Literary Horror discussion

Gone the way of the Dodo... like so many small presses

Hmm... is there a nifty way of dealing with that? I have thought about possibly using steam to loosen up the sticker glue.

I have a few books that have an ex-libris book plate that I really want to remove. Haven't tried it yet, though.

Anyone have any thoughts or experience with this?

I use Goo Gone to get stickers of things like CD cases but I'd be careful about book covers. If the cover has a glossy finish it might take some of that off as well.

What does this sticker say, exactly? None of my NSB have one.

If it doesn't cover anything up (or just another barcode) I would just leave it.

But it is so ugly...
; )

I've always managed by slowly peeling off as much as I can (I've never steamed a book, but humid days do seem to help), and then using rubbing alcohol to get off the left-behind gunk and skin of shredded paper. It's never hurt the cover IME, though I am guessing you would want to try to patch test on a very small spot. (Possibly with the end of a Q-tip?)

Ellen Datlow posted on another site the table of contents for her upcoming annual horror anthology (this will the sixth in the series) to be published by Night Shade Books, so I thought I would pass it along to any who might be interested.

1. “Apports” by Stephen Bacon (Black Static #36)
2. “Mr. Splitfoot” by Dale Bailey (Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells)
3. “The Good Husbandv” by Nathan Ballingrud (North American Lake Monsters)
4. “The Tiger” by Nina Allan (Terror Tales of London)
5. “The House on Cobb Street” by Linda E. Rucker (Nightmare #9 June)
6. “The Soul in the Bell Jar” by KJ Kabza (F&SF November/Dec)
7. “Call Out” by Stephen Toase (Innsmouth Magazine #12)
8. “That Tiny Flutter of the Heart I Used to Call Love” by Robert Shearman (Psycho-Mania)
9. “Bones of Crow” by Ray Cluley (Black Static #37)
10. “Introduction to the Body in Fairy Tales” by Jeannine Hall Gailey (Phantom Drift #3)
11. “The Fox” by Conrad Williams (This is Horror chapbook)
12. “The Tin House” by Simon Clark (Shadow Masters)
13. “Stemming the Tide” by Simon Strantzas (Dead North)
14. “The Anatomist’s Mnemonic” by Priya Sharma (Black Static #32.)
15. “The Monster Makers” by Steve Rasnic Tem (Black Static #35)
16. “The Only Ending We Have” by Kim Newman (Psycho-Mania)
17. “The Dog’s Paw” by Derek Künsken (Chilling Tales: In Words, Alas, Drown I)
18. “Fine in the Fire” by Lee Thomas (Like Light For Flies)
19. “Majorlena” by Jane Jakeman (Supernatural Tales 24)
20. “The Withering” by Tim Casson (Black Static 32)
21. “Down to a Sunless Sea” by Neil Gaiman (The Guardian.com)
22. “Jaws of Saturn” by Laird Barron (The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All)
23. “Halfway Home” by Linda Nagata (Nightmare #12)
24. “The Same Deep Waters as You” by Brian Hodge (Weirder Shadows Over Innsmouth)

The first two of those were disappointing. I already have the third one, but I don't know if I'm going to bother with any more.

Scott wrote:

The first two of those were disappointing. I already have the third one, but I don't know if I'm going to bother with any more.

I suppose I'd respectfully disagree. I've just finished the first and I’ve sampled stories from Volumes 2-5. I find Datlow’s taste in fiction to be fairly similar to my own — or at least similar enough to make her selections worth reading.

I'd agree about most of the other anthologies she's put together, but I just haven't liked these as much. She seems to keep using the same authors and sources, and I wonder if the small presses don't give her as much latitude.

Randolph wrote: "Completely off topic, does anyone else notice that the non-American writers generally seem to be doing all the heavy lifting in horror these days?"

Examples? (I need to fill out my TBR list.)

Randolph wrote:

I hope Night Shade gets it/keeps it together under the new ownership. I have really enjoyed a lot of stuff from them in the past.

Yeah. I hope so, too.

Just to add a random thought here — I was just looking at Jarred Weisfeld’s latest newsletter from NSB this morning. The newsletter describes the imprint as a publisher of science fiction and fantasy. Even before last year’s financial and corporate shake-up, I had noted the growing number of sci-fi titles in the publisher’s catalog. This trend seems to have really accelerated in the last year or so. Nothing wrong with sci-fi, of course, but I miss the sort of titles that typified the publisher’s early years.

Scott wrote:

I'd agree about most of the other anthologies she's put together, but I just haven't liked these [annuals] as much. She seems to keep using the same authors and sources, and I wonder if the small presses don't give her as much latitude.

I'm not arguing that you ought to like Ellen Datlow's annuals, Scott. I would, however, note that I have on numerous occasions listened to Datlow talk about the editorial process she has followed in making her selections and I imagine she would take umbrage at the notion that there has ever been any editorial interference from higher-ups (either at SMP or NSB) as regards her choices. For better or worse, the choices are reflective of her tastes and biases.

