Search Worlds Without End

Two thrilling new occult investigations, featuring the urban fantasy sleuths Quincy Morris, great-grandson of Dracula's killer, and the white witch Libby Chastain.

PLAY WITH FIRE
Houses of worship - churches, synagogues and mosques alike - are burning across the U.S., usually while still full of people. The fires are initially dismissed as random acts of violence, until Morris and Chastain uncover the deadly meaning behind the destruction, and the terrifying cause the arsonists seek to serve.

MIDNIGHT AT THE OASIS
Seeking revenge for the U.S.'s actions in the Middle East, a terrorist cell has conjured an afreet, a deadly djinn that will strike at the very heart of America - unless Morris and Chastain can stop it first.

Black Magic Woman

Quincey Morris Supernatural Investigations: Book 1

Occult investigator Quincey Morris and his "consultant", white witch Libby Chastain, are hired to free a family from a deadly curse that appears to date back to the Salem witch trials. Fraught with danger, the trail finds them stalking the mysterious occult underworlds of Boston, San Francisco, New Orleans and New York, searching out the root of the curse. After surviving a series of terrifying attempts on their lives, the two find themselves drawn inexorably towards Salem itself - and the very heart of darkness. Black Magic Woman marks the start of an electrifying news series of supernatural thrillers following the exploits of occult investigators Quincey Morris and Libby Chastain, as they search out evil in the darkest corners of America.

"Justin is a first class writer; he's smart and he's fun, he moves quickly and he takes corners at speed. Every time you think you know where he's going, he makes a point of going somewhere else. His characters are sharp and vivid, his dialogue crackles with wit and tension, and when it comes to the scarier corners of the magical underworld, he knows his stuff." - Simon R. Green, New York Times best-selling author of the Nightside series

Jim Butcher, author of the "Dresden Files" novels "'Black Magic Woman' is the best manuscript I've ever been asked to read. Keep your eye on Justin Gustainis."

Evil Ways

Quincey Morris Supernatural Investigations: Book 2

A MORRIS AND CHASTAIN INVESTIGATION

Supernatural investigator Quincey Morris and his partner, "white witch" Libby Chastain, are each in pursuit of a vicious killer. One is murdering small children for their bodily organs; the other is hunting down white witches - and Libby may be next. Along a trail that leads from Iraq to Turkey, to the US, all clues point to crazed billionaire Walter Grobius, a man obsessed with harnessing the ultimate evil. Morris and Chastain, teamed with the deadly Hannah Widmark, must fight desperately to stop a midnight rendezvous between forces so powerful that the fate of the world may be at stake. And the clock is ticking... Evil Ways continues the electrifying new series of supernatural thrillers following the exploits of investigators Quincey Morris and Libby Chastain.

Sympathy for the Devil

Quincey Morris Supernatural Investigations: Book 3

A MORRIS AND CHASTAIN INVESTIGATION

Senator Howard Stark wants to be President of the United States. So does the demon inside him. With the competing candidates dropping out due to scandal, blackmail, and 'accidental' death, Stark looks like a good bet to go all the way to the White House. And if he gets there, Hell on Earth will follow. Occult investigator Quincey Morris and white witch Libby Chastain are determined to stop this evil conspiracy. But between them and Stark stand the dedicated agents of the US Secret Service - as well as the very forces of Hell itself. Quincey and Libby will risk everything to exorcise the demon possessing Stark. If they fail, 'Hail to the Chief' will become a funeral march - for all of us.

Play with Fire

Quincey Morris Supernatural Investigations: Book 4

A thrilling new occult investigation from Justin Gustainis, creator of the urban fantasy sleuths Quincy Morris, great-grandson of Dracula's killer, and his partner, white witch Libby Chastain.

Houses of worship are burning all across the U.S., churches, synagogues and mosques alike. Usually while the places are full of people. The fires are initially dismissed as unconnected, random acts of violence, until Morris - freshly released from jail after their last case - and Chastain track down the terrible meaning behind the destruction, and the dark cause the arsonists seek to serve. A race against time ensues, to stop a ritual that will cause the deaths of hundreds... and bring about the end of the world.

Midnight at the Oasis

Quincey Morris Supernatural Investigations: Book 5

Jimbo / The Education of Uncle Paul

A thrilling new occult investigation from Justin Gustainis, creator of the urban fantasy sleuths Quincy Morris, great-grandson of Dracula's killer, and his partner, white witch Libby Chastain.

Seeking revenge for the U.S.'s actions in the Middle East, a terrorist cell has conjured an afreet, a deadly djinn that will strike at the very heart of America - unless Morris and Chastain can stop it first.

Julius Levallon / The Bright Messenger

JIMBO

"We dance with phantoms and with shadows play..." Jimbo is a very imaginative boy, and together with his brothers and sisters, they make up a lot of games around an old building on their father's property that they call The Empty House, their object of "dreadful delight." Then the Colonel hires a new governess. Miss Lake is much too level-headed to believe any of the children's stories about the Empty House. She knows that it's all nonsense. But in order to "knock the nonsense" out of young Jimbo's head, she makes up a story about the Inmate of the House, a very bad creature indeed. Instead of bringing Jimbo to his senses, the story fills him with a real sense of dread. He becomes convinced that something evil lurks within The Empty House. And, of course, he is right for Fright itself lives within, ready to reach out and snatch young Jimbo into his clutches!

THE EDUCATION OF UNCLE PAUL

Paul Waters returns to England after having lived for the past twenty years in the Canadian wilderness. Unused to adult company, emotionally he feels little more than a boy inside. When he moves in with his widowed sister Margaret and her three children, he tries hard to keep this inner child hidden. But Nixie, Toby and Jonah figure him out right away, and introduce him to their imaginative games. These are no mere hide-and-seeks, but "aventures" that take them all to another realm, the land beyond the Crack, where all the lost and disgarded things can be found--a land of beauty and mystery. And it is here that Paul truly comes alive, finally coming to understand himself, and all that truly matters in life.

Ten Minute Stories / Day and Night Stories

JULIUS LEVALLON

When John Mason first meets Julius LeVallon at school, he feels an immediate connection. They had known each other before not in this lifetime, but many lifetimes before. LeVallon introduces his young friend to a much larger world, the world of feeling-with, of communing with the Forces of Nature, even directing them. As Mason is pulled into LeVallon's peculiar world, he discovers that not only had they known each other before, but they had to correct a mistake they had made with another in the days of pre-history, when they had loosed an elemental on the world. The forbidden experiment needs to be recreated to set things right. After college, Mason loses track of LeVallon. But destiny must be fulfilled, and many years later Mason is contacted by his old friend with portentous news he has found the other! It is time to set things right.

THE BRIGHT MESSENGER

Edward Fillery and Paul Devonham have a new patient at their Spiritual Clinique, a young man raised in the Juru mountains by an eccentric mentor. He seems to be suffering from a split personality. One part of him manifests as a simple country lad by the name of Julian LeVallon, but there is another force within him that Dr. Fillery quickly names "N.H." and seeks to develop. Dr. Devonham, on the other hand, is convinced that "N.H." is the unhealthy side, that LeVallon is the true personality and must be encouraged to become the dominant one. But the young man is more than he seems, for he is not entirely human. And when "N.H." does take control, no one is prepared for the results. Everyone is changed by the bright messenger.

The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories / The Listener and Other Stories

Ten Minute Stories / Day and Night Stories "The author plunges with boldness, yet with consistent invention, into the realm of the fantastic." The Outlook Ten Minute Stories, originally published in 1914, and Day and Night Stories, from 1917, offer two superlative story collections of ghost stories, strange nature tales, weird events and dark fantasies from one of the greatest writers of supernatural fiction in the 20th century.

These pieces are shorter than Algernon Blackwood usually produced, little thoughts or episodes which he often scribbled in his notebook high up in the mountains and then typed up later that day, and sold to newspapers back in England, as Mike Ashley points out in his informative introduction. Some of these stories are humorous slices-of-life, matter-of-fact stories borne out from Blackwood s love of human observation. Many of the Day and Night Stories were written during World War I, and are more reflective than his earlier tales. Most have at least a tinge of the mystic to them. A bonus story, The Farmhouse on the Hill, appears in book format for the first time, an early story that originally appeared in an Australian newspaper in 1907.

These are stories that capture the shifting qualities of perception as daylight gradually fades into dusk, and the curtain of dreams is pulled gently across our vision short stories of day... into night.

The Face of the Earth: And Other Imaginings

The first two short story collections from Algernon Blackwood, originally published in 1906 and 1907, filled with hauntings, strange nature tales, weird crimes and dark fantasy from one of the greatest writers of supernatural fiction in the 20th century. Includes a new introduction by Storm Constantine, who calls Blackwood one of the most influential supernatural writers of his time.

The Human Chord / The Centaur

A collection of supernatural stories and various essays collected by Blackwood biographer Mike Ashley, many of which have never been published in book format before. Includes a complete bibliography of the author's works.

The Lost Valley / The Wolves of God

Two early novels by this monumental writer of supernatural fiction. "[The Centaur] was to be the favorite among [Blackwood's] novels, because it best represented all that he was trying to achieve... It is unlike any other work in the field of supernatural or mystical fiction." --Mike Ashley, Starlight Man.

Lovecraft and Influence: His Predecessors and Successors

THE LOST VALLEY

Algernon Blackwood spent the first half of 1909 traveling around Switzerland. When he returned to England, he produced around twenty stories, most of which formed the basis for his next collection, The Lost Valley, published by Eveleigh Nash in June, 1910. Here are supernatural nature mysteries, ghost stories and visions galore--tales of loss and redemption, and the horror of the unknown--taking the reader from the stark terror of "The Wendigo" and "Old Clothes" to the light of hope in "Carlton's Drive" and the spiritual finale, "The Eccentricity of Simon Parnacute."

THE WOLVES OF GOD

By 1920, Blackwood had recovered from the depression of the First World War, and began writing again with a renewed zest, inspired to some degree by his explorer friend, Wilfrid Wilson, to whom he gave co-credit for the 1921 collection, The Wolves of God, though all the stories were by Blackwood. Many of these tales are wilderness stories, like the title story, "Running Wolf," "First Hate" and "The Valley of the Beasts." But The Wolves of God also features some fine supernatural romances like "The Call" and "The Lane That Ran East and West;" ghostly retribution in "The Decoy;" mystery and murder in "Confession;" and the strange call of the past in "The Tarn of Sacrifice." These are strange stories of retribution and mystical intervention, of horror and hope--of the magic and mystery of life. In all, twenty-four stories by the master supernatural writer of the 20th century--Algernon Blackwood!

