News: Midnight Echo #6 line-up announced

The Australian Horror Writers Association has announced the line-up of the sixth issue of its official fiction magazine, Midnight Echo. This edition has the theme of science fiction horror.

The nine stories are set in the far future and take place in the distant reaches of space. Inside, you’ll discover a strange world with a planetary ring forged from organic matter, bizarre aliens cataloguing and collecting humans to populate their idea of paradise, Lovecraftian horrors come to life in the heart of a comet, cybernetic monsters hunting humans in the hull of an abandoned star ship, and paranoid space explorers pushed to their limits at the frontier of an uncharted universe.

Stories have been penned by various renowned speculative fiction authors from Australia and the United States, including:

• Cody Goodfellow – editor of Perilous Press and author of Radiant Dawn and Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars
• Cat Sparks – fiction editor for Cosmos Magazine and multiple Aurealis Award winning author
• Stephen Dedman – Australian science fiction veteran and author of Shadows Bite and Foreign Bodies
• Shane Jiraiya Cummings – author of Phoenix and the Darkness of Wolves
• Joanne Anderton – author of upcoming novel Debris

Emerging talented authors include Helen Stubbs, Alan Baxter, Andrew J. McKiernan, Mark Farrugia, and poet Jenny Blackford.

The issue will feature an in depth interview with Charles Stross, one of the most imaginative and insightful science fiction authors writing today. Stross has been honoured with two Hugo awards and Locus Reader awards, and has published more than a dozen novels, including Saturn’s Children and The Fuller Memorandum. He talks to David Conyers for Midnight Echo about his Lovecrafitan science fiction horror series, The Laundry, and his latest novel, Rule 34.

A second interview is with Chris Moore, world renowned British science fiction artist best known for his striking covers for Orion Publishing’s SF Masterworks series and for his official wallpaper art for film The Empire Strikes Back. Insights are gained into Moore’s process for achieving his striking and imaginative art, and the many changes he has been facing in the publishing industry since he began illustrating in the 1970s.

The cover for Midnight Echo 6, ‘Strange Behaviour’, is a creation of talented UK artist, Paul Drummond, who will be well-known to readers of Interzone for his striking depictions of star ships, futuristic humans and robots.

Featured interior illustrators include:

• Steve Gilberts – Apex Digest, Space and Time, and Book of Dark Wisdom
• David Lee Ingersoll – The Black Seal and Worlds of Cthulhu
• Olivia Kernot – Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine
• Nathan Wyckoff – Jumpgates Comics

Midnight Echo 6: The Science Fiction Horror Special, has been edited by South Australian trio, David Kernot (editor of Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine), Jason Fischer (Writers of the Future winner and Aurealis nominee), and David Conyers (author of The Eye of Infinity, The Spiraling Worm and co-editor of Cthulhu Unbound 3), and is due for release in November 2011.

Further details on Midnight Echo can be found at http://www.australianhorror.com/

Previous issues of Midnight Echo can be purchased at http://www.shop.australianhorror.com/


Source: AHWA

News: Garth Nix to MC Aurealis Awards

SpecFaction NSW, organisers of the 2010 Aurealis Awards, has announced that Garth Nix will act as Master of Ceremonies at the gala presentation evening on 21 May in Sydney.

A multiple Aurealis Awards winner, Garth Nix lives in Sydney. A full-time writer since 2001, Garth’s books include the award-winning fantasy novels Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen; and the cult favourite novel for young adults, Shade’s Children. His fantasy novels for children include The Ragwitch; the six books of The Seventh Tower sequence, The Keys to the Kingdom series, and (with Sean Williams) a new series beginning in 2011 called Troubletwisters.

Garth will be joined by a range of presenters including; Ian Irvine, Sean Williams, Traci Harding, Richard Harland, Nick Stathopoulos, Tansy Rayner Roberts, and Kaaron Warren.

The winners of the 2010 Aurealis Awards and the Peter McNamara Convenors Award will be announced at the Aurealis Awards ceremony, sponsored by HarperVoyager, on the evening of Saturday May 21 at The Independent Theatre in North Sydney.

Details of the evening and a link to the online booking website are available at www.aurealisawards.com.


Source: SpecFaction NSW

Review: ASIM #50

Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine chalks up its half century with this special milestone edition of the light-hearted spec-fic magazine. Keeping in the co-op spirit of the magazine’s formation, the issue is co-edited by 10 of the group’s editors (each got to pick one or two stories for the issue) and features 13 new morsals of short fiction and two poems.

After forays into darker fiction and harder sci-fi, the issue returns to the magazine’s roots of fun, fluffy, humorous fiction. The editors’ selections work surprisingly well together, highlighting the spectrum of fiction the magazine champions, but maintaining a consistent tone as to not distract the reader.

The issue also marks the last of the magazine’s bimonthly schedule and will be reformatted as a thicker, quarterly release from here on out.

