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While the Black Stars Burn
Lucy A. Snyder's latest collection features a spellbinding mix of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. Her stories will carry you away to the sinister heart of the Deep South, the mind-bending reaches of outer space, and the terrifying desolation of Carcosa.
As the follow-up to the Bram Stoker Award winning collection Soft Apocalypses, this book's darkly imaginative tales inexorably draw the reader in. Whether you're a connoisseur of Lovecraftian and King in Yellow fiction or a fan of adventures through time and space, crossing this collection's event horizon will open your mind to unearthly enchantments.
As the follow-up to the Bram Stoker Award winning collection Soft Apocalypses, this book's darkly imaginative tales inexorably draw the reader in. Whether you're a connoisseur of Lovecraftian and King in Yellow fiction or a fan of adventures through time and space, crossing this collection's event horizon will open your mind to unearthly enchantments.
166 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 2015
28 people are currently reading
583 people want to read
About the author
Lucy A. Snyder
143 books621 followersLucy A. Snyder is a five-time Bram Stoker Award-winning writer and the author of the forthcoming Tor Nightfire novel Sister, Maiden, Monster. She also wrote the novels Spellbent, Shotgun Sorceress, and Switchblade Goddess, the nonfiction book Shooting Yourself in the Head For Fun and Profit: A Writer's Survival Guide, the poetry collections Exposed Nerves and Chimeric Machines and the story collections Halloween Season, Garden of Eldritch Delights, While the Black Stars Burn, Soft Apocalypses, Orchid Carousals, Sparks and Shadows, and Installing Linux on a Dead Badger.
Her writing has been translated into French, Italian, Russian, Czech and Japanese editions and has appeared in publications such as Apex Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, Pseudopod, Strange Horizons, Steampunk World, In the Court of the Yellow King, Shadows Over Main Street, Qualia Nous, Seize The Night, Scary Out There, and Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 5.
She writes a column for Horror World and has written materials for the D6xD6 role-playing game system. In her day job, she edits online college courses for universities worldwide and occasionally helps write educational games.
Lucy lives in Columbus, Ohio and is a mentor in Seton Hill University's MFA program in Writing Popular Fiction. You can learn more about her at www.lucysnyder.com and you can follow her on Twitter at @LucyASnyder.
Her writing has been translated into French, Italian, Russian, Czech and Japanese editions and has appeared in publications such as Apex Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, Pseudopod, Strange Horizons, Steampunk World, In the Court of the Yellow King, Shadows Over Main Street, Qualia Nous, Seize The Night, Scary Out There, and Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 5.
She writes a column for Horror World and has written materials for the D6xD6 role-playing game system. In her day job, she edits online college courses for universities worldwide and occasionally helps write educational games.
Lucy lives in Columbus, Ohio and is a mentor in Seton Hill University's MFA program in Writing Popular Fiction. You can learn more about her at www.lucysnyder.com and you can follow her on Twitter at @LucyASnyder.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
August 22, 2021
I'm slowly working my way through Lucy Snyder's entire body of work, so when Awards August came around with the Spells, Space, and Screams group, I knew I had at least one option that would knock my socks off.
And it didn't disappoint! A little shorter than her other collections, the filter the author applies to the world still absolutely delights me, even as it sometimes provides a gut punch (see The Still-Life Drama of Passing Cars in this particular collection if you're in the mood for a heartbreak). Eldritch terrors share pages with truly terrifying aliens, with surprisingly wholesome spider-ranchers - mostly monsters, but only some monstrous.
A really great collection from one of my favourite short form authors.
And it didn't disappoint! A little shorter than her other collections, the filter the author applies to the world still absolutely delights me, even as it sometimes provides a gut punch (see The Still-Life Drama of Passing Cars in this particular collection if you're in the mood for a heartbreak). Eldritch terrors share pages with truly terrifying aliens, with surprisingly wholesome spider-ranchers - mostly monsters, but only some monstrous.
A really great collection from one of my favourite short form authors.
