What are you currently reading?

[brlesh]

Officially half way through The Stand.

When I started I was figuring on three weeks to get through it, but now it is looking like a good month at least.

That’s OK.

Taking my time with it and enjoying the journey.

B

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading Aron Beauregard's "Handyman", a first time read for me. I usually enjoy Beauregard's version of splatter-horror, but this one fell a bit flat for me. There were truly no characters to root for which hurt the book, and while it did have some crazy splatter scenes, a lot of the book felt boring. Also, a lot of the mythology within the story was left unexplained or just didn't make sense. The ending was also very predictable and not something that I especially enjoyed. Overall, while I will be reading Beauregard again in the future, this particular book just wasn't for me.

Am now reading Daniel J Volpe's "Runts", a first time read and author for me. I've heard Volpe's name mentioned within the splatter community for a while and decided to finally give him a try with this book. Am only a few chapters into it, but boy does it read like vintage Ed Lee!

[Chuggers]

I remember there was also an anthology called TERMINAL FRIGHTS, a Brian McNaughton collection (THE THRONE OF BONES, which won the World Fantasy Award for Best Collection), and a David Niall Wilson collection (THIS IS MY BLOOD). Beyond those three and the Piccirilli, I'm not sure there were any others or not...could've just been those four, and then like all too often in the small press arena, they imploded for any of the usual reasons.

It really is a shame they were only able to publish such a small amount of books. The copy i purchased just arrived, its another massive collection that was designed very well. There's a little more damage to this copy than I was expecting but revisiting the listing after work and see it was all laid out for me there in the description. Oh well, still happy to have it!

[RonClinton]

Interesting.

I wonder if Deep Into That Darkness Peering was the final nail in the coffin for Terminal Fright Publications.

As I recall, they only published two or three books, and Deep Into That Darkness Peering was by far their most ambitious project.

B

I remember there was also an anthology called TERMINAL FRIGHTS, a Brian McNaughton collection (THE THRONE OF BONES, which won the World Fantasy Award for Best Collection), and a David Niall Wilson collection (THIS IS MY BLOOD). Beyond those three and the Piccirilli, I'm not sure there were any others or not...could've just been those four, and then like all too often in the small press arena, they imploded for any of the usual reasons.

[brlesh]

I remember reading several times in the past -- possibly interviews with Piccirilli...? -- that DEEP INTO THAT DARKNESS PEERING was a poor seller for Terminal Fright. Tom's theory was that the collection was far too ambitious for its own good...he was a relatively new voice on the scene, or at least generally unknown, when it was published, and it was a massive collection (think it collected most of his fiction up to that point) with a price-tag that required some buyer confidence in this generally unknown author's work. I remember him saying something like he wished that the project had been more modest in size and price, because the poor sales of that massive volume was a stumbling block early in his career, and set his momentum back a bit, whereas a properly sized and priced volume would have theoretically created more sales and more buzz. I suppose something like that's impossible to prove in the end, but it's not a bad theory. Fortunately, whatever stumbling block it did create was pushed aside later in his career by his tenacity and skill.

Interesting.

I wonder if Deep Into That Darkness Peering was the final nail in the coffin for Terminal Fright Publications.

As I recall, they only published two or three books, and Deep Into That Darkness Peering was by far their most ambitious project.

B

[dannyboy121070]

I finished my slog through Glen Krisch's HUSKS, which was a mess all around. The story needed a firmer editorial hand, as I personally found it to be both pointless and endlessly padded, despite the short length. Production-wise, the dust-jacket was too large for the book, it was cut wrong and folded wrong, almost every page of the book had a crease or a crinkle...just sloppy, sloppy work. And as a former CD proofreader, I was amazed and aghast at all of the spelling and grammatical errors.Something I took very seriously when I proofed for CD was overuse of words, such as using the word "Soon" three times in one sentence, variations of which happen with alarming frequency in this book.It caused the book to seem very unprofessional.

This is my second Krisch book, and my last...nothing in this mess clicked with me at all.

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading The Long Walk by Stephen King (Centipede Press Edition). Been forever since I read this story and while it does have a few warts, it also still has magic. Such a good read! Would have loved SK to have written another story in this universe. Would be very cool to know how/why the Long Walk started and some of the other things alluded to in this story. Am now ready to watch the film coming out later this year! Don't know how I feel about Mark Hamil as the Major.

Am now reading Aron Beauregard's "Handyman", a first time read for me.

[RonClinton]

One of my all time favorite collections is Piccirill’s Deep into that Darkness Peering.

