Get The Latest Delirium / Gifune Release Digitally
Just released and sold out through Delirium in both limited and lettered hardcover, Long After Dark by Greg F. Gifune has been issued as a digital edition.
Harry Fremont hasn’t slept in days. He’s down with a terrible flu: runny nose, fever, a sore throat, the chills, and worst of all, a horrible cough that keeps him up all night. His wife Kelly is away on a business trip and their son Garret is at college, leaving Harry alone in the house. Though worn out, Harry has been unable to sleep…and things are starting to change. He’s seeing unusual things outside, just beyond the windows and confines of his home…hearing things…experiencing unsettling things that make no sense. And they’re getting worse.
Are they simply figments of a tortured and exhausted mind, or clues to an intricate mystery steeped in evil and deception Harry cannot yet comprehend? Haunted by remnants of earlier nightmares, disturbing questions about his life and marriage, strange shadowy figures, odd noises, cryptic writings on his doors and glimpses of a hideously disfigured being wrapped in bloody bandages, Harry free-falls into a horrifying world of paranoia, agony and terror where nothing is what it seems.
Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us…long after dark.
Sleep while you still can.
The Buzz: Customer Reviews 3/15/10
FALLEN ANGEL by Amy Grech & Michael McCarty
Avg. Customer Rating:
AM Digital Horror’s offering, Fallen Angel by Amy Grech & Michael McCarty, is tough to review. With extensive credits to both authors’ names, I had high expectations going in regarding the potential quality of this collaboration. But it was not to be. Aside from the profuse typos, numerous word omissions, messed up paragraph indentations and the like, the tale was barely readable, lacked cohesiveness, and appeared almost amateurish in overall quality. Boy, was I disappointed! And, as if that weren’t enough, the novelette was quite cliched, offering nothing new in the incestuous father/daughter hookup. I’ve rated this digital release as Fair, but in all good conscience, I would not recommend it to anyone. Sorry.
reviewed by: William C. Rasmussen
THE DARKLY SPLENDID REALM by Richard Gavin
Avg. Customer Rating:
The stories in Richard Gavin’s latest collection, The Darkly Splendid Realm, are all good but somewhat ambiguous. They tend to run together, especially if you read them all one after the other. Individually, they’re fine tales, in particular “Primeval Wood,” the longest and best of the bunch! It’s just that they can be so depressing, atmospheric and somber, playing with their protagonists’ guilt, fears and the like. Not saying that’s bad, just that they are all so downbeat that to read them in succession can be quite burdensome to a large extent. I do recommend this collection, however, with the caveat that they should be enjoyed slowly, piecemeal and over time.
reviewed by: William C. Rasmussen
MONSTER TOWN / THE BUTCHER OF BOX HILL by Logan Savile
Avg. Customer Rating:
The Butcher of Box Hill/Monstertown is a neat little HC “flipbook” from Bad Moon Press, featuring a short story and a novelette from the writing team of Logan Savile (aka, Brian Logan and Steven Savile). The tales are dryly humorous, which works most of the time. And the short first tale, The Butcher of Box Hill, suffers from its brevity; it appears to be more of a prologue for the second, longer tale, Monstertown, in which more backstory of both the monsters and the main protagonist, JD Enron, is revealed. It’s not a bad introduction to the world of Monstertown and one of its former wranglers; I would wager that Logan Savile has a few other tales cooking in this potential series. The flipbook does have a steep price for barely a hundred pages of fiction, the only real downside to this product. Recommended, though, especially if you like traditional horror laced with sarcasm and wit!
reviewed by: William C. Rasmussen
BRITISH INVASION edited by Christopher Golden, Tim Lebbon and James A. Moore
Avg. Customer Rating:
British Invasion was for the most part an average collection of horror / dark fantasy stories from authors exclusively from the UK. However, there were several standouts in this anthology. Gord Rollo’s take on child abuse retribution (Lost in a Field of Paper Flowers), Tony Richards’ Lovecraft inspired tale of children delving into the unknown (Birchiam Pier), Mark Morris’ twist on the vampire tale (Puppies for Sale), and Adam Nevill’s story about an unwanted roommate summoning a dark goddess (Yellow Teeth) were IMO the best stories in the collection. There were also solid stories by Sarah Pinborough, Paul Finch, Philip Nutman, and Peter Crowther. Of the rest of the collection, there weren’t any really bad stories, but also no very memorable ones either.
reviewed by: Brian Shaner
DUST OF THE DEAD by C. David Conner
Avg. Customer Rating:
Sideshow Press’s current release, Dust of the Dead by C. David Conner, is an overall mixed bag from energetic publishers, Tom & Billie Moran. The Western zombie tale set in the late 1800s is just so-so, but then again, I don’t really care for the undead; and the completely glossy, perfectbound, 170-page, oversized book, chock-full of cool B/W art by Tony Karnes is a little strange, to me at least (reminds me of a large New York magazine; but it is really elegant-like). That being said, I love what SSP is doing–constantly using their imagination to push the envelope in their offerings. This one just didn’t thrill me in total. Recommended, especially for lovers of zombie tales!
reviewed by: William C. Rasmussen
Avg. Customer Rating:
Dragonfly is an excellent little collection of early works by Knight. The first two stories start off with a punch, where both involve little girls. If this makes you emotional then Knight will rip your heart out with these two horrific tales. Wunderland brings in the fantastic and creates a terrifying little tale for two little boys. And Dragonfly closed out with a story of redemption where a woman once sexually assaulted in a small town comes back into the town years later and brings her dragonflies with her to let loose. Honestly it’s hard to find a bad story in this collection because there isn’t. Even though this is early Knight it is also some of his best shorter works he’s done. This is a highly recommended collection.
reviewed by: Geoff Guthrie
Avg. Customer Rating:
This is a book that will drag one through hell and back both physically and mentally. McBean takes the story of a mother’s revenge and literally makes us feel everything she will go through in order to try to find her inner peace. Much of what happens is a gradual slope into oblivion that the reader does not even realize until the last page has turned and the story is able to play out and time to reflect is taken. A great addition to the Thunderstorm library, and even with the $75 price tag is a nice presentation and read. If budgeting is in the mix, then maybe pass on this, but if the decision is more is the book worth the price of admission, then $75 is worth it to visit the personal hell of this mother because when we turn the last page, we get to come back to earth and realize it was all just fiction. But the lessons learned and scares, thrills and shivers will stick around for quite some time.
reviewed by: Jason Perlman
GOING MONSTERING by Edward Lee
Avg. Customer Review:
Ed Lee’s Going Monstering is yet another sick but always interesting offering from this prolific shockmeister! This is a digusting tale wherein even Lee goes too far, it would seem, at times. Three college girls are subjected to myriad sexual perversions during their week of hazing. There’s a story here, it’s just that you really don’t get to it till the last 20 or 30 pages; the previous 100 and more are filled with the most sickening sexual acts that Lee has ever written about. I mean, the end does justify the means in this tale, but after all is said and done, did we really need that endless, lengthy litany of sexual perversity just to get there? On the plus side, Bloodletting’s production on this title was again superb, with a beautiful soft cover, cool top stain, gorgeous endpapers, and really fitting color and B/W art from Tom Moran! I recommend this one, but with reservations for some over its unbelievably gross sexual content.
reviewed by: William C. Rasmussen
New Digital Releases 3/15/10
CHASING THE DRAGON by Nicholas Kaufmann
Centuries ago, St. George fought and killed a dragon—or so the legend goes. The truth is somewhat different. George failed in his mission, and the Dragon still walks the Earth, protected by an undead army, hiding in the shadows and slaughtering men, women, and children for its prey. Each of George’s descendants through time has been tasked with killing the Dragon, and each has failed. Twenty-five-year-old Georgia Quincey is the last of the line—the last, best hope for defeating the Dragon once and for all. But Georgia is also an addict, driven to the warm embrace of the needle by the weight of her responsibility and the loss of everything and everyone she has ever loved. Tracking her nemesis to the small town of Buckshot, New Mexico for their final showdown, Georgia is about to discover the truth about the Dragon, a terrible secret that could put all life on Earth in peril.
Chimerascope—a story of many parts.
- A young artist hungers to draw you.
- A dinner conversation takes three lifetimes to finish.
- A geologist faces a planet-sized, eons-old puzzle to save her crew.
- The hero of the Fall of Earth must choose between love and revenge.
- A mysterious dancer leads a businessman to a most exclusive nightclub.
- A man is born each day into a new life—only to die each night.
- A sentient aurora threatens the last of humanity.
- A Norse god’s bar in Toronto hosts an unplanned family reunion.
- A woman descends into insanity—or is it the end of the world?
- A house as big as the world.
These are some of the stories you will encounter in Chimerascope, the first full collection of short fiction from award-winning Canadian author, Douglas Smith.
Sixteen stories of fantasy and science fiction, including one Aurora Award-winners, a Best New Horror pick, and nine Aurora finalists, that take you from love in fourteenth-century Japan to humanity’s last stand, from virtual reality to the end of reality, from alien drug addictions to a dinner where a man loses everything.
FALLEN ANGEL by Amy Grech & Michael McCarty
When she turns eighteen, Angel McAllister forcibly endures an incestuous relationship with her father. Angel’s long-time friend and sarcastic, stand-up comedian Uncle Brew pays her a visit to catch up on old times and consoles Angel when she learns of her father’s death. And strange things start happening when she moves back home.
In The Spotlight: Huerta T-Shirt
José Guadalupe Posada – “Calavera of Huerta” 1914 Mexico. Although it is difficult to date such prints because of the many times they were used, the earliest print located is dated after Posada’s death. Also, the print seems to be a caricature of Gen. Victoriano Huerta, who did not come to power. . . until after Posada’s death.
This shirt is WICKED!
Black Regular Cut T-Shirt
• 6.1 oz., 100% preshrunk spun cotton
• Slightly oversized fit
• Double-needle stitching at the collar, sleeves, armholes and hem
• Taped shoulder to shoulder
This is such a cool and unique design. Stop by The Bag And The Crow to purchase on of these. You won’t be sorry!
Altar 13 Auctions
I have now sent out 4 ownership certificates for Altar 13 numbers. #5 is now currently up for auction at the following link:
This auction ends Monday the 15th at 9 PM EST.
I have decided NOT to auction off the last 20 numbers after talking with authors. We determined that each author would like some of these titles available to the general public on announcement.
Altar 13 titles will be sold through the Delirium shop at Horror Mall.
Darkside Digital Growth & Guidelines For Publishers And Authors
I’ve just finished posting guidelines for both authors and publishers for getting your work sold through the shop. I’ve received more than two dozen queries in the past few weeks which tells me that digital is growing quicker than most would have imagined.
Sales at Darkside Digital have really spiked in 2010 and I attribute this to having quality control. Darkside Digital isn’t a one-stop shop for all horror e-books. I’ve implemented a standard that is higher than other sellers and have been rather selective about the e-books I sell here. I’ve come to HATE the Amazon model, where anyone who thinks they are an author can submit their work and have it online to sale within a few days. What this ultimately becomes is a fiction sewer where good authors and publishers become lost in the waste. It’s become easier to win the lottery than to casually browse these stores and find a decent read.
Also, I’ve found the new digital age has really led to poor quality in the layouts of new e-books. E-book conversion is an art form in itself and it’s not an easy thing to do. I’ve even known technically savvy people to pull their hair out when tackling the e-book conversion process. This is something we are watching closely. I want to avoid our customers downloading sub-par e-books. A bad layout or conversion can really take the joy out of reading.
I’ve worked extensibly with publishers behind the scenes to help to make some of their offerings of a higher quality and will continue to do so. I truly believe in the digital movement and want to see it done right.
Also, it’s important that our customers realize that we do watch reviews closely. If you download something from Darkside Digital and you get a bad layout from the publisher or other problems, please post your review. Be honest and also provide fair feedback with insight and we’ll take these into consideration for stocking titles by each publisher.
Publishers who want to see their titles listed at Darkside Digital can bookmark the following page:
http://www.horror-mall.com/submissions/view.php?id=3
Author who want to submit their original manuscripts for consideration can find the guidelines and submission form at the following URL:
http://www.horror-mall.com/submissions/view.php?id=4
Also, one last request for those of you who have found Darkside Digital and who have grown to appreciate what we offer: please help spread the word about the store. We’re the little guys fighting to reform the digital movement and are often shadowed by the corporates such as Amazon. Your referrals will be glad they discovered that bigger is, in fact, not better.
The Bag And The Crow Introduction
Hello everyone! I just wanted to write a blog and tell you a little about The Bag And The Crow and what you can expect from me in the future.
