Black Static Issue 4

by Andy Cox (Editor, Contributor), David Gentry (Illustrator), Peter Tennant

5 •  untitled • interior artwork by David Gentry
9 • White Noise (Black Static, March-April 2008) • [White Noise] • essay by Peter Tennant
17 • Cleaning the Western Kittiwake • short story by Tyler Keevil
17 •  Cleaning the Western Kittiwake • interior artwork by David Gentry
43 • Electric Darkness: The Big Perhaps • [Electric Darkness] • essay by Stephen Volk
44 •  Electric Darkness: The Big Perhaps • interior artwork by David Gentry
51 • Atwater • novelette by Cody Goodfellow
51 •  Atwater • interior artwork by David Gentry
83 • Blood Spectrum: Skinjobs & Spooks • [Blood Spectrum] • essay by Tony Lee
84 •  Blood Spectrum: Skinjobs & Spooks • interior artwork by David Gentry
108 • Zombie • short story by Conrad Williams
108 •  Zombie • interior artwork by David Gentry
123 • Case Notes: Red in Tooth and Claw: A Conrad Williams Featurette • [Case Notes] • essay by Peter Tennant
130 • Some Questions and Answers (Black Static, March-April 2008) • interview of Conrad Williams • interview by Peter Tennant
139 •   Review: Other Voices by Andrew Humphrey • review by Peter Tennant
143 •   Review: Alison by Andrew Humphrey • review by Peter Tennant
145 •   Review: Servants of the Supernatural by Antonio Melechi • review by Peter Tennant
147 •   Review: The Haunted: A Social History of Ghosts by Owen Davies • review by Peter Tennant
150 •   Review: An Illustrated History of the Haunted World by Jason Karl • review by Peter Tennant
152 •   Review: Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained by Una McGovern • review by Peter Tennant
153 •   Review: The Science of Stephen King by Lois H. Gresh and Robert Weinberg • review by Peter Tennant
157 •   Review: Blaze by Richard Bachman • review by Peter Tennant
160 •   Review: The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz • review by Peter Tennant
164 •   Review: Dark Wars: The Tale of Meiji Dracula by 菊地秀行?
• review by Peter Tennant
168 •   Review: Half the Blood of Brooklyn by Charlie Huston • review by Peter Tennant
171 •   Review: The Man on the Ceiling by Steve Rasnic Tem and Melanie Tem • review by Peter Tennant
179 •   Review: Meat by Joseph D'Lacey • review by Peter Tennant
183 •   Review: Horror Panegyric by Keith Seward and David Britton • review by Peter Tennant
186 • Salt • short story by Nicholas Royle
196 • Japan's Dark Lantern: You've Got Your Troubles, I Got Mine • essay by John Paul Catton
197 •  Japan's Dark Lantern: You've Got Your Troubles, I Got Mine • interior artwork by David Gentry
204 • Ye Shall Eat in Haste • short story by Steve Nagy
228 • Night's Plutonian Shore: Worlds of Fantasy • [Night's Plutonian Shore] • essay by Mike O'Driscoll
228 •  Night's Plutonian Shore: Worlds of Fantasy • interior artwork by David Gentry
237 • This Much I Remember • short story by Barry Fishler
237 •  This Much I Remember • interior artwork by David Gentry

268 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2008

Reviews

[Dark-Draco · Rating 3 out of 5]

A real mixed bag of stories here and, as a whole, a collection that left me a tad disappointed. Not quite up to the standard of previous editions.

Cleaning the Western Kittiwake by Tyler Keevil
A good ghost story, well written, just not original enough to really stand out.

Atwater by Cody Goodfellow
One of the good ones - a weird place that you fall into when lost isn't all that new a concept, but the sheer gory shocks in this place are well worth the read. And the neat twist at the end made this memorable.

Zombie by Conrad Williams
Nope - no idea what is going on here and why it's written. Boring and kind of pointless!

Salt by Nicholas Royle
Another one that left me a bit cold - not really that original and even the 'twist' could be seen a mile off.

Ye Shall Eat in Haste by Steve Nagy
Probably the best story by a long shot. I've read quite a few sequels to Dracula, but this one has to be one of the best. I loved the sheer bloodiness of it ... and the whole corporate, mercenary business that evolves around the undead. Brilliant bit of writing that saved the anthology for me.

This Much I Remember by Barry Fishler
Boring ... forced myself to read to the end of this one just to say that I had read it, but again, nothing particularly good about it all.

For once, I enjoyed the book reviews and articles marginally more than the stories. Definitely added to me wishlist of future reads.