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Post by Arch Stanton on Jan 22, 2021 16:44:35 GMT
I'm expecting great things of this... It’s pretty good as a throwaway read. Personally I very much enjoyed it but I do think both Son of the Werewolf and Werewolf by Moonlight are better. Night of the Werewolf is very 1970s, good fun, schlocky. It’s not got the same vicious streak as ‘Son’ or ‘Moonlight’ - like for instance in Son where the werewolf turns in hospital, and guzzles down a poor nurse while it’s busy raping her - there’s nothing like that, but it’s essential reading. How are you getting on with Wolfcurse, Ford?
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Post by fordcapri on Jan 23, 2021 9:14:21 GMT
...I don't read as fast or as regularly as I used to. Don't know why. Anyway, I've read 54 pages and am about to start chapter 5. Ray has just made a nocturnal visit to the local abattoir, having previously raped his wife, smashed his boss in the face and thrown a garden fork at his next door neighbour. Nice. I'm enjoying it. Great stuff!
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Post by westldner on Jan 23, 2021 13:30:05 GMT
RIP Guy N Smith. That's an artist, right there and I don't think not many people would match his level of skill in illustration.
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Post by Arch Stanton on Jan 23, 2021 14:09:29 GMT
RIP Guy N Smith. That's an artist, right there and I don't think not many people would match his level of skill in illustration. Westy what illustration? Are you talking about The Sucking Pit illustrations? They were by Rick Melton.
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Post by westldner on Jan 23, 2021 22:53:01 GMT
RIP Guy N Smith. That's an artist, right there and I don't think not many people would match his level of skill in illustration. Westy what illustration? Are you talking about The Sucking Pit illustrations? They were by Rick Melton. Oh, he's an author. I suppose his works are worth while with drawings like that. I haven't come across him but maybe worth checking out. I like that bold wild horror feel those books had during the 80s.
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Post by Arch Stanton on Jan 23, 2021 23:36:18 GMT
Westy what illustration? Are you talking about The Sucking Pit illustrations? They were by Rick Melton. Oh, he's an author. I suppose his works are worth while with drawings like that. I haven't come across him but maybe worth checking out. I like that bold wild horror feel those books had during the 80s. He’s not for everyone Westy and it probably helps if you’d read him back in the day. A sort of nostalgia brought about by way of a rite of passage. Though even as I say that I wholly recommend him. For you personally I would recommend Sabat #2: Blood Merchants. I think you’d dig Sabat Vs all the urban, NF, Thatcherite-era, pseudo vampire cult. Plus there’s loads of surreal astral plain stuff. Failing that you could try Deathbell and it’s sequel. It’s a story I didn’t get along with as much as some others but it’s certainly not without merit. IIRC it’s about this evil Tibetan bell that requires blood sacrifices, with the power to corrupt and beguile. The pealing of which turns people into insane acolytes. I think you’d enjoy that. It’s like Children of the Stones meets the wrath of some woman who suffers from heavy periods and really bad PMT.
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Post by westldner on Jan 24, 2021 18:14:16 GMT
Oh, he's an author. I suppose his works are worth while with drawings like that. I haven't come across him but maybe worth checking out. I like that bold wild horror feel those books had during the 80s. He’s not for everyone Westy and it probably helps if you’d read him back in the day. A sort of nostalgia brought about by way of a rite of passage. Though even as I say that I wholly recommend him. For you personally I would recommend Sabat #2: Blood Merchants. I think you’d dig Sabat Vs all the urban, NF, Thatcherite-era, pseudo vampire cult. Plus there’s loads of surreal astral plain stuff. Failing that you could try Deathbell and it’s sequel. It’s a story I didn’t get along with as much as some others but it’s certainly not without merit. IIRC it’s about this evil Tibetan bell that requires blood sacrifices, with the power to corrupt and beguile. The pealing of which turns people into insane acolytes. I think you’d enjoy that. It’s like Children of the Stones meets the wrath of some woman who suffers from heavy periods and really bad PMT. I'll check those out. During the 1970s and 1980s, when they had lingo of the times flying around and books were trying to capture the audience, which fictional terminology formed and placed into context in those books, which is why I think it's still worth checking out, today, to see how the books were written, back then. I think Guy N Smith did a good job of putting that energy in his works.
