Review Category: Books

Review: Sheer Filth / Author: David Flint / Publisher: Fab Press/ Release Date: April 9th

Every now and then a book comes along that provides a perfect snapshot of an era. Published between 1987 and 1989, the fanzine Sheer Filth offered a potent mix of bizarre and transgressive film and book reviews, strange and outré music coverage, extreme art, passionate (often rabid) feature articles and fascinating interviews with icons of cult film and entertainment.

Under the guiding hand of editor David Flint, Sheer Filth managed 9 issues before being put to bed in 1990; the editor went on to (in his words) “bigger, glossier projects” (which include the seminal Fab Press book Ten Years of Terror written with Harvey Fenton). But in those 9 issues Sheer Filth was the breeding ground for a number of prominent writers, who, like Flint, went on to bigger things; these writers included David Kerekes, John Hill and David Slater, amongst others; and the fanzine itself led to Headpress, Divinity and Sexadelic, also edited by Flint.

Fenton and Flint have collected together those 9 issues of Sheer Filth into one sleaze-tastic volume; it’s a glorious read, bringing with it an authentic whiff of late-1980s anti-censorship sexual politics.

Flint introduces the volume with a fascinating account of the rise of the fanzine in the wake of the Video Nasty furore and the tightening of censorship under Thatcher. Mags like Sheer Filth, Whiplash Smile, Bleeder’s Digest and Rats in the Cellar in the UK provided sleaze fans with a glimpse of the forbidden and the obscure, stuff that the mainstream publications would never touch (Sheer Filth brought the world the first coverage of Jorg Buttgereit’s Nekromantik and of the now cult classic Deathbed). As Flint says in his introduction, “The fanzines were part of what felt like a movement… of transgressive culture”. Mags like Sheer Filth were a backlash against the moral conservatism of the 1980s: an attempt to blast open doors to a more open culture by celebrating taboo subject matter – revelling in a world of “Sixties garage punk, fetish clubs, horror film festivals, illicit porn, industrial music, underground cinema, true crime, performance art, occult dabbling, extreme literature and general weirdness.”

Sheer Filth furnishes a good dose of all of these things in its 240 pages: Cathal Tohill provides a comprehensive career retrospective of the Sultan of Sleaze, film producer David F. Friedman, complemented by an in-depth interview of the same by Flint; Dave Slater reviews the extreme circus of Archaos; David Kerekes visits an exhibition of transgressive films depicting the body in extremis at Manchester’s Cornerhouse; Ian Kerkhoff provides a scholarly account of Italian porn star/ first lady of the Italian Parliament, La Cicciolina, in action; Tohill catalogues the 1940s-60s cheesecake bondage movies of Irving Klaw; and there is much, much more besides.

In its celebration of graphic sleaze Sheer Filth has a certain nostalgic value in these access-all-areas internet times; but back in in the 1980s, Flint would have faced falling foul of the Obscene Publications Act with articles like ‘Some Reflections on the Disappearance of the Cumshot’. And lest we forget just how pernicious the moral reformers of the time really were, Flint reminds us of a House of Commons motion tabled in the early 1990s to widen the obscenity laws so as to prohibit the publication of De Sade’s Juliette – this was a novel written in 1797!

But Sheer Filth is an important book not just because it provides a record of the battles against censorship by the ‘unpopular’ culture of the 1980s-90s; it also preserves some rare and fascinating interviews that would otherwise be destined to sink without a trace. Within its pages, Flint talks to cult figures like Hershell G. Lewis (giving a rare interview on his nudie films); Buttgereit; Samuel Z. Arkoff, Brit horror maestro Norman J. Warren; old time ‘nudie cutie’ Pamela Green; and post porn modernist, Annie Sprinkle. And what mainstream magazine would feature French auteur Robert Bresson alongside Pee Wee Herman in its pages?

Flint and Fenton are to be congratulated for this wonderful compilation of Sheer Filth. More than just a catalogue of depravity: it’s an important cultural document. Let us hope similar fanzine collections (Headcheese and Chainsaws, anyone?) are forthcoming.