The enjoyment of the work will depend on your particular tastes, but as always there is enough variety to ensure you’ll find something you like. Personal standouts included Mark Lee Pearson’s Whaling the Multiverse – an original sci-fi high seas adventure about a boy who attracts whales with his voice; Nicole R Murphy’s darkly sweet The Fairy King’s Child about a young girl who finds refuge in the land of the fae after escaping an abusive relationship; and Dennis J Pale’s Morrow Street – a gritty, urban cyberpunk tale with descriptions so vivid you can almost smell the sidewalk.

Debbie Cowen’s chips in with a fun twist on dragon lore with The Truth About Dragons, while Shona Husk’s Skull Jeweller’s Apprentice and Damien Walters Grintalis’ A Glimpse of Nothing in Silvered Glass draw us into original worlds through great characterisation and prose. Husk’s story about a jeweller who considers taking on an ex-soldier as an apprentice is particularly powerful, binding us to the characters as the jeweller deliberates on a simple, yet life-changing decision. The only criticism would be that the story feels like only a snippet of this pair’s journey, and I wanted to read on and discover what happened next.

Anthony Panegyres’ The Wine Endures about a man who marries the daughter of a god is also a great read and a example of how well ancient myths can be mashed up with the modern world to create a fresh take on old troupes.

The issue also included stories by Ian McHugh, Barry Kirwan, Robert P Switzer, Natasha Simonova and Mark D West but I struggled to get into these. I don't think it was an issue of quality, more an example of personal taste as many of these represented more traditional science-fiction elements.

ASIM is available as a single issue or annual subscription in print and PDF formats.

Review: Minion

Minion (A Vampire Huntress Legend)
by L.A. Banks

Date Published: 2010
Publisher: Gollancz

ISBN: 9780575094598
Format: paperback
Pages: 304
RRP: $19.99

Reviewed by Gillian Polack


Minion is set in a dark world where vampires and various other night creatures are a very real danger to human beings. They kill them and change them and worse. Into the darkness, a slayer is… not quite, but close. Damali Richards is very much the Chosen One. She is The Neteru, who will fight evil. She is, in fact, the Millennium Neteru and the balance of Light and Dark will be at her disposal. The cover blurb explains it as "There is one woman who is all that stands between us and the eternal night." Except that, like Buffy, she is young. She has to deal with a great deal for a young woman and the novel suggests that things are going to get worse before they get better.

This is beginning to sound as if it's a "If you like this, you'll like that" type of book. To some extent, it is. There are distinct Whedon parallels. There is, however, one significant factor that makes it draw apart. For one thing, the culture isn't White America, it's Black and Hispanic America. This is a significant improvement on most books of its kind - the underlying culture makes a difference. The language isn't international language and the cultures of the people are very strong and specific. This is the book's greatest strength. The other is its characterisation, which is (for the most part) very strong.

Minion's weakness is in the last section. Banks builds to a cliff hanger, since this is part of a series. Nothing wrong with that. Where the book fails, however, is that as part of the building there are long passive scenes. Just when the book gets up to full speed and the reader should expect to go hurtling downhill with no way of stopping, therefore, the narrative slides to a complete halt while the background for the next novel is explained.

When Minion is in action-mode, however, it is excellent. Gritty and dangerous and dark. The writing is taut and the dialogue convincing. If the world building and back-story had been more gently layered in with this darkness and speed, then it would have been a very good book indeed.

News: Contents Announced for The Year's Best Australian Fantasy And Horror

Ticonderoga Publications is walking on sunshine to announce the contents for its inaugural The Year's Best Australian Fantasy and Horror anthology.

Editors Liz Grzyb and Talie Helene have produced a list of 33 excellent tales by some of Australia's biggest names as well as some emerging writers.

The anthology collects 150,000 words of the best stories published last year from the Antipodes.

"We're pleased with the number of fabulous stories that were published in 2010 that we had to choose from,” Liz Grzyb said.

"You could hold this anthology up against any international collection - Australians rock for diverse voices, imagination, and compelling writing," Talie Helene added.

The stories are (alphabetically by writer):

• RJ Astruc - Johnny and Babushka
• Peter M Ball - L'esprit de L'escalier
• Alan Baxter - The King's Accord
• Jenny Blackford - Mirror
• Gitte Christensen - A Sweet Story
• Matthew Chrulew - Schubert By Candlelight
• Bill Congreve - Ghia Likes Food
• Rjurik Davidson - Lovers In Caeli-Amur
• Felicity Dowker - After The Jump
• Dale Elvy - Night Shift
• Jason Fischer - The School Bus
• Dirk Flinthart - Walker
• Bob Franklin - Children's Story
• Christopher Green - Where We Go To Be Made Lighter
• Paul Haines - High Tide At Hot Water Beach
• Lisa L. Hannett - Soil From My Fingers
• Stephen M. Irwin - Hive
• Gary Kemble - Feast Or Famine
• Pete Kempshall - Brave Face
• Tessa Kum - Acception
• Martin Livings - Home
• Maxine McArthur - A Pearling Tale
• Kirstyn McDermott - She Said
• Andrew J. McKiernan - The Memory Of Water
• Ben Peek - White Crocodile Jazz
• Simon Petrie - Dark Rendezvous
• Lezli Robyn - Anne-droid of Green Gables
• Angela Rega - Slow Cookin'
• Angela Slatter - The Bone Mother
• Angela Slatter & Lisa L Hannett - The February Dragon
• Grant Stone - Wood
• Kaaron Warren - That Girl
• Janeen Webb - Manifest Destiny

In addition to the above incredible tales, the volume will include a review of 2010 and a list of recommended stories.

