I don’t know how many of you are familiar with Darkside Press and Midnight House, two specialty imprints run by John Pelan who edited the recent The Century’s Best Horror Fiction, a massive two volume collection featuring a horror story for each year of the 20th century, each by a different author.  Midnight House is the horror imprint, and Darkside is the science fiction imprint.  Their titles have included collections by Fritz Leiber and a collection of science fiction by Clark Ashton Smith.  I can’t find a current website, or I’d post a link.  As far as I know (and I should know because I have lifetime subscriptions to both imprints), it’s been a couple of years since a new volume from either imprint has come out.  This is nothing unusual in the small press world. 

But that doesn’t mean their books aren’t available.  For this week, they’re running a special sale.  Following are the details from John, via Gerad Walters of Centipede Press.  I’ll have a few things to say about some of the titles which may be of interest to some of you at the end.

EVERYONE GETS BETTER THAN DEALER DISCOUNT!!!! (Even Book Dealers!)

Here’s the deal: Order any quantity of lots of 5 of any the following titles and pay just $100.00 per lot! You can mix and match, but the orders MUST be lots of five books. You can buy as many lots as you wish at this bargain price. Dealers, now’s a great time to shore up your stock! Collectors, here’s a great opportunity to fill in some blanks or get some early Christmas shopping for your friends out of the way! This sale will not be repeated and ENDS FRIIDAY AT 1AM!!! I need to buy an expensive nebulizer and the meds to put in it, so this is a short-term need on our part.

PAYMENT MUST ACCOMPANY ORDERS! Remit to darkmidhouse@yahoo.com

INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS MUST ADD $30.00 per lot for S & H. Domestic orders shipped free!

Here are the available titles:

The Feaster from Afar – Joseph Payne Brennan (cover price $45)
Thing of Darkness – G.G. Pendarves (cover price $45)
My Rose & My Glove – Harvey Jacobs (cover price $40.00)
Darker Tides – Eric Frank Russell (cover price $45.00)
Falling Idols – Brian Hodge (cover price $35.00)
City Fishing – Steve Rasnic Tem (cover price $40.00)
The Shining Hand – Dick Donovan (J.E. Muddock) (cover price $40.00)
The Scarecrow – G. Ranger Wormser (cover price $40.00)
Echo of a Curse – R.R. Ryan (cover price $40.00)
Idol of the Flies – Jane Rice (cover price $40.00)
The Beasts of Brahm – Mark Hansom (cover price $40.00)
Return of the Soul – Robert Hichens (cover price $40.00)
The Harlem Horror – Charles Birkin (cover price $40.00)
Fingers of Fear – J.U. Nicolson (cover price $40.00)
The Garden at 19 – Edgar Jepson (cover price $40.00)

Also, do check our eBay auctions (seller ID = chrismorris927) Some terrific one of a kind items available this week!

OK, Keith here again.  Of particular interest to readers of the blog, let me recommend the first two titles in the list  (The Feaster from Afar – Joseph Payne Brennan, Thing of Darkness – G.G. Pendarves) as well as the volumes by Eric Frank Russell (Darker Tides) and Jane Rice (The Idol of the Flies).  Both Brennan and Pendarves wrote for Weird Tales, while Rice wrote for John Campbell’s Unknown.  The Eric Frank Russell collection isn’t science fiction but horror and dark fantasy, a side of Russell most people aren’t familiar with.  Other titles were favorites of Karl Edward Wagner, such as Echo of a Curse by R. R. Ryan.