Black Static

Once again Andy has beaten me to the punch and revealed the full contents of Black Static #45, including the Case Notes section, but as I have to blog about something and see no reason to change the habits of a lifetime I've decided to put a bit more flesh on those bones.

Here's what we've got for you:-

OBLIQUE MANOEUVRES: HELEN MARSHALL

A feature on the work of Canadian writer Helen Marshall, with reviews of her two short story collections, Hair Side, Flesh Side and Gifts for the One Who Comes After, plus an in-depth interview. Helen is also being interviewed in #257 of our sister magazine Interzone, so you might want to pick that up too for a different perspective on her work.

SHORT, SCARY TALES PUBLICATIONS

Reviews of four recent releases from Birmingham based SST, Fade to Black by Jeff Mariotte and Daniele Serra, Containment by Eric Red and Nick Stakal, I Tell You It's Love by Joe R. Lansdale and Daniele Serra, and The Rockabye Worm by Glenn Chadbourne.

SWAN RIVER PRESS

A feature on Irish publisher SRP, with reviews of Dreams of Shadow and Smoke edited by Jim Rockhill and Brian J. Showers, Reminiscences of a Bachelor by J. S. Le Fanu, Here With the Shadows by Steve Rasnic Tem, The Silver Voices by John Howard, The Dark Return of Time by R. B. Russell, and The Green Book #3 edited by Brian J. Showers.

ELLEN DATLOW ANTHOLOGIES

Reviews of three 2014 anthologies edited by Ellen Datlow, The Cutting Room, Nightmare Carnival, and Fearful Symmetries.

A fourth anthology from Ellen, Lovecraft's Monsters, has been held back for #46, when I plan on doing a substantial feature on the work of HPL and the Cthulhu Mythos, primarily as a way of clearing out some of the hoary old ones that are currently giving an unhealthy looking green complexion to my TBR pile.

And, in parenthesis, although I have some twenty or more titles under consideration for that feature, I don't have any novels and only two titles with a female byline, so if anybody can help bridge those gaps please get in contact with me via whitenoise@ttapress.com

Back to the contents of #45 - fifteen titles reviewed in all, with five of them either written or edited by women, which takes out totals for the year so far to thirty six titles reviewed and ten of them with a female byline (28%).

That compares with twenty nine books received for review so far this year, only four and a half with a female byline (16%).