Great review for The Lurkers in the Abyss on hellnotes

I was amazed to see a stunningly great review for my collection The Lurkers in the Abyss & Other Tales of Terror on hellnotes.

Two quotes from it:

"The universe that Riley presents is not a forgiving one.  Like Lovecraft, Riley’s early influence, his universe does not care about you nor is it concerned with whether you are a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ person or even what could be considered ‘fair’ in life.  Many of the main characters in Riley’s fiction are people who are simply going about their regular lives until something happens and suddenly they have been marked by darkness."


"In the introduction, David A. Sutton characterizes Riley’s stories as “urban horror” and there is plenty of that here but there is also something more.  Something that, like the work of Ramsey Campbell, is out of synch with the rest of reality.  Even more, with Riley’s fiction, you are left with the feeling that you yourself, at any time, doing the most mundane acts, could be consumed by darkness."

To read the full review follow this link.

Frightful Horrors

Frightful Horrors is a website created by Caroline Callaghan to help promote small press books. The latest posting on its facebook site is about my short story collection, The Lurkers in the Abyss & Other Tales of Terror, which is Frightful Horror's "book of the day".

"Frightful Horrors will be running an occasional ‘Book of the Day’ feature. Today’s featured book is David A. Riley’s The Lurkers in the Abyss and Other Tales of Terror, from Shadow Publishing (2013). Cover artwork is by the very talented Paul Mudie.

David Riley’s first professional sale was the short story, The Lurkers in the Abyss, published in the The Eleventh Pan Book of Horror Stories. The story was also chosen for inclusion in The Century’s Best Horror Fiction, published by Cemetery Dance in 2012.

His first collection of short stories, His Own Mad Demons: Dark Tales, was published by Hazardous Press in 2012. This second collection brings together under one cover seventeen of the author’s best blood-curdling stories, including the title story from The Eleventh Pan Book of Horror Stories.

The Lurkers in the Abyss can be purchased direct from Shadow Publishing’s website and can also be bought via Frightful Horrors. If you’d like to purchase the book here please message me, Caroline Callaghan, with your name and address. Alternatively, email me on frightfulhorrors@virginmedia.com. I’ll let you know how to pay via PayPal (or by cheque, if you don’t have a PayPal account). The price, inclusive of P&P in the UK, is £14.50 (Eur £17.00; USA/RoW £18.00).

If you’ve read the book and would like to leave a comment below telling us what you thought of it, you’d be most welcome to do so. Frightful Horrors would love to encourage readers to share their reading experiences with others (especially since I’ve just ordered a copy for myself and I’m wondering what I’ve let myself in for! – CC)."

The Century's Best Horror Fiction

Just picked up my copies of The Century's Best Horror Fiction from the Post Office this morning. Surprised at just how large they are! It might take Cemetery Dance a long time to produce a book, but when they do it's magnificent.

The Century's Best Horror Fiction - review

Just come across the first review I've found so far for The Century's Best Horror Fiction. I've been a bit wary of seeing these as I know there has been some contention over the years about the stories chosen by editor, John Pelan.The review is at Dreadful Tales.

The Century's Best Horror Fiction - Shipping this month

Cemetery Dance have just issued an email stating that this two-volume set will be shipping later this month. After all the years that have passed since I first signed the contract for my story, The Lurkers in the Abyss, to appear in it, it seems hardly believable.

The table of contents is incredibly impressive (the best company I have ever been in):

