The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 20

by Stephen Jones (ed. )

  So then, now I sit in my garden, and as the setting sun begins to turn a few drifting clouds red, I rotate these things in my mind while watching the last handful of seagulls heading south for Brixham harbour. And I think at them: ah, but you’ve missed out on a grand fish supper, you somewhat less than early birds. Your friends set out well over an hour ago!

  Then I smile to myself as I think: well, maybe they heard me. Who knows, maybe that flying-ant telepathy of theirs works just as well with people!

  And I watch a jet airplane making clouds as it loses altitude, heading for Exeter Airport. Those ruler-straight trails, sometimes disappearing and sometimes blossoming, fluffing themselves out or pulling themselves apart, drifting on the aerial tides . . . and waiting?

  Small fluffs of cloud: revenant vapour trails waiting for the next jet airplane, perhaps, so that they too can evaporate? I no longer rule out anything.

  But I’m very glad my mother died in hospital, not at home. And I will have the pool filled in. Either that or we’re moving to a house without a pool, and one that’s located a lot closer to the hospital.

  And when I think of disasters like Pompei, or Titanic—

  —Ah, but I mustn’t, I simply mustn’t . . .

  STEVE RASNIC TEM

  * * *

  2:00 pm: The Real

  Estate Agent Arrives

  STEVE RASNIC TEM’S LATEST book is The Man on the Ceiling (Wizards Discoveries, 2008), written in collaboration with wife, Melanie Tem. It is a re-imagining/expansion of their award-winning novella. Centipede Press has recently published In Concert, a complete collection of their short collaborations.

  Also in 2009, Speaking Volumes brought out Invisible, a six-CD audio collection of some of Tem’s recent stories. He also has new stories upcoming in Paradox, Interzone, Asimov’s and numerous other publications.

  IN THE BACKYARD, after the family moved away: blue chipped food bowl, worn-out dog collar, torn little boy shorts, Dinosaur T-shirt, rope, rusty can, child’s mask lined with sand. In the corner the faint outline of a grave, dog leash lying like half a set of parentheses. Then you remember. The family had no pets.

  STEPHEN JONES

  & KIM NEWMAN

  * * *

  Necrology: 2008

  ONCE AGAIN, THIS COLUMN marks the passing of writers, artists, performers and technicians who, during their lifetimes, made significant contributions to the horror, science fiction and fantasy genres (or left their mark on popular culture and music in other, often fascinating, ways) . . .

  AUTHORS/ARTISTS/COMPOSERS

  British historical novelist George MacDonald Fraser OBE, best known for his popular series of humorous Flashman novels (based on a minor character from Tom Brown’s School Days), died of cancer on January 2, aged 82. As a screenwriter, Fraser contributed to the scripts for the James Bond film Octopussy and Red Sonja, loosely inspired by the work of Robert E. Howard.

  British SF fan Derek Pickles, who edited the UK fanzine Phantasmagoria (1950–55), died on January 5, aged 79. Phantasmagoria contained John Brunner’s first published work and was the first fanzine to be available for “the usual” (trade, a contribution, or a letter of comment), rather than by subscription.

  Prolific mystery and SF writer and anthologist Edward D. (Dentinger) Hoch died of a heart attack on January 17, aged 77. Hoch published more than 900 short stories under a variety of pseudonyms for such magazines as Famous Detective Stories, Fantastic Universe, Future Fiction, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and, most notably, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine (he had a story in every issue since May 1973). He was the author of three 1970s SF detective novels about a pair of “Computer Cops”, The Transvection Machine, The Fellowship of the HAND and The Frankenstein Factory, while his occult stories about 2,000-year-old Egyptian Coptic priest “Simon Ark” are collected in City of Brass, The Judges of Hades and The Quests of Simon Ark. In 2001 he was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America and received a Lifetime Achievement Award at BoucherCon.

  Japanese anime scriptwriter Jinzô Toriumi died of hepatocellular carcinoma the same day, aged 78.

  Physician Dr Christine [Elizabeth] Haycock, a member of First Fandom and the widow of editor and critic Sam Moskowitz (who died in 1997), died on January 23, aged 84.

