Spectred Isle


Book Description

Archaeologist Saul Lazenby has been all but unemployable since his disgrace during the War. Now he scrapes a living working for a rich eccentric who believes in magic. Saul knows it's a lot of nonsense...except that he begins to find himself in increasingly strange and frightening situations. And at every turn he runs into the sardonic, mysterious Randolph Glyde. Randolph is the last of an ancient line of arcanists, commanding deep secrets and extraordinary powers as he struggles to fulfil his family duties in a war-torn world. He knows there's something odd going on with the haunted-looking man who keeps turning up in all the wrong places. The only question for Randolph is whether Saul is victim or villain. Saul hasn't trusted anyone in a long time. But as the supernatural threat grows, along with the desire between them, he'll need to believe in evasive, enraging, devastatingly attractive Randolph. Because he may be the only man who can save Saul's life-or his soul. Book 1 of the Green Men series




Unsettling Landscapes


Book Description

This book reveals a thread of unsettling takes on the British landscape stretching from paintings, prints and photographs made by Paul Nash in the aftermath of the First World War to contemporary artists exploring themes of memory, belonging, hauntology, dislocation and human impact on nature. In his introductory essay Robert Macfarlane explains that the eerie, involves that form of fear which is felt first as unease then as dread, and it tends to be incited by glimpses and tremors rather than outright attack. Horror specialises in confrontation and aggression; the eerie in intimation and intimidation.? Macfarlane suggests that eerie art has often flourished at times of crisis, as seen in the work of Neo-Romantic artists around the time of the Second World War. The works featured in the exhibition are grouped around four overlapping themes: Ancient Landscapes? features that are inexplicable and mysterious, connecting us to the unknown distant past; Unquiet Nature ? landscapes and natural forms used to unsettling effect, such as trees, lonely expanses of heath and the borderlands where different worlds meet; Absence/Presence, how the inclusion (and absence) of figures and objects can generate feelings of the eerie through mystery, suggestion and isolation; Atmospheric Effect ? the influence of weather, season, light and the time of day on responses to landscape. Exhibition: St Barbe Museum and Art Gallery, New St, Lymington, UK (11.09.2021-08.01.2022).




Holohive


Book Description

The sequel to the novel Doomware. Having escaped the clutches of the Acybernetic Initiative, David Lawney finds himself on a small island off the coast of southern England. But now zombies may be the least of his worries. All indications point towards irresistible forces massing against him and the adoptive son he has sworn to protect. Soon David comes to a stark realisation: protecting the boy – along with what remains of the human race – means going on a mission to assassinate Holohive, the artificial intelligence whose virus decimated humankind. But Holohive is no easy target. It has started a new empire, expanding its race to include lethal androids capable of tearing human beings apart. What David faces is a virtual suicide mission, but it’s one he seems destined to embark upon whether he wants to or not.




Alternative Shakespeares


Book Description

Introducing the most innovative of the new directions emerging in Shakespearean scholarship, this volume identifies and explores the new, the changing and the radically 'other' possibilities for Shakespeare Studies at this current time.




Ghostland: In Search of a Haunted Country


Book Description

SHORTLISTED FOR THE PEN ACKERLEY PRIZE 2020 ‘A uniquely strange and wonderful work of literature’ Philip Hoare ‘An exciting new voice’ Mark Cocker, author of Crow Country




An Unnatural Vice


Book Description

In the sordid streets of Victorian London, unwanted desire flares between two bitter enemies brought together by a deadly secret. Crusading journalist Nathaniel Roy is determined to expose spiritualists who exploit the grief of bereaved and vulnerable people. First on his list is the so-called Seer of London, Justin Lazarus. Nathaniel expects him to be a cheap, heartless fraud. He doesn’t expect to meet a man with a sinful smile and the eyes of a fallen angel—or that a shameless swindler will spark his desires for the first time in years. Justin feels no remorse for the lies he spins during his séances. His gullible clients simply bore him. Hostile, disbelieving, utterly irresistible Nathaniel is a fascinating challenge. And as their battle of wills and wits heats up, Justin finds he can’t stop thinking about the man who’s determined to ruin him. But Justin and Nathaniel are linked by more than their fast-growing obsession with one another. They are both caught up in an aristocratic family’s secrets, and Justin holds information that could be lethal. As killers, fanatics, and fog close in, Nathaniel is the only man Justin can trust—and, perhaps, the only man he could love. Don’t miss any of the captivating Sins of the Cities novels: AN UNSEEN ATTRACTION | AN UNNATURAL VICE | AN UNSUITABLE HEIR And look for the enticing Society of Gentlemen series by KJ Charles: THE RUIN OF GABRIEL ASHLEIGH | A FASHIONABLE INDULGENCE | A SEDITIOUS AFFAIR | A GENTLEMAN’S POSITION Praise for An Unnatural Vice “Explosive.”—Publishers Weekly “Animosity and attraction surge in equal measures when Nathaniel Roy, investigative journalist, faces off against Justin Lazarus, the Seer of London. Their opposing vocations and radically different backgrounds create a powerful and fascinating conflict. Although this book can be read as a stand-alone, [K. J.] Charles continues to build tension and add menace by deepening the overarching mystery introduced in the first novel. The series is definitely building to a firecracker conclusion.”—RT Book Reviews “An Unnatural Vice is a tremendous follow-up to the first book in the Sins of the City trilogy. Fans of the series—and of K. J. Charles—will love the romance between Nathaniel and Justin, and the Taillefer family mystery. . . . An Unnatural Vice is exciting, entertaining, romantic—and wonderful.”—All About Romance Includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.




On Writing Horror


Book Description

The masters of horror have united to teach you the secrets of success in the scariest genre of all! In On Writing Horror, Second Edition, Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Harlan Ellison, David Morrell, Jack Ketchum, and many others tell you everything you need to know to successfully write and publish horror novels and short stories. Edited by the Horror Writers Association (HWA), a worldwide organization of writers and publishing professionals dedicated to promoting dark literature, On Writing Horror includes exclusive information and guidance from 58 of the biggest names in horror writing to give you the inspiration you need to start scaring and exciting readers and editors. You'll discover comprehensive instruction such as: • The art of crafting visceral violence, from Jack Ketchum • Why horror classics like Dracula, The Exorcist, and Hell House are as scary as ever, from Robert Weinberg • Tips for avoiding one of the biggest death knells in horror writing—predicable clichés—from Ramsey Campbell • How to use character and setting to stretch the limits of credibility, from Mort Castle With On Writing Horror, you can unlock the mystery surrounding classic horror traditions, revel in the art and craft of writing horror, and find out exactly where the genre is going next. Learn from the best, and you could be the next best-selling author keeping readers up all night long.




Photography's Other Histories


Book Description

Moving the critical debate about photography away from its current Euro-American center of gravity, Photography’s Other Histories breaks with the notion that photographic history is best seen as the explosion of a Western technology advanced by the work of singular individuals. This collection presents a radically different account, describing photography as a globally disseminated and locally appropriated medium. Essays firmly grounded in photographic practice—in the actual making of pictures—suggest the extraordinary diversity of nonwestern photography. Richly illustrated with over 100 images, Photography’s Other Histories explores from a variety of regional, cultural, and historical perspectives the role of photography in raising historical consciousness. It includes two first-person pieces by indigenous Australians and one by a Seminole/Muskogee/Dine' artist. Some of the essays analyze representations of colonial subjects—from the limited ways Westerners have depicted Navajos to Japanese photos recording the occupation of Manchuria to the changing "contract" between Aboriginal subjects and photographers. Other essays highlight the visionary quality of much popular photography. Case studies centered in early-twentieth-century Peru and contemporary India, Kenya, and Nigeria chronicle the diverse practices that have flourished in postcolonial societies. Photography’s Other Histories recasts popular photography around the world, as not simply reproducing culture but creating it. Contributors. Michael Aird, Heike Behrend, Jo-Anne Driessens, James Faris, Morris Low, Nicolas Peterson, Christopher Pinney, Roslyn Poignant, Deborah Poole, Stephen Sprague, Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie, Christopher Wright




Waste Tide


Book Description

A LOCUS AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL Award-winning author Chen Qiufan's Waste Tide is a thought-provoking vision of the future. Translated by Ken Liu, who brought Cixin Liu's Hugo Award-winning The Three Body Problem to English-speaking readers. Mimi is drowning in the world's trash. She’s a waste worker on Silicon Isle, where electronics -- from cell phones and laptops to bots and bionic limbs — are sent to be recycled. These amass in towering heaps, polluting every spare inch of land. On this island off the coast of China, the fruits of capitalism and consumer culture come to a toxic end. Mimi and thousands of migrant waste workers like her are lured to Silicon Isle with the promise of steady work and a better life. They're the lifeblood of the island’s economy, but are at the mercy of those in power. A storm is brewing, between ruthless local gangs, warring for control. Ecoterrorists, set on toppling the status quo. American investors, hungry for profit. And a Chinese-American interpreter, searching for his roots. As these forces collide, a war erupts -- between the rich and the poor; between tradition and modern ambition; between humanity’s past and its future. Mimi, and others like her, must decide if they will remain pawns in this war or change the rules of the game altogether. "An accomplished eco-techno-thriller with heart and soul as well as brain. Chen Qiufan is an astute observer, both of the present world and of the future that the next generation is in danger of inheriting." – David Mitchell, New York Times bestselling author of Cloud Atlas




A Superior Spectre


Book Description

Jeff is dying. Haunted by memories and grappling with the shame of his desires, he runs away to remote Scotland with a piece of experimental tech that allows him to enter the mind of someone in the past. Instructed to only use it three times, Jeff – self-indulgent, isolated and deteriorating – ignores this advice. In the late 1860s, Leonora lives a contented life in the Scottish Highlands, surrounded by nature, her hands and mind kept busy. Contemplating her future and the social conventions that bind her, a secret romantic friendship with the local laird is interrupted when her father sends her to stay with her aunt in Edinburgh – an intimidating, sooty city; the place where her mother perished. But Leonora’s ability to embrace her new life is shadowed by a dark presence that begins to lurk behind her eyes, and strange visions that bear no resemblance to anything she has ever seen or known… A Superior Spectre is a highly accomplished debut novel about our capacity for curiosity, and our dangerous entitlement to it, and reminds us the scariest ghosts aren’t those that go bump in the night, but those that are born and create a place for themselves in the human soul.