Lucian Poll's Collection

[Lucian Poll]

Another wee update, this time my ragtag hardback collection of The Adversary Cycle (or Nightworld Cycle, if you will):


The Adversary Cycle by F. Paul Wilson (aka The Nightworld Cycle): The Keep (US first edition); The Tomb (UK first edition); The Touch (UK first edition); Reborn (UK first edition); Reprisal (UK first edition) and Nightworld (BCA edition). All hardbacks. by lucian.poll, on Flickr

Reborn and Reprisal were purchases from last year's WFC, and, like a few other attending authors, F. Paul Wilson had laid his pen to the title pages before I stumped up the readies, which was cool:


Reborn by F. Paul Wilson: title page signed by the author. by lucian.poll, on Flickr


Reprisal by F. Paul Wilson: title page signed by the author. by lucian.poll, on Flickr

The Keep, however, was a book that had my eye throughout the convention: US first edition, amazing condition for a book nearly as old as I was, but it was pricey. On the last day the dealer knocked a third off the price and I couldn't resist. I thought I'd left it too late to pin F. down for a signature, but, as luck would have it, he was pretty much the next fella I ran into!


The Keep by F. Paul Wilson: title page signed by the author at the World Fantasy Convention 2013. by lucian.poll, on Flickr

So that turned out well.

[Lucian Poll]

Thanks, guys! I'm glad you like the sketch.

[TJCams]

Cool sketch! I wish I had some artistic talent like that. I'm OK with stick people.....

I have read at least a few of those stories in those "Best" books that you listed. Nice!!!!!!

[srboone]

Time Travelling Parasitic Lizards! Sounds very LP-ish. I love it!

[Lucian Poll]

Thanks, Squire. Apologies for the absence! Life's been a bit greedy of late, sadly.

As for the stories, yup, I'm still scribbling 'em. I've parked last year's NaNoWriMo effort as it needs a rethink (and could turn into a long 'un). To compensate I'm on a sci-fi tale that I'm dying to show everyone, but it's much too early yet.

I can, however, baffle everyone with a sketch I did to help me visualise one of the key characters, if I can call it that. I present to you the gerald:

[srboone]

Great collection of BNHs, LP! And don't stay away so long next time. Unless, of course, you're hard at work on your next book!

[Lucian Poll]

Thanks, Theli. None of the other volumes are signed, I'm afraid. That said, I'll be attending a convention later in the year so maybe I can collect a few autographs while I'm there. If Ramsey Campbell's there he might want to invest in a rubber stamp as he's in nearly every volume!

[Theli]

Very nice additions! Absolutely love the Best New Horror collection. Are any of the other volumes signed?

[Lucian Poll]

The launch for Best New Horror Volume 24 coincided with the launch of Psychomania:


Psychomania: cover. by lucian.poll, on Flickr

And so I managed to get a few signatures there too!


Psychomania: title page signed by Stephen Jones, Les Edwards, Ramsey Campbell, Richard Christian Matheson and one more (sorry!) at World Fantasy Convention 2013. by lucian.poll, on Flickr


Psychomania: contents page signed by John Llewellyn Probert, Reggie Oliver, Steve Rasnic Tem and Scott Edelman at the World Fantasy Convention 2013. by lucian.poll, on Flickr


Psychomania: contents pages signed by Paul McAuley, Mike Carey, John Llewellyn Probert, Robert Shearman, Michael Carey, Conrad Williams, Rio Youers, Peter Crowther, Michael Marshall Smith and Kim Newman at the World Fantasy Convention 2013. by lucian.poll, on Flickr

[Lucian Poll]

They are rather eyecatching. The last five covers have been done by Vincent Chong. I rather like his work, particularly the illustrations I've seen from Doctor Sleep and The Shining.

[Lucian Poll]

Best New Horror Volume 24 was launched at the World Fantasy Convention last year, and so I had the chance to have my book signed by many of the authors featured within, which was mighty cool:


Best New Horror: Volume 24 title page signed by Stephen Jones and Ramsey Campbell at the World Fantasy Convention 2013. by lucian.poll, on Flickr


Best New Horror: Volume 24 contents page, signed by Alison Littlewood, Simon Kurt Unsworth, Lynda E. Rucker and one more (probably Dale Bailey... sorry!) at the World Fantasy Convention 2013. by lucian.poll, on Flickr


Best New Horror 24: Contents page signed by Thana Niveau, Helen Marshall, Steve Rasnic Tem, Reggie Oliver, Stephen Volk, Robert Shearman, Michael Kelly and Kim Newman at the World Fantasy Convention 2013. by lucian.poll, on Flickr

[slayn666]

The UK covers for 20 and 22 are so much better than the US covers.

