David A. Riley's Blog, page 39

My review of Elak: King of Atlantis in Phantasmagoria magazine

ELAK: KING OF ATLANTIS by Adrian Cole
Pulp Hero Press, 2020
Elak was originally created by the late Henry Kuttner as a replacement for the massively popular Conan in the pages of Weird Tales after the Cimmerian’s creator took his own life in 1936. Though Kuttner only wrote a handful of the original stories, many years down the line Adrian Cole has continued Elak’s adventures and produced an impressive saga in the five long stories included in this collection. Together with his Falstaffian comrade at arms, the redoubtable Lycon, and the ancient druid, Dalan, Elak’s adventures often involve fighting to secure the safety of his newly won kingdom of Atlantis. Very much a hands-on ruler, Elak glories in personally grasping danger by the throat, much to the displeasure of his royal council, who would prefer him to let others risk their necks on his behalf. But that isn’t Elak’s way, always leading from the front when he can, knowing that his best friend, Lycon, will almost always be there to support him, whatever supernatural or sorcerous threats they have to face. And these threats are there by the score, from powerful sorcerers, incredibly monstrous demons and gods, and ancient pre-human reptilian races who seek to destroy humanity, though sometimes threats come from closer at home, from traitors and would-be usurpers. Atlantis is a dangerous place, to say the least!
Though each of the stories in this volume is stand-alone, there is a common thread running through these colourful tales, culminating in Sky Warriors of Atlantis, a magnificent 90-page epic, full of savage battles, world-shattering evil forces and empire-spanning intrigues, a memorable climax to a memorable collection.
Though I don’t recall ever reading any of the original tales by Henry Kuttner, Adrian Cole’s soon grew on me, as did some of the subtle humour the author manages to insert between the daring-do.
I must also add that the stories are wonderfully complemented by a series of highly detailed black and white illustrations by award-winning artist Jim Pitts. My only regret was that the publisher chose to block them in beneath seven or eight lines of text rather than give each illustration a full page to itself.
Regardless, this is one of the best sword and sorcery collections I have come across for many a long year. And I look forward to Adrian Cole giving us more tales of Elak, King of Atlantis at some time in the not too distant future. Long may he reign!
Elak: King of Atlantisis available from Amazon.
Review by David A. Riley in Phantasmagoria magazine

Grudge End Cloggers published in Scare Me from Esskaye Books

My story Grudge End Cloggers appears this month in the anthology Scare Me , edited by M. Leon Smith for Esskaye Books.

Scare Me contains twelve terrifying slices of cold, dark fiction.

Produced by Esskaye Books and some of the best new and established writers.

Prepare to face true fear...Featuring  
Tylor James
Jarred Martin
Rob Francis
Laura DeHaan
Chris Kuriata
David A. Riley
Dee Caples
Stephen McQuiggan
Holley Cornetto
James Dorr
Alex Ebenstein
Trisha McKee

Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy

Artwork: Jim Pitts
Parallel Universe Publications will be starting a new series of anthologies in the coming months called Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy. It is hoped we will be able to publish this either annually or half-yearly depending upon how well it sells.

PUP will be announcing further details shortly.

Inside the Labyrinth to be published in Lovecraftiana magazine

I am pleased to reveal that my story Inside the Labyrinth, which was first published in John Pelan's anthology Alone on the Darkside (Roc Books, 2008) will be in the Lammas issue of Lovecraftiana magazine next year.

