Nancy Scuri talks briefly about both books on her Ink-stained Life blog – which you can access right HERE.
In the meantime, here’s another special offer for you – order both books and save money! All prices include postage and packing.
LEYTONSTONE HB + WHITSTABLE PB
£25UK
£28EU
$46US & RoW
LEYTONSTONE PB + WHITSTABLE PB
£17.50UK
£19EU
$36US & RoW
We have a couple of reviews for you this morning:
“Ricochet” by Tim Dry ©2015 Tim Dry/Theatrum Mundi. Artwork ©2015 John Oakey
First up is a new write-up of Tim Dry’s Ricochet, this one from Nic Parker and posted to her Devoted to Thrills website – you can find the review HERE and ordering buttons below:
PRICES INCLUDE POST AND PACKING
UK £10
EU £15
US & RoW $30
Tim Dry ans Simon Marshall-Jones talk “Ricochet”
Also, don’t forget that Tim Dry and publisher Simon Marshall-Jones will be talking to Nicholas Vince on Sunday evening 22nd March at 7pm UK time on Google+. They’ll be talking about Tim’s book and about Spectral Press/Theatrum Mundi amongst many other things.
BLACK MOUNTAIN by Simon Bestwick
The Dancers in the Pines ©2014 Simon Bestwick/Spectral Press. Artwork ©2014 Neil Williams
And here’s a review of the first Spectral serial, Black Mountain, published last year – this one appears on the British Fantasy Society’s website and has been written by Dave Brzeski. You can read it HERE.
The serial is still available to purchase from Amazon.
Today we have even more reviews of Spectral/Theatrum Mundi titles plus an interview, so let’s get straight on with it.
“Ricochet” by Tim Dry ©2015 Tim Dry/Theatrum Mundi. Artwork ©2015 John Oakey
From the illustrious Ginger Nuts of Horror we have out first review of Ricochet by Tim Dry, written by Paul M. Feeney which you can find HERE. As soon as you’ve finished that you should go on and read the interview of ‘Renaissance Man’ Tim Dry, also conducted by Mr. Feeney – that one is right HERE.
PRICES INCLUDE POST AND PACKING
UK £10
EU £15
US & RoW $30
Dr. V’s Hammer has landed!
And HERE’S another review from Chris Hall of DLS Reviews, talking about John Llewellyn Probert’s The Hammer of Dr. Valentine. Get your copy of the limited hardback or the unlimited paperback today!
UK £21
EU £24
USA & Everywhere Else $45
PAPERBACK EDITION
£12.50UK
£15.00EU
$30.00US & RoW
The start of yet another week, but at least we’re now heading into spring with warmer and sunnier days ahead, and to celebrate, here are some reviews we’ve received over the last couple of days:
WITHIN THE WIND, BENEATH THE SNOW by Ray Cluley
“Within the Wind, Beneath he Snow” ©2014 Ray CluleySpectral Press. Artwork ©2014 Jim Burns
First up here’s Chris Hall of DLS Review with his take on this very chilly tale from Ray Cluley – you can read that one HERE. And HERE’S another one for the same book, this time courtesy of Erik Hofstatter and which was posted to his The Cimmerian Writer blog.
WITHIN THE WIND, BENEATH THE SNOW by Ray Cluley
All prices include postage and packing
UK £15
EU £16
US & RoW $30
THE NINE DEATHS OF DR. VALENTINE by John Llewellyn Probert
Another review from DLS Reviews, this time of the novella detailing the debut exploits of the Medical Master of Mayhem, Dr. Valentine. You can read that one HERE.
The sequel, The Hammer of Dr. Valentine, is currently available, the hardback of which you can order via the Paypal links below. If you would like a copy of The Nine Deaths, please enquire about availability at spectralpress[AT]gmail[DOT]com.
UK £21
EU £24
USA & Everywhere Else $45
Another dull, overcast Monday morning, but it’s been considerably brightened by three reviews of Spectral books, which we’d like to tell you about:
Spectral Book of Horror Stories, edited by Mark Morris – ©2014 respective individual authors/Spectral Press. Artwork ©2014 Vincent Chong
First, the British broadsheet newspaper The Guardian printed a review by Keith Brooke of The Spectral Book of Horror Stories over the weekend – you can read that one HERE.
THE SPECTRAL BOOK OF HORROR STORIES – PRICES INCLUDE POSTAGE!
£12.50 UK
£15 EU
$30 US & RoW
“The Hammer of Dr. Valentine” ©2014 John Llewellyn Probert/Spectral Press. Artwork ©2014 Nick Gucker. Layout ©2014 Neil Williams.
Next, we have two reviews of John Llewellyn Probert’s The Hammer of Dr. Valentine: the first one is from Sparks in Electrical Jelly, written by Jez Winship, which can be found HERE, and the other is from The Eloquent Page and is written by Paul Holmes, and that can be found HERE.