The editors will shortly begin reading for the second volume of The Year's Best Australian Fantasy and Horror. Details are available from the
Ticonderoga Publications website ticonderogapublications.com.

The anthology is scheduled for publication in June 2011. The anthology will be available in hardcover, ebook and trade editions and may be
pre-ordered at indiebooksonline.com.

Source: Ticonderoga Publications

Review: Shadow

Shadow
(Book Two of Pendulum)

by Will Elliott

Date Published: 01/01/2011
Publisher: Harper Voyager
ISBN: 9780732289485
RRP: $22.95

Reviewed by Stephanie Gunn


Shadow is the second book in Will Elliot’s dark fantasy trilogy, Pendulum. The first book was Pilgrim (reviewed at Horrorscope here) and the forthcoming third book will be entitled World’s End.

In Pilgrim, Eric Albright and Stuart Case found their way through a small red door into a world adjacent to Earth, Levaal. Levaal is a world filled with magic and magical creatures, including mages, winged Invia, Gods and dragons. Eric and Case were drawn into a magical quest as “Pilgrims” from Earth as Vous, the power ruling in the Castle, aimed towards Godhood.

Shadow takes the reader deeper into Levaal as it follows the continuing story of Eric and Case. Vous’ reach towards Godhood is getting closer as, at the same time, he moves towards madness, the Arch Mage struggling to contain him. Chaos is beginning to reign in Levaal, the Wall at World’s End gone, and the dragons possibly beginning to escape from their sky prison. And in the South, a mysterious being called Shadow has risen, and seems inextricably entwined with Eric.

The first two books of the Pendulum trilogy mark an ambitious turn at dark fantasy. While well-read readers will recognise a lot of the common tropes of fantasy, Elliott colours it all with his own view, making something original and truly his. His turn at pure horror in the award-winning The Pilo Family Circus had a strong Australian flavour, something that creeps also into the Pendulum books.

There’s a lot to enjoy here. Eric as a main character is very real, and viewing the strange world of Levaal through his eyes makes it, in turn, feel as real. The world itself is fascinating, and several images in the book will linger with you long after you’ve finished the last page. It is very, very easy to believe, at times, that if you found that red door, you, too, would walk through into the world of Levaal and find magic.

There are some issues with this book. The first book in the trilogy felt a lot more grounded than this one. At times, it feels as though there are too many characters to follow, with many of the secondary characters suffering from not being fleshed out enough, and therefore not being memorable. The female characters, in particular, feel as though they slip into stereotype.

That aside, Elliott has created an extraordinarily vivid fantasy world and a protagonist who is real and gritty and always human. If you’re a fan of Elliott’s work and dark fantasy, this series as it stands is recommended. As a fair warning, though, you’ll be waiting for the release of the third book with bated breath.

Review: Scary Kisses

Scary Kisses 
Edited by Liz Grzyb

Date Published: 2010
Publisher: Ticonderogo Publications
ISBN: 9780980628845
RRP: $25.00

Reviewed by Matthew Tait

Already garnering a lot of high praise in the community, Scary Kisses is a dark fantasy anthology that was released in early 2010. It features a huge chunk of authors from the entire Australian speculative league and the impact of its success has guaranteed a sequel of sorts with the upcoming More Scary Kisses. Beginning with the title of each tale, let’s have a look at all the stories individually:

The Anstruther Woman by Nicole R. Murphy

Set among wilds of the Australian outback, this is the story of a small community who bands together under the threat of an unknown assailant attacking livestock. Rumours abound of the elusive big-cats haunting the rough country. Ally, local wise woman and head of the Anstruther farm, works together with local legend Tynan to solve the mystery. What I liked here was the almost gothic flavour Nicole imbues into the story - although set in Australia it has a decidedly New England feel.

Fade Away by Ian Nichols   

After a sea change to an island off the mainland, Emily is haunted by something like a transparent lover. We are then greeted with revelations pertaining to a convicts past. A small ghost story with an unsettling ending of immortality.

Bread and Circuses by Felicity Grey

Probably the most notorious story to come out of Scary Kisses, Bread and Circuses is a brutal and unrelenting excursion. To be honest, after all the hype, this reader’s first reaction was: It’s only a simple Zombie tale? But simple stops after the first page. This is the narrative of Susan, a star-crossed lover living amid the hell of a bored and jaded community of cemetery survivors. It unfolds at a rapid clip with the duel themes of love and death parked behind the gates of a Zombie horde. The prose is a bit like the authors nature: wicked, unflinching and with a subtle hint of dry humour underneath. The title here is Scary Kisses … and there is a literal kiss at the end of this one seldom brought about in horror fiction.

Black Widow by Shona Husk

This wouldn’t be a Paranormal Romance compilation without a subset of vampire stories. Black Widow tells the story of an incarnate vampire who is made flesh as a prostitute in Las Vegas and begins the hunt afresh. Simple but fun.

