Helloo!

September I normally associate with a bit of a chill and dark nights looking better for some horror. Interestingly then I’m typing this with a fan on, windows open and feeling hot. Despite that for my next piece of advance booktempting we have a lot of potentially creepier tales to tempt you with!

Doctor Who: The Essential Terrence Dicks Volumes 1 and 2 – Out now from BBC Books £25 Hardback £9.99 Kindle eBook

For over 50 years, Terrance Dicks was the secret beating heart(s) of Doctor Who - from joining production of The Invasion in 1968 to his final short story in 2019. As the undisputed master of Doctor Who fiction, Terrance wrote 64 Target novels from his first commission in 1973 to his last, published in 1990. He helped introduce an entire generation to the pleasures of reading and writing, and his fans include Neil Gaiman, Sarah Waters, Mark Gatiss, Alastair Reynolds, Russell T Davies, Steven Moffat, Frank-Cottrell Boyce, and Robert Webb, among many others.

This special two-volume collection, published on the anniversary of Terrance's death, features the very best of his Doctor Who novels as chosen by fans - from his first book, The Auton Invasion, to his masterwork, the 20th anniversary celebration story The Five Doctors, voted all-time favourite.

With forewords by Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Robert Webb, The Essential Terrance Dicks is a masterclass in contemporary fiction, by a writer of unlimited imagination.

My reading bug started in earnest with the Doctor Who Target books giving me the only way to see a lot of classic Who when I was growing up in the 1980s. Terrence Dicks write the majority of these and gave the stories a style that often belied the budget and effects I saw eventually when I finally got the chance to see. Looking forward to these a lot

Damnable Tales – A Folk Horror Anthology edited by Richard Wells – Out now from Unbound £25 Hardback £9.99 Kindle eBook

This richly illustrated anthology gathers together classic short stories from masters of supernatural fiction including M. R. James, Sheridan Le Fanu and Arthur Machen, alongside lesser\-known voices in the field including Eleanor Scott and Margery Lawrence, and popular writers less bound to the horror genre, such as Thomas Hardy and E. F. Benson.

These are damnable tales, selected and beautifully illustrated by Richard Wells. They stalk the moors at night, the deep forests, cornered fields and dusky churchyards, the narrow lanes and old ways of these ancient places, drawing upon the haunted landscapes of folk\-horror – a now widely used term first applied to a series of British films from the late 1960s and 1970s: Witchfinder General <\/i>(1968), Blood on Satan’s Claw <\/i>(1971), and The Wicker Man <\/i>(1973).<\/p>

But as this collection shows, writers of uncanny fiction were dabbling in the dark side of folklore long before. These twenty\-two stories take the reader beyond the safety and familiarity of the town into the isolated and untamed wilderness. Unholy rites, witches’ curses, sinister village traditions and ancient horrors that lurk within the landscape all combine to remind us that the shiny modern, urban world might not have all the answers…

 

Starting those tales of horror this new collection which caught my eye at the weekend is a rather fascinating collection of classic folk horror and the author choices have captured my eye.

 

 

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – Out now from Jo Fletcher Books £12.99 Hardback £6.99 Kindle eBook

Welcome to Mexico City, an oasis in a sea of vampires. Domingo, a lonely garbage-collecting street kid, is just trying to survive its heavily policed streets when a jaded vampire on the run swoops into his life. Atl, the descendant of Aztec blood-drinkers, is smart and beautiful - and very dangerous. Domingo is mesmerised.

Atl needs to escape the city quickly, to get far away from the rival narco-vampire clan relentlessly pursuing her. Her plan doesn't include Domingo, but little by little, she finds herself warming up to the scrappy young man and his undeniable charm. As the trail of corpses stretches behind her, local cops and crime bosses both start closing in.

Vampires, humans, cops, and criminals collide in the dark streets of Mexico City. Atl and Domingo stand little chance at all of making it out alive before the city devours them all - but they are determined to try . . .

