Joe Lansdale, author of Cold in July, answered some quickfire questions for Mulholland Books, who published several of Lansdale titles including The Thicket and Edge of Dark Water.
This themed anthology revolves around the idea that the separation between what is real and what we see on film is not as clear as we’d like to think it is. What if, for example, the Wicked Witch of the West didn’t stay in Oz? What if James Dean got a second chance at life? These are just some of the weird-but-cool ideas explored in this tempting volume of stories from renowned editor Ellen Datlow, who collects 23 scary tales by the likes of Peter Straub, Genevieve Valentine, Robert Shearman, Laird Barron and more.
Read about the rest of DeNardo’s selections at Kirkus Reviews.
For information on The Cutting Room: Dark Reflections of the SilverScreen, visit the Tachyon page.
“We Are All Completely Fine” by Daryl Gregory is the story of a therapy group for those people – the unusual ones. People who have survived gruesome and unbelievable events and lived to tell the tale. A psychotherapist, Dr. Jan Sayer, who has come to believe their strange tales has convinced the motley group of battered and haunted people to join group therapy sessions – which is exactly as absurd as it sounds. From the semi-famous, former boy monster hunter to the quiet girl hiding horror under her turtleneck and the man who cannot take off his glasses; the author manages to make them all human – fragile and strong and cowardly and brave all at once – in the best way, while never letting us forget their “otherness”.
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With “We Are All Completely Fine”, Gregory manages that same task just as well, and for me, combining that skill with a choice of subject so unique and fascinating was a complete hit. There’s only one problem: with its 182 pages (and feeling even shorter) the story is too short – I want to know more about Greta the flaming girl, Harrison the monster slayer, Stan in the wheelchair, the optimist Dr. Sayer and the other freaks! And although I love short stories and novellas, and genuinely think that the story completely carries itself well despite its short lenght, I just wish there was more of it… And if that isn’t the very thing you want out of a story, then I don’t know what is.
(Translated poorly from the Spanish by Google Translate)
At the time of his death in December 1935, under his belt with a romance novel and a dozen long stories, mostly published in Wonder Stories and Astounding, which would be added many others, published posthumously in the next four years, and a couple of novels;one of them, “The Black Flame” with a haphazard publishing history.
“Black called it” actually consists of two texts, which possibly were never designed a coherent single narrative.On one side is the story “Dawn of Flame” (“Dawn of Flame”), which originally appeared in 1936 in a posthumous commemorative volume that gave title.Subsequently, in January 1939, a short novel, “The Black Flame” (“The black flame”) appeared as a highlight of the first issue of Startling Stories.In 1948, Fantasy Press them together in one volume, with editions in 1953 (Harlequin Books) and 1970 (Avon Books).It is the latter which apparently took as a starting point Labyrinth Library for the Spanish edition of 2006 on which this review is based.
The story of “The Black Flame” does not end there, however.The original text of Weinbaum, which was considered lost (after being stolen from Forrest J. Ackerman, who had obtained it at an auction), reappeared in 1995 in a volume “restored” Tachyon Publications, after being discovered a carbon copy of himself in a chest in possession of a grandson of the author.This version gets additional 18,000 words (about fifty pages).
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Both stories, particularly the second, presents intriguing ideas, and not hard to understand why Weinbaum exerted such an impact in his time (many of the concepts are perceived not as advanced in years, but also his time in decades, developments with works that evoke the New Wave as “ You, the immortal "or” The intersection of Einstein “(mutants, arising from the attempt to replicate the immortalizing process, mythological features). development, however, often denoted its substrate pulp with a simplistic and somewhat disjointed history and heroes who have some howardiano and evokes an air of adventure as Doc Savage (who may well draw in the Master … provided that Savage had conquered immortality and would have given to govern a post-apocalyptic world).