The February Dragon by Angela Slatter and L.L Hannett

This writing duo has been behind many stories in the past – and it’s easy to see why the collaboration continues. Set entirely in the world of Sepphoris, you have to hand it to the writers for condensing and world-building in such a short space. In this realm, Casco is a startling hybrid of human and Dragon living in the confines of a feudal House. Her talents as an artist see her as prize possession, and soon an unwanted marriage ensues. Primarily a love fable, this is the story of a young woman willing to cross the borders of the human to be with the creature she truly desires.

Growing Silence by Matt Tighe 

One that left a confusing imprint. On the second read-through I ascertained the story is perhaps the poetry of a serial killer … one whose local environs and their silence are like a metaphor for the white noise of his mind.

The Hidden One by Astrid Cooper

It’s always a good thing when a tale resonates on a personal level. Tez is a midnight cleaner in museum of Egyptian artifacts in Adelaide. (I have actually worked in a Museum – and, of course, I reside in Adelaide). With a fellow employee acting as a kind of guide and mentor, aspiring writer Tez sees her world flip upside down when the wizard Ammon awakes from his slumber. Regrettably it slides somewhat into a furor of Hollywood clichés and weak special effects – but ultimately a small piece of entertainment and worthy of its inclusion.

A Darker Shade of Pale by David Bofinger

Much like the previous story Black Widow, this is another vampire tale – this time with an adventurous female model in the middle. Not exactly revelatory or filled with anything new, but it delivers what it intends to be.

The Valley by Martin Livings

Another confusing one that is oftentimes bleak; I will admit to not knowing exactly what was transpiring here. It’s a kind of sojourn featuring a man caught in a netherworld on the cusp of Heaven and Earth. He seeks redemption. The narrative seems to be a modern take on an old fable, but one I cannot put my finger on. I imagine it has a different meaning for different readers.

Cursebreaker: The Welsh Widow and the Wandering Wooer by Kyla Ward

With a word count running into novella territory, readers will be split in two minds with this one. On one hand it is a completely original gothic parable of a Doctor and a Cursebreaker sent to the estate of a blighted family whose wedding celebrations take a macabre turn. At times whimsical and hair-raising; at other times simply impenetrable and hard to nail down, a reader can’t help but be swept away by it all. One thing I do know: author Kyla Ward has lived previous lives.

Heat by Donna Maree Hanson

Probably my least favourite of the collection, Heat is mainly for the romantics out there … but it also has a smattering of high-toned sex. Once again we deal with the paranormal of Vampires.

Phaedra by Bruce Golden

After the often intense previous stories, Phaedra was the perfect balm to take a break from it all. Simply a story of a voluptuous cartoon that breaks out of her realm and into the real world of our protagonist to fulfill his sexual desires. Light on substance but very easy on the eyes.

Date with a Vampire by Annette Backshawl

One of the better vampire stories here, Annette has constructed a homely tale filled with pop culture and internet references that almost makes it meta vampire fiction. An entertaining girl meets vampire allegory.

Pride and Tentacles by D.C White

Symmetry is served with this perfect little ditty as the creatures from Lovecraft’s mythos get together as a bookclub to talk about some of the more popular romantic genre fiction. With this, we go out with a grin.

Long-time readers of HorrorScope might be somewhat surprised to know I found a lot to like here in this gargantuan sub-genre that is often maligned. But sometimes we must take a step back out of comfort zones and peruse what lies on the other side of the fence. One thing that probably doesn’t get mentioned enough in the reading experience is the typesetting and font. Scary Kisses is my first Ticonderoga publication and it has both these boxes ticked to make for a dark but nimble read.  

Both Scary Kisses and More Scary Kisses can be ordered from Ticonderogo Publications. 

News: 2010 Australian Shadows Award winners

The Australian Horror Writers Association has announced the winners of the 2010 Australian Shadows Awards, the highest honour for horror fiction in Australia. The winners are:

Long Fiction

• Under Stones by Bob Franklin (Affirm Press)

Edited Publication

• Macabre: A Journey through Australia's Darkest Fears, edited by Angela Challis & Marty Young (Brimstone Press)

Short Fiction

• "She Said" by Kirstyn McDermott (Scenes from the Second Storey)

The judges reports (from the guest judges in each category and the preliminary judging panel) are now online at http://australianhorror.com/index.php?view=262. These reports are wide-ranging and provide a good overview of Australian horror fiction in 2010 (covering not just the winners and finalists).


Source: AHWA

Review: Bloody Valentine

Bloody Valentine. A Blue Bloods Novella
by Melissa de la Cruz

Date Published: 2010
Publisher: Atom Books

ISBN: 9781900741002008
Format: mass market paperback
Pages: 147
RRP: not given

Reviewed by Gillian Polack


Bloody Valentine opens with style. The first few pages are definitely a cut above most books in the sub-genre. Unfortunately, after that opening, the sub-genre takes over and the author's style fades.

