On Saturday October 2nd at 2:00 Dark Delicacies will host a signing for a fantasy writing team’s newest novel. Author Lee Carroll is actually the duo of Carol Goodman and Lee Slonimsky who will be on hand together as Lee Carroll to sign their new urban fantasy Black Swan Rising.

Dark Delicacies is located at 3512 West Magnolia Blvd, Burbank, CA 91505 and can be reached for more information at (818) 556-6660 or via the website at Dark Delicacies.

The New Dead: A Zombie Anthology
Christopher Golden, Editor
St. Martin’s Griffin
Trade Paper, 400 pages, $14.99
Review by Sheila Merritt

Just when it seems that all the permutations of zombie fiction have been written, along comes a wondrous new anthology. The New Dead, edited by Christopher Golden, features nineteen stunning stories; none of which have been previously published. Some are poignant; all are powerful. The book accentuates not only a variation on a theme, but also the diverse writing styles of its contributors. The result is as stellar as the writers themselves: John Connolly, Joe Hill, Jonathan Maberry, Kelley Armstrong, to name a few.

Armstrong’s tale of revenge, “Life Sentence,” examines one man’s egocentric inhumanity. His inevitable comeuppance is horrific and sadistically satisfying. Resolution through retribution is also addressed in “Delice” by Holly Newstein. It is fascinating to compare and contrast these two stories of malevolent reprisal: They have vastly different settings, style, and structure; but are alike in their vehement outrage and compassion.

Compassion, and lack of it, get put under the literary microscope. In James A. Moore’s “Kids and Their Toys,” a group of children torture a zombie. First poking and prodding, and then escalating the violence: “The zombie was opened up like a grisly flower, his abdomen cut wide and his skin spread open like petals.” Jonathan Maberry’s “Family Business” gives a heart wrenching look into the quality of mercy. A young man is educated by his older brother to develop tenderness and tolerance. The emotional price of pity is high, but the brothers’ shared burden creates a bond. Gentle, yet potent; this story of fraternity, in multiple senses of the word, is haunting.

The love between spouses is explored in Brian Keene’s touching and ironic “The Wind Cries Mary.” Examining a marriage of opposites, Keene sensitively probes the foibles and foundation of a relationship. Death paradoxically separates the couple; as in life, they are together, but divergent.

For out and out scares, the tales by Tad Williams and Joe Hill rank high. Williams’ “The Storm Door” is a profoundly creepy story of a paranormal investigator who discovers “cold, hungry things, that had been hiding behind that darkness, hiding and waiting and hating the living for so long…” Hill’s “Twittering From the Circus of the Dead” is the compilation’s grand finale. “Twitter” becomes terrifying as the tweets progress from the mundane to the monstrous. The build up from shallow to shattering is a tour de force.

In his excellent foreword to the volume, Christopher Golden metaphorically scratches his head over the popularity of the zombie subgenre: “Eating brains, my friends, is not sexy.” Given the extraordinary stories he has assembled in The New Dead, he really shouldn’t be puzzled.

The New Dead zombie anthology from St. Martin’s Press will launch on February 16, 2010 with simultaneous events around the country.

Stoker-award-winning author Christopher Golden has assembled an original anthology of never-before-published zombie stories from an eclectic array of today’s hottest writers. Inside there are stories about military might in the wake of an outbreak, survival in a wasted wasteland, the ardor of falling in love with a zombie, and a family outing at the circus. Stories are from Joe Hill, John Connolly, Max Brooks, Kelley Armstrong, Tad Williams, David Wellington, David Liss, Aimee Bender, Jonathan Maberry, and many others.

Here’s the list of The New Dead events taking place on February 16, 2010:

NYC: Jonathan Maberry, MB Homler and David Wellington
7 pm
Borders
10 Columbus Circle
New York, NY 10019
212-823-9775

Boston: Christopher Golden, Stephen R. Bissette, Rick Hautala, Holly Newstein, and John Connolly
7 pm
Barnes & Noble
1 Worcester Rd
Framingham, MA 01701
(508) 628-5567

LA: Aimee Bender and Max Brooks
6:30 – 8:30 pm
Dark Delicacies
4213 W Burbank Blvd
Burbank, CA 91505
(818) 556-6660

Kentucky: Derek Nikitas
7 pm
Morris Book Shop
408 Southland Drive
Lexington, KY 40503
859.276.0494
www.morrisbookshop.com

Atlanta: James A. Moore
7:15 pm
Blue Elephant Book Shop
2091 N Decatur Rd
Decatur, GA 30033
(404) 728-8955

http://www.blueelephantbookshop.com

Baltimore: Brian Keene
7 pm
Barnes & Noble
1819 Reisterstown Road
Baltimore, MD 21208
(410) 415-5758

San Antonio: David Liss
7 pm
Barnes & Noble
15900 La Cantera Pkwy
San Antonio, TX 78256
(210) 558-2078

Find out what they have to say: Still Scary After All These Years

The Hiss of Escaping Air is a quiet horror tale from the ever-prolific Christopher Golden. In the hands of a less accomplished writer, this could have been a tired tale marching along the path of well used horror tropes leading the reader to a predictable and foregone conclusion. In Mr. Golden’s hands, the tale sends the reader through a number of twists and turns until finally coming to a horrific and heart-rending conclusion. The narrative lends itself well to Mr. Golden’s straightforward writing style and the narrative, while brief in length will haunt the reader well after the last word is read.

This special edition Fantasycon chapbook has an evocative cover drawing by Wayne Blackhurst and looks to be printed in 2 colors and will have all the usual high standards found in all other PS Publishing titles. As the story is relatively short, a review of the plot would give away all too much and destroy the surprises in store for the reader. Suffice it to say that The Hiss of Escaping Air is about love won and lost set in the plastic world of Hollywood. Within that narrative hook, Mr. Golden keeps the reader off balance through misdirection and by doling out details like a miser pinching pennies.

Fantasycon attendees will surely enjoy this short, haunting tale.