It was released in the late 90’s or early 2000’s, and it was a huge collection of over 40 stories and well over 500 pages.

I believe it pretty much collected all of his published fiction up to that time.

I don’t know what the going cost is on the secondary market, as this is long out of print and the publisher (Terminal Frights) is also long gone.

Probably more horror oriented, as that was where Tom cut his teeth in the publishing business, but still a little bit of his earlier crime fiction too.

DITDP provides a fascinating glimpse into the beginning of a very talented writer whose career was cut way too short.

Highly recommended if you can track down a copy.

B

I remember reading several times in the past -- possibly interviews with Piccirilli...? -- that DEEP INTO THAT DARKNESS PEERING was a poor seller for Terminal Fright. Tom's theory was that the collection was far too ambitious for its own good...he was a relatively new voice on the scene, or at least generally unknown, when it was published, and it was a massive collection (think it collected most of his fiction up to that point) with a price-tag that required some buyer confidence in this generally unknown author's work. I remember him saying something like he wished that the project had been more modest in size and price, because the poor sales of that massive volume was a stumbling block early in his career, and set his momentum back a bit, whereas a properly sized and priced volume would have theoretically created more sales and more buzz. I suppose something like that's impossible to prove in the end, but it's not a bad theory. Fortunately, whatever stumbling block it did create was pushed aside later in his career by his tenacity and skill.

[Chuggers]

One of my all time favorite collections is Piccirill’s Deep into that Darkness Peering.

It was released in the late 90’s or early 2000’s, and it was a huge collection of over 40 stories and well over 500 pages.

I believe it pretty much collected all of his published fiction up to that time.

I don’t know what the going cost is on the secondary market, as this is long out of print and the publisher (Terminal Frights) is also long gone.

Probably more horror oriented, as that was where Tom cut his teeth in the publishing business, but still a little bit of his earlier crime fiction too.

DITDP provides a fascinating glimpse into the beginning of a very talented writer whose career was cut way too short.

Highly recommended if you can track down a copy.

B

Actually found a seller with this at less than $20, very excited!

[Chuggers]

I appreciate all of the tips of Piccirilli's output, thank you all! I have all three of the titles mentioned here by you both Ron & brlesh, I can't wait to dig in a bit....

[brlesh]

Man that's unfortunate, he truly has a magnificent voice. I'll be looking for some of those collections, I appreciate the response Ron

One of my all time favorite collections is Piccirill’s Deep into that Darkness Peering.

It was released in the late 90’s or early 2000’s, and it was a huge collection of over 40 stories and well over 500 pages.

I believe it pretty much collected all of his published fiction up to that time.

I don’t know what the going cost is on the secondary market, as this is long out of print and the publisher (Terminal Frights) is also long gone.

Probably more horror oriented, as that was where Tom cut his teeth in the publishing business, but still a little bit of his earlier crime fiction too.

DITDP provides a fascinating glimpse into the beginning of a very talented writer whose career was cut way too short.

Highly recommended if you can track down a copy.

B

[brlesh]

That's interesting Ron, I'm currently reading Fuckin' Lie Down Already by T. Piccirilli and it's brutal and grim and I'm loving every second. I've not read much else by him but that's changing immediately. Did they ever collect those "noirellas" in physical copies?

If you liked FLDA you would probably like The Fever Kill, a short novel / long novella (around 200 pages).

As I recall (it’s probably been 15 years since I’ve read it), The Fever Kill was a very fast paced story written in a similar noirish / crime drama tone as FLDA.

Definitely two of my favorite pieces from Piccirilli.

B

[RonClinton]

There's a preview/sample in the back of the copy of FLDA for a novel entitled The Last Kind Words, a mafia story it seems....his prose is incredible there as well. Has anyone read that one?

Yes, that’s one of the Terrier Rand duo, and it’s quite good. I do slightly prefer the COLD duo over the Rand duo, but they’re both well worth the time.

[Chuggers]

There's a preview/sample in the back of the copy of FLDA for a novel entitled The Last Kind Words, a mafia story it seems....his prose is incredible there as well. Has anyone read that one?

[Chuggers]

Man, I've had a lettered copy of Bad Dog on my shelf for a long time now. I keep meaning to give it a read. Every time I do, though, I remember the last book I read from him years ago called The Dead Letters, which from my memory dipped into some ridiculous moments and kinda turned me off from his stuff. Your recommendation to Chuggers has got me tempted to give it go once I get through the two other books I'm working on.

I'm pricing these online, $30 seems like a steal fir this particular collection