The sub-genre is a branch of paranormal romance where situation and action are preferred above full characterisation and where plot holes are far less important than reaching a specific scene and providing a great deal of back plot. It's a bit like the Perils of Penelope, as the story zig-zags and moves from danger to romance and back again. It's not a sub-genre for those who like tightly crafted plots or deep characterisation. It's light reading, possibly for reading while travelling. It's very much crafted for those who want to read a whole series. It doesn’t really stand alone.

Within the limits of this sub-genre, de la Cruz does a respectable job. Her actual writing style can be excellent and is seldom annoying. Given that this particular reviewer really doesn't enjoy this particular sub-genre, this is an impressive feat.

The big problem with Bloody Valentine is that it's billed as a novella, but is really several short stories strung together. The links between the episodes aren't strong enough to carry the whole or to provide a coherent plot. This is despite the fact that it is a novella (i.e. quite short). It would have worked better as short stories, without an attempt at an overall plot arc.

All in all, however, for readers who like very faint horror and very much romance in their paranormal romance, who want light reading for distracted times, who don't want to become too close to the characters they read about or invest themselves in the lives of characters, Bloody Valentine will do the job. It will do the job best, however, for those who have read the earlier volumes in the series, as there is a lot of background knowledge that is assumed. In other words, one for the fans.

Review: Wolfsbane and Mistletoe

Wolfsbane and Mistletoe
edited by Charlaine Harris and Tony LP Kelner

Date Published: 2010
Publisher: Gollancz

ISBN: 9780575097865
Format: trade paperback
Pages: 405
RRP: £12.99 (UK)

Reviewed by Gillian Polack


The premise for the anthology is simple: each story should contain both werewolves and Christmas. There are no stories that are dull or tedious. Some of the tales are horror, but most are closer to paranormal romance or urban fantasy in feel than to actual horror. A couple are humorous. This sounds like the perfect mix for an anthology - a unifying theme, no bad stories, variations in tone. Wolfsbane and Mistletoe doesn't quite hang together, however. The best way to read this volume, in fact, is to dip into a story here and a story there, fitting the mood to the tale.

It's possibly too long for a Christmas anthology, as the theme wears a bit thin after about six or seven stories.

There is a real problem in the order of the stories. A good anthology has its own plot arc, with a great opening and a spectacular ending and just enough teasing in the middle to keep one reading from one story to the next. Some of that teasing is with action, some with humour, some with angst. The structure of this anthology just doesn’t work along these lines. One excellent story follows another, with some variation in tone and length, but without the highs and the lows and without ringing quite sufficient emotional changes for each story to stand triumphant. After about the seventh story, they blend together a little and each tale has to work a little harder to differentiate itself and its world.

The book begins with a familiar Sookie Stackhouse story. Sookie is alone at Christmas and encounters an unexpected werewolf problem. Harris is a good writer. She lards darkness through the light tone of her stories very skilfully. This story, however, is lighter than most and possibly not the one that should have begun the anthology. It would have been perfect a little later between two bleaker tales.

Rob Thurman's "Milk and Cookies" doesn't quite work. It's about losing the belief in Santa and childhood innocence. It almost, almost works, but, in the final analysis, is a little contrived.

Possibly the best moment in the anthology was in Kat Richardson's story. Of course, Rudolph was an experimental reindeer of a very particular supernatural kind. Once Richardson pointed this out, the whole world became suddenly clear.

"The Star of David" by Patricia Briggs is probably the strongest story in the collection. A boy might be in danger from his foster parents. Stella, who runs the foster care agency, has to talk to her father to help the boy. Talking to her father and getting his help has so many issues ... This story works on a number of levels, which is why it's so very good. It's about shapes and people and who they are deep-down and how needs and reactions change over time.

Overall, this is a good anthology. It's better to dip in at random, however, than to read it from beginning to end.

Review: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After

Steve Hockensmith, 2011, Quirk Books

Visit NecroScope to read this review.

http://zombiefictionreview.blogspot.com/2011/04/review-pride-and-prejudice-and-zombies.html

Review: Firespell

Firespell
A Novel of the Dark Elite
by Chloe Neill

Date Published: 2010
Publisher: Gollancz

ISBN: 9780575095403
Format: trade paperback
Pages: 246
RRP: £11.99 (UK)

Reviewed by Gillian Polack


Firespell is a dark fantasy school story. It opens with a new girl - Lily Parker - at St. Sophia's Boarding School. Her parents have a two year academic trip to Germany and they've decided to leave their daughter in the US to finish her schooling. She's not impressed with this. She's also worried: her parents aren't acting as if they have a trip of a lifetime, but as if something is not quite right. Lily accepts her fate and starts at the new school.

In some ways, this is a typical school story. Lily has to deal with cultural changes and with new behaviours and new peoples. In just as many ways, it's dark fantasy. There are strange things happening behind the scenes, and Lily is quite determined to find out what they are, even if it means she herself is in danger.