January 5, 2016
This book collects a coven's worth of very good stories, but just to be different I'll offer a quote from the About the Author biography page: "If genres were wall-building nations, Lucy's stories would be forging passports, jumping fences, swimming rivers and dodging bullets." Yep, that pretty well nails it. Spinwebs in particular can be taken a number of ways, as well as Dura Mater, an epistolary sf/horror tale. Jessie Shimmer Goes to Hell is, obviously, an entry in the Spellbent universe, though I doubt anyone who wasn't already familiar with the background would get much from it. Approaching Lavender is a poignant body-snatcher piece. Two of the stories were written in collaboration with Gary A. Braunbeck; the very short The Still-Life Drama of Passing Cars, a sort of Twilight Zone piece, and Fable Fusion, a Dr. Who story (#7, with Ace) which is quite good and is a sharp counterpoint in tone, theme, and style to the rest of the stories in the book. Through Thy Bounty, a very early story which also appeared in her earlier collection Sparks and Shadows, is a nice homage to Damon Knight and answers the question: Okay, it's a cookbook, now what do we do? My favorite stories are the Lovecraftian Cthylla and The Abomination of Fensmere and two stories with deep influence from Robert W. Chambers, The Girl With the Star-Stained Soul, and While the Black Stars Burn, from which the collection gets its title. I thought it was very neat that The Abomination of Fensmere leads directly into The Girl With the Star-Stained Soul; they're quite different stories, but it's the same story.
For anyone who can't afford to vacation in Carcosa this year, this book is the next best thing.
For anyone who can't afford to vacation in Carcosa this year, this book is the next best thing.
August 11, 2016
Note: I was involved in publishing this book
If you're looking for compelling, imaginative fiction this book is for you. While the Black Stars Burn is Snyder's follow-up short fiction collection to the Bram Stoker Award winning Soft Apocalypses and Snyder continues to burn brightly with engaging stories that surprise and satisfy. She is well aware of what has gone before and never parrots other works but can certainly build on them. Her takes on The King in Yellow, Carcosa and the Dr. Who mythos are all welcome additions with new twists. T
hough this volume has a strong horror influence, she is deft at mixing genres and tropes to good effect so the stories appeal to any who appreciate well-written speculative fiction. The concepts are strong but Snyder does not neglect sentence style. Each word is carefully chosen with lucid description but not excessive verbiage. Sometimes irreverent and occasionally touched with humor these stories do not shrink from exposing the darkest corners and confronting evil in its many lairs.
If you're looking for compelling, imaginative fiction this book is for you. While the Black Stars Burn is Snyder's follow-up short fiction collection to the Bram Stoker Award winning Soft Apocalypses and Snyder continues to burn brightly with engaging stories that surprise and satisfy. She is well aware of what has gone before and never parrots other works but can certainly build on them. Her takes on The King in Yellow, Carcosa and the Dr. Who mythos are all welcome additions with new twists. T
hough this volume has a strong horror influence, she is deft at mixing genres and tropes to good effect so the stories appeal to any who appreciate well-written speculative fiction. The concepts are strong but Snyder does not neglect sentence style. Each word is carefully chosen with lucid description but not excessive verbiage. Sometimes irreverent and occasionally touched with humor these stories do not shrink from exposing the darkest corners and confronting evil in its many lairs.
June 4, 2018
Overall, I really did enjoy this collection! I think my favorite is the titular While the Black Stars Burn. A few were certainly more abstract than others, a few more on theme than others. The only thing stopping me from really giving this a full five stars is that a couple things didn't work for me. Small things, personal taste things mostly, and I wouldn't say they're anything overall against the book.
Snyder appears to have a general penchant for throwing the reader right smack into the center of the story. In most of these instances, I felt like it worked, but in a couple of them, the worlds were a bit too complex for me to really catch up with what was going on. A lot of different terms and creatures and abilities were being thrown around as if we were simply expected to know them, and ultimately I found it too distracting to really get into what was going on. Similarly, these same pieces felt less like short stories and more like assorted chapters from longer works. They left me with no real sense of beginning or conclusion, so I find myself moving onto the next story like "alright, what about it?".
Most of the stories that didn't work for me were the ones that rounded out the end of the collection, so that's probably why it stuck with me, but overall solid, creepy, visceral work! Some horror, some horror-adjacent, but all beautifully imagined.
