Sent Off For An Early Bath
You send your review copies in and you take your chances, and as I've been at pains to make clear on past occasions, not everything can be reviewed - I only have so much time for reading and Andy only has so many pages to fill.
With Black Static #15 somewhere in the queue at the printers, or maybe even heading out to subscribers by the time you read this, it's once again that sad moment when I list books I now regard as too old in the tooth to be considered for review in the magazine, with a link to somewhere else where they did get reviewed, if I can find such a place on the web.
The Stolen (MIRA paperback, 352pp. £6.99) by Jason Pinter is a thriller the central premise of which is that of 'a string of abducted children who have mysteriously returned to their families - with no memory of their lost years'. It's the latest in a series of books about New York journalist Henry Parker, or at least it was when the book first came out back in June 2009. I've linked to Jason Pinter's website, where you can find a more detailed plot teaser, an excerpt from the book and reviewer comments (one caveat lector - remember there is no obligation on writers and/or publishers to quote representative comments from reviews).
I regret all the books I don't get to do a review for, but that's especially true for Dunraven Road (Immanion paperback, 248pp, £11.99), a first novel by Caroline Barnard Smith, and also the first Immanion book we've received for review. Like all the Immanion titles I've seen, this is a very nice looking book. The story, which is set in the small village referenced in the title, concerns a group of friends who become involved in the activities of a sadistic vampire cult. For more information and opinion, check out the review at Fatally Yours.
From memory, the ARC of Chaos (Underland Press paperback, 320pp, $13.95) by Escober came in a rather attractive package, with a black ribbon wrapped round the book, a nice touch. There's an international feel to this. Escober is the pen name of a Dutch writing duo, while the protagonist of the story is a British soldier returned from Bosnia and then escaping to Mexico. There may be more destinations and nationalities involved as well, but I don't know as I never got round to reading it. Jesse Lawrence at The Velvet Reviews did though.
Rage (Bitter Lemon Press paperback, 219pp, £7.99) by Sergio Bizzio is soon to be made into a film by Guillermo del Toro, according to the back cover blurb. Jose Maria is on the run from the police, and forced to hide in a luxurious mansion in Buenos Aires, where his beloved Rosa works as a maid, but while there he becomes a voyeur, bearing witness to 'the cruelty and humiliation suffered by his lover'. For more information and links to other reviews, check out The Complete Review.
Last but not least, there is Empties (Golden Gryphon Press hardback, 163pp, £20.99) by George Zebrowski, a writer I remember from my SF reading days, now here turning his hand to horror and bringing a unique perspective. The detective hero of the story finds his sanity in peril when he encounters a woman with the power to snatch brains out of her victims' skulls. I did get to read this, and it's a book that places the emphasis squarely on the psychology of the two main characters and their interaction, without sacrificing the gore you'd expect from such a Scanner(ish) plot. It's also a beautiful book. For a fuller account and appraisal, have a look see what Joe Sherry has to say at Fantasy Magazine.
And that's all folks, except to say, for the benefit of anyone who doesn't visit Interaction, that Sarah Pinborough will be our Case Notes featured author in Black Static #16 (April).
Right, I'm off for me tea.
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