David A. Riley's Blog, page 88

Kitchen Sink Gothic

Wild Bill, an excellent example of a kitchen sink thriller

What is Kitchen Sink Gothic?

M. John Harrison used the term in relation to Robert Aickman: "John Coulthart on reading Robert Aickman: “like finding the quotidian Britishness of Alan Bennett darkening into the inexplicable nightmares of David Lynch.” I often return to BBC4′s The Golden Age of Canals, which features Aickman as a broody, nerdy TE Lawrence of the waterways, for its footage of decaying tunnel entrances, drained locks & Kitchen Sink Gothic clutter embedded in wet mud."

Kitchen Sink as a genre description was coined in the late 1950s, early 1960s to describe British films, plays and novels generally set in the North of England which depicted working class life in a gritty, no-nonsense, warts and all style, sometimes referred to as social realism.

For me, within the horror genre it is the antithesis of Jamesian or Lovecraftian horror. There are no distinguished scholars in these stories. The settings are unglamorous, perhaps even unatmospheric in the accepted use of that word in supernatural horror.

I first became aware of it when someone reviewed my story Scrap (Dark Visions 1, Grey Matter Press, 2013): "Scrap by David A. Riley could easily have been a kitchen sink drama, depicting the lives of two brothers growing up in a poverty-stricken council estate in England. Riley chooses to inject a healthy dose of horror, elevating his story to a different, altogether more gruesome level."

Of course I’m not the only writer to use such settings. Which is why I am interested in editing an anthology of stories under the title Kitchen Sink Gothic, to see how diverse this sub-genre can be and what riches it can produce. I'll post more details soon about pay rates, etc. At the moment this project is still in the planning stage.

Queen of the Dead: Zombie Ascension II - book review

This is my review of Queen of the Dead which is now live on hellnotes.

Queen of the Dead: Zombie Ascension II
Vincenzo Bilof
Severed Press 2013
ISBN 978-1925047202
Paperback 284 pages $12.75
Reviewed by David A. Riley
To be honest I didn’t find this an easy book to get into with regard the characters. I don’t mind having anti-heroes as the main protagonists, but there are anti-heroes and anti-heroes, and for the most part I didn’t really care for many of the people in this novel, most of whom seem to be sociopaths to one degree or another, with little or no concern about the welfare of anyone other than themselves – or, if they have, for very few, usually one. There are a few exceptions, but they are a minority. Perhaps that would be a requirement to survive in such a world, though. It probably is.
That said, the graphic horror of the situation in which they are trapped, a global apocalypse of zombies ripping apart the fabric of society and the bodies of their victims, is vividly described – sometimes, it should be added, with maybe a tad too much concern for literary turns of phrase, which only serve to remind you that you are reading a book. Even so, the descriptions are vivid, the characters quickly and memorably drawn, and the speed with which events unfold truly breathtaking.
This is the second volume in a trilogy. Not having read the first, I was at a disadvantage to start with, though I was soon able to catch up with what was going on. That says a lot for the writer. Not only did I quickly catch up with things, but in a way that avoided long pieces of exposition. At no point did the pace slacken.
Despite almost a glut of books, movies and TV series over recent years zombies are still popular. If everyone could strike the originality of Vincenzo Bilof in his depiction of what would happen in such a catastrophe, there is no doubt in my mind that there is still a lot of life in the trope yet. It may not be a pleasant ride, but Bilof has certainly provided us with one hell of an exciting one in this book.

Kitchen Sink Gothic

In 1995 we set up Parallel Universe Publications to publish a fantasy/sf magazine, Beyond, which lasted for three issues. In 2012 re revived it to publish a hard cover collection of short stories by Craig Herbertson, The Heaven Makers and Other Gruesome Tales. This year we are going to bring out at least a further two books, possibly three. One will be a novel, the others will be single author collections. I am now thinking about doing an anthology, scheduled for 2015, tentatively titled Kitchen Sink Gothic, likely a mixture of reprints and new stories. 

Any suggestions or ideas for the anthology would be welcome.

STOP THE TRAIN - The sensational new musical

This is a link to hear samples of the songs in Stop the Train , which my daughter, Cassandra, will be appearing in at The Grand, Clitheroe on the 8th, 9th and 12th August. 
 
