My Recent Reviews of Books by Other Writers

SPECIFIC LINKS FOR ALL MY REVIEWS ARE SHOWN FURTHER BELOW ON THIS PAGE

EDIT: CAVEAT (24 OCT 09): By nature of this experiment, spoilers are not intended but there may be inadvertent ones. You may wish (i) to take that risk and read my reviews as their sections are posted in real-time, before or during or after your own reading of the book, or (ii) to wait until you have finished reading the book. In either case, I hope they give useful or interesting or unique perspectives.

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Mark Valentine to me about review of 'The Nightfarers', quoted here with permission:

"The way you turn the pages of the book releases ideas and images that present the stories freshly even to me."

HERE: Ramsey Campbell: "Awed by your thoughts, Des - I'll say no more."

HERE: Des, your reviews are almost as well-written as the book themselves. Well done, sir.

Allyson Bird HERE: "This is such a unique experience. It's like having my own subconscious talking to me."

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Neil Williamson's blog HERE. "Had an interesting experience this week of watching an “as live” review of The Ephemera taking shape as it was being read."

Matt Cardin's blog here about the DFL review of his book: HERE. "So here’s a sincere thanks to Des for his perceptive and insightful reading of my work."

A review of DFL's review of Ligotti's book below: HERE. "If you're looking for a brief romp through weird literature and the banker Meltdown, or have wondered what one weirdmonger on the fringe thinks of another wordsmith of the high weird, then you have found your destination."

HERE: "Des you make me want to buy books. My dream is to have you one day do one of these enlightening reviews about a collection of my stories. Brilliant stuff!"

Paul Meloy: HERE: "Des, this has been an absolute pleasure! Delightful, unique, touching...an honour. I predict these stream-of-consciousness reviews will become the essential thing to have and be in great demand! Thanks for taking the time to do this, Des!" and LATER publicly on the same thread: "I have to say I'm awestruck by the amount of hits this review is getting. It says so much about the respect Des has as a renaissance man of strange otherness. If I wore a hat, it would probably be a fez. And I would lift it to you, Des."

Allen Ashley HERE: "....an astonishingly detailed and complimentary review of my collection “Somnambulists” by the wonderful writing and editing legend Des Lewis. All I can do is to recommend that you have a look at it if you have 10 or 15 minutes to spare. [...] Thanks again to Des for such a great review and thank, of course, to Andrew for helping make it all possible in the first place."

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May 2007: DFL's review ('On The Hoof') of Thomas Ligotti's 'Conspiracy Against The Human Race': HERE

with TL's reply.

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Nov 08 - Jan 09:

http://weirdmonger.blog-city.com/glyphotech_by_mark_samuels.htm

http://weirdmonger.blog-city.com/beneath_the_surface_by_simon_strantzas.htm

http://weirdmonger.blog-city.com/omens_by_richard_gavin.htm

http://weirdmonger.blog-city.com/divinations_of_the_deep_by_matt_cardin.htm

http://weirdmonger.blog-city.com/rain_dogs_by_gary_mcmahon.htm

http://weirdmonger.blog-city.com/teatro_grottesco_by_thomas_ligotti.htm

http://weirdmonger.blog-city.com/how_to_make_monsters_by_gary_mcmahon.htm

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(3 Feb 09): http://weirdmonger.blog-city.com/tamar_yellin.htm - Tales of The Ten Lost Tribes

(17 Feb 09): http://weirdmonger.blog-city.com/the_reach_of_children__by_tim_lebbon.htm

(21 Feb 09): http://weirdmonger.blog-city.com/the_impelled__other_headtrips_by_gary_fry.htm 

(7 Mar 09): World Wide Web And Other Lovecraftian Upgrades - by Gary Fry

(11 Mar 09): Beneath The Ground - edited by Joel Lane

(15 Mar 09): UNBECOMING And Other Tales Of Horror - by Mike O'Driscoll

(20 Mar 09): The Ephemera - by Neil Williamson

(25 Mar 09): Somnambulists - by Allen Ashley

(29 Mar 09): The Villa Désirée and Other Uncanny Stories - by May Sinclair

(11 Apr 09): Sanity and Other Delusions - by Gary Fry

(12 Apr 09): http://weirdmonger.blog-city.com/sleepwalkers__marion_arnott.htm

(15 Apr 09): ISLINGTON CROCODILES by Paul Meloy

(20 Apr 09): http://weirdmonger.blog-city.com/mindful_of_phantoms.htm by Gary Fry.

(6 May 09): The English Soil Society - by Tim Nickels 

(6 May 09): The Cusp of Something - by Jai Clare

(15 May 09): Visits To The Flea Circus - by Nick Jackson

(27 May 09): Mostly Monochrome Stories - by John Travis

(30 June 09) Bull Running For Girls - by Allyson Bird

30 June 09: Allyson Bird HERE: "The title story is set in late June 2003 - '4,000 dead in Spain and over 18,000 in Italy by the end of summer.' It really is a strange coincidence that you are reading it today of all days. It is cooler up here on the moors though.
It's an important experience for me - reading your real-time review. I'm very much alongside you as you write."

5 July 09:  "That was quite a journey Des and it was a wonderful experience to take part in the small parallel observations too. I read the real-time review of that last story and shed a tear too."

(6 July 09) The Terrible Changes - by Joel Lane

(9 July 09) Pictures of the Dark - by Simon Bestwick

(16 July 09) ANONthology (HarperCollins)

(20 July 09) Primeval Wood - by Richard Gavin

(25 July 09) Ghosts and Grisly Things - by Ramsey Campbell 

"As I turned the pages I had the feeling that, step by step, I was following the map of a sick and broken mind. Line after line, the author of those pages had, without being aware of it, documented his own descent into a chasm of madness. The last third of the book seemed to suggest an attempt at retracing his steps, a desperate cry from the prison of his insanity so that he might escape the labyrinth of tunnels that had formed his mind."

from 'The Angel's Game' by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

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Review of the TWELVE NOVEL SERIES: Warriors of Love (begun 30 July 09)

4 Oct 09:

Mark Samuels' WHITE HANDS: http://nightshadebooks.com/discus/messages/8/752.html?1227381699 (June 2003)

Real-time notes on Robert Aickman: http://weirdmonger.blog-city.com/robert_aickman.htm

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REAL-TIME REVIEWS BY OTHERS:

Karim Ghahwagi: October 2009: NEMONYMOUS TWO (2002) here:

http://weirdmonger.blog-city.com/nemonymos_two_2002__realtime_reviewed_by_karim_ghahwagi.htm

One of the stories inspired Joel Lane's acclaimed novella: "The Witnesses Are Gone".

The authors' names are given here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemonymous