MainCategory: HORROR

The Autopsy: Best Weird Stories of Michael Shea by S.T. Joshi

Related Posts
Cthulhu Reloaded (The Collected Harrison Peel Stories Book 1)

3 books of newweird stories The Stars are Right. Humans… prepare for extinction. Eldritch gods, cosmic horrors, and weird physics are the enemy, striking from nameless dimensions we can’t perceive, destroying us with strangeness beyond human comprehension. Major Harrison Peel Read more

Songs of a Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe by Thomas Ligotti

The Autopsy: Best Weird Stories of Michael Shea by S.T. Joshi
Dates: ,
MainCategories: , ,
Type:
Genres: ,
tropes: ,
Lenght:
Authors: ,
Reception:

From as early as the 1970s, Michael Shea (1946–2014) distinguished himself as one of the most compelling writers of weird fiction of his generation. Now that his classic story “The Autopsy” has been adapted for television for Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, the time is right for a full-scale assessment of Shea’s work as a writer of tales of terror and the supernatural.

“The Autopsy” is one of several tales that mingles gruesomeness and science fiction. Others include “Polyphemus,” where the members of a spaceship encounter the titanic eye of some unthinkably vast and hostile entity. “The Angel of Death” exhibits the battle of two alien entities as they successively inhabit hapless human beings in their quest for supremacy.

Shea’s sensitivity to the downtrodden is exhibited in such tales as “The Horror on the #33,” “Water of Life,” and “Tollbooth,” populated by homeless people, prostitutes, drug dealers, and other disdained members of society. Shea’s affinity for California is shown in “Fill it with Regular,” “Upscale,” and other tales that bring his native state to life. As a bonus, two unpublished stories are included: “Feeding Spiders,” evoking the work of a writer who adopted California as his home—Ray Bradbury; and “Ghost,” where a vengeful ghost stalks the tough streets of South Boston.

Michael Shea was the author of dozens of novels and tales of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. This volume shows why his vibrant work deserves to live in the hearts and minds of weird fiction devotees.

The Color Out Of Time by Michael Shea

The Color Out Of Time by Michael Shea
Date:
MainCategories: ,
Type:
Genres: ,
trope:
Lenght:
Author:
Reception:

Set in a beautiful New England vacation spot, a lake surrounded by wooded farmlands, the narrator and his professorial colleague discover eerie and sinister features about this area. The lake shimmers with a disturbing, unnatural color; tourists disappear; an evil presence sickens or twists the thoughts of the park rangers and vacationers alike. Seeking to discover the nature of this horror and prevent further deaths, the narrator and his friend suspect that the lake hosts an alien monstrosity. Together with a long-time resident and sister of one of the area’s past victims, they muster all their strengths and skills to combat a terrifying opponent. Shea’s literary skills and insight into character and group behavior are as skillful as his ability to create fantastic and nightmarish scenarios.

An homage to H.P. Lovecraft’s story “The Colour Out of Space”, Shea’s haunting, fast-paced novel continues that narrative. A new Introduction by the author is included.

“Michael Shea may not be the only writer hybridizing science fiction and horror, but he is certainly among the best.”
– Publishers Weekly

“Michael Shea puts his people in the damnedest nightmares.”
– Stuart Gordon, writer/director of Re-Animator

“Michael Shea has long been one of the most vital writers of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. The imaginative scope of his work is exceeded only by the gripping and evocative vibrancy of his prose.”
– S. T. Joshi, award-winning author of H.P. Lovecraft: A Life

“Michael Shea has graced the field of the fantastic for more than thirty years… His prose is as rich and inventive as his considerable imagination…”
– Ramsey Campbell, multiple World Fantasy Award-winning author.

They Thirst

They Thirst
MainCategories: ,
Type:
Genre:
trope:
Lenght:
Author:
Narrator:

A Mass Murder. A Disappearance. A Cemetery Ransacked.

It looked like another ordinary day in Los Angeles. Then night came…Evil as old as the centuries has descended upon the City of Angels – it comes as a kiss from the terrifying but seductive immortals. Slowly at first, then by the legions, the ravenous undead choke Los Angeles with bloodthirsty determination – and the hordes of monstrous victims steadily mount each night.

High above glitter city a deadly contest begins. In the decaying castle of a long-dead screen idol, the few remaining human survivors prepare to face the Prince of Evil and his satanic disciples. Whilst the very forces of nature are called into play, isolating the city from the rest of the world and leaving it at the mercy of the blood-hungry vultures of the night…They Thirst

The Collected Fiction of William Hope Hodgson: Boats of Glen Carrig & Other Nautical Adventures

The Collected Fiction of William Hope Hodgson: Boats of Glen Carrig & Other Nautical Adventures
Date:
MainCategories: ,
Types: ,
Genres: ,
Lenght:
Seriesize:
Author:

five volume set collecting all of Hodgson’s published fiction. Each volume contains one of Hodgson’s novels, along with a selection of thematically-linked short fiction

Demons: A Novel

Demons
Date:
MainCategories: ,
Type:
trope:
Published: 2002
Lenght:
Author:

Writers from Clive Barker to Bruce Sterling and Roger Zelazny have praised John Shirley’s searing, apocalyptic visions of postmodern hell on earth. Now this perversely brilliant author, one of the seminal representatives on the cyberpunk movement, unleashes his newest masterpiece.