Studies in Supernatural Literature: Book 1

Robert H. Waugh

Recognized as a major innovator in the weird story, H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) was an author whose influence was felt by nearly every writer of horror, fantasy, and science fiction in the second half of the twentieth century. Considered one of the leading writers of gothic horror, Lovecraft and his work continue to inspire writers today.

In Lovecraft and Influence: His Predecessors and Successors, Robert H. Waugh has assembled essays that are vast in scope, ranging from the Bible through the Edwardian period and well into the present. This collection is devoted to authors whose work had an impact on Lovecraft--Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, and Lord Dunsany--and those who drew inspiration from him, including William S. Burroughs, Ramsey Campbell, Thomas Ligotti, and Stephen King.

A fascinating anthology, Lovecraft and Influence will appeal to aficionados of classic horror, fantasy, and science fiction and those with an interest in modern authors whose works reflect and honor Lovecraft's enduring legacy.

Critical Essays on Lord Dunsany

Studies in Supernatural Literature: Book 2

S. T. Joshi

From the publication of his first book in 1905 until his death, Lord Dunsany (1878-1957) was an immensely popular Anglo-Irish writer. He has long been admired in the realms of fantasy, horror, and supernatural fiction and was a friend and colleague of writers W. B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, James Stephens, and Oliver St. John Gogarty. In recent years he has enjoyed a resurgence as a pioneering fantasy writer and an immense influence on later work in the genre.

Critical Essays on Lord Dunsany is the first volume to assemble studies of Dunsany's short fiction, novels, plays, and memoirs, as well as discussions of his influence on such writers as J. R. R. Tolkien and H. P. Lovecraft. The book also contains early articles and reviews by Yeats, Lovecraft, H. L. Mencken, Rebecca West, and Arthur C. Clarke. Seven original essays by leading contemporary scholars on Dunsany examine the use of medieval archetypes in his fantasy novels; the distinctiveness of his recurring character, clubman Joseph Jorkens; the influence of Don Quixote on his first novel, The Chronicles of Rodriguez (1922); the treatment of religion in his later novels; and other subjects.

This anthology presents a comprehensive snapshot of Dunsany's distinctive work and his contribution to fantasy fiction and world literature. Making a case for the continued study of this neglected but hugely influential writer, Critical Essays on Lord Dunsany will be of great interest to enthusiasts of Dunsany's work as well as students and scholars of fantasy, horror, the supernatural, and Irish literature.

Lord Dunsany, H.P. Lovecraft, and Ray Bradbury: Spectral Journeys

Studies in Supernatural Literature: Book 3

William F. Touponce

In his classic study Supernatural Horror in Literature, H. P. Lovecraft discusses the emergence of what he called spectral literature--literature that involves the gothic themes of the supernatural found in the past but also considers modern society and humanity. Beyond indicating how authors of such works derived pleasure from a sense of cosmic atmosphere, Lovecraft did not elaborate on what he meant by the term spectral as a form of haunted literature concerned with modernity.

In Lord Dunsany, H. P. Lovecraft, and Ray Bradbury: Spectral Journeys, William F. Touponce examines what these three masters of weird fiction reveal about modernity and the condition of being modern in their tales. In this study, Touponce confirms that these three authors viewed storytelling as a kind of journey into the spectral. Furthermore, he explains how each identifies modernity with capitalism in various ways and shows a concern with surpassing the limits of realism, which they see as tied to the representation of bourgeois society.

The collected writings of Lord Dunsany, H. P. Lovecraft, and Ray Bradbury span the length of the tumultuous twentieth century with hundreds of stories. By comparing these authors, Touponce also traces the development of supernatural fiction since the early 1900s. Reading about how these works were tied to various stages of capitalism, one can see the connection between supernatural literature and society. This study will appeal to fans of the three authors discussed here, as well as to scholars and others interested in the connection between literature and society, criticism of supernatural fiction, the nature of storytelling, and the meaning and experience of modernity.

Ramsey Campbell: Critical Essays on the Modern Master of Horror

Studies in Supernatural Literature: Book 4

Gary William Crawford

As the author of more than two dozen novels and hundreds of short stories, as well as essays, reviews, and columns, Ramsey Campbell is one of the most prolific writers in the field of horror literature. The consistently high level of quality in his work has resulted in every major award that weird fiction has to offer, including the Grand Master Award of the World Horror Convention, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Horror Writers Association, and the Living Legend Award of the International Horror Guild. Strangely, though, relatively little criticism has been written about Campbell.

In Ramsey Campbell: Critical Essays on the Modern Master of Horror, Gary William Crawford has assembled a collection of articles that examine the work of one of weird fiction's most revered writers. These essays looks at a number of elements that characterize Campbell's stories and novels, including comparisons to H.P. Lovecraft, who was an early inspiration; Campbell's modern variations of Gothic fiction; his concept of evil; religious subtext in his fiction; and how adversities Campbell has faced have shaped his life and his work.

In all, these essays pay homage to Campbell's painstaking craftsmanship and show that there is much to be mined in his fiction. Because Campbell is so important in the genre of horror literature, this book serves as a much needed affirmation of his work. It will be of interest to scholars of supernatural fiction in general, but also to devoted fans of this major figure in weird fiction.

