The Pink Floyd Story Considered as a NASA Space Flight Report

 

R J Dent’s latest published short story is the surreal The Pink Floyd Story Considered as a NASA Space Flight Report.

 

R J Dent says: ‘I was inspired to write The Pink Floyd Story Considered as a NASA Space Flight Report after reading J G Ballard’s The Assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy Considered as a Downhill Motor Race and Princess Margaret’s Facelift, both from Ballard’s classic, The Atrocity Exhibition.’

 

The Pink Floyd Story Considered as a NASA Space Flight Report was published by Authspot.

 

Other stories by R J Dent are available to read at:

http://www.rjdent.com/shortstories.htm

 

www.rjdent.com

 

 

David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ ™

 

One of the great films/movies of 1999 is David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ ™, starring Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Eccleston, Ian Holm, and Sarah Polley.

 

 

Here’s a plot summary: Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is the designer of eXistenZ ™, a new game system so advanced it uses biology to transport players into gaming experiences beyond virtual reality. Allegra is a star – worshipped, cosseted and constantly under threat from fanatics and rival game companies alike. It is up to Ted Pikul (Jude Law) to protect her.

 

 

When a terrorist attack disrupts the first ever demonstration of eXistenZ ™, Geller and Pikul find themselves on the run in a strange and dangerous world where reality and fantasy merge and in which Geller and Pikul discover they can trust no one – perhaps least of all each other… for who can really tell where real life ends and the game begins?

 

Frighteningly vivid and tense, David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ ™ is a terrifying journey through betrayal, death, and the seductive world of game playing. It tackles notions of identity, art, creativity, the dangers of fiction, the reality/cyberspace dichotomy, and Martin Heidegger’s notion of ‘being’.

 

 

There is, of course, a soundtrack album for David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ ™. The film/movie is scored by long-time Cronenberg collaborator, Howard Shore. The album is worth owning, as it is very rich, melodic and atmospheric. Here’s a sound-bite:

 

 http://www.youtube.com/v/WbSChWmXIX4?fs=1&amp;hl=en_GB&amp;rel=0″></param><param

  

David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ ™ has been turned into a fast-paced and very well-written novel by Christopher Priest (writing as John Luther Novak).

 

 

  

Priest follows Croneberg’s plot precisely, but has added extra detail to round out the characters and the situations.

 

There is also a graphic novel, David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ ™, with illustrations by Sean Schoffield.

 

 

The 110 page graphic novel, published by Key Porter Books, contains set of a cast pictures, a glossary of technical terms, the graphic novel itself, and an interview with David Conenberg talking about the pre-production, the filming and the aftermath of eXistenZ ™.

 

Each of the different versions of eXistenZ ™ is worth a look. Watch the film/movie, read the novel, listen to the music, or enjoy the graphic novel – they’re all worth spending time on. David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ ™ is a razor-sharp science fiction thriller – with an intriguing plot and some great acting from Law and Leigh.

 

http://www.youtube.com/v/uquwtXZyTZc?fs=1&amp;hl=en_GB&amp;rel=0″></param><param

 

Try David Croonenberg’s eXistenZ ™ – you might enjoy it.

  

www.rjdent.com

 

 

Myth by R J Dent

‘A cross between An American Werewolf in London and Clive Barker’s Nightbreed’ (Amazon)

This is R J Dent’s novel Myth,  a dark, erotic fantasy set on a Greek island.

It tells the story of a couple (James and Penny) who hear about the chimera, a strange mythical creature that lives in the hills. They, of course, are sceptical, but also curious. Eventually, curiosity wins out and they set off with a guide, up into the hills to see the chimera for themselves.

Obviously things aren’t as they seem and the couple end up trapped in the hills. The man, James Barrett, defends himself against an attacker, but becomes susceptible to the suggestion that he is now the mythical beast, having defeated the one that attacked him.

He rejects this idea and instead focuses on caring for Penny, who has been injured. James then tries to get back to the village, only to realise that the whole village have duped him. He then opts for revenge against the village and goes on the rampage, destroying everyone he comes into contact with. He becomes monstrous.

R J Dent says: ‘I wrote Myth because I was interested in the way people change when they’re in exotic locations – if they’re not xenophobic they either go native, become very nationalistic, or else become a wistful hybrid of the two. That was my starting point. I then simply added a Greek myth scenario, using the chimera as the indigenous antagonist.’

‘The Greek myth element decided the location, and the rest was simply charting what happened to the couple. I used Pavese’s idea that ‘travelling is a brutality’ – and that was it; I had my novel. All that was needed was an ending – which was made clear to me after I read Robert Graves’ comment that every Greek myth had a regional variation. With that in mind, I gave Myth seven very different regional variations.’