This danger is dark magic, naturally, and involves special gifts and responsibilities. It calls very closely on the formula that worked for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with school girls and boys discovering abilities and dealing with darkness inside and out, while retaining interests in shopping, the other sex, and making smart comments. It's aimed at young adult readers (maybe the higher end of young adult rather than the lower) and is fairly tightly written and well put-together. The one-liners are funny and the main character in particular is well-drawn. It's respectful of its antecedents and larded with pop culture references. Some of them are a little dated (Teen Wolf, for instance) unless one is an aficionado of DVD re-releases.

This is not a big novel, nor a world-changing one. The author has a deft hand, however, and understands the formulae and adds just enough specific style and individuality so that it works quite nicely. There is real jeopardy. The main characters are faced with decisions that matter in their world. In short, Firespell is worth a look.

Review: An Eclectic Slice of Life

An Eclectic Slice of Life: Intriguing Works of Prose and Poetry 
Edited by Craig Bezant

Date Published: 2010
Publisher: Dark Prints Press
Format: 'C' Trade Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-646-53641-5
RRP: $29.95

Reviewed by Matthew Tait

With the review that appears just below this one, Gillian Pollack has kindly illustrated for the reader where the genesis for this collection sprang from. From 2007 onwards editor Craig Bezant has sorted through his kaleidoscopic tree of stories to bring us the best Eclecticism E-Zine has to offer in a broad and wide ranging print edition - the first from his newly hatched small press Dark Prints Press. Featuring a cover illustration of finely stacked antique books, this nostalgic approach reflects the new metamorphosis from computer to paper. A kind of reverse de-evolution that will please an all-new readership of Craig’s dark little e-zine.

The collection is composed of three parts: Dark Little Oddities, Fantastical Twists, and Obligatory Dramas.       

We kick off with Iron Efficient by Simon James - a worthy opener and one of the standouts in the collection. At its centre a small domestic revenge tale, the author uses a familiar setting and objects to highlight the need for change in an abused woman’s life: one of those guilty pleasures where the antagonist gets his just desserts. Simon also has another highlight here with Pieces – an absolutely confusing mishmash of story but it can be read for the highbrow prose alone. In what is one of the only forays into science fiction territory author Joseph D’Lacy contributes Drone … a beautifully rendered post-apocalyptic landscape of primitive human transmutation but in a magical and revolutionary setting.

Fantastical Twists present some of the first stories I’ve read by South Australian Jason Fischer. Both Houndkin and The Ward of Hours take on mythological creatures set against eccentric backdrops – one in a hospital ward that lies at the nexus of time. The prose is mature and effortless … and it’s easy to see the argument for his success. The segment also presents one of the more bizarre but attention-grabbing stories: Prodigal Son by Mark McAuliffe. This is the tale of Tony Andrews, who returns home to his mother after a life of crime seeking forgiveness and shelter. But what she has in store for him is something rarely encountered in fiction.

I was somewhat apprehensive about approaching the last section – Obligatory Dramas - and for the most part my concern was well-founded. Having not read many dramas (short fiction or otherwise), at all over the past few years I didn’t see the need for any to be included in an anthology that was primarily speculative. Or why, exactly, they were obligatory. That’s not to say all the stories were poor. But I kept waiting for a punch-line that simply didn’t happen. For example, the story Audrey’s Fall could merely be described thus: A woman who might have a brain tumor goes to the hospital. And that’s it – there is no other redeeming merit to it. The Shopkeeper by Eril Riley is a painful slog about a Ukraine immigrant living in Melbourne. His dog perishes and he buries it. As an honest reader giving my reaction, I would have to describe some of these as ‘A bunch of stuff that happens’ with no literary payoff. That said, there were some gems nestled amongst it – namely Lost in the City by Julia Bannigan and The Workman’s Pandora’s Box by Myra King.  

In the aftermath of putting this debut book down I can candidly state An Eclectic Slice of Life as a whole is a worthy publication. Perhaps not as dark as some of you may expect but I have the feeling visceral horror is not what our editor is aiming for. With this and the e-zine (of which small amounts of poetry are included), the stories aim to shift the reader into another foggy realm … perhaps not a terrifying one, but certainly lopsided and jilted at the edges. This is only the beginning for Dark Prints Press, and it will be interesting to see where Craig takes us with his forthcoming publications Surviving the Dead (March 2012), and The One That Got Away (February 2012).

Review: Eclecticism #14

Eclecticism E-Zine, Issue 14, Oct/Nov. 2010

Edited by Craig Bezant

Publisher: Dark Prints Press
ISSN: 1835-5528
Price: Free

Reviewed by Gillian Polack

This e-zine is immediately appealing. Its design reflects its title. Its editorial reflects the design. It's friendly, chatty and celebrational. Eclecticism celebrated its third anniversary late last year, and also its first print publication. Beneath the friendly exterior lie seven short stories and two poems.

While the editor explains that this issue is print heavy, the designers have made good use of the extra space afforded to an e-zine (no printing costs, no extra price for colour - both can be used with joyous abandon) and no crowding of stories and poems together. They all get space around them. This makes a big difference to how they are read: the ideas from one story are much less likely to stay in the mind for the following tale than is normal in magazine stories. It also makes it much easier to read, except when the colour choices are hard on the poor-sighted (pale orange-brown on a light background, pale off-yellow on black).

