First review of The Collected SF, Fantasy & Horror Stories of David A. Riley Volume 1 - 1970-2010

 

"I had the chance to read and review Volume 1 of David Riley's short stories. The review is on Amazon and included below . . .

Mr. Riley owes me one good night of sleep.

Maybe I shouldn’t have read his short horror story “Romero’s Children” before bedtime.

That tale—and thirty others—appear in The Collected SF, Fantasy & Horror of David A. Riley, Volume 1, a showcase of classic British horror: moody, unsettling, and crafted with a storyteller’s sure hand. Riley blends creeping dread with memorable characters and images, the kind that settle under the skin and festers long after the final page.

I’m convinced that John Collier and David A. Riley are kindred spirits. Collier’s stories for The New Yorker weren’t always horror, but in tone, temperament, and style, the two writers share a certain dark kinship.

What stands out most in this collection is the range. Each story delivers its own distinct chill while still feeling part of a unified, haunted world. Riley’s characters feel grounded and real, which makes their descents into the uncanny—and the unsavory—even more effective."

 

R. K. Olson 

Book review: Conan: Songs of the Slain by Tim Lebbon

This review appeared in Phantasmagoria Magazine #28, in April 2026

CONAN: SONGS OF THE SLAIN

By Tim Lebbon  Illustrated by Juan Alberto Hernandez

Published by Titan Books, 2025, £19.99

I am not normally fond of pastiches and have only ever written one myself (on request) and found it a far from enjoyable experience. Therefore I readily admit to starting this book without the greatest of expectations. In fact, Conan pastiches have been a particular dislike of mine for many years. So I was surprised to find the more I got into this book the more I became engrossed in it, and I was actually sorry when I reached the end.

It's not the Conan of Robert E. Howard, of course, if for one major reason: it’s King Conan in his later years, when the rigours of all his past hardships and wounds and his advancing age have taken their toll. Not that any of these dissuade him from doing what he’s always done best, with a broadsword held firmly in his fist.

It’s a very dark book, with several brilliantly described and thoroughly grotesque over-the-top villains out to end the Cimmerian’s life for a variety of reasons, preferably in as terrible a way as possible.

Growing bored as king of Aquilonia it is almost a gift when an old friend from many decades before, who helped them both escape a slave quarry, manages to reach him all but dead from his injuries to ask for help to rescue his enslaved wife and daughter, held by a brutal warrior called Grake, a man even bigger than Conan himself and a formidable warrior in his own right, but one who is viciously cruel. Honouring the debt he owes this man, Conan sets out by himself to fulfil his request. And so begins Conan’s perilous journey through many of the lands of ancient Hyboria into untold horrors, most of them supernatural in one form or another, from liches to flesh-eating giant insects controlled by an insane sorcerer. On his way he meets up with a unique group of potential allies, a disparate band of ex-warriors now travelling as a troupe of musicians going by the name of the Last Song. Despite initial mistrust on both sides they go on to share many of Conan’s perils.

The climax sees Conan up against a trio of his most malign enemies and things have never looked worse for him. It’s masterfully described, and the excitement and dangers certainly pile on top of each other in a most satisfying if terrifying way.

Although I still prefer Robert E. Howard’s Conan tales the most, this comes a close second, and at nearly 300 pages is never boring. It is also, I must add, complemented with some really well executed full-page black and white illustrations by Juan Alberto Hernandez which vividly depict some of its key scenes.

All in all an enjoyable swords and sorcery novel. And I would certainly look forward to any further chapters in the twilight years of the Cimmerian king of Aquilonia.

 

 

Phantasmagoria #28 March 2026

The latest issue of Phantasmagoria (issue 28, March 2026) reprints my dark fantasy story "The Carpetmaker of Arana", which originally appeared in Savage Realms Monthly #22 in 2022.

There is also a detailed review of Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 11 by Mike Chinn. 

Plus a review of my own: Tim Lebbon's Conan: Songs of the Slain. 

 

 

Unusual activity

Partway through March I remarked on Facebook how there appeared to have been an unusual number of views online of my author blog, which had reached 90,110 by that time.

 

By the end of March, though, this had risen to 116,712, which is absurdly large and is the most in any one month since I created this blog in July 2010.

 

Probably bots of some sort, though why I have no idea.

 

Below is a graph of how many views there have been since the blog began, with just two unusual peaks: September last year when it reached 106,785 and March this year.