In a future uncomfortably close to the present day, the apocalypse has surpassed all expectations. Hideous demons roam the streets in an orgy of terror, drawing pleasure from torturing humans as sadistically as possible. Ira, a young San Francisco artist, becomes involved with a strange group of scientists and philosophers desperately trying to end the bloody siege. But the most shocking revelation is yet to come. . . .

EXCLUSIVE TO THIS EDITION: The original novella “Demons was published as an acclaimed, limited edition hardcover which “Publishers Weekly called a “mini-masterpiece.” Now the terror continues, as the sequel story, “Undercurrents,” takes the reader on a macabre journey into the center of the conspiracy that may lay waste to the Earth. ”
Praise for Demons

“Barely street-legal, Shirley’s Bosch-like visions mark him out as perhaps the closest thing contemporary American fantasy has to a genuine ‘outsider artist.’”—William Gibson

“John Shirley is an adventurer, returning from dark and troubled regions with visionary tales to tell. I heartily recommend a journey with John Shirley at your side.”—Clive Barker 

“John Shirley writes like a runaway train. . . . Intensely suspenseful, visionary, surreal, and every bit as gritty and immediate and believable as a police report, this book will scare you, dazzle you, and delight you.”—Tim Powers

World War Cthulhu: A Collection of Lovecraftian War Stories

World War Cthulhu: A Collection of Lovecraftian War Stories
Date:
MainCategories: ,
Type:
Genres: ,
tropes: ,
Lenght:
Authors: ,

The world is at war against things that slink and gibber in the darkness, and titans that stride from world to world, sewing madness and death. War has existed in one form or another since the dawn of human civilization, and before then, Elder terrors battled it out across this planet and this known universe in ways unimaginable.

It has always been a losing battle for our side since time began. Incidents like the Innsmouth raid, chronicled by H.P. Lovecraft, mere blips of victory against an insurmountable foe. Still we fight, against these incredible odds, in an unending nightmare, we fight, and why? For victory, for land, for a political ideal? No, mankind fights for survival.

Our authors, John Shirley, Mark Rainey, Wilum Pugmire, William Meikle, Tim Curran, Jeffrey Thomas and many others have gathered here to share war stories from the eternal struggle against the darkness. This book chronicles these desperate battles from across the ages, including Roman Britain, The American Civil War, World War Two, The Vietnam Conflict, and even into the far future.

Classic Tales of Horror

Classic Tales of Horror
Date:
MainCategory:
Type:
Genre:
Lenght:
Reception:

900 pages of classic horror tales!

Spine-tingling tales that will keep you on the edge of your seat!

This chilling collection of scary stories will keep you awake for hours! Psychological horrors, disturbing dramas, and gruesome ghosts compose this compendium of confessions made in the dead of night. From vampires and a monkey paw to an unstoppable heart and haunting apparitions, anecdotes of supernatural terror will have you turning pages long past the witching hour. Allow famous authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, H. P. Lovecraft, Henry James, Washington Irving, and more to prey upon your emotions and peace of mind at slumber parties and camping trips, or anytime you want to end the night with a delightful fright!

New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird

New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird
Date:
MainCategories: ,
Type:
Genre:
trope:
Lenght:

The Books of Blood, Volume 1

Clive Barker's Books of Blood: Volume One (Movie Tie-In)
Date:
MainCategories: ,
Type:
Genre:
Published: 2020-09-29
Lenght:
Seriesize:
Author:
Narrators: , , ,
Reception:
THE INSPIRATION FOR THE HULU ORIGINAL FILM Rediscover the true meaning of fear in this collection of horror stories from Clive Barker, New York Times bestselling author and creator of the Hellraiser series. Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we're opened, we're red. In this tour de force collection of brilliantly disturbing tales, Clive Barker combines the extraordinary with the ordinary, bringing to life our darkest nightmares with stories that both seduce and devour.…

Infestation (S-Squad Book 1)

Infestation (S-Squad Book 1)
Date:
MainCategories: ,
Type:
Genres: ,
tropes: ,
Lenght:
Seriesize:
Author:
Narrator:

It was supposed to be a simple mission. A suspected Russian spy boat is in trouble in Canadian waters. Investigate and report are the orders.

But when Captain John Banks and his squad arrive, it is to find an empty vessel, and a scene of bloody mayhem.

Soon they are in a fight for their lives, for there are things in the icy seas off Baffin Island, scuttling, hungry things with a taste for human flesh.

They are swarming.

And they are growing.