There are three stories worth singling out, one by Dianne M Dean ("Freedom in Zero Gravity"), one by Deborah Sheldon ("Griselda Ghosh) and one by Simon James ("Rustle in Your Head, Bro").

"Freedom in Zero Gravity" by Dianne M Dean. It was ironic that this story had an unfriendly colour-choice, that made it quite difficult to read. It's about the liberation that space travel gave a girl who had been disabled in a car accident. Without the use of her legs, she is perfect for space, because in this project, her disabilities give her an advantage. This is a very tender human-sized story about the possibilities life offers.

"Griselda Ghosh" by Deborah Sheldon. A consistently nasty story ‑ an emotionally abused child find a way out of her troubles. But is it a way out? If Sheldon's story had been even a line longer, it would have been overblown. As it is, it left a very bad taste in my mouth. Since it was supposed to do precisely that, it's an impressive story, just not a nice one.

"Rustle in Your head, Bro" by Simon James A strange, haunting tale ‑ cleverly presented. Someone wants a burden removed and has called someone else to do so. We don't know who, or why, or where. Information is dribbled to the reader, carefully contained for fullest effect. The small movements and tiny bits of understanding accumulate until…it all makes sense. The terrifying thing about this story is that it could be us, if only we knew who to call.

Most stories were short on personalisation. A universal backpacker, mathematician, child, man, woman. For some, this worked well ("Griselda Ghosh" and "Rustle in Your Head, Bro") for others, less well. Overall, however, it meant that the issue had a strange undefined feeling, as if names were nothing but driftwood and characters were secondary to situation in the stories. It made it harder to reach into tales and identify with them. It took work. When Shane Griffin's story ("Long Odds") finally emerged, near the end, with a clear location and a nicely defined character called Isa, things were looking up. How do people deal on a colony when regular work is hard to find? What role does probability play in lives? This is not a particularly original story, but it's entertaining and neat and a good note to end the magazine.

Review: A Discovery of Witches

A Discovery of Witches
by Deborah Harkness

All Soul's, Book One.

Date Published: 2011

Publisher: Doubleday

Format: Paperback

Pages: 594
RRP: $29.99

Reviewed by Stephanie Gunn

The world of A Discovery of Witches is like ours, except for one detail: witches, vampires and daemons are real.

Diana Bishop is a historian studying the history of science, specifically when scientific belief began to overtake a belief in alchemy and magic. She is also a witch, descended from one of the Salem witches and part of a magical family. When her parents were murdered by witches, she rejected all magic, and has since only used it a handful of times. Her studies led her to a series of alchemical texts housed in the Bodelian Library, one of which is a book known as Ashmole 782. When she touches it, she immediately knows that it is a magical object, and further, it is a palimpsest, the text written over something hidden and unreadable. Knowing it to be magic, and therefore nothing she wants part of, Diana returns the manuscript unread to the stacks.

When Diana acquires the text, it draws towards her a variety of magical beings – witches, daemons and vampires alike, all of whom will stop at nothing to get hold of the manuscript. One such vampire is Matthew Clairmont, an academic himself who is immediately drawn towards Diana. He believes that Ashmole 782 contains the history of witches, vampires and daemons, a thing forgotten now. The magical races are dying out, and he wishes to obtain the knowledge contained in the book in order to preserve his species.

This book is, at times, a historical novel, with exquisite attention been shown to the details – hardly surprising, given that Harkness is a professor of Western European history. There is an obvious joy taken in the crafting of this world, so like ours, and it is easy to be drawn into its intrigues and hidden histories.

Much of the novel concerns Diana’s past and her involvement with Matthew, which takes the inevitable turn towards romance. This is where the book starts to grow problematic. Their relationship never feels grounded – it is very much a matter of love at first sight. Further, Matthew drives the whole relationship, and spend a lot of time protecting Diana. Both of these feel jarring when the other half of the relationship is Diana, a character who is established as being independent and strong.

Diana as a character is also problematic. She is clearly set up to be a being of power, and yet spends a lot of time being subservient to Matthew. Even when she has very valid reasons to be angry at him, she is convinces of the rightness of his actions far too easily, which is at odds with the basic makeup of her character.

Overall, this is an interesting world – anyone who has especial interest in history will likely find it fascinating. The characters are the weak point and the plot does feel at times like a mixture of several popular novels of recent history, as well as feeling fairly predictable. However, this is the first book in a trilogy, and it’s going to be interesting to see what Harkness does with her characters and world in the next two books.

Review: Fated

S. G. Browne, 2010, New American Library

Over the past few thousand years, Fabio has really come to hate his job. As Fate, he's in charge of assigning the various fortunes and misfortunes that befall most of the human race - specifically, the eighty-three percent who keep screwing things up, which isn't exactly conducive to job satisfaction. But now Fabio has a problem that makes even his centuries-old feud with Death (or Dennis, as he prefers to be called) pale into comparison - he's fallen in love with a human, which is completely against The Rules. And now Fabio has to face the fact that his relationship with Sara may end up having some unpleasant, cosmic-sized repercussions...