UK £21
EU £24
USA & Everywhere Else $45
Skin by Kathe Koja
See that picture above (apologies for the quality)? This was the very first Kathe Koja novel that Simon Marshall-Jones, ye merry olde proprietor of Spectral Press, ever read. It was one of the most startling and shocking work he’d read up to that point, completely original, and tying in with the body modification obsession he was going through in the mid-nineties. So, you may be wondering, what has this got to do with Spectral, you may well ask? Is Simon losing his mind? (Don’t answer that…) Or merely reminiscing?
NO! Neither! In fact, Spectral Press is very proud to announce that Kathe Koja will be coming to Spectral, or the Theatrum Mundi imprint rather, in 2016, with her tale The Prince of the Air. The cover will be by Detroit artist Rick Lieder, a piece of whose collage work inspired the tale itself. It’s a great little story, intertwining a dark folk tale with the modern quest for meaning in one’s life. More details as they become available!
Albio Fay ©2014 Mark Morris/Spectral Press. Artwork ©2014 Ben Baldwin
Also, a heads-up: Mark Morris’ Albion Fay novella will be up for pre-order from next week, with an introduction by Adam Nevill – look out for that!
Reviews are just like buses – you wait ages for one and then a whole load come at once. And so that’s what’s happened here: we have not one, not two, but FOUR reviews we’d like to tell you about –
Spectral Book of Horror Stories, edited by Mark Morris – ©2014 respective individual authors/Spectral Press. Artwork ©2014 Vincent Chong
First, we have a the second and third reviews of The Spectral Book of Horror Stories: the first, which you can see HERE, is Stewart Horn’s verdict which appears at the British Fantasy Society website, and second is Jon R Meyer’s thoughts on the book over at The Horror Fiction Review. That one can be seen HERE (third review down).
This is going to be THE anthology of the year, so we really do encourage you to pre-order your copy today of this first in an annual anthology series – ordering buttons below (if you want to pay by any other means, please contact us at spectralpress[AT]gmail[DOT]com and we’ll happily send you details). All prices INCLUDE postage and packing:
£12.50 UK
FOR THOSE ATTENDING FANTASYCON 2014 YOU CAN ORDER AT THE SPECIAL PRICE BELOW AND PICK IT UP AT THE CONVENTION VENUE.
FCon 2014 Special £10
£15 EU
$30 US & RoW
We also have two more reviews from the British Fantasy Society: first, HERE‘s Dave Brzeski’s appraisal of The Christmas Ghost Stories of Lawrence Gordon Clark edited by Tony Earnshaw, and then we have Chris Limb’s review of Paul Kane’s Ghosts. You can find that one right HERE.
Today, on this somewhat miserable Tuesday morning, we have two new reviews, for Tim Lebbon’s Still Life novella and Paul Kane’s Ghosts collection, both published in SST Publications’ Beware the Dark magazine, issue #2, and both written by William J. Grabowski.
First up, Still Life:
“Still Life” © Tim Lebbon/Spectral Press 2013. Artwork © Jim Burns 2013
I can think of a handful of writers who first popped onto my radar during the late 1990s—Tim Lebbon among them. Lebbon is easily one of the most enduring, hard-working, and genuinely gifted (I don’t say this lightly), threading fresh lines through what can appear worn-out narrative weaves. Appearances, as we all ought to know, can be deceiving.
Still Life begins some 10 years after the Incursion, when humanity was overtaken by a fierce (and strange) enemy even H. P. Lovecraft might have feared. The story focuses on a small British village, where widow Jenni mourns Marc, and indulges in reveries with his shade by way of a quiet pool (a melancholy, fantastical “reversal” on Machen?). It is difficult to review this fast-paced novella without spoiling anything for the reader, but it can be done.
The village populace is contained by Finks (human; keeping an eye on them), and by fearsome entities guarding the borders. Human casualties have been used as literal construction material for the Road of Souls, Jenni’s Marc among them. After a while, she is approached by Damien, leader of a resistance group to conquer the Finks. Here is where Lebbon’s considerable strengths in characterization manifest, and the reader takes in an authentic sense of despair and desperation tempered by humankind’s basic survival instinct.
In this fairly short work of fertile imagination charged with psychological/emotional realism, I got a thrill
equal to that heretofore supplied by early Aldiss, Barker, and even visual shadings from the more visceral end of surrealism. But these comparisons are simply a way to talk about an effect, and Tim Lebbon’s confident voice
equals—and often surpasses—them all.
Signed limited HARDBACK EDITION
UK £21
EU £23.50
PAPERBACK EDITION
PLEASE NOTE! Due to contractual reasons, the paperback edition of Still Life is limited to 100 only!!
UK £12.50
EU £15
US & RoW $42
And her’s the one for Ghosts:
“Ghosts” © Paul Kane/Spectral Press 2013. Artwork © Edward Miller 2007 – 2013.
I’m embarrassed to admit not knowing much about the work of Paul Kane, but let’s face it: you can’t read everything. So I came to his hefty collection of short fiction with no preconceptions, beyond a simple awareness of his high rating shared by readers and fellow writers. My ignorance had the serendipitous effect of providing a fresh perspective.