Table of Contents
1901: Barry Pain — The Undying Thing
1902: W.W. Jacobs — The Monkey's Paw
1903: H.G.Wells — The Valley of the Spiders
1904: Arthur Machen — The White People
1905: R. Murray Gilchrist — The Lover's Ordeal
1906: Edward Lucas White — House of the Nightmare
1907: Algernon Blackwood — The Willows
1908: Perceval Landon — Thurnley Abbey
1909: Violet Hunt — The Coach
1910: Wm Hope Hodgson — The Whistling Room
1911: M.R. James — Casting the Runes
1912: E.F. Benson — Caterpillars
1913: Aleister Crowley — The Testament of Magdelan Blair
1914: M. P. Shiel — The Place of Pain
1915: Hanns Heinz Ewers — The Spider
1916: Lord Dunsany — Thirteen at Table
1917: Frederick Stuart Greene — The Black Pool
1918: H. De Vere Stacpoole — The Middle Bedroom
1919: Ulric Daubeny — The Sumach
1920: Maurice Level — In the Light of the Red Lamp
1921: Vincent O'Sullivan — Master of Fallen Years
1922: Walter de la Mare — Seaton's Aunt
1923: George Allen England — The Thing From—"Outside"
1924: C.M. Eddy, Jr. — The Loved Dead
1925: John Metcalfe — The Smoking Leg
1926: H.P. Lovecraft — The Outsider
1927: Donald Wandrei — The Red Brain
1928: H.R. Wakefield — The Red Lodge
1929: Eleanor Scott — Celui-La
1930: Rosalie Muspratt — Spirit of Stonhenge
1931: Henry S. Whitehead — Cassius
1932: David H. Keller — The Thing in the Cellar
1933: C.L. Moore — Shambleau
1934: L.A. Lewis — The Tower of Moab
1935: Clark Ashton Smith — The Dark Eidolon
1936: Thorp McCluskey — The Crawling Horror
1937: Howard Wandrei — The Eerie Mr Murphy
1938: Robert E. Howard — Pigeons from Hell
1939: Robert Barbour Johnson — Far Below
1940: John Collier — Evening Primrose
1941: C.M. Kornbluth — The Words of Guru
1942: Jane Rice — The Idol of the Flies
1943: Anthony Boucher — They Bite
1944: Ray Bradbury — The Jar
1945: August Derleth — Carousel
1946: Manly Wade Wellman — Shonokin Town
1947: Theodore Sturgeon — Bianca's Hands
1948: Shirley Jackson — The Lottery
1949: Nigel Kneale — The Pond
1950: Richard Matheson — Born of Man & Woman
1951: Russell Kirk — Uncle Isiah
1952: Eric Frank Russell — I Am Nothing
1953: Robert Sheckley — The Altar
1954: Everil Worrell — Call Not Their Names
1955: Robert Aickman — Ringing the Changes
1956: Richard Wilson — Lonely Road
1957: Clifford Simak — Founding Father
1958: Robert Bloch — That Hell-Bound Train
1959: Charles Beaumont — The Howling Man
1960: Fredric Brown — The House
1961: Ray Russell — Sardonicus
1962: Carl Jacobi — The Aquarium
1963: Robert Arthur — The Mirror of Cagliostro
1964: Charles Birkin — A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts
1965: Jean Ray — The Shadowy Street
1966: Arthur Porges — The Mirror
1967: Norman Spinrad — Carcinoma Angels
1968: Anna Hunger — Come
1969: Steffan Aletti — The Last Work of Pietro Apono
1970: David A. Riley — The Lurkers in the Abyss
1971: Dorothy K. Haynes — The Derelict Track
1972: Gary Brandner — The Price of a Demon
1973: Eddy C. Bertin — Like Two White Spiders
1974: Karl Edward Wagner — Sticks
1975: David Drake — The Barrow Troll
1976: Dennis Etchison — It Only Comes Out at Night
1977: Barry N. Malzberg — The Man Who Loved the Midnight Lady
1978: Michael Bishop — Within the Walls of Tyre
1979: Ramsey Campbell — Mackintosh Willy
1980: Michael Shea — The Autopsy
1981: Stephen King — The Reach
1982: Fritz Leiber — Horrible Imagings
1983: David Schow — One for the Horrors
1984: Bob Leman — The Unhappy Pilgrimage of Clifford M.
1985: Michael Reaves — The Night People
1986: Tim Powers — Night Moves
1987: Ian Watson — Evil Water
1988: Joe R. Lansdale — The Night They Missed the Horror Show
1989: Joel Lane — The Earth Wire
1990: Elizabeth Massie — Stephen
1991: Thomas Ligotti — The Glamour
1992: Poppy Z. Brite — Calcutta Lord of Nerves
1993: Lucy Taylor — The Family Underwater
1994: Jack Ketchum — The Box
1995: Terry Lamsley — The Toddler
1996: Caitlín R. Kiernan — Tears Seven Times Salt
1997: Stephen Laws — The Crawl
1998: Brian Hodge — As Above, So Below
1999: Glen Hirshberg — Mr. Dark's Carnival
2000: Tim Lebbon — Reconstructing Amy

The Century's Best Horror Fiction - Update

This is the latest update on the long awaited 2-volume set for The Century's Best Horror Fiction, edited by John Pelan for Cemetery Dance:

update

"As we mentioned last time, after looking at the size of The Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance, and considering that The Century's Best Horror Fiction edited by John Pelan is TWO volumes about that size (706 page and 868 pages), we had a change of heart about not dustjacketing those two volumes. So instead of using Alan M. Clark's incredible paintings as frontispieces, our designer is turning them into dustjackets to protect each book. This will not delay our plans to send the books to the printer this summer."

This is the table of contents:

