Athammaus
Acolyte
"A Mythology of Masks" by Stephen J. Clark
is apparently available and shipping now.
A Mythology of Masks
is apparently available and shipping now.
A Mythology of Masks
Last edited:
Egaeus Press
- Thread starter Egaeus
- Start date
Zaharoff
Grimscribe
The Rooming House
Various (Editor: Beech, Mark) - The Rooming House
An inspired collection. Themed, no less. Stories set, for the most part, in a shabby rooming house. Characters high-lit in stand alone tales, yet are also referenced or glimpsed in other tales. Clearly, a lot of thought, as well as back and forth went into this.
“Behind You!” sets the pace, lays the track. The theatrical troupe is doing a panto, with Webber & Quinn offering a chuckling, uncomfortable skeleton dance. Webber is jovial, if stale ham, while Quinn carries an unsavory reputation.
The inspector arrives for the “Defective Premises Survey”, bringing along his damaged son. The boy’s solace is playing his piano, almost nonstop. The house exerts an influence on father and son. The man realizes it would be prudent to leave, but he is a thorough and conscientious inspector.
The twin sisters live as shut-ins. Even speak in their own coded prattle, jalinga. Reclusive, hidden, after all “The Gingiver Twins” had a whispered history. Did something wicked. One might assume they were forever inseparable, save for the choking house, damp, dank, suffocating.
Zoe explains to Tim: the rooming hose is only temporary, a way station before moving on, hopefully moving upward to more quality digs. Nonetheless, the house approves of Tim. As one of “The Inhabitants” Tim finds it difficult to explain what the house communicates, what it expects.
Aside from the multiroom house, there are other recurring places. The Palace Theatre, a seedy pub, and a slightly better dining establishment.
Most of the writers play fair with the premise, which builds from story to story. One doesn’t even try, and his yarn gallops in its own loose direction.
Following that, the final quartet lure us back into dim lit hallways and murky chambers, where dreams and hopes go to die.
Various (Editor: Beech, Mark) - The Rooming House
An inspired collection. Themed, no less. Stories set, for the most part, in a shabby rooming house. Characters high-lit in stand alone tales, yet are also referenced or glimpsed in other tales. Clearly, a lot of thought, as well as back and forth went into this.
“Behind You!” sets the pace, lays the track. The theatrical troupe is doing a panto, with Webber & Quinn offering a chuckling, uncomfortable skeleton dance. Webber is jovial, if stale ham, while Quinn carries an unsavory reputation.
The inspector arrives for the “Defective Premises Survey”, bringing along his damaged son. The boy’s solace is playing his piano, almost nonstop. The house exerts an influence on father and son. The man realizes it would be prudent to leave, but he is a thorough and conscientious inspector.
The twin sisters live as shut-ins. Even speak in their own coded prattle, jalinga. Reclusive, hidden, after all “The Gingiver Twins” had a whispered history. Did something wicked. One might assume they were forever inseparable, save for the choking house, damp, dank, suffocating.
Zoe explains to Tim: the rooming hose is only temporary, a way station before moving on, hopefully moving upward to more quality digs. Nonetheless, the house approves of Tim. As one of “The Inhabitants” Tim finds it difficult to explain what the house communicates, what it expects.
Aside from the multiroom house, there are other recurring places. The Palace Theatre, a seedy pub, and a slightly better dining establishment.
Most of the writers play fair with the premise, which builds from story to story. One doesn’t even try, and his yarn gallops in its own loose direction.
Following that, the final quartet lure us back into dim lit hallways and murky chambers, where dreams and hopes go to die.
Athammaus
Acolyte
Charles Wilkinson
As i do not have any books by him, I'm curious to know if folks here consider his work worth tracking down. At a guess, I'd say yes, but am hoping someone can tell me more.
Although my library contains over 3K titles, it's only been within the last few years that I've been acquiring small press books by 21st century authors. The bulk of my collection is titles from the 19th and 20th century.
