NIGHTSCAPES by Michael Pendragon, A5, 92pp p/b, £3:50/$6:50 from B.J.M. Press, 95 Compass Crescent, Old Whittington, Chesterfield, S41 9LX. First collection of short fiction by a writer now appearing regularly in UK and US magazines. While heavily influenced by Edgar Allen Poe, Pendragon at the same time reveals his own distinctive voice in ten stories of death, horror and black humour.
5 STRANGE STORIES by Peter Pickering, A5, 72pp spiral bound, enquire to BFP, 43 Kings Road, Cardiff, CF11 9DA (e-mail: peter@bfpublish.demon.co.uk). Self-published collection of five short stories, including pieces which first appeared in Panurge and Fiction Monthly.
THE LAST CONTINENT: NEW TALES OF ZOTHIQUE edited by John Pelan, ISBN 0-9665662-4-6, A5, 440pp ltd edn h/b (1 of 300 copies), $60:00 (also avilable deluxe edn h/b (1 of 50), ISBN 0-9665662-3-8, $100) from ShadowLands Press, P.O. Box 2366, Centreville, VA 20122-2366, USA (e-mail: tempus@bereshith.com; http://www.bereshith.com). The dying world of Zothique, the last continent of an Earth that's close to oblivion, was created by the master prose stylist Clark Ashton Smith. In this major new anthology, twenty authors pay tribute to Smith and his enticing creation with new tales of hope, despair, love and retribution. Gene Wolfe, Mark Chadbourn, Lucy Taylor, Mark McLaughlin, Brian Stableford and Don Webb feature among the contributors, with illustrations provided by Allen Koszowski and Fredrik King.
INTERNATIONAL AUTHORS AND WRITERS WHO'S WHO, 16th Edition 1999/2000, ISBN 0-948875-18-6, A4, 912pp h/b, £105 from Melrose Press Ltd/IBC, St Thomas Place, Ely, Cambs CB7 4GG (e-mail: tradesales@melrosepress.co.uk). An invaluable international reference source listing living authors and writers and also many up-and-coming writers about whom information cannot be found elsewhere. Biographies include those of leading authors, novelists, playwrights, columnists, journalists, editors and critics, but its coverage of SF/F/H writers seems patchy – Steve Sneyd and Lance Olsen are included, but established names like Jeff Noon, Simon Clark, Howard Waldrop, Paul Di Filippo and Jonathan Carroll are missing. Comprehensive appendices list literary agents, organisations, awards and prizes, and provide a useful compendium of over 8,000 prominent literary figures of the past. Though the price tag will probably be out of most individuals' pockets, it's a well-produced book that will be a welcome addition to any public library's reference section.
INTERNATIONAL WHO'S WHO IN POETRY AND POET'S ENCYCLOPAEDIA, Ninth Edition 1999/2000, ISBN 0-948875-23-2, A4, 551pp h/b, £105 from Melrose Press Ltd/IBC, St Thomas Place, Ely, Cambs CB7 4GG (e-mail: tradesales@melrosepress.co.uk). Similar in premise to the Authors and Writers Who's Who, this volume focuses on the poetry business – there's a certain degree of overlap with its big sister, but its content is principally distinct. Its appendices are equally useful for academics, researchers and libraries, detailing UK and US Poets Laureate, Novel Prizewinners for Literature, poetry associations and organisations, and the same compendium of notable literary figures from the last 2,000 years. At barely half the pages for the same price it's an even dearer proposition that the Authors and Writers Who's Who, but worthwhile for reference libraries nonetheless.
COLD TONNAGE BOOKS August 1999, A5, 32pp, 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). Extensive selection of SF/F/H signed, hardback and limited editions, and many collectable paperbacks.
