Author Archives: Keith West

Graveyard Rats for Kuttner’s Birthday

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kuttnerHenry Kuttner was born on this date in 1915.  His first published story was “The Graveyard Rats”, which appeared in the March 1936 issue of Weird Tales.  It has been reprinted at least 35 times, the latest being in Zombies from the Pulps, edited by Jeffrey Shanks, which where I recently reread it.Zombies from the Pulps Front cover

Kuttner started out as part of the Lovecraft circle, and “The Graveyard Rats” is very much in the vein of Lovecraft.  The story concerns Masson, a gravedigger in an old cemetery in Salem.  The man has a profitable little sideline going, digging up the bodies and removing any valuables buried with them.  The problem is the rats which infest the graveyard.  They’ve dug a series of tunnels and steal the bodies themselves.

When the rats literally pull a fresh corpse out of the coffin and into the tunnels as Masson is opening the coffin lid, he decides to follow them in and retrieve his prize.  This isn’t the smartest move he could have made…

Terror in the HouseKuttner became a prolific author, writing some of his best work for Weird Tales, Astounding, and Thrilling Wonder.  He wasn’t afraid to take chances and stretch himself as a writer and wrote horror, fantasy, sword and sorcery, science fiction, and mystery.  After his marriage to C. L. Moore, the two collaborated on almost everything they wrote.

Haffner Press has been bringing Kuttner back into print, but even so, there are a number of his stories that are still in crumbling pulp magazines that deserve to be reprinted.  I’ll be looking at some of those tales later this year.

The Enemy Within is a Taut Political Thriller

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Enemy-Within-ebook-cover-lighter-webThe Enemy Within
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
WMG Publishing
Trade Paper/ebook $18.99/$7.99, 290 pp.
978-0-615-90627

I’ve come to the conclusion over the years that some of the best writers are those who write in multiple genres. These writers seem to be the most versatile, capable of mixing elements of different genres to create something fresh but with enough elements of the familiar that readers aren’t put off by the new.

Kristine Kathryn Rusch is such a writer. She’s written in a number of genres under multiple names. These include science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, thrillers, and romance at all lengths from short stories to novels, both stand alone and long running series. I’m probably leaving something out. What I do know is that I’ve enjoyed and been entertained by almost everything I’ve read that she’s written.

Her latest novel is a blend of mystery, political thriller, and alternate history. It was a compelling read I had trouble putting down. (Because of this blend, I’m posting this review on both my mystery blog and my fantasy blog since it should appeal to readers of both blogs.)

Ms. Rusch takes us back to the early days of 1964. The country is still reeling from the Kennedy assassination. Seamus O’Reilly, a NYPD homicide detective, gets a call in the middle of the night. There’s been a double murder outside a notorious gay night club. The victims? J. Edgar Hoover and his assistant Clyde Tolson. Assigned to the case as the FBI liaison is Frank Bryce. Bryce was once a rising star in the New York branch of the Bureau but lately his star is falling. This case is his chance to redeem himself. Continue reading →

Gemmell Award Nominees

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I’ve been reading for some reviews that won’t go up for a couple of weeks plus trying to finish George MacDonald’s Lilith, which is my next Ballantine Adult Fantasy post for Black Gate, I’ve not put much up.

Part of the problem is I’ve gotten into the habit of reading more than one book at a time, something I’ve only been doing over the last 6 months.  I’m not sure how I got into the habit, but it’s got to stop.  It feels like it takes forever to finish anything.

thepathofangerWhat’s this got to do with the Gemmell Awards?  Well the nominated I title I requested for review arrived today.  That would be The Path of Anger by Antoine Rouaud.  I’m really looking forward to reading it.

I’ve just started Talus and the Frozen King by Graham Edwards.  It’s a bronze age murder mystery.  I may put it aside for a day or so to focus on the Gemmell Awards.

I’ve got several titles that are on this year’s ballot sitting on the shelf.  These include The Grim Company (Luke Scull), Herald of the Storm (Richard Ford), Black Sun Light My Way (Jo Spurrier, whose debut novel Winter Be my Shield was one of my favorite reads last year), and The Republic of Thieves (Scott Lynch).  Plus another of my favorites, Promise of Blood (Brian McClellan) was reviewed here recently.

The ballot closes on April 13, so I’m not sure how many of these I’ll be able to finish.  I should be able to finish The Path of Anger at the very least and will try to finish Black Sun Light My Way.  I’ll put a post a brief review at the Gemmell Awards and a more in depth review here.  And while I won’t finish all of them in time to post a review on the Gemmell Awards site, I’ll review all the ones listed above sometime in the next few months.

Rick Hautala’s Indian Summer

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hautala06Indian Summer
Rick Hautala
Cemetery Dance
signed limited edition hardcover $40

It’s only been within the last year or two that I’ve really become acquainted with Rick Hautala’s work. The fact that we lost him last year really irks me, because I know that there won’t be any more stories coming from him.

One of the things I’ve liked about Hautala’s fiction is how well he captures childhood and adolescence while telling a very grown up tale. Not all of his work is like that, but much is. Indian Summer is a perfect example. While the protagonist is a 12 year old boy, the story provided plenty of thrills and chills for the adult reader.

