Checklist

UPDATE:  I've revised this list and it can be foind HERE

So, I made a checklist.  It's theoretically in order of release, the dates expressed as YY/MM, becuase I was using a spreadsheet program to make it.  I don't know why it formatted with quotes around the authors' names.  If you see an error, please let me know.  Thanks.


0-440-20782-7,The Cipher,"Koja, Kathe",91/01
0-440-20754-1,Nightlife,"Hodge, Brian",91/02
0-440-20709-6,Dusk,"Dee, Ron",91/03
0-440-20758-4,Specters,"Dillard, JM",91/04
0-440-20815-7,Prodigal,"Tem, Melanie",91/05
0-440-20855-6,Obsessed,"Reed, Rick",91/06
0-440-20886-6,Toplin,"McDowell, Michael",91/06
0-440-20727-4,Mastery,"Wilde, Kelley",91/08
0-440-20708-8,Descent,"Dee, Ron",91/09
0-440-21090-9,Tunnelvision,"Gates, R. Patrick",91/10
0-440-21087-9,Shadow Twin,"Hoover, Dale",91/11
0-440-20792-4,Post Mortem,"Olson, Paul/ Silva, David",91/12
0-440-21143-3,The Orpheus Process,"Gower, Daniel H",92/01
0-440-21171-9,The Whipping Boy,"Byrne, John L",92/02
0-440-21114-X,Bad Brains,"Koja, Kathe",92/03
0-440-21201-4,Lost Futures,"Tuttle, Lisa",92/04
0-440-21112-3,Death Grip,"Hodge, Brian",92/05
0-440-20899-8,Metahorror,"Etchison, Dennis",92/06
0-440-21259-6,Stitch,"Morris, Mark",92/07
0-440-21320-7,Anthony Shreik,"Salmonson, Jessica Amanda",92/08
0-440-21196-4,",Death's Door,"Wolley, John/Wolfe, Ron",92/09
0-385-30875-2,",Lost Souls,"Brite, Poppy Z",92/09
0-440-21274-X,Dark Dance,"Lee, Tanith",92/11
0-440-21237-5,Penance,"Reed, Rick",92/12
0-440-21202-2,Shadow Man,"Etchison, Dennis",93/01
0-440-21290-1,Facade,"Rausch, Kristine Kathryn",93/02
0-385-30899-X,Skin,"Koja, Kathe",93/02
0-440-21337-1,Rapid Growth,"Hanner, Mary",93/03
0-440-20728-2,Angel Kiss,"Wilde, Kelley",93/04
0-440-21389-4,The Making of a Monster,"Petersen, Gail",93/05
0-440-21113-1,Darker Saints,"Hodge, Brian",93/06
0-440-21469-6,Making Love,"Tem, Malanie/ Holder, Nancy",93/07
0-440-21455-6,Heart-Beast,"Lee, Tanith",93/08
0-440-21281-2,Lost Souls,"Brite, Poppy Z",93/09
0-385-30895-7,Drawing Blood,"Brite, Poppy Z",93/10
0-440-21285-5,Wilding,"Tem, Melanie",93/10
0-440-21374-6,"X, Y","Blumlein, Michael",93/10
0-440-21456-4,Harrowgate,"Gower, Daniel H",93/11
0-440-21115-8,Skin,"Koja, Kathe",94/01
0-440-21482-3,Deadweight,"Devereux, Robert",94/02
0-440-21338-X,65mm,"Hoover, Dale",94/03
0-440-21481-5,Dead in the Water,"Holder, Nancy",94/05
0-440-21503-X,Revenant,"Tem, Melanie",94/08
0-385-31313-6,Covenant with the Vampire: The Diaries of the Family Dracul,"Kalogridis, J.",94/09
0-440-21492-0,Drawing Blood,"Brite, Poppy Z",94/09
0-440-21339-8,Grave Markings,Arnzen,94/10
0-440-21712-1,The Language of Fear,"James, Del",95/02
0-440-21852-7,Little Deaths,"Datlow, Eileen",95/08

Facade

So, after a couple of false starts, here I am, my first book post.

I started with Kristine Kathryn Rusch's Facade (02/93).