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Post by fordcapri on Jan 24, 2021 19:02:32 GMT
I'll assume, perhaps wrongly, that people just don't want/buy/read those kinds of books anymore. The pulpy horror and war books that you would find in the revolving racks at train stations, airports and motorway service stations. I am guessing that people just glue their nose to their iphone or whatever now and don't read short, sensationalist books on car/train/plane journeys. Or lying on the beach. I bought The Slime Beast in July/August 1979, to read on holiday in the caravan. Nowadays I'd be attached to some kind of device either feeding my eyes or my ears. Guy's books, and those of others like him, were ubiquitous during the 1970s and 80s, but I'll assume that they aren't as popular now. Collectors will still buy them, and aficionados, but I bet the general public aren't interested. For me it was mostly Doctor Who books during the 70s and then the harder and more violent Sweeney paperbacks. For me, the horror reading began with GNS and dad's old copy of Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edger Allan Poe.
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Post by Arch Stanton on Jan 24, 2021 19:57:22 GMT
I'll assume, perhaps wrongly, that people just don't want/buy/read those kinds of books anymore. The pulpy horror and war books that you would find in the revolving racks at train stations, airports and motorway service stations. I am guessing that people just glue their nose to their iphone or whatever now and don't read short, sensationalist books on car/train/plane journeys. Or lying on the beach. I bought The Slime Beast in July/August 1979, to read on holiday in the caravan. Nowadays I'd be attached to some kind of device either feeding my eyes or my ears. Guy's books, and those of others like him, were ubiquitous during the 1970s and 80s, but I'll assume that they aren't as popular now. Collectors will still buy them, and aficionados, but I bet the general public aren't interested. For me it was mostly Doctor Who books during the 70s and then the harder and more violent Sweeney paperbacks. For me, the horror reading began with GNS and dad's old copy of Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edger Allan Poe. Yeah old paperback books, especially the really lurid, politically incorrect 1960s, 1970s and 1980s ones, have a hardcore following of fans. I have hundreds of paperbacks. I’m generally no completist by any means but I do like pulp horror and action, and some pulp fantasy, if it’s got plenty of sex and violence, drug abuse, Occultism and politically incorrect nonsense in it, it usually ticks my boxes. They are just escapist trash but it helps transport me into a bygone era when things seemed a lot more fun. Unlike nowadays, where everything’s sanitised and boring. I mean unless you find a book paying homage to the pulp movement, you just don’t get stuff like psychedelic sci-fi anymore (thanks Star Wars!) or books about witchcraft in the suburbs or counterculture books about hell’s angels fighting the system, at least not in a mainstream book shop you don’t. Mainstream books nowadays are mostly poo. No shameless fun whatsoever. I mean can you seriously imagine someone releasing “Bronson, Street Vigilante #1 - Blind Rage”? Or Gannon: Blood for Breakfast? Half of society nowadays would need therapy after reading those books. Christ, these days you can’t even pick up one of John Norman’s ‘Gor’ books without being chased down by roving packs of feminists and do-gooders frothing rabid calls of “misogynistic pervert” at you. They used to be everywhere once upon a time. Every bookshop you went in had tens of copies of John Norman’s stuff. They sold thousands of copies. Nowadays what have we got? Game of thrones? Twighlight? The Hunger Games? Nope!. I’ll keep reading Karl Edward Wagner or Robert Lory or Philip Jose Farmer thanks. It’s no bloødy wonder society is going to hell in a handbasket.
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sandy
Car Lot Browser
Posts: 8
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Post by sandy on Jan 25, 2021 9:50:52 GMT
I have only read one of his - perhaps unsurprisingly "The night of the crabs".
I was reading a lot of James Herbert at the time, so I guess I was drawn to it by the tagline "In the tradition of The Rats".
Until I read this thread I had no idea he was so prolific. This place can be SO educational.