Lord Dunsany: A Comprehensive Bibliography, 2nd Edition

Studies in Supernatural Literature: Book 5

S. T. Joshi
Darrell Schweitzer

Anglo-Irish writer Lord Dunsany (1878-1957) was a pioneering writer in the genre of fantasy literature and the author of such celebrated works as The Book of Wonder (1912) and The King of Elfland's Daughter (1924). Over the course of a career that spanned more than five decades, Dunsany wrote thousands of stories, plays, novels, essays, poems, and reviews, and his work was translated into more than a dozen languages. Today, Dunsany's work is experiencing a renaissance, as many of his earlier works have been reprinted and much attention has been paid to his place in the history of fantasy and supernatural literature.

This bibliography is a revision of the landmark volume published in 1993, which first charted the full scope of Dunsany's writing. This new edition not only brings the bibliography up to date, listing the dozens of new editions of Dunsany's work that have appeared in the last two decades and the wealth of criticism that has been written about him, but also records many obscure publications in Dunsany's lifetime that have not been previously known or identified. In all, the bibliography has been expanded by at least thirty percent. Among this new material are dozens of uncollected short stories, newspaper articles, and poems, and many books, essays, and reviews of Dunsany's work published over the past century.

Altogether, this bibliography is the definitive listing of works by and about Dunsany and will be the foundation of Dunsany studies for many years to come.

Journeys into Darkness: Critical Essays on Gothic Horror

Studies in Supernatural Literature: Book 6

James Goho

The tradition of supernatural horror fiction runs deep in Anglo-American literature. From the Gothic novels of the eighteenth century to such contemporary authors as Stephen King and Anne Rice, writers have employed horror fiction to unearth many disquieting truths about the human condition, ranging from mistreatment of women and minorities to the ever-present dangers of modern city life.

In Journeys into Darkness: Critical Essays on Gothic Horror, James Goho analyzes many significant writers and trends in American and British horror fiction. Beginning with Charles Brockden Brown's disturbing novels of terror and madness, Goho proceeds to discuss the influence of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" on H. P. Lovecraft, who is treated in several penetrating essays. Lovecraft was a uniquely philosophical writer, and Goho approaches his work through the lens of existentialist philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, while also probing Lovecraft's racism as exhibited in several tales about Native Americans. Goho also discusses the Welsh writer Arthur Machen's tortured tales of suffering and evil and Algernon Blackwood's numerous stories set in the wilds of the Canadian backwoods. The book concludes with a centuries-spanning essay on the witchcraft theme in the American Gothic tradition and a comprehensive essay on Fritz Leiber's invention of the urban Gothic.

In this wide-ranging study, James Goho examines the varied ways in which supernatural fiction can address the deepest moral, social, and political concerns of the human experience. Journeys into Darkness will be of interest to readers and scholars of horror fiction and to students of literary history and culture in general.

Disorders of Magnitude: A Survey of Dark Fantasy

Studies in Supernatural Literature: Book 7

Jason V. Brock

Over the past century or more, the genres of fantasy, horror, and supernatural fiction have increasingly expanded beyond literature and into an array of media--film, television, comic books, and art. Many of the leading figures in the field engage in multimedia enterprises that allow their work to reach a much wider public than the mere readers of books.

In Disorders of Magnitude: A Survey of Dark Fantasy, Jason V Brock analyzes the intersection of literature, media, and genre fiction in essays, reviews, and pioneering interviews. Beginning with the pulp magazines of the 1920s, Brock studies such dynamic figures as H. P. Lovecraft, Forrest J Ackerman, Harlan Ellison, and the Southern California writers known collectively as "The Group"--Ray Bradbury, Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, Rod Serling, and William F. Nolan. This collection also includes filmmakers Roger Corman, George Romero, and Dan O'Bannon, and such fantasy artists as H. R. Giger.

Graced with dozens of photographs from the author's personal collection, this wide-ranging study offers a kaleidoscopic look at the multifarious ways in which fantasy, horror, and the supernatural have permeated our culture. Brock--himself a fiction writer, critic, and filmmaker--concludes the book with touching eulogies to the recently deceased Ray Bradbury and Ray Harryhausen. Highlighting so many figures essential to the understanding of fantasy and horror, Disorders of Magnitude will appeal to fans of these fiction genres around the world.

Table of Contents:

xi - Preface: Disorders of Magnitude - essay by Jason V Brock
1 - Part One: The Darkest Part - essay by Jason V Brock
5 - The Smoldering Past: The Creation of the Modern from Frankenstein and Dracula to the Great War and Beyond - (2014) - essay by Jason V Brock
9 - "Cosmic Introspection": Lovecraft's Attainment of Personal Value by Way of Infinite Insignificance - (2011) - essay by Jason V Brock
17 - Forrest J Ackerman: Fan Zero - (2013) - essay by Jason V Brock
31 - Gathering Darkness: In Appreciation of Weird Tales - (2010) - essay by Jason V Brock
34 - Frank M. Robinson: First Fandom and Beyond - (2010) - essay by Jason V Brock
37 - Part Two: Things Become - essay by Jason V Brock
39 - The Burden of Now: Welles's "Panic Broadcast," World War II, and Creeping Anomie - essay by Jason V Brock
41 - Ray Bradbury: The Boy Who Never Grew Up - (2009) - interview of Ray Bradbury - interview by Jason V Brock
50 - Cinematic Dream Logic: How Movies Permanently Altered the Fabric of Reality - essay by Jason V Brock
55 - Individual Sexual Liberation Becomes Social Emancipation: Playboy Changes the World - essay by Jason V Brock
58 - Harlan Ellison: L'enfant terrible (sort of) - interview of Harlan Ellison - interview by Jason V Brock
65 - Part Three: The Rise of the Speculative Mind - essay by Jason V Brock
67 - Rod Serling: Articulating the American Nightmare - (2010) - essay by Jason V Brock
69 - A Howling at Owl Creek Bridge: Observations on Two Important Twilight Zone Episodes - (2009) - essay by Jason V Brock
72 - George Clayton Johnson: A Touch of Strange - (2009) - interview of George Clayton Johnson - interview by Jason V Brock
80 - L'Age d'Or to Gotterdammerung: How Bradbury, Serling, Beaumont, and "The Group" Shaped a Pop Future - (2009) - essay by Jason V Brock (variant of From L'Age d'Or to Gotterdammerung: How Bradbury, Serling, Beaumont and 'The Group' Shaped a Pop Future)
95 - Roger Corman: Socially Conscious Auteur - interview of Roger Corman - interview by Jason V Brock
101 - Finding Sanctuary: Running from the Zone to Logan - (2014) - essay by Jason V Brock
110 - The Long Nuclear Shadow: Atomic Horror, Godzilla, and the Cold War - essay by Jason V Brock
113 - The Horror of It All! EC and the Beginnings of Modern Media HOOHAH! - (2010) - essay by Jason V Brock
123 - MADly Yours, Al Feldstein - (2010) - interview of Al Feldstein - interview by Jason V Brock
128 - An End, a Middle, a Beginning: Richard Matheson and His Impact - (2013) - essay by Jason V Brock
131 - What Dreams May Come: A Discussion with Richard Matheson and William F. Nolan - (2013) - interview of Richard Matheson and William F. Nolan - interview by Jason V Brock
151 - Part Four: Slashers, Blockbusters, and Best Sellers - essay by Jason V Brock
153 - Riding the Dark Wave: The Role of Dystopian Science Fiction in Popular Culture - (2010) - essay by Jason V Brock (variant of Riding the Dark Wave: The Role of Dark Sci-Fi in Popular Culture)
158 - Celluloid Asylum: O'Bannon, Romero, Carpenter, and the Liberals Lose (and Find) Their Collective Minds - essay by Jason V Brock
161 - Terrible Beauty: Slasher Film Connections to Conservatism, Pornography, and Misogyny - (2011) - essay by Jason V Brock
165 - King of the Dead: Filmmaker George A. Romero on Politics, Film, and the Future - (2012) - interview of George A. Romero - interview by Jason V Brock
177 - Dan O'Bannon: Not Gone, Not Forgotten - (2009) - essay by Jason V Brock
183 - H. R. Giger: A Darkness Faster Than Light - (2009) - essay by Jason V Brock
188 - The Emperor's New Book: How Stephen King Saved Horror, Create Clive Barker (and Sam Raimi) ... and Killed Publishing - essay by Jason V Brock
190 - The Doctor Is In: A Discussion with F. Paul Wilson - (2011) - interview of F. Paul Wilson - interview by Jason V Brock and James R. Beach [as by Jason V Brock and James Beach]
198 - Sounds Horrific: Art Rock, Soundtracks, and the Zeitgeist - essay by Jason V Brock
201 - Part Five: A Century of Speculation - essay by Jason V Brock
203 - Review: Carnivora: The Dark Art of Automobiles by Les Barany - (2011) - review by Jason V Brock
205 - David J. Skal: Monster Kid Ambassador of Horror - interview of David J. Skal - interview by Jason V Brock
213 - Review: Blood Will Have Its Season by Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. - (2010) - review by Jason V Brock
215 - Kris Kuksi: Dark Horizons in the Realm of the Senses - (2009) - interview of Kris Kuksi - interview by Jason V Brock
220 - Bluewater Comics' Darren G. Davis: On the Run in the Digital Age of Comics - (2010) - interview of Darren G. Davis - interview by Jason V Brock
225 - The H. P Lovecraft Film Festival: Cosmic Chaos on the Silver Screen - (2009) - essay by Jason V Brock
228 - S. T. Joshi: Champion of the Weird Tale - (2009) - interview of S. T. Joshi - interview by Jason V Brock
231 - Marc Scott Zicree: As Timeless as Infinity - interview of Marc Scott Zicree - interview by Jason V Brock
239 - Part Six: From (and Into) the Beyond - essay by Jason V Brock
241 - Fangoria's Chris Alexander: Cinephilia, Music, and All the Rest of It - (2011) - interview of Chris Alexander - interview by Jason V Brock
247 - Bruce Campbell: From The Evil Dead to Burn Notice and Beyond - (2011) - interview of Bruce Campbell - interview by Jason V Brock
252 - The Inner World of William F. Nolan - (2013) - essay by Jason V Brock
260 - Review: The Mammoth Book of Body Horror by Paul Kane and Marie O'Regan - (2012) - review by Jason V Brock
262 - Two of a Kind: Lee-Anne Raymond and Demetrios Vakras - (2012) - interview of Lee-Anne Raymond and Demetrios Vakras - interview by Jason V Brock
273 - "Cthulhu, a Vampire, and a Zombie Walk into a Bar ...": Why These Themes, Why Now, and What's the Matter with Hollyweird? - essay by Jason V Brock
276 - John Shirley: The Tao of Identity - (2010) - interview of John Shirley - interview by Jason V Brock
284 - Ray Harryhausen: A Note on the Passage of Giants - (2013) - essay by Jason V Brock
288 - Kneeling at the Dandelion Shrine: An Appreciation - (2013) - essay by Jason V Brock (variant of Kneeling at the Dandelion Shrine 2012)
290 - William F. Nolan and Ray Bradbury: Reflections - (2013) - interview of Ray Bradbury and William F. Nolan - interview by Jason V Brock
294 - Introduction: The Pope of Speculative Fiction (Nolan on Bradbury) - (2013) - essay by Jason V Brock (variant of Introduction (Nolan on Bradbury))
295 - Future Shock? (De)Parting Thoughts - essay by Jason V Brock