  American fan artist Frank Hamilton died of cancer on January 28, aged 89. His artwork first appeared in the early 1970s in Robert Weinberg’s PULP magazine. Best known for his detailed depictions of such pulp characters as Doc Savage, The Shadow, The Spider, The Avenger, G-8 and many others, his artwork also appeared in the pages of Mike Shayne’s Mystery Magazine and on the cover of his friend Michael Avallone’s paperback novel High Noon at Midnight. With Link Hullar, Hamilton co-authored the 1989 study Amazing Pulp Heroes: A Celebration of the Glorious Pulp Magazines.

  Iconic American movie poster artist John Alvin died of a heart attack on February 6, aged 59. Best known for his painting of the glowing finger for E.T. – The Extraterrestrial and the Star Wars 10th Anniversary designs, his more than 135 posters include The Phantom of the Paradise, Young Frankenstein, Blade Runner, Cocoon and Cocoon The Return, Gremlins, Ernest Scared Stupid, Hook, Flatliners, Arachnophobia, Spaceballs, Star Trek IV The Undiscovered Country, The Golden Child, Legend, Darkman, Innerspace, Batman Returns, Innocent Blood, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, The Lost Boys and The Goonies. Among his final work, Alvin contributed design ideas for the advertising campaign for Disney’s Enchanted.

  Comics writer Steve (Stephen Ross) Gerber, creator of “Howard the Duck” and “Lilith (Daughter of Dracula)”, died of complications from pulmonary fibrosis on February 10, aged 60. He began working for Marvel Comics in 1972, where he wrote and edited such titles as Sub-Mariner, Daredevil, Man-Thing and The Defenders. Gerber then created Howard the Duck and Omega the Unknown before leaving Marvel in 1979 over a landmark ownership dispute. After working for DC Comics and Hanna-Barbera, he teamed up with artist Jack Kirby to create Destroyer Duck to raise money for their court cases against Marvel. He scripted episodes of TV’s Beauty and the Beast and Star Trek: The Next Generation, and worked on various cartoon series, including Thundarr the Barbarian, The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Puppy Hour, Dungeons and Dragons, Transformers and The New Batman/Superman Adventures (for which he won a Daytime Emmy Award). Gerber was diagnosed with lung disease in 2007 and was working on a revival of DCs Doctor Fate at the time of his death.

  German SF, fantasy and horror author Werner Kurt Giesa was found dead at his home on February 14. He was 53. Giesa wrote for the Perry Rhodan and Ren Dhark SF series, the Mythor fantasy series and, under the pseudonym “Robert Lamont”, took over the long-running bi-weekly Professor Zamorra horror-serial magazine.

  British literary agent Bob Tanner died after a short illness the same day, aged 88. While Managing Director at New English Library in the 1970s he helped launch the careers of James Herbert and Stephen King. He subsequently formed the literary agency International Scripts, where his clients included Richard Laymon and Simon Clark.

  SF scholar Muriel R. (Rogow) Becker, who wrote the study Clifford D. Simak: A Primary and Secondary Bibliography (1980), died on February 15, aged 83. In 2005, the Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA) presented her with a Clareson Award.

  British fan and bookseller 90-year-old Ken (Kenneth Frederick) Slater died on February 16 after developing peritonitis. A major figure in British fandom since the late 1940s, and a founding member of the Science Fantasy Society (SFS), he founded fan group Operation Fantast which eventually became the mail-order service Fantast (Medway) Ltd. For decades, Slater was the major source for American books in the UK, and for many years he was the British agent for publisher Arkham House. He was given the Big Heart Award in 1995, and was Fan Guest of Honour at the 1959 Eastercon and Conspiracy, the 1987 World SF Convention.

  Avant-garde French author and film-maker Alain Robbe-Grillet died of complications from heart problems on February 18, aged 85. One of the leading figures in the experiment
al “nouveau roman” literary movement of the 1950s, his offbeat novels include Jealousy and La Belle Captive. He scripted Alain Resnais’ innovative 1961 movie Last Year in Marienbad, and was later inducted into the French Legion of Honour.

  Joyce Carol Oates’ husband Raymond J. Smith died of pneumonia the same day, aged 77. A former teacher, he was also editor of The Ontario Review (which he co-founded with his wife in 1974).

  Peruvian author, playwright and journalist José B. (Bernardo) Adolph died of a stroke on February 21, aged 74. His short stories were collected in El retorno de Aladino, Hasta que la muerte, Invisible para las fieras, Cuentos del relojero abominable, Mañana fuimos felices, La batalla del café, Une dulce horror and Diario del sótano.

