The fiction in Gratia Placenti, which translates to “For the Sake of Pleasing,” tends more toward dark fantasy in most cases than it does toward straight horror. I’m going to list and comment on each story briefly. I was impressed by the layout and feel of the book, and very happy to be included within its pages. My favorite of the stories included is "Follow the Canary," By Athena Workman - which is surreal and reminiscent of the old pulp magazine days in it's magic and darkness....
Larry and Shane are two of the tops in the horror publishing world. When they got together and opened the Horror Mall, it made the tops in the selling game as well. The Horror Mall runs as smooth as can be, orders ship on time and arrived in the best of condition. Larry is a saint when it comes to dealing with nut-job book collectors, (I am one of those nut-jobs), and does what ever he can to help out. Shane is great on the business end and always very helpful if there is a snag. I am glad there is a Horror Mall, book collecting would be much harder without it.
Will
- Will
This place is the greatest!! I have been collecting small press horror books for a few years now and it was always a pleasure dealing with Shane and Larry at their respective stores. Now you get two of the best in the business under one roof! I cannot wait until they start putting out their Infernal House books. They are going to be true works of art I am sure. Thanks guys!!
Author: David Niall Wilson Imagine that H. P. Lovecraft mixed with Manly Wade Wellman. Stephen Mark Rainey blends the monsters of his nightmares, the mountains and woods he loves, and a voice honed by decades of Lovecraftian fiction and Japanese monster movies. This collection, a definitive collection, brings together some of Rainey's strongest stories notably one of my personal favorites, "Fugue Devil," which was a therapeutic effort to deal with a nightmare from his past - and on through dark realms, eldtrich powers, and down-to-earth southern settings . If Fugue Devil gets to you as it did to me, here's your chance to follow it up with "The Devil's Eye," the eerie and ultimately creepy sequel. Anyone who loves horror with a Lovecraftian flair needs to read this collection. Highly recommended.
Author: William C. Rasmussen Other Gods by Stephen Mark Rainey is an interesting read, compiling sixteen of his tales spanning twenty years. And they're all good tales but virtually no excellent ones. My favorites were "Sky of Thunder, Island of Blood," "Signals," and "Epiphany: A Flying Tiger's Story." There's nothing wrong with consistency, either, and Rainey is nothing if not consistent. Putting real feeling and depth into these tales, each and every one of them. And the production quality from Dark Regions Press is fantastic, even sporting a sewn-in page marker! Easily recommended product.
Author: Brian Shaner A very enjoyable read. Rainey’s stories in this collection tend to deal with the effects of unknown forces or creatures impinging into the every day life of his characters. And there are plenty of creatures in these stories, from demons to prehistoric monsters to vampires to mutant infants. Most of the stories are Lovecraftian in nature, either overtly (like Rapture in Black & Signals) or subtly (like Other Gods & The Lake of Shadows). Book-ended by his Fugue Devil stories, these are the kinds of stories that turned me on to horror fiction as a kid. Highly recommended.
Author: Brian Shaner A very enjoyable read. Rainey's stories in this collection tend to deal with the effects of unknown forces or creatures impinging on the every day life of his characters. And there are plenty of creatures in these stories, from demons to prehistoric monsters to vampires to mutant infants. Most of the stories are Lovecraftian in nature, either overtly (like Rapture in Black or Signals) or subtly (like Other Gods or The Lake of Shadows). Book-ended by his Fugue Devil stories, these are the kind of tales that turned me on to horror fiction as a kid. Highly recommended.