The Unique Legacy of Weird Tales: The Evolution of Modern Fantasy and Horror

Studies in Supernatural Literature: Book 8

Justin Everett
Jeffrey Shanks

When the pulp magazine Weird Tales appeared on newsstands in 1923, it proved to be a pivotal moment in the evolution of speculative fiction. Living up to its nickname, "The Unique Magazine," Weird Tales provided the first real venue for authors writing in the nascent genres of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Weird fiction pioneers such as H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert Bloch, Catherine L. Moore, and many others honed their craft in the pages of Weird Tales in the 1920s and 1930s, and their work had a tremendous influence on later generations of genre authors.

In The Unique Legacy of Weird Tales: The Evolution of Modern Fantasy and Horror, Justin Everett and Jeffrey Shanks have assembled an impressive collection of essays that explore many of the themes critical to understanding the importance of the magazine. This multi-disciplinary collection from a wide array of scholars looks at how Weird Tales served as a locus of genre formation and literary discourse community. There are also chapters devoted to individual authors--including Lovecraft, Howard, and Bloch--and their particular contributions to the magazine.

As the literary world was undergoing a revolution and mass-produced media began to dwarf high-brow literature in social significance, Weird Tales managed to straddle both worlds. This collection of essays explores the important role the magazine played in expanding the literary landscape at a very particular time and place in American culture. The Unique Legacy of Weird Tales will appeal to scholars and aficionados of fantasy, horror, and weird fiction and those interested in the early roots of these popular genres.

Table of Contents:

ix - Introduction: Weird Tales -- Discourse Community and Genre Nexus - essay by Jeffrey Shanks and Justin Everett [as by Justin Everett and Jeffrey H. Shanks]
3 - "Something That Swayed as If in Unison": The Artistic Authenticity of Weird Tales in the Interwar Periodical Culture of Modernism - essay by Jason Ray Carney
15 - Weird Modernism: Literary Modernism in the First Decade of Weird Tales - essay by Jonas Prida
29 - The Lovecraft Circle and the "Weird Class": "Against the Complacency of an Orthodox Sun-Dweller" - essay by Dániel Nyikos
51 - Strange Collaborations: Weird Tales's Discourse Community as a Site of Collaborative Writing - essay by Nicole Emmelhainz
63 - Gothic to Cosmic: Sword-and-Sorcery Fiction in Weird Tales - essay by Morgan Holmes [as by Morgan T. Holmes]
83 - A Nameless Horror: Madness and Metamorphosis in H. P. Lovecraft and Postmodernism - essay by Clancy Smith
105 - Great Phallic Monoliths: Lovecraft and Sexuality - essay by Bobby Derie
119 - Evolutionary Otherness: Anthropological Anxiety in Robert E. Howard's "Worms of the Earth" - essay by Jeffrey Shanks [as by Jeffrey H. Shanks]
131 - Eugenic Thought in the Works of Robert E. Howard - essay by Justin Everett
153 - Pegasus Unbridled: Clark Ashton Smith and the Ghettoization of the Fantastic - essay by Scott Connors
173 - "A Round Cipher": Word-Building and World-Building in the Weird Works of Clark Ashton Smith - essay by Geoffrey Reiter
187 - C. L. Moore, M. Brundage, and Jirel of Joiry: Women and Gender in the October 1934 Weird Tales - essay by Jonathan Helland
193 - Weird Tales, October 1934 (cover) - (1934) - interior artwork by Margaret Brundage (variant of cover art for Weird Tales, October 1934)
194 - The Black God's Kiss - (1934) - interior artwork by H. R. Hammond
201 - Psycho-ology 101: Incipient Madness in the Weird Tales of Robert Bloch - essay by Paul W. Shovlin
211 - "To Hell and Gone": Harold Lawlor's Self-Effacing Pulp Metafiction - essay by Sidney Sondergard

Nevermore

Supernatural: Book 1

Keith R. A. DeCandido

Twenty-two years ago, Sam and Dean Winchester lost their mother to a mysterious and demonic supernatural force. In the years after, their father, John, taught them about the paranormal evil that lives in the dark corners and on the back roads of America...and he taught them how to kill it.

