tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post8284330461282127137..comments2024-03-12T12:38:23.542-04:00Comments on The Kind of Face You Hate: The Kind of Face You Slash - Day 7: Eyes That Were About to Boil Out of His Skullbill r.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-13921156811820778462011-10-10T18:23:20.025-04:002011-10-10T18:23:20.025-04:00I avoided this anthology like the plague. There is...I avoided this anthology like the plague. There is almost nothing I dislike more in fiction - any kind of fiction - than fictional rock music/stars/lyrics. I just cringe in embarrassment. Gimme a real rock star bio or history and I'm happy, happy, happy, all the time. But making one up? It never, never, EVER rings true. Just leave rock'n'roll alone, guys.Will Erricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-45625204496363569702011-10-08T11:00:03.765-04:002011-10-08T11:00:03.765-04:00Otherbill - This is the first Garton I've read...Otherbill - This is the first Garton I've read. I bought a couple of his novels when Leisure started putting the new ones out. I now know that I can't expect much.<br /><br />As for Shirley, well, yes. The horror vs. religion thing is maybe just a little bit played out, and it was played out in 1992 when he wrote the story. Coming across something like this in 2011, however old it might be, just makes me think "Oh goddamnit, not this again." And every writer who does it seems to have this attitude like they're saying "Look out, because you won't believe the truths I'm about to spill." It's exhausting to read.<br /><br />lrob - Yeah, I know he's a rock musician. I don't know what that changes, though. Maybe it explains his zeal.<br /><br />And yes, please do report back on SCARE CARE. There's a better than even chance the copy I passed up is still at the store.<br /><br />Drew - I just read the story you're talking about. It's a reporter, not a cop, but otherwise yes. It's called "Groupies" by Richard Christian Matheson. Not bad, effective, and its brevity is a big reason why it works.<br /><br />Nou - Yes, okay. I stole the last line from Danzig's song about this post. You've revealed my secret shame. Happy now?bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-60520262281229136702011-10-08T08:58:34.323-04:002011-10-08T08:58:34.323-04:00I thought I'd seen your final line somewhere b...I thought I'd seen your final line somewhere before.<br /><br />[melodic fret-canoodling]<br /><i>It made me sad in my heart.<br />The way the book re-view-er tore it a-part.<br />He did-n't give John Shir-ley time to im-part...</i><br />[beats and power chords rise from a distant whisper to a thumping crescendo]<br /><b>FLA-MING!</b><br />[djn-djn-djn]<br /><b>TE-LE-PATHS!</b><br />[djn-djn-<i>djah</i>-djn]<br /><b>FLA-MING!</b><br />[djn-djn-djn]<br /><b>TE-LE-PATHS!</b><br />[djn-djn-<i>djah</i>-djn]<br /><br />Etc.Noumenonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-83231545398183655232011-10-08T02:04:50.242-04:002011-10-08T02:04:50.242-04:00Geez, I haven't thought about this book in age...Geez, I haven't thought about this book in ages. I remember covertly pulling it off my dad's shelf when I was maybe 12 years old and reading the entire thing over a couple of days. One of the stories is about a cop who is obsessively watching a snuff video or something involving a female groupie, right? I think it was one of the shorter stories in the book. That's the only one I really remember, but it always stayed with me, probably because at that time I was only used to reading stuff like Goosebumps, lol. Thanks for the blast from the past.Drew McIntoshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07054307044280470117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-32715855228860786042011-10-07T23:56:30.954-04:002011-10-07T23:56:30.954-04:00It might help to point out that Shirley is a rock ...It might help to point out that Shirley is a rock musician himself...<br /><br />Just grabbed a copy of SCARE CARE at a library sale last week. Will report ASAP.lrobhubbardhttp://mimezine.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-27462505579583286562011-10-07T22:38:55.213-04:002011-10-07T22:38:55.213-04:00I'm not sure the Shirley story needed commenta...I'm not sure the Shirley story needed commentary other than "holy shit, dude". I commend your dedication. I am glad to see that Mr. Shirley took the time to point out that sometimes religious zealots fail to live up to their stated ideals and are "like... the REAL menace, man". I've just never seen that explored in a horror story written in the last 30 years. I've also never seen a horror writer of said vintage equate ANY adherence to the tenets of an organized religion with bug-eyed, frothing, quasi-fascist zealotry. Someone should get on that.<br /><br />Wetbones sucks. But you knew that.<br /><br />Ray Garton is pretty reliably terrible. Though a copy of his novel Live Girls was surreptitiously passed around the playground of St Cecilia's when I was 11, primed to fall open at certain well-worn pages. So I do always feel a tinge of nostalgia when I encounter his name. <br /><br />Bonus Comment That Belongs On Another Day: I agree with pretty much everything you said re: Dan Simmons. Our experience with and opinions of his work match up almost exactly. I own The Terror and Drood but haven't made the time for them yet. I'm a soft touch for anything involving the Arctic or the Victorian underworld.otherbillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11027124997467937670noreply@blogger.com