:-)
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Post by jno on Jan 25, 2021 10:54:41 GMT
This place can be SO educational. :-) Absolutely!
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Post by Arch Stanton on Jan 25, 2021 13:21:15 GMT
I have only read one of his - perhaps unsurprisingly "The night of the crabs". I was reading a lot of James Herbert at the time, so I guess I was drawn to it by the tagline "In the tradition of The Rats". Until I read this thread I had no idea he was so prolific. This place can be SO educational. :-) Guy wrote all sorts. He never wanted to write horror particularly, it was just the market at the time. Then found he was enjoying it. Guy always wanted to write westerns. Eventually he got the opportunity with The Pony Riders in the late 1990s. Sadly, probably few read it though, because it’s just not horror. He’s written books on all sorts though. Fiction and non-fiction. For instance, this was one of his:
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Post by fordcapri on Jan 25, 2021 13:38:20 GMT
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Post by ltd on Jan 25, 2021 14:12:38 GMT
I mean can you seriously imagine someone releasing “Bronson, Street Vigilante #1 - Blind Rage”? Or Gannon: Blood for Breakfast? Half of society nowadays would need therapy after reading those books. Crime fiction in particular has got very formulaic and boring - just go on Amazon and there's any amount of books that announce themselves as "An Inspector Billy Bigg-B0ll0cks" mystery, each one invariably the first installment of an innumerable series, and all seemingly patterned after Ian Rankin's Rebus or Peter Robinson's Banks. Yawn. I'm not a massive fan of David Peace but at least he tried to do something different with his Red Riding novels (they've even got a vein of pulp horror running through them -1974 has what seems to be a nod to James Herbert's The Rats).
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Post by Arch Stanton on Jan 25, 2021 14:32:15 GMT
I mean can you seriously imagine someone releasing “Bronson, Street Vigilante #1 - Blind Rage”? Or Gannon: Blood for Breakfast? Half of society nowadays would need therapy after reading those books. Crime fiction in particular has got very formulaic and boring - just go on Amazon and there's any amount of books that announce themselves as "An Inspector Billy Bigg-B0ll0cks" mystery, each one invariably the first installment of an innumerable series, and all seemingly patterned after Ian Rankin's Rebus or Peter Robinson's Banks. Yawn. I'm not a massive fan of David Peace but at least he tried to do something different with his Red Riding novels (they've even got a vein of pulp horror running through them -1974 has what seems to be a nod to James Herbert's The Rats). Here’s a review of a proper crime book, with 1970s balls Bronson link
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Post by bodiesstuntdouble on Jan 25, 2021 17:54:34 GMT
Back then a trip to WH Smiths taking in the lurid covers of pulp paperbacks (without reading a single page) could kill an hour or two !
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Post by Arch Stanton on Jan 25, 2021 18:37:26 GMT
Back then a trip to WH Smiths taking in the lurid covers of pulp paperbacks (without reading a single page) could kill an hour or two ! Absolutely. Plus because there were diverse high streets full of independently owned bookshops, there was all sorts about. There’s no way would you get away with some of the titles, never mind the content in places like WH Smith’s now. I mean I don’t go in there for books but I can’t imagine there’s anything outside the mainstream in terms of say exploitation novels. Things come in cycles though, the format will change maybe but I don’t think you’ll ever totally dispel the pulp novel. A lot of self published and small publisher stuff still gets released, lots of that is pulpy. Guy N Smith will live on...
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Post by fordcapri on Feb 10, 2021 14:13:04 GMT
Just finished reading Wolfcurse, To be really honest... I thought it was bl**dy good! Ray Tyler was explored, as a person, in a fair amount of detail and we were privy to his innermost thoughts on almost every page. It also played a good game in keeping us guessing as to whether or not he was a werewolf or just believed himself to be. With a lot of POV shots, this could make a really good film. Interesting that it came out at about the same time as An American Werewolf in London and The Howling. Yeah, I enjoyed it. Some good writing in this one, some nice turns of phrase and intelligent descriptions. The Guy could write! I'd give it 9 out of 10. Maybe even the full 10.
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Post by Arch Stanton on Feb 10, 2021 14:44:40 GMT
Just finished reading Wolfcurse, To be really honest... I thought it was bl**dy good! Ray Tyler was explored, as a person, in a fair amount of detail and we were privy to his innermost thoughts on almost every page. It also played a good game in keeping us guessing as to whether or not he was a werewolf or just believed himself to be. With a lot of POV shots, this could make a really good film. Interesting that it came out at about the same time as An American Werewolf in London and The Howling. Yeah, I enjoyed it. Some good writing in this one, some nice turns of phrase and intelligent descriptions. The Guy could write! I'd give it 9 out of 10. Maybe even the full 10. IIRC doesn’t Ray end up with some hippy artist chick near the coast somewhere? And you just know things are most likely going to turn out badly for her. Meanwhile the manhunt is on... I don’t actually recall Ray being painted as a complete b*****d, coz in-spite of his volcanic temper and animalistic urges, he appears like an okay guy that’s mostly surrounded by tossers. Bizarrely, I’d never even thought to put two and two together and compare it to American Werewolf.
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Post by fordcapri on Feb 10, 2021 15:28:01 GMT
Just finished reading Wolfcurse, To be really honest... I thought it was bl**dy good! Ray Tyler was explored, as a person, in a fair amount of detail and we were privy to his innermost thoughts on almost every page. It also played a good game in keeping us guessing as to whether or not he was a werewolf or just believed himself to be. With a lot of POV shots, this could make a really good film. Interesting that it came out at about the same time as An American Werewolf in London and The Howling. Yeah, I enjoyed it. Some good writing in this one, some nice turns of phrase and intelligent descriptions. The Guy could write! I'd give it 9 out of 10. Maybe even the full 10. IIRC doesn’t Ray end up with some hippy artist chick near the coast somewhere? And you just know things are most likely going to turn out badly for her. Meanwhile the manhunt is on... I don’t actually recall Ray being painted as a complete b*****d, coz in-spite of his volcanic temper and animalistic urges, he appears like an okay guy that’s mostly surrounded by tossers. Bizarrely, I’d never even thought to put two and two together and compare it to American Werewolf. Yeah. He ends up with a hippy artist named Mandy. I'm not sure if she's randy... as she never really gets the chance. There's a line near the beginning of Wolfcurse where Ray says, or thinks, that he's going to give someone 'a piece of my mind'. Funnily enough, the werewolf in The Howling says the same thing. This NEL version came out in June 1981. I wonder when it was written and whether it was just a coincidence that '81 was a good year for werewolves.
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Post by Arch Stanton on Feb 10, 2021 19:14:37 GMT
IIRC doesn’t Ray end up with some hippy artist chick near the coast somewhere? And you just know things are most likely going to turn out badly for her. Meanwhile the manhunt is on... I don’t actually recall Ray being painted as a complete b*****d, coz in-spite of his volcanic temper and animalistic urges, he appears like an okay guy that’s mostly surrounded by tossers. Bizarrely, I’d never even thought to put two and two together and compare it to American Werewolf. Yeah. He ends up with a hippy artist named Mandy. I'm not sure if she's randy... as she never really gets the chance. There's a line near the beginning of Wolfcurse where Ray says, or thinks, that he's going to give someone 'a piece of my mind'. Funnily enough, the werewolf in The Howling says the same thing. This NEL version came out in June 1981. I wonder when it was written and whether it was just a coincidence that '81 was a good year for werewolves. The Howling was March ‘81 in the US and May ‘81 in the U.K. An American Werewolf In London was August ‘81 US and November ‘81 U.K. I remember the Howling scene, it’s where he pulls a bullet out of his head in the doctor’s surgery I think, before she douses him with acid and he changes. Now I don’t think that is beyond the realms of possibility - one ripped off the other, because it really wouldn’t surprise me if Guy HAD fired this out in a month, but even for Guy that’s a tall order, particularly for it to hit press and be out on shelves. I suspect werewolves were just doing the rounds at the time, and as you know, if the market is there, supply and demand. I certainly don’t remember Gary Brandner’s novel of The Howling having that line. But hell, it must’ve been at least 25years since I read that. In my opinion, and I do read a reasonable amount of werewolf fiction - largely coz you can rely on werewolf novels to contain plenty of rampant sex and gory violence usually - I thought Brandner’s book was pretty dull. Not as good as the film, which I really like. I have the second and third. Definitely haven’t read the third, can’t remember the second, though I maybe read it.