Ostensibly, it's a mystery:  In a small town on the Oregon coast, there have been murders going back years.  Thomas Stanton is an actor on hiatus from filming a detective show after breaking his leg.  One of the murders occurred in his house, the previous tennant.  The last murder was his daughter.  He's in Oregon to get away from Hollywood and to try and understand his daughter's death.  The truth turns out to be much worse than he could imagine.

The local newpaper editor Jillian Maxwell aids Stanton in his recovery and investigation but she has reasons for coming to the small town that weigh upon her as well, least of which is her rebellious sister.

Facade was the first horror novel from Rusch, a World Fantasy Award winning science fiction writer.  But her background doesn't show, Facade having the feel of something closer to a crime thriller- almost James Pattersonish, back when he wrote his own books- up until an unearthly resolution.

Rusch has a good handle on what's going on in his head- his disatisfaction with work, coupled with the loss of his daughter with the additional weight of being an outsider in a small town.

The ending seemed hurried, like Rusch needed to wrap up the story within the conventions of the genre, and it doesn't not work.  Yes, it feels contrived, but in a way that didn't seem cliched.  And cliched endings are practically part of the horror genre formula.

Of course, that was part of Jeanne Cavelos' idea behind the imprint:"To be a part of the horror genre, all that's required is that the story evokes strong, dark emotions - anything from apprehension, fear, terror, horror, disgust, anger, despair, numbness, loss, morbid fascination, and disturbing thrills, to awe." For the most part, Facade succeeds.



Status: Back in print from WMG Publishing, print and e-book editions.

On Writing Horror

I've added a copy of the Horrow Writers Association handbook  On Writing Horror, edited by Mort Castle,  to the shelf- it gets an honorary membership because Jeanne Cavelos, the editor of the imprint.

Her essay, Innovation in Horror, looks at the how the genre has a tendency to become somewhat predictable - the Stephen King school of horror- and how the potential to be more than that is there for the genre.

And she knows of what she speaks- bringing Kathe Koja to the public as the first book from the line- The Cipher- is evidence of this.

Rich Kleffel has a terrific interview with Cavelos on his blog, The Agony Column- well worth reading.

Abyss on Ebay

Well, I'm kicking myself for missing this, but it was a little over my budget.  Still... it would have been nice- last month there was an AMAZING sale on ebay: Seller Nightwing305 was selling his collection.  Here's his listing:

This is an almost complete collection of the Dell Abyss horror series from the 1980's. I think a couple of paperbacks are missing since I bought the hardcovers when they came out.  A large number of the books are signed by the authors.

The following books are signed: The Cipher by Kathe Koja, Night Life by Brian Hodge, Dusk by Ron Dee, Toplin by Michael McDowell (signed by Harry O. Morris, the artist), Mastery by Kelly Wilde, Descent by Ron Dee, Shadow Twin by Dale Hoover, Bad Brains by Kathe Koja (both books are signed), Lost Futures by Lisa Tuttle, Deathgrip by Brian Hodge, Stich by Mark Morris, Façade by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, The Darker Saints by Brian Hodge, Making Love by Melanie Tem and Nancy Holder (only signed by Holder), Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite, Dead in the Water by Nancy Holder, Drawing Blood by Poppy Z. Brite, Grave Markings by Michael A. Arnzen, Sins of the Blood by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, The Language of Fear by Del James, Strange Angels by Kathe Koja, The Children's Hour by Douglass Clegg, Wormwood by Poppy Z. Brite, Prototype by Brian Hodge

I will provide additional pictures of individual books on request.

This is an excellent opportunity to acquire a collection of excellent horror novels, many of them ( 25) signed.

And one of his pictures- the group shot.

It went for $329.99  

Meanwhile, over on Biblio.com, there's an active (as of 4/25/2016) listing for 28 Abyss Advance Reading Copies from Ken Lopez, Bookseller in Massachutes. 

His listing: 

NY: Dell / Abyss. 1991-1995. Twenty-eight advance copies (27 uncorrected proof copies and one advance reading copy) of titles in Dell's Abyss Horror paperback line, beginning with the first, Kathe Koja's The Cipher, both the uncorrected proof copy and the press pack announcing The Cipher and the type of titles that would follow. The Abyss line included approximately 40+ titles in all. This collection includes the uncorrected proof copies of: * 1991 - Kathe Koja, The Cipher; J.M. Dillard, Specters; Melanie Tem, Prodigal; Michael McDowell, Toplin; Kelley Wilde, Mastery; Ron Dee, Descent; * 1992 - Daniel H. Gower, The Orpheus Process; John Byrne, Whipping Boy; Lisa Tuttle, Lost Futures; Brian Hodge, Deathgrip; Dennis Etchison, editor, Metahorror; Mark Morris, Stitch; Jessica Amanda Salmonson, Anthony Shriek; John Wooley and Ron Wolfe, Death's Door; Melanie Tem, Wilding; * 1993 - Rick R. Reed, Penance; Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Facade; Mary L. Hanner, Rapid Growth; Kelley Wilde, Angel Kiss; Michael Blumlein, X,Y; Tanith Lee, Heart Beast; Daniel H. Gower, Harrowgate; Poppy Z. Brite, Drawing Blood; Kathy Koja, Skin; * 1994 - Dale Hoover, 65mm; Melanie Tem, Revenant; Michael A. Arnzen, Grave Markings; * 1995 - R. Patrick Gates, Deathwalker. ¶ All but Skin and Deathwalker are fine in wrappers (Skin and Deathwalker are near fine); all but Drawing Blood have publicity material laid in; all but Deathwalker are uncorrected proof copies (Deathwalker is an advance reading copy). Lot price for the 28 titles, plus the press pack (note that extra shipping may apply). Softcover.

He lists it for $300.  Still a good buy.

My introduction to the line was through an advanced reading copy of Poppy Brite's Lost Souls; I was working for an independent bookstore in Norfolk, Virginia and my boss had gone to the American Booksellers' Association convention and picked it up.  I was hooked.  At the time, I was the mass market buyer for the store so I made a point to make sure we'd get a couple of copies of the books when I could.

Progress So Far

Here's the shelf right now.  The most recent one is Del James' The Language of Fear.  I picked it up in a thrift store after actually gasping.  Lost Souls was the first book from the line I'd read.  There's stories about both that I'll save until I actually get around to doing a blog post on them.

Drawing Blood is part of the line, but if you look carefully, you can see it lacks the Abyss mark.  That's because it, and Lost Souls, stayed in print after the imprint shut down.  This Drawing Blood is a later printing and a place holder until I can get an Abyss edition..

I am obsessed.

I am obsessed.

In the mid to late nineties, Bantam/Doubleday/Dell Publishing had an imprint of cutting edge Horror fiction, curated under the skillful eye of editor Jeanne Cavelos called Abyss.  

Through this line, I was introduced to the works of Poppy Z. Brite, Kathe Koja, Tanith Lee, and many others.

 Mostly paperback originals, they were visally distinctive for their covers (Too Much Horror Fiction does a fine blogpost on their covers here) and the logo on their spine, which today I use as a guide when I'm scanning shelves looking for them.

And look for them I do.  Several moves and incidents involving basements, leaks, and badly designed storage spaces have pretty much destroyed my collection of these awesome books.

But in the words of the Rock in San Andreas "We rebuild."*

I've started finding the odd paperback around, a Melanie Tem here, a Brian Hodge there.  The line sadly came to an end in the late nineties... making lemonade, however, that means there's a finite number of books to find.  About fifty.

I'm currently trying to make THE LIST of them, on google docs spreadsheet, so I can have a check list of the titles but also sort it by author, publication date, and because I'm crazy, ISBN number.   The nice thing about using google docs is there's a mobile ap for the spreadsheet, so it's always as close as my phone.  When THE LIST is done, I'll post a link to it.

I'll try and provide current availability to the titles- some, like Poppy Z. Brite's have stayed in print, while others, like Brian Hodge, are bringing them back into print via e-publishing.  Specialty presses like Valancourt Books are bring titles back into print editions as well as e-books, Michael McDowell's Toplin being a good example.

So, one way or another, I'm going to be able to work my way through the Abyss.


*Yes, he actually said this.  And when we watched San Andreas, I anticipated the line, because it's that kind of movie.