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    Black Static #32 Horror Magazine
    Black Static #32 Horror Magazine
    Black Static #32 Horror Magazine
    Ebook243 pages2 hours

    Black Static #32 Horror Magazine

    By TTA Press

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    About this ebook

    The summation of Dread Central's review of this issue, Black Static #32, Jan- Feb 2013 is quoted below.
    "Continuing to assert its reign as the most essential regular publication for fans of literary horror, TTA Press's Black Static magazine delivers another predominantly excellent selection of spine-tingling stories with Issue 32. Before the fiction begins, columnist Stephen Volk delivers an amusingly scathing attack on the perception and position of writers in the world of filmmaking which finds itself a perfect partner in Christopher Fowler's immediate follow-up -- a brief yet hope-laden insight into marketing, characterisation and the importance of remaining committed to goals which finishes on a starkly poignant note that should ring true for any aspiring novelist.."
    www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/black-static-issue-32-books

    Black Static is the 2011 and 2012 British Fantasy Award winning bimonthly horror and dark fantasy short story magazine from TTA Press, publisher of Interzone and Crimewave. Black Static contains groundbreaking dark fiction by some of the world's best writers and most talented newcomers, plus hard-hitting features and innovative artwork. Many recognised authors and artists started their careers in TTA publications and new ones like V.H. Leslie, and Ilan Lerman, continue this tradition. However their better recognised peers; Ramsey Campbell, Joel Lane, Nicholas Royle, Nina Allan continue to supply great stories.

    Books reviewed in this issue are

    Steve Rasnic Tem's DEADFALL HOTEL, UGLY BEHAVIOR, ONION SONGS plus author interview

    DARK SHADOWS: THE VISUAL COMPANION : Mark Salisbury
    RESIDENT EVIL VOLUME 1: THE UMBRELLA CONSPIRACY : S.D. Perry
    SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE ARMY OF DR MOREAU : Guy Adams
    ROMEO SPIKES : Joanne Reay
    THE FACELESS: Simon Bestwick
    SILENT VOICES: Gary McMahon
    MAGIC: editor Jonathan Oliver
    ENEMIES AT THE DOOR : Paul Finch
    TERROR TALES OF EAST ANGLIA: editor Paul Finch
    PEEL BACK THE SKY : Stephen Bacon
    FROM HELL TO ETERNITY : Thana Niveau
    THIN MEN WITH YELLOW FACES : Gary McMahon and Simon Bestwick
    SMALL ANIMALS : Alison Moore
    PUCK : David Rose
    WHAT GETS LEFT BEHIND: Mark West
    THE WAY OF THE LEAVES: David Tallerman
    28 TEETH OF RAGE & THE DAY AND THE HOUR: Ennis Drake
    NO TURNING BACK : Andy Deane
    WHEN WE JOIN JESUS IN HELL : Lee Thompson
    THE FLESHLESS MAN : Norman Prentiss
    MOTHERLESS CHILD : Glen Hirshberg

    Movies/DVD's reviewed in this issue are
    X GAME
    V/H/S
    THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
    THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
    DREDD
    SOUND OF MY VOICE
    SOUTHERN COMFORT
    ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS
    BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO
    WHEN THE LIGHTS WENT OUT
    THE POSSESSION
    HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET
    STITCHES

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTTA Press
    Release dateFeb 23, 2013
    ISBN9781301553266
    Black Static #32 Horror Magazine
    Author

    TTA Press

    TTA Press is the publisher of the magazines Interzone (science fiction/fantasy) and Black Static (horror/dark fantasy), the Crimewave anthology series, TTA Novellas, plus the occasional story collection and novel.

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      Book preview

      Black Static #32 Horror Magazine - TTA Press

      BLACK STATIC

      #32

      A magazine of horror and dark fantasy.

      Cover:

      by Richard Wagner

      * * * * *

      Black Static

      Issue 32 (JAN - FEB 2013)

      Print edition ISSN 1753-0709 © 2013 Black Static and its contributors

      Published bimonthly by TTA Press

      TTA Press, 5 Martins Lane Witcham, Ely, Cambs CB6 2LB, United Kingdom

      * * * * *

      Website: ttapress.com

      Email: blackstatic@ttapress.com

      * * * * *

      TTA Press on Smashwords ISBN: 9781301553266

      First draft v3 Roy Gray

      * * * * *

      Editor: Andy Cox

      Contributing Editors: Peter Tennant, Tony Lee, Christopher Fowler, Stephen Volk, Mike O’Driscoll

      Podcast: Pete Bullock, transmissionsfrombeyond.com

      Twitter + Facebook: Marc-Anthony Taylor, facebook.com/TTAPress

      Events/Publicity/E editions: Roy Gray

      * * * * *

      Print issue retail distribution: Pineapple Media, pineapple-media.com; Central Books, centralbooks.com

      * * * * *

      Smashwords Edition License Notes

      This emagazine is licensed for your personal use/enjoyment only. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this magazine with others please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this magazine and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please go to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the contributors and editors

      * * * * *

      To obtain the print edition of Black Static in Europe or North America where your retailer may not stock it please ask them to order it for you, or buy it from one of several online mail order distributors...or better yet subscribe direct with us!

