You find us today . . .
. . . we poor lost souls who walk the dusty, cobwebbed passageways of PS Towers, in even more chaos than is usual—and, as you should know by now, chaos is our middle name here at PS. And the reason? Why, we’re shifting the pickin’, packin’ and postin’ side of the operation to a new purpose-built premises a 10-minute walk across town. We’ll send some photos when it’s a little tidier that it is right now.
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Meanwhile, on with the show . . .
For pretty much most of this year, Chris ‘Fangorn’ Baker and I have been discussing how we thought Stephen King’s ‘SALEM’S LOT should be illustrated, choosing scenes and themes that would best lend themselves to Chris’s kickass style of chilling realism. Let’s face it, the aim is simple, right? If Steve’s words could make you believe—and there’s the key word right there—believe that it’s possible for a solitary vampire (albeit one with good ground support) to wreak havoc on a small New England town then Chris’s images had to do exactly the same. And we all think he’s clinched it big time . . . and Steve himself has given the thumbs-up seal of Bangor approval.
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So without further ado . . .
Here’s the three novella-length standalone volumes and the special illustrated slipcase. We’re doing 974 copies plus 26 oversized lettered copies which we’ll talk about a little farther down the dirt-track.
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. . . just hit the loading bay with Robert McCammon’s classic BLUE WORLD collection from 1990—Jeez, is it really 25 years ago!—featuring three previously uncollected stories. We have just five copies up for grabs so make hay, short-story fans because here you’ll find
- a man who awakens one morning to find a skeleton in bed where his wife had been the night before;
- a small-time thief who steals a makeup case, and learns a dead horror star's secret;
- a roadside diner, where a Vietnam veteran comes seeking shelter from the storm;
- a young man in prison, who finds beauty and hope on the wings of a yellow bird;
- Halloween in a very special residential area, where trick-or-treating is deadly serious;
- a red house on a street of gray houses, and a breath of sweet fire
- the adventures of a has-been serial hero, who dons his old costume and goes in search of a serial killer;
- a priest obsessed by a porno star, and his realization that both of them are being stalked by a third shadow; and
- an old woman who channels early, simpler times in a melancholy Bradburyesque future.
You will see worlds within worlds through the windows of these stories. We might even see the end of the world, and we might sit on a front porch for a while and sip a glass of gasoline on a hot December day. And all this for just £65 plus postage.
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. . . is a delightful small-but-perfectly-formed novella from Jonathan Carroll, TEACHING THE DOG TO READ.
Jonathan Carroll is one of the most compelling, consistently versatile storytellers in modern imaginative literature and this new work is quintessential: surprising, funny, and filled with unexpected moments and astonishing revelation.
The story opens when mid-level office drone Tony Areal receives an extravagant gift: the Lichtenberg wristwatch he has always coveted. Shortly afterward, he receives an even grander gift: the luxurious—and expensive—Porsche Cayman that has always been the car of his dreams. Accompanying the car is the mysterious Alice, who knows more about Tony’s dreams and desires than Tony himself. This encounter opens the door to a rich and unexpected universe: the world behind the world.
Just like the very best and most memorable episodes from Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone pantheon, TEACHING THE DOG TO READ is set at the intersection of the everyday and the truly miraculous, a place where reality itself shifts and shimmers with disconcerting suddenness. It begins in the realm of recognizable things and ends in a room where a bizarre—and invisible—reunion takes place. Along the way, it offers both grand entertainment and a visionary meditation on the complex connections between our dreaming and waking selves. The result is a master class in the art of narrative and a permanent addition to Jonathan Carroll’s remarkable body of work. Once again, we have just five signed copies priced at £35 plus postage. Don’t miss this one, folks—but don’t take just my word for it: here’s this from LOCUS magazine:
“Carroll’s pacing is perfect, as he introduces new elements of oddness one by one. And his insight into matters of the heart is deep. ‘There are moments in any relationship which can come at the beginning, middle or end, where everything balances on a single word or sentence.’ In elegant yet utterly unpretentious prose, Carroll provides one of those pivotal instances right here.”
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“If you go looking for it, just about halfway uptown and halfway downtown, there’s this hotel stuck like a pin all the way through the world. Down inside the Artemisia it’s this mortal coil all over. Earthly delights on every floor.”
The hotel Artemisia sits on a fantastical 72nd Street, in a decade that never was. It is home to a cast of characters, creatures, and creations unlike any other, including especially Zelda Fair, who is perfect at being Zelda, but who longs for something more. The world of this extraordinary novella from Catherynne Valente—a bootlegger's brew of fairy tales, Jazz Age opulence, and organized crime—is ruled over by the diminutive, eternal, sinister Al. Zelda holds her own against the boss, or so it seems. But when she faces off against him and his besotted employee Frankie in a deadly game that just might change everything, she must bet it all and hope not to lose . . .
In SPEAK EASY, the multiple-award-winning, New York Times bestselling author once again reinvents a classic which interprets “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” if Zelda Fitzgerald waltzed in and stole the show. This Prohibition-Era tale will make heads spin and hearts pound. It’s a story as old as time, as effervescent as champagne, and as dark as the devil’s basement on a starless night in the city.
Once more, we have just five signed copies priced at £35 plus postage.
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Check out these online ravers . . .
“Valente’s language is extravagantly rich, and her world is filled with fascinating details. The amount of story packed into this slender volume would easily fill a novel. —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“Valente’s Prohibtion-era spin on the classic story of ‘The Twelve Dancing Princesses’ is thoroughly eerie and enchanting . . . this fresh fairytale gets under your skin quicker than Zelda Fair's black-market booze.” —RT REVIEWS
“Casting infamous flapper Zelda Fitzgerald as the lead (and a pelican as her devoted follower) is just one of several inspired alterations that makes this novella a cut above the usual fairy-tale retellings.”
—LIBRARY JOURNAL
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And finally, we have just four copies remaining of Alan Moore’s VOICE OF THE FIRE.
Alan Moore is one of the true grand masters of the graphic novel. His signature works, which include Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell are cultural touchstones that have assumed the status of modern classics. But Moore’s versatility extends to other forms as well, as his first (and thus far only published) novel, Voice of the Fire, amply demonstrates.
Go here without delay.
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Okay, that’s it for this week.
FantasyCon (23rd to 25th October) is creeping up on us so we’ll soon be telling you about what—and whom—you should expect to see there in our two PS book launches. Maybe next week or the week after. So try be patient until then and enjoy the weekend. Look after each other . . . and happy reading.
Pete
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