#AmWriting Elsewhere…

I'm sorry, faithful visitors to the Gyre. I've been writing elsewhere. Mostly for the excellent Horrified magazine, for whom I'm reviewing new horror fiction. You can find my reviews here. But that's not all! I've just finished the third story featuring my recurring character, and you can meet him soon. Yes, STORGY will publish my … Continue reading #AmWriting Elsewhere…

“Show me your vision” – The Stone Roses in 1990

The Stone Roses

We're all familiar with the "difficult second album", but "difficult seventh single"? Not so much. It's ironic that 1990's most anticipated record - the follow-up to a majestic debut album and groundbreaking 10-minute rock/dance hybrid - should now be the one moment from the Stone Roses' glorious 'Madchester' period that's least-discussed. It's time to look … Continue reading “Show me your vision” – The Stone Roses in 1990

“Only the Broken Remain” by Dan Coxon

Regular readers will know the name of Dan Coxon, whether as editor of the excellent Tales from the Shadow Booth series and This Dreaming Isle anthology, or as author of the delightfully dark micro-collection Green Fingers. Only the Broken Remain is his first full-length collection of horror shorts, and it's full of good stuff. Some … Continue reading “Only the Broken Remain” by Dan Coxon

Zine review: ‘Weird Walk’ #4

Weird Walk issue four

The short review: best issue yet of Weird Walk. Buy it now. The longer review: Outwardly, nothing has changed. Weird Walk still has the same neat 48-page A5 format as ever, printed as before on high-quality paper. The design and typography are unchanged, as are the grainy photos of megalithic sites. But the contents have … Continue reading Zine review: ‘Weird Walk’ #4

Horror Rewind #6 – ‘The Cleanup’ by John Skipp & Craig Spector (1987)

'Splatterpunk' was a short-lived tag applied to a generation of younger horror writers who appeared in the mid-80s and took the levels of explicit gore pioneered in the late 70s to new levels. John Skipp and Craig Spector were twenty-something US horror authors at the forefront of the movement. In an interview with them in … Continue reading Horror Rewind #6 – ‘The Cleanup’ by John Skipp & Craig Spector (1987)

A year in books – 2020

Well, 2020 was a year, wasn't it? Not one that any of us want to revisit but please join me for a quick final recap of my year's reading. I also did a similar review last year. Total books read: 191 (-28) Re-reads: 53 (28%) (+6%) The overall number is a bit lower than last … Continue reading A year in books – 2020

“Where We Live” by Tim Cooke

"This land is laden with phantoms." This line from "The Dunes", one of the haunting and elusive stories from this intriguing collection, is the theme that underpins Tim Cooke's fiction. These interconnected stories - about an unnamed narrator and his mates as they grow through childhood, adolescence and to young manhood - are set in … Continue reading “Where We Live” by Tim Cooke