Saturday, August 11, 2018

More 2018 October Horror Month titles unveiled!

Our annual Horror Month celebration is shaping up to be a big one this year.  In addition to our third volume of Valancourt horror stories, we also have several other great releases from the world of '70s and '80s paperback horror, including two by Harry Adam Knight: Slimer (1983) and The Fungus (1985).

Harry Adam Knight was the pseudonym used by John Brosnan (1947-2005) and Leroy Kettle (b. 1949) to write horror novels, though sometimes Brosnan authored them solo, as in the case of Carnosaur (1984). The two also teamed up to publish horror under another pseudonym, Simon Ian Childer, releasing novels like Tendrils (1986) and Worm (1987). Three HAK books were adapted for films: two British films, Beyond Bedlam (based on the novel Bedlam) and Proteus (based on Slimer), and the Roger Corman-produced cult classic Carnosaur.

The wonderful thing about the HAK novels is that although they're very imaginative and well-written, they have no pretensions to being considered serious literature. So when you read a HAK book, expect to find grisly horror and tongue-in-cheek humor in about equal measures.

Without further ado, here are the new cover designs by M. S. Corley:



Slimer has been out of print for many years and old paperback copies sell upwards of $50. It's the story of six drug smugglers whose boat trouble forces them to seek refuge on an abandoned oil rig in the middle of the sea. But almost immediately it's clear something is terribly wrong: everyone has vanished, leaving behind only empty piles of clothes with no bodies in them. There's something deadly loose on the rig, and the worst part of it isn't how it kills you, but what happens after . . .

The Fungus is an apocalyptic horror/sci-fi novel featuring a fungal plague that has spread across all of England. A scientist trying to solve the world hunger problem had thought it would be a good idea to grow genetically modified mushrooms (spoiler: it was in fact not a good idea), and after the spores escape, everything from a minor case of athlete's foot to the yeast at the bottom of your pint glass can result in a gruesome death. But as it turns out, the ones who die early on are the lucky ones . . .

Both novels are tremendously fun to read, and in addition to the great new Corley covers, both books feature introductions by the author, Roy Kettle. Coming Oct. 2 in paperback and ebook worldwide; pre-order options coming soon!

1 comment:

  1. Any chance we'll see Carnosaur in the future?

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