GUD has just nominated Ian McHugh's Stiletto (Issue 4) for an Aurealis Award. You may remember Kirstyn McDermott's Painlessness (Issue 2) won the Best Horror Short story for 2008. Ian's story has been nominated in the Science Fiction category, and we think it stands a good chance :).
This seems therefore like a good time to share with you more of the love that's out there for our eclectic genre/literary magazine.
In Gardner Dozois's 'The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Sixth Annual Collection'*, GUD received two Honorable Mentions. At first, when we thought we'd got one, we were as happy as clams. When it emerged we had two, we were as happy as...well, a whole bed of clams. It's tough for a small, relatively-young magazine to get its name out there, and we're grateful for all the great help we get.
(In our defence, the Dozois anthology got Blaikie's forename wrong, listing him as 'Moal'.)
The Honorable Mentions were for Neal Blaikie's Offworld Friends are Best (Issue 2) and Night Bird Soaring by T.L. Morganfield (Issue 3). Night Bird Soaring is still in the running for Nebula recommendations, and so is available to read in full, free, here on our site, by kind permission of the author.
Then, when details of Ellen Datlow's long-awaited anthology Best Horror of the Year Volume 1 came out, we are delighted to see we had three Honorable Mentions.
Except once again we were doing ourselves down. We didn't have three. We had six. We really must pay more attention when the love's being dished out.
Ellen Datlow singled out for Honorable Mention:
* Think Fast by Michael Greenhut (Issue 3)
* The Festival of Colour by Paul Richard Haines (Issue 2)
* Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Stage IV by Samantha Henderson (Issue 2)
* Painlessness by Kirstyn McDermott (Issue 2)
* Dolls by Kristin Ong Muslim (Issue 2)
* Closer in my Heart to Thee by Jeffrey Somers (Issue 2)
Sometimes it's interesting to go back and look at the staff comments on stories that went on to be singled out for praise. I see that on Painlessness I wrote, "Well. At last, a decent story. I'd begun to give up hope." Kaolin, on the other hand, had this to say, "I love where it goes, what it does, but FUCK. Intense. I was squirming through bits of it." Sal thought the story "awesome" when he chose it for his issue. And so it is!
It's also wonderful to see the poetry in GUD receiving the attention it deserves--all too often it gets overlooked by the critics.
Remember: you can buy a single .pdf of any story, poem, art, comic, script, or report that appears in any issue of GUD Magazine. Or buy whole issues in either print or .pdf. Treat yourself today and find out what Gardner Dozois and Ellen Datlow think we're doing right!
* Published in the UK as 'The Mammoth Book of Best New SF 22'.
See original page for all the proper links and such: http://ping.fm/iJkwb :)
Monday, October 5, 2009
Garbage Man by Joseph D'Lacey, reviewed by Debbie Moorhouse
After the success of Joseph D'Lacey's disturbing debut MEAT (reviewed by GUD here), his second novel, Garbage Man, was bound to come out to high expectations. So high, perhaps, that no book could live up to them.
The people living near the RefuSec Waste Management landfill don't pay it much attention. After all, they have their own problems to wrestle with--frustrated ambition, a damaged connection with the Earth, sexual deviancy. But is the landfill as indifferent? Or is it churning humanity's waste into a strange new form of life?
Garbage Man has strong plot elements--a mysterious, shaman-like figure called Mason Brand who communes with the local landfill, a young woman prepared to do anything to escape her "boring, boring, boring" life, another woman tormented by dreams of a "razor-baby" that endlessly searches, endlessly suffers, and is endlessly silent, and, brooding over all, the filth and waste of the dump.
D'Lacey is clearly determined to eschew the errors made by so many Horror novels that offer the mutilation and death of characters we know nothing about and care for less. Half of Garbage Man is dedicated to introducing its characters, to inviting the reader to learn their failings and their flaws, to sympathise with their attempts to overcome the sheer dull nastiness of their lives. Yet somehow it doesn't work. The characters don't come alive on the page.
This despite some solidly creepy writing, especially in the dream sequences.
"The knives enter the baby's body easily, as though it were made of fresh cake. They slide in deep. Deep enough to stay. The baby pauses, turns. Some of the longer knives have passed right through it. She sees the points poking downward from its chest as it screams. She can't hear the screaming. She only feels it, deep inside, her spirit being murdered by the baby's pain."
The first half of the book disappoints. There's almost too much introduction, too much following the characters around while they prepare, unwittingly, for their own annihilation. After a while, even the tormented baby loses its impact. If it's going to go on its agonizing search forever, the reader has to distance themselves, has to put up barriers to interminable, hopeless pain.
When the landfill comes unexpectedly, vehemently alive, the novel picks up as if this is what it's been waiting for. There are daring escapes across rooftops. There are people trapped in buildings, trembling as they await their fate. And there are some of the strangest monsters Horror has ever brought forth.
"She didn't know what it was. It had no name. It had five 'arms' which it used as legs. It was fashioned of junk and animal parts and filth. It dragged a long fat body and left a wet trail of excrement on her carpet. A long-bodied spider without enough legs to move properly...its eyes were the loops from the handles of scissors. Its teeth were the ends of dozens of knitting needles."
Gratifyingly, Garbage Man turns into an exciting, scary, highly-imaginative Horror novel about halfway through. It's worth reading the first part to get to the second. D'Lacey has the chops to scare and disgust the reader, whether they care about the characters or not.
The people living near the RefuSec Waste Management landfill don't pay it much attention. After all, they have their own problems to wrestle with--frustrated ambition, a damaged connection with the Earth, sexual deviancy. But is the landfill as indifferent? Or is it churning humanity's waste into a strange new form of life?
