Hello everyone (does anyone still visit this site? I hope so)! I don't know if books keep getting better or if I just happen to find more of what I like every year, but this year's "Top 5" list was easily the most difficult I've ever compiled. Apparently, this was the Year of the Weird Tale here at Speculative Fiction Junkie. Interestingly, despite my having grown tired of paying for expensive limited editions, fully 3 of the 5 books in this year's Top 5 reads were drawn from their ranks. Without further ado then...
#1 - The Man Who Collected Machen and Other Stories (review here)
Mark Samuels
The Man Who Collected Machen and Other Stories by Mark Samuels was my favorite book of the year. This collection of cerebral weird tales is cosmic horror at its best. I don't think it's possible for Mark Samuels to ever top this one.
Those of you who missed the initial run of only 200 will be glad to know that this stellar collection is slated to be republished in 2011 by the very promising Chômu Press.
#2 - The Horrifying Presence and Other Tales (review here)
Jean Ray
A close contender for #1 this year was The Horrifying Presence and Other Tales by Jean Ray. Mr. Ray's weird tales also contain a healthy dose of adventure. I will always remember what a revelation it was to discover the work of Jean Ray.
Unforgivably, finding Mr. Ray's work in English is still notoriously difficult. This must change and I hope that those who have influence over such matters do all that they can to rectify this deplorable situation.
#3 - Worse Than Myself (review here)
Adam Golaski
Adam Golaski's debut collection, Worse Than Myself, reminded me a lot of the work of Simon Strantzas. Both authors are especially adept at creating vivid imagery and atmosphere. After finishing this collection, I became firmly convinced that Mr. Golaski is as fine a writer of weird tales as any working today.
Happily, this collection is still available online so if you haven't read it yet, do yourself a favor and add it to your holiday reading list.
#4 - The Bleeding Horse and Other Ghost Stories (review here)
Brian J. Showers
Lest we leave out more traditional tales of strangeness, #4 on the list this year is Brian J. Shower's The Bleeding Horse and Other Ghost Stories. These tales, all set in Dublin, are traditional ghost stories but are far better told and contain far more depth than most other exemplars of the genre. My only complaint about Mr. Showers is that he is apparently so busy running Swan River Press that he hasn't had time to write much lately.
#5 - An Emporium of Automata (no review)
D.P. Watt
D.P. Watt is a bit of mystery and his work is still not discussed as much as it should be. An Emporium of Automata collects his best stories published to date elsewhere as well as some new material appearing in this collection for the first time.
In a field that is fairly crowded with great authors, Mr. Watt's voice is unique and one that I will eagerly watch in the years to come.
Close Contenders: Beneath the Surface (review here), Feesters in the Lake (review here), The Reapers Are the Angels
Happy reading in the New Year everyone!
14 comments:
I'm still reading, anyway. Nice list. Glad you liked Worse than Myself, and a couple of the others on there are high on my "to read" list.
I feel ashamed that I have only heard of The Reapers Are the Angels out of this entire list. These books sound like they would be joys to read and all of them are going on my Christmas List to Myself.
@Orrin: Nice to see this place isn't totally forgotten. It goes without saying that I think every one of the books on the list and the close contenders are excellent in my opinion. I hope you get a chance to read them all and enjoy them as much as I did.
@Adam: Unfortunately, finding many of these books will be difficult and expensive for the time being. Hopefully this will change one day, as it's supposed to for example with the Mark Samuels collection. You should be able to find the Golaski, Showers, Strantzas, and Alden Bell books for reasonable prices, and I believe that the D.P. Watt collection is still somewhat gettable without taking a mortgage.
@Ben:
While I certainly can't grumble with the books chosen as a whole, or, indeed, your choice of TMWCM for the #1 spot, if it were me, I would have switched "The Horrifying Presence" with "Feesters from the Lake", which, I feel, is the superior collection of the two. This is perhaps due to the lopsided nature of the translation, which is intelligible for about 55% of the stories. Also, as much as I liked the stories that open "The Horrifying Presence" and a few of those that conclude it, I felt there was a large pocket of stories about half way through that were simply "not there", for me.
I'm sure everyone reading this feels hopeful that is post is just the beginning of new signs of life at Speculative Fiction Junkie in 2011.
