Mixture of horror, humor, and action elements makes DEADMAN’S ROAD a must-read for fans of dark literature
Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized Buzzy Mag, collection, deadman's road, elizabeth story, gabino iglesias, horror, jebediah mercer, Joe R. Lansdale, Travis J. Elston, weird, western, zombies
At Buzzy Mag, Gabino Iglesias praises Joe R. Lansdale’s Deadman’s Road.
Between horses, thick accents, cowboy boots, and guns, there’s plenty in Deadman’s Road to satisfy fans of Westerns. However, it’s the mixture of horror, humor, and action elements that makes this collection a must-read for fans of dark literature. Regardless of where he is, Mercer always finds trouble. Despite his rugged exterior, the man is on a mission from God, and he repeatedly risks life and limb to ensure the safety of others.
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With Deadman’s Road, Lansdale has paid homage to the things that inspired him to pursue a career in dark literature. However, the best thing about it is that he has used his tremendous talent to bring horror, pulp, and Westerns together and make them available and entertaining for the variety of generations that read his work.
For more on Deadman’s Road, visit the Tachyon page
Cover art “The Quick and the Undead” by Travis J. Elston. Design by Elizabeth Story.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Watts asks the question that the rest of us may be afraid to answer
Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized chicago tribune, collection, elizabeth story, gary k wolfe, Hugh Sicotte, Peter Watts, review, science fiction
Over at the Chicago Tribune, Gary K. Wolfe included the Peter Watts collection Beyond the Rift among his “Sci-Fi roundup: Three new reads to check out.”
Fanfic — short for “fan fiction” — refers to fiction in which fan writers reimagine some of their favorite characters (such as Kirk and Spock from Star Trek) in various compromising situations; the most famous example is “Fifty Shades of Grey,” which began as “Twilight” fanfic. Perhaps the best recent example of how fanfic can actually enrich and deepen its source material is Peter Watts’ “The Things,” which re-imagines John Carpenter’s movie “The Thing” from the point of view of the alien intruder — but adds the sophisticated science of the marine biologist that Watts was trained as. For Watts’ protagonist, the “things” are us, and it makes some telling comments about how badly designed we are as intelligent beings.
This is only part of the repertoire of Watts, a Canadian writer whose formidable reputation is based on a handful of novels and stories.
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He asks the questions that the best science fiction writers ask, but that the rest of us may be afraid to answer.
For more on Beyond the Rift, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover by Hugh Sicotte. Design by Elizabeth Story.
Jim Mickle is ready to unleash his adaptation of Joe R. Lansdale’s bristly thriller COLD IN JULY
Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized cold in july, crime, hollywood reporter, jim mickle, Joe R. Lansdale, matt patches, movie tie-in, mystery, sundance
As part of The Hollywood Reporter coverage of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, Matt Patches profiles Cold In July, director Jim Mickle’s film adaptation of the Joe R. Lansdale novel.
Mickle’s Mission for Cold in July: Hearing Mickle describe his latest film, his enthusiasm stems from swinging his stylistic pendulum in a completely opposite direction. “If We Are was a feminist horror story, this is a look at masculinity, being a contemporary man and what that means. [It’s] dominated by dude themes. But pacing-wise it’s totally different – it starts with a bang and moves quickly. It was fun to come to something like this after coming from something so precise.”
(Michael C. Hall in a scene from Cold in July)
This July in commemoration of the movie’s general release, Tachyon delivers the official movie tie-in edition of the original novel, complete with an introduction by director Jim Mickle and an afterword by Joe R. Lansdale, his ownself.
For more info on the book Cold In July, visit the Tachyon page.
Creature Feature, The Weekly Web Program includes HAUNTINGS among their best books of the year
Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized anthology, Best of 2013, Creature Feature, Ellen Datlow, haunting, horror, review, short stories, valentina brostean
The macabre folks at Creature Feature gush about Ellen Datlow’s Haunting on their 2013 Tomb Top Ten.
Twenty four tales in all spanning the years 1983 through 2012, Ms Datlow has assembled a formidable community of eminent genre artists working at the very heights of their literary powers to create this outstanding dark fantasy anthology. This is the best of the best–don’t miss it!
For more about Hauntings, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover art “Voice of Shades” © 2010 by Valentina Brostean
Screaming Planet can’t “really talk about [the Peter Watts collection BEYOND THE RIFT] coherently”
Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized beyond the rift, collection, elizabeth story, Hugh Sicotte, Peter Watts, review, science fiction, screaming planet, short stories
As part of Screaming Planet’s summary of the best collections of 2013, their blogger opines:
The other short story collection I should talk about is one I can’t really talk about coherently. I’m such as screaming piss-my-pants-with-euphoria fanboy of Peter Watts that whatever I may say about Beyond the Rift will probably sound suspiciously like insane babbling of a gibbering maniac. Simply put, he is the writer I wish I could be. If you like your science fiction hard, if you like it when it requires use of your brain, and if you like it just ever so slightly dark (okay, I may be understating that a bit), you will love Watts, and this collection of his short work is an excellent place to sample his work and see if you should move on to his dammit I can’t control myself absolutely fucking brilliant novels. Gahh. Well. There you have it.