Snyder appears to have a general penchant for throwing the reader right smack into the center of the story. In most of these instances, I felt like it worked, but in a couple of them, the worlds were a bit too complex for me to really catch up with what was going on. A lot of different terms and creatures and abilities were being thrown around as if we were simply expected to know them, and ultimately I found it too distracting to really get into what was going on. Similarly, these same pieces felt less like short stories and more like assorted chapters from longer works. They left me with no real sense of beginning or conclusion, so I find myself moving onto the next story like "alright, what about it?".
Most of the stories that didn't work for me were the ones that rounded out the end of the collection, so that's probably why it stuck with me, but overall solid, creepy, visceral work! Some horror, some horror-adjacent, but all beautifully imagined.
May 23, 2021
This collection has a pretty high content of Lovecraftian inspired/influenced stories (including The Abomination of Fensmere/The Girl with the Star-Stained Soul*, which has a certain LOVECRAFT COUNTY feel, even though the protagonist is a young white girl), but is not exclusively of the "Unspeakable Horrors from Beyond Spacetime" genre. There are also fantasy (one where the "monsters" are the good guys), science fiction, a horrifying alien invasion story, an interesting take on "The Stepford Wives", and one Doctor Who (7th Doctor) story. The collection's title story is Snyder's take on Chambers' THE KING IN YELLOW. I especially liked "Dura Mater" (which has an interesting spin on the "unreliable narrator"), "Through Thy Bounty", and "Cthylla." "Jessie Shimmer Goes to Hell" was interesting, but felt like it was part of a larger book. 3 stars overall.
* The table of contents is a little confusing on the one as it appears to be a single story in two parts that is listed as two stories. The second beings in media res with no explanation so I doubt that it was originally intended as a stand-alone.
* The table of contents is a little confusing on the one as it appears to be a single story in two parts that is listed as two stories. The second beings in media res with no explanation so I doubt that it was originally intended as a stand-alone.
September 24, 2017
A fine collection of chilling tales. Some of the material here is dark as all hell and provokes some visceral responses with the way it plays between horror and relationships. Through Thy Bounty is one of the darkest stories I have read in recent times and is my pick from this collection. Dura Mater, Cthylla and Jessie Shimmer goes to Hell are all terrific examples of modern weird fiction and horror done right.
[spoiler] to top it all, the last story in there is a Doctor Who themed crossover fanfic.[/spoiler]
[spoiler] to top it all, the last story in there is a Doctor Who themed crossover fanfic.[/spoiler]
December 30, 2015
A fabulous collection of short stories from multi Stoker Award winner Lucy A. Snyder. The influences of Lovecraft abound but these stories are not derivative. The author has the skill to create fantastic other-worlds where terror and fear reign supreme but, at the same time writes stories of great tenderness and ghostly sadness. Of these, perhaps The Stillness of Passing Cars was my personal favourite, although each new story brought an enjoyable surprise.
This author shows how a mix of horror, fantasy and sci fi can be made to work so that fans of each genre are left feeling satisfied and entertained. I loved her characters, plots and the excellent crafting of each story into a mini masterpiece. Thoroughly recommended.
This author shows how a mix of horror, fantasy and sci fi can be made to work so that fans of each genre are left feeling satisfied and entertained. I loved her characters, plots and the excellent crafting of each story into a mini masterpiece. Thoroughly recommended.
June 28, 2023
I was blown away by Snyder's strange visions. A striking voice in cosmic horror.
February 22, 2022
Review to come.
October 30, 2017
Disclaimer: I share a publisher with this author, whom I also consider a friend. I purchased a hardcopy version of this fiction collection at full price.
In the spirit of Halloween month, I was asked by a fellow blogger to participate in her round-up of monster discussions. In looking for a way to talk about Cthulu, when I have very limited experience in the horror genre in general and H.P. Lovecraft in particular, I remembered a book that’s been sitting on my “to be read” shelf for an embarrassingly long time.
I steeled myself with bright lights and espresso and dove out of my comfort zone! You can find my in-depth look at Lucy A. Snyder’s While the Black Stars Burn at MNBernard Books: https://mnbernardbooks.wordpress.com/....
