And all you judges, beware!
The summer of 2012 draws towards its melancholy end. Bathed in the red and gold rays of its dying sun is our September release, All God’s Angels, Beware!, by Quentin S. Crisp, originally a limited edition hardback (Ex Occidente, 2009), now released as a paperback for the first time. This re-release, revised and with lush wraparound cover art from Christopher Conn Askew, is Crisp’s fourth, and according to Ziesings Books, a “much anticipated” collection of shorter fiction. If this is all the recommendation you need, then please proceed to obtain a copy here. Be aware, however, that, as well as the title itself, this book appears to come with warnings attached:
Quentin S. Crisp is one of those writers whose voice is so strong that the essential features of his fiction remain constant whether the trappings are science fiction, horror, fantasy, or contemporary minimalist fiction. It’s not something that all readers will be able to bear. His characters’ awkwardness, suffering, self-pity will turn off those for whom such modes of existence are impossible to understand. But for those who are epicures of the upsetting, the degraded, and the unexpectedly numinous, he is (superlative alert) among the finest of contemporary writers.
- Brendan Moody, The Stars at Noonday
Crisp (Shrike) stakes his claim to the territory of existential dread with this … edition of a short fiction collection first published in 2009. The stories are largely told in the first person, touching on themes of Japanese culture, the pointlessness of everyday life, and the terrors of intimacy. Moments of unexpected tenderness leaven the relentless gloom: “Italiannetto” is a genuinely sweet reminiscence of love and inspiration, made all the more powerful by the surrounding unsettling tales of sexual dysfunction like “The Fox Wedding” and “Asking for It.” The narrator of “A Cup of Tea” may be painfully incapable of surviving in the workaday world, but is still very capable of affection even in the midst of despair. The book’s saving grace is that ability to mitigate the worst of the overwrought self-indulgence of the neurasthenic narrators with flashes of emotion, making it simultaneously deeper and more accessible than its many characters might have wished.
If you are one of those who will be in attendance at this month’s FantasyCon, in Brighton, please also remember that, as well as Chômu Press having a table in the dealers’ room, Quentin S. Crisp will be signing copies of All God’s Angels, Beware! and Reggie Oliver of The Dracula Papers, Book I: The Scholar’s Tale, late on the morning of the Saturday of that weekend. Details of this month’s prize draw are to follow:
Prize Draw for uniquely inscribed copy of All God’s Angels, Beware!
The prize this month is, of course, for a uniquely inscribed copy of All God’s Angels, Beware!. Here are the rules here for anyone unfamiliar with them: To be entered for this draw, please sign up here to our mailing list (or using the ‘Free updates’ widget on our home page) and send an e-mail with the subject heading ‘I’m not afraid anymore’ to info at chomupress dot com. If you are already on our mailing list, of course there is no need to sign up again – simply send an e-mail with the ‘I’m not afraid anymore’ subject heading to the address mentioned. Only one entry allowed per person. Deadline for draw, the 1st of October.
Those on our mailing list can also expect exclusive interviews from Chômu authors. The next interview will be with D.F. Lewis, author of Nemonymous Night.
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