Delicate Toxins

by John Hirschhorn-Smith (Editor), Richard Gavin, Daniel Mills

Edited by John Hirschhorn-Smith this is an anthology of all new tales taking the life, work and cultural milieu of Hanns Heinz Ewers as their inspiration.

The contents are:

* Introduction - John Hirschhorn-Smith
* 'A Pallid Devil Bearing Cypress' - Richard Gavin
* 'Salmacis' - Stephen J. Clark
* 'Crossing The Sea Of Night' - Mark Howard Jones
* 'Mathilde' - Ray Russell
* 'Dogs' - rj krijnen-kemp
* 'Tlaloc' - Angela Caperton
* 'Magicians And Moonlight' - Katherine Haynes
* 'Lotte Of The Black Piglet' - Colin Insole
* 'The Unrest At Aachen' - Mark Valentine
* 'The Naked Goddess' - Daniel Mills
* 'Singing Blood' - Reggie Oliver
* 'The Devil In The Box' - Orrin Grey
* 'The Rites of Pentecost' - Peter Bell
* 'Endor' - Michael Chislett
* 'Masks' - Mark Samuels
* 'White Roses, Bloody Silk' - Thana Niveau
* 'The Filature' - Adam S. Cantwell
* 'Holzwege' - D. P. Watt


'Delicate Toxins' stands in its own right as a collection of writings by some of the most interesting authors in the field of 'strange stories' but is also complementary to Side Real Press' ongoing programme of Ewers re-issues.

Printed in black with red titles and initial letters throughout.

The cover is printed in three colours directly onto the book cloth and is uniform in design with Side Real Press' previous volumes 'Nachtmahr' and 'Alraune'.

Genres: Fiction, Horror, Anthologies

339 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2011

Reviews

[Sirensongs · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are some books that I can tell right from the start I don't want to end, books that I need to savour slowly, that I must force myself not to devour as quickly as possible. Delicate Toxins was one such tome for me, a collection of strange tales indeed, one that I look forward to revisiting again and again at several points in the future. This marvelous anthology inspired by the controversial and brilliant Hanns Heinz Ewers is a veritable treasury of wonder, encompassing the depraved, the decadent, the cruel and the eruditely esoteric. It truly does capture the essence of much that Ewers stood for and represented in his work. His spirit is alive and strong within these stories, which run the gamut from subtly haunting, to downright outrageous. There was not one story in this volume that I did not relish, but I'd have to say the highlights for me were Peter Bell's 'The Rites of Pentecost', Michael Chislett's 'Endor', Thana Niveau's 'White Roses, Bloody Silk' and Adam S. Cantwell's 'The Filature'. I cannot remember the last time a book captivated me so much, and I am slightly shocked by the reactions that were roused within me while reading some of these tales. It seems that the sadist in me isn't buried so deeply after all...

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tributes to, or pastiches of an author can be hit and miss, especially a writer as uniquely outré as Hanns Heinz Ewers, but ‘Delicate Toxins’ achieves its goal perfectly. Ewers himself is present, for the most part, only as the spectre of his literary preoccupations rather than as a character, and those who have encountered his singular fiction will doubtless be well aware of the usual themes. Depravity, decadence and diabolism abound in every story, ranging from the subtle ('The Unrest At Aachen') to the outrageous ('White Roses, Bloody Silk). Every story is excellent, but stand outs were the brilliant 'Endor' by Michael Chislett and 'The Filature' by Adam S. Cantwell. The book occasionally veered into territory which made me flinch ( Dogs by rj krijnen-kemp especially), but one can hardly complain about that in a tribute to Ewers!

[Orrin Grey]

Another book that I'm in, and that I am very happy to have been a part of, if for no other reason than to have gotten a chance to be attached to such an attractive volume. Really a very impressive-looking book, full of solid weird and decadent stories inspired by Hanns Heinz Ewers. There are quite a lot of very good stories here, though a couple of particular standouts for me came from Richard Gavin and Daniel Mills.

[Des Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holzwege by D.P. Watt
“She works away at the warp and weft as though at a harp; delicate wrinkled fingers darting in and out with different coloured fibres and silks,…”
Not so much the book’s coda (although it is that, too), but more its catharsis. The silk-weaving image of the previous story and the three women weavers enthral three men – Hitler’s men, I wonder? – and it is almost as if we are being given these scenes dreamily from within a box like Orrin Grey’s box, ourselves the things or beings that Pandora should not release from it. A painter with his pitcher.
Yes, a story that is a ‘dying fall’ coda as well as a horrifically haunting catharsis, despite those delicate fingers. Or Heidegger’s delicate toxins in the chinking bottles whence the three men drink?
“…for venom is such that I shall take all myth and make it my own.”

The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of its observations at the time of the review.

[Frances]

For several reasons, have bounced hard off the last few stories in this book. Will come back to it and finish it later.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good anthology. Some amazing stories, my favorite being the Peter Bell story.