In the spirit of Halloween month, I was asked by a fellow blogger to participate in her round-up of monster discussions. In looking for a way to talk about Cthulu, when I have very limited experience in the horror genre in general and H.P. Lovecraft in particular, I remembered a book that’s been sitting on my “to be read” shelf for an embarrassingly long time.
I steeled myself with bright lights and espresso and dove out of my comfort zone! You can find my in-depth look at Lucy A. Snyder’s While the Black Stars Burn at MNBernard Books: https://mnbernardbooks.wordpress.com/....
December 3, 2018
A showcase of Lucy Snyder's talents, these stories range from dark fantasy to science fiction to horror, most blending together for astounding results. Standouts for me include: 'While the Black Stars Burn' and 'The Girl With the Star-Stained Soul' which are two of the best Carcosa/King in Yellow stories I've ever encountered. 'Approaching Lavender' is a terrifying example of bodysnatcher fiction. 'Dura Mater' assures us the past is a far-travelling, all-consuming monster. Finally, 'Jessie Shimmer Goes to Hell' convinced me I need to read the Jessie Shimmer trilogy.
June 28, 2018
Hit and miss
This was a bit of a mixed bag as far as collections go. Some stories were good, others were enough to make me skip them. All in all though, not a bad book.
This was a bit of a mixed bag as far as collections go. Some stories were good, others were enough to make me skip them. All in all though, not a bad book.
January 15, 2019
Several of the short stories were really good. My favorite was Spinwebs.
August 20, 2019
I wasn’t too fond of the final three tales in this collection, but all of the preceding ones were delightful genre-busting hybrids that left me wanting more. A clever and unique talent.
December 28, 2022
DNF at 30%. I only liked “Dura Mater”. The rest seemed pointlessly depressing and not fantastic enough.
April 27, 2023
Yes, just yes. Lucy Snyder is a great writer and this book of short stories does not disappoint.
November 23, 2024
I was binging on a horror short story podcast called pseudopod and I really like one of her stories (Magdala Amygdala) so I gave it a chance, but from what I remember it wasn’t anything special.
March 11, 2017
I really enjoy Lucy Snyder’s work. She delivers solid action and pacing, and this translates very effectively into her urban fantasy stories. Her story “Magdala Amygdala” from a previous collection is a nearly perfect encapsulation of what I want from horror – grim and unsettling uncomfortable tension.
My favorite from this collection is the titular “While the Black Stars Burn.” It hits all my buttons including the destructive nature of art, along with its ability to revel the darkness underneath everything. “Cthylla” follows right behind by exuding a love of giallo and other beautiful films, and showing the murk and murder beneath.
“Spinwebs” is a great seed for a larger story. The bit where the egg changes is excellent. “Dura Mater” has delightful resonance with stories such as “The Jaunt” and “Alien.” “The Still-Life Drama of Passing Cars” is a heartbreaking musing on regret.
One of the more unexpected delights from this collection is “Fable Fusion” which is a bit of fiction about the 7th Doctor and his companion Ace. This was a good Doctor Who story, and the characterization of Ace was particularly effective. I would read more stories like this from the authors.
My favorite from this collection is the titular “While the Black Stars Burn.” It hits all my buttons including the destructive nature of art, along with its ability to revel the darkness underneath everything. “Cthylla” follows right behind by exuding a love of giallo and other beautiful films, and showing the murk and murder beneath.
“Spinwebs” is a great seed for a larger story. The bit where the egg changes is excellent. “Dura Mater” has delightful resonance with stories such as “The Jaunt” and “Alien.” “The Still-Life Drama of Passing Cars” is a heartbreaking musing on regret.
One of the more unexpected delights from this collection is “Fable Fusion” which is a bit of fiction about the 7th Doctor and his companion Ace. This was a good Doctor Who story, and the characterization of Ace was particularly effective. I would read more stories like this from the authors.
February 17, 2016
While The Black Stars Burn is a collection of stories of everything I want to read. Snyder jumps from genre to genre and combinations of genres, using scifi, horror, and fantasy within the same story. Her prose reads effortlessly as she seems as comfortable writing a story set on a spaceship as she does with a King In Yellow story.
