REVIEWS AND A LITTLE MARKET NOTE

First the market note; ABYSS & APEX is closed to submissions.

Before I start the reviews I have been getting spam from Barnes & Noble that they now have Black Friday sales going on now so perhaps some of you readers may want to go to B&N through their portal on my blog.

Now on to the reviews. 

The two titles I am reviewing are both by Hilltop Press located at 4 Nowell Place ,Almondbury,Huddeersfield,HB5 8PB England.  This is the imprint of Steve Sneyd who is one of the pre-eminent sf/f/h poet and historian of sf/f/h poetry.  He has neither ebook address or web site.  So all his communication has to be postal.  His titles are distributed by BBR/NSFA www.bbr-online.com/catalogue .You may also want to check Powell's and Amazon iff BBR /NSFA may be out of the title.

MISTAKING THE NATURE OF THE POSTHUMAN by Steve Sneyd (2008) ISBN 978-0-905262-42-0 $15.00 for Yanks and 6.99 pounds for Brits..

This is a collection of previously published work which has appeared in mostly genre periodicals like DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES and STAR*LINE.   I cant praise Sneyd enough.  He has been writing genre poetry for at least 25 years  but , at least still in this country is underread because so much of his work has appeared in the smallest of small press zines.  Below are three short poems by him that demonstrate his mastery of poetry .  It is a collection worth the money.

' Mission Statement'

comes bringing occult
into daylight world promise
on t-shirt sprouts gold
hair will show what nothingness
made of tides Schrodinger's cat



'Ozymandias of Mars '

Jack's giant fell up
not down off two-worlds-linking
tree slowdying still,
lasted long enough to breath last
air, drink last water,kill world.



'Not Too Proud To Learn'

maggots into wounds
eat infection leave healthy
flesh to heal unscarred
aliens learn fast  eat thoughts
of humans leave perfect gods



TIME GROWS THIN by Lilith Lorraine (2009) ISBN 978-0-905262-13-7 $15.00 US or 7.50 pounds.

This book can be a little complicated to explain.  Lilith Lorraine was the byline of Mary Maud Donn, a poet who during the 30's, 40's and into the 50's was one of the dominant poets in the science fiction/fantasy/horror genre.  The book itself is a combination of one of her post-World War II poetry collections, WINE OF WONDER, a thirty one page biographical essay on Lorraine's career by Steve Sneyd plus a small selection of other poems by her.

I do not plan to rehash what Sneyd wrote about Lorraine but I think it is ground breaking.  It is the first eshaustive study on the use of poetry in the pulp era that does not revolve around its use by WEIRD TALES .  I apologise now if someone else has written extensively on this era of sf/f/h poetry and I can think of one person in particular who may have done so.

If you are interested in the history of sf/f/h poetry  then this should be in your library.  Besides the poems are terriffic if a little plummy to some.  Its like automobilr collecting.  If you collect Ford and Shelby Mustangs then probably you are not going to get excited over a 1927 Dusenberg or a 1950 Humber Snipe.  You might like  them but they wont pass the so hat test in your eyes becuse your heart belongs to Mustang.