 

The Collected SF, Fantasy & Horror Stories of David A. Riley Volume One 1970-2010

 

The Collected SF, Fantasy & Horror Stories of David A. Riley

Coming shortly before Mr Riley's 75th birthday in May, Volume One includes all of his stories published between 1970 and 2010. 

Measuring 9.5 inches x 6.3 inches (24 cm x 16 cm), this 500-page collection of over 200,000 words includes 32 stories. Published in hardcover for £25.00. A kindle ebook is also available for £5.00.

amazon.com

amazon.co.uk 

Ossani the Healer

I have now written thirteen stories in which my secret sorcerer Ossani the Healer appears, either as the main character or in a secondary role.

 

He first crops up at the tail end of "The Storyteller of Koss" (Summer of Sci-Fi & Fantasy Volume 1) where he is described as: "A tall, cadaverous man, Ossani wore pebble-like lenses over his eyes mounted on a complex construction of wires and leather strapped around the dome of his shaven head."

 

He first appears as a main character in "Ossani the Healer and the Beautiful Homunculus", where he shares honours with Welgar (Welgar the Cursed - Tule Fog Press).

 

His other main appearances are in "The Moneylender of Oriaska" and "Ossani's Apprentice" (Swords & Heroes Quarterly, Spring 2026) and "Ossani's Escape" (Cirsova, Fall, 2026).

 

He also appears in "From the Ashes", along with Welgar again. (Due to be published soon in Savage Realms Monthly - details to follow). 

 

He is a secondary if important character in "Emerging from the Twilit Realms" (Welgar the Cursed - Tule Fog Press)

 

He is a minor if pivotal character in "The Troupe" (Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 8)

 

The following tales have yet to be published: "Ezmiyel the Beggar", "Masks of Deception", "Narcolopsia", and "The Sorcerer's Casket".

 

One day maybe I will collect all these tales into one volume, though I have not given up writing about Ossani yet and there may well be further exploits. 

 

 

Swords & Heroes Quarterly

My second and third stories to be published this year will appear next month in the latest issue of Swords & Heroes Quarterly from Lyndon Perry's Tule Fog Press.

My first story was "The Abomination in the Crypt" in Winter of Sci-fi & Fantasy, edited by Dustin Bilyk in January.  

The latest stories are "The Moneylender of Oriaska" and "Ossani's Apprentice".  

 

The Collected SF, Fantasy & Horror Stories of David A. Riley Volume 1 - 1970-2010

 

 

The first of the two-volumes of The Collected SF, Fantasy & Horror Stories of David A. Riley has now been published.

Coming shortly before Mr Riley's 75th birthday in May, Volume One includes all of his stories published between 1970 and 2010. 

Measuring 9.5 inches x 6.3 inches (24 cm x 16 cm), this 500-page collection of over 200,000 words includes 32 stories. Published in hardcover for £25.00. A kindle ebook is also available for £5.00.

amazon.com

amazon.co.uk 

Stories included are:

The Lurkers in the Abyss was first published in The Eleventh Pan Book of Horror Stories, 1970

The Farmhouse was first published in New Writings in Horror & the Supernatural, 1971

Corpse-Maker was first published in Weird Window 2, 1971

After Nightfall was first published in Year’s Best Horror 1, 1971

The Urn was first published in Whispers #1, 1972

A Bottle of Spirits was first published in New Writings in Horror & the Supernatural 2, 1972

A Sense of Movement was first published in From Beyond the Dark Gateway, 1972

Terror on the Moors was first published in World of Horror, 1974

The Shade of Apollyon was first published in World of Horror, 1974

The Satyr’s Head was first published in The Satyr’s Head & Other Tales of Terror, 1975

Prickly was first published was first published in Death, 1982

Writer’s Cramp was first published in Fantasy Tales, 1988

Winter on Aubarch 6 was first published in Fear Magazine, 1989

Retribution was first published in Peeping Tom, 1991

The Shadow by the Altar was first published in Peeping Tom, 1992

Out of Corruption was first published in The Mammoth Book of Zombies, 1993

A New Lease was first published in The Anthology of Fantasy & The Supernatural, 1994

Gwargens was first published in Beyond Magazine, 1995

No Reason in Being Hungry, She Thought was first published in Peeping Tom, 1996

Help-Plants was first published in Aboriginal Science Fiction, 1998 

Inside the Labyrinth was first published in Alone on the Darkside, Roc Books, 2006

Hoody was first published in When Graveyards Yawn, 2006

Lock-In was first published in The Black Book of Horror, 2007

The Bequest was first published in Dark Horizons, 2008

Now and Forever More was first published in The Second Black Book of Horror, 2008