  American SF writer Milton S. Lesser, who legally changed his name to Stephen Marlowe in the late 1950s and became a successful mystery and literary writer, died of a bone-marrow disorder on February 22, aged 79. Although best known for his globe-trotting private-eye character “Chester Drum” in a series of novels from Fawcett/Gold Medal (1955–68), his early stories regularly appeared in Amazing, Fantastic and Science Fiction Quarterly under a variety of pseudonyms. He once wrote all seven tales in a 1950 issue of Amazing under different bylines. He is also the author of the YA novels Earthbound, The Star Seekers, Stadium Beyond the Stars and Spaceman, Go Home. His other SF novels are Recruit from Andromeda, Secret of the Black Planet and The Golden Ape (with Paul W. Fairman), and he edited Looking Forward: An Anthology of Science Fiction. He scripted episodes of Captain Video and His Video Rangers and the CBS-TV anthology series Out There. As Marlowe, he published The Lighthouse at the End of the World (1995), a “fictional biography” of Edgar Allan Poe. While living in France, he reportedly appeared in two episodes of the 1980s TV series The Tripods as “M. Vichot”.

  American TV scriptwriter Richard Baer died of complications from a heart attack the same day, aged 79. After appearing (uncredited) in Citizen Kane, he went on to write scripts for such shows as The Munsters, Bewitched and Turnabout, along with the TV movie Poor Devil (starring Sammy Davis, Jr and Christopher Lee).

  Former Tor Books managing editor Robert [Paul] Legault died of a massive coronary on February 22, aged 58. He also worked as a proofreader and copy-editor for numerous publishers.

  British comics artist Steve Whitaker, who coloured the DC Comics version of V for Vendetta, died of a possible stroke the same day, aged 52. He co-wrote The Encyclopedia of Cartooning Techniques: A Comprehensive Visual Guide to Traditional and Contemporary Techniques (1993) with Steve Edgell.

  British mystery and historical writer Julian Rathbone died after a long illness on February 28, aged 73. A distant relative of actor Basil Rathbone, he wrote more than forty books, including the dystopian SF novel Trajectories, and he had a story (“Fat Mary”) in the anthology Dark Terrors 3: The Gollancz Book of Horror. Rathbone was twice nominated for the Booker Prize.

  American SF writer Janet Kagan (Janet Megson), who won a Hugo Award in 1993 for her humorous novelette “The Nutcracker Coup”, died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on February 29 after a long illness aged 63. She wrote the popular SF novels Hellspark and Star Trek: Uhura’s Song, and six of her “Mama Jason” stories from Asimov’s were collected in Mirabile.

  Jane Blackstock, former rights director and publisher at British publishing imprint Gollancz, died of cancer on March 3, two days after her 61st birthday.

  Fantasy author and games designer [Ernest] Gary Gygax died of an abdominal aortic aneurysm after a long illness on March 4, aged 69. He had suffered a series of strokes in 2004. In 1974, he co-created the first dice-based role-playing game, Dungeons and Dragons, with Dave Arneson, and co-founded publishing imprint TSR (Tactical Studies Rules) with Dan Kaye. Although the creators sold their rights in the game in the 1990s, D&D became the basis of a $1 billion worldwide industry of books, films and video games based on its mix of medieval and mythological concepts. As an author, Gygax wrote the fantasy novels The Anubis Murders, The Samarkand Solution and Death in Delhi, along with various titles in the “Grey-hawk” and “Gord the Rogue” series.

  Two-time Oscar-winning composer Leonard Rosenman died the same day, aged 83. In a career that began in 1955 with East of Eden, he wrote the scores to such films as Fantastic Voyage, Countdown, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, The Todd Killings, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, The Cat Creature, The Phantom of Hollywood, Race with the Devil, The Possessed, The Car, The Lord of the Rings (1978), Prophecy, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and RoboCop 2. Rosenman also contributed music to such TV series as The Twilight Zone, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Holmes and Yo-Yo and Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories.

  TV scriptwriter and producer Richard DeRoy died on March 8, aged 77. His many credits include episodes of Shirley Temple’s Storybook, The Twilight Zone, The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. and The Flying Nun, plus the 1971 TV movie A Howling in the Woods.

