Ex Occidente Press

[qcrisp]

Quote Originally Posted by Evans

Out of interest are the covers of All God's Angels Beware, Trenumborus Tales (apologies to Julian for very probably spelling his collection wrong) and The Man Who Collected Machen definately the same as those on the site? I just though it best to ask since some of them had cover art not yet finalized and I wanted to unleash positive plague of those images on the Horror Cover thread.

I can speak for my own collection here and say that the image currently at the site is very probably not the final image. All God's Angels, Beware! is currently going into the layout etc. stage of production, so these things should be finalised soon.

Quote Originally Posted by Julian Karswell

People who are prepared to work so hard for so very little return, ostensibly because of passion for the subject, deserve some patience and forbearance. JK

Just thought I'd say that I agree with this. I only have two of the Ex Occidente books so far - Putting the Pieces in Place and Madder Mysteries, but even to have given the world these two volumes is an acheivement. And, of course, the press is giving the world even more.

I do hope any teething problems that might exist do not cause too much distress either on the publishing or the buying side.

[nomis]

Dan had a bout of illness recently, which slowed him down, but he should be back up to speed shortly.

[nomis]

Oh, to one day pen a tale even half as good as "The Inner Room"...

[Joel]

Interestingly, Ligotti is (or has been) an Aickman sceptic: he describes Aickman's work as "a closetful of cliches" hidden behind a contrived difficulty of reading. If it weren't for that, one could draw parallels between the two writers as creators of allegorical weird tales – 'The Bungalow House', for example, strikes me as quite Aickmanesque. Perhaps it's worth doing regardless.

But we are waaaay off topic and this thread is getting too long to open up. I can't see how to start a new thread, but that's probably my usual technology-blindness.

[nomis]

Quote Originally Posted by Joel

Interestingly, Ligotti is (or has been) an Aickman sceptic: he describes Aickman's work as "a closetful of cliches" hidden behind a contrived difficulty of reading. If it weren't for that, one could draw parallels between the two writers as creators of allegorical weird tales – 'The Bungalow House', for example, strikes me as quite Aickmanesque. Perhaps it's worth doing regardless. But we are waaaay off topic and this thread is getting too long to open up. I can't see how to start a new thread, but that's probably my usual technology-blindness.

It's is a bit your blindness, but it's also a bit the site itself, with its labyrinthine nest of topic areas, all hidden from view by a deceptively inviting front page (I say this with love, of course). You'll need to go into the "Content" tab up top and muddle your way into a forum. In there, you'll find a button to start a new tab.

Brian Lavalle, the fellow who runs the Aickman website (or should I say former site, as a trip to it just now revealed a "space for rent" sign), posts here occasionally, and has himself drawn parallels between Ligotti and Aickman. I can certainly see similarities between their work as well, "The Bungalow House" being a prime example. Still, I don't think the idea was ever fully investigated as I suspect many here on the Ligotti boards are Aickman-ignorant — through no fault of their own, of course, but that one hasn't been able to buy Aickman off the shelf, especially in the Faber-free USA, for many years.

[nomis]

I've created a thread on the topic, Joel, as I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

[nomis]

Difficult, yes. But experience tells me that, for me, it's far from impossible ...

(And there, my friends, is the first joke of that kind from me on this forum; believe me, it only goes downhill from here.)

[yellowish haze]

Quote

"Ray Russell's stories in Putting the Pieces in Place are captivating for their depth of mystery and haunting melancholy. These qualities place Russell in a tradition of authors that includes Sheridan Le Fanu and Ramsey Campell, storytellers whose works proceed with a creeping uneasiness that leaves a lasting impression on the reader." - Thomas Ligotti

Ex Occidente Press - Putting the Pieces in Place

I presume this blurb by TL on Ex Occidente site is new, or have I accidentally overlooked it when I visited their site the last time?

[Joel]

It's new – part of a batch of review comments that have come out recently. As the book is now sold out, the purpose is clearly to make those without it see the error of their ways too late – not unlike one of Russell's characters.

[Russell Nash]

Quote Originally Posted by Joel

It's new – part of a batch of review comments that have come out recently. As the book is now sold out, the purpose is clearly to make those without it see the error of their ways too late.

Thomas Ligotti made a comment on one of the stories published in the book "Tales of Devilry & Doom" by John B. Ford. Published in 2001, with a print run of 250 copies. If you check Abebooks you can still see 8 copies available. More copies on other websites. Even worse, Ligotti himself made longer comments on three of my stories, and I'm certainly not published, and will probably never be. Many of these books from small press publishing houses are bought as an investment. This fact explains why some of these books are in fine condition (i.e. never read). To prove my point I bring into attention my pristine copy of Jean Ray's "My Own Private Spectres" ($ 200). The copy I bought comes from someone (a bookseller? a visionary? perhaps a madman?), who probably bought it as an investment. Of a batch of 350 copies. Question: How many of the copies of Jean Ray's book from Ex-Occidente Press were bought by potential readers? Or how many by investors?

And I remember "Payne Brennan's Stories and Darkness and Dread", 100 signed copies that he himself bought from Arkham House, with certainly the intention of resale (according to what I read). Signed copies are sold for $100, and regular copies just for $ 25.