      Subscriptions: Print edition subscriptions available online at ttapress.com/shop

      Note we have some illustrations in this edition and you can also see these at http://ttapress.com/1544/black-static-32/0/5/

      Unsolicited submissions of short stories are always welcome. Please follow the contributors’ guidelines on the website.

      * * * * *

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      EDITORIAL NOTES

      COMMENT/COLUMNS

      COFFINMAKER'S BLUES - by Stephen Volk

      INTERFERENCE - by Christopher Fowler

      FICTION

      THE WITHERING by Tim Casson

      novelette illustrated by Richard Wagner

      LOVE AS DEEP AS BONES by Ilan Lerman

      novelette illustrated by Tara Bush

      THE DEATH DRIVE OF RITA, NEE CARINA by Ray Cluley

      story illustrated by Ben Baldwin

      THE ANATOMIST'S MNEMONIC by Priya Sharma

      story illustrated by David Gentry

      BLACK SUN story by Drew Rhys White

      WHAT DO WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT Z------ story by Lavie Tidhar

      BEDTIME STORY by Steve Rasnic Tem

      story illustrated by David Gentry

      REVIEWS

      SILVER BULLETS - TV Reviews by Mike O'Driscoll

      CASE NOTES - book reviews by Peter Tennant

      BLOOD SPECTRUM - DVD/Blu-ray reviews by Tony Lee

      NOTES TO THE READER – links etc.

      BACKPAGE

      EDITORIAL NOTES –

      The print magazine often starts a story with a double page spread incorporating the illustration, titles and the first paragraph of the story text. As an experiment, and to give a flavour of the print edition, we are including some of these in this E book. As much of that 'incorporated text' will be unreadable on some devices we will repeat it 'outwith' the spread. So if you read this issue on a large screen don't be surprised if we seem to repeat a story's first paragraph. If you notice this please let me know your views.

      * *

      Internal hyperlinks I may have solved some of the problems I mentioned in earlier issues so I'll try again. Again if you notice any changes please let me know your views.

      * *

      E-Edition (An Apology): This E edition of Black Static 32 has been uploaded later than I hoped but at least Black Static 33 (printed.) will not be published when this is uploaded. Please accept our apologies for delays. Keep checking Smashwords for new issues. Thanks for your patience! This issue, #32, has been out in print since Jan 10.

      * *

      Note there are several references to Fictionwise.com as a source of TTA Press E Books, Eg Crimewave, Alison and the magazines. Fictionwise are now closed. We are not sure what will happen about TTA back issues and e books held solely on the 3 Fictionwise sites. They are old files and I have not been able to obtain all copies. I do hope some will eventually re-appear on Smashwords or Amazon but many back issues may well remain unavailable in E book formats.

      * *

      Another important development is TTA Novellas, works in the 20–40,000 word range, published as B Format paperbacks and available singly or on a cheaper subscription. The first of these Eyepennies by Mike O'Driscoll (of Silver Bullets) is now available as an e book, more here, and in print.

      * *

      All is Flux, Nothing Stays Still

      One of the pleasures of working on Interzone is the way some issues develop a personality that comes as a surprise even to those of us who have read all the stories in advance. And we have to admit the occasional twinge of pride when we consider the variety of themes, subgenres, settings, tropes, techniques, symbols, storytelling styles and voices we’ve been able to include over the past fifty issues.

      For example, Interzone #242 included ‘Strigoi’, Lavie Tidhar’s tale of interracial alienation in the spaceways, and ‘Needlepoint’, Priya Sharma’s subtle but edgy story set in an alternative Albion. Both tales are admirably idiosyncratic: one has clearly identifiable science fictional elements, while the other skitters along in the debatable lands between fantasy and history.

      But that’s enough about the pleasures of working on Interzone in its 30th year. What about the frustrations and failures? A major source of disappointment is however eclectic the taste of the editors and however determined we are to be flexible, it’s inevitable we are going to reject some elegantly structured, linguistically complex and strikingly imaginative stories simply because they have no valid and defensible fit with the genres of sf, fantasy, horror or crime. In other words, all too often the team at TTA Towers experience the pain of rejecting engaging and powerful stories because we can’t find a home for them in Interzone, Black Static or Crimewave. And the pain is heightened by our awareness that this kind of work is increasingly unlikely to find a place in a publication that will do it justice.