With his second novel (his first being the excellent zombie tale Breathers), S. G. Browne proves he's no one-trick pony. The plot of Fated is unique and engrossing, and more than a little dark, with the central concept - of a world in which immortal anthropomorphic aspects of human existence (Fate, Karma, Destiny, Anger, and so on) are responsible for the hidden, corporate-style running of human existence - brilliantly realised. The characters are all fascinating, and often 'played' against expectation; a tricky thing to pull off, given that many of them personify specific character traits. It's Browne's use of humour, though - satirical, character-driven, and refreshingly understated - that really makes Fated such a marvellous read, with the author demonstrating a mastery over the balance between comedy and tragedy; in my opinion, at least - comedy being such a subjective thing - Browne may well be one of the best 'speculative humourists' working the field.

Fated is an entertaining, insightful, and highly emotional narrative that will hold the reader from start to bittersweet finish, and is an absolute pleasure to read.


Note: Although Fated is currently not distributed in Australia, Browne's first novel, Breathers, will finally be getting an Australian release (in UK paperback edition, through Hachette) at the end of April. Be sure to look for it in all good bookstores; if you can't find it in your local, demand they order it!

News: Dymocks Southland Bestselling Zombie Titles for March 2011

Visit NecroScope to view this item.

http://zombiefictionreview.blogspot.com/2011/04/news-dymocks-southland-bestselling.html

News: Dymocks Southland Bestselling Dark Fiction Titles for March 2011

1. Afterlife (Evernight #4) - Claudia Gray
2. A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness
3. Red Riding Hood (Movie Tie-In) - Sarah Blakley Cartwright
4. River Marked (Mercy Thompson #6) - Patricia Briggs
5. Vampire Academy (series) - Richelle Mead
6. The Host - Stephenie Meyer
7. Sookie Stackhouse (series) - Charlaine Harris
8. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
9. Morganville Vampires (series) - Rachel Caine
10. Dreams of a Dark Warrior (Immortals After Dark #11) - Kresley Cole

Review: Ghost in the Shell 2.0

Ghost in the Shell 2.0 Redux (orig. Kôkaku kidôtai; Japan-1995; dir. Mamoru Oshii)

Reviewed by Robert Hood

Anyone who knows anything about anime knows Ghost in the Shell. Based on the classic manga of Masamune Shirow, Ghost in the Shell was a stunning work of SF animation in 1995 and, I’m happy to say, remains so now. It visualized and enhanced the cyberpunk aesthetic of writers such as William Gibson in his Sprawl trilogy, and directly influenced such important live-action SF as The Matrix, spawning a franchise that includes two more films (Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence and Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society), two television series (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG). All of them are worth seeing.

Set in a futuristic world where the fragile line between the vast external city and cyberspace is gradually disappearing, Ghost in the Shell is an exciting and yet cerebral cyber-tech thriller that creates a convincing futuristic world and peoples it with believable, if often cybernetically enhanced, characters.

Much of Ghost in the Shell’s success comes not only from its action-based “police-thriller” plot (which takes a thoroughly cinematic approach to its aesthetic, with its fair share of "realistic" violence) but also from its intelligent approach to that material. It drew SF anime away from straightforward if often bizarre combat scenarios into a world of moral and ontological investigation, exploring the boundaries of life and intelligence in a post-industrial, supra-technological context beyond the sort of medieval thought that views artificial life as a blasphemy and the domain of soulless machines. In the world of Ghost in the Shell, cybernetic enhancements are the norm, machines can have “souls”, and the story itself explores a scenario in which self-aware intelligence is spontaneously generated within the complex by-ways of the vast digital communication network of cyberspace. What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to be alive? These are old questions, but are explored here in an ultra-modern context.

Since 1995, of course, digital technology has changed animation considerably. For this Ghost in the Shell 2.0 Redux release, the film has been “upgraded”, not only to HD Blu-ray quality, but in terms of its animation, much of which has been enhanced using contemporary digital imaging techniques. Some sequences are more “3D” (particularly the opening sequence of Major Kusanagi on the rooftops and various vehicle-based scenes), but the traditional cel animation that still makes up most of the movie has been given greater shading and depth. Backgrounds have been re-done digitally and visualizations of cyberspace itself provided with a computer-generated makeover.

The result can seem a little discontinuous here and there, but the enhancements are used well and the whole is arguably an improvement over what was already a superb visual experience. Luckily, traditionalists can still watch the original version if they so desire, though upgraded to HD quality, as it is included as part of the package.

Either way, the film has never looked better than it does here on Blu-ray. Visually stunning and narratively compelling, it remains a classic not only of animation, but of SF cinema, and should be welcomed by those familiar with the film and those who are yet to see it.


Released in Australia by Madman Entertainment.

News: Aussie author month

Organised by the A Writer Goes on a Journey website, throughout April, various websites and blogs are celebrating Aussie Author Month.

To cap things off here at HorrorScope, feel free to list your favourite Aussie horror novel or short story in the comments below, with a short paragraph to explain why it was so awesome.

To get you started, the 2010 HorrorScope Recommended Reading List has plenty of recent works worth discussing!