protean depravity

Snail-paced, we finally made it to the third Stephen King short story collection, Nightmares and Dreamscapes , in almost two years, and at whopping 993 pages it looks like we're going to dwell here for a while. Published in 1993, King jokes in his prologue that he likes to publish a short story collection every seven years because the interval between his first three collections follow that pattern (we have to keep an eye on the future collections to see if he breaks that rule).  The collection which is dedicated to writer Thomas Williams consists of 24 pieces of writing: one novella ( Dolan's Cadillac ), one teleplay ( Sorry, Right Number ), one non-fiction essay ( Head Down ), one poem ( Brooklyn August ) and twenty short stories ( The End of the Whole Mess , Suffer the Little Children , The Night Flier , Popsy , It Grows On You , Chattery Teeth , Dedication , The Moving Finger , Sneakers , You Know They Got a Hell of a Band , Home Delivery , Rainy Season , My Pretty Po...

So I can't believe this wonderfully warm summer is almost over, I only realized from the amount of books I have collected for the Soul of Wit that it's been quite a while, and I'm a little sad about it. I hope you enjoy the short reviews and find something that speaks to you!

Ever since an editor told me that in anthologies and collections the best short stories are traditionally placed in the beginning (to get the reader hooked), I have been wondering about the placement/arrangement of short stories and whether or not what he told me is even true. Is it like an album where there's a sort of continuity between the pieces? Or was he right and you get hooked with the first story and the rest of your read is but a chase for that same high you found in the beginning? How do they even decide which the “best” story is? In my own reading experience, I have seen it all – anthologies that start strong but fizzle out, anthologies that have a strong middle streak, collections that end with a banger, or those that suck all together.

Time to look at upcoming movie screenings and the Fantasy Filmfest, my dears! (And I'm already loving the -incomplete- program.)   There are a couple of interesting open air screenings left in this summer, and that coupled with the Yorck specials and a few films regularly showing will help bridge the time until FFF begins. Let's have a look. And no, Hokum isn't part of the lineup... yet?    So, the Freiluftkino Kreuzberg is showing a Science Fiction movie , old or new, every Tuesday until the end of August and although I missed "2001 A Space Odyssey", I feel compelled to watch Tarkowski's Solaris  on August 18, at 8.30 pm. I have only seen the newer Solaris movie with Geroge Clooney, and quite liked it, and I generally like Tarkowski's style, so I'm glad they're screening it. Freilichtbühne Weißensee continues its series of screenings of original films from the former east bloc, and there's a two-part mini series called NöNöNö that takes place ...

Six, six, six, and I again forgot my blog's birthday! But this way I will celebrate it later and later each year and so it can have birthday all year long, which is neat too. Please, as usual, have a little drink for us to celebrate this occasion! I have a little present for you guys too, namely a giveaway. I have started and dnf'ed quite a few books this year. Plus, I recently scanned my shelves and added some of my older science fiction/horror books to the pile. Reach out to me through the usual means if you want to have any of the books, and don't hesitate! I'm giving them away gladly to someone who will enjoy them more than I do. Have a great time!

I have absolutely no idea how something as trite as a surface with a reflective metal coat has become one of the main staples of horror fiction, but here we are to find out why. Reflections, whether on glass, mirror or water, have always had confrontational, psychological, existential and inherently uncanny undertones in what they might (or might not) show us and what that might stir up inside - from Narcissus to Poltergeist. A mirror, or a reflective surface in the broader sense (a television screen, a photographic lens, a camera's eye, a celluloid film, etc.), shows the bare truth - and yet it is impossible for us to touch, smell, hear or taste that truth. We can only see it. So on the one hand it has the claim of reliability, but lacks depth. There is a conflict there. It is not our world, thus it must be a different one. It is illusion through and through and yet tells us so much about ourselves and our fears; vanity, introspection, evil twins, parallel universes, the future....

Hey, hey! I'm not doing much these days except for working, reading and hanging out on my balcony drinking self-made mocktails, so I don't have much to report until I'll have some vacation next week. So I hope you enjoy the short reviews, there are some nice books out there!

It's thriller time again! I preferred my thrillers in the shape of audiobooks this past month, as there's so much to do when the weather gets warm and that amps my energy levels up. It is a special kind of happiness to finish an audiobook while cleaning your windows and at the end of the day you have another title crossed out of your list and you can look through clear windows. Or have a squeaky clean bathroom. Or enjoying whatever it is you are cleaning. The haul of titles this time is truly a mixed bag, ranging from awesome to meh, so let's take a look at them. Enjoy!