‘Writing Myth was a very good experience. I used a great deal of my familiarity with, and love of, various Greek islands, to inform my novel. I used locations, characters, names, etc, that I know well. For the last five years I’ve steeped myself in Greek culture. Some of that is reflected in Myth.’

Myth is ‘a cross between An American Werewolf in London and Clive Barker’s Nightbreed.’ (Amazon review)

You can buy Myth from Amazon.com at:

http://www.amazon.com/R.-J.-Dent/e/B0034Q3RD4/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1289859314&sr=8-1

or from Amazon.co.uk at:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/R.-J.-Dent/e/B0034Q3RD4/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Details of my other works (books, stories, poems, essays) are available on:

www.rjdent.com

Mitzi and the Lion

Mitzi and the Lion - R J Dent

Here’s a short story I’ve written entitled Mitzi and the Lion.

 

 

I wrote it because I wanted to examine the ways in which humans attempt to humanise all externals, even the patently non-human.

 

 

I was also interested in writing a short story that was not an immediately-recognisable genre piece.

 

 

Finally, I wanted to write about attraction and repulsion – and its many manifestations.

  

If you enjoy(ed) Mitzi and the Lion, then there are more of my stories at: http://www.rjdent.com/shortstories.htm

 

 

Details of my novels, novellas, short stories, translations, essays, poetry and blogs can be found at: www.rjdent.com

 

 

Mitzi and the Lion by R J Dent

 © R J Dent (2007)

Picture: Lion Tamer by Laine Bachman.

 

 

 

www.rjdent.com

http://rjdent.wordpress.com/

 

 

 

The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch

The Garden of Earthly Delights (or The Millennium) is a triptych painted by Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450–1516). The painting has been housed in the Museo del Prado in Madrid since 1939. Dating between 1503 and 1504, when Bosch was about 50 years old, it is his best-known and most ambitious work.

The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch

The triptych is painted in oil and comprises a square middle panel flanked by two rectangular wings that can close over the centre as shutters. The three scenes of the triptych are probably intended to be read chronologically from left to right.

The left panel depicts God presenting to Adam the newly created Eve:

The Garden of Earthly Delights (left panel)

The central panel is a broad panorama of sexually engaged nude figures, fantastical animals, oversized fruit and hybrid stone formations:

The Garden of Earthly Delights (centre panel)

The right panel is a hellscape and portrays the torments of damnation:

The Garden of Earthly Delights (right panel)

Art historians and critics frequently interpret the painting as a didactic warning on the perils of life’s temptations. However the intricacy of its symbolism, particularly that of the central panel, has led to a wide range of scholarly interpretations over the centuries. 20th and 21st-century art historians are divided as to whether the triptych’s central panel is a moral warning or a panorama of paradise lost.

www.rjdent.com

Is There One Particular Subconscious Memory You Wish To Have Made Conscious?

Is There One Particular Subconscious Memory You Wish To Have Made Conscious? is a short story first published in Writer’s Muse. I wrote it at the beginning of 2009. It is about a man who confronts his harrowing childhood memories in an attempt to reduce their impact on his adult life.

Is There One Particular Subconscious Memory You Wish To Have Made Conscious?

Despite my seriousness of intention and the sombre tone of the story, I had a lot of fun writing it. If you click on the link below, you can read Is There One Particular Subconscious Memory You Wish To Have Made Conscious?

http://authspot.com/short-stories/is-there-one-particular-subconscious-memory-you-wish-to-have-made-conscious/

Constructive criticism is – of course – always welcome.

www.rjdent.com

Elric of Melniboné – by Michael Moorcock

Elric of Melniboné is a fictional character created by Michael Moorcock.

Elric is the antihero of a series of high fantasy books centring in the world of Melniboné. The proper name and title of the character is Elric VIII, 428th Emperor of Melniboné.

Elric first appeared in print in 1961 in Michael Moorcock’s novella, ‘The Dreaming City’ (Science Fantasy #47 June 1961); subsequent novellas were reformatted as the novel Stormbringer (1965), but his first appearance in an original novel wasn’t until 1973 in Elric of Melniboné.

While not the first antihero to feature in literature, Moorcock’s albino character is one of the best-known in fantasy literature. The novels have been continuously in print since the 1970s.

‘It is the color of a bleached skull, his flesh; and the long hair which flows below his shoulders is milk-white. From the tapering, beautiful head stare two slanting eyes, crimson and moody, and from the loose sleeves of his yellow gown emerge two slender hands, also the color of bone.’

”

This is the description of Elric by author Michael Moorcock in the first book, Elric of Melniboné. Elric was the last emperor of the decaying island civilization of Melniboné. Physically weak and frail, the albino Elric must take special herbs in order to maintain his health. In addition to herb lore, his character is an accomplished sorcerer able to summon powerful, supernatural allies by dint of his royal Melnibonéan bloodline.

