Black Static

Listed below are the books received for review since the last update, which was back on 29 August 2010.

Pride of place here goes to Never Again and The Pan Book of Horror Stories.

Edited by Allyson Bird and Joel Lane, Never Again is an anthology of stories with anti-racist/fascist themes. Several of the contributors have links with Black Static and there'll be a review in #19, as I got my grubby paws on an ARC a while back. Profits are going to various anti-racist/fascist organisations, including the Sophie Lancaster Foundation, so as well as getting to read some excellent fiction you also get to help a good cause.

For horror fans of a certain age, The Pan Book of Horror Stories will always hold a special place in our chest cavities, and for those too young to have caught the splatter first time around Pan are now, some fifty years later, reissuing the very first volume, with the same cover it had way back then. By way of original material, the book has an introduction to the series written by Johnny Mains, who was instrumental in making this reissue happen, for which we all owe him a debt of gratitude. I understand that if the book is successful, then Pan may reissue further volumes, so interesting and exciting times ahead.

I have a conflict of interest with regard to The Empathy Effect by Bob Lock, as I helped out with the editing of the book, and so I've recruited a guest reviewer to critique it for Black Static, someone I trust to mention the typos, so if I turn out to be as crappy at proofreading as some of the people I've given a hard time to in the past I expect to get it in the neck (and I shall sulk, if that's the case). It doesn't let anyone else off the hook though.

The Old Knowledge& Other Strange Tales is the first collection by Rosalie Parker, and also the first hardback release from The Swan River Press, who until now have restricted themselves to the publication of chapbooks. The publisher tells me that if it's a success there may be more hardback releases. It's certainly a well made and attractively packaged book, with a gorgeous cover.

The Case Notes section of Black Static #19 will be an all-anthology special, and then for #20 I intend to dispense with the interview/featured author slot and run as many reviews as we can fit into the available space. There's a considerable backlog of books to be reviewed now, with a real log jam from the month of March when a lot of publishers put out product to coincide with the World Horror Convention in Brighton, and if I don't review some of those titles soon they may slip off the radar altogether. The featured author interview will be back in the New Year though, and among those I'm considering for the slot is Bram Stoker. It's just a matter of persuading Andy that a séance is a justifiable business expense.

November 2010

• Jonathan Oliver (editor) - The End of the Line - Solaris paperback

October 2010

• Herbert van Thal (editor) - The Pan Book of Horror Stories - Pan paperback
• Paul Magrs - The Bride That Time Forgot - Headline paperback (ARC)

September 2010

• Ellen Datlow & Nick Mamatas - Haunted Legends - Tor paperback
• Mark Valentine - A Revelation of Cormorants - Nightjar Press chapbook
• R. B. Russell - The Beautiful Room - Nightjar Press chapbook
• Allyson Bird & Joel Lane (editors) - Never Again - Gray Friar Press paperback
• Allyson Bird - Wine and Rank Poison - Dark Regions Press paperback
• Bob Lock - The Empathy Effect - Screaming Dreams Press paperback
• Rosalie Parker - The Old Knowledge & Other Strange Tales - The Swan River Press hardback