This wild and strange novella was initially published in French back in 1931. According to the 1999 introduction by Alastair Brotchie, the accredited authors “Jehan Sylvius” and “Pierre de Ruysnes” are pseudonymous; its actual authors may or may not be the surrealist scribes Robert Desnos and Ernest de Gengenbach. As Brotchie smartly concludes, “Whoever the authors were, they evidently enjoyed themselves.”
An interesting entry in the dream craze of the eighties, when it seemed every other horror-themed book and movie involved dreams
Much of the THE DEADLY PERCHERON’s critical attention has tended to focus on the opening chapter, but I believe the focus should instead be on the novel’s middle section, which is as mind-bending in its audacious twisting of reality as anything written by Philip K. Dick.
The first novel by Dennis Etchison that wasn’t a movie novelization, DARKSIDE is a triumph of serious, deeply felt horror fiction. However, it’s still very much a first novel, and so not without some glaring flaws.
Among my absolute favorite horror novels, Fred Chappell’s DAGON looms large — a beautifully written, profoundly disturbing evocation of madness, obsession and transformation unlike anything else I’d read before (or since).
There’s never been another novel like this one, and that includes those of its author, the brilliant James Graham Ballard. CRASH was adapted from a short piece that initially appeared in Ballard’s ATROCITY EXHIBITION (1969).
Another bizarre, fascinating, deeply enigmatic novel by T.M. Wright, one of the horror genre’s most singular talents. COLD HOUSE is even more enigmatic than normal for Wright, as it forsakes most of the genre trappings of his previous books (which include essentials like STRANGE SEED, THE WAITING ROOM and THE ISLAND) in its dreamlike account of star-crossed lovers Michael and Elizabeth, each trapped in a strange alternate reality.
A rare foray into graphic novel scripting by novelist James Herbert, and the fourth part of Herbert’s Rats saga (which commenced with the novels THE RATS, LAIR and DOMAIN). In truth this book is pretty slight, coming off as a so-so short story presented as a 64-page comic. Yet I do recommend it. Why? Because the illustrator is the immensely talented Ian Miller, who was quite inspired here.
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.
This French novel is perhaps the most famous work of gothic surrealism.