Sam and Dean have hit New York City to check out a local rocker's haunted house. But before they can figure out why a lovesick banshee in an '80s heavy-metal T-shirt is wailing in the bedroom, a far more macabre crime catches their attention. Not far from the house, two university students were beaten to death by a strange assailant. A murder that's bizarre even by New York City standards, it's the latest in a line of killings that the brothers soon suspect are based on the creepy stories of legendary writer Edgar Allan Poe.

Their investigation leads them to the center of one of Poe's horror classics, face-to-face with their most terrifying foe yet. And if Sam and Dean don't rewrite the ending of this chilling tale, a grisly serial killer will end their lives forevermore.

Witch's Canyon

Supernatural: Book 2

Jeff Mariotte

Sam and Dean have set out on a road trip to the Grand Canyon, but this is no vacation for the brothers. On a stretch of deserted ranchland just beyond the canyon's stunning vistas, mysterious murder sprees have occurred every forty years. The area's inhabitants have been few and far between in years past, but a nearby mega-mall is about to celebrate its grand opening--and attract thousands of fresh victims.

The Winchester boys are determined to protect locals and shoppers alike, but they never anticipated they'd be fighting a group of killers this vicious, this vindictive, this... dead. A deadly horde of animal spirits and human ghosts has arisen to terrorize this tiny corner of the Arizona desert. If Sam and Dean can't figure out why, the wide-open spaces of the West will once again become a desolate frontier... and the witch's canyon will be the brothers' final resting place.

Bone Key

Supernatural: Book 3

Keith R. A. DeCandido

Sam and Dean are headed for Key West, Florida, home to Hemingway, hurricanes, and a whole lot of demons. The tropical town has so many ghouls on the loose that one of its main moneymakers has long been a series of ghost tours. But the tours are no more, not since one of the guides was found dead of an apparent heart attack... his face frozen in mid-scream. No one knows what horrors he saw, but the Winchester brothers are about to find out.

Soon they'll be face-to-face with the ghosts of the island's most infamous residents, demons with a hidden agenda, and a mysterious ancient power looking for revenge. It's up to Sam and Dean to save the citizens of Key West... before the beautiful island is reduced to nothing more than a pile of bones.

Heart of the Dragon

Supernatural: Book 4

Keith R. A. DeCandido

When renegade angel Castiel alerts Sam and Dean to a series of particularly brutal killings in San Francisco's Chinatown, they realise the Heart of the Dragon, an ancient evil of unspeakable power, is back! John Winchester faced the terrifying spirit 20 years ago, and the Campbell family fought it 20 years before that - can the boys succeed where their parents and grandparents failed?

The Unholy Cause

Supernatural: Book 5

Joe Schreiber

Way back in April 1862, Confederate Captain Jubal Beauchamp leads a charge across a Georgia battleground... Fast forward to 2009 and a civil war re-enactment becomes all too real. When Sam and Dean head down south to investigate they find that history has got somewhat out of hand...

War of Sons

Supernatural: Book 6

David Reed
Rebecca Dessertine

Twenty-seven years ago, Sam and Dean Winchester lost their mother to a mysterious and demonic supernatural force. In the years after, their father, John, taught them about the paranormal evil that lives in the dark corners and on the back roads of America... and he taught them how to kill it.

On the hunt for Lucifer, the boys find themselves in a small town in South Dakota where they meet Don - an angel with a proposition... Don sends them a very long way from home, on a mission to uncover the secret Satan never wanted them to find out.

One Year Gone

Supernatural: Book 7

Rebecca Dessertine

Dean believes that Sam is in Hell so he is trying to keep his promise to his brother and live a normal live with Lisa and Ben.

When he realizes that a spell in the Necronomicon could raise Lucifer and therefore Sam, he convinces his new family to travel with him on vacation to Salem.

Meanwhile Sam is not as far away as Dean thinks and is determined to protect his brother from the Salem witches...

Coyote's Kiss

Supernatural: Book 8

Christa Faust

A truck full of illegal Mexican immigrants slaughtered with supernatural force is found by the side of a road. Trying to find answers, Sam and Dean are plunged into the dangerous world that exists along the Mexican border.

They encounter a tattooed, pistol-packing bandita on a motorcycle who seems be everywhere they go before they get there. Xochi Cazadora draws them into a whole new world of monsters...

Night Terror

Supernatural: Book 9

Alerted to strange happenings in Clayton Falls, Colorado, Bobby sends the boys to check it out. A speeding car with no driver, a homeless man pursued by a massive Gila monster, a little boy chased by uprooted trees -- it all sounds like the stuff of nightmares. The boys fight to survive a series of terrifying nighttimes, realizing that sometimes the nightmares don't go away -- even when you're awake...

Rite of Passage

Supernatural: Book 10

Thirty years ago, Sam and Dean Winchester lost their mother to a demonic supernatural force. Following the tragedy, their father taught the boys everything about the paranormal evil that lives in the dark corners of America... and how to kill it.

Laurel Hill, New Jersey is beginning to look like one of the unluckiest places on Earth when a series of mishaps hit the town. But Sam and Dean suspect it's more than just bad luck. Along with Bobby Singer, the brothers soon realize that a powerful Japanese demon is encouraging the chaos. But the demon has bigger plans and they are going to need to make their own luck to stop it.

