Adam S. Cantwell

Review Compendium for "A Pallid Wave..."

2012-03-02T09:46:00.001-08:00

Here are links for all the reviews (that I know if) of my book A Pallid Wave on Shores of Night.
-On The Stars at Noonday
-a D.F. Lewis real-time review
-On Goodreads
Anyone interested in reviewing the book please contact me in the Comments, thanks.

"Delicate Toxins" named year's best horror antho by Black Static's Peter Tennant

2012-01-26T13:30:00.000-08:00

Black Static is, of course, the UK's most prominent horror fiction magazine, and their fiction reviewer Peter Tennant has picked Delicate Toxins as best horror anthology of 2011.

Read more.

My story "The Filature" received favorable notice in Mr. Tennant's full review of Delicate Toxins in the December 2011 issue of Black Static. He wrote: "‘The Filature’ by Adam S. Cantwell plays out like a mix of Kafka’s Metamorphosis and the film Silk, with a German entrepreneur at the silk factory of a Chinese magnate witnessing the transformation of a young woman, the story starting out naturalistically enough and then drifting into uncharted waters of the imagination, along the way taking in social commentary and the dangers of a too literal reading of religious symbolism."

Congratulations to editor John Hirschhorn-Smith and to the other writers!

Review: "The Horror Anthology of Horror Anthologies"

2011-10-17T13:29:00.000-07:00

The Horror Anthology of Horror Anthologies
edited by D.F. Lewis. Megazanthus Press, 2011.

D.F. Lewis deserves credit for, among other things, devising an original theme for his latest collection: every story features a collection of horror stories as an element of the plot. In the world of horror anthologies, this is the age of the theme. Aside from Year's Best collections, most multi-author collections depend for their coherence on one theme or another (involving, as likely as not, vampires, zombies, the creations of H.P. Lovecraft, or some combination thereof.) Lewis, a seasoned author, anthologist, and reviewer, loves to play with ideas and question common assumptions. But he also knows his audience. Delivering on expectations is, by definition, a primary consideration of genre fiction, but even here success demands originality enough to stimulate even the most saturated sensibilities. So credit Lewis with putting together a themed collection that plays with expectations while at the same time delivering solid, satisfying horror fiction from newcomers and from some of the best in the field.

There are weak stories here, but it's almost in the nature of the form to tolerate or even welcome a few (hopefully interesting) failures in the mix. Stealback's "The Writer" is technically weak and conceptually muddled, and could have been omitted; on the other hand, A.J. Kirby's contribution is well-written enough for a mainstream horror venue, but I found it overlong and unoriginal. The biggest problem I had with the book, however, was that several of the less successful tales appear merely to graft the horror anthology device onto a preexisting story. S.D. Tullis' "Horror Planet" is silly, with many cringe-inducing lines, but at least the concept is audacious and its use of the horror anthology element is central to the story's conception.

In the best pieces the device of the horror anthology is integral to the story. Joel Lane's beautiful meditation "Midnight Flight" treats its themes - the elusive fictional anthology at its center, urban alienation, aging, regret - with deceptive delicacy and control. Some of these elements, especially the urban grayness and decay seen through the eyes of an outsider narrator, have been worn thin by the heavy tread of decades of urban horrorists, but Lane folds his story inward to its conclusion with a convincing feel for the workings of fate and, in the process, strikes unsettling notes that carry after the last page is turned. The other standout story here, nearly worth the price of admission, is Reggie Oliver's "Flowers of the Sea." It shares with Lane's story a mysterious quality of the best horror fiction - a command of pace, incident, and climax which, in the hands of a master, is even more persuasive and nerve-wracking than that other prized attribute, the convincing evocation of atmosphere. We are drawn in by a true and skillfully depicted human tragedy, hypnotized by visionary weird elements, then stunned with the horror of a climax which shockingly melds the tale's ideas and emotions with a vivid physical presence.

The other two reasons you should own this book are the contributions from Colin Insole and Tony Lovell. Insole's tale "The Apoplexy of Beelzebub" consists of many macabre or tragic digressions, miniature myths and fables all woven together with, and at times dominating, the main strand of his narrative to create a grotesque, pullulating effect. The prose is clear and the ideas sober. Lovell's story "The Follower" more closely resembles a piece of psychological realism. Lovell uses a beautiful, involving style to detail several isolated moments in the long life of a book-haunted character. The anthology element is at its most subtle, and contributes unobtrusively to a portrait that inextricably weaves horror and haunting with more familiar emotions - loss, regret, fear for one's children and oneself - to create an example of that delicate beauty to which the best of horror fiction has unique access.

The contributions of Mark Valentine, D.P. Watt, Rachel Kendall and Rhys Hughes are also very strong, and push this collection decisively into the "strongly recommended" column.

The presentation of the book is straightforward and utilitarian but not too unattractive. The front and back covers are adorned with eerie photos created by the aforementioned Tony Lovell. There is no introduction and no notes, but few typos.