As i do not have any books by him, I'm curious to know if folks here consider his work worth tracking down. At a guess, I'd say yes, but am hoping someone can tell me more.
Although my library contains over 3K titles, it's only been within the last few years that I've been acquiring small press books by 21st century authors. The bulk of my collection is titles from the 19th and 20th century.
waffles
Grimscribe
Yes, he is worth reading. I'm not sure how to describe his writing - literary? weird? atmospheric.?
I look forward to his latest collection.
Charon
Mystic
I would describe his work, weird and haunting : it is very much to my liking and i am looking forward for his new book.
Favorites books so far : ''Splending In Ashes'' and ''Mills Of Silence''.
Zaharoff
Grimscribe
Zaharoff
Grimscribe
Ornithologiae
Various (Editor: Beech, Mark) - Ornithologiae
Of or pertaining to the study / observation of birds.
Another eclectic, imaginative assortment from Egaeus.
“Aberration And Essence” displays the mania of bird watchers, the obsessives forever hunting for a rare species, perhaps a new breed. Firsthand, I have witnessed a few trespass my own property.
A switched bird, akin to the cuckoo, occurs in “Ravenbaby” leading the family to a wise woman.
Mila was an outsider, unaccustomed to the ways of Leonard’s family, not least the Thanksgiving traditions, and the traditions of sharing with the departed. “The Spirit Plate” was just that, and meant for those.
Who killed cock robin? Why the sparrow, of course. “Being A True Account Of The Death And Burial Of Poor Cock Robin” brings forth all manner of witnesses in the singular courthouse. Oh, the versions we hear, and the parade of untrustworthy narrators.
Edward, with his bad heart and pills, moved to the remote village to rest, work on his painting. There was a girl there, strange creature, Edelina, tall, slim, innocent, not so innocent. “Oileán na nÉan” draws us into the transgressive nature of Edward’s muse, with a whispered backstory.
He thought it was a purse, it looked like a purse. There would be money, and Chess, homeless flotsam, was freezing to death. Only it was not a purse. “The Leather Cormorant” was more a curse.
A sweeping variety of stories, settings and themes. Loads of engravings. For the receptive, poetry.
As of 2025, still in print from the publisher.
Various (Editor: Beech, Mark) - Ornithologiae
Of or pertaining to the study / observation of birds.
Another eclectic, imaginative assortment from Egaeus.
“Aberration And Essence” displays the mania of bird watchers, the obsessives forever hunting for a rare species, perhaps a new breed. Firsthand, I have witnessed a few trespass my own property.
A switched bird, akin to the cuckoo, occurs in “Ravenbaby” leading the family to a wise woman.
Mila was an outsider, unaccustomed to the ways of Leonard’s family, not least the Thanksgiving traditions, and the traditions of sharing with the departed. “The Spirit Plate” was just that, and meant for those.
Who killed cock robin? Why the sparrow, of course. “Being A True Account Of The Death And Burial Of Poor Cock Robin” brings forth all manner of witnesses in the singular courthouse. Oh, the versions we hear, and the parade of untrustworthy narrators.
Edward, with his bad heart and pills, moved to the remote village to rest, work on his painting. There was a girl there, strange creature, Edelina, tall, slim, innocent, not so innocent. “Oileán na nÉan” draws us into the transgressive nature of Edward’s muse, with a whispered backstory.
He thought it was a purse, it looked like a purse. There would be money, and Chess, homeless flotsam, was freezing to death. Only it was not a purse. “The Leather Cormorant” was more a curse.
A sweeping variety of stories, settings and themes. Loads of engravings. For the receptive, poetry.
As of 2025, still in print from the publisher.
Zaharoff
Grimscribe
Stephen Clark
Clark, Stephen - Mythology Of Masks
Rich assortment of weird tales should prove irresistible to fans, depending …
Five of these (ten altogether) have been published in previous Egaeus titles.
If you missed out, however, and books have gone OP, this is an excellent volume.
As always with Clark, this is filled with his woodblock like drawings.