 

Nice review for Out of Corruption

It's not often I've had a review for a single story, especially one as nice as this. Out of Corruption is one of my longer short stories and was originally published in Steve Jones' Mammoth Book of Zombies, an anthology that has seen a number of reprints, with some title variations,  both in the UK and overseas, including Russia. It is also included in my short story collection from Shadow Publishing, The Lurkers in the Abyss and Other Tales of Terror .

A link to the review:

"1993 - Spoiler alerts.

An action packed haunted house horror yarn set in the kind of house you would never want to enter let alone live in.

The narrator visits an old friend who is going mad for living in the crumbling Gothic pile, due to strange noises in the night, something
shuffling round in the cellar, and mysterious figures roaming the grounds at night.

The narrator sees some of this for himself, and learns that the zombies outside cannot enter the property due to its crooked windows and door-frames (designed to ward off evil). Though the things outside after dark can't get in, leaving the house after dark would be fatal.

The narrator gains information from a local librarian and occult specialist, as the man who owns the house is attacked and possessed by the figure trapped in the cellar to try to get the creatures outside to enter.

The zombies start breaking windows trying to frighten the mortal inhabitants into leaving the house too, so the humans are trapped by a malevolent entity within and a horde of the living dead outside - even if they make it to dawn and escape to new homes, their troubles may not be over.

Relentlessly paced Evil Dead style story, which a saturation of evil atmosphere throughout.

Arthur Chappel"

Paul Finch's 50th Birthday Party

Had a great night out on Saturday at Paul Finch's 50th Birthday Party at Wigan Little Theatre, Wigan. It nicely coincided with the publication of Paul's third DS Heckenburg thriller The Killing Club. After an overcast day, the sky brightened in the early evening and I had an enjoyable forty-minute drive to Wigan. Fortunately my satnav guided me straight to the venue and I was able to park up on the street only three blocks away. The first people I met when I went inside were Anna Taborska, Charles Black, Reggie Oliver, Simon Bestwick and Cate Gardner, so I felt at home straight away. The venue was packed and there was a great, celebratory atmosphere. Had some interesting conversations while I drank my non-alcoholic orange juice. It felt almost like being at a convention! Things were still going lively when I left at 11.15.

Reggie Oliver published the following two photos on facebook:

Me, Paul Finch in the background, and Cate Gardner
Photo by Reggie Oliver

Anna Taborska, Charlie Black, me, Cate Gardner and Simon Bestwick
Photo by Reggie Oliver

Wigan Little Theatre

ReAct Academy's next production: High School Musical

I am really looking forward to my daughter, Cassandra's next production from ReAct Academy: High School Musical, at Oswaldtwistle's Civic Theatre on the 26th to the 28th June.

In the Flesh wins BAFTA for best mini-series

I was pleased to see that the BBC's zombie series, In the Flesh , filmed and set in the North West, won a BAFTA yesterday for a mini-series. Now into its second series, this is one of the very best zombie stories ever shown on either the big or little screen. It's intelligent, well acted, innovative and original. It is also very well written.

H.P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness" to Be Adapted into Animated Feature Film

Word is that instead of the epic originally planned by del Toro, we'll soon instead have an animated feature film based on H. P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness.

"Stephen Sloan of Upon Animation Studios announced today that H.P. Lovecraft’s most revered novella, At the Mountains of Madness, is going to be made as an animated feature film, Mountains of Madness, produced entirely in Canada. The movie will be co-produced and directed by Sloan from a screenplay by award-winning playwright and screenwriter Peter Colley (http://www.petercolley.com)."

Amongst the actors being considered for voices in the movie are Christopher Plummer, Victor Garber, Elias Koteas, Nathan Fillion, Dan Aykroyd, Martin Donovan, Jay Baruchel, Justin Chatwin, Joshua Jackson and Hayden Christianson

For uptodate information there is a dedicated facebook page about the film: Mountains of Madness Movie. 

Stop the Train - Musical

I am looking forward to watching my daughter Cassandra in Ribcaged Production's Stop the Train musical at the Grand, Clitheroe in August.