David A. Riley's Blog, page 39

Signed copy of new Rebus novel by Ian Rankin pre-ordered

Just pre-ordered the next Ian Rankin Rebus novel, A Song for the Dark Times, from Waterstones.

I already have quite a substantial collection of his novels, including virtually every Rebus novel.

My Lovecraftian horror novel The Return to be reviewed on Big Hits Radio on Sunday

"Please join me this Sunday (2nd August) at 12 noon on www.bighitsradio.uk for this weekend's edition of SUNDAY SERVICE.
Along with all the usual top music, lively chatter, regular features and listeners requests/dedications, I'll also be taking an in-depth look at the gritty horror novel THE RETURN by David A. Riley.
Only on BIG HITS RADIO UK! "  Trevor Kennedy

Phantasmagoria #16 - sneak look at the cover

Phantasmagoria #16 will be published shortly with a startling cover by artist Randy Broecker..

More information soon, although I know I have a story in it (Hanuman), a poem called He Thought He Was Dying, and two book reviews: S. T. Joshi's The Assaults of Chaos, and Paul Tremblay's Survivor Song. 

Latest Dennis Wheatley Acquisition: Star of Ill-Omen

I just got my latest Dennis Wheatley hardback. This was published in 1952: Star of Ill-Omen, one of his few science fiction novels.

This is my 24th Dennis Wheatley hardback.

Illustrated collection of short stories

I intend to bring out a collection of several of my short stories in hardback next year, each of which will be illustrated by my good friend Jim Pitts. Here are some of Jim's illustrations so far, some of which have already been published in the past and some of which will be brand new to this collection.

The stories will be:
Three Eyed Jack
The Fragile Mask on his Face
Terror on the Moors
The Shade of Apollyon
Writer's Cramp
Fish Eye
Boat Trip
Prickly
After Nightfall
The Fragile Mask on his Face (used in Phantasmagoria)
After Nightfall
Fish Eye
The Shade of Apollyon (used in World of Horror)
Writer's Cramp (used in Fantasy Tales)
Three Eyed Jack (used in Gruesome Grotesques)
Terror on the Moors (used in World of Horror)
Terror on the Moors (used in World of Horror)
The Shade of Apollyon (used in World of Horror)

Reviews coming up in next issue of Phantasmagoria

I now have two book reviews coming up in the next issue of Phantasmagoria: The Assaults of Chaos by S. T. Joshi and Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay.
I'll post both of them on my blog as soon as the magazine has been published.
Also incluided in the next issue is my hitherto unpublished story Hanuman (reincarnation, Kali, and Thuggees in India) and a poem, He Thought He Was Dying (see below). 