Fresh Meat

Supernatural: Book 11

Alice Henderson

A rash of strange deaths in the Tahoe National Forest bring Sam, Dean and Bobby to the Sierra Nevada mountains to hunt a monster with a taste for human flesh. Soon walking corpses, bodies with missing organs, and attacks by a mysterious flying creature lead the trio to a cunning and deadly foe which can assume a human form and will do anything to survive. When a blizzard strikes the area, and not knowing who they can trust, they must battle not only the monster, but also the elements to survive.

Carved in Flesh

Supernatural: Book 12

Tim Waggoner

Reported sightings of a hellish hound and the discovery of newly dead desiccated corpses bring Sam and Dean Winchester to Brennan, Ohio. But when they catch the monster canine it turns out to be "Frankenmutt"; a reanimated patchwork of pieces from separate dogs.

Soon the brothers are on a trail that leads from mad scientists and biotechnology to a centuries-old alchemists, walking corpses, and an ancient and malevolent power.

Cold Fire

Supernatural: Book 13

When a gruesome murder takes place in Braden Heights, Indiana, the local authorities suspect the disemboweled and eyeless corpse is the result of an animal attack. But when another body is discovered, the eyes gouged out, Sam, Dean and Castiel start looking for connections between the victims--and discover both men were soon-to-be fathers. As the boys hunt the killer, they unearth the town's troubled past, and secrets some would prefer stay buried forever.

Mythmaker

Supernatural: Book 14

Tim Waggoner

Teenager Renee Mendez is a talented artist living in a small Illinois town. She loves drawing the strange beings that feature in her dreams, without realizing that when she depicts them on paper, they come to life in the real world. These gods begin to seek worshippers and battle for supremacy, killing humans and each other until only the two strongest remain. Sam and Dean come to town to investigate the murders and "miracles" these new gods perform, slaying some of them in the process. The last two gods standing prepare for their final conflict, which only one will survive. The brothers must find a way to stop the gods' war before the entire town is destroyed.

The Usual Sacrifices

Supernatural: Book 15

Yvonne Navarro

Sam and Dean Winchester have spent their lives on the road, battling every kind of supernatural threat. Over the years, after dozens of bloody adventures, they have faced everything from the yellow-eyed demon that killed their mother to vampires, ghosts, shapeshifters, angels and fallen gods. With the help of allies--both human and supernatural--they've discovered that every threat they vanquish opens a new door for evil to enter in.

Visitors passing through Brownsdale, Kentucky are often never seen again. The locals claim that it's easy to fall victim to the vast local caves if explored unaided, but when two young girls go missing Sam and Dean set out to investigate.

As the brothers start to suspect something far more sinister in the town, and possibly lurking in Mammoth Cave, they realise that someone is determined to protect the town secret--even if it means killing Sam and Dean himself.

Joyride

Supernatural: Book 16

The Businessman: A Tale of Terror

At the stroke of midnight, everyone awake in a small Missouri town suddenly falls unconscious in the middle of whatever they were doing. When Sam and Dean investigate, the town seems peaceful. But they soon uncover a wave of strange behavior - streaking, petty vandalism and random violence - and nobody can remember why they did it. With reports of strange shadows and horrible murders, the Winchesters dig deep into the town's secrets and uncover a tragedy fifty years in the making....

Children of Anubis

Supernatural: Book 17

Tim Waggoner

Sam and Dean travel to Indiana, to investigate a murder that could be the work of a werewolf. But they soon discover that werewolves aren't the only things going bump in the night. The town is also home to a pack of jakkals who worship the god Anubis: carrion-eating scavengers who hate werewolves. With the help of Garth, the Winchester brothers must stop the werewolf-jakkal turf war before it engulfs the town - and before the god Anubis is awakened...

Supernatural Minnesota: Book 1

The Businessman presents the sinister tale of Bob Glandier, a morally repulsive Twin Cities executive who murders his estranged wife and attempts to go back to business as usual, until she returns sets about arranging his divine retribution. With help from her dead mother and the ghost of poet John Berryman-thoroughly bored of suburban séances and all too eager to lend a hand-Giselle undertakes the elaborate, righteous, and wickedly amusing haunting of her husband. There is justice in the afterlife after all-at least in Minnesota.

The M.D.: A Horror Story

Supernatural Minnesota: Book 2

The Priest: A Gothic Romance

Exploring questions of guilt and responsibility, the second book in Thomas M. Disch's Supernatural Minnesota series, The M.D., is a satisfying mix of dark humor, biting social commentary, and terrifying horror. Given the power to heal or to harm by the Roman god Mercury through a magical staff, the caduceus, young Billy Michaels embarks on a lifelong journey of inflicting good and evil on those who cross his path. Wielding the caduceus, Billy, and later the grown-up, greedy physician William, can only cure in proportion to the amount of suffering he inflicts. From paralyzing his brother and mutilating schoolmates to wreaking a nationwide plague and running for-profit concentration camps for the sick, Michaels's powers spin quickly out of control.

Supernatural Minnesota: Book 3

The Sub: A Study in Witchcraft

Minneapolis priest Pat Bryce is plagued by a host of distinctly unholy problems, including a fondness for altar boys, the blackmail efforts of underworld types (who know of the good father's indiscretions) and involvement in a plot by a fellow priest and an anti-abortion group called Birth-Right to ensure that pregnant girls come to term by holding them hostage in a pseudo-medieval fortress. Bryce's severest affliction, however, is a tendency to assume the identity of a 13th-century bishop in the Inquisition.

Supernatural Minnesota: Book 4