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4.5 

Exploring Dark Short Fiction #6

By Eric J. Guignard & Ramsey Campbell &
Exploring Dark Short Fiction #6 by Eric J. Guignard & Ramsey Campbell &  digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

Hailed by The Oxford Companion to English Literature as "Britain's most respected living horror writer," Ramsey Campbell has authored an astounding body of work for over half a century that embodies the weird, the supernatural, and the subtle, much of which is widely considered classics of dark fiction today. He has been given more awards than any other writer in the field, including being made an Honorary Fellow of Liverpool John Moores University for outstanding services to literature.


Dark Moon Books and editor Eric J. Guignard bring you this introduction to his work, the sixth in a series of primers exploring modern masters of literary dark short fiction. Herein is a chance to discover-or learn more of-the remarkable voice of Ramsey Campbell, as beautifully illustrated by artist Michelle Prebich.

 

Included within these pages are:

·        Six short stories, one written exclusively for this book

·        Author interview

·        Biography and bibliography

·        Academic commentary by Michael Arnzen, PhD (former humanities chair and professor of the year, Seton Hill University)

·        ... and more!

 

Enter this doorway to the vast and fantastic: Get to know Ramsey Campbell.

 

Table of Contents includes:

 

• Introduction by Eric J. Guignard

• About Ramsey Campbell (A Biography)

• The Place of Revelation

• The Place of Revelation: A Commentary

• The Companion

• The Companion: A Commentary

• The Alternative

• The Alternative: A Commentary

• One Copy Only

• One Copy Only: A Commentary

• Recently Used

• Recently Used: A Commentary

• The Bill

• The Bill: A Commentary

• Why Ramsey Campbell Matters by Michael Arnzen, PhD

• In Conversation with Ramsey Campbell

• My Roots Exhumed: An Essay by Ramsey Campbell

• A Bibliography of English Language Fiction for Ramsey Campbell


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3 Reviews

4.5
“EXPLORING DARK SHORT FICTION #6: A PRIMER TO RAMSEY CAMPBELL Created by Eric J. Guignard Commentary by Michael Arnzen, PhD Interior illustrations by Michelle Prebich – LOVE! ABOUT RAMSEY CAMPBELL - AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT To this, I can relate: ‘As not much more than a toddler I epitomised a horror fan—the kind who, having been terrified almost beyond bearing by a tale they’ve read, repeat the experience or seek out a similar one as soon as they’ve begun to recover.’ I have yet but dipped a toe in the Ramsey Campbell Catalogue, present-day works though I am intrigued to delve deeper into the darkness that lies within the pages of his older works and Collections. The following is a collaboration of shorts; upon completion of each is a well-thought-out in-depth commentary provided by Michael Arnzen, PhD. My personal favorites are: ‘THE PLACE OF REVELATION’ – One aspect of Campbell’s writing is how he describes a particular scene. In this short, a young boy is retelling his Uncles story—I love how Campbell writes it! Here’s a snippet: ‘“All he could see was more hedge at the sides of a bendy path. So he followed it round and round, and it felt like going inside a shell. Then he got dizzy with running to find the middle, because it seemed to take hours and the bends never got any smaller. But just when he was thinking he’d stop and turn back if the spiky hedges let him, he came to where the path led all round a pond that was covered with ice. Only the pond oughtn’t to have been so big, all the path he’d run round should have squeezed it little. So he was walking round the pond to see if he could find the trick when the sun showed him the flat white faces everywhere under the ice.”’ ‘THE ALTERNATIVE’ ‘It was by no means the only faded red door he’d seen since leaving the dual carriageway, nor the only door on which a number was askew; but the sight of the 9 dangling upside-down as if the final 3 had been subtracted from it seemed disconcertingly familiar.’ I love this description of the inverted house number, a foretelling, if you will, of the main characters' upside-down alternate reality and the rationale that follows. ‘ONE COPY ONLY’ – I Love This One! – As the reader, you will enter Books Forever, a hole-in-the-wall book store wherein rare books surround you—every Bibliophile's dream come true. ‘RECENTLY USED’ – Wow! A heartbreakingly good story about loss and grief. ‘THE BILL’ – Guilt plays havoc on the mind, or is it real? You will have to read this Collection and find out. ;) At the end of the book, you will find an essay written by Michael Arnzen, PhD, titled WHY RAMSEY CAMPBELL MATTERS, followed by an interview–IN CONVERSATION WITH RAMSEY CAMPBELL, by ERIC J. GUIGNARD, and concluding with MY ROOTS EXHUMED: AN ESSAY BY RAMSEY CAMPBELL. Recommend! Thank you, NetGalley and Dark Moon Books, for providing me with an eBook of EXPLORING DARK SHORT FICTION #6: A PRIMER TO RAMSEY CAMPBELL, at the request of an honest review.”
“Since arriving on the worldwide horror stage over fifty years ago, https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18253.Ramsey_Campbell has become a pivotal figure of the genre and his literary shadow of influence can be seen in the significant body of authors who have both followed and been inspired by him. In recent years, academic studies of his work have begun to appear and his reputation has spread beyond being known as a simple ‘genre’ writer and in this most recent example, <strong>A Primer to Ramsey Campbell</strong>, six short stories are featured and analysed. This is a very nice gentle introduction to Campbell; avid fans are unlikely to discover that much which is new, but the stories chosen by Eric Guignard are clever selections and illustrate the full range of the strangeness, subtleties, and originality in Campbell’s short fiction, rather than horror of the bloodier type. Simply put, Ramsey Campbell is an absolute master of the short story and to simply label him ‘genre fiction’ is a great injustice and <strong>Exploring Dark Short Fiction #6: A Primer to Ramsey Campbell</strong> illustrates that he is much, much more. You can read Tony's full review at Horror DNA by https://www.horrordna.com/books/exploring-dark-fiction-a-primer-to-ramsey-campbell-book-review .”
“Full review coming soon. But go ahead and pick this one up. You’ll love it!”

About Eric J. Guignard

ERIC J. GUIGNARD is a writer and editor of dark and speculative fiction, operating from the shadowy outskirts of Los Angeles, where he also runs the small press, Dark Moon Books. He's twice won the Bram Stoker Award, won the Shirley Jackson Award, and been a finalist for the World Fantasy Award and International Thriller Writers Award. He has over one hundred stories and non-fiction author credits appearing in publications around the world. As editor, Eric's published multiple fiction anthologies, including his most recent, PROFESSOR CHARLATAN BARDOT'S TRAVEL ANTHOLOGY TO THE MOST (FICTIONAL) HAUNTED BUILDINGS IN THE WEIRD, WILD WORLD and A WORLD OF HORROR, each a showcase of international horror short fiction. His latest books are LAST CASE AT A BAGGAGE AUCTION and the short story collection THAT WHICH GROWS WILD: 16 TALES OF DARK FICTION (Cemetery Dance). Outside the glamorous and jet-setting world of indie fiction, Eric's a technical writer and college professor, and he stumbles home each day to a wife, children, dogs, and a terrarium filled with mischievous beetles. Visit Eric at: www.ericjguignard.com, his blog: ericjguignard.blogspot.com, or Twitter: @ericjguignard.

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