[Lucian Poll]

And finally the covers and stories from volumes 19-24 of Best New Horror:


Best New Horror: Volumes 19-24 covers. by lucian.poll, on Flickr

Best New Horror Volume 19 (2008)
The Things He Said by Michael Marshall Smith
The Church on the Island by Simon Kurt Unsworth
The Twilight Express by Christopher Fowler
Peep by Ramsey Campbell
From Around Here by Tim Pratt
Pumpkin Night by Gary McMahon
The Other Village by Simon Strantzas
13 O'Clock by Mike O'Driscoll
Still Water by Joel Lane
Lancashire by Nicholas Royle
The Admiral's House by Marc Lecard
Man, You Gotta See This! by Tony Richards
The Fisherman by David A. Sutton
The Children of Monte Rosa by Reggie Oliver
The Witch's Headstone by Neil Gaiman
Calico Black, Calico Blue by Joel Knight
This Rich Evil Sound by Steven Erikson
Miss Ill-Kept Runt by Glen Hirshberg
Deadman's Road by Joe R. Lansdale
A Gentleman from Mexico by Mark Samuels
Loss by Tom Piccirilli
Behind the Clouds: In Front of the Sun by Christopher Harman
The Ape's Wife by Caitlin R. Kiernan
Tight Wrappers by Conrad Williams
Cold Snap by Kim Newman

Best New Horror Volume 20 (2009)
Front-Page McGuffin and the Greatest Story Never Told by Peter Crowther
It Runs Beneath The Surface by Simon Strantzas
These Things We Have Always Known by Lynda E. Rucker
Feminine Endings by Neil Gaiman
Through The Cracks by Gary McMahon
Falling Off The World by Tim Lebbon
The Old Traditions Are Best by Paul Finch
The Long Way by Ramsey Campbell
The Pile by Michael Bishop
Under Fog by Tanith Lee
Arkangel by Christopher Fowler
The Camping Wainwrights by Ian R. MacLeod
A Donkey at the Mysteries by Reggie Oliver
The Oram County Whoosit by Steve Duffy
The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates by Stephen King
Our Man in the Sudan by Sarah Pinborough
"Destination Nihil" by Edmund Bertrand by Mark Samuels
The Overseer by Albert E. Cowdrey
The Beginnings of Sorrow by Pinckney Benedict
The Place of Waiting by Brian Lumley
2.00pm: The Real Estate Agent Arrives by Steve Rasnic Tem

Best New Horror Volume 21 (2010)
The Woods by Michael Kelly
Throttle by Joe Hill & Stephen King
Out and Back by Barbara Roden
Respects by Ramsey Campbell
Cold to the Touch by Simon Strantzas
The Game of Bear by M. R. James & Reggie Oliver
Shem-el-Nessim An Inspiration in Perfume by Chris Bell
What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night by Michael Marshall Smith
The Reunion by Nicholas Royle
Mami Wata by Simon Kurt Unsworth
Venturi by Richard Christian Matheson
Party Talk by John Gaskin
Two Steps Along the Road by Terry Dowling
The Axholme Toll by Mark Valentine
Granny's Grinning by Robert Shearman
In the Garden by Rosalie Parker
After the Ape by Stephen Volk
The Nonesuch by Brian Lumley
Princess of the Night by Michael Kelly

Best New Horror Volume 22 (2011)
What Will Come After by Scott Edelman
Substitutions by Michael Marshall Smith
A Revelation of Cormorants by Mark Valentine
Out Back by Garry Kilworth
Fort Clay, Louisiana: A Tragical History by Albert E. Cowdrey
Just Outside Our Windows, Deep Inside Our Walls by Brian Hodge
Fallen Boys by Mark Morris
The Lemon in the Pool by Simon Kurt Unsworth
The Pier by Thana Niveau
Featherweight by Robert Shearman
Black Country by Joel Lane
Lavender and Lychgates by Angela Slatter
Christmas with the Dead by Joe R. Lansdale
We All Fall Down by Kirstyn McDermott
Oh I Do Like To Be Beside the Seaside by Christopher Fowler
Losenef Express by Mark Samuels
Lesser Demons by Norman Partridge
Telling by Steve Rasnic Tem
As Red as Red by Caitlin R. Kiernan
With the Angels by Ramsey Campbell
Autumn Chill by Richard L. Tierney
City of the Dog by John Langan
When the Zombies Win by Karina Sumner-Smith