Review: Hollow World / Author: Michael J. Sullivan / Publisher: Tachyon / Release Date: April 15th

Michael J. Sullivan is fast making a name for himself. He has already become a little bit of a darling of the fantasy community with his well-received Riyria Chronicles, with the books selling in excess of 450,000 copies since the release of the first in the series.

Unlike many, Sullivan is not satisfied to simply stick to the genre that made his name. Few authors would be so willing to venture out of their comfort zone and take on a completely different genre but, following a Kickstarter appeal that raised ten times the amount asked, Sullivan is back to take on the sci-fi genre with Hollow World.

So, was the final result worth the gamble? In a word… yes. An emphatic yes at that. Hollow World is a simply fantastic read. Sullivan makes the wise choice of not focusing too much on the science behind his time-travelling story, allowing himself to craft a tale filled with richly detailed characters that readers will connect with easily. The science won’t matter once you are drawn into the marvellously realised Hollow World, with Sullivan putting a nice twist of individuality into the familiar trope of a future world populated by a breed of humans that are indistinguishable from each other.

Ellis Rogers and Pax form a double act that is wholly endearing. Rogers’ troubled past and failed aspirations form the basis of his character and act as the perfect catalyst for the decisions he makes. This is beautifully counterbalanced by the raw emotion and sensitivity of Pax, who is able to understand Ellis far more deeply than anybody else ever has, including his wife and best friend.

Talking of Ellis’ best friend, Warren acts as the perfect foil to our hero. All of the best villains are ones who truly believe in the things that they are doing. After all, if they don’t believe it, why would anybody take them seriously as a threat? Sullivan writes the character of Warren brilliantly, using him as a vehicle to take on the very troubling issues a place like Hollow World creates without ever letting him lapse into cartoonish supervillainy. The man has a point with almost everything that he says, even if the conclusions he reaches are extreme, and this allows him to play on Rogers’ own issues with the future that he has found himself in.

Sullivan himself notes that Hollow World is unlikely to sell in large numbers. In a world saturated with fantasy and beastie literature, a sci-fi book that examines the very human impact of the world that has been created is a hard sell. It shouldn’t be. Hollow World is an excellent read and genre fans should check it out as soon as they are able.

Review: Star Wars – Dawn of the Jedi – Into the Void / Author: Tim Lebbon / Publisher: Lucas Books/ Release Date: Out Now

Set in a time even older than the time of Darth Revan or Nomi Sunrider, Into the Void offers a look into the Jedi Order’s earliest days. Known as the Je’daii, the warriors guided by the Force seek to ensure peace and prosperity in this time but now face a new threat from a renegade former apprentice. Fanatically obsessed with exploring the unknown reaches of space, his ambitions put at risk the lives of countless innocents.

While it has an interesting premise, Into the Void suffers from a vast number of problems when fitting it into the lore. Despite being set at a time before lightsabers were even created, it feels as if it could have easily been a Republic era story. There is nothing here which distinguishes it from those times, and little effort is made to really explore the differences between the Je’daii and the Order. They even have the same ranks, roles and duties as their later incarnation with seemingly no evolution. This is hardly helped by Lebbon playing fast and loose with the canon, with multiple races showing up who have not even been discovered yet.

Even getting beyond these issues, the pages read like an early draft of a story. Grammar issues are rife, and the tense in which it is told shifts at random; sometimes even from page to page. Scenes are barely described or defined, leaving you often baffled at where people are and the characters feel wooden at best. A major part of this is down to dialogue, which is barren of personality or individual touches. Similarly, you’re given no impression of the differing cultures of each world, what separates each species from one another or even how they treat each other.

If you’re here for combat, you’re going to be sorely disappointed with what Into the Void offers. Space battles are almost non-existent and very poorly told, with no real punch or impact to any explosions or dangerous manoeuvres. Ground fights are just as sparse and dully uninteresting, ending almost as soon as they begin. Even chase sequences feel sluggish and one-sided, without any sense of risk to excite the reader.

