M.R. Gott's Blog, page 26

Free Book from Chuck Miller

"FREE BLACK CENTIPEDE NOVELLA:     "Gasp, Choke, Good Lord!" is a Black Centipede novella I did a couple years ago, a very early take on the character. This is not quite the Centipede of "Creeping Dawn" and subsequent works. I don't know when or if "Gasp" will ever see print; the Centipede stuff I'm doing for Pro Se now is going in chronological order, beginning in 1932, and this novella is set in 1952. If it ever gets published, it will require a massive overhaul, since there are continuity conflicts with what I'm doing now.

Be that as it may, I hope you will check it out and enjoy it. Fans of the old EC horror comics should get a kick out of it. What REALLY happened with Doctor Fredric Wertham, William M. Gaines, and the dread Comics Code Authority? The Centipede knows. And so can you. Downloadit as a pdf from Mediafire. Again, my sincere thanks to everyone who has helped make my first year as a pulp writer so enjoyable." 

Chuck Miller 
Click above for the link,

M.R. Interviews...Richard Kadrey

Please Welcome Richard Kadrey to Cutis Anserina




Where did the idea for James Stark/Sandman Slim come from?

A typical, boring writer place. After finishing a big project I was
looking for my next one. Going through some old notebooks I found the
phrases “Hitman from Hell” and “Sandman Slim.” The two seemed to go
together and I started developing a backstory.  How did he get to
Hell? How did he get out? How did he get that name?


Does the Sandman Slim series have a predetermined end point, or are
you taking it novel by novel?

I can’t say for sure. There’s a definite end to the six-book arc I’m
currently writing. I think there will be stories to tell beyond that
and not all are about Stark. I’d like to write about some of the other
characters. For instance, I know how Vidocq became immortal but I’ve
never had a chance to tell that story. It would be fun to get it down
on paper.



Are you finished with the character Spyder Lee from Butcher Bird? How
did the idea for this novel take shape?

I don’t have any plans for Spyder right now. Butcher Bird came about
because of a very simple idea. What if you gained a super power and
hated it so much you went on a quest through weird supernatural worlds
so you could find the magic to get rid of the power? It was
anti-quest. Like King Arthur looking for a way to put the sword back
in the stone and forget about it.


What was the collaborative process like, working with the Pander
Brothers on Accelerate?

Very interesting. It started with my writing a script, then Panders
sending me preliminary sketches of the scenes, and then either my
rewriting the script to fit within the images or them reworking the
images to work with the script. I’m happy to say that it went very
smoothly and I learned a lot about comics from working with them.

Your novels deal with a great deal of dark material. What is the first
book you remember genuinely being frightened by? Was your immediate
reaction to run out and find other similar tales, or stash it in your
closet and block it out?

Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado are the earliest
stories I remember scaring me. The first novel was Shirley Jackson’s
The Haunting of Hill House. At a local drug store I found a couple of
volumes of pulpy horror stories called Tales of The Frightened and
those scared the hell of me when I was a kid. Worse, I had an LP
version of the first volume read by Boris Karloff. It was a major
source of nightmares. As a teenager I discovered Lovecraft and
although the writing style didn’t appeal to me, the scope of the
Cthulhu stories thrilled me.


What active genre authors are you still excited to be following?

Neil Gaiman and Holly Black are two obvious fantasy authors. In SF
there’s William Gibson and Charlie Stross. Clive Barker and Joe
Lansdale in horror. Ellen Datlow and Jeff Vandermeer’s anthologies are
also favorites.

Do you have anything new coming down the pipeline you would like to share?

Aside from the Sandman Slim books I’ve started on some stories, the
first in a long time. I have my first YA book coming out later this
year, though I don’t have a date for it yet. I’m also developing some
non-Sandman Slim books. The Sandman Slim movie is coming along. I’m
looking forward to seeing that as much as anyone.

