Supernatural Tales
Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Thursday, 23 March 2023
THE FACES AT YOUR SHOULDER by Steve Duffy (Sarob Press 2023)
Excellent cover illustration by Paul Lowe |
Sunday, 12 March 2023
Codex Antarctica by Cardinal Cox
Codex Antarctica, you say? If there's one region I like, it's the polar region. Something about the vast wastes of ice and snow (with the odd penguin here and there) strikes deep into my Anglo-Saxon soul. Perhaps it's because Antarctica so anomalous in so many ways. A continent that once flourished, rich with life, but is now locked within mile-deep layers of compacted snow. I am not alone of course, and some of the big names in horror and sci-fi are referenced in this, the poet's nineteenth (sort of) in the Codex sequence.
If you don't know the Cardinal's work, it's well worth seeking out just for the arcane knowledge on offer. Here we have a pamphlet of nine poems (most of them sonnets, interestingly) that cover some of the weirdest fictions and strangest facts or factoids about the great southern continent.
Thursday, 2 March 2023
NOW IT'S DARK by Lynda E. Rucker (Swan River Press 2023)
Sunday, 26 February 2023
One for the Discerning Reader
Lynda E. Rucker's third collection of short stories, Now It's Dark, is available from Swan River Press. I'm in the middle of it, and a review will be posted here shortly. It contains two stories from ST, proving that I sometimes have good taste. Just not in socks. Seriously, this is brilliant stuff and should scoop the awards.
Sunday, 12 February 2023
Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Patterns of Orbit - Stories by Chloe N. Clark
All of which leads me to a remarkable new collection by frequent ST contributor Chloe N. Clark, whose new book is rather wonderful. I'm proud to say that I accepted two stories here, 'Even the Veins of Leaves' and 'Who Walks Beside You'. They both stand up well, I'm glad to say, and are a good fit. This book is also concerned with inner space while not neglecting the outer kind. The themes and ideas range from interstellar voyages to lost loves. Some are 'true' short stories of several pages, many are vignettes (a thankfully revived art thanks to flash fiction) just a few paragraphs long. All are worth reading and then re-reading.
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The picture above is from a book of photographs of a British army training area in Germany. Red Land, Blue Land refers to the standard NAT...