Top this all off with plot holes which threaten to swallow the entire narrative, a disappointing third act and a non-ending and this is a terrible book. It’s a wasted opportunity and fails even as a generic action tale. Stay as far, far away from this one as you can get.

Review: Dark Vision / Author: Debbie Johnson / Publisher: Del Rey / Release Date: Out Now

The debut novel from freelance journalist Debbie Johnson, Dark Vision is a vibrant and sexy fusion of urban fantasy and Celtic mythology of varying authenticity.

Lily McCain is a music journalist for a Liverpool newspaper who avoids all human contact (both emotional and physical) due to the fact that, when she touches anyone, it comes with the unfortunate side effect of being granted (often morbid) visions of their future. But that’s not all. Turns out she’s also the mortal avatar of a Celtic goddess and is subsequently caught in the middle of a millennia-old power struggle where she is destined to make a choice that will decide the fate of all humanity for aeons to come. So, no pressure or anything.

One of the biggest appeals of urban fantasy is the contrast of modern-day environments with the magical underworlds hiding in the shadows of the city streets. The best examples of the subgenre are ones that not only give a true feel for the city in which they take place, but also leave you with the impression they could not have been set anywhere else. Like Kate Griffin’s London, Tanya Huff’s Toronto or Sergei Lukyanenko’s Moscow, the Liverpool that Debbie Johnson crafts feels intimate and familiar, even if it’s a place you’ve never set foot in your life. The city’s rain-swept streets, crowded nightclubs and the bustling vibrancy of everyday Scouse life are given an otherworldly counterpoint by elements such as Celtic warriors, fae barmen, vampire rock bands, a drunken goddess tutor and one quite ballsy use of a deus ex machina (in the truest sense of the phrase).

Not your standard fantasy heroine, Lily spends the entire book in a state of almost perpetual bewilderment as the truths of her origin and newfound responsibilities come to light. She’s self-deprecating about her shortcomings and the somewhat lamentable situation she’s been thrust into, but is never self-pitying, preferring instead to face each new obstacle with dry wit and a healthy volume of alcohol. While her sardonic sense of humour in the face of supernatural adversity could be compared to Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden, she doesn’t do so with as self-conscious a desire to be funny, instead coming off as though if she didn’t just run with the overload of revelations and acknowledge their inherent absurdity, she’d likely go mad.

As well as crafting the overview of her fantasy world and fondly detailing the muscular forms of all the hunky men who have dive-bombed Lily’s life, Johnson also revels in letting her geek flag fly. References abound throughout to, amongst others, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Lord of the Rings, Heroes, Logan’s Run, Clash of the Titans, The Addams Family and Bill & Ted, usually invoked by Lily in an effort to make some degree of sense of what’s going on.

Although Dark Vision is very much a self-contained story, it’s likely to be the first of a series. Not just because books like these almost always are, but also due to identifiable seeds of further stories planted along the way of this one. If future instalments build on the strength of this debut, they’ll be ones to look out for.

Review: Other People’s Darkness and Other Stories / Author: Nicholas Vince / Publisher: Bibiofear / Release Date: Out Now

Nicholas Vince may have forever earned his place in the hallowed halls of horror fame with his heavily made-up turns as the Chatterer Cenobite in the first two Hellraiser movies and the moon-faced Kinski in Nightbreed, but if there’s any justice these should soon be eclipsed by his endeavours as a writer in the genre.

Following his inaugural collection, What Monsters Do, Other People’s Darkness is a second collection of short, sharp shocks in the same style and format. Laced with uneasy comedy, each tale shows us that our monsters within are perhaps to be feared as much as any that may or may not be lurking out there in the darkness, and that every action we take has its consequences.

The opening tale, from which the present collection takes its title, concerns a young man who after a near death experience finds he has gained the dubious gift of being able to tell from people’s faces if their death is imminent – and also if they are about to murder someone. The situation, seen through to its logical extremes, ends on a note so chilling that you could freeze a pack of sausages in it.