Lewis has announced another new horror anthology for 2012, this time tied together with a classical music theme. The overall artistic success of The Horror Anthology of Horror Anthologies should make adventurous horror readers take notice of this forthcoming book, and of this hopefully long and fruitful new phase of D.F. Lewis' interesting career.

My latest story will appear in Ex Occidente Press' Bruno Schulz tribute This Hermetic Legislature

2011-09-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

I'm honored to once again contribute to an exquisite Ex Occidente Press anthology- this time paying tribute to the great Polish author Bruno Schulz.

This Hermetic Legislature will feature my story "The Notched Sword." Some excellent writers in this one, as usual. Look for it this Fall or Winter.

Table of Contents:
1. Fugue for Black Thursday by George Berguno
2. Great Ruins of Tomorrow by Stephen J. Clark
3. The Fall of a City Planner by Karim Ghahwagi
4. The Messiah of the Mannequins by Rhys Hughes
5. Letters in Black Wood by Joel Lane
6. The Original Light by Mark Valentine
7. With Shadow All the Marble Steps by Oliver Smith
8. Manual of Quiet Destruction by Charles Schneider
9. Silver on Green by John Howard
10. The Subjugation of Eros by D.P. Watt
11. All in a Hot and Copper Sky by Dominy Clements
12. My Ruined Father by Douglas Thompson
13. The Notched Sword by Adam S. Cantwell
14. A Calendar of Cherries by Colin Insole
15. The Vile Game of Gunter and Landau by Michael Cisco
16. A Posthumous Messiah by Reggie Oliver
17. The Restaurant Saint Martin by R.B. Russell
18. My Heretical Existence by Mark Samuels

Another review of A Pallid Wave..."

2011-08-16T09:31:00.001-07:00

A positive review of A Pallid Wave on Shores of Night on Goodreads.

Incidentally, the reviewer attests to the real-life horror of witnessing (both as an audience member and a player) a symphony conductor lose his place or otherwise royally screw up on the podium. I based an episode like this in A Pallid Wave... on a real event in the life of Jean Sibelius, when the maestro was so drunk he mistook a performance for a rehearsal, and berated the first cello from the podium in front of a stunned hometown audience.

I hope I never personally experience anything worse than losing my place onstage while playing bass in a rock band (which I've gotten used to, by now, anyway...)

Why not?

2011-08-12T12:25:00.000-07:00

Why not "follow" me on "Twitter"? What harm could possibly come of that?
@manticore_night

The Master in Café Morphine lands in the Empire State!

2011-08-10T13:12:00.001-07:00

My contributor's copy of Ex Occidente's mighty The Master in Café Morphine has arrived at last! More Romanian stamps than usual were required to get this tome of over 360 pages safely to the United States. Publisher Dan Ghetu, his unnamed designers and printers, and artists Santiago Caruso, C.C. Askew, and Sanya Glisic have produced a book of outstanding beauty. The stories within pay tribute to Mikhail Bulgakov, author of the classic The Master and Margarita.

My contribution is entitled "Only for the Crossed-Out." In it you will find miserable Soviet censors, dire secret police, discarded, forgotten and forbidden books by the roomful, strange dreams, and just deserts. The title comes from Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky's story The Bookmark.

The Master in Café Morphine, a limited edition of just 100 copies, is available to order directly from the publisher, and should be in stock soon at the usual dealers.

Read another review of A Pallid Wave on "The Stars at Noonday" blog

2011-06-20T08:36:00.000-07:00

Another review of A Pallid Wave on Shores of Night, this time over at the very interesting weblog "The Stars at Noonday."

The reviewer includes a few interesting quotes from the book, and the review is generally very favorable:

"... A Pallid Wave on Shores of Night is, like The Mascarons of the Late Empire & Other Studies from the same publisher, a slim collection that nonetheless offers a rich feast of diverse yet thematically linked stories for connoisseurs of the fantastic, of classical music, and of European history."

Delicate Toxins now shipping; where to buy, and pictures!

2011-04-27T09:42:00.000-07:00

I have received my copies of Delicate Toxins, they are very attractive and I recommend you purchase your own immediately! I have posted some pictures to tempt you. Here we see images of the cover and of the title page of my contribution, the short story "The Filature."

I cracked open my copy last night and turned immediately to Mark Valentine's story. Superb, crystal-clear, deeply-felt and cogent writing as always. Valentine is the real thing, my friends. I look forward to reading the rest of the tales over the next weeks.

Order from the publisher, Realms of Fantasy, or Cold Tonnage. I will update as it becomes available from other sellers.

UPDATE: Now available in the US from Ziesing Books.

A Pallid Wave... now in stock at Ziesing, Fantastic Literature

2011-04-27T09:03:00.000-07:00

Ziesing Books (US) and Fantastic Literature (UK) have received their copies of my book A Pallid Wave on Shores of Night and are now shipping! You may still order directly from the publisher, Ex Occidente Press.

Here we see an image of the cloth cover, which is adorned with the gold-embossed words of the pioneering composer (and subject of one of the book's tales) Anton von Webern.

As mentioned elsewhere, the edition is limited to 100, so act!

