“Mysterious Crate Arrives From London”
This is such a pitch-prefect amalgamation of everything from Dracula to Creepshow (with a hefty dose of many a Cthulhu Mythos tale) that I would totally read a story based on this premise…
Archive for the ‘Horror’ Category
Onion Thriller Theater Presents
Saturday, August 21st, 2010Movie Review: Silk
Saturday, August 7th, 2010Movie: Silk
Director: Chao-Bin Su
Writer: Chao-Bin Su
Cast: Chen Chang, Yosuke Eguchi, Kuan-Po Chen, Kar Yan Lam, Barbie Hsu, Bo-lin Chen, Chun-Ning Chang, Fang Wan,
I can honestly say that this is the first horror movie I’ve seen using fractals as the main plot device.
A modestly-budgeted Taiwanese film, Silk follows a team of researchers using a Menger Sponge in an attempt to trap a ghost, ostensibly as part of government-funded anti-gravity research. More specifically, they plan to capture the ghost of a child trapped in a single room in a Taipei tenement, repeating the same actions over and over again. Hashimoto (Yosuke Eguchi) is the crippled leader of the team with an ulterior motive, while Tung (Chen Chang, the desert bandit love interest from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) is the “man of action” brought in because of his skills at keen observation and lip-reading. Naturally, as the research progresses, complications ensue. For one thing, the ghost really doesn’t like people looking at him, and he can reach into their chests and stop their hearts…
This harks back to a number of early SF works on scientific methods for capturing ghosts or the soul. The Menger Sponge functions as a sort of universal plot device: because of its ability to store different wavelengths of energy, not only does Hashimoto intend to use it as a ghost storage jar, but they also use special Menger Sponge film to photograph the ghost, Menger Sponge eye-spray to see the ghost, coat the walls of the room to prevent the ghost from escaping, etc. It has just enough of a veneer of plausibility to engage your sense of disbelief, and is certainly more plausible than the magic icky fluid in District 9.
This is a very solid, well-paced ghost story with some intellectual novelty, albeit one that owes a number of stylistic elements to recent Japanese horror movies like Ringu and Ju-On. While modestly budgeted, it doesn’t come across as cheap, and the special effects are simple but effective. (The only place where they fail is in the CGI for an SUV crash, which looks like it could have been rendered in the latest Grand Theft Auto. Even so, it’s still miles above the digital bloodshed in Ugandan action films.) Best of all, they’ve eschewed all the boo-shock scares that infest modern horror films in favor of a certain amount of depth and subtlety.
The DVD contains deleted scenes and outtakes that were properly excised. However, do watch the director’s original ending, which is considerably darker, more effective, and more appropriate than the one in the film.
Here’s a trailer:
Like all fractals, Menger Sponges engender a certain geeky fascination, so I’ve found a couple of videos that show various Menger Sponge animations and recursions.
Here’s a Menger Sponge recursion (which is far less disturbing than The Hasselhoff Recursion):
A level 6 Menger Sponge:
It is not, to my mind, as interesting as a Mandelbox:
The August Ansible is Up
Monday, August 2nd, 2010Books Read: Clark Ashton Smith’s Out of Space and Time
Monday, July 26th, 2010Clark Ashton Smith
Out of Space and Time
Original Edition: Arkham House, 1942
Current Edition: Free online at The Eldritch Dark
Believe it or not, there are a few important SF/F/H first editions I don’t own (yet), and Clark Ashton Smith’s Out of Space and Time (the third book published by Arkham House) is used to be one of them. [Update: See here.] But since all of the stories in it are available online at The Eldritch Dark (a site dedicated to Smith’s work), I’ve been reading them one at a time between other things. This collection both confirms why I love Smith (either you like Smith’s ultraviolet prose style, or you don’t), and illustrates why you can’t really make a steady diet of him (a certain sameness of tone, overly passive protagonists, and very similar plots and outcomes (if you’re the protagonist in a CAS story, your chances of not being consumed by something horrible are pretty slim)). The best stories in here are extremely good. “The City of the Singing Flame” provides a great sense of wonder with its transport to an alien city centered around the mysterious singing flame of the title. “The Vaults of Yoh-Vombis” is a very effective story of an archeological expedition on Mars gone wrong. And the Averoigne stories, which I already read in A Rendezvous in Averoigne, are all quite good.
