Black Static

Listed below are the books received for review since the last update, which was back on 17 July 2010.

And the first thing that registers looking down that list, is that after several months of letting the zombies have their way with readers, the vampires are back in force, with a couple of titles that name check Dracula and the del Toro/Hogan sequel to The Strain. Whether there'll be anything fresh in the mix remains to be seen.

In parenthesis, a lot of people complain that the vampire has been defanged in the wake of the success of writers like Stephenie Meyer, is no longer the monster we know and love to run away from, has come over all cute and cuddly. From a horror perspective that's possibly a bad thing, but in the greater scheme of things I'm not so sure. The appeal of the vampire for so many writers and filmmakers has been as a handy metaphor for things like xenophobia, homophobia etc. So if the emo vampire is so popular with the young is that such a bad thing? Doesn't it show that they're not so frightened by the bogeymen of preceding generations, that they don't feel so threatened by those who are different? It's a definite possibility. Regardless, I still don't have the slightest desire to read Twilight.

Ponthe Oldenguine by Andrew Hook I received a while back, but I haven't listed the book until now as the publisher was playing things close to his chest. I'm glad to see it out there now, loud and proud. Good also to see Unpleasant Tales from Brendan Connell, as I enjoyed his collection Metrophilias very much, the matter of poor proofreading aside.

The real treat here though is Blonde on a Stick by Conrad Williams, cover blurbed by Mark Billingham as 'an exciting new voice in crime fiction', but of course horror readers in general and Black Static readers in particular have known that Conrad Williams is the business for years now. Given the title, I expected the cover image to be something along the lines of those Chris Achilleos illustrations of yesteryear featuring 'lollipop women', but the publisher opted for something more sedate but minatory, a moody scene of urban blight shrouded in darkness.

The next issue of Black Static will be an anthology special. So far I have read eleven anthologies, started and am close to finishing two more, and might take a shot at another one if I have time. We'll also have an interview with Stephen Jones, who has edited more than his fair share, and I'm hoping to post a lot of anthology centred material to the website throughout October.

Looking further ahead, I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to dispense with an interview for the December issue (#20), and simply stuff the Case Notes section with as many reviews as possible. Things are getting seriously backed up, with just under 120 books in my 'to be reviewed' pile. Obviously a lot of books are not going to be reviewed, but I could ease the pressure a bit though with 'an all review' issue. Alternatively, I could continue as usual and post a few surplus reviews to the website, or I could even get enough reviews written ahead of publication that I can afford to put up the 'Gone Fishing' sign and go read something else for a month or so, some non-horror books if those are still getting published in the current climate. Decisions, decisions...

November 2010

• Clay & Susan Griffith - Vampire Empire: Book 1 The Greyfriar - Pyr paperback ARC

October 2010

• Andrew Hook - Ponthe Oldenguine - Atomic Fez paperback ARC
• Michael Sims (editor) - Dracula's Guest: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Vampire Stories - Bloomsbury hardback

September 2010

• Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan - The Fall - Harper Collins hardback
• Gail Carriger - Soulless - Orbit paperback

August 2010

• Angela Slatter - Sourdough and other stories - Tartarus hardback
• Gregory Maguire - Lost - Headline paperback
• Alex Bledsoe - The Girls with Games of Blood - Tor paperback
• Karen Essex - Dracula in Love - Doubleday Books hardback

July 2010

• Shawn Granger - Family Bones Volume 2 - King Tractor Press paperback
• Conrad Williams - Blonde on a Stick - Max Crime paperback
• Brendan Connell - Unpleasant Tales - Eibonvale paperback