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This Attraction Now Open Till Late
Enter a dark carnival where nothing is as it seems, in this collection of thirteen tales by award-winning author KYLA LEE WARD. Each exhibit tantalises with a mix of horror, seduction and blackest humour.
A masked apparition tempts a struggling musician. Tourists in the City of Assassins seek a truly authentic experience. Gargoyles and angels battle for the future of a university. Firefighters confront the spectre of what has burned before. Actors in a funfair haunt realise where the true horror lies. A wax-working necromancer plots vengeance for the death of her lover.
This menagerie of stories represents twenty years of publication by a unique voice in contemporary weird and Gothic fiction, and will enthrall enthusiasts of thoughtful horror and dark fantasy, especially readers of Joyce Carol Oates and Tanith Lee. A cavalcade of artists and archetypes, mummies and masquers, vampires and voyeurs will sweep you away to distant times and places, and shock you with surprises closer to home. But be warned! For as the hour grows late, the difference between spectator and attraction blurs. After midnight, you’ll never want to leave...
A masked apparition tempts a struggling musician. Tourists in the City of Assassins seek a truly authentic experience. Gargoyles and angels battle for the future of a university. Firefighters confront the spectre of what has burned before. Actors in a funfair haunt realise where the true horror lies. A wax-working necromancer plots vengeance for the death of her lover.
This menagerie of stories represents twenty years of publication by a unique voice in contemporary weird and Gothic fiction, and will enthrall enthusiasts of thoughtful horror and dark fantasy, especially readers of Joyce Carol Oates and Tanith Lee. A cavalcade of artists and archetypes, mummies and masquers, vampires and voyeurs will sweep you away to distant times and places, and shock you with surprises closer to home. But be warned! For as the hour grows late, the difference between spectator and attraction blurs. After midnight, you’ll never want to leave...
268 pages, Paperback
First published September 28, 2022
About the author
Kyla Lee Ward
38 books31 followersKyla Lee Ward is a Sydney-based creative who works in many modes, that have garnered her Australian Shadows and Aurealis awards. She has placed in the Rhyslings and received multiple Stoker and Ditmar nominations. Reviewers have accused her of being “gothic and esoteric”, “weird and exhilarating” and of “giving me a nightmare.” This Attraction Now Open Till Late is her first collection of dark and fantastic stories after two poetry collections, The Macabre Modern and Other Morbidities and The Land of Bad Dreams.
Her work on RPGs including Demon: the Fallen saw her appear as a guest at the inaugural Gencon Australia. Her short film, 'Bad Reception', screened at the Third International Vampire Film Festival and she is a founding member of Deadhouse - tales of Sydney Morgue and of the Theatre of Blood, which have both performed her work. A practicing occultist, she likes raptors, swordplay and the Hellfire Club.
Please permit me to explain my personal scheme of ratings - I would prefer to simply provide reviews, but here at Goodreads, one is a necessary precursor to the other. 3 is the most common score I give, because it means the book was good. I enjoyed it, it was well-presented and properly proofed, and I consider the author to have achieved their objective. I give out 4s much more rarely and believe I have only ever given out one 5. 2s are also rare and mean I found the book flawed in respect of its own intent, or atrocious formatting and proofing errors. I have never yet rated a book at 1.
Her work on RPGs including Demon: the Fallen saw her appear as a guest at the inaugural Gencon Australia. Her short film, 'Bad Reception', screened at the Third International Vampire Film Festival and she is a founding member of Deadhouse - tales of Sydney Morgue and of the Theatre of Blood, which have both performed her work. A practicing occultist, she likes raptors, swordplay and the Hellfire Club.
Please permit me to explain my personal scheme of ratings - I would prefer to simply provide reviews, but here at Goodreads, one is a necessary precursor to the other. 3 is the most common score I give, because it means the book was good. I enjoyed it, it was well-presented and properly proofed, and I consider the author to have achieved their objective. I give out 4s much more rarely and believe I have only ever given out one 5. 2s are also rare and mean I found the book flawed in respect of its own intent, or atrocious formatting and proofing errors. I have never yet rated a book at 1.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 19, 2022
This Attraction Now Open Till Late is Kyla Lee Ward's début collection of fiction and what a way to make a splash. This is a must-read for fans of esoteric, weird, and gothic tales.
As discussed in my interview with Kyla last month, the senses play an important role in many of these offerings. In "And in Her Eyes the City Drowned", one of the highlights of the collection (and picking favourites is hard with a such a consistent display of talent), takes place in Venice. Music and voice accompany the reader through this unique cityscape as Kyla guides us into the dark waters beneath the city's ancient buildings and we attend an unearthly musical performance.
"Who Looks Back?" and "Should Fire Remember the Fuel?" will be particularly relevant to Kiwis and Aussies as we explore a volcanic landscape in the former and face devastating bushfires in the latter. Along with the closing tale, "The Boneyard", these two demonstrate the author's interest in the interplay between nature and humankind, and she makes us ask ourselves some important questions.
"The Beautiful House" is another of my favourites and one of the most memorable haunted house stories I've read in a long time. Kyla builds the tension at just the right pace and ends the narrative at exactly the right spot, allowing the reader to speculate as to what will happen next.
Kyla's writing is deep, elegant, and rich in detail, and her imagination is boundless. This collection is voyage around the world and through time, as well as beyond the veil of reality as we know it. Kyla takes us from Venice to Japan and New Zealand to Prague, and we visit the past, present, and unless this reader is mistaken, one tale is set in a terrifying future world.
Lastly, credit to Independent Legions Publishing and the proofreader, Karen Runge, for the topnotch work on producing a polished final product.
As discussed in my interview with Kyla last month, the senses play an important role in many of these offerings. In "And in Her Eyes the City Drowned", one of the highlights of the collection (and picking favourites is hard with a such a consistent display of talent), takes place in Venice. Music and voice accompany the reader through this unique cityscape as Kyla guides us into the dark waters beneath the city's ancient buildings and we attend an unearthly musical performance.
"Who Looks Back?" and "Should Fire Remember the Fuel?" will be particularly relevant to Kiwis and Aussies as we explore a volcanic landscape in the former and face devastating bushfires in the latter. Along with the closing tale, "The Boneyard", these two demonstrate the author's interest in the interplay between nature and humankind, and she makes us ask ourselves some important questions.
"The Beautiful House" is another of my favourites and one of the most memorable haunted house stories I've read in a long time. Kyla builds the tension at just the right pace and ends the narrative at exactly the right spot, allowing the reader to speculate as to what will happen next.
Kyla's writing is deep, elegant, and rich in detail, and her imagination is boundless. This collection is voyage around the world and through time, as well as beyond the veil of reality as we know it. Kyla takes us from Venice to Japan and New Zealand to Prague, and we visit the past, present, and unless this reader is mistaken, one tale is set in a terrifying future world.
Lastly, credit to Independent Legions Publishing and the proofreader, Karen Runge, for the topnotch work on producing a polished final product.
July 12, 2024
I think my favourite story in this antho is "The Oldest Coffee House in Prague", with all that loving detail of the city. Or is it the title story and its behind--the-scenes look at a haunted house? Be sure to grab this if you enjoy a dark sense of humour.
February 1, 2023
Beautifully written short fiction that covers continents and timeframes with finesse and elegance. A joy to read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews