Midsummer Night by Freda Warrington

The next title in Freda Warrington’s Aetherial Tales series, Midsummer Night (Tor $27.99) is now available.

“Decades ago, at a remote British estate where the veil between our world and the world of the Aetherials – the fair folk – is too easily breached, three young people tricked their uncle by dressing as the fey. But their joke took a deadly turn when true Aetherials crossed into our world, took one of the pranksters, and literally scared their uncle to death.

Decades later, the estate has become an art centre presided over by Juliana Flagg, a noted visionary sculptor and the daughter of one of the long-ago pranksters.”

Meanwhile, a man “stumbles through the portal, into our world, begging for help. The forces of magic and the power of love contend for the soul of a man in this story of loss and redemption.”

John Kessel saves my sanity and wins an award

OK, an exaggerated claim. Yes, Kessel did win an award (more on this below) but not because of services for me. I mentioned a few posts ago that post-World Fantasy Award judging, I found it hard to find stories and novels that captured my imagination, and that I was starting an awful lot of books but finishing few of them. Well, the other day I pulled from my 'to-be-read' book case John Kessel's collection, The Baum Plan for Financial Independence (Small Beer Press, $16.00). And wow! Fantasy fiction once again has hooked me.

The Baum Plan consists of 14 stories published over the years 1998 to 2008, including one original to this volume. The opener, the title story, tells of Sid and Dot, two not-very-good criminals. Sid, recently released from prison, teams up with Dot, again, and they head off to raid a house that, according to Dot, holds a fortune. The house itself doesn't. But a weird trip takes them to a surreal place where their dreams may be rewarded. Just the first paragraph was sufficient to engage me -- and from then on I was captured by Kessel's assured fiction. He writes with an elegance similar to that of Graham Joyce; it's straightforward, clear, sparkling, and unencumbered.

And so it progresses throughout the book. The last story in the collection is 'Pride and Prometheus'. It doesn't take an Einstein to guess which two literary greats meet in this gorgeously funny story of love and redemption. A suitably strange mix -- and a poignant tale.

And the award? I am delighted to report that 'Pride and Prometheus' won the Nebula Award for best novellete, recently announced. Other award winners include Ursula Le Guinn for Powers in the novel category. Find out more here. And if you want to learn more about John Kessel (you should), go here.

House of Mystery: A Review

House of Mystery #1: Room & Boredom by Matthew Sturges and Luca Rossie. Vertigo $9.99

Reviewed by Peter Coleborn

This graphic novel brings together issues 1 to 5 of Vertigo’s amazing fantasy series. There are two houses: the House of Secrets and the House of Mystery – and readers of Gaiman’s Sandman saga (and other astute folk) – will know where this is heading. The Sturges/Rossi collection focuses on the second house, but of course.

A mystery is always more exciting, and perhaps a lot more dangerous, than a mere secret. And mysteries are part of all good stories. Stories may have messages, for sure. They also provide an escape. The House of Mystery isn’t so obliging, especially for the five main protagonists of this series.

Fig is a young woman who dreamt of being an architect and dreams of a house, thinking it’s just part of her imagination. She runs from a spooky couple (their drawing reminding me of Buffy’s gentlemen). She enters a building, through a door, and into the House of Mystery, specifically into the bar part of it. There she encounters Harry the barkeep, Ann the pirate, Cress the waitress (and drama queen according to the blurb), and the Poet – all long-term residents. The house will not allow them to leave, and Fig soon finds herself in the same predicament.

But the bar is also full of itinerants, folk who pass through the watering hole – and payment for their drinks and food (there is always plenty of that, the house ensures) is through their stories. So in this volume, besides the overall arc by Sturges and Rossi, we have mini-tales by Bill Willingham, Jill Thompson and others. They work remarkably well. After all, story telling inside an inn isn’t that unusual.

The story boils down to this: Fig arrives and attempts to escape, and fails (it’s OK, I’m not really giving way the dénouement). The important aspect is the developing relationships between these five people and Fig’s coming to appreciate her situation. You’ll need to read volume two of House of Mystery, whenever that becomes available, in order to follow the tale further. I have, in fact, been reading this series the monthly magazine format and I must confess that the story – with its subtle sub-plots – works better as a bound volume rather than waiting a month between reading each chapter; this is no simple superhero comic.

Rossi’s artwork is tremendous. It is nice and angular and tastefully coloured. The characterisation is expertly captured and the faces are quite distinctive; and the three ladies do look rather sensual in some panels. It’s this kind of graphic novel that answers the common ascertain that comics are simply for young children. House of Mystery is definitely aimed at the mature-of-mind reader. Recommended.

SF on the BBC

The BBC is to broadcast a number of SF/fantasy programmes on Radios 3, 4 and 7. The short season includes adaptations of works by H G Wells, J G Ballard and Arthur C Clarke. Full details can be found here.

Cthulhu Statuette

This is one of five statuettes I cast in resin-plaster over the summer months. I can't cast any more because I managed to badly damage the mould on number five. The original clay master is also, alas, destroyed.

The statuette stands about 6" tall, and looks great on the mantle above the fire place.


If you are interested in obtaining one, please get in touch.


Photo (c) Peter Coleborn

Three Ways to Snog an Alien: book review

Three Ways to Snog an Alien by Graham Joyce. Faber (2008) £6.99
Reviewed by Peter Coleborn

A terrible cover. Looks like chic lit for teenage girls. But get past that and you’ll find a wonderful exploration of teenagers in love. At first I was reminded of the Matheson story ‘The Trouble with Julie’; but Joyce has very much his own voice and his own compelling story to relate.

Doogie falls for the new girl Angelica. Naturally, for kids of his age, there’re the usual taunts about Doogie loving Angelica. Nevertheless, they go on a date – for an ice cream in a local café. But he sees something disturbing, something that convinces him that Angelica is an alien. And now he’s on the look out for all things weird. The girl’s parents’ strange behaviour only further confirm his suspicions.

At home, Doogie does what we all would nowadays. He Googles the Web. He soon encounters a group of on-line conspiracy theorists who concur with him. Doogie is sucked into an investigation, armed with pointers to prove Angelica’s alien nature. He is warned that the investigation could prove highly dangerous.

But at the same time, Doogie is using the Web to search out dating tips, on how to handle women. The conflicts these two threads create are very amusing. Made me giggle out loud a few times.

If I didn’t know better, I’d suggest that Graham Joyce was writing from experience (well, to all teenage boys, girls are unfathomable, anyway). But – big but – Joyce adds that element of ambiguity. Doogie’s question is fully answered. Or is it? Are Angelica and her parents aliens? Or are they just strange? I’m not telling here.

I am a great fan of Joyce’s writing. He writes crisply and engagingly, with no superfluous words. He has a knack of creating very real people. They have normal lives, in normal towns and cities. And then he shifts reality ever so slightly, using that conflict to create perfect fiction.

Joyce’s previous young adult titles published by Faber are TWOC and Do the Creepy Thing. Read them all.

Allen Ashley

I received an email from Allen Ashley, bemoaning the lack of a photograph of a certain individual. In the meantime, here is Allen selling Elastic Press books at Fantasycon. Allen is generally a good sort -- even if he is an Arsenal fan.

Check out the Elastic Press website -- they publish some nice books, including a new one due in a month or so, edited by Mr Ashley.

Photo (c) Peter Coleborn

Mythago Wood

I recently re-read Robert Holdstock's Mythago Wood -- reissued as a fine hardcover edition. Here is my review of it, initially posted on Amazon and sent to the BFS' Prism:

Back in 1981, Robert Holdstock wrote the novella 'Mythago Wood'. It was so good it was expanded into the World Fantasy Award winning novel of the same name (it won it in 1985). I am so happy to see Mythago Wood reprinted as a handsome hard cover, over twenty years on.

The decades have not dimmed the story or the quality of the writing. Ryhope Wood is a wooded area in the English countryside - but that's not all it is. From the outside, one can walk around it in hours; yet once inside the journey may take weeks. It is also a piece of land that has its roots (pun intended) travelling back not just in time, but to the realms that generate our myths, where the archetypes of legend originate.

This book is no rote fantasy. It tells of the passionate obsession and loyalty of the Huxley family, of two brothers and their father. Returning from the War, Stephen discovers that his brother Christian had disappeared into Ryhope, searching for their father. Stephen and his companions follow. But the trip in to the woods becomes a trek, and the hapless travellers become lost and subsumed into the myths they set out to explore.

Mythago Wood engages the reader as all good books should and so few do. Although Holdstock later wrote sequels to this story, Mythago Wood is a standalone novel. It is brilliantly written by one of the UK's foremost fantasists. Buy it. Read it. Love it.

-- Reviewed by Peter Coleborn

Yet more photos from Fantasycon 2008

Reggie Oliver











Christopher Fowler











Chaz Brenchley, Graham Joyce & Mark Newton







Simon Green












The Fantasycon Banquet







Chris Morgan








All photos (c) Peter Coleborn

Fantasycon 2009

If you've read my report on Fantasycon 2008, you may have noticed that I am co-Chairing next year's convention. This will take place over the weekend 18-20 September, 2009. Once again it's at the Britannia Hotel, Nottingham. The Guests of Honour are still being sorted. However, we (the Fantasycon committee) are proud to announce our Master of Ceremonies: IAN WATSON. (http://www.ianwatson.info/)

The FCon committee are Guy Adams and me (co-Chairs), Debbie Bennett, Jen Barber, Pat Barber, Jan Edwards, Troo Topham, Alex Davies ... so far.

Fantasycon 2008 images

Vincent Chong











Dave McKean & Paul Kane







Tim Lebbon & Christopher Golden









James Barclay











Peter Crowther, Paul Finch, Dave McKean & Stephen Volk








British Fantasy Award winners







All photos (c) Peter Coleborn

If anyone wishes to use any of the photos on this blog please contact me beforehand. I am also able to provide high resolution images suitable for print.

Fantasycon 2008: some observations

The British Fantasy Society's annual convention took place over the weekend 19-21 September, at the Britannia Hotel, Nottingham.

If a Fantasycon is seen to run seamlessly for the attendees, it’s almost inevitable that the organisers had few moments to relax (I know; been there; done that). Personally, Fantasycon did run smoothly; and so a big thanks to the Fantasycon committee.

Fantasycon was fully multi-streamed, which is a nice touch, but perhaps not practical for a smallish convention. It meant that many audiences in the conference halls were sparse. Sad, really. It also meant that I wasn’t able to take photos of panels running simultaneously – at least, not without killing myself by racing up and down the stairs between two floors.

We (Debbie, Jan and I) arrived Friday afternoon, in plenty of time to unload the car and set up our dealer’s tables. Then it was off to Nottingham city centre to buy some food. And then back to the hotel, to register and open up our table to sell a selection of paperbacks and hard covers, most from 2007, and mostly American. We sold quite a lot of stock over the weekend but, to be honest, I was surprised by how many US books we didn’t sell. Don’t UK fans buy US books anymore?

The dealers’ room was full of folk trying to sell their products. But ultimately, for me, it was a disappointment. Besides our table, only The Talking Dead had a large selection of inexpensive books for sale (they were also selling the entire catalogue of PS titles). Almost all the other dealers were small presses, mostly only selling a small range of titles from their own presses. Of course, it is vital for small presses to sell their stock; but I would love to see a dealers’ room full of booksellers hawking products from rare, and expensive, hard covers to inexpensive paperbacks and magazines. Fantasycons of the past also attracted dealers selling jewellery and other similar products. Unfortunately, not this year.

The dealers’ room also housed the art show. Despite some massive Dave McKean originals, plus Vincent Chong prints and paintings, the art show was disappointing. The art show should have its own room, assuming the hotel has the space, and should be full of gorgeous artwork. Actually, Jan and I exhibited some of our ceramic sculptures; we even sold a few pieces.