1901: Barry Pain -- The Undying Thing
1902: W.W. Jacobs -- The Monkey's Paw
1903: H.G.Wells -- The Valley of the Spiders
1904: Arthur Machen -- The White People
1905: R. Murray Gilchrist -- The Lover's Ordeal
1906: Edward Lucas White -- House of the Nightmare
1907: Algernon Blackwood -- The Willows
1908: Perceval Landon -- Thurnley Abbey
1909: Violet Hunt -- The Coach
1910: Wm Hope Hodgson -- The Whistling Room
1911: M.R. James -- Casting the Runes
1912: E.F. Benson -- Caterpillars
1913: Aleister Crowley -- The Testament of Magdelan Blair
1914: M. P. Shiel -- The Place of Pain
1915: Hanns Heinz Ewers -- The Spider
1916: Lord Dunsany -- Thirteen at Table
1917: Frederick Stuart Greene -- The Black Pool
1918: H. De Vere Stacpoole -- The Middle Bedroom
1919: Ulric Daubeny -- The Sumach
1920: Maurice Level -- In the Light of the Red Lamp
1921: Vincent O'Sullivan -- Master of Fallen Years
1922: Walter de la Mare -- Seaton's Aunt
1923: George Allen England -- The Thing from Outside
1924: C.M. Eddy -- The Loved Dead
1925: John Metcalfe -- The Smoking Leg
1926: H.P. Lovecraft -- The Outsider
1927: Donald Wandrei -- The Red Brain
1928: H.R. Wakefield -- The Red Lodge
1929: Eleanor Scott -- Celui-La
1930: Rosalie Muspratt -- Spirit of Stonhenge
1931: Henry S. Whitehead -- Cassius
1932: David H. Keller -- The Thing in the Cellar
1933: C.L. Moore -- Shambleau
1934: L.A. Lewis -- The Tower of Moab
1935: Clark Ashton Smith -- The Dark Eidolon
1936: Thorp McCluskey -- The Crawling Horror
1937: Howard Wandrei -- The Eerie Mr Murphy
1938: Robert E. Howard -- Pigeons from Hell
1939: Robert Barbour Johnson -- Far Below
1940: John Collier -- Evening Primrose
1941: C.M. Kornbluth -- The Words of Guru
1942: Jane Rice -- The Idol of the Flies
1943: Anthony Boucher -- They Bite
1944: Ray Bradbury -- The Jar
1945: August Derleth -- Carousel
1946: Manly Wade Wellman -- Shonokin Town
1947: Theodore Sturgeon -- Bianca's Hands
1948: Shirley Jackson -- The Lottery
1949: Nigel Kneale -- The Pond
1950: Richard Matheson -- Born of Man & Woman
1951: Russell Kirk -- Uncle Isiah
1952: Eric Frank Russell -- I Am Nothing
1953: Robert Sheckley -- The Altar
1954: Everill Worrell -- Call Not Their Names
1955: Robert Aickman -- Ringing the Changes
1956: Richard Wilson -- Lonely Road
1957: Clifford Simak -- Founding Father
1958: Robert Bloch -- That Hell-Bound Train
1959: Charles Beaumont -- The Howling Man
1960: Frederic Brown -- The House
1961: Ray Russell -- Sardonicus
1962: Carl Jacobi -- The Aquarium
1963: Robert Arthur -- The Mirror of Cagliostro
1964: Charles Birkin -- A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts
1965: Jean Ray -- The Shadowy Street
1966: Arthur Porges -- The Mirror
1967: Norman Spinrad -- Carcinoma Angels
1968: Anna Hunger -- Come
1969: Stefan Aletti -- The Last Work of Pietro Apono
1970: David A Riley -- The Lurkers in the Abyss
1971: Dorothy K. Haynes -- The Derelict Track
1972: Gary Brandner -- The Price of a Demon
1973: Eddy C. Bertin -- Like Two White Spiders
1974: Karl Edward Wagner -- Sticks
1975: David Drake -- The Barrow Troll
1976: Dennis Etchison -- It Only Comes Out at Night
1977: Barry Malzberg -- The Man Who Loved the Midnight Lady
1978: Michael Bishop -- Within the Walls of Tyre
1979: Ramsey Campbell -- Mackintosh Willy
1980: Michael Shea -- The Autopsy
1981: Stephen King -- The Reach
1982: Fritz Leiber -- Horrible Imagings
1983: David Schow -- One for the Horrors
1984: Bob Leman -- The Unhappy Pilgrimage of Clifford M
1985: Michael Reaves -- The Night People
1986: Tim Powers -- Night Moves
1987: Ian Watson -- Evil Water
1988: Joe Lansdale -- The Night They Missed the Horror Show
1989: Joel Lane -- The Earth Wire
1990: Elizabeth Massie -- Stephen
1991: Thomas Ligotti -- The Glamour
1992: Poppy Z. Brite -- Calcutta Lord of Nerves
1993: Lucy Taylor -- The Family Underwater
1994: Jack Ketchum -- The Box
1995: Terry Lamsley -- The Toddler
1996: Caitlin R. Kiernan -- Tears Seven, Times Salt
1997: Stephen Laws -- The Crawl
1998: Brian Hodge -- As Above, So Below
1999: Glen Hirshberg -- Mr. Dark's Carnival
2000: Tim Lebbon -- Reconstructing Amy

The Century's Best Horror Fiction

It looks as though at long last the two volumes that make up Cemetery Dance's massive anthology, The Century's Best Horror Fiction will be going to the printers shortly. Edited by John Pelan, the book will contain what the editor chose as the best horror story for each year from 1901 to 2000, and includes every big name in the genre during the entire twentieth century, amongst whom I feel humbled to represent 1970 with my very first professionally published story, The Lurkers in the Abyss, which originally appeared in the 11th Pan Book of Horror.

The Century's Best Horror Fiction

Alongside is the artwork to be used in the books.