THE WHIZZBANGER GUIDE TO ZINE DISTRIBUTORS #4, A4, 28pp side stapled, $3 in US cash only from Shannon Colebank, P.O. Box 5591, Portland, OR 97228, USA. Over 150 magazine distributors from 29 countries describe their activities and interests. The emphasis is on punk- and indie music-related material, with additional entries for zine archives, libraries and stores.
WINEDARK SEA #1, A5, 170pp p/b, US$8 (4/US$27:50; r.o.w. 4/US$35:50) from Winedark Sea Pty Ltd, P.O. Box 367 Southgate, Sylvania, NSW 2224, Australia (e-mail: editors@winedark.com; http://www.winedark.com). Subtitled a 'Journal of the Surreal, the Fantastic, and the Magically Real', this impressive inaugural issue features seven o'clock men, levitation, sentient trains, neon altars and hundreds of fish, courtesy of 28 writers and seven artists from around the world, including J. Clare and Thomas Wiloch.
THE SHADOWS BENEATH by Paul Finch, ISBN 0-9537476-1-1, A5, 84pp p/b, £4 from M. Sims, 117 Birchanger Lane, Birchanger, Hertfordshire, CM23 5QF (e-mail: michael@micksims.force9.co.uk; http://www.epress.force9.co.uk). Three supernatural stories to disturb and entertain, by the author of the acclaimed The Dark Satanic.
TREADING ON THE PAST by Derek Fox, ISBN 0-9537476-2-X, A5, 84pp p/b, £5 from M. Sims, 117 Birchanger Lane, Birchanger, Hertfordshire, CM23 5QF (e-mail: michael@micksims.force9.co.uk; http://www.epress.force9.co.uk). Four supernatural stories by the author of the novels Recluse and Demon. Rather than shocked revulsion through guts and gore, Fox's technique centres on careful manipulation of readers' fears, so that the gradual unpeeling of events creates subtle waves of terror that linger long after the last page is read.
I GAVE AT THE ORIFICE by Mark McLaughlin, A5, 36pp, $2:50 from Eraserhead Press, 16664 E. Trevino Drive, Fountain Hills, AZ 85268, USA (e-mail: ehpress@aol.com; http://www.eraserheadpress.cjb.net). Eight stories by the master of bizarre fantasy, collected from magazines such as Mystic Fiction and Not One of Us.
ALETREL by Ian James Vale, ISBN 0-9538496-0-0, 415pp p/b, £6:99 from Ice Fire Books, 10 Troughton Street, Charlton, London SE7 7QH (e-mail: icefire@ijvfilms.co.uk). Self-published SF novel in which the coming of a new comet changes the life and destiny of Arular Larlen and his world Aletrel. Though this is Vale's debut novel there seems to be plenty where this came from, being billed as the "first book in the Arular's Time sequence" and also the "first book in the Destiny of Stars series".
THE EARLY HISTORY OF AMBERGRIS by Jeff VanderMeer, A5, 90pp, $7:99 from Necropolian Press, 65 South Street, Westborough, MA 01581-1628, USA (e-mail: necropolitan@hotmail.com; http://www.necropolitanpress.com). Fans of VanderMeer's work will need no introduction to his fictionalised city of Ambergris, setting of his highly-praised novella Dradin, In Love and subject of a Rough Guide excerpt in the recent Hermaphrodite Brig anthology. The latter's theme is continued by this new novella, whose full title is actually The Hoegbotton Guide to the Early History of Ambergris, by Duncan Shriek. A noted historian, Shriek "recounts the entire gripping history of the city, from the early pogrom against the now-subterranean gray caps to ... attempts to build a 'super-saint' out of other saints' body parts". With recurring characters and a strong central narrative, it's already won praise from Paul Di Filippo, Brian Stableford, and Lance Olsen.
LETTING GO OF THE EARTH edited by Marni Scofidio Griffin, 76pp, £6 from Byddwch Gryf:Be Strong Press, The Cottages, 89 Newport, Barton-upon-Humber, N. Lincs DN18 5QF (e-mail: marni_g@hotmail.com). Anthology of speculative poetry, introduced by John F. Haines, featuring extensive selections of work by Steve Sneyd, Hilary Shields, Dee Rimbaud, Paul Pinn, Mark McLaughlin, R.J. Krijnen-Kemp, Magnus Holbourn, and Carrie Etter.
COLD TONNAGE BOOKS May 2000, A5, 40pp, enquire to Cold Tonnage Books, Andy Richards, 22 Kings Lane, Windlesham, Surrey GU20 6JQ (tel: 01276 475388; fax: 0870 0548510; e-mail: andy@coldtonnage.demon.co.uk; http://www.coldtonnage.demon.co.uk). Extensive selection of SF/F/H signed, hardback and limited editions, and many collectable paperbacks.