But not everything in here is great. For example, “The Monster of Prophecy” is a deeply tedious story of a man transported to another world to act as a pawn in fulfilling an ancient prophecy; far too much time is spent on the setup and transition.
But overall Smith is still great fun to read, and I doubt he ever gave a moment’s thought to the possibility of “going too far” to establish a mood. Just look at the full-bore mood piece of ”From the Crypts of Memory”, with its final line “We knew the years as a passing of shadows, and death itself as the yielding of twilight unto night.”
If you like H. P. Lovecraft, Jack Vance, or Michael Shea (to name three obvious points of comparison), you should probably give Clark Ashton Smith a try.
New Old Adventures in Theme Parks
Thursday, July 15th, 2010
New theme park? Meh.
How about a theme park with monsters? Now you’re starting to grab my attention.
How about theme parks with monsters so large you can stand in their mouth? Definitely seeing some action on the Cool Meter.
The twist: The theme park was built in 1552.
(Hat tip: The Inferior 4+1.)
Library Additions, January 25, 2010—July 11, 2010
Sunday, July 11th, 2010It’s been a while since I listed additions to my library, so here’s an update for my fellow bookoholics that includes everything since the weekend of my Archer City trip. All are new and unread Fine first edition hardbacks in Fine dust jackets, unless otherwise noted. Now that I’ve finished staining and varnishing a new bookshelf, and moving books around to accommodate it, I hope to do a more detailed photographic post on my library, since a few people complained that they couldn’t read the spine titles in the last set of pictures.
Books that I have available for sale through Lame Excuse Books are marked LEB (though some of those titles won’t appear on the stock page until after I send out my book catalog later this month), while other current publications contain Amazon links.
- Baker, Kage. Not Less Than Gods. Subterranean Press, 2010. One of 474 signed, numbered copies.
- Barron, Neil, ed. What Fantastic Fiction Do I Read Next? A Reader’s Guide to Recent Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction. Gale Research, 1998. Non-fiction. Issued without dj.
- Bear, Elizabeth. Bone and Jewel Creatures. Subterranean Press, 2010.
- Bear, Greg. Hegira. Dell, 1979. PBO original, NF-.
- Bond, Nelson. Mr. Mergenthwirker’s Lobblies and Other Fantastic Tales. Coward-McCann, 1946. NF in a VG, price-clipped dj. Inscribed by Bond.
- Campbell, Ramsey. Creatures of the Pool. PS Publishing, 2009. LEB
- Chabon, Michael. The Final Solution. Fourth Estate, 2004. One of an undetermined number of copies signed on a special limitation page issued by the publisher.
- Datlow, Ellen and Teri Windling, editors. The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror: Thirteenth Annual Collection. St. Martins, 2000. Inscribed to me by Datlow.
- Datlow, Ellen, Gavin Grant and Kelly Link, editors. The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror 2007: Twentieth Annual Collection. St. Martins, 2007. Inscribed to me by Datlow.
- Datlow, Ellen, Gavin Grant and Kelly Link, editors. The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror 2008: Twenty-First Annual Collection. St. Martins, 2008. Inscribed to me by Datlow.
- Del Rey, Lester. Mortals and Monsters. Ballantine Books, 1965. PBO, Fine-.
- (Dick, Philip K.) Williams, Paul. Only Apparently Real: The Life of Philip K. Dick. Arbor House, 1986. Non-fiction. Fine copy in wraps, as issued (no hardback).
- Domenici, Joe. Bringing Back the Dead. Thomas Dunn, 2008. Inscribed to me by the author.
- Duncan, Andy. Night Cache. PS Publishing, 2009. LEB
- Erikson, Steven. Crack’d Pot Trail. PS Publishing, 2009. LEB
- Fernandez-Florez, W[encesiao]. The Seven Pillars. Macmillan and Co., Ltd. (UK), 1934. First edition hardback, a NF/G+ copy.