‘Having Once Turned Around’ finds an errant husband on a clandestine weekend tryst in Wales getting much more than he bargained for when he and his lover run afoul of a pack of Beast of Bodmin-esque cat creatures, eventually finding refuge with a strange old lady who’s looking less elderly with every passing minute. ‘Spoilers’ concerns the misadventures of a former soldier in the employ of a sinister modern day Star Chamber, who finds it necessary to take extreme measures when it becomes clear that he and his estranged family may soon become surplus to requirements.

‘This Too Solid Flesh’ deals with female jealousy, with the frumpy protagonist scheming to do away with her sexier, more successful housemate, with consequences that we defy you to predict. Finally, the brief ‘Why Won’t They Tell Me?’ is set somewhere in the late Victorian period, giving a child’s eye view of the fate that befalls a family of music hall folk when they get their hands on a malefic magic lantern slide show.

Make no mistake, despite the Hellraiser and Nightbreed associations, these tales are in no way ‘Clive Barker lite’. Vince is developing a distinctive new voice of his own and it’s only going to get better. Seek out this clutch of creepy chronicles today, and tell him that Starburst sent you.

Review: True Fire / Author: Gary Meehan / Publisher: Quercus / Release Date: May 1st

Gary Meehan’s True Fire is intended for a young adult audience, but with its sharp and honest prose it exceeds that readership. Meehan doesn’t address the reader as a child or as an adult, but simply as an equal and that makes for a fulfilling read. There’s a knowing to the text, a mutual understanding, and while it doesn’t have the intelligence of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, say, it has a similar conviction.

The narrative is short and precise, weaving together tight, well-constructed sentences into sparse, poetic description which has a timeless quality. A personal sets the story in motion. While a village getting sacked is hardly the most original opening, the thrill of the quest is compelling. The story loses momentum as it progresses, before rising from the slump with a twists-a-plenty third act.

Megan is an endearing narrator, a strong-willed and hardy individual. She’s not without a girlish side and a youthful desire for normality as she discovers her pregnancy is more than an inconvenience.

Young adult writers have a responsibility to be attentive and mature with their writing, and Meehan handles the darker side of life with surprising finesse. There’s a fair amount of socio-political commentary going on too, some of it buried in subtext, some of it more obvious. The text explores a lot of pressing issues, from gender politics to religion and, perhaps unsurprisingly, abortion.

On the downside, some of the conversation is far too modern and infused with the kind of jokes expected from all night gaming sessions, often at odds with the setting. It’s generally uncomfortable to have the modern so superimposed on traditional fantasy and maybe that’s progressive, but ultimately it’s a distraction.

The smart aleck character of Damon leaves a lot to be desired, and his introduction is about where the novel starts plodding along. While there are some surprising revelations to be had, his jokes fail to leave an impression. Elsewhere the quality isn’t consistent, fluctuating between run-of-the-mill genre fiction and something altogether deeper and more interesting. There’s some cringe-worthy metaphor and some gaudy innuendo, but all in all True Fire is a rewarding novel that doesn’t patronise its readers and offers a lot more than most young adult fiction.

Review: Scavenger 1 – Zoid / Author: Paul Stewart / Artist: Chris Riddell / Publisher: Macmillan / Release Date: Out Now

Good sci-fi books aimed at the young need to be far more common. In a genre filled with franchise-based products, there’s a danger that those who still have some growing taller to do will miss the amazing diversity and strangeness that makes up the bulk of sci-fi in favour of lightsabers, Klingons and Space Marines.

Scavenger 1: Zoid is a great bit of sci-fi fun that neatly sidesteps the familiar tropes in favour of some classic ideas. It is the tale of York, a 14-year-old boy who lives on an ancient colony ship. Long ago the robots on board rebelled and turned into violent machines called zoids, which then proceeded to hunt down most of the humans and kill them. When the rest of York’s village is kidnapped (rather than murdered) by the machines, he finds himself on a quest to rescue the only people he knows and also discovers more of the secrets of his home.

