Simon Strantzas

I’ve been meaning to post something on the work of Simon Strantzas since I first read his Tartarus Press collection Cold To The Touch in 2010. His most recent collection Nightingale Songs from Dark Regions Press has finally moved me to action.

Strantzas’ work is complicated for me. It cross pollinates and stains and blooms in corners of my mind that some writers never find.

The thing that first impressed me was the attention to character in his work. While not uncommon, it helps to distinguish him among some of the other Weird Fiction out there. You feel for Simon’s characters and experience a clearer sense of their emotions as the uncanny creeps up and shakes them by the shoulders.

In Nightingale Songs Strantzas, makes those revelations and discomfort even more internal. These are stories of anxiety and doubt and fear, as much as they are the fantastical and other worldly. That personal insight is the core of Strantzas’ power. The emotional detail is equivalent to the sensory detail of a world, or rather a specific life, coming unhinged, and it adds so much gravity to the tales. These are quiet stories, that scream in the minds of the protagonist – if that makes any sense at all.

There are a number of standout tales, “Out of Touch,” “Tend Your Own Garden,” “The Nightingale” to name only a few. “The Deafening Sound Of Slumber” particularly resonated with me. This story of an awkward, isolated man working at an experimental sleep laboratory builds to a glorious crescendo. A crescendo, so vivid in its aural details, that when the visual details give shape to events unfolding the image painted is as robust as any I have read.

Getting back to where I started, the places Strantzas finds his stories has always intrigued me, and it’s an area Nightingale Songs really shows his growth. If he hadn’t told these stories no one else was going to, they are his. This voice on the page is unique and has gotten increasingly more so with each collection.

That’s what I’m getting at when I say he has reached corners of my brain that other writers haven’t. The ideas here breach the fences of ideas. They find stories in places where stories maybe would have stayed forever hidden. For my developing, hungry writers brain that is a rare treat.

“The Black Gondolier & Other Stories” by Fritz Leiber

I have finally introduced myself to the weird fiction of Fritz Leiber via the collection, The Black Gondolier & Other Stories. It has impressed the hell out of me.  The title piece alone has been a revelation. Edited by John Pelan & Steve Saville it was originally released by Midnight House as a limited hardcover. Though this has since gone OOP, the editors reissued it digitally through E-Reads. It’s available from all the usual suspects.

Leiber stirs character, atmosphere, insight and entertainment in to a roiling cauldron of delicious poison. He makes it look easy, the stories are fluid and seamless. Even in the instances where the endings are visible on the horizon they are not a disappointment because they are inevitable. His authenticity, and the natural course of the prose validate the things you encounter along the way.

He stitches his underlying themes together in a way that is never overbearing, and for me was perhaps his most enviable trait. Leiber’s genius is no secret, he was awarded every prestigious honor through his life that was out there. I’m just late to the celebration.

While there were stories I preferred over others here, I enjoyed them all. I wouldn’t hesitate to call The Black Gondolier a masterpiece. Supernatural dread, conspiracy, and awkward friendship drape each other in this tale that remains relevant and powerful. Without going into details, Leiber infuses the world with a logic that other authors might leave open to the unknowable. Whether the logic of the enlightened or the mad, it informs the tale and makes this a potent classic I will re-read over and over both for entertainment and study.

Other highlights: The Dreams Of Albert Moreland,  Lie Still, Snow White, Spider Mansion, The Dead Man, The Secret Songs and others.

More Please.

Celestiial & Ballet Deviare

Taken from the press release:
“Ballet Deviare presents “Disconsolate”, a nine-minute experimental dance film directed by Adam Waltner. “Disconsolate” is a powerful, soul-entrancing depiction which illustrates the depths of human suffering. Set to “Waldlander im Herbst” from the funeral doom phenomenon CELESTIIAL (Tanner Anderson), the piece evokes a feeling and mood that is as hypnotic as it is effecting.”

Celestiial’s work to date has been released on Bindrune Recordings. It’s a label I helped found with Marty “To Old Too Cold” Rytkonen (who now carries the torch nobly). Tanner Anderson is the spark in the Celestiial petri dish. It’s from him that the energy rises to coagulate the moss and mud into the primordial doom he’s become known for. He is also a good guy. His vision and intent is pure. As odd as this collaboration might seem on the surface, I’m happy as hell for him.