Randolph wrote (in part):

I've also been disappointed by these "Best of" annuals whether edited by Datlow, Guran, or Jones. I'll probably buy this one just for the Dale Bailey story. I find the annual summary and the Necrologies to be the most fun parts of these. I rarely (never?) end up rating these more than 3-stars because the amount of filler overwhelms the great stories.

Perhaps I have a somewhat different perspective on anthologies (or even single-author story collections) than you do, Randolph. When assigning a personal rating to such works I adopt a rather straightforward "structuralist" rather than "gestalt" approach. In other words, I judge a story collection to be nothing more or less than the mean value of its components (stories). And since in my experience no (or at rate extremely few) story collections don't have at least some low-rated entries, I almost never end up awarding the collection as a whole more than 4 stars (3 is more typical). Doesn't mean that the low-ranked stories are necessarily badly written — it may simply mean their themes or style weren't to my taste. As a corollary, I tend not to judge as a failure a collection that I assign 4 (or even 3) stars. Sometimes the presence of a handful a real gems allows me to consider such a collection a success despite the presence of what you refer to as "filler".

Randolph wrote (in part):

As far as I know I've never not finished a book, even textbooks in college I would compulsively finish. Unless I think a book has the clear potential to be four stars before I start it I generally won't begin it…

I could probably benefit from a bit of that compulsive attitude. It can take me years (or even decades!) to finish a story collection. (I started the first of Ellen Datlow's NSB annuals back in 2011 and only recently completed it.) It’s one of the reasons I started a log enumerating my short story reads — i.e., I would too often find myself in the middle of a story only to realize it was one I had read before.

I have a Datlow non-annual on the way that I got involved with through a Kickstarter.

That would be Fearful Symmetries, right? I’m looking forward to that one.

I've just finished Datlow's The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Six and thought it was much better than any of her previous ones. By and large, up until Volume Six, I've been really disappointed.

Jodi wrote: "I should keep a list. That's a good idea."

I am just geeky enough that I already do that.

Nancy wrote: "I've just finished Datlow's The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Six and thought it was much better than any of her previous ones. By and large, up until Volume Six, I've been really..."

That's good to know. I felt the same way about the first two. I've already got the third but maybe I'll jump ahead to this one. (Has it already been six years??)

Scott wrote: "Nancy wrote: "I've just finished Datlow's The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Six and thought it was much better than any of her previous ones. By and large, up until Volume Six, I'..."

I haven't been positive about any of them until this one. But then again, horror is definitely in the eye of the beholder.

A recent email I got from Night Shade Books says:

BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR VOLUME 1 BY ELLEN DATLOW IS AVAILABLE FOR $1.99 ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE!

Yeah, the link Night Shade Books gives is for the ebook version of Volume 2. Hopefully, they will send an email clarification.

Recent email from Night Shade Books:

THE BOOK OF CTHULHU 2 BY ROSS LOCKHART IS AVAILABLE FOR $1.99 ON AMAZON, BARNES AND NOBLE, AND MORE!

Recent email from Night Shade Books:

THE BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR, VOLUME 3 BY ELLEN DATLOW IS AVAILABLE FOR $1.99 ON AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE, & MORE!

Recent email from Night Shade Books:

The Best Horror of the Year (The Best Horror of the Year Series Book 6) by Ellen Datlow Is Available Now for $1.99!

Recent email from Night Shade Books:

The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All by Laird Barron is Available Now for $1.99!

Recent email from Night Shade Books:

The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Seven is Available for $1.99!

Recent email from Night Shade Books:

The Best Horror of the Year Volume 9 by Ellen Datlow is Available for $1.99!

Randolph wrote: "I’ve have always thought The Horror on the Links one of the most hilarious titles for a short story."

My vote goes to "The Lurking Duck."

Recent email from Night Shade Books:

The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Six is Available for $1.99!

Recent email from Night ShadeBooks:

The Best Horror of the Year Volume 10 is Available for $1.99!

Recent email from Night Shade Books:

Best Horror of the Year Volume 8
is Available for $1.99!

Recent email from Night Shade Books:

The Best of the Best Horror of the Year
is Available for $1.99!

Recent notification from Night Shade Books:

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.c...

Recent notification from Night Shade Books:

The Best Horror of the Year Volume 13

by Ellen Datlow

Available Now!
From Ellen Datlow (“the venerable queen of horror anthologies” (New York Times) comes a new entry in the series that has brought you stories from Stephen King and Neil Gaiman comes thrilling stories, the best horror stories available.

For more than four decades, Ellen Datlow has been at the center of horror. Bringing you the most frightening and terrifying stories, Datlow always has her finger on the pulse of what horror readers crave. Now, with the thirteenth volume of the series, Datlow is back again to bring you the stories that will keep you up at night.

Encompassed in the pages of The Best Horror of the Year have been such illustrious writers as: Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Stephen Graham Jones, Joyce Carol Oates, Laird Barron, Mira Grant, and many others.

With each passing year, science, technology, and the march of time shine light into the craggy corners of the universe, making the fears of an earlier generation seem quaint. But this light creates its own shadows. The Best Horror of the Year chronicles these shifting shadows. It is a catalog of terror, fear, and unpleasantness as articulated by today’s most challenging and exciting writers.