Paul Stewart tells an engrossing and enjoyable tale, and it’s a heady mix of some classic sci-fi ideas. A little bit of Silent Running here, a touch of Logan’s Run there, all wrapped up in a bundle of ideas reminiscent of Starlost or even Brian Aldiss’s Non-Stop. All of this is written in a straightforward style that less experienced readers will want to read again and again. York is a relatable and sympathetic character and the world he lives in is a nice mix of mystery and adventure.

Chris Riddell’s art is as gorgeous as always. His busy and highly detailed style has always been memorable and atmospheric. With this particular subject matter he really comes into his own. A skilled world builder, Riddell’s art tells the tale as lyrically and as intelligently as Stewart’s words, and the two make for a dynamite team. The world of Scavenger 1: Zoid also contains some fantastic creatures which again reference all sorts of classic sci-fi without really being too obvious about it. This is the first of the series and we can only hope there is more to come. Don’t let the neon green cover put you off, this is perfect for the budding sci-fi fan in your life.

Review: Baptism of Fire / Author: Andrzej Sapkowski / Publisher: Gollancz / Release Date: Out Now

Andrzej Sapkowski’s Baptism of Fire is hardly a recent title, having been originally published in 1996. With the critically acclaimed Witcher video games based on his extensive saga, and the demand for more literary fantasy, it’s a surprise it’s taken until 2014 to get an English translation.

The third in the Witcher saga is an incredibly nuanced, well-articulated novel, imbued with a self-assured command of description and brimming with Eastern European folklore. There’s enough re-cap snuck in to give first time readers the benefit of the doubt. Sapkowski has the discipline and styling of George R.R. Martin, and fans of Martin will appreciate the political espionage, characterisation and intelligence of Baptism of Fire, finding it familiar but refreshing.

Sapkowski makes you aware of the environment, cementing the reader in the political and geographic climates of the novel, meticulously describing the mechanics of the world and its inhabitants. The dialogue is commendable and expertly balances a believable fantasy aesthetic without being dull, comical or pretentious.

While Milva is a compelling figure — feminist at best, progressive at worst — it’s Geralt, the Witcher himself, who, unsurprisingly, demands and inspires the most attention. There’s an omnipresent quality to him, a sly mystery.

All the female characters exist purely on their own merits and are far from token. Sapkowski doesn’t patronise women by trying to pander them, nor are they written solely as titillation. Too often male writers struggle to articulate strong females, Sapkowski must be a keen observer as his characters aren’t propped up by weak writing. The book, and specifically the saga, explores gender and sexuality with objective integrity.

The book also explores the abhorrent abuse and fear of women throughout history, expressed by the witch hunts, and points the finger at religion. It’s perhaps unsurprising that the book takes a cynical stance on religion, especially given the strong presence of the Catholic Church in Poland.

Poland’s history is fraught with cruelty and violence and culturally they’re a people still making sense of their collective history through art, through music and through writing. The novel channels World War 2 specifically, tapping into the fear and paranoia surrounding the secret police and concentration camps, and indeed the novel is set against a backdrop of escalating warfare, captured in all its intensity and calamity.

Although Sapkowski doesn’t flinch away from the realities of violence and anatomy, he never dwells on it. This is an attitude that extends to sex and sexuality, a departure from eager, younger and hornier writers. Reading the book you realise the profound differences, stylistically and culturally, between Eastern Europe and American fiction.

There’s something theatrical about the novel; the sprawling, in-depth conversations would translate well to the stage and, noting its success as a video game, there’s something wonderfully transferable and expansive about the text. In novel form however, Sapkowski demonstrates great restraint and doesn’t get carried away with the word count, though there are a few too many adverbs and the occasional lazy plot device.

Spin-off novels from video games usually result in pot-boilers, with the occasional gem, but video games inspired by fiction, now that’s interesting. Storytelling is becoming increasingly more important in games, and drawing from stronger, more intelligent novels can only be a good thing. Maybe the future of popular fiction is cross-cultural and generational. In whatever case, the future for both mediums is bright, and hopefully Sapkowksi has more to contribute to both.