This short novel concerns Billy Crowell, who goes along with some of his friends to watch a forest fire late one hot October afternoon. The boys get recruited to help fight the fire, which is pretty much under control. Trying to cut around and head off a portion of the fire, Billy gets lost.

While he’s wandering in the woods, he comes upon a deer that has been butchered. Billy runs until he comes out at a run down house. The woman who lives there, whose name is Ellie Martin, lets him call his parents. By this time the sun is going down, and Billy knows he’s in trouble. But once he tells his parents whose house he’s at, they change their tune.

Before he leaves, Ellie Martin asks him to come back. Billy is scared of her, but he also is attracted to her. He soon realizes he has a crush on her.

Billy finds himself in a tight spot. He’s both frightened by and attracted to Ellie. None of the adults seem to be willing to talk about her. And Ellie is very obsessed with something she believes lives in the woods… Continue reading →

A Brief Report on ConDFW XIII

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ConDFW XIII was held over the weekend of February 21-23, 2014.  The author GoH was Kevin J. Anderson, and the artist GoH was Alain Viesca.

Yes, I realize I’m a little late in getting this post up.  It’s been hectic. Continue reading →

RIP, Lucius Shephard (1947-2014)

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lucius shepardLucius Shephard passed away at the age of 66 on March 18, 2014.  Shephard began writing in the early 1980s.  Many of his early works near future science fiction set in a Central American war that resembled Viet Nam, something that was a real possibility at the time.  I remember reading some of his early stories in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.  In recent years his movie reviews have graced the pages of that magazine.

Shephard wrote at all lengths, but in my opinion his strengths were at the novella length.  Over the course of his career he won the Nebula for “R&R”, the Hugo for “Barnacle Bill the Spacer”, and the Shirley Jackson Award for “Vacancy”.   I always found his style to be densely written, but his stories were worth the work they required.

The Best of Lucius ShepardShephard attended at least one Armadillocon in Austin in the early 00’s.  I had the privilege of meeting him.  He was very open and approachable, always willing to chat with fans.  I was disappointed that he didn’t attend some of the later Armadillocons.

The Best of Lucius Shephard is available in ebook format and contains many of his best known works.

A Fundraiser You Should be Aware of…

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…so you can skip it and make a donation directly to the authors if you want to help.

Norilana Books, a sole proprietorship, went belly up a few years ago.  The owner, Vera Nazarian, suffered some horrendous personal tragedies.  I feel for her about those; what she went through I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.  Unfortunately, she had the bad judgment (at best) to use business funds, specifically money owed authors, for her personal expenses.  These debts to the authors were, from what I understand, not declared on her bankruptcy in 2012.  By her own admission, this has not changed, although the authors may have given their okay.  This isn’t clear, at least not to me.

She has now started an IndieGoGo campaign to raise the money to pay at least some of these authors.  She owes them over $19k.  (The fundraiser is for more because IndieGoGo will collect fees on any monies raised.)

The Passive Voice is a site that focuses on publishing and is very author friendly.  A notice about the fundraiser went up there today.  This has started a firestorm at The Passive Voice.  Ms. Nazarian has been quite vocal in trying to justify and excuse her actions in the comments there.  Comments that have grown in the time it has taken me to type this post.  (The information I gave above is summarized from the comments at TPV.)

Passive Guy (who runs The Passive Voice) has suggested the best thing to do is to send money directly to the authors involved.  A list of (at least some of) them can be found at the bottom of this post.

This is a horrible situation, and I hope it gets resolved for the authors soon.  Ms. Nazarian’s track record with money does not make me comfortable with supporting this fundraiser.

Update: Ms. Nazarian appears to have attempted to cancel the fundraiser; IndieGoGo won’t let her:  http://www.thepassivevoice.com/03/2014/update-on-norilana-books/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ThePassiveVoice+%28The+Passive+Voice%29

Jon Sprunk’s Blood and Iron Hits Shelves

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Blood and IronBlood and Iron
Jon Sprunk
Pyr Books
Trade paper, 424 pg., $18.00
ebook $11.99  Kindle Nook

I really enjoyed Jon Sprunk’s Shadow Saga (reviewed here, here, and here), so I was thrilled recently to learn he had a new book coming out. That book is Blood and Iron, and while it’s set in the same universe as the Shadow Saga, it’s on a different continent and doesn’t have anything to do with the previous books.

It’s also quite good. Blood and Iron is the first volume of The Book of the Black Earth. As well done as the Shadow Saga was, The Book of the Black Earth promises to be even better. Continue reading →

What All I’ve Been Reading

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Blood and IronI’m about a fourth of the way through Jon Sprunk’s novel Blood and Iron, which hits shelves next Tuesday.  It’s good, and I’m enjoying the direction this one is taking.

I’ve read the first chapter in the next book I’ll read for my Ballantine Adult Fantasy series for Black Gate, Lilith by George MacDonald.  This one looks like it’s going to be good.

Lastly, I read the cover story from the current issue of Analog.  “Cryptids” is an extremely well-done monster story, one of the best I’ve read in quite a while.  (Yes, I have Kaiju Rising, but I haven’t gotten to it yet.)  I posted the review at Futures Past and Present since the story is very much science fiction.  However, I think some of you would enjoy the story, so I’m mentioning it here.

Spring Break is just over a week away, and I hope to get some things out of the way then, so stay tuned.