Lately I’ve been reading short story anthologies – collections of stories by different writers. Here are two I’ve particularly enjoyed.

The Apex Book of World SF, edited by Lavie Tidhar, is a real treat. In the UK, where I’m from, we’re used to getting our science fiction pretty much exclusively from English-speaking countries – but what about the rest of the planet? Well, between the covers of this book awaits a whole galaxy of imaginative writing from authors from Thailand, The Philippines, Pakistan and China, to name just a few. My favourite story from this collection is The Allah Stairs, by Jamil Nasir: I’m a sucker for stories featuring demon monkeys. But there’s all kinds of wild stuff in here. Take a look!

If you like zombies be sure to look out for The Dead That Walk, edited by Stephen Jones. It’s an enticing smorgasbord of visceral delights featuring some of the very greatest names in horror – past, present and future. Joe R Lansdale’s The Long Dead Day is particularly awesome, chilling and blunt and brilliant, but a special mention has to go to a surprise romantic tale of two high school sweethearts reunited as extras on a George Romero film set – Bobby Conroy Comes Back From The Dead, by rising horror star Joe Hill.

As a way to discover fresh flavours and new voices anthologies are unbeatable. Give either of these a wallop. You’ll be glad you did.

Sam

Yet another book is on the way from the author of my favourite YA book ‘Mortal Engines’.  Philip Reeve does seem to play with lots of topics that fascinate me.  Having spent 21 years flying jets, I’m very much looking forwards to his next book, A Web of Air …

As a special treat for World Book Day, here’s a clip from the forthcoming audio book version of Zombie! – my first book for Barrington Stoke.

I was delighted when top audio producers, Oakhill Publishing, gave me the opportunity to read my own book – and I had a fantastic time in the studio with Douglas making the recording.

So, get your ears around this exclusive clip, featuring the first appearance of Jake the zombie…

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The full audio book will be available to buy in April.

Tommy

Today is World Book Day!  Hurray!

And I’m not running any events!  Boo!

I was supposed to be at Coleshill Heath School yesterday, Alcott Hall School today and Starbank Primary School tomorrow – but I’ve had to postpone all three visits because I’ve got a throat infection.  Yes, yours truly is completely mute.  I can’t even whisper.  And my throat hurts.  A lot.

Thanks for the sympathy.

Still, I’ve got a couple of (silent) treats up my sleeve for today – the first being a pdf file of spooktacular Scream Street activities that you can download from the World Book Day website here: http://www.worldbookday.com/assets_cm/files/pdf/10webA1P_Vampire_Activity_Sheets.pdf

You should also find some fun Scream Street information in your school’s World Book Day pack.

Have a great day!

Tommy

Knowing that I have a tendency to get swept away by life, this bunch of keen readers at St Francis School in Hampshire organised an author stabilizing raft and made themselves boat shaped all around me just to give me a sense of safety.

Book Week is always a whirl of slightly surreal madness, as my fellow TBMers will testify, so this kind of help is greatly appreciated, especially as I cannot, currently, stop pointing at my Blue Peter badge and going ‘Loooook – oooh – looook!’ to anyone who’ll stand still long enough.

It’ll wear off eventually. Well, if I keep dribbling on it like that it will…

Andy and I were both dozing in a pile of ogre dung (look – it’s warm, alright?!) when the Monsters suddenly seized us, hosed us down, put us in normal person clothes (and insisted I wear That Badge) and dragged us through the network of tunnels down to the south coast and out into Portsmouth. Then, under cover of weeping Pompey footballers and agitated accountants, they led us into Fratton Park where The 2010 Portsmouth Literature Quiz (seniors) was taking place.

Here we met free-range author Craig Simpson who, having been in the real world for many more days than Andy and I this past year, shored up our patchy knowledge of literature and led us to a… not entirely shameful score.

Hosts of Portsmouth school teams were there to show off their considerable knowledge and St Edmunds School supplied the victors. A shame about the trophy getting superglued to one pupil’s eye. It came off later. The trophy, not the eye.

