From Weirdbook No. 34:
Dark humor abounds in Gregg Chamberlain’s “Bunnies of the Apocalypse.” A satanist, about to sacrifice a child to the glories of the dark lord, finds his young victim more resourceful than he even could have imagined.
From Weirdbook No. 34:
In “Excavation” by Franklyn Searight, a lightning strike in Morris Clooney’s front yard seems to have triggered something. Over the coming months the earth rises to form a rectangular bed, a puzzle with no logical explanation. Even when Morris hires a young neighbor to literally dig into the matter, his questions remain. Then, one night the answer begins to materialize in a remarkably explicit dream from a time long past.
From Weirdbook No. 34:
J. Michael Major gives readers a peek inside the art scene, with “In the Gallery.” It’s all quite inspirational as we follow an accomplished painter, who shares his life’s canvas with his new protégé—including some enjoyable asides on the ups and downs of the creative vocation—but don’t ignore the setting. This is Weirdbook, where the final sentence can shatter one’s naive illusions.
From Weirdbook No. 34:
A dark tale of swords and sorcery, Sean Patrick Hazlett’s “Mukden” follows Captain Tanaka Hideki through a tenuous partnership with the bandit Fu Shih and encounters with the ghostly shikome, fell servants of the underworld, on his way to reclaim his honor and reach Mukden. Hazlett captures the bleak, brutal pall of war as the Japanese and Chinese battle their Russian invaders.
From Weirdbook No. 34:
“A Kiss for the Mirrorman” by Adrian Cole is a terrific fast-paced battle of wits and advanced weaponry. Set in the gritty streets of a future metropolis, an unnamed assassin tracks the Mirrorman and plunges him into a deadly trap. One for the issue’s best adventures.
Weirdbook began life as a fantasy and horror fanzine in 1968. The creation of Paul Ganley, it ran for 30 issues, ending in 1997. In 2015, Doug Draa asked Paul for permission to relaunch the title. With publishing help from John Betancourt, Weirdbook was reborn in September 2015. With issue 34 the magazine went quarterly.
Bret McCormick opens Weirdbook No. 34 with a light-hearted look at reality, and triggers a more serious question about belief in “The Demon in the Doughnut Shop.” Is seeing believing? The lead character is left with doubts, even after a shape-shifting demon from hell gives him a personal demonstration. The facts are indisputable, but emotion and past experience still imprint his perceived reality.
Contents
Doug Draa: From the Editor’s Tower
Michael Bracken “Harlot Road”
John C. Hocking “With a Poet’s Eyes”
Robert Graves “The Wishing Well”
Darrell Schweitzer “O King of Pain and Splendor!”
Adrian Cole “You’d Do It for Diamonds” (Nick Nightmare)
Franklyn Searight “Dreadful Appetite”
R.C. Mulhare “The Handmaid of the Key”
Russ Parkhurst “The Old Rock” (verse)
Allen Mark Price “Blue Moon”
C.I. Kemp “She Who Gives Life”
W.H. Pugmire “An Implement of Ice”
Sharon Cullars “Night of the Circus”
Tim Jeffreys “Wolvers Hill”
Lorenzo Crescentini “Rafts” translation by Lisa Kramer Taruschio
Edward Ahern “Clean Sweep”
Frederick J. Mayer “Sleeping with Mad Shadows” (verse)
Cynthia Ward “Leaving Malaga”
Greg Chamberlain “Cattle Call”
Jeff Barnes “The Liquid Professor” (verse)
J.N. Cameron “Abomination is Her Name”
Kenneth Bykerk “Kachina” (Bajazid)
David J. Gibbs “Flat is Flat and That is That”
Chad Hensley “The Toad Stool People” (verse)
Scott Harper “Death is Not My Master”
Clay F. Johnson “The Promise of a Polidori Sore Throat” (verse)
Andrew Ivey “This Hungry Earth” (verse)
Weirdbook Vol. 2 No. 8, #38 March 2018
Publisher/Executive Editor: John Gregory Betancourt
Editor: Doug Draa
Consulting Editor: W. Paul Ganley
Cover: Alexandra Petruk
Interior Artwork: Allen Koszowski
190 pages, 6” x 9”
$12.00 POD, $3.99 Kindle
Wildside Press website