  American graphic artist Dave Stevens, who created pulp comic hero “The Rocketeer”, died after a long battle with leukaemia on March 10, aged 52. Stevens began his career inking Russ Manning’s daily Tarzan newspaper strip in the mid-1970s. He also created covers for Jonny Quest, worked on the Star Wars newspaper strip and did animation art for Hanna-Barbera studios. Stevens joined illustrators William Stout and Richard Hescox in their Los Angeles art studio, and at one time he also shared offices with Steven Spielberg (who hired him to work on storyboards for Raiders of the Lost Ark). The Rocketeer was filmed by Walt Disney Pictures in 1991. A friend of former 1950s glamour model Bettie Page, he was married to actress Brinke Stevens from 1980–81.

  One of the most influential and respected science fiction and popular science writers, Sir Arthur C. (Charles) Clarke died in a Sri Lankan (formerly Ceylon) hospital on March 19, aged 90. Best known as the co-creator of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) with the director Stanley Kubrick, he was diagnosed with post-polio syndrome in 1988, which made it difficult for him to travel in later years. A winner of three Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards, among his most notable books are The Sands of Mars, Islands in the Sky, Against the Fall of Night, Childhood’s End, The City and the Stars, Rendezvous with Rama, The Fountains of Paradise, 2010: Odyssey Two, 2061: Odyssey Three, The Ghost from Grand Banks, The Hammer of God and 3001: The Final Odyssey. In the 1980s he hosted the thirteen-part TV series Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World. Clarke is credited with creating the concept of communications satellites in 1945. He was named a SFWA Grand Master in 1986, nominated for a Nobel Prize in 1994, and knighted in 1999.

  Belgian comics publisher Raymond Leblanc, who co-founded Editions du Lombard and launched the Tintin magazine in 1946, died on March 21, aged 92.

  Chilean SF writer Hugo Correa died on March 23, aged 81. His novel The Superior Ones (Los altísimos) is considered a classic of Latin American SF.

  Norma Vance (Norma Genvieve Ingold), the wife of SF author Jack Vance, died the same day, aged 80.

  Comic book artist Jim Mooney (James Noel Mooney, aka “Jay Noel”) died on March 30, aged 88. He began his long career as part of the Eisner & Iger art studios, briefly illustrating “The Moth” for Fox Publications’ Mystery Men Comics in 1940. After working at Fiction House and Timely Comics, he started at DC Comics in 1946, ghost illustrating Batman for Bob Kane. He went on to draw such strips as “Tommy Tomorrow”, “Superboy” and “Dial H for Hero”. His best known work at DC was the “Supergirl” strip in Action Comics, which ran from 1959 until 1968. Mooney then moved to Marvel, where he inked John Romita’s The Amazing Spider-Man and The Mighty Thor, along with working on Marvel Team-Up, Man-Thing and Omega the Unknown. After moving to Florida in the mid-1970s, he illustrated Anne Rice’s The Mummy for Millennium Publications and an Elvira comic for Claypool Comics.

  Scriptwriter Robert Warnes Leach, who worked as a story editor and writer on the 1959–60 TV series Men Into Space, died the same day after a long illness. He was 93.

  Irish-born SF author and scriptwriter Johnny (John Christopher) Byrne die
d in Norfolk, England, on April 3, aged 73. During the 1960s he published five stories in Science-Fantasy magazine before going on to write scripts for such TV series as Space: 1999, Tales of the Unexpected and Doctor Who. He also scripted the Turkish movie Lionman II: The Witchqueen and the gay comedy ghost film To Die For.

  TV comedy scriptwriter Seaman Jacobs, who regularly worked with George Burns and Bob Hope, died of cardiac arrest on April 8, aged 96. He wrote for such shows as My Favorite Martian, The Addams Family, I Dream of Jeannie, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters and Inch High Private Eye, along with the movie Oh, God! Book II.

  Ollie Johnston (Oliver Martin Johnston, Jr), the last surviving member of the “Nine Old Men” of Walt Disney animation, died on April 14, aged 95. He joined the fledgling Disney studio in 1935 and worked on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Bambi, Song of the South, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, One Hundred and One Dalmations, The Sword in the Stone, Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, The AristoCats, Robin Hood, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too, The Rescuers and The Fox and the Hound. Although he officially retired from Disney in 1978, Johnston continued to work as a teacher, author and consultant, and he was the first animator to receive the National Medal of Arts at a White House ceremony in 2005. With his colleague, Frank Thomas, he wrote the books Disney Animation: The Illustration of Life, Too Funny for Words, Bambi: The Story and the Film and The Disney Villain, and both of them can be heard in The Iron Giant and The Incredibles.