britpulp!

by Anthony Langdon White

Bursting out of the literary underground, all the writers in this ground-breaking anthology put the emphasis firmly back on gratuitous story-telling and brutal, break-neck plots. The scorching hardcore prose of Stewart Home's Sex Kick collides with the bitterly romantic confessions of Billy Childish. Nicholas Blincoe's cool and stylish thriller writing meets the street realism of Victor Headley's Retropolitan Police, while well-dressed London gangsters fight for page space with the old school skinheads of Richard Allen. The collections also includes contributions from boundary-pushing authors like China Miéville, Michael Moorcock, J.J. Connolly and the editor of this searing collection, Tony White.Contributors in order of Moorcock, Ted Lewis, Richard Allen, Victor Headley, Nicholas Blincoe, Catherine Johnson, Roy A. Bayfield, Steve Aylett, Stella Duffy, Simon Lewis, J.J. Connolly, Jane Graham, Karline Smith, Tim Etchells, Stewart Home, Jenny Valentish (née Knight), Billy Childish, Darren Francis, China Miéville, Steve Beard, Tony White, Jack Trevor Story

Genres: Short Stories

426 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 17, 1999

Reviews

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find collections like this extremely useful in that one can get a quick peek at a bunch of authors you're unlikely to have heard of with a minimal investment of time and money. This helps me separate the wheat from the chaff with a view toward future purchases--and in this anthology (which brings together 22 British pulp writers and contemporary underground writers), there's a fair amount of chaff mixed in with the wheat. First, we'll total up the wheat: Nicholas Blincoe's (cf. Acid Casuals) "The Long Drive By", Simon Lewis's "In the Box", J.J. Connolly's "Know Your Enemy", China Miéville's "Different Skies," and editor Tony White's "A0." All of these hint at good things coming from the authors. Other entries, while not bad per se, suffer from lack of context: the eminent Michael Moorcook's story "The Spencer Inheritance" is a Jerry Cornelius story and not having previous knowledge of the character makes it a less profitable read. Prolific pulp writer Richard Allen's "Author's Notes" are less meaningful if you haven't read his series of skinhead pulp books. The other 17 stories, some from writers I know, some not, did not enthuse me to track down more of their writing. Still, discovering a handful new writers to keep an eye on seems worth it all.

[Rolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good some not