As Nancy Kilpatrick writes in her Introduction, Kane explores a wide variety of ghostly manifestations, each written with inventive verve and eclectic personality so lacking in much recent “ghost fiction,” which seems reliant on bad TV and movies and “clever” gimmicks.
I’m pleased to report this collection has none of those failings, and can’t remember when I’ve more enjoyed a single-author collection. Too, such narrative diversity showcases Kane’s adaptability. “Homeland,” wherein a gruff clean-up crew tasked to handle the residence of a deceased hoarder, literally have their hands—and fears—full. (Having once worked in disaster-restoration, this really chilled me.) Kane is adept at fusing physical detail with emotional, bringing his settings to life, no matter how unpleasant. In “Funeral for a Friend,” we are reminded that the passed-on can be unwilling to pass over the sins of the living . . . a morality tale for the New Shallow who’re too busy to live.
“Wind Chimes” is a lacerating tale of loss, redemption, and . . . never mind. Kane’s own script for what
became a short film, directed by Brad Watson, ends the book, and even includes a Watson Intro. The book’s
front-matter helpfully (for late-comers like me) lists books published—and edited—by the author.
Signed limited HARDBACK EDITION:
UK £21
EU £23.50
US & RoW $42
PAPERBACK EDITION:
UK £12.50
EU £15
US & RoW $25
More reviews soon!
Home and Hearth © Angela Slater/Spectral Press. Artwork © Neil Williams 2014
Yes, we are starting to receive reviews of the latest chapbook from award-winning Australian writer Angela Slatter, entitled Home and Hearth. These have been uploaded to Goodreads, with one from Mark West (who used to create Spectral’s promotional videos and wrote the chapbook What Gets Left Behind) and one from Ross Warren. Read what they have to say here.
Following on from that, we also have a new Goodreads review of the Unsigned Hardback Edition of The Christmas Ghost Stories of Lawrence Gordon Clark, written by Gef Fox (which will also appear on Amazon and the Wagging the Fox blog at a later date). Ypu can read that one right HERE. There are still copies left of this edition as well as of the other editions (please note: there are fewer than 15 left of the Deluxe edition – get yours while you still can!). See details below:
PURCHASING LINKS:
CONTENTS:
DELUXE EDITION (50 only- 14 left) (available May):
Foreword by MARK GATISS
Introduction by TONY EARNSHAW
Seven short stories by M. R. JAMES: The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral, The Treasure of Abbot Thomas, A Warning to the Curious, The Ash Tree, Lost Hearts, Casting the Runes, Count Magnus, The Signalman.
Exclusive new introductions to each story by LAWRENCE GORDON CLARK
Count Magnus teleplay by BASIL COPPER
Lost Hearts short stage play by LAWRENCE GORDON CLARK
Q&A with LAWRENCE GORDON CLARK by TONY EARNSHAW
Filmography, awards, of LAWRENCE GORDON CLARK by TONY EARNSHAW
Illustrated with unseen behind the scenes photographs, chapter heading vignettes by Nick Gucker, as well as examples of storyboards by Lawrence Gordon Clark.
SIGNED, SLIPCASED DELUXE EDITION:
£85 UK
£87 EU
$145 US
UNSIGNED HARDBACK (100 only) (available now):
Foreword by MARK GATISS
Introduction by TONY EARNSHAW
Seven short stories by M. R. JAMES: The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral, The Treasure of Abbot Thomas, A Warning to the Curious, The Ash Tree, Lost Hearts, Casting the Runes, Count Magnus
Exclusive new introductions to each story by LAWRENCE GORDON CLARK
Q&A with LAWRENCE GORDON CLARK by TONY EARNSHAW
Illustrated with photographs as well as chapter heading vignettes (by Nick Gucker)
UNSIGNED HARDBACK EDITION
£45 UK
£47 EU
$80 US
PAPERBACK (Unlimited) (available now):
Foreword by MARK GATISS
Introduction by TONY EARNSHAW
Seven short stories by M. R. JAMES: The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral, The Treasure of Abbot Thomas, A Warning to the Curious, The Ash Tree, Lost Hearts, Casting the Runes, Count Magnus
Exclusive new introductions to each story by LAWRENCE GORDON CLARK
Filmography, awards, of LAWRENCE GORDON CLARK by TONY EARNSHAW
Basic edition – text only plus chapter heading vignettes by Nick Gucker.
PAPERBACK EDITION (unlimited – available now):
£17.50 UK
£19.50 EU
$30 US
Did you know that we talk about new reviews here on Mondays more than any other day of the week? And today, being a Monday, is no exception. We have two reviews for you this morning:
Soul Masque by Terry Grimwood. © 2013 Terry Grimwood. Cover concept © 2013 Neil Williams/Spectral Press. All rights reserved.
First, writer James Everington reviews Soul Masque by Terry Grimwood (alongside Chalk by Pat Cadigan) on his blog Scattershot Writing – the review is HERE.
“Ghosts” © Paul Kane/Spectral Press 2013. Artwork © Edward Miller 2007 – 2013.
Secondly, here’s a review of Paul Kane’s Ghosts collection at Terror-Tree.
More reviews soon!
Spectral Press 