What might make more emphasis to "The Black Flame” contemporary stories is perhaps the psychology of the characters, an aspect that was very sloppy and usually that is central to both stories.Not so much for its characters, which are pretty basic, but by the creation of Margot, the Black Flame, an immortal young fascinating and enigmatic, as cruel as worthy of pity, trapped in an eternal trap for their acquired condition, Wistful love and at the same time hardened (almost insane) by centuries of disappointment (at the double obstacle of his magnificence and timelessness).All an archetypal character, drinking from the same sources (perhaps even direct influence) that “ She "Haggard and is one of the first complex female characters (with the halo of baffling mystery that gives the male perspective) of science fiction.
“Daryl Gregory’s We Are All Completely Fine is bitchin’ fun and as wicked and strange as a motorcycle leap through a ring of fire without your pants on. Loved it.” —Joe R. Lansdale, author of Cold in July and the Hap and Leonard series
Harrison was the Monster Detective, a storybook hero. Now he’s in his mid-thirties and spends most of his time popping pills and not sleeping. Stan became a minor celebrity after being partially eaten by cannibals. Barbara is haunted by unreadable messages carved upon her bones. Greta may or may not be a mass-murdering arsonist. Martin never takes off his sunglasses. Never. No one believes the extent of their horrific tales, not until they are sought out by psychotherapist Dr. Jan Sayer. What happens when these seemingly-insane outcasts form a support group? Together they must discover which monsters they face are within—and which are lurking in plain sight.
“[STARRED REVIEW] This complex novel—scathingly funny, horrific yet oddly inspiring—constructs a seductive puzzle from torn identities, focusing on both the value and peril of fear. When enigmatic Dr. Jan Sayer gathers survivors of supernatural violence for therapy, she unwittingly unlocks evil from the prison of consciousness. Harrison, a cynical monster-hunter, wallows in lethargy. Suicidal Barbara burns to read the secret messages inscribed on her bones. Cantankerous Stan is the lone survivor of a cannibal feast. After paranoid Martin sees slithery spirits lingering around volatile Greta, a powerful young woman decorated with mystically charged scars, ancient evils usher the rag-tag survivors to a battle with the Hidden Ones, exiled deities trapped in prisons of flesh. Gregory’s beautiful imagery and metaphors bring bittersweet intimacy and tenderness to the primal wonder of star-lit legends. Isolated people, both victims and victimizers, are ghosts in a waking world, blind to their encounters with living nightmares. Blending the stark realism of pain and isolation with the liberating force of the fantastic, Gregory (Afterparty) makes it easy to believe that the world is an illusion, behind which lurks an alternative truth—dark, degenerate, and sublime.” —Publishers Weekly
“…a clever and creepy horror tale…” —Library Journal
“Clever, and filled with the creeping dread of what’s in the flickering shadow next to you and what’s just around the corner that suffuses the best horror. I loved it.” —Ellen Datlow, Bram Stoker, World Fantasy, and International Horror Guild award-winning editor of The Best Horror of the Year series
“Charming and horrifying—you won’t be able to stop reading it.” —Tim Powers, award-winning author of Declare and The Stress of Her Regard
“Daryl Gregory is a writer I would happily follow into any dark place he wanted me to go. This is a labyrinth of a story, intricate as a spider’s web—and like a spider’s web, each piece informs the whole. Beautiful.” —Seanan McGuire, author of the October Daye series and Half-Off Ragnarok
“A superb, haunting tale by one of our very best writers. Gregory’s characters are already in therapy; you may want to join them after reading this spicy, disturbing mélange.” —Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of Red Planet Blues
“Lovecraft meets Cabin in the Woods in this tale of survivors of various supernatural horrors who come together in a support group to try to heal….fascinating” —Fantastic Reads
“Gregory (Pandemonium, The Devil’s Alphabet, et. al.) has done it again with yet another singularly unique, genre-blending masterwork about a support group of victims of paranormal violence who realize that their nightmarish traumas are all related. This creepy concoction of supernatural fiction, mystery, and horror is a dark little literary gem that readers will absolutely cherish.” —Paul Goat Allen, Barnes & Noble.com
“[Gregory’s] most tightly constructed and compulsively readable novel to date, and a small gem of what we might call post-horror horror.” —Locus
“… funny in that dark and sarcastic way only people faced with unstoppable horror can be funny, and when you’re finished you’ll wish there was more.” —Daytona Beach News Journal
“We Are All Completely Fine is something refreshing and unique—a short horror novel that is as much about relationships and people learning from one another as it is about the horrors that they are ultimately facing… .” —LitReactor
“…a little horrific, quite deep, and plenty surprising.” —Bookworm Blues
“We Are All Completely Fine is a remarkably seductive piece of supernatural horror, drawing the innocent reader into the web by dealing with a familiar situation… .fascinating and engrossing… ” —Thinking About Books
“This book is fast-paced, creepy, suspenseful, and yet surprisingly uplifting, with fleshed out characters I genuinely cared about… . This book is seriously awesome. Someone chain [Gregory] to a desk so he stops doing anything other than write.” —SF Book Reviews
“I’ve not encountered many authors in the horror genre who flex literary muscle as well as Gregory. His approach was perfect for the story vehicle.” —Out of My Mind
“Not for the faint of heart, We Are All Completely Fine is a great read!” —Bibliophilic
“Gregory does a masterful storytelling job here….” —MT Void
“A must read” —Buzz Feed
For information on We Are All Completely Fine the audiobook visit Audible.
