The language of the night

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Brian Lumley and Stanley Wiater

"In The Brian Lumley Companion, Lumley aficionados will find an overview of Lumley's career, from his first short fiction up to the present day; essays comparing Lumley and H.P. Lovecraft; a lengthy interview with the author that delves into the heart of Lumley's relationship with the writers and editors who inspired him and the fans who support him; analyses of Lumley's short fiction and novels; and an interview with Bob Eggleton that gives insight into the development of his striking covers for the Necroscope series and other Lumley works." "This companion also includes complete listings of the first publications of each of Lumley's novels, short fiction, and poetry. Major attractions are the detailed concordances that focus on individual novels and series, including the three Psychomech titles, the Dreamlands and Primal Lands series, and each volume in the Necroscope series."--Jacket.

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Lester de Rey

Despite its limiting title, Lester Del Rey's 'The World of Science Fiction: 1926-1976, The History of a Subculture' gives a pretty detailed history of at least the magazine driven side of the genre from the late nineteenth century to 1976. Although it was intended to be a general history, Del Rey spends the bulk of the book detailing the impact of the magazines and their publishers on the markets, and mentioning the major stories from each era. Del Rey's thesis is that during the first fifty years of its history the genre moved in twelve-year cycles--after every twelve years someone filled with new ideas about how to manage a publication would come along and bring their ideas into the world, and thereby transform the genre. Del Rey supports his thesis adequately with anecdotal evidence, puts forth opinions on the impact of fannish activities on the development of the genre, and gives an excellent recitation of the development of the hardcover fiction markets, which really did not start in the United States until the 1950's.

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Mary Y. Hallab

"In [book title], [author] examines the mythic figure of the vampire from its origins in early Greek and Slavic folklore, its transformation by Romantics like Byron, Le Fanu, and Stoker, and its diverse representations in present-day popular culture. The allure of the vampire, [author] argues, lies in its persistent undeadness, its refusal to accept its mortal destiny of death and decay. Vampires appeal to our fear of dying and our hope for immortality, and as a focus for our doubts and speculations, vampire literature offers answers to many of our most urgent questions about the meaning of death, the nature of the human soul, and its possible survival after bodily dissolution."--Back cover.

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Christopher Palmer

"Philip K. Dick: Exhilaration and Terror of the Postmodern examines a wide range of Dick's work, including his short stories and posthumously published realist novels. Christopher Palmer analyses the puzzling and dazzling effects of Dick's fiction, and argues that at its heart is a clash between exhilarating possibilities of transformation, and a frightening lack of ethical certainties. Dick's work is seen as the inscription of his own historical predicament, the clash between humanism and postmodernism being played out in the complex forms of the fiction. The problem is never resolved, but Dick's ways of imagining it become steadily more ingenious and challenging."--BOOK JACKET.