Best New Horror Volume 23 (2012)
Holding the Light by Ramsey Campbell
Lantern Jack by Christopher Fowler
Rag and Bone by Paul Kane
Some Kind of Light Shines from Your Face by Gemma Files
Midnight Flight by Joel Lane
Trick of the Light by Tim Lebbon
But None Shall Sing For Me by Gregory Nicoll
About the Dark by Alison Littlewood
The Photographer's Tale by Daniel Mills
The Tower by Mark Samuels
Dancing Like We're Dumb by Peter Atkins
An Indelible Stain Upon the Sky by Simon Strantzas
Hair by Joan Aitken
Miri by Steve Rasnic Tem
Corbeaux Bay by Geeta Roopnarine
Sad, Dark Thing by Michael Marshall Smith
Smithers and the Ghosts of the Thar by Robert Silverberg
Quieta Non Movere by Reggie Oliver
The Crawling Sky by Joe R. Lansdale
Wait by Conrad Williams
The Ocean Grand, North West Coast by Simon Kurt Unsworth
They That Have Wings by Evangeline Walton
White Roses, Bloody Silk by Thana Niveau
The Music of Bengt Karlsson, Murderer by John Ajvide Lindqvist
Passing Through Peacehaven by Ramsey Campbell
Holiday Home by David Buchan

Best New Horror Volume 24 (2013)
Witch Work by Neil Gaiman
The Discord of Being by Alison Littlewood
Necrosis by Dale Bailey
The Hunt: Before, and the Aftermath by Joe R. Lansdale
The Cotswald Olimpicks by Simon Kurt Unsworth
Where the Summer Dwells by Lynda E. Rucker
The Callers by Ramsey Campbell
The Curtain by Thana Niveau
The Fall of the King of Babylon by Mark Valentine
Nightside Eye by Terry Dowling
The Old and the New by Helen Marshall
Waiting at the Crossroads Motel by Steve Rasnic Tem
His Own Audience by Glen Hirshberg
Marionettes by Claire Massey
Between Four Years by Reggie Oliver
Slick Black Stones and Soft Black Stars by Gemma Files
The Other One by Evangeline Walton
Slow Burn by Joel Lane
Celebrity Frankenstein by Stephen Volk
Blue Crayon, Yellow Crayon by Robert Shearman
October Dreams by Michael Kelly
The Eyes of Water by Alison Littlewood

[Lucian Poll]

No worries, Tom. I'm glad you like them. Here's another batch of covers, this time for volumes 13-18:


Best New Horror: Volumes 13-18 covers. by lucian.poll, on Flickr

And herewith the stories you can find in each one:

Best New Horror Volume 13 (2002)
Mark of the Beast by Chico Kidd
Crocodile Lady by Christopher Fowler
All For Sale by Ramsey Campbell
The Two Dicks by Paul McAuley
By Her Hand, She Draws You Down by Douglas Smith
O Death, Where Is Thy Spatula? by Poppy Z. Brite
Got To Kill Them All by Dennis Etchinson
No More A-Roving by Lynda E. Rucker
First, Catch Your Demon by Graham Joyce
Pump Jack by Donald R. Burleson
Outfangthief by Gala Blau
The Lost District by Joel Lane
Simeon Dimsby's Workshop by Richard A. Lupoff
Our Temporary Supervisor by Thomas Ligotti
Whose Ghosts These Are by Charles L. Grant
Shite Hawks by Muriel Gray
Off The Map by Michael Chislett
Most of My Friends Are Two-Thirds Water by Kelly Link
City in Aspic by Conrad Williams
Where All Things Perish by Tanith Lee
Struwwelpeter by Glen Hirshberg
Cleopatra Brimstone by Elizabeth Hand
Cats and Architecture by Chico Kidd

Best New Horror Volume 14 (2003)
October in the Chair by Neil Gaiman
Details by China Mieville
The Wretched Thicket of Thorn by Don Tumasonis
The Absolute Last of the Ultra-Spooky, Super-Scary Hallowe'en Horror Nights by David J. Schow
Standard Gauge by Nicholas Royle
Little Dead Girl Singing by Stephen Gallagher
Nesting Instincts by Brian Hodge
The Two Sams by Glen Hirshberg
Hides by Jay Russell
The Unbeheld by Ramsey Campbell
Ill Met by Daylight by Basil Copper
Catskin by Kelly Link
20th Century Ghost by Joe Hill
Egyptian Avenue by Kim Newman
The Boy Behind the Gate by James van Pelt
Nor the Demons Down Under the Sea by Caitlin R. Kiernan
The Coventry Boy by Graham Joyce
The Prospect Cards by Don Tumasonis
The Cage by Jeff VanderMeer
Dr Pretorius and the Lost Temple by Paul McAuley

