlighting Liverpool’s arcane, watery history. During a summer of heavy rains and a renaissance of city construction, Gavin’s research into Liverpool’s underground tunnels begins to reveal some surprising and unnerving information. An excavation for an office-building foundation, for instance, unearths coffins lined with lead, and postal workers become loath to use a tunnel linked to Lime Street Station. The most disturbing revelation, however, is that underground construction workers are hearing someone running ahead of them in the dark where no one or no thing should live. Another gem from one of the genre’s finest stylists.
Hays also luxuriated in Campbell’s latest collection, Just Behind You:
The 18 [stories] cover the full spectrum of Campbell’s sometimes gruesome, sometimes more supernaturally inclined imagination. An old man mistakenly or deliberately buried alive by his children discovers his cell phone buried with him but can’t get anyone to believe his predicament is anything more than a Halloween prank. A music lecturer takes refuge from a gale in a Liverpool pub and gets lured into a fatal trap by the pub’s musically inclined patrons. In the title story, a teacher attends a party at a school he attended as a boy and encounters the ghost of a child killed in a tragic accident there years ago. As usual, Campbell remains at the cutting edge of the genre’s continuously evolving creativity.
And there you have it – not a bad haul for a fortnight, wouldn’t you agree?
As always, click on the cover art to be taken directly to the catalogue page for the book in question, or just pop over to the PS webstore to have a browse.
Have you read a PS Publishing title recently? If so, let us know so we can link you back from here!