Moreno-Garcia is an author who I find crosses genres and each time manages to deliver something unique and new. Expect a review soon but this is at atmospheric tale of an interesting alternate near future Mexico where feuding drug gangs are led by Vampires who the world know exist. This is worth tracking down…

The All Consuming World by Cassandra Khaw – Out now from Erewhon - £15.99 Hardback £9.02 Kindle eBook

Maya has died and been resurrected into countless cyborg bodies through the years of a long, dangerous career with the infamous Dirty Dozen, the most storied crew of criminals in the galaxy, at least before their untimely and gruesome demise. Decades later, she and her diverse team of broken, diminished outlaws must get back together to solve the mystery of their last, disastrous mission and to rescue a missing and much-changed comrade . . . but they’re not the only ones in pursuit of the secret at the heart of the planet Dimmuborgir. 

The highly evolved AI of the galaxy have their own agenda and will do whatever it takes to keep humanity from ever regaining control. As Maya and her comrades spiral closer to uncovering the AIs’ vast conspiracy, this band of violent women—half-clone and half-machine—must battle their own traumas and a universe of sapient ageships who want them dead, in order to settle their affairs once and for all. 

Welcome to The All-Consuming World, the debut novel of acclaimed writer Cassandra Khaw. With this explosive and introspective exploration of humans and machines, life and death, Khaw takes their rightful place next to such science fiction luminaries as Ann Leckie, Ursula Le Guin, and Kameron Hurley.

Khaw’s short fiction has been on my radar for a while so really looking forward to reading what they can bring to the novel and this sounds right up my street

From the Neck Up and Other Stories by Aliya Whiteley – Out 14/9 from Titan Books - £8.99 Titan Books £6.64 Kindle eBook

The new collection of beautiful, strange and disarming short stories from the award-winning Aliya Whiteley, deftly unpeels the strangeness of everyday life with her trademark wit. Witness the future of farming in a new Ice Age, or the artist bringing life to glass; the many-eyed monsters we carry and the secret cities inside our bodies.

Some authors I am always intrigued to read more and Whitely has written some incredibly memorable and often haunting tales. Expect to hear more next week

Out of the Darkness edited by Dan Coxon – Out 16/9 from Unsung Stories £9.99 paperback £4.99 Kindle eBook

Out of the Darkness, in collaboration with mental health charity Together for Mental Wellbeing, challenges some of the most exciting voices in horror and dark fantasy to bring their worst fears out into the light. From the black dog of depression to acute anxiety and schizophrenia, these stories prove what fans of horror fiction have long known – that we must understand our demons to overcome them.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, what began as a mental health crisis has rapidly become an unprecedented tsunami. The Centre for Mental Health has estimated that 10 million people will need mental health support in the UK as a direct consequence of Covid-19, with a staggering 1.5 million of those being under eighteen.

Edited by Dan Coxon (This Dreaming Isle) and featuring exclusive stories by Alison Moore, Jenn Ashworth, Tim Major and Aliya Whiteley, this collection harnesses the power of fiction to explore and explain the darkest moments in our lives. Horror isn’t just about the chills – it’s also about the healing that comes after.

All royalties and editor’s fees from this collection are being donated to the mental health charity Together for Mental Wellbeing.

This anthology you may recall was a kickstarter that came about during the great lockdown. Unsung have done some great horror anthologies and again a wealth of talent has been assembled. Plus buying this you help a good cause! How can you refuse – expect a review next week

The Liar of Red Valley by Walter Goodwater – Out 30/9 from Solaris - £14.99 Hardcover £7.99 Kindle eBook

Don’t trust the Liar.
Do not cross the King.
Never, ever go in the River.

In Red Valley, California, you follow the rules if you want to stay alive. But they won’t be enough to protect Sadie now that she’s become the Liar, the keeper of the town’s many secrets. Friendships are hard-won here, and it isn’t safe to make enemies.

And though the Liar has power—power to remake the world, with just a little blood—what Sadie really needs is answers: Why is the town’s sheriff after her? What does the King want from her? And what is the real purpose of the Liar of Red Valley?

 

Review to come but I’m told this is delightfully creepy and sounds weird too!

The Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction edited by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpki – Out 28/9 from Jembefola £5.04 Kindle eBook

The first ever Year's Best African speculative fiction anthology with works from some of the most exciting voices, new and old, published in the 2020 year.

I’ve a review and interview with the editor coming this weekend but this is an impressive collection of the best stores from last year from names such as Sheree Renee Thomas, Tobias S Buckell, Eugen Baconand Tl Huchu and more. This is well worth getting your pre-orders in for!