Black Static

Listed below are the books received for review since the last update, which was back on 8 March 2012.

Nineteen new titles, bringing the total of books received for the year so far to fifty six, which is one short of a book every two days. So far this year I've discussed twenty four titles in the magazine, which means at the moment there's a less than one in two chance of having your work reviewed. As mentioned in the previous blog post, I'll be dispensing with the author interview in the August and October issues in an attempt to gain some ground, but all the same I'll repeat my usual advice, that people should think long and hard about whether their work is suitable for review in Black Static and be prepared for disappointment if they do send me stuff.

Five of the new titles are written or edited by women, bringing our total for the year so far to fifteen out of fifty six (25% or as close as I can get without digging out a calculator). Because of a female led Case Notes in #27, currently 50% of the titles I've reviewed have had a female byline.

Lots of interesting stuff in this time around, with one of the standouts being Dadaoism the first anthology from Chômu Press, and also their first book with female contributors, though that situation won't last long as, looking at the publisher's website, I see that a book by Anna Tambour is on the cards later in the year. Contributors to Dadaoism include Reggie Oliver, Nina Allan, Rhys Hughes, Colin Insole, Daniel Mills, Brendan Connell, Kristine Ong Muslim and D. F. Lewis.

Lots of novellas in, which is appropriate as I plan a feature on novellas in #29, and I'll leave you to guess if the chicken came before the egg or vice versa. Probably the highlight in this category is The Respectable Face of Tyranny by Black Static contributor Gary Fry, which is also the first release from chapbook publisher Spectral Press in a series of novellas to be known as Spectral Visions, with a second title, this time by John Llewellyn Probert, just announced.

I also have the joint winners of the inaugural Anywhere But Here, Anywhen But Now prize masterminded by Sir Terry Pratchett, books by Michael and David Logan. If it's the same person, then the latter Logan used to be the editor of a magazine called Grotesque that ran my very first published horror story, a sting in the tail piece called 'Winston and the Demon'. He also rejected plenty of other stories of mine, so if I do get round to reviewing Half Sick of Shadows it won't be given a free ride.

Lastly a couple of titles in from David A. Sutton's Shadow Publishing, a new enterprise that so far appears to be focusing mostly on older and neglected writers, though they have some original material slated for release further down the line, including a book by Johnny Mains.

Standard Disclaimer: As ever, people are welcome to query me regarding the possibility of a review by writing to whitenoise@ttapress.com with the usual caveat that an expression of interest does not guarantee if or when a review will be done.

May 2012

• Sandy De Luca - Reign of Blood - Delirium eBook (PDF)
• Edited by Ellen Datlow - Best Horror of the Year Volume 4 - Night Shade Books paperback (Kindle)
• Edited by Justin Isis & Quentin Crisp - Dadaoism (An Anthology) - Chômu Press paperback (ARC)
• David Logan - Half Sick of Shadows - Doubleday hardback (ARC)
• Michael Logan - Apocalypse Cow - Doubleday hardback (ARC)

April 2012

• Lee Thompson - Down Here in the Dark - Delirium eBook (PDF)
• Gary Fry - The Respectable Face of Tyranny - Spectral Press (PDF)
• Richard Davis - The Female of the Species and Other Terror Tales - Shadow Publishing paperback

March 2012

• Greg F. Gifune - Lords of Twilight - Delirium eBook (PDF)
• Kealan Patrick Burke - Thirty Miles South of Dry County - Delirium eBook (PDF)
• Claire Massey - Into the Penny Arcade - Nightjar Press chapbook
• Claire Massey - Marionettes - Nightjar Press chapbook
• Edited by Allen Ashley - Where Are We Going? - Eibonvale Press paperback
• Jeff Gardiner - A Glimpse of the Numinous - Eibonvale Press paperback
• William Meikle - Crustaceans - Dark Regions Press paperback
• Mari Jungstedt - Dark Angel - Doubleday paperback

February 2012

• Gary McMahon - Tales of The Weak & The Wounded - Dark Regions Press paperback
• Gord Rollo - The Dark Side of Heaven - Dark Regions Press paperback

January 2012

• Edited by David A. Sutton - The Satyr's Head - Shadow Publishing paperback