Posted inNot Dead Yet: Print Reviews

Monstrosity by Tim Curran – an Overlooked Gem

Monstrosity by Tim Curran My rating: 4 of 5 stars Review posted originally to goodreads.com I recently taught Tim Curran's MONSTROSITY in a college-level introductory lit course -- literally titled "Monstrosities." The book exhibits Curran's wildly playful imagination when set free and allowed to take inventive extremes. I don't want to spoil any surprises, because this is a book where you begin to turn the pages dying to see what crazy creature will be unleashed next, and whether or not the author will be able to top the one you just read about, with your jaw on the floor. There…
December 7, 2017Posted inNot Dead Yet: Print Reviews
Posted inNot Dead Yet: Print Reviews

Philosophies of Horror: Matt Cardin and Thomas Ligotti

The horror genre seems to attract two dominant personality types: those who love the emotional thrill of fear and shock for its own sake, and deep thinkers who enjoy musing over the alternative possibilities promised by the Unknown. On the latter score, some authors approach the ideas of life, death, and the great beyond with impressive sophistication and scholarly research that often supersedes their fictional imaginings. Stephen King's non-fiction titles (Danse Macabre, On Writing) are seminal works of criticism. Anne Rice's musings on the church are followed by many. Dean Koontz wrote the book on Writing Popular Fiction. China Mieville…
October 20, 2010Posted inNot Dead Yet: Print Reviews4 Comments
Posted inNot Dead Yet: Print Reviews

Not Dead Yet: The Listmaniacal Archive

I've gathered all the books I've reviewed in The Goreletter (since 2002) into some fun listmania lists over at amazon.com, and I'll keep adding titles to them from the "Not Dead Yet" department into the future. I've also been having way too much fun trolling around amazon for weird discoveries, and I have compiled a few other funky lists, like the Goofy Gory Gifts Galore list and other novelty lists. I'm apparently a listmaniac. After many years of neglect, I have updated my author profile on amazon.com, where you can find more weirdness and links to many of my books…
November 29, 2009Posted inNot Dead Yet: Print Reviews1 Comment
Posted inNot Dead Yet: Print Reviews

A Double-Take on The New Uncanny

Last year's Shirley Jackson Award winner for "Best Anthology" -- The New Uncanny: Tales of Unease, edited by Sarah Eyre and Rah Page (Comma Press, 2008) -- is a knockout example of genre renewal. The book features some of the best British horror authors alive, including Ramsey Campbell, Nicholas Royle, A.S. Byatt, Christopher Priest and many more...even Matthew Holness (whose comedic double from the BBC, Garth Merenghi, is echoed here). The book definitely deserved the Jackson Award for its ambition, because it makes for an interesting literary experiment. The book, essentially, was an assignment. All its contributors were challenged to…
October 31, 2009Posted inNot Dead Yet: Print Reviews
Posted inNot Dead Yet: Print Reviews

Flash Reviews of Semi-Autobiographical Fictions

Sorry for the length of this section, but I'm making up for lost time. This time around I offer four three "flash" reviews of books that are quite effective because they inexplicably feel "autobiographical" in some way, despite being entirely, totally, and thankfully made up. >> Chimeric Machines by Lucy A. Snyder Snyder is a massively talented writer -- the sort who knows how to make you take a gulp when you hit the ending of a story or poem -- and this poetry collection made me gulp with awe on virtually every page. Although her poetry/fiction collection Sparks and…
June 13, 2009Posted inNot Dead Yet: Print Reviews