Fastyngange
Another novel for those who think they’ve heard it all, it being the story of a talking hole. Yes, a hole, or rather an oubliette, which not only serves as the story’s chief driving force but also narrates the thing.
FANTASTIC MEMORIES
As the title promises, this short story collection purports to be a compilation of memories, most of them fantastic and/or macabre in nature.
Elsewhere
For the most part ELSEWHERE is a charming, low-key haunted house tale that’s more interesting than scary. It certainly contains its share of quintessentially Blatty-esque wisecracks.
THE MASTER AND MARGARITA–The Miniseries
This Russian miniseries is the most monumental adaptation yet attempted of Mikhail Bulgakov’s MASTER AND MARGARITA
THE COUNTRY OF WOLVES
This gorgeously designed graphic novel fleshes out an ancient Inuit folktale.
CHILDGRAVE
The third novel by the woefully underrated Ken Greenhall, who as usual delivered a strikingly unique and intelligent tale. The subject is one that preoccupied Greenhall’s fiction: love, which is viewed not as a pleasant diversion nor an all-conquering panacea, but as a complex and oft-destructive entity whose effects are far-reaching.
THE CASTLE OF ARGOL
This French novel is perhaps the most famous work of gothic surrealism.
Cast a Cold Eye
A good book, this: well written, solidly characterized and imaginative. It’s a period novella set during an important but little-explored stretch of American history. I wasn’t too impressed by the final pages, which take the tale in a predictable and overly pat direction, but overall I like CAST A COLD EYE a fair amount.
The Birthing House
eemingly everyone has praised this novel to the skies, and after reading it I’ll have to say that in this case everyone is right. A first novel of uncommon nuance and conviction, THE BIRTHING HOUSE has a probing intelligence and depth of characterization that aren’t supposed to be able to co-exist with supernatural scares. Those wanting a primer on what’s wrong with much of today’s horror fiction should read this book, as it gets most everything right!
THE BECKONING FAIR ONE
This is the most famous tale written by the late Oliver Onions, and widely considered one of the classic English language ghost stories.