Review: Annihilation / Author: Jeff VanderMeer / Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux / Release Date: Out Now 

Area X has been a contaminated area for thirty years, segregated by the government of Southern Reach. Eleven different expedition troops have entered the area to investigate and report but each mission has ended differently. The first expedition reported the area had evolved into a perfect wilderness, true nature untouched by man, a modern Eden. The second troop all committed suicide, the third all turned on each other with murderous consequences and the most recent, the eleventh troop all contracted terminal cancer.

We meet the biologist as she enters Area X as part of expedition 12. The all-female troop is minimal, made up of a biologist, an anthropologist, a psychologist and a surveyor. Originally a linguist had been included but after the months of intensive training and psychoanalysis she decided against participating at the very last moment.

As they pass into Area X they’re unnerved by the linguist’s disappearance but the three women are encouraged to continue by the psychologist. Banned from taking cameras, videos or GPS of any sort, the team rely solely on maps as they head into the wilderness to set up camp.

The biologist hides a secret from her other teams members, a fact she insists to herself won’t affect her work. Her husband was a member of the eleventh expedition, reappearing from the mission with no idea how he got home or the details of what he saw in Area X. The man who returned was not the man she fell in love with, their unstable relationship a thing of the past as he became an un-opinionated zombie, void of personality. She panicked and called the government to collect him, they took him away and soon he was diagnosed with the cancer that killed him. She wants to know what he saw and needs to know why he changed.

On their first day exploring they make a discovery that’s not documented on any of their maps, a tunnel that disappears into the dark. They argue over their next move, to investigate the tunnel or to carry on and head to the lighthouse on the map. It’s the first disagreement that tears the team apart but as they turn on each other and the biologist realises their decisions may not be of their own free will she is constantly drawn back to the tunnel and the secrets it contains.

Described as J.J Abrams meets Margaret Atwood, the Southern Trilogy has a lot to live up to but this first instalment certainly achieves it. Beautifully written prose and an instantly grabbing storyline make a winning team. The use of hypnosis as a control mechanism within the expedition adds an intriguing amount of doubt to the reports about Area X and the biologist herself. The psychologist is obviously hiding details from the rest of the team and as she slowly releases some of her secrets, the biologist knows there is far more to discover. With a touch of Lost about it, it is easy to understand the J.J Abrams comparison, fingers crossed the ending isn’t quite such a disappointment. If Annihilation is anything to go by then those fears will be unfounded and the Southern Reach Trilogy has the potential to become a science fiction classic of the future.

Review: Nebula Awards Showcase 2014 / Author: Kij Jackson / Publisher: Prometheus Books / Release Date: June 13th

The year’s best contributions to American science fiction and fantasy are presented in the Nebula Awards Showcase, with the winners of ‘Best Novel’ and the Andre Norton award for the same category having excerpts included. Stuffed to the gills with inventive ideas, this book tells us that neither genre, even after so many years, is showing any signs of slowing down.

Our favourite piece, Nancy Kress’ novella After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall, is easily the best thing in the book (as well as being by far the longest thing in it). It’s a touch above 100 pages but it will keep you engrossed throughout its well-plotted time travel story. It is a bit heavy-handed at times, but in the same way that the best Twilight Zone episodes are; it’s so well done that you don’t care. Our second favourite piece is Fair Coin, with its intriguing premise and its selection of well-developed characters. It’s a shame it’s an excerpt as we’d like to read the whole thing and we suspect a few readers will feel that way too.

The creators of this anthology have served Gene Wolfe fans well this year as he is honoured with the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award. To celebrate this, there is an essay from Michael Dirda, a funny tribute from Neil Gaiman that talks about ways to read Wolfe’s work and a story from Wolfe himself (Christmas Inn, first published in 2006).

With each of the entries it’s easy to see why they won as the overall standard is superb. We don’t expect everyone to enjoy every piece in this book, but all of them are worth your time and attention as examples of some of the best science fiction and fantasy today.