Wednesday 19 April 2023

Best Horror of the Year - Vol 15

Over at the realm of the legendary Ellen Datlow, we find the table of contents for the latest of her prestigious anthologies. And gosh, wow, golly gee and so forth, an ST contribution does indeed appear. It's Steve Duffy's story 'The Harvester of Ladslove' from the rather spiffing issue 50, which you can purchase here if you like.

I send every issue of ST (in print form) to Ellen because I think she 'get's it' and she is always very keen to see what I'm publishing. It's interesting that she picked that particular story, given that it is very 'British' The setting is during and just after the First World War, which registers much less strongly on US cultural radar than it does here for obvious reasons. On the other hand, there's a hell of a monster, and the gradual buildup to the final scene is masterly. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that quality will out and it's a good thing that it does.

Any road up, congratulations to Steve Duffy, who did his apprenticeship, honed his craft, and has never failed to deliver a solid, well-crafted piece of fiction. I suspect that, were he a novelist, he would be considered one of the contemporary greats by many more people. As things stand, I'm lucky to know the guy. 



Sunday 16 April 2023

The Legend of Seven Golden Vampires

One of the seven is already destroyed before the main action begins. And that, in capsule form, sums up the problem with this film. It's an international production (Hammer and Shaw, two fine studios) starring Peter Cushing as Van Helsing. It has good production values. It's set mostly in China, so we get a different feel to the usual Gothic castle/London particular stuff. The cast is good to excellent, providing Cushing with a solid crew of martial arts warriors plus a hitherto unsuspected son (yes, Van Helsing junior). And Dracula appears, right at the start, played with aplomb by John Forbes-Robertson (though voiced by the uncredited David de Keyser).  

Thursday 6 April 2023

 David Longhorn - Books and Publications Spotlight | Lulu


Link above takes you to the online store wherein you may purchase this magazine or another one or maybe several, you have free will, choose wisely!



Not only a great cover by Sam Dawson, and a great line-up of authors, but also a glimpse of my duvet.


ST 55 - Opening 5

The Invisible Boy Reggie Chamberlain-King They’re playing The Invisible Boy again. It’s obvious from their keen attention. They’re too quiet...