News & Blog

HELIOsphere is coming up this weekend in Tarrytown! I’m delighted to be a program participant at this new convention (this is only its second year), although I will only be there on Friday and Saturday. Here’s where you can find me:

Friday, April 5th

3:30 PM – 4:45 PM: Reading, Ballroom 4
Readings at HELIOsphere are a group effort, so I will be joined by Keith R.A. DeCandido, Ken Altabef, and Ryk Spoor.

5:00 PM – 6:15 PM: Current SF/Fantasy/Horror on TV, Ballroom 1
With so much quality SF/F/H content available on streaming services, cable channels, and network TV, we truly are living in a golden age of genre television. Come find out which recent series have captured our panelists’ attention, which veteran series are still going strong, and which forthcoming series show a lot of promise. With Nicholas Kaufmann (m), Paul Levinson, Walter H. Hunt, and Alex Shvartsman.

Saturday, April 6th

11:30 AM – 12:45 PM: Books N Brews Session 1, Ballroom 6
Some of our presenters have agreed to hold small social gatherings with the attendees, while enjoying one’s brew of choice (coffee and tea will be available, beer and other alcohol can be purchased from the bar and brought over). Conversations are casual… there may a reading, a sharing of art, a discussion about something the presenter is working on, or even just discovering common interests. Feel free to come and join in! With Nicholas Kaufmann, Karen Heuler, Esther Friesner, Mike McPhail, Gordon Linzner, John Grant, and Walter H. Hunt.

4:00 PM – 5:15 PM: Small Scares: The Art of Suspenseful and Horrifying Short Fiction, Ballroom 1
In dark, horror and mystery stories, carefully constructing the elements in each section of the plot helps to build suspense. Suspense can also be heightened by showing characterization. Small scares, well placed, contribute to a satisfying climax. With Nicholas Kaufmann, Carol Gyzander (m), April Grey, James Chambers, and Marilyn “Mattie” Brahen.

I’m looking forward to seeing you there!

The Twilight Pariah by Jeffrey Ford
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An enjoyable and breezy novella, THE TWILIGHT PARIAH showcases one of Jeffrey Ford’s many strengths, in this case his almost effortlessly authentic characterization. For me, the story at the center of PARIAH takes a back seat to the delightful characters and their deep friendship. Henry, Maggie, Russell, and Luther all felt very real to me, an accurate and genuine depiction of the lasting friendships we make in our high school and college days, if we’re lucky. The story itself, which involves a ghostly entity, a horned baby skeleton, and a mysterious old woman, isn’t all that scary. There’s tragedy and death, of course, but the stakes never feel that big for our protagonists. This may be because the threat tends to strike around them, rather than at them, which makes it difficult to cultivate a sense of imminent danger. But as I mentioned, the story is secondary to the characters for me. I enjoyed every moment I spent with these four young adults and was sad to leave them behind when I turned the final page.

View all my reviews

Lovecraft: Four Classic Horror Stories by H.P. Lovecraft
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I.N.J. Culbard adapts and illustrates four of H.P. Lovecraft’s longer and better-known works: “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath,” “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward,” “At the Mountains of Madness,” and “The Shadow Out of Time.” The artwork is extraordinary, especially Culbard’s renderings of various creatures whose descriptions Lovecraft left intentionally vague, and fulfills the purpose of cutting through Lovecraft’s sometimes dense and baroque prose to make the stories flow more smoothly. He does an excellent job adapting the stories, sometimes making slight alterations to their structure that work to increase their narrative power.

Revisiting these stories, I found myself struck by a few things. I had never really realized before, for instance, that “Dream-Quest” is kind of a “Lovecraft’s greatest hits” compilation, featuring not just recurring characters like Randolph Carter and Richard Pickman, but also making use of places and creatures that had only appeared in his poems and fragments before, all brought together into a single narrative. One could say “Dream Quest” is to Lovecraft’s work like the Dark Tower series is to Stephen King’s. I also noticed for the first time how similar the climaxes are in both “At the Mountains of Madness” and “The Shadow Out of Time.” In “Mountains,” the deadly shoggoths that destroyed the Elder Things and their ancient city in Antarctica are discovered to still be alive and a threat to the protagonists. In “Shadow,” the deadly flying polyps that destroyed the Great Race of Yith and their ancient city in Perth, Australia are discovered to still be alive and a threat to the protagonists. The stories were written only three or four years apart, and I prefer to think of these similarities as the solidification of a theme that interested Lovecraft rather than lazy plotting. My final observation is that as much as I love Roger Corman’s 1963 film THE HAUNTED PALACE, “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward” is very cinematic and deserves a more faithful film adaptation.

This collection of Culbard’s previously and separately published Lovecraft adaptations is a must for fans of graphic novels and H.P. Lovecraft alike. (I now find myself interested in reading Culbert’s adaptation of Chambers’ THE KING IN YELLOW as well.) One caveat, though: the hardcover is extremely heavy and quite thick, making it difficult to carry with you. You may find it easier to read at home in your favorite chair than to take it with you on a train or an airplane. But then, that’s probably the best way to read Lovecraft’s chilling tales anyway.

View all my reviews

A brand new Q & A with me is now live on British author Simon Bestwick’s blog. Click on the excerpt below to read the whole thing:

I’ve been writing since 4th grade, when I wrote my first illustrated story about a boy and his father who are stranded on another planet filled with monsters and dinosaurs. As you might imagine, I had some issues about how little time my father was spending with me!