All of the stories feel original and fresh, even the couple I’ve read before in other places. In addition to rereading those stories, it was fantastic to read “Abomination of Fensmere” and “The Girl With the Star Stained Soul” in the order they seem to be meant to appear in.
If I wasn’t already in awe of the rest of the collection, the final story is a Doctor Who story with two of my favorite companions from the old television series: Ace and Liz, who in reality were separated by decades of the show’s filming. I think that Liz in particular is an interesting choice since she was only briefly on the show, and is one of the earliest examples of a strong female character on television. Both characters are well utilized in Snyder’s story, as is the often underrated seventh Doctor.
From horror, to weird fantasy, to scifi, Snyder touches all the bases in this collection.
All of the stories feel original and fresh, even the couple I’ve read before in other places. In addition to rereading those stories, it was fantastic to read “Abomination of Fensmere” and “The Girl With the Star Stained Soul” in the order they seem to be meant to appear in.
If I wasn’t already in awe of the rest of the collection, the final story is a Doctor Who story with two of my favorite companions from the old television series: Ace and Liz, who in reality were separated by decades of the show’s filming. I think that Liz in particular is an interesting choice since she was only briefly on the show, and is one of the earliest examples of a strong female character on television. Both characters are well utilized in Snyder’s story, as is the often underrated seventh Doctor.
From horror, to weird fantasy, to scifi, Snyder touches all the bases in this collection.
March 19, 2016
"Though it has been almost a century since H.P. Lovecraft essentially invented and championed the genre of cosmic horror, it remains an incredibly popular source of inspiration for writers. I suspect this is the case because authors have taken Lovecraft’s basic premise and extended it in ways that were beyond his capabilities.
A great example of this can be found in the recent collection While the Black Stars Burn (2015), by Lucy A. Snyder.
Snyder’s stories uses cosmic horror, among other ideas, to explore concepts of vulnerability and betrayal. They are remarkably effective and often difficult to read, due to their intensity."
Read my whole review.
A great example of this can be found in the recent collection While the Black Stars Burn (2015), by Lucy A. Snyder.
Snyder’s stories uses cosmic horror, among other ideas, to explore concepts of vulnerability and betrayal. They are remarkably effective and often difficult to read, due to their intensity."
Read my whole review.
July 13, 2016
This is a pretty solid collection of works, although some seemed to end before the crux of the story was established. In particular, I enjoyed Dura Mater, Through Thy Bounty, and Jessie Shimmer Goes to Hell, although The Still-Life Drama of Passing Cars was disturbing to say the least. This sampler platter of short fiction whetted my appetite for longer works by the author, and I intend to follow up with that soon.
April 15, 2016
A collection of short stories, some of which I enjoyed. The world creation was A1, but I sometimes felt at a loss to understand the rules of these worlds. Perhaps some of the stories deserved to be novellas or novels, so that the world could be slowly introduced and explained.
June 7, 2016
I liked this book. I won't say that every story was great. a couple didn't seem to really click with me but overall it was good.
I would have preferred more content though. 166 pages is really short.
I would have preferred more content though. 166 pages is really short.
June 9, 2016
A very good collection of short fiction. The tales range from engaging to disturbing to terrifying. I knew nothing of this author when I started reading and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the plotting and prose. A good read!
August 11, 2016
GREAT!!
It was recommended by a Lovecraftian group on FB. The first story pulled me in and then it got darker and intense, and then the last story brightened up without removing or erasing the effects. So very awesome.
It was recommended by a Lovecraftian group on FB. The first story pulled me in and then it got darker and intense, and then the last story brightened up without removing or erasing the effects. So very awesome.
January 30, 2016
I don't usually get on with short stories, as much as I wish I did, but I enjoyed this collection more I usually do: I missed my bus stop for 'The Abomination of Fensmere'.
July 17, 2016
Lucy Snyder is an amazing author, easily slipping from one genre into another while creating amazing worlds and creepy fucking stories. I highly recommend this one.
September 7, 2016
Review to follow.
February 27, 2016
Review to follow -- soon, I hope.
August 18, 2016
Delightful, from the first story to the last.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews