The original announcement that AMC would create an adaptation of Dan Simmons award-winning novel The Terror was notable not only because many felt the novel would make for great television, but because it was announced as an anthology series. The Terror is a sprawling giant of a novel that spans almost 250,000 words and reaches … Continue reading From Book to Television: The Terror – Dan Simmons →

After months of waiting for the mail to travel all the way from Texas to Brisbane, Australia, my contributor copy of Dark Moon Digest 32/33 has arrived. There is no other way to describe this glorious little publication. It is just beautiful. Thanks to Patrick Lacey's Bone Saw, I was all too aware of the general production … Continue reading Dark Moon Digest 32/33 →

For every author who makes a habit of having their work published, there are dozens of others yet to experience that joy. Those aspiring authors are often locked in their studies tapping their hearts out on the keys. A huge percentage of them are doing the research to improve their craft. They’re reading advice blogs, … Continue reading Editing, Critiquing and Advice from the Pros →

2012's Tribesmen, one of Adam Cesare’s earlier pieces, has recently been granted an awesome new cover by expert designer Matt Revert. As a result, there’s renewed interest in the book, which harks back to and homages classic Italian cannibal movies of the past like Cannibal Holocaust. Tightly plotted, it features a fun and colourful cast … Continue reading Book Review: Tribesmen by Adam Cesare →

Gabino Iglesias’s latest novel, Coyote Songs, has been circulating in the Twittersphere as not only an excellent read, but also a damn important one. Barely a day goes by where you don’t see another excellent review pop up online, and there’s a good reason for that. As the spiritual successor to his superb Zero Saints, Coyote … Continue reading Book Review: Coyote Songs by Gabino Iglesias →

Stranded on an island, a group of school boys must survive extreme circumstances without adult supervision in the inaugural James Herbert Award-winning novel, The Troop. With this eternally fertile premise at his control, Nick Cutter crafts a brutal and harrowing story of murder, survival and mutant tapeworms. The result is an excellent book that is … Continue reading Review: The Troop by Nick Cutter →

I’m writing this blog post just a few-hundred metres from the great Cathedral of Cologne while on holiday in Germany. One of the great things about my day-job as a teacher is the regular holidays I’m entitled to every year. Every Christmas, my beautiful partner and I get to travel, and we usually go to … Continue reading Reflections on 2018 →

In the short time I’ve been lurking on Twitter and hoovering up as much advice about writing as I can, it’s become very clear that Gabino Iglesias is one of the good guys. The dude is always dropping pearls of wisdom and reflections on his own experiences with an unfalteringly positive outlook and a compassionate … Continue reading Review: Zero Saints by Gabino Iglesias →

With an ancient demon invisibly possessing its victims and sowing the seeds of animosity between characters and an isolated and snowbound setting, comparisons to Carpenter’s classic, The Thing, abound in Christopher Golden’s Ararat. Are they justified? Is that even a bad thing? Read on to find out... The first thing any review of this book … Continue reading Review: Ararat by Christopher Golden →

William Golding’s classic exploration of the darkness inherent in all of us, Lord of the Flies, is generally seen in one of two lights. It’s either that boring book packed as densely with prose descriptions of the rainforest as its figurative jungle is with liana vines and ferns, or it’s a timeless classic that drags humanity’s hidden evils … Continue reading Why we need a faithful new adaptation of Lord of the Flies →