Soft Little Fingers was first published in Shades of Darkness, Ash Tree Press, 2008

The Worst of All Possible Places was first published in Houses on the Borderland, BFS, 2008

The Fragile Mask on His Face was first published in Dark Discoveries Magazine, 2009

Their Own Mad Demons was first published in The Fifth Black Book of Horror, 2009

Their Cramped Dark World was first published in The Sixth Black Book of Horror, 2010

The True Spirit was first published in Back From The Dead, 2010

Romero’s Children was first published in The Seventh Black Book of Horror, 2010

 

Volume Two, covering the period 2011-2026, will also be a mammoth 500-pages long, containing 200,000 words and 34 stories.  This will be published later this year, along with an e-book.

New sword and sorcery stories accepted

Along with "The Abomination in the Crypt", which was recently published in Winter of Sci-fi & Fantasy, I have had two new Ossani the Healer stories accepted for publication in April: "The Moneylender of Oriaska" and "Ossani's Apprentice". A third Ossani story, "Ossani's Escape" has already been accepted for publication and will appear in the Fall issue of Cirsova.

Last night I also had a Welgar story accepted for publication in another magazine in the coming months. This story, "From the Ashes" follows on from the last story in my Tule Fog Press collection, Welgar the Cursed. Curiously, in view of all the Ossani stories lined up to appear in 2026, the opening line of this tale is: "Ossani the Healer was a cautious man."

Most of my sword and sorcery characters interact with each other to an insane degree. 

There is also the possibility of a collection of Ossani tales later this year or early 2027.

 

The Collected SF, Fantasy & Horror Stories of David A. Riley - Volume One 1970-2010

 

The first of the planned two-volumes of The Collected SF, Fantasy & Horror Stories of David A. Riley will be published in the next few weeks.

Coinciding with Mr Riley's 75th birthday this May, volume one will include all of his stories published between 1970 and 2010. Measuring 9.5 inches x 6.3 inches (24 cm x 16 cm), this 500-page collection of over 200,000 words includes 32 stories. Published in hardcover, this will cost £25.00 per copy. At the same time an e-book version will be available for £5.00. 

Stories included are:

 The Lurkers in the Abyss was first published in The Eleventh Pan Book of Horror Stories, 1970

The Farmhouse was first published in New Writings in Horror & the Supernatural, 1971

Corpse-Maker was first published in Weird Window 2, 1971

After Nightfall was first published in Year’s Best Horror 1, 1971

The Urn was first published in Whispers #1, 1972

A Bottle of Spirits was first published in New Writings in Horror & the Supernatural 2, 1972

A Sense of Movement was first published in From Beyond the Dark Gateway, 1972

Terror on the Moors was first published in World of Horror, 1974

The Shade of Apollyon was first published in World of Horror, 1974

The Satyr’s Head was first published in The Satyr’s Head & Other Tales of Terror, 1975

Prickly was first published was first published in Death, 1982

Writer’s Cramp was first published in Fantasy Tales, 1988

Winter on Aubarch 6 was first published in Fear Magazine, 1989

Retribution was first published in Peeping Tom, 1991

The Shadow by the Altar was first published in Peeping Tom, 1992

Out of Corruption was first published in The Mammoth Book of Zombies, 1993

A New Lease was first published in The Anthology of Fantasy & The Supernatural, 1994

Gwargens was first published in Beyond Magazine, 1995

No Reason in Being Hungry, She Thought was first published in Peeping Tom, 1996

Help-Plants was first published in Aboriginal Science Fiction, 1998 

Inside the Labyrinth was first published in Alone on the Darkside, Roc Books, 2006

Hoody was first published in When Graveyards Yawn, 2006

Lock-In was first published in The Black Book of Horror, 2007

The Bequest was first published in Dark Horizons, 2008

Now and Forever More was first published in The Second Black Book of Horror, 2008

Soft Little Fingers was first published in Shades of Darkness, Ash Tree Press, 2008

The Worst of All Possible Places was first published in Houses on the Borderland, BFS, 2008

The Fragile Mask on His Face was first published in Dark Discoveries Magazine, 2009

Their Own Mad Demons was first published in The Fifth Black Book of Horror, 2009

Their Cramped Dark World was first published in The Sixth Black Book of Horror, 2010

The True Spirit was first published in Back From The Dead, 2010

Romero’s Children was first published in The Seventh Black Book of Horror, 2010

 

Volume Two, covering the period 2011-2026 will also be 500-pages long, containing 200,000 words and 34 stories.  This will be published later this year, along with an e-book.