Best New Horror Volume 15 (2004)
Fear The Dead by Ramsey Campbell
The Hanged Man of Oz by Steve Nagy
Mara by Michael Chislett
Cell Call by Marc Laidlaw
In The Tunnels by Pauline E. Dungate
Hunger: A Confession by Dale Bailey
Seven Feet by Christopher Fowler
The Centipede by Susan Davis
The Goat Cutter by Jay Lake
Maybe Next Time by Michael Marshall Smith
Story Time With the Bluefield Strangler by John Farris
Hunter Lake by Gene Wolfe
Mr Sly Stops for a Cup of Joe by Scott Emerson Bull
The Bereavement Photographer by Steve Rasnic Tem
Kissing Carrion by Gemma Files
The White Hands by Mark Samuels
Waycross by Caitlin R. Kiernan
Lucy, In Her Slendour by Charles Colman Finlay
Dead Boy Found by Christopher Barzak
The Haunting by Joyce Carol Oates
Dancing Men by Glen Hirshberg
Bitter Grounds by Neil Gaiman
Child of the Stones by Paul McAuley
The Silence of Falling Stars by Mike O'Driscoll
Exorcising Angels by Simon Clark & Tim Lebbon

Best New Horror Volume 16 (2005)
Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Nameless House of the Night of Dread Desire by Neil Gaiman
Lilies by Iain Rowan
Breaking Up by Ramsey Campbell
"The King", in: Yellow by Brian Keene
A Trick of the Dark by Tina Rath
The Mutable Borders of Love by Leslie What
Flour White and Spindle Thin by L. H. Maynard & M. P. N. Sims
Tighter by Christa Faust
Restraint by Stephen Gallagher
Israbel by Tanith Lee
The Growlimb by Michael Shea
This is Now by Michael Marshall Smith
Remnants by Tim Lebbon
Safety Clowns by Glen Hirshberg
The Devil of Delery Street by Poppy Z. Brite
Apocalypse Now, Voyager by Jay Russell
Stone Animals by Kelly Link
Soho Golem by Kim Newman
Spells for Halloween: An Acrostic by Dale Bailey
My Death by Lisa Tuttle
The Problem of Susan by Neil Gaiman

Best New Horror Volume 17 (2006)
The Decorations by Ramsey Campbell
Black and Green and Gold by David Herter
I Live With You and You Don't Know It by Carol Emshwiller
The Cubist's Attorney by Peter Atkins
All Fish and Dracula by Liz Williams
The Ball Room by China Mieville, Emma Bircham and Max Schaefer
Gulls by Tim Pratt
Pinkie by Elizabeth Massie
Glyphotech by Mark Samuels
One of the Hungry Ones by Holly Phillips
If I Should Wake Before I Die by Brian Hodge
The Other Family by Roberta Lannes
The Outermost Borough by Gahan Wilson
American Morons by Glen Hirshberg
Where Angels Come In by Adam L. G. Nevill
Sickhouse Hospitality by Terry Lamsley
Best New Horror by Joe Hill
La Peau Verte by Caitlin R. Kiernan
Time Was by David Morrell
Haeckel's Tale by Clive Barker
The Taint by Brian Lumley
The Winner by Ramsey Campbell

Best New Horror Volume 18 (2007)
Summer by Al Sarrantonio
Digging Deep by Ramsey Campbell
The Night Watch by John Gordon
The Luxury of Harm by Christopher Fowler
Sentinels by Mark Samuels
The Saffron Gatherers by Elizabeth Hand
What Nature Abhors by Mark Morris
The Last Reel by Lynda E. Rucker
The American Dead by Jay Lake
Between the Cold Moon and the Earth by Peter Atkins
Sob in the Silence by Gene Wolfe
Continuity Error by Nicholas Royle
Dr Prida's Dream-Plagued Patient by Michael Bishop
The Ones We Leave Behind by Mark Chadbourn
Mine by Joel Lane
Obsequy by David J. Schow
Thrown by Don Tumasonis
Houses Under The Sea by Caitlin R. Kiernan
They by David Morrell
The Clockwork Horror by F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre
Making Cabinets by Richard Christian Matheson
Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter (Fantasy) by Geoff Ryman
Devil's Smile by Glen Hirshberg
The Man Who Got Off The Ghost Train by Kim Newman

[bookworm 1]

Some great stories in those collections. Quite a few I recognize. A super part of horrors modern history. Thanks for sharing these.