“The Figurehead Of The Cailleach” brings a talented restorer to the remote seaside cove. The assignment is a large ships’s figurehead, damaged by salt, barnacles and time. The job is lucrative, although there is a legend, a back history, which surges in importance daily.
He had delved deeper and deeper into silence, theorizing that ongoing noise suppressed alternative realities. After his death, younger relatives had to sort the obsessive clutter. This was “On The Edge Of Utterance”, mind you, and the muffled rooms led to unexpected transitions.
Richard awoke in Casualty. His had been a bad fall, nor did it appear to be an accident. Police were inquisitive, he was evasive. Yes, there had been an adversary involved, as both vied for “The Twilight’s Crown”. No one would accept his explanations, so he hurried to brace for the next contest.
Suffling’s old colleague had gone off his nut. Alienating everyone before his death. Suicide or misadventure? Who cared? Except old Futrell had a son, unpleasant thing, shabby, unwashed, who contacts Suffling with questions. “At The Roots” leads into an insidious dance and games that Suffling finds himself sucked into. This final story stems from Soliloquy For Pan which is an absolutely essential purchase for any reader of Weird Lit.
Clark, Stephen - Mythology Of Masks
Rich assortment of weird tales should prove irresistible to fans, depending …
Five of these (ten altogether) have been published in previous Egaeus titles.
If you missed out, however, and books have gone OP, this is an excellent volume.
As always with Clark, this is filled with his woodblock like drawings.
“The Figurehead Of The Cailleach” brings a talented restorer to the remote seaside cove. The assignment is a large ships’s figurehead, damaged by salt, barnacles and time. The job is lucrative, although there is a legend, a back history, which surges in importance daily.
He had delved deeper and deeper into silence, theorizing that ongoing noise suppressed alternative realities. After his death, younger relatives had to sort the obsessive clutter. This was “On The Edge Of Utterance”, mind you, and the muffled rooms led to unexpected transitions.
Richard awoke in Casualty. His had been a bad fall, nor did it appear to be an accident. Police were inquisitive, he was evasive. Yes, there had been an adversary involved, as both vied for “The Twilight’s Crown”. No one would accept his explanations, so he hurried to brace for the next contest.
Suffling’s old colleague had gone off his nut. Alienating everyone before his death. Suicide or misadventure? Who cared? Except old Futrell had a son, unpleasant thing, shabby, unwashed, who contacts Suffling with questions. “At The Roots” leads into an insidious dance and games that Suffling finds himself sucked into. This final story stems from Soliloquy For Pan which is an absolutely essential purchase for any reader of Weird Lit.
Athammaus
Acolyte
Thank you for posting this review. The timing, for me, is perfect. I'm presently doing bendt's '30 short stories in 30 days' challenge. I own a number of Clark's books and the anthologies he's appeared in, I'll add a story of his to my list.
Edit: I buy a lot of small-press books. It's taken awhile to actually open many of them and start enjoying the literary delicacies they contain.
Zaharoff
Grimscribe
Soul Predators
by Albert Power
Lascivious lashings torn by trial from hell ... or are they?
A brutalised maidservant flung to a leaky skiff who delivers death to the wicked and hope to the good; poetry and obsession on a Lough Erne islet haunted by birds; genteel depravity in Belfast of 1917; one man's premonitory dream that will ruin a winsome girl; infanticide urged by ancestral curse; abuse of innocence foiled by vengeance from beyond; spousal hatred to doom forlorn love.
Soul Predators comprises seven stories by an established inventor of spectral dread; subversive and numinous by turns, these tales roister between grimness and exaltation. Four have been revised from appearances in limited editions, three are unpublished.
The contents:
Oileán na nÉan
Dream of a Dead Monkey
Erminia
A Flutter of Lorn Love
The Teddy Who Said His Prayers
One False Step
The Final Flight of Fidelia
298 page hardback edition with printed endpapers; limited to just 260 copies.
Soul Predators
www.egaeuspress.com