The photographer has cleverly airbrushed out all fangs, claws and dribble-soaked fur from the minders posted just behind us, and photoshopped in some normal looking Hampshire book fans. Also managed to make me look less virusy (anyone who reads my website musings will know I’ve been embarrassingly feeble recently) and Andy quite friendly. Craig’s expression, however, cannot be mistaken. His thought? ‘Which one of these two smells more ogre dungy?’

Check out what top reviewer, Ella McKenzie, had to say about Scream Street 1: Fang of the Vampire…

I can’t remember the last time I read an animal story. It seems I’ve been missing out. If The Tygrine Cat is a typical example of this genre, then I’ll have to look out some more.

Mati is a cat, but he’s no ordinary cat. He is special – the last of his race. Young and unaware of his heritage, Mati is sent away by his Amma (mother) on a ship to a faraway land for his own safety. When the ship makes dock, he must not only escape without notice, but make a new home in the foreign land in which he finds himself.

Inbali Iserles has done a great job in this story of demonstrating the relationships between the cats in a local territory (Cressida Lock). From the dominant tom cat, Pangur, down to the lowest kittens, she shows how cat courtesy and hierarchy works in the neighbourhood that young Mati finds himself in. This is a book of adventure and magic, as Mati has certain abilities that appear strange to the local cats, marking him as different – an alien in the community. Then there’s the Kank’s, a rival territory run by Hanratty, a trouble-making tom cat who’s keen to take control of Cressida Lock.

Throughout the story stalks a mysterious assassin cat, Mithos the Destroyer, sent across the world by the Suzerain to kill Mati and end the line of the Tygrine cats. I found this story fascinating and it will no doubt delight young people who have an interest in animals and their behaviour, but also those who like a little magic in their stories. This story has been added to my list of recommended books for younger readers who have an advanced reading age, as there is nothing unsuitable in the story for anyone aged about seven and up, although I’d say it is more written for nine to twelve-ish. The Tyrine Cat will make great bedtime reading for my son in a couple of years, so I will no doubt return to it. In the meantime, I’ve passed it on to my ten year old daughter, who will no doubt devour it with relish (normally Picallily – strange child!) A great read.

Coming soon – review of Hunger by Michael Grant.

I’ve been getting a big kick lately out of the novels of Graham Joyce. He’s often considered a Fantasy/SF type of author, and it’s true that his books almost always contain supernatural elements such as ghosts, demons and curses. In most of the books I read and love, those elements tend to result in things like fights, chases, terror, blood and explosions! But Graham Joyce’s style is rather different…

In TWOC, fifteen-year-old joyriding addict Matt is horribly haunted by the ghost of his dead brother Jake…

In DO THE CREEPY THING, a late night dare leaves teenager Caz believing she has been cursed, stalked by a shadowy figure that seems to have granted her extraordinary powers…

…But neither of these stories turn out quite the way you expect. In both TWOC and DO THE CREEPY THING – as in all of Joyce’s books that I’ve read so far – the supernatural elements, while important, aren’t the main thing in the story. The focus, instead, is on the characters – their lives, and the powerful changes to them that the characters’ encounters with the supernatural will cause.

Now: as you’ve probably figured out already(!) I’m not the world’s biggest fan of stories in which people talk out their problems over cups of tea. But Graham Joyce’s low-key approach never fails to keep me absolutely riveted. Make no mistake: these books have their moments of full shiver-down-the-spine terror. But what makes them linger in the mind is the author’s masterful characterisation: the voices of the people in these stories are so real, so wonderfully caught and put across, that you can’t help but engage with your heart as well as your nerves.

Graham Joyce’s books will haunt you in more ways than one. Both TWOC and DO THE CREEPY THING are terrific, and his books for adults (particularly INDIGO) are thoroughly excellent too. If you’re looking for something unusual, look no further.

Sam