Poem - He Thought He Was Dying

He thought he was dying.That, at least, is all he can remember Before everything went black. He must have passed out, Though he is awake again now. Sort of. In an odd sort of way. He feels strange. Not frightened. Not worried either. Not worried at all. All the worries he used to have Are gone, completely. He can’t even remember What he’d ever had to worry about. Nor does he feel any pain.Only his thoughts feel muddy. Which isn’t good. They are blurred As if he’s had a massive anaesthetic That has numbed his body - and his brain. Not that it bothers him. Nothing bothers him anymore.Apart from feeling hungry.That is starting to take over. A deep-rooted hunger that spreads from his bowels. He has never felt so hungry in his life, Though he is beginning to remember less of that life Each passing second. It has blurred into a mist which nothing He can do can penetrate. Not that the hunger in his stomach Gives him time for that now. With a lurch he moves. Something wet and sloppy slaps against his knees. He looks down and sees ropes of what look like guts. His guts, he supposes, Not even surprised by the realisation,A realisation which barely registers Before he has forgotten it as he staggers forward. Then slips on his own greasy innards, Falling flat on his back. His head hits the ground with a sickening crack.
“Bloody hell!” Pete sits up in bed, And all the tubes attached to the needles in his arms Tug painfully. He looks around the empty ward, Feeling a surge of relief sweep through him. His heart is still pounding as if he’s run a marathon. He looks up at the monitors next to his bed And is surprised they aren’t beeping like crazy. Still catching his breath, He lies back on his pillow too frightened to close his eyes In case he falls asleep. That was a nightmare he doesn’t want to have again.But he does.
Synapses feebly crackle with electrical charges Somewhere deep inside his brain.
His hands flounder across the floor Till they are firmly placed. He pushes himself up And struggles to his feet, Wobbling like a puppet in the hands of a drunk.But he manages it. Leaning against a wall he gazes around. It is hard to focus. His sight is blurry. Most of what he sees are just movements. Everything else is a series of vague shapes. Some instinct, though, makes certain movements More interesting. If they are slow or disjointed, like his own, He ignores them. If they are fast or determined He feels a compulsion to stagger nearer. Something about them makes him aware Of food. He needs that. The ache inside his bowels will not be ignored. Only food can appease it. All day he roams aimlessly, Rarely brought to a semblance of awareness By something catching his attention, Either by sight or by sound. But daylight passes, and night makes everything dark again, And the blurs he can see merge with it. Then he stops And falls into a kind of sleep.
Pete awakes with a start, Panicking at the nightmare that has returned yet again. Gasping for breath, he raises his head And looks around the ward, Still worryingly empty. He hasn’t seen a nurse for as long as he can remember. He desperately needs something to drink; His mouth tastes as if it is filled with dried-up clay. He is hungry too. Why has no one brought him anything to eat? What kind of hospital is this? Annoyed and worried, he struggles to sit up and shouts, “Nurse!” His voice cracks at the effort, And he slumps onto his pillow again, exhausted.“Nurse!” It is all too much. He closes his eyes.
It is daylight again when he climbs to his feet. A couple of his fingers have been damaged, Though he does not remember how or when. They fall off when he moves his arms. But that doesn’t bother him. Nothing does. Except his hunger.He lurches forward; aware that someone is moving In front of him. Whoever it is grows steadily clearer, A shadow amongst shadows. It is only when the figure is within reach Of his outstretched fingers, That he sees the man raise his arm into the air. In some barely cognizant part of his mind, He recognises an axe. The sharp curve of its edge glints in the sunlight As it falls towards him.
Pete groans. He knows he is dying, though he does not know why. His head hurts and what little there is left Of his memories are starting to dissipate. When the darkness comes, And his dream disappears into nothingness, He isn’t even aware of the change.
The creature flops to the ground, its head split open. For one moment the man who has killed it Is sure it tries to speak through ravaged lips, Something about a hospital. But he must be wrong, he tells himself. These things can’t talk. Then wipes his axe on the creature’s back And scans the street, Hoping he’s seen the last of them today. 

This poem will be published in Phantasmagoria #16

Poem - As Silver Dusk Suffuses Red

As silver dusk suffuses redAnd eastern skies dull mauve,Frail laughter comes out through the gloom,From every bush and grove.The sound of movement, gay and brisk,Bursts through the night's warm mist,And, as the sky harvests its starsVague forms leap up, moon-kissed,    Each writhing, with wide open mouths,Each eye bright as a bird's,Whilst through the woods come further shapes,Sprites in a thousand herds.Blossoming flames from fires reach upAnd strive to dye the moon.The dancing, singing hurries on,For dawn will come so soon!

This was published in Phantasmagoria #15

The Forbidden Planet on blu-ray

I have ordered a blu-ray copy of The Forbidden Planet.
This was one of the very first SF movies my parents ever took me to watch at the cinema when I was little (the other was The Day the Earth Stood Still).
For a long time I thought the invisible monster at the climax, the Monster from the Id, was the tiger's ghost till I finally saw the film again years later. It's strange the misconceptions you can get from a film when you're very young.

Children of Dune - TV mini-series from 2003

I don't know how I missed it but I finally caught up with the 2003 TV mini-series Children of Dune. I am surprised it's not better known as its production values are impressive. A very complex storyline, which you definitely have to pay attention to in order to keep up, but well worth it. For me it's definitely up there as one of the best TV science fiction adaptations ever.