For more on Beyond the Rift, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover by Hugh Sicotte. Design by Elizabeth Story.
Vandermeer’s clear thinking and prose about the various topics inspires
Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized Alice Osborn, Belea T. Keeney, booklife, jeff vandermeer, john coulthart, review, Writer From the Inside Out, writing
On Alice Osborn’s Writer From the Inside Out blog, contributor Belea T. Keeney shares a favorite how-to writing book: Jeff VanderMeer’s Booklife.
Is your “Booklife” taking over your real life? Do you struggle to find the time to write amid busy weekdays and even busier weekends? Have deadlines whizzed past you and left you scrambling? Do you spend more time marketing your work than you do writing it? Then your Booklife is probably out of balance, and author and editor Jeff Vandermeer can you keep your Booklife seesaw from tipping.
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I found Vandermeer’s clear thinking and prose about the various topics very inspiring. You can be a writer and be a social person; you can be an artist and run a household effectively. Vandermeer doesn’t buy into the myth of the addicted, struggling, dysfunctional artist. Vandermeer says take control of your private and public Booklives, and your both your writing and your peace of mind will improve.
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If you’re working to balance your writing time and your responsibilities and obligations, if you’re struggling to manage marketing and creating, then Booklife could help you find that sweet spot on your seesaw of life.
To read the rest of Keeney’s review, visit the Writer From the Inside Out.
For more information on Booklife, visit the Tachyon page.
Cover by John Coulthart
During all the holiday hullabaloo, we missed the Library Journal on “great presents for the sf/fantasy lover.”
Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized collection, elizabeth story, Hugh Sicotte, jackie cassada, library journal, review, science fiction, short stories, Thomas Canty
During all the holiday hullabaloo, we missed Jackie Cassada’s Library Journal December 24 blog entry on the “great presents for the sf/fantasy lover in your family.” The Peter Watts collection Beyond the Rift received a mention and a special highlighted newsworthy entry focused on the final Kage Baker collection In the Company of Thieves.
NEWSWORTHY
The untimely death in 2010 of sf/fantasy author Kage Baker left the sf community saddened by the loss of such a talented and creative writer. Now Tachyon Publications has released this month In the Company of Thieves (ISBN 9781616961299. pap. $15.95), which gathers six tales (including one previously uncollected) of the time-travelling members of the Company and their employer, Dr. Zeus, Incorporated. Honoring another sf icon, Jack Vance (1916–2013), Subterranean Books has been releasing his early stories, starting in 2010 with Hard Luck Diggings. The second volume, Dream Castles, was published in 2012, and Magic Highways, the third volume, appeared earlier this year. A fourth volume, Minding the Stars, is due out in March 2014.
For more on Beyond the Rift, visit the Tachyon page.
For more information about In the Company of Thieves, visit the Tachyon page.
In the Company of Thieves cover art and design copyright © 2013 by Thomas Canty
Beyond the Rift cover by Hugh Sicotte. Design by Elizabeth Story.
Special post-Sundance screening of COLD IN JULY
Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized crime, houston, jim mickle, Joe R. Lansdale, movie, movie tie-in, mystery, screening, sundance
One week following the movie’s world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Houston plays host to the special January 30 Sundance Film Festival USA screening of Cold In July.
Director Jim Mickle and the original novel’s author Joe R. Lansdale will be in attendance.
(Michael C. Hall in a scene from Cold in July)
This July in commemoration of the movie’s general release, Tachyon delivers the official movie tie-in edition of the original novel, complete with an introduction by director Jim Mickle and an afterword by Joe R. Lansdale, his ownself.
For more info on the book Cold In July, visit the Tachyon page.
“Beagle doesn’t do bad. His range is from good to absolutely bloody marvellous.”
Alec Checkerfield Uncategorized collection, eamonn murphy, fantasy, peter s beagle, review, sfcrowsnest, short stories
In his review of the Peter Beagle collection We Never Talk About My Brother, Eamonn Murphy at SFcrowsnest argues that "Beagle doesn’t do bad. His range is from good to absolutely bloody marvellous.“
The problem for the purchaser of short story collections is to avoid wasting money buying the same ones twice. As mentioned, half of this collection is included in ‘Mirror Kingdoms: The Best Of Peter S. Beagle’ and, hand on heart, that is the better book, if only because it contains more of Peter S. Beagle. However, it is a limited edition and might not be available or affordable and you would miss out on ‘Spook’, which is marvellous. The canny reader will scour the contents pages of the various anthologies and decide which ones best fit the finances. Having read these two, I am sorely tempted to chase up every single word Peter S. Beagle has ever written and devour them at my leisure.
For more info on We Never Talk About My Brother, visit the Tachyon page.