She Never Slept Interviews Horror Writer M.R. Gott

From She Never Slept

Hello friends, followers, and fellow devotees of the dark and weird.I am pleased to announce that I will be interviewing M.R. Gott, author of the supremely dark Where The Dead Fear To Tread on Saturday the 5th of May at 5:00pm Eastern Time (2:00 Pacific).We hope you will listen and please call in with questions! The player will be posted here on the day of the show, so tune in!Marc Nocerino

 Click for access-

Joss Whedon The Complete Companion by POP matters

Joss Whedon The Complete Companion by POP matters is not complete, as Whedon’s career does not seem to be anywhere near over.  That said I cannot imagine a more thorough collection of thoughts on the man.  With over 40 authors the book covers Whedon’s overarching themes with technical comparisons of his scripts versus the finished products.  TV, webisodes, comics and films are all covered in detail.  Some of the material is examined with an eye for storytelling tones, braking it down to a philosophical degree.  Other essays cover insider technical deatails of how the shows and films came to light.  Whatever your mood, if it involves Whedon you will be covered.  
This book however is not simple hero worship.  One aspect I found very interesting as an Alien fan is the chapter ‘Alien Resurrection, the Script that Shaped Joss Whedon’s career.’  This is generally accepted to be the weakest film in the series, and Whedon does not get a pass.  As an avid geek is interesting finding a source with new insight and information on an older film.     
In full disclosure I am a big fan of Whedon, except Buffy.  I loathe to an unfair degree stories surrounding high schools.  That being said I still found incite to appreciate in the essays provided.  I am however a huge Angel fan.  The essay, ‘The Strength and Conviction to lose So Relentlessly,’ summed up perfectly everything I found so appealing about Angel.  Included is this enclosed quote from Angel in episode 2:16 Epiphany.  “Well, I guess I kinda…worked it out.  If there’s no great, glorious end to all this, if nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do, because that’s all there is, what we do.  Now today.”
POP Matter’s book is cited to a meticulous degree, allowing you to easily find the episodes or comics you seek, because despite the acknowledged flaws and weaknesses in his work.  This book will make you want to revisit old stories told by Joss Whedon.  Now if you’ll excuse me I feel the need to watch my old Angel DVD’s.
If you seek an examination of Joss Whedon’s career I would be shocked if you could do better.   

Personal Note;This review feels incomplete to me, because there is so much information contained within its pages.  

To Be Read Pile reviews Where the Dead Fear to Tread

"It had potential but we didn't like it."



Click Tiffany Shepis above to read details of what TBRP did not like about Where the Dead Fear to Tread.

Asylum by Mark Allan Gunnells

Overview;  Curtis has allowed Jimmy his college friend to take him to his first gay club.  Jimmy promised Curtis a memorable night of drinking dancing and sex.  The night becomes more memorable than either could have imagined.
“I’m going to call 911 again,” Toby said, pulling his phone back out. Gil smirked.  “You do that.  Now does anyone want to help me do something useful?”
Review;“When the dead arose, Jimmy was going down on the balding accountant.”  The first sentence is one of the best grabbers I have seen in awhile. Mark Allan Gunnells’ novella Asylum is a briskly paced people trapped by zombie tale, that stands out first and foremost for Gunnells’ ability to create a diverse cast of characters the reader can identify with.  Curtis, Jimmy and the rest of the cast are diverse sympathetic and most importantly not idiots wandering into the dark alone to investigate.  The intelligence of the characters add to the horror of the situation, because even the best choices in a bad situation can get you eaten.  Gunnells’ fleshes out his characters with deft pacing allowing for the a sense of nearly nonstop fear.  The only exception is a section where characters are pontificating about the horrible treatment of gays by popular media.  While I was in total agreement with the points made, it was preaching to the choir.  The people who need to be told this would not make it that far into a story with an almost entirely gay cast.  Gunnells creates a tense sense of impending dread, we know something worse is just around the corner.  But of what is the question that will keep you reading.Gunnell’s descriptions of the zombies are short and sweet, and his eye for realistic action is well realized.  The tone is tense and the reader believes any character could die at any point.  Despite the classic set-up Gunnells’ Asylum feels fresh. 
In the End;  Mark Allan Gunnells has written a classic zombie set up and found in depth with his terrifically realized characters.  Long time genre fans will find much to enjoy here.     