- Gaiman, Neil. The Facts In The Case Of The Departure Of Miss Finch. Night Horse Comics, 2007. Hardback graphic novel.
- Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book. HarperCollins, 2008. Fine in a Fine- dust jacket.
- Harrison, Harry. Bill, the Galactic Hero. Doubleday, 1965. Fine in a Near Fine, slightly spine-darkened dust jacket.
- Hill, Joe. Horns. PS Publishing, 2010. First UK and first limited edition hardback, one of 200 copies signed by both the author and artist Vincent Chong in traycase with three extra chapters not in the trade edition, extra art not in any other edition, etc. a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and traycase. Notably thicker than the signed, slipcased edition. LEB
- Hill, Joe. Horns. PS Publishing, 2010. First UK and first limited edition hardback, one of 500 copies signed, slipcased copies. LEB
- Houdini, Harry. The Right Way to Do Wrong: An Expose of Successful Criminals. Easton Press, no date (probably around 2000); Reprint of the 1906 wraps original done as part of the Treasures of the Library of Congress series. Hardback, no dust jacket, as issued. Non-fiction.
- Howard, Robert E. Cthulhu: The Mythos and Kindred Horrors. Baen, 1987. PBO, Fine (replaces a VG copy). LEB
- Koontz, Dean R./ Bulmer, Kenneth. The Fall of the Dream Machine/The Star Venturers. Ace, 1969. PBO, NF.
- Kowal, Mary Robinette. Scenting the Dark. Subterranean Press, 2009.
- Lansdale, Joe R. The Best of Joe R. Lansdale. Tachyon, 2009. TPO. LEB
- Lansdale, Joe R. and Keith, editor. Son of Retro Pulp Tales. Subterranean Press, 2010. One of 200 signed, numbered copies, signed by all the contributors. LEB
- Leiber, Fritz. Selected Stories. Night Shade Books, 2010. LEB
- Ligotti, Thomas. Songs of a Dead Dreamer. Subterranean Press, 2010. Hardback. First edition thus.
- (Lovecraft, H. P.) Joshi, S. T. Black Wings: Tales of Lovecraftian Horror. PS Publishing, 2010. LEB
- Mitford, Bertram. The Sign of the Spider. Methuen & Co., 1896. VG- copy, no dust jacket (may not have been issued with one).
- Partridge, Norman. Lesser Demons. Subterranean Press, 2010. First edition hardback, one of 200 copies with bonus chapbook.Red Rover, Red Rover.
- (Pohl, Frederik) Hull, Elizbeth Anne, editor. Gateways. Tor, 2010. Tribute anthology.
- (Powers, Tim) Berlyne, John., ed. Powers: Secret Histories. PS Publishing, 2009.
- Reynolds, Alastair. Deep Navigation. NESFA Press, 2010. LEB
- Reynolds, Alastair. Terminal World. Gollancz, 2010. Signed by the author. LEB
- Shea, Michael. The Extra. Tor, 2010.
- Shepard, Lucius. Viator Plus. PS Publishing, 2010. LEB
- Shepard, Lucius. The Tanborn Scale. Subterranean Press, 2010.
- Simmons, Dan. Black Hills. Reagan Arthur Books, 2010. Inscribed to me by Simmons.
- Tymn Marshall B. Horror Literature A Core Collection and Reference Guide. R. R. Bowker, 1981. Non-fiction. No DJ, as issued.
- Vance, Jack. Hard Luck Diggings. Subterranean Press, 2010. LEB
- VanderMeer, Jeff. Finch: The Rebel Samizdat Edition. Underlands Press, 2009. One of 350 signed, numbered copies with a Murder By Death CD laid in, in wax-signet sealed (!) Mylar bag. LEB
- Wellman, Manly Wade. Giants from Eternity. Avalon, 1959. A Fine copy in a Near Fine dust jacket.
- Wilson, F. Paul. The Last Rakosh. Overlook Connection Press, 2008. One of 500 signed/numbered copies.
