Jack Mackenzie’s collection of Dark Fantasy stories is now available from Rage Machine Books. From the book’s introduction: If you ever feel that you are doing well as a writer, I would recommend re-reading all of your old short stories. That will put a pin in any inflated sense of Read More
“The Tree-Men of M’Bwa” by Donald Wandrei is one of those wonderful Weird Tales gems that I love to happen upon. The story was published in February 1932. It has only been reprinted in Wandrei collections, which surprises me. The story is so good, so weird in the true Lovecraftian Read More
The Jules De Grandin stories by Seabury Quinn were not innovative so much as reactionary. Anyone familiar with the Horror and Mystery of the previous generation can easily glean where the author found inspiration. Quinn’s magic lies not in creating a Cthulhu Mythos, but in taking a fully modern approach Read More
“The Hidden World” (Science Wonder Quarterly, Fall 1929) by Edmond Hamilton was one of seven stories he wrote for Hugo Gernsback before 1930. I sought it out specifically to see how it compared to his earliest works at Weird Tales, which predate this Science Fiction epic. I was curious if Read More
I want to look at two stories that could argue either side of this debate: can occult detective stories actually be frightening? Ultimately, each reader must decide for themselves. Do you feel cheated when the culprit turns out to be Principal Dingwall in a rubber mask? Here’s a couple of Read More
The term “Space Opera”, used to define a certain branch of Science Fiction, was coined by Wilson Tucker in 1941. It was not meant to be a compliment. The term “Soap Opera” has found its way into the larger public domain of common phrases, but it too came from this Read More
I’ve loved the Occult Detective since I was twelve. That was 1975 and Carl Kolchak was on the television. Mine was a black& white Kenwood. Twenty inches wide and you had to change the channel with plyers. Carl was hunting down the greatest story in the world, whether it was Read More
Rage Machine Books publishes the kind of fiction that the big publishing houses won’t touch anymore. The kind of fiction you used to be able to find on a spinner rack in your local grocery store. The kind of fiction your father or grandfather (or maybe you) used to be Read More