Inspiring ghouls of the fictional world of horror everywhere.
Posts by Shaun Hamilton
Well, this is it. The end. The Grand Finale. The Conclusion. The result. The big goodbye. My time with HHHB is no more. Real life has become somewhat more complicated in recent times and as a consequence I’ve struggled to keep up with things, whether they be…
SILENT VOICES by Gary McMahon Okay, first things first: it was always going to be nigh on impossible for me to not like this book. Like a lot of horror fiction lovers I’m a big fan of McMahon’s work and have most of his published…
It seems amazing to think that after everything we’ve been through over the last few years British horror writers are in danger of becoming accepted by the wider establishment. As authors such as Gary McMahon, Adam Nevill and Tom Fletcher join their elder counterparts (Mark…
I just want to take a moment to offer my own words of condolence and sorrow over the passing of Ray Bradbury. Though the man might have been 91, his death has still come as a bit of a shock. I first discovered Mr. Bradbury’s work…
Alison Littlewood is the personification of an overnight success that’s taken years to achieve. Having already gained a worthwhile reputation as a short story writer with stories published in magazines such as Black Static, it was only a matter of time before her readers were…
Here’s a big old dose of Fever for you….Wayne Simmons talks to HHHB about writing, rambling & more. SH- Sum yourself up in 10 words. ‘Tattooed horror hack from Belfast, en Irlande du Nord. Ha!’ SH- Sum your enemy up in 20 words. ‘Can I…
On her website, Sarah Pinborough describes herself as: … a horror, thriller and YA author who has had more than ten novels published thus far across that range. To those of us who know her from her outlandish, hilarious and often controversial social network updates or…
K. Who or what should I write about for K? I’m sure there’s an author out there with a K-beginning surname who happens to be famous in the horror genre. If I remember rightly I’m sure his name makes him sound like royalty. Okay, enough…
In an A to Z of horror, i (or I if you prefer) might be deemed a bit of a bitch. After all, there aren’t too many main characters whose names (Christian, sur or nick) begin with i. A quick gander in my horror reference library…
… in other words, the ghost story. There are many great exponents of the ghost story. Whether you’re looking for the classics of James (both M.R. and Henry), Bierce, Hodgson or Le Fanu or more modern day alternatives such as Ramsey Campbell, Barker, King or…
E. E. Bye. Gum. Why everyone? Why not ‘evil’ or ‘exorcist’ or ‘exterminate’? Why go for the whole barrel instead of just choosing one of the apples? Well, it’s because there is horror in everything – certainly where writers are concerned. They tend to look…
Just over a month ago I conducted an interview with an author whose work I’d been itching to read for a good while after reading some of the superlatives bestowed upon him by Gary McMahon. That author’s name is Simon Strantzas. I read his latest collection,…
Can arsenic activate Armageddon? What is Armageddon? Is it the end of the world in the Biblical sense, or is it something more personal? The loss of a loved one might be deemed a singular example of Armageddon…
NOWHERE HALL by Cate Gardner This is my first reading of Cate Gardner so I did a bit of research first: A quick inspection on the ‘net revealed she has plenty of fans – and a glance at my recent copy of Black Static magazine…
THIEVING FEAR by Ramsey Campbell It doesn’t seem to matter who you speak to in horror writing circles these days, everyone seems to consider Ramsey Campbell a god (unless you’re Shaun Hutson who appears to have serious issues with the British Fantasy Society’s head of…
Okay. This is first teenage fiction I’ve read since Harry Potter 5 came out in hardback. That book disappointed me so much that I didn’t bother ending the series. It was reported J.K. Rowling suffered from writer’s block during the writing of the book’ first…
NIGHTINGALE SONGS by Simon Strantzas I’ve been wanting to read Strantzas for a while. His work has impressed a few people whose opinions I value and so when I was asked if I would like to write a review for his latest collection, I was…
And so, it’s February 26th, and we’re coming towards the end of Women in Horror month in the year of our evolution, 2012 – a leap year, which means women are officially allowed to ask their partners for their hand in marriage – though why…
Charlotte Bond is one of those rare commodities: She isn’t Charlotte Bond. She’s actually Lucy Courtney! She’s a true, bonifide schizo! She’s also a female horror writer. I understand it’s an atrociously sexist manner in which to announce the arrival of our latest victim but…
Okay then, fellow lovers of the extreme, have we got a treat for you. In normal circumstances, this man probably wouldn’t require an introduction. Today, however, there’s a chance you might not be familiar with his work so let me just give you a head’s…
THE BROTHEL CREEPER Stories of Sexual and Spiritual Tension by Rhys Hughes I’m ashamed to say it but I knew very little about Rhys Hughes prior to this review. He was someone I had as a Facebook “Friend” – in other words, an author I…
LITTLE STAR is the first of John Ajvide Lindqvist’s work I’ve had the good joy to read. Buying it on my Kindle rather than in its hardback form, I’ll admit to buying it because it was so cheap at the time. £2.99, instead of the 15,…
You’re about to read an interview held between HHHB and Simon Bestwick, one of the new crop of authors already being touted as a writer people should watch (see Joseph D’Lacey’s interview for confirmation). As per Simon’s answers to his – and our – first…
What follows is a fascinating interview I held with one of the best horror writers around. Author of MEAT, GARBAGE MAN and THE KILL CREW, Joseph D’Lacey was presented with The Sydney J. Bounds Award for Best Newcomer at the 2009 BFS awards. With front…
Fucking Fantastic. There you go. That’s my review of Rain Dogs by the infuriatingly brilliant Gary McMahon. It’s one of the best debut novels I’ve read in years (yes, I did say ‘debut novel’, despite Gary releasing Rough Cut through Pendragon Press before this; but Gary…
I recently undertook a Mark Wesk Fest, starting with his Novella, The Mill, before progressing onto his Ill At Ease collection, written alongside Stephen Bacon and Neil Williams. Below is a little opinion of the two (not exactly a review because who am I to…
Six months ago I started an official writing course. When I say official, I don’t mean a group of folks meeting in a room or out in cyber space to discuss each other’s work. I had already been onvolved with number of these, working closely alongside a…
I held this [remote] interview with Simon earlier this week (it’s November 4th as I type – the night before the most pointless (and loud!) celebration of the year, Bonfire Night). As anyone who has met Simon knows, his style is relaxed, witty, slightly opinionated…