- Zelazny, Roger. The Dream Master. Ace, 1966. PBO, Fine. LEB
- Zelazny, Roger. Four for Tomorrow. Ace, 1967. PBO, Fine.
- Zelazny, Roger. Hymn to the Sun: An Imitation, DNA Publications, 1996. Poetry chapbook, a Fine- copy with some rubbing to price code on rear cover.
- Zelazny, Roger. This Immortal. Ace, 1964. PBO, Fine. LEB
- Zivkovic, Zoran. Impossible Stories 2. PS Publishing, 2009. LEB
Night Shade Books
Thursday, July 8th, 2010The hot topic of conversation in the skiffy blogsphere has been Night Shade Books,
which
seems
to be
having some
problems.
This is a shame, as the guys behind Night Shade seem like good people, and they’ve published some swell books. As for the reasons behind these problems, well, anyone who has read Jack Chalker & Mark Owings’ The Science Fantasy Publishers: A Critical and Bibliographic History will recognize a certain pattern. Small press publishers don’t duck calls from authors and agents and fail to send out royalty checks because of “major miscommunication” or “lack of communication,” they do those things because they’re out of money.
By an amazing coincidence, here are some Night Shade Books from the Lame Excuse Books stock which just happen to have been marked down to outrageously low prices today for absolutely no particular reason:
- LP1115. Baker, Kage. Mother Aegypt and Other Stories. Night Shade Books, 2004. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dj, new and unread. includes an original, never before published novella. $12.
- LP1261. Drake, David (Gene Wolfe). The Complete Hammers Slammers. Night Shade Books, 2006. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dj, new and unread. First of three volumes of linked stories of future tank warfare. Gene Wolfe provides the introduction. If you think that’s odd, Barry Malzberg is penning the intro to one of the subsequent volumes… $19.
- LP795. Harrison, M. John (China Mieville, Simon Inge). Things That Never Happen (w/ The Rio Brain). Night Shade Books, 2003. First edition hardback, one of only 150 copies signed by Harrison and introduction author China Mieville, Fine in a Fine dj, new and unread. Also included with the limited edition is the chapbook The Rio Brain by Harrison and Simon Inge. (The latter features a photo of Samuel Beckett on the cover, and seems to revolve around theater.) Harrison has long been a critical favorite for his Virconium sequence, among other works, but the recent popularity of Light and his influence on Mieville has raised his visibility considerably. Sold out from the publisher and already very hard to find. The minuscule limited edition all but guarantees this to be one of the more difficult items for the Mieville completist to obtain in coming years. (Note: Originally this edition was supposed to be slipcased, but Night Shade substituted the chapbook when they were unable to obtain the slipcases for the limited.) $80.
- LP1270. Hughes, Matthew. The Gist Hunter & Other Stories. Night Shade Books, 2005. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dj, new and unread. I know a number of Jack Vance fans who think very highly of Hughes, whose work as very obviously influenced by The Dying Earth Stories. $14.
- LP1471. Moon, Elizabeth. Moon Flights. Night Shade Books, 2007. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dj, new and unread. Short story collection by the Nebula and Robert A. Heinlein Award-winning author of The Speed of Dark. Specially signed by Moon. $18.
- LP1478. Shepard, Lucius. Softspoken. Night Shade Books, 2007. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dj, new and unread. At 179 pages, this is more a short novel than the usual Shepard small press novella. $14.
- LP698. Wellman, Manly Wade. Fearful Rock and Other Precarious Locales (The Selected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman, Volume 3). Night Shade Books, 2001. First edition hardback, Fine sans dj, as issued, new and unread. Introduction by Stephen Jones. This volume contains some of Wellman’s novella length fiction, including the excellent “Coven.” $22.
- LP806. Wellman, Manly Wade (David Drake). Sin’s Doorway and Other Ominous Entrances (The Selected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman, Volume 4). Night Shade Books, 2003. First edition hardback, Fine, new and unread, sans dj, as issued. Introduction by David Drake. Some of Wellman’s best work in here, including most of the work in the excellent (and now very expensive) Carcosa collection Worse Things Waiting. Recommended. $22.