If the above statement is true, I for one, am certainly glad to have you back!
Although, I collected Midnight House titles before I began reading your site, I doubt I would have taken the plunge and bought "Feesters in the Lake" if it weren't for your glowing review of it, it is the best collection that publisher ever released. This is just one example of how your reviews greatly & positively influenced my book buying in 2010, so a big "thank you" for that.
We need your reviews, even if you only decide to review mass-market and P.O.D. titles, that would be great! Hope to read more from you in the New Year!
@Woodside Skulk: Thanks for your support and kind words. I don't really know what will happen to SFJ in the new year, but support like yours is certainly appreciated. I'm also glad to have contributed in some small way in your purchase of Bob Leman's collection (which has since become prohibitively expensive).
As you can see from my inclusion of the Leman collection in the list of close contenders, he almost made it onto the list. Honestly, I wish I had made a Top 8 Reads of 2010 list so that I could have included him, Strantzas, and Bell in the list.
I have heard several people grumble about the translation of the Ray collection, but while I agree that it was often odd, it wasn't enough to prevent me from thoroughly enjoying the book. I'll say it again and again: it is a tremendous disservice that work like Mr. Leman's and Mr. Ray's isn't more widely available. Who in their right mind would buy in now when books by either routinely cost more than $200?
Patience can help a lot. After I read your review of Feasters, I knew I wanted it, but the only copy I could find at that exact moment was going for $120. I waited a few weeks and managed to snag a brand new copy (still in the shrink wrap) for $40 + shipping.
Of course, patience will only go so far. I've heard of copies of Ghouls in My Grave going for essentially peanuts, and I have no doubt I'll eventually get a copy at that price range, but something like My Own Private Specters is likely never, ever going to show up for cheap.
However, I have high hopes for Chomu Press - Specters seems right up their alley.
Dear All & Ben specifically: I most appreciate the kind mention of Worse Than Myself. A suggestion for those readers concerned about the more expensive titles on the list: stories from these collections and by these authors are often still available in the journals in which they initially appeared.For instance, issue #13 of Supernatural Tales has stories by Brian Showers (and me). Scour back issues of All Hallows, too. And now look out for Shadow & Tall Trees.Then there's also the best ofs that all can be found in libraries. Mark Samuels is in the Jones Best New Horror vol. 19, 20... not to mention his White Hands in the best of the best of....
@slayn666: I agree that patience and vigilance are key to finding deals on some of the more expensive books discussed here. It's funny that you mention Ghouls in My Grave because I was able to nab that one for USD $8.49...yes, $8.49...on eBay a while back! Having said that, you're right that it's unlikely that the same thing would ever happen with The Horrifying Presence.
I, too, have high hopes for Chomu Press...
@Adam Golaski: Thanks for writing the stories in Worse Than Myself and for the suggestion about journals. That's a great idea.
A further thot, that addresses the concern you've been having about very expensive but excellent books. It's VITAL that those books get reviewed. They have runs of 150 - 300 copies that sell out in a few months-basically disappearing--but if the press is good, some of these titles--as with the Samuels--get reprinted. Another example: Terry Lamsley's Conference for the Dead, reprinted by Night Shade.
Your work is important. And from my point of view, much appreciated.
Here! Here! I concur with Mr. Golaski, keep going, Ben!
BTW, Mr. Golaski, I watched you on Youtube reading from "Worse than Myself" and that, in conjunction with Ben's mention here, prompted me to go and order your book immediately!
@Woodside Sulk: thanks, mate; I would've thot my twitchy reading of the first part of "The Animator's House" (that's not the whole story online) would put people off! I hope you enjoy the book. Google search my blog, Little Stories, one day--there's a few odd stories threaded into it.
Your own blog looks quite interesting--I'll look more closely when I can.
Ugh. Same old story with the Ex Occidente titles: the authors are obscure or new enough that I can't quite bring myself to pay for the pre-order, but by the time the excellent reviews roll in the books are impossible to find. I'll just add An Emporium of Automata to the list of books I hope to find someone nice enough to let me borrow someday.
@Nathan: Watt is a fantastic and underrated author. Good luck in your quest to find a copy of his latest!
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