For information on We Are All Completely Fine the book, visit the Tachyon page.
HOW: By Subway 6, C, E to Spring St.; A, B D or F to West 4th; 1 train to Houston St; or R, W to Prince St. There are many convenient bus lines that come within a couple of blocks of the gallery. Use the link above for an interactive transit map.
The New York Review of Science Fiction Reading Series provides performances from some of the best writers in science fiction, fantasy, speculative fiction, etc. The series usually takes place the first Tuesday of every month, but maintains flexibility in time and space, so be sure to stay in touch through the mailing list, the Web, and Facebook.
We will have cider and cheese as always, and a raffle for donors of $1 or more. After the event, please join us as we treat our readers for dinner and drinks nearby.
Visit Goodreads for the full details and to enter.
The credits have rolled, but the lights are still off. Something is lurking on the other side of the screen. There are dark secrets, starving monsters, and haunted survivors who refuse to be left on the cutting room floor. But that’s okay, right? After all, everybody loves the movies…. Here are twenty-three terrifying tales, dark reflections of the silver screen from both sides of the camera. James Dean gets a second chance at life—and death. The Wicked Witch is out of Oz and she’s made some unlucky friends. When God decides reality needs an editor, what—and who—gets cut? These award-winning, bestselling authors will take you to the darkest depths of the theater and beyond.
STARRED REVIEW “Superstar editor Datlow makes no missteps in this reprint collection of dark tales involving movies and moviemaking. The one original piece, Stephen Graham Jones’s “Tenderizer,” is a haunting exploration of tragedy on both a personal and national level. A.C. Wise’s “Final Girl Theory,” about a cult film that’s an “infection, whispered from mouth to mouth in the dark,” is disturbing and gory without fetishizing its horrors. Kim Newman’s brilliant “Illimitable Dominion” tells an alternate history of Edgar Allen Poe, Roger Corman, and American International Pictures that’s particularly suited to film buffs who will probably spot the (initially) subtle changes to the time line. Film critic and author Genevieve Valentine provides both an entertaining story (“She Drives the Men to Crimes of Passion!”) and an enlightening introduction, while even Douglas E. Winter’s “Bright Lights, Big Zombie”—the literary target of which has long faded—still holds up reasonably well. Strong stories by Gary McMahon and Gary A. Braunbeck, as well as poems by Lucy A. Snyder and Daphne Gottlieb, are also worth noting, but really, the entire volume is outstanding.” —Publishers Weekly
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction by Genevieve Valentine Preface by Ellen Datlow
“The Cutter” by Edward Bryant “The Hanged Man of Oz” by Steve Nagy “Deadspace” by Dennis Etchison “Cuts” by F. Paul Wilson “Final Girl Theory” by A. C. Wise “Lapland, or Film Noir” by Peter Straub “The Thousand Cuts” by Ian Watson “Occam’s Ducks” by Howard Waldrop “Dead Image” by David Morrell “The Constantinople Archives” by Robert Shearman “each thing I show you is a piece of my death” by Gemma Files & Stephen J. Barringer “Cinder Images” by Gary McMahon “The Pied Piper of Hammersmith” by Nicholas Royle “Filming the Making of the Film of the Making of Fitzcarraldo” by Garry Kilworth “Onlookers” by Gary A. Braunbeck “Recreation” by Lucy A. Snyder “Bright Lights, Big Zombie” by Douglas E. Winter “She Drives the Men to Crimes of Passion!” by Genevieve Valentine “Even the Pawn” by Joel Lane “Tenderizer” by Stephen Graham Jones “Ardor” by Laird Barron “Final Girl II: the Frame” by Daphne Gottlieb “Illimitable Dominion” by Kim Newman
For information on The Cutting Room: Dark Reflections of the SilverScreen, visit the Tachyon page.
