The first review is in for Poppy Z. Brite’s new short story collection, Antediluvian Tales, due out in November. According to Publishers Weekly, “Two stories, ‘Wound Man and Horned Melon Go to Hell’ and ‘The Devil of Delery Street,’ come from the supernatural side of Brite’s oeuvre, but the book’s best is ‘The Feast of St. Rosalie,’ whose simple account of a young woman contemplating romance in the midst of a religious festival mixes charm and pathos for a beautiful elegy to Brite’s hometown.”

Don’t forget, the limited edition comes with a chapbook containing the first “novel” Poppy wrote at a young age, The H.O.G. Syndrome.

We’ve just posted details for novellas by two of our favorite writers. First up is Jack Vance’s The Kragen, a rare novella of his that we’ll be publishing as a signed limited edition, bargain priced at $35. Second is a wild piece of work by Thomas M. Disch, The Voyage of the Proteus: An Eyewitness Account of the End of the World. Both of these titles will be slipped into our schedule this year. The Disch novella will also make an appearance this fall in Subterranean Online.

In further Vance news, we’ve just reached agreement to publish The Jack Vance Reader next year, a massive tome that will include three of his best novels, with guest introductions. Terry Dowling and Jonathan Strahan are once again helming this book, as they did so ably with The Jack Vance Treasury. Also on the Vance front will be Songs of the Dying Earth, a tribute anthology featuring a whole host of sf’s leading lights playing in Jack’s universe. Contributors are slated to include George R. R. Martin, Neil Gaiman, Dan Simmons, Tad Williams, and a whole host of others.

Add Publishers Weekly to the list of venues praising Allen Steele’s Coyote novella, The River Horses: “Steele’s intimate stand-alone novella of the frontier planet of Coyote chronicles the redemptive journey of two colony exiles, adding a brilliant brushstroke to the already vast and vivid canvas of the Coyote saga (Coyote, etc.). With a sophistication reminiscent of some of the genre’s greatest visionaries, Steele has created a must-read for anyone who enjoys thought-provoking SF…”

Brian Lumley’s forthcoming gathering of his best mythos novellas, The Taint and Other Novellas, continues to rack up the kudos. As you my recall, Publishers Weekly said, “Perhaps most memorable is the 2005 title story, which, despite being set in Lovecraft’s haunted seaport of Innsmouth, avoids Mythos cliches and comes across as distinctly the author’s own.” And now Booklist has weighed in with “Lumley is not only the subgenre’s most prolific practitioner but also arguably its most imaginative… Lumley’s knack for nightmarish scenarios and chilling language puts his writings at the forefront of contemporary horror fiction.”

We’re sending five brand new titles to the printer this week, which should make for one hell of a dark October:

* The Taint and Other Novellas (Brian Lumley)
* Red Seas Under Red Skies (Scott Lynch)
* The God of the Razor (Joe R. Lansdale)
* Crooked Little Vein (Warren Ellis)
* Plots and Misadventures (Stephen Gallagher)

We’re just finishing up the shipping of initial orders for Charles de Lint’s new novel, Promises to Keep. All retailer, distributor, and individual orders will be en route to customers no later than Tuesday, so please be patient just a little longer, and everyone will have a classicly good CdL fix.