Unlike most others of his race, who are described as being psychologically similar to cats, Elric possesses something of a conscience; he sees the decadence of his culture, and worries about the rise of the Young Kingdoms, populated by humans (Melniboneans do not consider themselves human) and the threat they pose to his empire. Because of his introspective self-loathing and his hatred of Melnibonéan traditions, his subjects find him odd and unfathomable, and his cousin Yrkoon (next in the line of succession, as Elric has no heirs) interprets his behaviour as weakness and plots Elric’s death.

Elric’s sentient sword Stormbringer serves as both his greatest asset and greatest disadvantage. Forged in the distant past, the sword confers upon Elric strength, health and fighting prowess, but does so by feeding on the souls of those struck with the black blade. Most of the Moorcock’s stories about Elric feature his relationship with Stormbringer, and how it – despite Elric’s best intentions – brings doom to everything the Melnibonéan holds dear.

Here are the titles of the Elric series – in chronological order:

Elric of Melniboné

The Fortress of the Pearl

The Sailor on the Seas of Fate

Elric at the End of Time

Weird of the White Wolf

The Vanishing Tower (The Sleeping Sorceress)

The Revenge of the Rose

The Bane of the Black Sword

Stormbringer

The Dreamthief’s Daughter

The Skrayling Tree

The White Wolf’s Son

Elric in the Dream Realms

Michael Moorcock’s Elric: Tales of the White Wolf

Pawns of Chaos: Tales of the Eternal Champion

Michael Moorcock

Along with Jerry Cornelius, Elric of Melniboné is one of Michael Moorcock’s greatest creations.

www.rjdent.com

Fear – the magazine of fantasy, horror, and science fiction

 

 

From  the late 1980s (1988) to the early 90s (1991) Newsfield Publications Ltd published a truly great magazine of horror, fantasy and science fiction named Fear.

 

Edited by John Gilbert, with cover art usually by Oliver Frey, Fear provided up-to-the-minute coverage of what was going on in the world of horror, fantasy and science fiction.

 

Fear (issue 7)

 

The magazine focused on horror/fantasy/science fiction films, books and art, but it also included interviews with genre authors, film directors and producers, actors, artists, and special effects experts, as well as anyone associated with the specific genres of its remit.

 

Fear (issue 8)

 

Clive Barker featured in Fear a lot, as did Shaun Hutson. James Herbert, Ramsey Campbell, John Carpenter, Sam Raimi, Ray Bradbury and other such horror/fantasy/science fiction luminaries also put in appearances.

 

Fear (issue 9)

 

The editorial staff didn’t always get it right – possibly the most disturbingly mistake they made was the time Fear published a reader’s letter that told of how the English writer of the letter (name withheld) had flown to Maine, hung around for hours outside Stephen King’s house, and called out to ‘the big man’ as he entered his house, after which he’d ‘knocked up’ a story and left it at King’s office, where he again hung around until asked to leave. He had then flown back to the UK and written of his adventure in a letter. It was bizarre and unsettling reading – in short, it was a casual description of obsessive behaviour (masquerading as fandom) that was almost chillingly stalker-ish in its intensity.

 

Fear (issue 10)

 

Despite the odd lapse in judgement, Fear genuinely seemed to be trying to provide its readers with interesting and entertaining genre information. For a while it was more than just a very good magazine – it was the best of its kind. Then the quality declined: the ubiquitous Clive Barker in nearly every issue; the obvious lack of awareness of/interest in Fear by Stephen King; the reliance on more and more substandard fiction from Fear readers; poorer quality paper on which the magazine was printed – and then, ultimately, perhaps inevitably, it was over – Fear folded.

 

Fear 24

Here’s the Wikipedia entry for Fear in its Newsfield Publications entry:

‘Fear began life as a full-colour newsstand magazine edited by former deputy editor of Sinclair User John Gilbert. Newsfield, keen to find publishing ventures outside the volatile computer game market, agreed to publish Fear with Gilbert as managing editor. The first issue of the magazine, which would be dedicated to horror book/film reviews and original horror, fantasy and science fiction, was published in June 1988. Despite relatively low sales it managed to survive for the duration of Newsfield’s business operations, seeing off rivals such as Skeleton Crew and Phantasmagoria, which entered the market midway through its run. Fear achieved recognition from many international writers, and is still quoted today on back-cover blurbs by novelists whose work it first championed.’

 

Although it was very much a product of its time, I enjoyed reading Fear immensely. I found the book and film reviews useful and insightful. I liked the author interviews, as they sometimes contained very useful hints for writers.

Fear (Issue 32)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For a while, John Gilbert (and Newsfield Publications) provided horror, fantasy and science fiction aficionados with a good quality magazine.

