HorrorScope Recommended Reading List 2010

Great way to start the new year, with several personal listings on Horrorscope's Recommended Reading List 2010, for both my fiction works and for stories in my edited anthology Cthulhu's Dark Cults, with recommendations for stories by Shane Jirayia Cummings and Penelope Love. The relevant extracts (for me) are as follows:

Anthologies:

• Cthulhu's Dark Cults, edited by David Conyers (Chaosium)

Novellas/Novelettes:

• "Requiem for the Burning God" by Shane Jiraiya Cummings (Cthulhu's Dark Cults)
• "Sweet As Decay" by David Witteveen & David Conyers (Macabre: A Journey through Australia's Darkest Fears)

Short stories:

• "Dream Machine" by David Conyers (Scenes from the Second Storey)
• "The Whisper of Ancient Secrets" by Penelope Love (Cthulhu's Dark Cults)

I'm particularly proud that "Dream Machine" got a High Recommendation, with three or more contributors recommending the work). Check out the full list here.

Matt Carpenter Amazon.com Review of Cthulhu's Dark Cults

Matthew T. Carpenter has given Cthulhu's Dark Cults a five star review over at Amazon.com. Matt's well known in Cthulhu Mythos circles as the man who reads and reviews everything in the genre. Here is what he said about the book:

On the whole I really enjoyed Cthulhu's Dark Cults and thought it was well worth the money; most of the stories were very good and I did not dislike anything ... While Goodrich, Witteveen, Conyers and Worthy particularly shine, pride of place has to go to The Whisper of Ancient Secrets by Penelope Love. I hope she writes more Cthulhu stories for us soon.

Here is what he said about my story, "Sister of the Sands":

I really like David Conyers; writing. Impossible Object, published in several places, is a brilliant little piece. Sister of the Sands is just great. An Australian intelligence officer based in Cairo assists a woman lost in the desert and becomes mixed up with the Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh. This was a bang up way to close a successful anthology.

The same review appears at alt.horror.cthulhu. Thanks to Jeff Edwards for the heads up.

Two New Reviews of Cthulhu's Dark Cults

Two new reviews of Cthulhu's Dark Cults have been posted on HorrorWorld.org and Amazon.co.uk. The first by Brian M. Sammons at HorrorWorld.org who said this about the book:

"Credit for this anthology must first and foremost go to David Conyers who pulls double duty as not only this collection’s editor, but also as an author of one of the best stories in this book. I have come to expect great things from Mr. Conyers as I’ve become increasingly familiar with his work, and with, “Sisters of the Sands” he has once again impressed me greatly."

He also made special mention of Steve Gilbert's cover art and the stories by Oscar Rios, Penelope Love and David Witteveen. David also received special mention on this review on Amazon.co.uk by J.P. Hunt, who had to say about the book:

"This get's a very good 9/10 marks from me. This is definitely one for a HPL fan or someone that just likes dark sci-fi / horror fiction."

First Review of Cthulhu's Dark Cults

The first review of Cthulhu's Dark Cults has just been published at Innsmouth Free Press by Bryan Thao Worra. Bryan's favorite stories are "Perfect Skin" by David Witteveen, "The Whisper of Ancient Secrets" by Penelope Love, and he said some nice things about my story too, "Sister of the Sands":

"As might be expected, Conyers’ own story, “Sister of the Sands”, neatly encapsulates the cosmic, international grandeur of the subject and provides a fine glimpse of what he was reaching for as he tried to assemble this work. It anchors the anthology solidly."

Read the full review here.

Meanwhile, the anthology has remained in the Top 12 best selling horror anthologies on Amazon.com since it was released.