The Devil’s Coattails – Book Review
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The Devil’s Coattails: More Dispatches from the Dark Frontier
Jason V. Brock and William F. Nolan, Editors
Cycatrix Press
Hardcover, 294 pages, $49.95; $194.95 for the deluxe edition
Review by Sheila M. Merritt
It is extremely difficult to write a review of an expensive book based on a spartan uncorrected proof. The Devil’s Coattails retails at $49.95 in its limited to 500 copies trade hardcover edition. For those who want to splurge even more, there’s the deluxe printing: limited to 52 signed and lettered copies at a whopping $195.95. Is the cost justified? Based on the no-frills, spiral bound reviewer’s version, what can be said is that the stories contained in the volume are generally very worthwhile. And the black and white illustrations (which according to the notes in the table of contents, are only available in the deluxe edition; there is no statement regarding if they are reprinted in color) are striking. Masterpieces of horror by Goya and Munch, along with less familiar artists’ works, are exhibited. As with the artwork, the writers represented in the tome range from the eminent to the not as well known. This makes for a well-balanced compendium, a variety of creative voices diverting in their diversity.
Writer Oscar Wilde and painter Frank Miles are employed as characters in “The Hidden Realm” by W.H. Pugmire and Maryanne K. Snyder. The 19th Century historical figures were indeed comrades in real life. The relationship between the talented twosome was possibly, given Wilde’s well known proclivities, sexual. There are allusions in the narrative that hint at this, with Miles being tormented by visions that both repulse and attract him; in reality, he did go insane. In this work of fiction, Frank is confronted by perceptions and realities that demand interpretation: “Particles of darkness wheeled around him, like dust that danced with dust – and then the particles formed into faces that that laughed and sneered. He snatched at one of the cruel visages and caught it in his hand, and he felt it crumple like a dry dead leaf in his grasp. Something kissed his face, and a pair of silver eyes gazed into his own. The face to which the eyes belonged was no longer beautiful – it was bestial, horrible; it overflowed with menace and madness. Frank pushed away and swam through shadow, until he came at last to a place of sanitary light.”
Love, parenthetically homosexual, is also addressed in “If You Love Me” by Paul G. Bens. The protagonist of the story is pushed to the extreme in proving his passion/devotion to his lover. This tale cuts deep into co-dependency. A disturbing and probing look at the dark side of commitment, the yarn looks at the lethal power of love and loyalty abused.
An alliance gone awry is also examined in Melanie Tem’s “Best Friends.” Tem’s first person narrator asks a profound question: “Why aren’t there more love songs and poems about best friends? They’re who can really break your heart.” She goes on to elucidate, that even after years of contented matrimony, it is a friendship that haunts: “From a long, rich, good marriage I can’t summon a single thought of him. Michelle, though, is shimmering in the archway between the living room and dining room, opaque and multidimensional as betrayal.” The contrast between an easy alliance with a spouse, and the mercurial demands of a friend are beautifully rendered in this tale. The author reminds that what is facile is often forgettable; we tend to remember the drama – and the emotion.
In Earl Hamner’s “The Woods Colt,” uneasy interactions and unfulfilled affinities again come into play. A son returns to his former home, and gazes at his deceased parents’ house, which he has sold: “The once gracious Victorian mansion now had a haunted look. Ancient ivy plants that had been carefully trimmed when he was a boy now clung in thick gnarly trunks to the shingled walls forming a dense, green covering. One of the upstairs windows had been broken. Behind it, a lace curtain moved fretfully in the wind.”
The denouement of Hamner’s piece allows for the dreaded word, “closure.” This is not the case in R.C. Matheson’s humorous and, acutely short, short story “Interrogation.” In this yarn, an eyewitness to a brutal, violent crime is questioned. Remaining silent through the query session, the non-responsive observer frustrates the inquisitors. Clever and cagey, Matheson plays and has fun in the process.
The Devil’s Coattails includes works by horror favorites such as: Ramsey Campbell, John Shirley, William F. Nolan, Gary A. Braunbeck, Nancy Kirkpatrick, Steve Rasnic Tem, and the late Dan O’ Bannon. In general, the 21 contributions contain a photo and information about each author, as well as the writers’ musings about the genesis of their pieces. As to the price of the volume: It is steep, and the deluxe edition is obviously geared to collectors. Is the book recommended reading? Yes, but the expense limits the readers to an exclusive bunch of bibliophiles.
Pure
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Cemetery Dance Publications has announced the upcoming publication of Pure: The Deluxe Limited Special Edition
by Julianna Baggott.
Description: We know you are here, our brothers and sisters…
Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost—how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.
There are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked. Pures. They are tucked safely inside the Dome that protects their healthy, superior bodies. Yet Partridge, whose father is one of the most influential men in the Dome, feels isolated and lonely. Different. He thinks about loss—maybe just because his family is broken; his father is emotionally distant; his brother killed himself; and his mother never made it inside their shelter. Or maybe it’s his claustrophobia: his feeling that this Dome has become a swaddling of intensely rigid order. So when a slipped phrase suggests his mother might still be alive, Partridge risks his life to leave the Dome to find her.
When Pressia meets Partridge, their worlds shatter all over again.
Special Features Exclusive to this Collector’s Edition:
- Epic cover artwork by Tomislav Tikulin
- Deluxe oversized design
- A full-color signature sheet personally signed by the author
- Extremely collectible print run that is a tiny fraction of the hundreds of thousands of copies of the version you’ll see in bookstores — and you will NOT see our edition in chain bookstores!
You can order directly from Cemetery Dance Publications here: Pure
Famous Monsters of Filmland #260
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With the release of issue Famous Monsters of Filmland #260 just a few weeks away, it’s time to take a look inside the magazine and see what’s in store!
- A look at the life and films of Christopher Lee
- Edgar Rice Burroughs retrospective featuring images from the ERB estate to celebrate the 100th anniversary of John Carter and Tarzan
- From the Ack-ives: Forry interviews Edgar Rice Burroughs from 1947
- An interview with John Cusack about playing Poe in his upcoming film The Raven
- James Watkins talks with FM about directing Woman In Black, Hammer’s latest film featuring Daniel Radcliffe
- A look at the life of Edgar Allan Poe and what you can do to help save the Poe House in Baltimore
- August Ragone takes you on a tour through the vampires of Japanese cinema
- Plus, Dave Elsey brings another monsterriffic Masterclass for all our Monster Maker wannabe’s, FM’s guide to Valentine’s shopping, and so much more…
Pre-order the latest issue now if you haven’t already. Featuring Christopher Lee cover by Dave Elsey and John Carter cover by Sanjulian: Famous Monsters of Filmland #260
Killer Flies
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Untreed Reads Publishing has released the digital edition of Killer Flies by William D. Hicks as part of their Spectres line.
Description: The Army plans to use a new breed of flies to protect combat soldiers. But Dr. John Pankow, their creator, is worried that his killer flies are uncontrollable. Will Mother Nature’s most genetically-altered weapon be the ultimate armor, or the potential ravager of the entire world?
Available for only $.99, you can pick up the Kindle edition here: Killer Flies
Nightmare Seasons Volume 1
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Necon Ebooks has released Necon Classic Horror #21: The Complete Short Fiction Of Charles L. Grant Volume I: Nightmare Seasons for only $4.99.
Description: The first book in Necon’s Complete Short Fiction of Charles L. Grant, originally published in 1982, is truly “historic,” as it was the first time Grant published four novellas with linking material around a common theme. It is, in effect, a tone poem — almost a symphony. It was so successful that he repeated the format three times. Nightmare Seasons won the World Fantasy Award for Best Collection/Anthology, besting Stephen King’s Different Seasons and Dennis Etchison’s The Dark Country.
This edition includes a special introduction by novelist and critic Don D’Amassa
Charles L. Grant is a writer not to overlook. Enjoy one of the cornerstone writers of the horror genre.
You can order directly from the publisher here: Nightmare Seasons 1
The Raven Official Poster
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Relativity Media has released the official poster for their upcoming gritty thriller The Raven, opening in theaters April 27, 2012.
Description: In this gritty thriller, Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack, Being John Malkovich) joins forces with a young Baltimore detective (Luke Evans, Immortals) to hunt down a mad serial killer who’s using Poe’s own works as the basis in a string of brutal murders. Directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta, Ninja Assassin), the film also stars Alice Eve (Sex and the City 2), Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges) and Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Faster).
When a mother and daughter are found brutally murdered in 19th century Baltimore, Detective Emmett Fields (Luke Evans) makes a startling discovery: the crime resembles a fictional murder described in gory detail in the local newspaper—part of a collection of stories penned by struggling writer and social pariah Edgar Allan Poe. But even as Poe is questioned by police, another grisly murder occurs, also inspired by a popular Poe story.
Realizing a serial killer is on the loose using Poe’s writings as the backdrop for his bloody rampage, Fields enlists the author’s help in stopping the attacks. But when it appears someone close to Poe may become the murderer’s next victim, the stakes become even higher and the inventor of the detective story calls on his own powers of deduction to try to solve the case before it’s too late.
Here’s the trailer:
The Raven opens in theaters on April 27, 2012.
Deadfall Hotel Coming
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Solaris is gearing up to release Steve Rasnic Tem’s Deadfall Hotel in a paperback edition on April 17th. If you’re a horror fan, Tem is not to be missed, so we’re excited about this upcoming release.
Description: Think of it as the vacation resort of the collective unconscious. The Deadfall Hotel is where our nightmares go, it’s where the dead pause to rest between worlds, and it’s where Richard Carter and his daughter Serena go to rediscover life — if the things at the hotel don’t kill them first.
With the powerful prose that has earned him awards and accolades, Steve Rasnic Tem explores the roots of fear and society’s fascination with things horrific, using the many-layered metaphor of the Deadfall Hotel. Drawing inspiration from literary touchstones John Gardner and Peter Straub, Tem elegantly delves into the dark corners of the human spirit. There he finds not only our fears, but ultimately our hopes.
Steve Rasnic Tem is an author, artist, and poet. His works have earned him numerous international literary awards, including the World Fantasy Award. Joe R. Lansdale has referred to Tem as “a school of writing unto himself,” and others have compared his work to that of Ray Bradbury, Dino Buzatti, Raymond Carver, and Franz Kafka. Tem has long proven his understanding of the dark parts of the human soul, with books and stories that have earned him 9 Bram Stoker Award nominations (3 wins) and 7 International Horror Guild Award nominations (2 wins, plus one story nominated for the 2007 awards). Deadfall Hotel is the product of nearly twenty years of work.
You can pre-order this one from Amazon here: Deadfall Hotel