My Lovecraftian horror novel The Return reviewed on Big Hits Radio by Trevor Kennedy

  
"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

For anyone who missed the broadcast, this is a transcript of the review, which originally appeared in Phantasmagoria magazine:  


"To paraphrase Shakespeare, there is something rotten in the Northern English town of Edgebottom, especially within the district of the appropriately named Grudge End. The ground there is sour, cursed for centuries perhaps. The powerful Malleson family have owned the now derelict mill at the epicentre of the area for decades, a family with some twisted secrets of their own. Over the years, countless horrors have occurred in Grudge End; brutal ritualistic murders, whole families massacred with their heads removed, and many others driven to insanity and suicide by the catalogue of ghastly events there.Gary Morgan is a man with a rather shady past, to say the least. He grew up in Grudge End and when he was a teenager his drunken brute of a father was viciously butchered in what was believed by many locals to be an occult-related murder. Although having moved away from the area for quite some time, Gary’s own life has been shrouded with criminal connections and several failed marriages. He decides to return to his home town for one last time before the streets and mills where he spent his youth are pulled down for good. And to escape the clutches of some quite nasty London-based gangsters as well.On his return, Gary bumps into an old school friend of his, Kevin Cross, whose increasingly manic paranoia surrounding ‘something’ in town is just the tip of the very dark iceberg of what is to follow. When Kevin has his arm savagely hacked off by a mysterious assailant, a series of events begin to unravel, all connected to Gary, the vile Malleson family, and the deep, ancient secrets of Edgebottom. As the bodies begin to mount up and the baffled police close in, something very Old is awakening from a long slumber…Bloody hell, it really is grim up north! And down south in London too, it appears. Author David A. Riley presents us with an extremely violent, bleak, fantastically weaved tale that could perhaps best be described as H.P. Lovecraft meets the Kray twins via the kitchen sink British realism films of the late 1950s/early ‘60s. It is gloriously dark in Edgebottom, literally and figuratively, from the highly sinister occult goings on, to the East End gangsters out for their pound of flesh. Even the weather here is persistently miserable, with its torrential rain, bitter coldness and overcast skies.Riley’s story is expertly created throughout, with the narrative point-of-view seamlessly switching between the main protagonist, the investigating police detectives, the gangsters, and so on. The building tension and mystery surrounding the town is both gripping and morbidly fascinating. When the real horror kicks in around the second half of the book, the appearance of the satyr-esque being is indeed a sight to behold. A truly terrifying, seemingly unstoppable creation of pure unadulterated evil. There are the aforementioned homages to Lovecraft, more so towards the end, however these slide in perfectly to the rest of Riley’s tale, one that would still stand strong on its own even without the Lovecraftian influences.A definite recommendation for fans of grim horror and HPL alike."

Many thanks, Trevor, for that great review!

      

The Color Out of Space - the movie

I suppose I should say something about the blu-ray copy of The Colour Out of Space starring Nicolas Cage that I said I had ordered a few days ago.
As an adaptation of a Lovecraft story it wasn't the worst I have ever seen (The Dunwich Horror from 1970 starring Sandra Dee and Dean Stockwell still holds that dubious trophy). But apart from its opening sequences where the narrator actually quotes some lines from Lovecraft, describing the country west of Arkham, etc., there is very little that could be described as Lovecraftian in the film, and whoever wrote the screenplay missed umpteen opportunities to use scenes from the story to great effect, instead, as usual, going their own way with their own narrative.
The farm in the film struck me immediately as wrong, It wasn't so much a farm as a mansion. And why the lamas? Instead of a long established farmstead with local people, we had out of towners who were trying to get away from the rat race, a cliche that's getting staler by the film. Okay, so the farm once belonged to the main character's father, but none of the rest of his family were anything but townies who hated being where they now were from the very beginning, even before the meterorite crashed onto their land and things start to go strange. Unfortunately, even when this happens, I was given the impression that whoever wrote the screenplay didn't really know what to do with the story, interposing some rather naff horror scenes, like someone "accidentally" chopping off some of their fingers while preparing a meal! And then spending only one night in hospital where, we are told, surgery went well!
Not much tension, not much character empathy either, with the usual "rebellious" teenage daughter. A missed opportunity, so much so that, unlike the earlier version starring Boris Karloff (Die, Monster, Die!) I doubt I will feel inclined to watch it again. 

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.