The Weeks that Were
Sunday, October 30, 2011
The biweekly distillation of the pornokaos. Another busy (and eerily fast) two weeks have gone by.
First - an invitation. This coming Friday, 4 November, is the launch of Pandemonium: Stories of the Apocalypse. The anthology is edited by us, introduced by Tom Hunter and features original stories from Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Lauren Beukes, Jonathan Oliver, Scott K. Andrews, Lou Morgan, Charlie Human, Tom Pollock, Sam Wilson, Chrys Balis, Den Patrick, S.L. Grey, Sophia McDougall, Andy Remic, Archie Black, David Bryher, Magnus Anderson, Oz Vance and Kim Lakin-Smith.
The launch takes place as part of Tate Britain's Late at Tate festivities. By signing up as one of our guests (it takes 3 seconds and we won't spam you), you get special offers including a glass of wine, a poster and (best of all) two for one tickets to the John Martin: Apocalypse special exhibit. We'll be wandering our flogging the ebook (the hardcover won't be in shops for another two weeks), listening to readings and generally making it the merriest apocalypse ever.
We hope to see you there.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch... a few reviews:
- Peter Blauner's Casino Moon (1994 / 2009) (and the epic noir)
- Ward Langley's Blood and Hate (1959) (and Antipodean meta-Westerns)
- Patrick Ness' A Monster Calls (2011) (and the real monsters)
- Nelson Nye's Quick-Fire Hombre (1968) (and gormless anachronism)
- Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins' The Consummata (2011) (and rationalising Cuba)
Anne's Monsters & Mullets series took a turn for the animated and managed to endure the entirety of She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword. Our Rattle & Boom series returned to look at the Pirates of the Caribbean Buccaneer tie-in game (and found it slightly scruvy).
Friday Five went audio visual. First Magnus Anderson and Scott K. Andrews swung by to share their favourite geeky tracks, later Jonathan Oliver schooled us all with his choice in horror movies. (Music playlist & trailers.)
Off Pornokitsch, Jared wrote a guest post for Fantasy Faction, trying to explain the some of the thinking behind the Kitschies. For the latest news and discussion of the Kitschies, presented by Kraken Rum, give the award a Like on Facebook (we're not-so-secretly keen to surpassing the Booker Prize - I mean, come on, we're certainly friendlier than they are).
Ombudscat will turn herself upside-down until we review more than seven things in two weeks.