Master of Ceremonies Christopher Fowler opened the convention on Friday evening. Then the next event was the Fantastique Quiz, hosted by David Howe. It is difficult to organise a quiz with a decent range of questions, so congrats to David for getting it sorted. It’s a pity, then, that few people entered the quiz. Mind you, when I popped in, the first thing question I heard left me stumped. So it was back to the bar for me. The quiz is intended to help break the ice for new comers. I hope it worked.

The rest of the evening was filled with several panels, readings and a book launch. I didn’t get to any of these. Once you’ve attended conventions for many years, missing panels becomes inevitable (although I recall in my youth religiously sitting through all the panels and interviews and talks). For many, Fantasycon has become a meeting place, somewhere to catch up with conversations left incomplete twelve months previously.

Saturday started quite early. The hotel breakfast wasn’t too bad, if you don’t mind greasy bacon (bet it wasn’t free range bacon, either). Then it was off to our table to sell more books. Actually, I rather left that to Jan whilst I toted a camera around, trying to take that elusive shot that defined Fantasycon. Not sure if I managed that, but I did take quite a few (thank the gods for digital photography). So, what did Saturday have to offer?

There were panels on movies, Dr Who, fantastic worlds, taboos, scripting, publishing… I felt that rather too many panels were aimed at the aspiring writer, and not enough were solely celebrating the fantasy genre. There were also the guest of honour interviews: James Barclay, Christopher Golden and Dave McKean. And interspersed throughout the day were several book launches, including a mega launch of several PS titles plus that of Best New Horror volume 19, edited by Stephen Jones. Many of the anthology’s contributors were on hand to sign copies of the book, which sold out pretty quickly.

For a change, the banquet was moved from Sunday to Saturday evening. The room was wonderfully decorated by Jen and Pat Barber, with balloons, candles, and miniature gargoyles. Alas, the food wasn’t brilliant, and the wine was awful – I was informed (you see, Jan and I popped out for a Chinese meal instead). But we made it back for the speeches and the announcement of the British Fantasy Awards . And after that? The “Fabulous Fantasycon Raffle”, executed with panache (and maybe too much haste due to time limits) by Guy Adams and Sarah Pinborough.

Unfortunately, there was a bit of panic that evening. Some bastard stole the DVD projector, which delayed the two movie events, a homage to Ray Harryhausen and a selection of Dave McKean shorts. Fortunately, thefts are uncommon at these events. Alas, we live in a world which includes criminals and conmen, and occasionally they find their way into our conventions…

The main event on Sunday morning, for BFS members, is the annual AGM. This year there was a changing of the guards, with the departure of Marie O’Regan and Vicky Cooke and some others. The new Chair of the society is now Guy Adams, and Helen Hopley was elected secretary. Once again, the AGM managed to discuss the British Fantasy Awards. Maybe, one day, everyone will be content with the rules surrounding these. Then there was a bit of argy bargy about submitting resolution. Very animated. Good fun.

After lunch, I moderated a panel discussion to an audience of maybe ten, on “How to Run a Literary Event”. Actually, this was quite apposite because I lumbered myself the task of co-Chairing, with Guy Adams, Fantasycon 2009. My fellow panellists were Alex Davies, Amanda Foubister, David Howe and Ian Whates. Then the convention slowly imploded with the “Monster Small Press Launch” and the “Dead Dog Party”. To be honest, it was a rather flat way for Fantasycon to end, as many people had already left, to trek back home to the mundane world.

So if you missed Fantasycon 2008, who didn’t you get to chat to? In alphabetical order: James Barclay, Chaz Brenchley, Ramsey Campbell, Simon Clarke, Peter Crowther, Christopher Fowler, Christopher Golden, Simon Green, Stephen Jones, Graham Joyce, Tim Lebbon, Dave McKean, Mark Morris, Reggie Oliver, Sarah Pinborough, Tony Richards, Ian Watson, and many, many others.

All in all, a good, enjoyable and entertaining weekend. I’ll be back next year (well, I have to, don’t I?) And if you’ve never attended a fantasy/SF convention and are worried about coming along, maybe alone, don’t fret and come to Fantasycon 2009. This convention tries hard to make everyone welcomed. And you never know, you may find yourself running one, one day.

(c) Peter Coleborn