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Post by ltd on Feb 11, 2021 10:14:51 GMT
Things come in cycles though, the format will change maybe but I don’t think you’ll ever totally dispel the pulp novel. A lot of self published and small publisher stuff still gets released, lots of that is pulpy. Guy N Smith will live on... Read a few interviews with Shaun Hutson, and while a lot of the time he's self-pitying to the extent he's veering on self-parody, he does have some interesting things to say about the publishing business and how it's changed since he was getting started. He's absolutely spot on about how the shelves in most bookshops are absolutely jammed with formulaic crime fiction (a pet hate of mine, see above). He seems pessimistic about the future, but at the same time his early stuff is being published electronically by a couple of niche publishers. I'm quite tempted to spring for a bargain half-dozen of his Wolf Kruger "Eastern Front" war novels. There do seem to be smaller outfits who can make a go of pulp and other genre books. The late Mr Smith arguably also something of a pioneer in this regard?
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Post by Arch Stanton on Feb 11, 2021 13:13:32 GMT
Things come in cycles though, the format will change maybe but I don’t think you’ll ever totally dispel the pulp novel. A lot of self published and small publisher stuff still gets released, lots of that is pulpy. Guy N Smith will live on... Read a few interviews with Shaun Hutson, and while a lot of the time he's self-pitying to the extent he's veering on self-parody, he does have some interesting things to say about the publishing business and how it's changed since he was getting started. He's absolutely spot on about how the shelves in most bookshops are absolutely jammed with formulaic crime fiction (a pet hate of mine, see above). He seems pessimistic about the future, but at the same time his early stuff is being published electronically by a couple of niche publishers. I'm quite tempted to spring for a bargain half-dozen of his Wolf Kruger "Eastern Front" war novels. There do seem to be smaller outfits who can make a go of pulp and other genre books. The late Mr Smith arguably also something of a pioneer in this regard? Yeah pulps are still fired out, you just don’t get them being sold in Waterstones or front and centre on Amazon but they are on there. It’s still a thriving market. You just have to root around. Guy was still self publishing for his fan base. Even putting some of his fans (as bit part victim characters) into some of his later Crabs books. I mean there’s an English guy out there still doggedly writing the Casca: The Eternal Mercenary stuff. Barry Sadler (?) the original author, didn’t he kill himself a few years ago. I think he may have been US ex-forces, suffering from PTSD. I’m pretty sure he tried to blow a dudes head off at one point at a house party or something. They need to re-release Hutson’s “Chainsaw Terror” at some point. Uncut this time. Coz that goes for stupid money under his pseudonym Nick Blake. Did it get banned, or was that rubbish. Cant remember now.
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Post by ltd on Feb 11, 2021 13:33:02 GMT
They need to re-release Hutson’s “Chainsaw Terror” at some point. Uncut this time. Coz that goes for stupid money under his pseudonym Nick Blake. Did it get banned, or was that rubbish. Cant remember now. I think his publisher might have bottled it after WH Smith or some other retailer indicated they wouldn't be willing to stock the book in its original form.
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Post by Arch Stanton on Feb 11, 2021 13:34:38 GMT
They need to re-release Hutson’s “Chainsaw Terror” at some point. Uncut this time. Coz that goes for stupid money under his pseudonym Nick Blake. Did it get banned, or was that rubbish. Cant remember now. I think his publisher might have bottled it after WH Smith or some other retailer indicated they wouldn't be willing to stock the book in its original form. I can’t remember now mate. I did read an interview with Hutson where he explained. It was years ago though and my memory has faded.
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