I think the book set is going to be Nathan Ballingrud's Lunar Gothic Trilogy. All short novels, and the third book doesn't release until October, giving this the chance to be a true 1st. Ballingrud did the intro for Widows of Winding Gale.
I'm a big Ballingrud fan, so I'm hoping this is the set. Really enjoying this series too, and getting a true 1st Limited/illustrated would be great.
If correct, that would be great news -- even though I'm a big Ballingrud fan, I've only read the first, so this would be a wonderful way to read the others.
Well, now we know: Brian Evenson, not Ballingrud. I bet it’ll be beautiful and I wish Paul great success with it, but I’ll probably have to take a pass on the set.
Funny, right before I saw the email from Earthling I saw a post on X about three new Clive Barker books (“Library of the Dead” trilogy) and half assumed that was it.
So the "mystery 3-book set" has been revealed and it's The Mutilation Trilogy by Brian Evenson, containing The Brotherhood of Mutilation, Last Days, and Phantom Limb. Of the three, The Brotherhood of Mutilation was previously published in two states by Earthling way back in 2003, a 300-copy paperback and a 15-copy lettered hardcover with traycase. I don't collect paperbacks, but I can say that I haven't run into any copies of the lettered edition on the aftermarket.
So I did not have Brian Evenson anywhere on my mystery book bingo card. I'm unsure of where I land with this set. First, I've yet to read anything by Evenson, even though he's been on my radar for a while now. Second, my understanding is that Last Days is a reworked/expanded version of The Brotherhood of Mutilation, so as I'm not (yet) an Evenson fan, I don't know if I need both on my shelf. Three, price details were not revealed so I can't measure interest and cost against each other.
Anybody else have any thoughts? Excited? Disappointed?
I think the book set is going to be Nathan Ballingrud's Lunar Gothic Trilogy. All short novels, and the third book doesn't release until October, giving this the chance to be a true 1st. Ballingrud did the intro for Widows of Winding Gale.
I'm a big Ballingrud fan, so I'm hoping this is the set. Really enjoying this series too, and getting a true 1st Limited/illustrated would be great.
If correct, that would be great news -- even though I'm a big Ballingrud fan, I've only read the first, so this would be a wonderful way to read the others.
Well, now we know: Brian Evenson, not Ballingrud. I bet it’ll be beautiful and I wish Paul great success with it, but I’ll probably have to take a pass on the set.
Funny, right before I saw the email from Earthling I saw a post on X about three new Clive Barker books (“Library of the Dead” trilogy) and half assumed that was it.
I can't lie, I was really hoping it was Ballingrud.
I hadn't heard about the new Barker books. Looking it up on Kickstarter, it looks interesting. Some tiers for limited and lettered editions. Don't know if I'll spring for it, though.
I remember Evenson from my Shocklines "BUY EVERYTHING!!!" days (And, boy...looking at my shelves and considering my financial state, do I wish I had a lot of that money back!), so I have a bunch of his stuff sitting unread. I read THE BROTHERHOOD OF MUTILATION a few years back, and I vaguely recall it as a kind of detective investigating a cult story, and I remember really struggling to get through it, as brief as it was. The story, and his style, did absolutely nothing for me.
I may be a player depending on price. I like his writing style but find the work can lean towards absurdity OR it may be over my head. IDK.
Anybody else have any thoughts? Excited? Disappointed?