Talk us through it
Brimstone's 2007 collection of course covers all things in horror literature circa 2006. The book kicks off with another of Angela's well regarded essays on the status of the dark nation and what went down during the year, 2006 was a huge one for the local horror community, eighteen original stories ranging from flash pieces to novellas, short contributor statements, dark fiction resources, and the results in the various awards held for speculative writing in this country. The book pretty much presents a snap shot of 2006 with the bonus of some highly entertaining stories really. Overall another jewel in the crown of Brimstone Press, let's get down and funky with it.
Review"They are headless dogs from Hell that hold the souls of tarans" - Rev. Fleet Opening the covers of Australian Dark Fantasy & Horror 2007 (ADFH07) you are pretty much presented with a who's who of Australian dark genre writers. Besides Angela herself, the names Terry Dowling, Stephen Dedman, Robert Hood, Jason Nahrung, Kyla Ward, Shane Jiraiya Cummings, Kirstyn McDermott, and Paul Haines pretty much leap off the page and rip your throat out. It's a pretty formidable line up that would match the best any other Country has too other. Sure there's some names missing, but the book would be impossible to hold if it included everyone. Angela Challis has chosen a solid assortment of stories to include in my ravaged opinion, added in some real must have resource, and Brimstone have polished it up and thrown it to the market in a highly professional package. If you don't know by now I simply love Angela Challis' yearly update on the state of the horror nation. I've got the order date marked down on my calendar for the 2010 edition, and I reckon I might just add Paul Haines' book as well. ADFH07 kicks off with Editor Challis reviewing what went down in 2006. It was one hell of a year, with Aussie horror writers being published not only locally but on the global stage as well, and particularly in the United States and British markets. The year saw Lothian Books' introduce their short lived 'Dark Suspense' range with three full length novels, Will Elliot seemed to come out of nowhere with his critically acclaimed novel The Pilo Family Circus crashing the inaugural ABC book awards, numerous online and print magazines had good years, and the Australia Horror Writers Associate started to flex its muscles. 2006 was simply stunning from a dark genre perspective and Angela Challis has recorded the year in depth in her introductory tutorial. The book is actually worth the price of admission on Angela's editorial alone. Angela Challis once again shows why Brimstone's yearly collections are must haves in your library. The eighteen story offering to the ravenous beast that is the Australian dark fiction market is of a uniformly high standard, though of course there will be personal preferences in the selection for individual readers. Stories range in length, strangely Shane Jiraiya Cummings has a short story in the collection rather than a flash piece, and in content. Be prepared to travel the width and breath of the genre with everything from fireside ghost yarns to more corporal horrors being held captive within the pages of the collection. As opposed to some collections that have a narrow outlook on what constitutes horror Angela Challis has visited each room of the horror mansion and returned with a souvenir for our edification. To be honest about the only things missing here are the standard tropes of a vampire yarn, a howling werewolf tale, or a Frankenstein's monster style story. Excellent to see Australian Writers seeking out darker game in the horror jungle and congratulations to Angela for mounting them in the ADFH07 grand hall. Hey it's my favourite part of a collection review, which stories were standouts for mine. Dead of Winter, Stephen Dedman, besides having a decent pun in the title was really working for me. An historian on a ghost hunt learns to take some risks; the benefits outweigh the inherent English conservatism. Robert Hood takes an entirely new view on the outbreak of the zombie apocalypse in the sly In the Service of the Flesh, (I really want to put together a Down Under zombie anthology now, any small press out there looking for one?), Pain Threshold sees Jason Nahrung slicing up toward a gore soaked journey, Shane Jiraiya Cummings provided a highlight for us arachnophobics with the chilling The Garden Shed Pact, Susan Wardle surprised with the excellent Iron Shirt, and Paul Haines continues with his brand of take no prisoners horror in Father Father. Those were the tales that hit the spot for me currently, ask me next week and I'll probably nominate some different ones. Angela Challis had put together a collection that will suit your mood, and take the tension off a hard week. Naturally Angela can't leave well enough alone and has to stir in extra sugar with her informative and I have to say must have Appendices. If you are a Down Under horror writer, horror historian, or indeed run a Down Under literature site then Brimstone's yearly anthologies are simply must have stables for your library. I'm probably going to stress that a couple of times more till you get the message. Shame on you if you haven't got each and every Brimstone collection in your bookcase already, yes I'm looking slightly smug over here folks after a Christmas windfall. We get the ubiquitous Contributor blurbs, thankfully not overly long, but with the added advantage of net links so you can follow up on what else is available by that favourite Writer. I simply love these and have brought additional books due to them. Appendix 2 points us to additional Down Under horror resources on the net, a couple of sites included there I was unaware of so another congrats are deserve by Angela for hunting out the dark corners of the internet. And finally, you getting the feeling that this collection is striving for complete coverage, the genre fiction award winners covering the Aurealis Awards, Australian Shadows Award, and of course everyone's favourite the Ditmars. About the only thing that Angela hasn't covered is the average house prices in the various States, must have been on oversight. (We really do need emoticons on this site, hint to a certain person of the graphics persuasion). I once again had fun times in a Brimstone collection and do heartily recommend them to anyone reading this review, hi mom! The collected stories were excellent, the introduction both informative and something I'll reference for coming essays, and the Appendices were top notch. I actually didn't find anything to complain about with this collection, which must be a first. If a firm fan of Down Under dark literature or wanting to dip your toes in the waters then Brimstone have you covered. ADFH07, along with a number of other collections, is available from Brimstone Press click through. If you don't leave it too long then you might just score yourself a good price on all three of the current Australian Dark Fantasy & Horror collections.
ScaryMinds Rates this read as ... Outstanding collection, a must have for your library.
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