 

So thank you Roger Kean, Franco Frey, Oliver Frey and John Gilbert – for a while you burned so very brightly.

 

Note (November 2012):

And now Fear is back after a 21 year hiatus. Details can be found here:

http://fearmagazine.businesscatalyst.com/

 

Fear – the magazine of fantasy, horror, and science fiction

 

© R J Dent (2009)

 

www.rjdent.com

 

Ramsey Campbell

 

Ramsey Campbell

 

Ramsey Campbell is one of the world’s greatest horror fiction writers.

 

Over the years he has written some truly scary stories.

 

His scariest novels are The Face That Must Die; Ancient Images; The Grin of the Dark; The Doll Who Ate His Mother; Midnight Sun and Hungry Moon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

His best story collections are Dark Feasts; Scared Stiff; Told by the Dead and Demons by Daylight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re unfamiliar with Ramsey Campbell’s work, then Ancient Images is probably the best novel to start with, and Scared Stiff is probably the best story collection to start with.

 

Here’s a partial bibliography:

 

Novels

 

The Doll Who Ate His Mother (1976) (Revised text: 1985)

The Bride of Frankenstein (1977) (novelisation of the 1935 film, written as Carl Dreadstone)

Dracula’s Daughter (1977) (novelisation of the 1936 film, written as Carl Dreadstone)

The Wolf Man (1977) (novelisation of the 1941 film, written as Carl Dreadstone)

The Face That Must Die (1979) (Restored text: 1983)

To Wake the Dead (published in the UK as The Parasite) (1980)

(The Nameless (1981)

The Claw (1983) (written as Jay Ramsay)

Incarnate (1983)

Obsession (1985)

The Hungry Moon (1986)

The Influence (1988)

Ancient Images (1989)

Midnight Sun (1990)

Needing Ghosts (1990)

The Count of Eleven (1991)

The Long Lost (1993)

The One Safe Place (1995)

Nazareth Hill (AKA The House on Nazareth Hill (1996)

The Last Voice They Hear (1998)

Silent Children (2000)

Pact of the Fathers (2001)

The Darkest Part of the Woods (2003)

The Overnight (2004)

Secret Story (2005) (AKA Secret Stories)

The Grin of the Dark (2007)

Thieving Fear (2008)

Creatures of the Pool (2009)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Short Story Collections

 

The Inhabitant of the Lake (1964, as J. Ramsey Campbell)

Demons by Daylight (1973)

The Height of the Scream (1976)

Dark Companions (1982)

Cold Print (1985; expanded edition 1993)

Dark Feasts: The World of Ramsey Campbell (1987)

Scared Stiff: Tales of Sex and Death (1987)

Waking Nightmares (1991)

Alone with the Horrors (1993)

Strange Things and Stranger Places (1993)

Ghosts and Grisly Things (1998)

Told by the Dead (2003)

Inconsequential Tales (2008)

Just Behind You (2009)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nonfiction

 

Ramsey Campbell, Probably (2002)

 

In the world of horror fiction, where a lot of books seem very similar in terms of plot, themes, style and (no pun intended) execution, Ramsey Campbell tells original stories in an inventive way using a unique style.

 

He’s worth checking out. Try one of the above books. You never know, you might enjoy being scared senseless…

 

 

www.rjdent.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michael Moorcock’s Jerry Cornelius

Apart from Elric, Jerry Cornelius is one of Michael Moorcock’s greatest creations.

Jerry Cornelius, an enigmatic anti-hero, physicist, rock star, assassin, time traveller, failure, society host, secret agent, and spirit of the age (false?) messiah first appeared in The Final Programme in 1969 and stayed around until 1984 – then vanished. He recently reappeared in a number of uncollected short stories. At present, his whereabouts are unknown.

Here is a list of the books (novels and short story collections) that Jerry Cornelius appears in:

The Cornelius Quartet:

The Final Programme (1969)

A Cure for Cancer (1971)

The English Assassin (1972)

The Condition of Muzak (1977)

The Lives and Times of Jerry Cornelius (1976)

and in:

A Cornelius Calendar:

The Adventures of Una Persson and Catherine Cornelius in the Twentieth Century (1976)

The Entropy Tango (1981)

Gold Diggers of 1977 (1980)

The Alchemist’s Question (1984)

There are also a number of uncollected Short Stories:

Firing the Cathedral

The Murderer’s Song

The Gangrene Collection

The Romanian Question

The Entropy Circuit

All the Way Round Again

The Spencer Inheritance

The Camus Connection

Cheering for the Rockets

Modem Times

Jerry Cornelius’s adventures are almost essential reading. Michael Moorcock is a master story teller and his writing addresses issues that are in dire need of debate and resolution. The stories are also very entertaining and well-written.

Try them. You’ll have a great time. They’re fun.

www.rjdent.com