- LP922. Wellman, Manly Wade (Karl Edward Wagner). Owls Hoot in the Daytime and Other Omens (Selected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman, Volume 5). Night Shade Books, 2003. First edition hardback, a Fine copy, sans dj, as issued. Fifth and final volume of collected Wellman, containing all the Silver John stories. Introduction by Karl Edward Wagner. $22
- LP1132. Wellman, Manly Wade. Giants from Eternity (with The Timeless Tomorrow). Night Shade Books, 2004. First edition this, including the first hardback appearance of The Timeless Tomorrow, a Fine- copy in a Fine- dj with a tiny bump at heel, otherwise new and unread. $10.
- LP1553. Williams, Walter Jon. Implied Spaces. Night Shade Books, 2008. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Far future space opera that looks like a cross between Jack Vance and Charlie Stross. Having his latest come from a small press might flat-foot some people, and I’m pretty sure the print run on this will be smaller than his books from Eos or Tor… $12.
To order any of these, email Lawrence Person (lawrenceperson@gmail.com).
ApolloCon 2010 Pictures
Sunday, June 27th, 2010Some pictures from the 2010 ApolloCon in Houston, just concluded today:
The lovely and talented Stina Leicht, celebrating her forthcoming novel by going blue in both ocular and follicular realms.
Gabrielle Faust, putting on her best “Who, me?” expression.
The dealer’s room. Neither Willie nor myself dealt there this year, meaning Edge Books was the only real bookdealer there this year.
SF Signal’s John DeNardo. I think the smug was entirely unintentional.
Scott Cupp, no doubt contemplating some book he’s owned, or will soon own, both of which are extremely target-rich environments.
GOH Catherine Asaro. This photo doesn’t show her high-heels. Without them, she’s actually only 3’6″.
Karen Burnham, searching her tattoos for the identity of the killer she’s hunting.
A fairly interesting tabletop boardgame featuring smooth pucks that you flicked to knock out your opponent’s pucks, sort of a cross between marbles and shuffleboard, except there are some screws around the circle in the center that you can bounce the pucks off of and which provide something of an obstacle. The name was “crocsomething,” but not crocodile. Please note that searching for “game” and “screw” is probably not something you should do at work.
Updated to add: The game is called “crokinole”.
Clockwise from lower left: Judy Crider, Lou Antonelli, Bill Crider, Scott Cupp. I think we were talking about bad movies yet again.
A pair of con-goers decked out to the nines in Steampunk attire. This takes an extraordinary amount of dedication. In Texas. In summer. Wait, did I say “dedication”? I meant “complete insanity.”
The Shrine O Dolls found at the “in-room convention party.” Sadly, there were no book dealers there either…
Everett F. Bleiler, 1920-2010: RIP
Thursday, June 17th, 2010Locus is reporting that Everett F. Bleiler has died. For those unfamiliar with his work, he was perhaps the preeminent science fiction bibliographer and historian. His Checklist of Fantastic Literature was the first truly important SF bibliography, and his books Science-Fiction: The Early Years and Science-Fiction: The Gernsback Years are probably the most extensive and exhaustive coverage of pre-Campbellian SF ever published. His bibliographic knowledge of the field was so extensive that, among the living, only George Locke and Lloyd Currey even come close. (Though Texas’ own Jess Nevins is getting there.) I’ve reached for one of his works many a time, as have every serious SF bibliographer, historian, book seller or book collector. He will be missed, but people will still be consulting his books a century from now.
New Page for Lame Excuse Books
Thursday, June 10th, 2010Given TimeWarner’s continued incompetence, I’m slowly pulling all of my website from rr.com over to here. I now have the main Lame Excuse Books page at:
https://www.lawrenceperson.com/lame.html
If you’ve never bought anything from me before, Lame Excuse Books specializes in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and Slipstream first editions, with an emphasis on small press and signed editions. I have lots of books available by the like of Joe R. Lansdale, Howard Waldrop, Neil Gaiman, Charles Stross, John Scalzi, etc.
So update your book marks! And it wouldn’t hurt for you to buy a book or ten…