Garbage Man has strong plot elements--a mysterious, shaman-like figure called Mason Brand who communes with the local landfill, a young woman prepared to do anything to escape her "boring, boring, boring" life, another woman tormented by dreams of a "razor-baby" that endlessly searches, endlessly suffers, and is endlessly silent, and, brooding over all, the filth and waste of the dump.
D'Lacey is clearly determined to eschew the errors made by so many Horror novels that offer the mutilation and death of characters we know nothing about and care for less. Half of Garbage Man is dedicated to introducing its characters, to inviting the reader to learn their failings and their flaws, to sympathise with their attempts to overcome the sheer dull nastiness of their lives. Yet somehow it doesn't work. The characters don't come alive on the page.
This despite some solidly creepy writing, especially in the dream sequences.
"The knives enter the baby's body easily, as though it were made of fresh cake. They slide in deep. Deep enough to stay. The baby pauses, turns. Some of the longer knives have passed right through it. She sees the points poking downward from its chest as it screams. She can't hear the screaming. She only feels it, deep inside, her spirit being murdered by the baby's pain."
The first half of the book disappoints. There's almost too much introduction, too much following the characters around while they prepare, unwittingly, for their own annihilation. After a while, even the tormented baby loses its impact. If it's going to go on its agonizing search forever, the reader has to distance themselves, has to put up barriers to interminable, hopeless pain.
When the landfill comes unexpectedly, vehemently alive, the novel picks up as if this is what it's been waiting for. There are daring escapes across rooftops. There are people trapped in buildings, trembling as they await their fate. And there are some of the strangest monsters Horror has ever brought forth.
"She didn't know what it was. It had no name. It had five 'arms' which it used as legs. It was fashioned of junk and animal parts and filth. It dragged a long fat body and left a wet trail of excrement on her carpet. A long-bodied spider without enough legs to move properly...its eyes were the loops from the handles of scissors. Its teeth were the ends of dozens of knitting needles."
Gratifyingly, Garbage Man turns into an exciting, scary, highly-imaginative Horror novel about halfway through. It's worth reading the first part to get to the second. D'Lacey has the chops to scare and disgust the reader, whether they care about the characters or not.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
GUD Issue #4s Have Landed In UK!
To a warm (well, furry!) reception :D.
Hmm, those look interesting....
Hmm, those look interesting....
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Eternal Vigilance 2: The Death of Illusions by Gabrielle Faust, reviewed by Jess
The Death of Illusions by Gabrielle FaustMy review
rating: 2 of 5 stars
Another beautiful piece of cover art should have teenage goths, emos, and creatures of the night itching to get their hands--or claws-- on Book Two of the Eternal Vigilance series.
One year on from the original "Eternal Vigilance" book (also reviewed by GUD), Tynan Llywelyn, an immortal vampire, is battling the Vicinus in an attempt to save his own race, the Phuree, as well as humanity, from the Tyst empire's attempt to gain immortality. Despite being described by the author on her website as "technohorror", this was more of a typical Fantasy battle novel--high on action and thrills but less involved with character than the first book.
Although I didn't find much in the novel that particularly fitted the Horror genre, it works well as Fantasy, particularly for those who don't mind extremely lengthy back story and buildup. Lots of gadgets and deaths certainly make for up for lack of pace--eventually.
I was disappointed by the lack of character development, even though I was expecting a battle novel. If I don't care enough about the characters I won't be invested in whether they live or die, and the story will have difficulty holding my interest.
"The Death of Illusions" is ambitious, dark and very emo. As a teen I might have liked it more; as an adult, I felt it didn't capture my imagination in the way this author is very much capable of doing. Also, I had some minor niggles, like the over use of 'undulating'; a lot of typos; and far too much italic use in strange places. These niggles detracted from my ability to read the novel fluidly, as I found them off-putting. However, kudos to Faust for getting tentacles into the story. I did laugh at:
"Blinding pain exploded through the my [sic:] torso and I looked down to see a tentacle of blue impaling my body"--page 108
I will still look forward to more from Gabrielle S. Faust in the future--I don't think the Eternal Vigilance novels have seen her reach the best of her potential. One for hardcore vampire fans (and tentacle lovers) only, I think.
View all my reviews.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Neon Literary Journal #14, edited by Krishan Coupland, reviewed by Debbie
Neon Literary Journal
Edited by Krishan Coupland
FourVolts Productions, 2007
Booklet, 50 pages
ISSN: 1753-4240
Neon #14 is available in print or to download at http://www.neonmagazine.co.uk.
British literary magazine Neon describes itself as "a journal of brilliant things", and issue #14 belies its small size with an enigmatic and striking picture of a shingle beach on the cover. Throughout this fifty-page literary journal are monochrome images that set off, illustrate, or provide backgrounds to the poetry and prose. This is a serious work of art created by people who take art seriously.
Since the journal is short, the contents tend to be short, too, which means Neon can easily be consumed in a series of quick reads. This makes it ideal for the West's rush-rush-rush societies. But what about those contents? Are they worth the effort?
If you're not going to read GUD (although why wouldn't you?) give Neon a try instead. Or even better--try both.
From the beginning of Rupert Merkin's Second Coming--"Hyde Park is mined"--to the end of Jarod Rosello's This is What the Robots Do--"...robots are sleeping in people's beds"--Neon offers variety, intrigue, and solid writing.
Brits might be disappointed that so much of the content of this British journal is by writers from or connected with the US, but I have to say, from my experiences with NFG (Canadian), GUD (American), and ASIM (Australian), that's pretty much the way the wind blows. The US has a huge English-speaking population, and some days it feels like they all want to write.
To stand out in that crowd, non-US content has to be extra-sparkly. Perhaps like Grant McLeman's poem Fall In:
he was the name,
who gives no reply,
the gap
in the parade ground,
the empty echo
across the square.
Definitely one for the nightstand.
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