“A Choir Of Ill Children” by Tom Piccirilli

It was that title that caught my interest. It’s brilliant, evocative, and I wish I had thought of it. What a perfect Gruntsplatter song title. . . and so it fermented my brain, teasing and prodding my curiosity

I stumbled on a used copy of the Night Shade hardcover edition, in great shape, for $10 a few months ago and snatched it up. I’d draw it from the shelf now and then to admire the title and Caniglia cover art, then put it back for another day.

An opportunity to have a story critiqued by Mr. Piccirilli is what got me to excavate it from the “to be read” pile. I had only read a handful of his short stories, and I wanted to get a better idea of where his vision was coming from before I saw his critique.

It’s an impressive vision. A Choir Of Ill Children takes place deep in the superstitious bayou. It’s a degenerate world of swamp witchery, the ghosts and demons of family, and transcendent loyalty.

It’s Piccirilli’s sense of place and characterization that impressed me. He’s sculpted a rich world steeped in the sense of history that’s so important to the numerous story threads.  His character’s, each of them haunted in their own way, are authentic. The story weaves in a lot of things I have a personal affection for  – bog witches, the resonance of landmarks, the inherent creepiness of small towns, shabby carnivals, and so on – Piccirilli paints them with vivid colors.

The story is dense, some threads that seem crucial at the beginning end up not being as significant as the book evolves. They are introduced as catalysts for something else, and then fade into the background. If I had a gripe, it would be that. There is more that could have been done with some of the threads, or they could have been removed if they weren’t as important as suggested. They do add to the texture of the world and the personality of the large cast though, and that texture and personality is how A Choir Of Ill Children worms into your guts.

Piccirilli’s vision and captivating prose, earns A Choir Of Ill Children a home among other notable Southern Gothics. There are various editions that have been released since it was first published, and I’m not sure what’s in print and what’s not, but you should go find out.

Envenomist – Bound Dominions

David Reed continues to be one of my absolute favorite dark experimental composers. He was kind enough to send me a copy of the latest release from his project Envemonist. David’s other projects include the venerable Luasa Raelon mentioned here previously.

Bound Dominions moans with heavy analog synth ambient. The whole album resonates with a primordial ache. Rotting ghost ships in the fog, fields of gurgling earth and steam, lost places swallowed by vegetation and the reverence and sorrow such sites evoke in a quiet landscape.

It reminded me, quiet eloquently, of something I wrote stuck on a train somewhere between Portland and Seattle about 6 years ago. This was originally written as preliminary lyrics for a project that was not to be. I will post it here unedited as this is the most appropriate home that has arisen since then…

“Crawl to the cadence of 100,000 crows, carving the sun to rags above the geometry of industry… axis and allies draw together against a wheezing tribe on another barren hill, where serpents dance with battle blades to defend their nightmare lives from their nightmare graves. The old ones, naked, survey from crooked frames at the slavering pests hooded in spiteful names. A sullen dignity – aspirations drained above root work recoiling from the kaleidoscopic air. Legions gaze over aeons to the wounded and the dead, of the clan born of time that time then shed… momentary domination of despotic ecology. Braying, cackling, screaming nonsense against the turning leaves… Between the lines of  history’s soliloquy fractured though it is, the tyrants right their broken spines and draw the hulks beneath the soil…”
- Scott E. Candey (2005 -ish) -

Just For You… Here’s A Love Song

The Church – “Destination”

Our instruments have no way of measuring this feeling
Can never cut below the floor, or penetrate the ceiling.
In the space between our houses, some bones have been discovered,
But our procession lurches on, as if we had recovered.
Draconian winter unforetold.
One solar day, suddenly you’re old.
Your little envelope just makes me feel cold,
Makes destination start to unfold.
Our documents are useless, or forged beyond believing.
Page forty-seven is unsigned, I need it by this evening.
In the space between our cities, a storm is slowly forming.
Something eating up our days, I feel it every morning.
Destination, destination.

It’s not a religion, it’s just a technique.
It’s just a way of making you speak.
Distance and speed have left us too weak,
And destination looks kind of bleak.
Our elements are burned out, our beasts have been mistreated.
I tell you it’s the only way we’ll get this road completed.
In the space between our bodies, the air has grown small fingers.
Just one caress, you’re powerless, like all those clapped-out
swingers.
Destination, destination.

