This Time Around
Black Static #12 is curently at the printers, unless of course they're really on the ball, in which case it could be at TTA Towers pending the great mail out, or even in the postal system already. Regardless, I can now announce the contents of the latest Case Notes column:-
Dead, But Still Kicking
A feature on Charlaine Harris and her Southern Vampire Mysteries, the inspiration for TV series True Blood, which debuted on the FX Channel last month, and to commemorate that Gollancz have reissued all the books in the series. I've done brief reviews of the first three titles, Dead Until Dark, Living Dead in Dallas and Club Dead and a somewhat lengthier assessment of the latest entry in the series, Dead and Gone. There's also some sidebar fun facts to chew over.
Four From PS Publishing
Reviews of some recent releases from this leading UK independent publisher - The Language of Dying by Sarah Pinborough, The Painting and the City by Robert Freeman Wexler, Val/Orson by Marly Youmans and Shrike by Quentin Crisp. Those are all novellas, except for the Wexler, which is a novel.
The Ripples Continue: Gary A. Braunbeck
An extended feature on one of my favourite horror genre authors. I've done mini-reviews of the first four novels in his Cedar Hill cycle - In Silent Graves, Keepers, Mr. Hands and Coffin County, all of which are still available on Amazon - and then taken a much closer look at August release Far Dark Fields. There's also a lengthy interview with the author, some sidebar factoids and, thanks to Leisure Books, a competition in which three lucky readers can win all five of the Cedar Hill novels.
The Others
Case Notes is a couple of pages shorter this time around, and so less stand-alone reviews than usual, but those that did make the cut are Tide of Souls by Simon Bestwick, The Catacombs of Fear by John Llewellyn Probert and Urban Gothic by Brian Keene. For those who've seen me post on Interaction that I've read their book, and who are wondering what happens now, don't give up hope yet, as I may still get around to reviewing them in a future issue.
We'll be looking to post some exclusive online content to augment the Case Notes experience, so keep watching this blog.
Regardless of my 'don't give up hope' comment above, we are receiving at least three times more books than can be reviewed in the magazine, and so not everyone is going to get 'lucky'. My personal feeling is that if a book hasn't been reviewed within nine months of its publication date, then I'm not going to get around to it. When that moment arrives, I check to see if there are any more recent editions in the pipeline (e.g. if I miss reviewing a hardback, then another window of opportunity opens with the paperback release), and if that's not the case then I must regretfully 'retire' those titles from consideration.
I'm now reading for the October issue of Black Static, so books with a publication date of January 2009 or earlier, are now out of the running, but I will give them a brief mention here, by way of a consolation prize for not being reviewed.
I've reviewed the previous two Saint-Germain titles by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, but couldn't fit in the twentieth volume in the series, Borne in Blood (Tor paperback, 368pp, £10.99). This time around Yarbro's so very cultured vampire is visiting Switzerland in 1817, and checking up on a scientist investigating the properties of blood. I've described these books as historic fiction with a vampire and, while they're beautifully written and observed, with a wealth of research that's worn lightly, I've never really been blown away by them. Your mileage may differ though.
Dan Simmons I am, usually, blown away by though, and I have no idea why I never got round to reading and reviewing The Terror (Little Brown paperback, 992pp, £8.99) unless it was some deep rooted fear of dropping it on my foot and doing myself serious damage. His tale of bad things happening on Franklin's 1845 expedition to find the North West passage was short-listed for the Stoker Award last year, but lost out to Sarah Langan's Virus (now that I did review).
God's Demon by Wayne Barlowe (Tor paperback, 432pp, $7.99) was inspired by Paradise Lost and is about a demon who tries to get back on God's radar by plotting to overthrow Beelzebub. Interzone book reviews editor Jim Steel reviewed it for Vector. Maybe if you go on Interaction and ask nicely he'll tell you about it. Also, Barlowe is an acclaimed fantasy artist as well as a writer, so check out the artwork on the God's Demon website I've linked to below.
Also below are links to some reviews, so even if you don't get my opinion you can find out what some other good folk had to say about these titles.
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