A Pallid Wave... now shipping

2011-03-25T10:17:00.000-07:00

My book A Pallid Wave on Shores of Night is now shipping from the publisher. I have my copies and they look magnificent! Order here.
I will update if/when US distributors get their copies, if you prefer to order domestically.

Thanks.

Read a review of A Pallid Wave...

2011-03-16T14:17:00.000-07:00

A patented D.F. Lewis "real-time review" of my first book A Pallid Wave on Shores of Night can be read here.

Mr. Lewis is a noted author, original thinker, anthologist and synchronist who has posted many fascinating real-time reviews on his site, including several of Ex Occidente/Passport Levant titles.

And he's a Webern enthusiast who claims "I need my ‘fix’ of Webern each day in order to exist."

My Collection A Pallid Wave on Shores of Night coming soon from Passport Levant

2011-02-23T09:57:00.000-08:00

Please allow me to draw your attention to my forthcoming book: A Pallid Wave on Shores of Night (Passport Levant, Bucharest 2011), now available for pre-order from the publisher:

http://exoccidente.com/pallid.html

This slim volume consists of three stories of musicians and composers whose lives and work are beleaguered by the disasters of 20th-century European history and by the unappeased spirits of Antiquity who hover just behind that history.

I was inspired, perhaps foolishly, by my love of the Western music tradition to loosely base my protagonists on actual composers: Anton von Webern, Jean Sibelius, and Alexander Mosolov.

Passport Levant is an imprint of Ex Occidente Press. All Passport Levant titles, mine included, are landscape-format, gold-foil-stamped, clothbound hardcovers with dustjacket. Edition is limited to 100 hand-numbered copies.

(Here we see, for illustration, a sneak-preview snapshot of the dustjacket.)

Short Story "The Filature" in Delicate Toxins

2011-02-23T09:40:00.001-08:00

My short story "The Filature" appears in the forthcoming anthology Delicate Toxins (ed. J.N. Smith, Side Real Press Newcastle upon Tyne 2011).

Available soon directly from the publisher or from dealers in fine editions of fantastic literature.

This collection pays tribute to the German author of the cruel and weird, Hanns Heinz Ewers. (Those of you who have been paying close attention to the postings here may have detected a pattern...)

Side Real Press adds this volume to their series of Ewers titles, which so far consists of Nachtmahr - Strange Tales and a new translation of Alraune.

Also represented in this book are - ah hell, I'll just paste the complete contents:

'The Rites of Pentecost' - Peter Bell
'The Filature' - Adam S. Cantwell
'Tlaloc' - Angela Caperton
'Endor' - Michael Chislett
'Salmacis' - Stephen J. Clark
'A Pallid Devil Bearing Cypress' - Richard Gavin
'The Devil In The Box' - Orrin Grey
'Magicians And Moonlight' - Katherine Haynes
'Lotte Of The Black Piglet' - Colin Insole
'Crossing The Sea Of Night' - Mark Howard Jones
'Dogs' - rj krijnen-kemp
'The Naked Goddess' - Daniel Mills
'White Roses, Bloody Silk' - Thana Niveau
'Singing Blood' - Reggie Oliver
'Mathilde' - Ray Russell
'Masks'- Mark Samuels
'The Unrest At Aachen' - Mark Valentine
'Holzwege' - D. P. Watt

Short Story "Only For the Crossed-Out" in The Master in Cafe Morphine

2011-02-19T19:11:00.000-08:00

My short story "Only For the Crossed-Out" appears in the forthcoming anthology The Master in Café Morphine: A Homage to Mikhail Bulgakov (ed. Dan T. Ghetu, Ex Occidente Press Bucharest 2011).

(At left is a handsome Bulgakov-themed illustration by C.C. Askew.)

I have heard fairly persuasive rumors that this long-awaited volume will see publication in March 2011.

Available to pre-order from the publisher: http://exoccidente.com/morphine.html

Once again, I am stunned to see my work appear between hard covers alongside stories by Mark Valentine, R.B. Russell, Reggie Oliver, and other gifted practitioners.

UPDATE: Now it looks like this book will emerge sometime in June/July. I have done final corrections on my story and had a peek at the interior layout- it's another triumph of book design by Dan and team. Collectors and aesthetes rejoice!

Short Story "The Cylinder of Shunyakasha" in Cinnabar's Gnosis

2011-02-19T19:05:00.000-08:00

My short story "The Cylinder of Shunyakasha" appears in the anthology Cinnabar's Gnosis: A Homage to Gustav Meyrink (ed. Dan T. Ghetu, Ex Occidente Press, Bucharest 2010.)

I'm very pleased that my work appears alongside fine stories by Mark Valentine, Steve Rasnic Tem, Mark Samuels, and many others.

Ex Occidente's books are fine hardcovers, printed in Romania in limited editions and replete with recondite literature from some of the finest modern practitioners of the strange tale. A few copies of Cinnabar's Gnosis remain available for mail order directly from the publisher: http://exoccidente.com/gnosis.html

Also available at Cold Tonnage and elsewhere...

(The evocative dust-jacket illustration, seen here, is by John Coulthart.)