Such a great song. . . been ruminating on the cosmic horror woven through this of late. It’s the opening track on the Starfish album released in 1988. Enjoy.

2010 Reading List

I kept track of the books I read in 2010. I hadn’t done this before,  I’m not sure why I started, but I suspect I will continue. It’s not everything I bought or intended to read by a long shot, but here it is. The traditional books are listed separately from the ebooks. I didn’t have a Kindle until mid-September, so that is reflected in the balance.

I’m wishing I’d worked on this post as I went and included a couple lines about each book. Perhaps next year. I wouldn’t recommend all of these, but many I would and several of them quite emphatically. It was a good year for reading.

2010 Books Read

Print Books
1. Song of Kali by Dan Simmons (Tor Books)
2. Benjamin’s Parasite by Jeff Strand (Delirium)
3. The Everlasting by Tim Lebbon (Necessary Evil Press)
4. Children Of Chaos by Greg F. Gifune (Delirium)
5. Primitive by J.G. Gonzales (Delirium)
6. Sesta & Other Strange Stories by Edward Lucas White (Midnight House)
A post on White’s excellent “The Tooth” here. Some other great pieces in this collection as well.
7. The Garden Of Hermetic Dreams Edited by Gary Lachman (Dedalus)
8. Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters by John Langan (Prime)
9. American Gods by Neil Gaiman (Harper Perennial)
10. Over The Darkening Fields by Scott Thomas (Dark Regions Press)
Posted on the Dark Regions Message Board after reading this one. “There are numerous stories in this collection that have stuck in my craw. Thomas understands people. Through the darkness and oddity, that understanding is perhaps his strongest attribute… Many of the stories are quite short, but his efficiency, clarity and imagination carve the words deep.”
11. The Darkly Splendid Realm by Richard Gavin (Dark Regions Press)
Here’s an old post on Gavin’s I wrote after reading his book Omens. The Darkly Splendid Realm was a treat.
12. Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge (Tor Books)
13. Can Such Things Be? Tales Of Horror & The Supernatural by Ambrose Bierce (Citadel Press)
14. Cold To The Touch by Simon Strantzas (Tartarus Press)
One of the highlights of the year for me. Strantzas is as evocative in his gloom and strangeness, as his authenticity. The character development is excellent, his voice unique and subtle. “A Seed On Barren Ground” is a story that I ruminate on regularly and would place very high on a list of my all time favorites.  The Tartarus Press production value only added to this wholly satisfying collection.
15. The Man On The Ceiling by Steve Rasnic Tem and Melanie Tem (Wizards Of The Coast Discoveries)
posted on this here
16. The Ginger Man by J.P. Donleavy (Grove Press)
A loaner from a co-worker prompted by my love of A Confederacy Of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. I hated this and abandoned it after about 100 pages. I can’t remember the last time I did that.
17. Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman (Harper Perennial)
18. The Book Of Days By Steve Rasnic Tem (Subterranean)
posted on this here
19. My Work Is Not Yet Done by Thomas Ligotti (Virgin)
20. The White Hands & Other Weird Tales By Mark Samuels (Tartarus Press)
21. Alone With The Horrors By Ramsey Campbell (Tor Books)
22. Dark Awakenings By Matt Cardin (Mythos)
posted on this here
23. Occultation by Laird Barron (Nightshade)
24. In The Hand Of Dante by Nick Tosches (Black Bay Books)
25. The October Country by Ray Bradbury (Del Ray)
26. Songs Of A Dead Dreamer by Thomas Ligotti (Subterranean)
27. Beneath The Surface by Simon Strantzas (Dark Regions)
28. Charnel Wine by Richard Gavin (Dark Regions)
(reading now)

Kindle Books
29. Wicked Delights by John Lewellyn Probert (Atomic Fez)
I started a post on this I have yet to finish…
30. The World More Full Of Weeping by Robert J. Wiersema  (Chizine)
posted about this one here
31. Excavation by Steve Rasnic Tem (Crossroads/Macabre Ink)
posted on this here
32. A Host Of Shadows by Harry Shannon (Dark Regions)