First of all, my name is Jassen Bailey and like many of you, I am a huge fan of the horror genre. I enjoy reading horror fiction, as well as watching horror movies. Some of you may know me from the Horror Mall Forums.
As of right now, The Bag And The Crow has many T-shirt designs to browse and choose from. I have taken over the slot which used to be Oddity Cotton at the Horror Mall and added some other designs to the mix.
In the not-so-distant-future, The Bag And The Crow will be producing some T-shirt designs that will be both limited and/or exclusive to the Horror Mall. For more information and updates, please sign up for The Bag And The Crow Newsletter. Please feel free to give me suggestions as to what you would like to see from The Bag And The Crow.
Please note that The Bag And The Crow has a Memorabilia section as well. Right now, there are some very cool items signed by Bill Moseley (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, House of 1000 Corpses, and The Devil’s Rejects). My goal is to get a wide variety of these items in the store for all you folks that couldn’t make a convention or want a cool collectible gift for a loved one.
I just got back from a Joe Hill signing and will be adding a few signed items by him in the upcoming days.
Thanks to Shane for giving me the opportunity to provide you with some of the best horror merchandise out there!
New T-Shirt Design: Stephen King’s Carrie
THEY’RE ALL GOING TO LAUGH AT YOU!
T-Shirt based on the terrifying adaptation of Stephen King’s bestselling horror novel and the movie that was directed by shock maestro Brian De Palma.
One of the all-time great horror classics on this one-of-a-kind T-Shirt.
This high quality shirt was silk-screened by hand using the finest inks and is 100% pre-shrunk cotton.
Horror Mall Welcomes The Bag And The Crow
Support Horror Mall's latest shop!
I’m thrilled to welcome Horror Mall’s newest shop, The Bag And The Crow, owned and operated by Jassen Bailey. The Bag And The Crow will pick up where Oddity Cotton left off and go well beyond.
Horror Mall has an amazing community of supporters, ones who know the value of supporting independent entrepreneurs out there. So please help me welcome Jassen and his new business and if you’re in need of some new horror T-shirts, then please check out his store today.
Here’s a little more about the new shop…
The Bag and the Crow was established in 2010 by Jassen Bailey. The focus of this store is to provide fans of the horror genre with quality horror merchandise. There will be a bit of everything at The Bag And The Crow, however the emphasis will be providing customers with great T-shirt designs and collectible memorabilia. In addition, The Bag And The Crow will be producing exclusive limited edition horror T-shirts.
You can visit the shop at: http://www.horror-mall.com/thebagandthecrow/
You can visit the shop blog at: http://horrorgy.com/thebagandthecrow/
And please help support this new business by signing up for the shop newsletter HERE.
Also, for those registered on the Horror Mall forums, you can say hello to Jassen on his own forum that just went live:
http://www.horror-mall.com/forums/index.php?/forum/79-the-bag-and-the-crow/
VINTAGE SOUL PRE-ORDERS IN DRAWING FOR ONE OF A KIND LEATHER BOUND!
http://www.davidniallwilson.com/one-of-a-kind-hand-bound-vintage-soul-edition
When a gorgeous, three hundred year old vampire is kidnapped from her lover’s top floor, high-security suite, the city’s underground community is shaken.
The abduction seems impossible, and when things seem impossible, there is only one man in the dark, underground society of San Valencez, California who can be trusted to unravel them. Donovan DeChance is a collector of ancient manuscripts and books, a practicing mage, and a private investigator.
Called in to investigate, he soon finds that there is much more to the case than a simple abduction. There will be no ransom, and if he doesn’t prevent an ancient, forbidden ritual from reaching its culmination, far more than a single vampire’s undead life will be at stake.
Donovan, his fiery, sometimes lover Amethyst, and a troop of supporting characters follow the ghostly trail of the kidnapper through a winding maze of intrigue, always a step behind, through magical battles, murders, and confrontations with a rogue band of young vampires intent on beating Donovan at his own game.
Vintage Soul is a dark, urban, supernatural mystery. Set in a fictional underground society, a city within a city, it opens portals to the unknown darkness that surrounds us. Fast-paced, strewn with clues, investigation, and magic, this is a book sure to slake the appetites of fans of mystery and the supernatural. Welcome to the darkness; welcome to the world of Donovan DeChance. Vintage Soul is Book I of the DeChance Chronicles.