      Three exciting submissions we’ve found it impossible to place in a TTA publication – stories by Tim Lees, Nina Allan and Tyler Keevil – have inspired us to create Flux, an occasional supplement containing such stories, that we’ll send out free to subscribers of Interzone and Black Static.

      As Heraclitus of Ephasus said: All is flux, nothing stays still. TTA Press is heading for a state of Flux – and we’re hoping you’ll feel a damn good Flux is just what you need.

      The above applies to the printed edition for subscribers. I will have more on what we might do with the E book version in the next issue.

      * *

      This issue's cover and backpage cover art is by Richard Wagner.

      * *

      The next print issue, # 33, will be dated March/April. (Cover Richard Wagner)

      * *

      Submissions of short stories are always welcome, but please follow the guidelines on the website.

      * * * * *

      COFFINMAKER'S BLUES

      by Stephen Volk

      BIG VOICE FOR A SMALL DOG

      When exactly did cinemas become Palaces of Disappointment? I’m sick of trailers so desperate for attention they make me think of the studios as no more than a grotesquely overgrown, needy child; but I think the real disappointment comes in our innate sense of writing – of being told a story – and when that feels genuine and when it feels faked.

      Take Prometheus. There were things I liked: the android wearing flip flops; the faces of the engineers (a definite nod to the frontispiece of the first edition of Frankenstein); the idea of a SETI expedition finding WMDs. But in execution the movie was an unholy, shambling monster. It was like everybody forgot Alien was a haunted house film. In Horror the threat is up close and personal. This, with its bigness, failed even to put me off calamari for life. It was simply too extrovert and bombastic to get under our skin. To this viewer at least, it was patently the work of a director, not a writer. Which means – what, exactly?

      In Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking Susan Cain convincingly claims that some of the most talented people in history, whether they painted sunflowers or created Apple computers, were introverts – yet the extroverts have taken over the asylum. The result being qualities such as contemplation and thoughtfulness are now seen as unwanted, unreliable, worthless. Everyone has to be a General Patton not a Proust, or a Poe. Success is measured in terms of those who plan merciless takeovers, not those who meditate on the beauty of a leaf or a lost loved one.

      Fitting into this pattern, Ridley Scott seems a typical extrovert: egocentric and powerful, hiring and firing, commanding armies and running big, shiny companies on both sides of the Atlantic. Perfectly suited to helming studio fare, lubricated as it is by sycophancy, terror and Lear jets.

      I wonder what Prometheus might have been had it been made by an introvert? In other words – a writer? But maybe the writer-as-introvert and director-as-extrovert paradigm is too simplistic.

      Remember the flurry of activity on the internet when Tony Scott committed suicide? A plethora of fans concluded he must’ve had terminal cancer – why else would the man behind such testosterone-driven fare as Top Gun and Days of Thunder throw himself off the Vincent Thomas bridge? But what soon emerged, tragically, was that the seemingly brash, cigar-chomping mogul had battled depression most of his adult life: a contradiction the public found difficult to compute.

      On the other hand let’s take Truman Capote, in many ways an archetypal writer, powered by a deep and glorious neurosis, according to the excellent biography by Gerald Clarke. Every day was a nightmare, because I was afraid they would abandon me when it turned dark… (Not without reason: his parents did abandon him.) I remember practically all my childhood as being lived in a state of constant tension and fear. Denied maternal esteem, though he manages to achieve success, Capote views it not as a gift, or birthright, but as a loan, and for the rest of his life he worries that it might be snatched away. But, fêted as a brilliant new voice at the age of nineteen on the strength of six published stories and one book deal not even delivered yet, the future writer of In Cold Blood and the film The Innocents was also an extrovert party animal and society figure of rare exuberance. His rivalry with Gore Vidal was vinegary and vituperative. Extraordinarily, Harper Lee’s pocket Merlin even beat man’s man Humphrey Bogart in an arm-wrestling contest. Created from fear, Capote was fearless. As an artist, a craftsman, [Truman] is completely sure of himself, said Robert Linscott. As a human being, he has a great need to be loved and to be reassured of that love. Like other sensitive people he finds the world hostile and frightening.

      It’s interesting that Tony Scott, of all people, should emblemise this dichotomy, known as he is for action and visual spectacle. Boys’ toys, not inner lives. Apropos of this, David Thompson waspishly mused in his New Biographical Dictionary of Film: In 2001 there was a story going round that Michael Bay was seriously depressed. No one wishes to be callous, but this could be the start of something useful. For in sharing a common, sad state of mind, is it possible that Mr Bay will eventually come to recognise the natural materials of a narrative art – the lives of ordinary people?