 Click for my interview with Mark Allan Gunnells

She Never Slept Reviews Where the Dead Fear to Tread

"M.R. Gott is certainly not afraid to take a new and intriguing look at some old horror staples..."
Click below for She Never Slept review of Where the Dead Fear to Tread

Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey

Overview;  After eleven years in Hell James Stark has escaped.  He has only one mission now. To kill the men who sent him downtown and then killed his girlfriend Alice.   
“There are people walking the earth that the moment you meet them, you want to punch them and keep punching them.”  James Stark
Review;  If James O’ Barr turned Eric Draven over to Raymond Chandler it would have probably played out a great deal like Sandman Slim.  I came to this book while reading a review of my book by Verushka at the Open Book Society, comparing a similar flair for action sequences between myself and Mr. Kadrey.  I am flattered.  Kadrey’s creative action pieces convey a sense of the moments, allowing the reader to follow each blow.  The violence has great physical repercussions, not only in body damage, but Stark keeps needing new clothes from all the fight he ends up in.   It always bugged me that Superman’s suit never had a bullet hole in it, he was bullet proof not his clothing.
Kadrey’s greatest strength in Sandman Slim is of tone and world building.  His writing crackles, it is quick and sharp as the reader moves with Stark on his quest for vengeance.  The dialogue is reminiscent of the clever and hostile exchanges from old pulp masters such as Chandler and Hammett.  Stark never goes soft either, in a time of watered down anti-heroes it is refreshing to have an unflinching bad ass wiping out the nasties without pause or hesitation.  A plethora of villains populate the world of James Stark, a personal favorite was when Stark beat the shit very thoroughly out of a collection of Neo-Nazis. 
The supporting cast rounds out the noir feel to the book. Mysterious women, a sympatric bar tender, shady doctors, and men with odd talents and convoluted backgrounds abound throughout.  The distrust Stark has of authority also fits well within the pulp motif. 
Kadrey keeps the mood dark and enigmatic throughout.  Details about Stark’s life come forth slowly, creating greater empathy for this incredibly well realized hero.  Reoccurring Tom Waits lyrics move with Stark, creating a fitting somber soundtrack to the work.  Kadrey has three other novels in this series, and I could not be more glad of this.  I rarely like series following a clear single protagonist.  Personally it often takes an element of suspense from me, Kadrey has crushed my prejudice in this department. I look forward to spending more time with James Parker.   

In the End;  James Stark is my new favorite character.  With the mouth of Sam Spade, and the unflinching single mindedness of Eric Draven, the dark minded have a new anti-hero.  Richard Kadrey’s fast sharp novel propels you into a dark world, reminiscent of what many of us see in our own.  Highly recommended.   

30% Off All Untreed Reads Titles Right Now!

Just a reminder to everyone that all of our titles are 30% off until April 27th, as we're celebrating Earth Day all week long. The sale is ONLY good in The Untreed Reads Store
Also: don't forget that when you purchases a title from the store, you get it in every available format. That means they get up to five different formats of the book to read on any device for the same price as just one format at Amazon!  Now is a great time to purchase the book that is being called;“The world of William Chandler starts out dark and grim and M.R. Gott is not afraid to make it darker and grimmer with every page.”Dana Fredsti author of Plague Town
“…a combination old time detective pulp story, a revenge story and a good old fashioned horror story.”Famous Monsters of Film Land
“Where the Dead Fear to Treadis an immensely enjoyable read; jam-packed with great action sequences and wonderfully horrific monsters that will chill you to the bone.”Dark Rivers Press
“Four and a Half Stars…with enough of a horror element to keep you cringing and maybe looking around for a set of eyes watching your every move.”Double Shot Reviews
“The book starts out fast and violent, and ratchets up the intensity and carnage from there.”Literary Mayhem
“…if you are in need of an action fix, with some supernatural horror thrown in, this is for you.”Open Book Society

The Cabin in the Woods

Horror fans relish certain ideas, we want to see certain things, yet we want to be surprised and scared.  This is a difficult feet to pull off, however Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon have.  The Cabin the Woods, takes the most cliched horror setup and finds new ideas and perspectives.  The film succeeds as both horror as well as containing some deliberate and genuinely funny moments.  While I understand this is incredibly vague, trust me.  The less you know going into this film the more you will enjoy it.

For those who need more after seeing this film, The Official The Cabin in the Woods is incredibly thorough.  With a forward by Drew Goddard and afterward by Joss Whedon, the book has a strong opening and closing.  Also there is a 40 page interview with the two as they describe the entire process from writing to directing and producing.   The book also contains the entire screenplay, with concept art and movement notes for the actions sequences.  I don't have a single question about this film after paging through this volume. 

If you need more Cabin in the Woods this will hold you over until the DVD/Blu-Ray release, though I cannot imagine the special features containing any new info.  This is currently available on Amazon marked down to 12 dollars from 20.