California Sorcery

by William F. Nolan (Editor), William Schafer (Editor)

Here's a book of magic, all right -- all right, dark magic -- and its contributors are, as the title implies, sorcerers of their craft. California Sorcery provides a virtual roll call of some of the most important names in the history of 20th-century horror, sci fi, and dark fantasy: Robert Bloch, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont -- just to name a few. And this is no reprint sham like we've seen too many times before; nine of the 12 stories were never-before-published! (The Bloch piece hasn't seen print in 50 years, and Harlan Ellison's piece is newly revised.)

We're talking the greats of the field, folks, guys who were writing high-octane tales of terror when Stephen King was still playing with toy soldiers. (King, in fact, has acknowledged a number of these authors as major influences.) In their day (though many are still actively writing) the contributors here were known in Hollywood as "The California School" or simply, "The Group"; they became a notorious creative coterie due to their sheer, indefatigable talent and, combined, helped brand the entertainment industry with some of the finest scripts, novels, and stories ever produced. Coeditor William Nolan says it best in his foreword: "The Group lives again in this book, brought together at last and for always..."

Matricidal decapitations, a camping trip with some haunting and
rite-passaging implications, sci fi in the Old West, graveyard ghosts and
philosophy, a spaceship with an appetite, a man who loses his memory and
someone else finds it -- these are just a few of the brilliant goings-on in this wonderful and important (and gorgeous!) limited edition. Plus, Christopher Conlon's introduction not only elucidates the importance of these men and their work but also provides a fascinating, in-depth biography.

If you revel in the best fiction being written today, this book will show
you where a whole lot of its spirit and inspiration came from. California Sorcery, in fact, is more than just an anthology; it's a celebration of dark
art conjured up by the masters of the form.

Let the conjuring begin.

—Edward Lee

Genres: Short Stories, Fantasy, Anthologies, Science Fiction, Horror

285 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

William F. Nolan is best known as the co-author (with George Clayton Johnson) of Logan's Run -- a science fiction novel that went on to become a movie, a television series and is about to become a movie again -- and as single author of its sequels. His short stories have been selected for scores of anthologies and textbooks and he is twice winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Special Award from the Mystery Writers of America.

Nolan was born in 1928 in Kansas City Missouri. He attended the Kansas City Art Institute and worked as an artist for Hallmark Cards. He moved to California in the late 1940s and studied at San Diego State College. He began concentrating on writing rather than art and, in 1952, was introduced by fellow Missouri native (and established writer) Ray Bradbury to another young up-and-coming author, Charles Beaumont. Moving to the Los Angeles area in 1953, Nolan became along with Bradbury, Beaumont, and Richard Matheson part of the "inner core" of the soon-to-be highly influential "Southern California Group" of writers. By 1956 Nolan was a full-time writer. Since 1951 he has sold more than 1500 stories, articles, books, and other works.

Although Nolan wrote roughly 2000 pieces, to include biographies, short stories, poetry, and novels, Logan’s Run retains its hold on the public consciousness as a political fable and dystopian warning. As Nolan has stated: “That I am known at all is still astonishing to me... "

He passed away at the age of 93 due to complications from an infection.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice anthology of stories from a loose association of Californicentric writer friends from the 1950s and '60s known as The Group. Many of them are better known for their television and film writing, particularly The Twilight Zone. There's a very wide range of genres collected here, with nine original stories and three reprints. I especially enjoyed Harlan Ellison's The Function of Dream Sleep, George Clayton Johnson's The Man Who Was Slugger Malone, and Chad Oliver's The Wind Blows Free. There are disappointing pieces by Ray Bradbury and Ray Russell, and my favorite was a very good novella by co-editor William F. Nolan. The other contributors include Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont, Charles E. Fritch, Jerry Sohl, John Tomerlin, and Robert Bloch, all of whose stories were fine. The stories are preceded by an interesting essay by Christopher Conlan that details the context and history of The Group.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories by "The Group" which consists of:

Ray Bradbury
Richard Matheson
Harlan Ellison
Ray Russell
Charles Beaumont
George Clayton Johnson
Robert Bloch
John Tomerlin
Chad Oliver
Charles E. Fritch
William F. Nolan
Jerry Sohl

This collection has everything... Sci-Fi, horror, crime, fantasy, a western, and even a glimpse into the soul of a small town post-office worker... Sounds so innocent doesn't it?

I love this book... Each story comes with a mini-biography of its author. This is a quick read, considering that there are only 12 stories, but given who wrote them, its enough to keep you entertained.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

An acceptable if not outstanding group of stories. The only author here that I don't recall reading previously is John Tomerlin. The stories I like best are "Always before Your Voice" by Richard Matheson and "The Man Who Was Slugger Malone" by George Clayton Johnson. I also enjoyed William F. Nolan's "Lone Star Traveler," even though I realize that it's seriously flawed.

The best thing in the book is the "Introduction" by Chistopher Colton. I had read before about the tragic death of Charles Beaumont but I was not familiar with the rest of this material. Clearly the "California Group" produced a lot of fine work. Unfortunately, much of the Group's work was written for television, and even the best work for television is ephemeral compared to published books. (Although the television series with which they were most closely associated was The Twilight Zone, one of very few series from that time that are still so well remembered.) Even now, though, there is every reason to think that some of the Group - Matheson, Beaumont, Bloch, Bradbury - will continue to be highly regarded.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very mixed bag. Several only brush against speculative fiction. Most reflect the LA influence (TV, movies, too much sunshine...). Most are pretty darn dated. However, the story by Chad Oliver is very well written, moving; it reminds me to make time to catch up on his work.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Several good stories. The copy I read was an uncorrected proof. My favorites were Lone Star Traveler, Always Before Your Voice, and The Wind Blows Free The introduction was terrific too - as good as the stories!

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book of short stories, so some were 5 stars and some only 2. I had actually only read/heard of 3 of the authors. This meant I had no preconceived notion of the writing styles of most of the writers.

[Kristy Buzbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little collection of SF.

[J.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well put together collection of The Group. While Bradbury's entry is obviously the most powerful and well done, I think many of the other entries are also worth noting. My favorite of which is Chad Oliver's "The Wind Blows Free", which was very well written and constructed. To be honest a lot of the stories were very predictable, but I believe that it's due to the fact that a majority of these stories are older and a lot of the entertainment we watch/listen/etc these days are built from these kinds of stories. A lot of these writers worked on culture changing shows like Star Trek and Twilight Zone back in the day, for example.

What really counts is how they tell the story, the skill. At least for me, and i still found it very enjoyable and think it's a worthy read.

[Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite part was the introduction. I have always loved these authors but didn't know much about them. I was blown away when I found out they hung out together and worked on ideas. As far as the stories went, well, I only enjoyed a few of them. Some I had trouble just finishing them. Most had a unique twist which I always expect from this group.

[Richard Givan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of shorts from an influential group of writers who lived in the LA area during the 50s on. People like Matheson, Serling, Nolan, Beaumont, even Ray Bradbury. Some of the stories--okay, most of the stories--are pretty old, but that does not diminish their appeal at all.

[Maurean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good short stories; I particularly liked "The Man Who Was Slugger Malone" (by George Clayton Johnson), and "The Wind Blows Free" (by Chad Oliver).

[Tanvir Muntasim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid anthology of stories from a group of California based writers, some more famous than others- Bradbury, Bloch, Matheson and Ellison.

[Eric]

I haven't been able to locate this book for quite some time... I'm moving it to the DNF shelf, but I will find it and finish it at some point.