      Perhaps when the mechanisms were handed out the writers got the Flight and the directors got the Fight. For all his protestation, you feel Terry Gilliam courts conflict, and perhaps it’s the test of a successful director as to whether you thrive on stress, or buckle under the pressure. Certainly, sensitivity is not embraced let alone rewarded in the cut and thrust of film-making world. As we writers well know.

      Hossein Amini, who adapted Drive, has got to direct an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s The Two Faces of January starring Kirsten Dunst and Viggo Mortensen, but he’s the exception. British Film tycoon Michael Balcon would habitually promote technicians like Seth Holt (a former editor) to director status, but writers were always kept in their place. To quote Alexander Mackendrick, In a psychotic world, the neurotic seems normal… and so it is in the film industry, where empathy is a value so abnormal as to be seen as extreme weakness.

      The comedy series Episodes, so accurate it hurts, is full of execs talking about pissing on a rival’s ideas or ass-fucking as a tool of revenge. The same terminology can be seen throughout Heaven and Mel, Joe Eszterhas’ jaw-dropping account of working with Mel Gibson on a screenplay for "the Jewish Braveheart". Such vernacular reveals a company town with not only a lack of respect for language, but which tellingly lowers it to the level of sexual debasement.

      But it may be today’s audience that concerns me more. David Thompson (again) remarked that his students at Stanford, smart kids, stand shy of expressing emotion when they watch a movie because They’re too cool. How depressing. To my mind, cool is the enemy. Cool is the impulse to non-empathy. A distancing from engagement with the essential gasoline of storytelling. Cool is selling you a pup. It always has, it always will.

      And this is relevant to our discussion of writers and directors, how? I’ll only say that a British director of genre films once said to me, "You know, I’d like to be a writer, but being a director is way cooler."

      So, whose side are you on? The ass-fuckers and the power-hungry, or the thoughtful and empathetic? Do you see anything worrying in this picture?

      I was hugely moved by Being John Malkovich screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s speech last year as part of the BAFTA/BFI Screenwriters’ Lecture Series. The whole thing is good, and online, but I’ll quote this: The packaging is colourful and loud, but it’s produced in the same factories that make Pop Tarts and iPads, by people sitting around thinking ‘What can we do to get people to buy more of these?’ … And the world is built on this now. Politics and government are built on this, corporations are built on this and interpersonal relationships are built on this … and we’re led to believe winning will change all that. But there is no winning. What can be done? Say who you are, really say it in your life and in your work. Tell someone out there who is lost, someone not yet born, someone who won’t be born for 500 years. Your writing will be a record of your time. It can’t help but be that. But more importantly, if you’re honest about who you are, you’ll help that person be less lonely in their world because that person will recognise him or herself in you and that will give them hope.

      We writers may be treated like small, obedient dogs, but when the time comes, boy. We bite.

      * * * * *

      Copyright © 2013 Stephen Volk

      * * * * *

      For more information on Steve’s fiction, film and television work please visit his website at stephenvolk.net

      * * * * *

      INTERFERENCE

      by Christopher Fowler

      AMUSE YOUR FRIENDS! BECOME A WRITER TODAY!

      We’re all branded by what we choose to write about. J.K. Rowling will always be Harry Potter, no matter what else she writes. She’s safe. She occupies the middle road of writing, a default mode for a nation that buys books at WH Smith and jumpers at M&S, and likes Michael McIntyre and Jeremy Clarkson and Twilight – and of course there’s nothing wrong with that.

      But nowadays even being safe is risky, and something as atrocious as Fifty Shades of Grey can wash everything else off the shelves. Publicity agents are appallingly cynical about this. I received a book last month by a writer called Camilla Ceder. On its cover was a roundel that declared The New Jo Nesbo, which is patently untrue and offensive to both of them, implying that Nesbo is over and Ceder – in just her second novel – must now fit the mould created by someone else.

      What happens when you rub out the demarcation lines so beloved by PR departments?

      Six years ago I embarked on a book that caused me endless trouble. Its working title was Plastic, and it was the inverse of a Gothic novel. In it, a lone suburban heroine faced terror and redemption in an urban setting.

      That by itself might have proven saleable, but I decided to hobble my chances by using a first-person-female narrative and mixing lots of black comedy in with extreme darkness.

      Publishers could not even choose two genres for Plastic to fall between. I suddenly felt as if I had dropped into the conversation between Hamlet and the Player King, presenting pastoral-allegorical-satirical-horrific for the delectation of no-one. If the publishers couldn’t see what it was, other than the anti-WH Smith novel, they certainly couldn’t imagine who would buy it.

      I reworked the book according to the whims of various acquisitions boards. Many professional readers submitted their reports. Some raised appreciable concerns about the viability of combining disparate elements

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