Supernatural Tales

  I received a pdf of this book from the author. This is one of those short novels that draws you in, as does the bookshop that appears overnight in a small town. The shop's name is Legends - or is it? Some can't read the name on the fascia. They can't see what others see. And that is one of the many curious problems presented by what appears to be a wonderful development for local bookworms.  One of the people who is keen to look inside is Rowan, a young woman with a chequered past. The death of her beloved father left a deep emotional scar. She went off the rails and took to shoplifting. Now she is putting her life back together, keeping her nose clean. Until she browses the shelves of Legends and finds a book entitled STEAL ME. The book knows all about her. It tells her story, in the most disturbing and subversive way.  After Rowan steals the book, she does her best to get rid of it. It proves distressingly hard to lose or destroy. Helen Grant, as always, smoothly take...

I received a physical review copy of this book . R(ay). B. Russell is best known as the co-founder of Tartarus Press, which has achieved global renown for high-quality limited editions. But he is also a prolific author, and this latest collection showcases his talent in the realm of short fiction. The term 'strange stories' is inevitably reminiscent of Robert Aickman, and that author's influence is arguably present here and there. But as I progressed through the volume, I felt other authors - L.P. Hartley, Arthur Machen, and Walter de la Mare in particular - held more sway.  The title story is arguably a manifesto for the volume. A writer researching a biographical subject encounters someone referred to simply as The Poet. This in turn leads the protagonist to the eponymous Sanctuary, a kind of encampment/colony for creative types. There is a somewhat Machenesque encounter that helps shake the writer's rationalist world view. He does not stay in the colony, but it seems...

This impressive new volume collects Brian J. Showers tales of the Rathmines area of Dublin. This combines stories from the original volume The Bleeding Horse,  with the novella 'Old Albert'.  I reviewed The Bleeding Horse for ST 14. As the review only appeared in print, I thought I'd revisit it in digital form. And here it is, only slightly tweaked. 'Brian J. Showers' story 'The Toll of Finnegan's Bridge' appeared in an earlier issue of this magazine. His new collection draws on the same rich vein of Irish folklore. What makes it different, however, is its geographical precision. The Rathmines area of Dublin is Brian's patch, and he introduces us to some of its mythology with a careful nod to Sheridan Le Fanu's earlier exploration of Chapelizod. The stories are divided into two sections, 'The Road to Rathmines' and 'Rathmines Road Lower'. I've never visited Dublin, but I now feel I know at least part of it rather well.  ...

  'Beatrice Grimshaw, though born and raised in Ireland, lived and breathed the culture of the islands for most of her adult life. In these stories, she conjures the Pacific’s darker side, where sorcerers practice their ancient craft, where enchanting forests ensnare the unwary, where ghosts linger for thousands of years, and where beauty often casts a sinister shadow.' I received a copy of this book for review. And what a splendid-looking book it is, with great cover art by Brian Coldrick. This is part of a series of strange stories by Irish Women writers.  As a young bookworm, I read a lot of Conrad, a goodly chunk of Kipling, and a fair helping of Stevenson. Grimshaw's work is somewhat reminiscent of all three . There's a laconic, somewhat cynical view of human nature, lots of local colour, and plots that are sometimes, well, strange. As Mike Ashley notes in his excellent introduction, Grimshaw's attitudes were less than progressive, but she does not seem to supp...

  'The Old Gods are dead - the Older Gods have returned!' As straplines go, that's pretty good. I was not aware of the Cthulhu Cymraeg series until I was asked if I would like a review copy (in ebook form). The presence of several familiar names won me over. I am normally wary of homages to the Mythos because they often stray into dull pastiche. That, or they offer conventional supernatural horror with grimoires and pentacles while invoking the Necronomicon at some point as window dressing. Fortunately, that's not what we have here. All of the authors are clearly aware that Lovecraft created a broad church within his original subgenre. It's a weird, ramshackle church with some bizarre geometry, but that's only to be expected.  And what - we inevitably ask - does Lovecratian mean anyway? I looked it up and found answers ranging from 'cosmic', which obviously doesn't apply to many of his stories, and 'eldritch', which is nice and roomy. Horror,...

  By all means purchase this excellent issue here... New stories by: Cliff McNish Katherine Haynes Sam Dawson Tim Jeffreys Steve Rasnic Tem Reggie Chamberlain-King Cover art by Sam Dawson