Cold in July is the fourth and best cinematic offering from director Jim Mickle and his regular co-writer Frank Damici. Their previous works, particularly the apocalyptic Stake Land and the bizarrely touching We Are What We Are, hinted strongly that this was a creative pair on the ascendant, and Cold in July is the film where everything comes together.
Based on the novel by genre bending Joe R. Lansdale (you might know his work from other adaptations such as Bubba Ho-Tep and the Masters of Horror episode, Incident On and Off a Mountain Road) Cold in July is astoundingly faithful to the spirit of its source material. Set in 1989, this is a film that oozes ‘80s cinematic nostalgia from its synth score to its subdued neo-noir pacing.
Near the end of the review Jones makes mention of a forthcoming Mickle-Lansdale project.
Mickle recently announced that he was developing Lansdale’s Hap Collins and Leonard Pine novels for television. If that series is as well-crafted and as respectful to the books as Cold in July, then we’re all in for a Southern fried treat.
In conjunction with the series, next year Tachyon is publishing the first ever collection of the shorter Hap and Leonard stories.
Cold in Julythe movie, starring Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Sam Shepard (Black Hawk Down), and Don Johnson (Miami Vice), is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray.
What happened if your claim to fame was surviving being partially eaten by a cannibal, and now you’re out of the limelight? Or, you were once a supernatural storybook hero and now all you did today was eat pills like they were Pez? You’d likely need to find a therapist or support group. And, that is exactly what State College-based writer Daryl Gregory envisions in his We Are All Completely Fine. The banality of modern psychoanalysis gets a serious rework with some intense violence, trauma, and good ol’ fashioned monsters called both “charming and horrifying.” Equal measures of comic book style fiction, zombie terror, and Gregory’s novella puts a group of outcasts with outlandish, horrifying backgrounds together in a support group led by psychotherapist Dr. Jan Sayer.
In 1953, Chief Halftown was greeting children in Philadelphia and television was enjoying its golden age. Award-winning science fiction writer James Morrow takes readers back to that year for another television character, Uncle Wonder, in his new novel The Madonna and the Starship. Uncle Wonder, played on television by protagonist Kurt Jastrow, greets children with fiery science experiments. His fan base isn’t just across the Eisenhower-era American nation, though: Unbeknownst to Kurt, and everyone else, distant aliens called Qualimosans enjoy Uncle Wonder’s antics. After all, every one of our broadcast television signals, even the terrible ones, radiate into outer space. Venturing to earth to present Uncle Wonder with an award, the aliens boost Kurt’s ego until it becomes clear that they want to annihilate humanity, too. Described as a “wildly imaginative and generous novelist who plays hilarious games with grand ideas” by the New York Times Book Review, Morrow seems to be tickling readers with another wonderfully absurd, and unnerving, plot.
This anthology is unique: I didn’t dislike a single story here. “macs” and “Buffalo” were middling efforts, I felt, but overall this is the finest and most consistent set of stories I’ve encountered thus far. I may be overrating it a tad bit, but if any anthology deserves almost unlimited praise, it’s this one. Even my wish that it were longer is assuaged by the fact that there’s a second volume, one I’ve already ordered from the library system.
