Catastrophia

Just heard that I've had a story accepted for Catastrophia, PS Publishing's anthology of post-apocalyptic fiction featuring stories from heavyweights in the fields of science fiction and horror such as Brian Aldiss, Adam Roberts and Simon Clark. (Presumably after getting those three PS ran out of money and had to settle for what they could get.)

Redbelt

Trying to decide if I like David Mamet's Redbelt or not. It's well-acted (even Tim Allen puts in a decent performance) but the plot makes less and less sense as it goes along. Plus, the film's about Brazilian ju-jitsu but half the hero's moves that so impress the media types in the film are stick and knife techniques from the Filipino martial arts.

Still, it was fun to play spot the famous martial artist with the cast -- "Look, it's John Machado. And Randy Couture. And there's Dan Inosanto -- so that's where all the Filipino stuff came from."

No Comic Book Role Shall Escape My Sight

Okay, so Ryan Reynolds is going to play Hal Jordan in the upcoming Green Lantern film. This after already playing Hannibal King and Deadpool. Meanwhile his missus Scarlett Johannson is due to play the Black Widow after already playing Silken Floss in The Spirit and Rebecca in Ghost World. Are they in a tie for the actor who's played the most comic book characters on the big screen or has someone else got them beat?

Lemon Jelly

Ah, I haven't listened to The Staunton Lick in ages.

Fifteen Minutes of Game

Little exercise in timewasting that I stole from Michael Kelly. List 15 books that will always stick with you. But they have to be the first 15 books you think of in 15 minutes. Cue much cursing when you only start thinking of really impressive books after 16 minutes.

Anyway, here's my list:

Black Light -- Stephen Hunter
Axiomatic -- Greg Egan
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- Douglas Adams
The Drive-in -- Joe R Lansdale
The Unquiet -- John Connolly
The Hound of the Baskervilles -- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Wind in the Willows -- Kenneth Grahame
Dune -- Frank Herbert
Dirty White Boys -- Stephen Hunter
Mucho Mojo -- Joe R Lansdale
L.A. Confidential -- James Ellroy
Mortal Stakes -- Robert B Parker
Dr Who and the Planet of the Spiders -- Terrance Dicks
Biggles Hits the Trail -- Captain W.E. Johns
The History of the Runestaff -- Michael Moorcock

Yakety Yak

There's a quick interview with me up on the Thomas Ligotti message
boards if you have absolutely nothing better to do.

http://www.ligotti.net/showthread.php?p=20889#post20889

The Reflecting Eye

A while back I was one of a bunch of authors asked to write some quick comments on their favourite novellas. My choice was 'The Reflecting Eye' by John Connolly. See the final feature at http://ttapress.com/611/their-favourite-novellas/0/5/

My bit's tucked away right at the bottom but I'm sure that's because they listed the contributors in alphabetical order and not just because no one's ever heard of me.

Tales of Mild Uneasiness

Recently read Eduardo Risso's Tales of Terror. Collection of black and white comic strips from the Argentinian artist. Nice artwork (even if I think the visuals don't always flow that well from panel to panel) but the scripts by Carlos Trillos fall pretty flat. There's a couple of okay stories but nothing special and definitely nothing scary. Probably doesn't help that originally they weren't written in English.

Anyway, samples of Risso's artwork and a more positive review of the book over at http://warren-peace.blogspot.com/2007/10/eduardo-rissos-tales-of-terror-i-didnt.html

Everybody Knows Everything

Bit disappointed with The South Bank Show profile of William Goldman. Yeah, they showed great clips from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ("Guns or knives, Butch?") and some of his other films but they skipped A Bridge Too Far and The Princess Bride.

Not to mention the fact that any Goldman fan will have heard all the anecdotes he trotted out about a million times before. I was sitting there guessing which bit of gossip he was going to supply about each clip before he even opened his mouth.

Still an enjoyable programme of course. I just wish it hadn't been so predictable.

Wire We Waiting?

So I've finally bought the last two seasons of The Wire after finding them discounted to a price that I can actually afford. I was absolutely ecstactic ... until I discovered that the series is finally coming to British TV so I didn't need to buy them after all.

Typical.

Who Just Watched the Watchmen?

Attended the press screening of Watchmen last night. I've been waiting twenty years for this film so I deliberately kept my expectations low in order to prevent myself going beserk with an automatic weapon if the film turned out to be rubbish.

Good news. I didn't kill anyone.

The film's pretty faithful to the comic. Yeah, they've had to ditch subplots and secondary characters which in turn means they've had to tinker with the main plot slightly to accomodate these changes but it's still Watchmen. A streamlined, or diluted if one were being unkind, version of Moore's story to be sure but at least Hollywood didn't turn it into Batman and Robin.

Of course it's also very obviously a Zack Snyder film. There's lots of slo-mo and both the action and the gore have been amped up just to remind people that he directed 300 and The Dawn of the Dead remake. The fight scenes are full of wire-fu and at one point become so OTT they make The Matrix look like cinema verite. Whilst the graphic nature of the many maimings and killings had the audience alternating between wincing and applauding. And my friend who blagged me my ticket for the screening was practically traumatised by a gruesome setpiece during the prison scenes.

There's about a million other points I could make about the film but the short version is that while the film isn't perfect it's about as good a Hollywood adap as we could expect. And as such it's well worth a look.

It's Clobberin' Time!

Been reading Mark Waid's run on Fantastic Four, generally considered to be the third best run EVER, coming behind the stints by Lee/Kirby and John Byrne. Jolly good fun especially as I got the first two storylines in the hardcover edition which includes Waid's initial proposal and character notes from when he took over the series. Offers interesting insights into his creative process and allows me to appreciate the choices he made while writing the series. Even the ones I didn't agree with.

Dave Bezzina

Dave Bezzina's got a new website

Features a selection of his Fantasy and Horror artwork in paints, inks and pencils.

Apart from being a British Fantasy Award nominee Dave provided half of the illustrations for my debut collection Spare Parts. (But don't hold that against him).

Dear Santa

So once again it's that time of year when people feverishly scribble out lists detailing what they desire most in the whole world. A time when people rely on the goodwill of others to restore their faith in humanity.

I refer of course to the recommendations process for the British Fantasy Awards. I've only just discovered that it started over a month ago. That's me, finger on the pulse as ever.

Anyway, here's what I've got eligible this year:

BEST NOVELLA -- 'Bliss' From We Fade to Grey

BEST SHORT STORY -- 'Nothing is Forever.' From the Pendragon FantasyCon chapbook which I've forgotten the name of. And which, due to a cock-up with the delivery, hardly anyone received a copy of. And even if they did the printers screwed up my story by presenting random passages in italics for absolutely no reason whatsoever. So obviously it stands a really good chance of winning :-/

BEST HUMAN BEING -- Me. Okay, I made this one up. But if anyone did vote for me in this category then that would be the best Christmas present ever. (Just kidding, I really want one of the awards.)

Invasion of the Seagal Snatchers

As I'm sure you're all suffering withdrawal symptoms due to me not bragging about how wonderful my stories are for a while here's a quick snippet from a review of 'Bliss' in Black Static #8:

"Young tells it like a retread of Invasion of the Body Snatchers with Steven Seagal in the lead role. The result is something eminently readable and engaging, a plot driven narrative with dollops of sex and violence, but dig beneath the surface and you discover that he is addressing some serious and genuine concerns about the nature of human existence and the values that we cherish."

Customer Service

In response to Elizabeth's comment on my last post I offer this news from Chris Teague:

"In other news, the paperback edition of We Fade to Grey has sold out - a reprint is on it's way, due in the New Year - to compensate, and until Christmas, anyone who orders the hardback edition will also receive a copy of New Writings in the Fantastic (and a "subscription" to the first 3 Triquorum chapbooks). "

So hop on over to Pendragon Press.

Hot Cakes

Just heard that the paperback edition of We Fade to Grey has sold out. A second print run is due in the New Year.

Obviously everyone is rushing to buy the book 'cos I'm in it.

Blimey, I managed to say that with a straight face ...

WFTG review

Nice review of We Fade to Grey up at Matthew Fryer's blog.


He also compares 'Bliss' to "an ultra-violent, X-rated episode of Doctor Who." Which I feel is a pretty fair comment.

Hollywood Here I Come!

As you can always trust quizzes you did on the internet to guide you in the path your life should take I'm off to make my fortune in Hollywood.

You Should Be a Film Writer

You don't just create compelling stories, you see them as clearly as a movie in your mind. You have a knack for details and dialogue. You can really make a character come to life. Chances are, you enjoy creating all types of stories. The joy is in the storytelling. And nothing would please you more than millions of people seeing your story on the big screen!

What Type of Writer Should You Be?

Out to Launch

The We Fade to Grey launch went well. Even though Gary and Chris decided not to tell any of the contributors that we were going to have to give presentations about our individual stories -- and then picked me to go first even though they know I hate speaking in public. Bastards.

Anyway, just a reminder that the Horror World review has been archived at www.horrorworld.org/september_2008.htm