Michael Ashley

#2

"Algernon Blackwood was one of the greatest writers of supernatural fiction of the twentieth century. An indefatigable traveller, an undercover agent during the First World War, a Searcher for the Red Cross, he was also an extremely popular storyteller on radio and television - indeed, he appeared on the first ever television programme. He originated the play, The Starlight Express, was a member of the magical order of the Golden Dawn, and was acquainted with most of the literary and artistic establishment of his day from Hilaire Belloc to Arthur Machen, from Sinclair Lewis to H. G. Wells." "Blackwood revealed that all of his stories were based on personal experiences or those of his close friends. This from the man whose stories take us to a lonely island in the river Danube where two travellers face the cosmic powers of the Earth in all their might; and deep into the deserts of Egypt where a lone man witnesses the spirit of the ancient past rise up like a gigantic wall of sand." "Mike Ashley has been researching his life for more than twenty years and has discovered a wonderfully complex character - a profound mystic, a delightful storyteller, an innocent child, a wild adventurer, and a remarkable man."--BOOK JACKET.

#3

Although this anthology features some of the most popular names in futuristic and paranormal romance, it reads more like a catalogue than a cohesive book. Robb's "Interlude in Death," featuring Lieutenant Eve Dallas, kicks off the collection and is the strongest of the four entries. The story's suspense is as well drawn as the romance, and readers won't have to be familiar with Robb's In Death series (Betrayal in Death, etc.) to enjoy this futuristic thriller. Hamilton's "Magic Like Heat Across My Skin" finds Vampire Hunter Anita Blake in an S/M club with her two lovers, a Master Vampire and a werewolf king. As one might imagine of such a setting, the sensuality is dark and intense, but this will be no surprise to fans of Hamilton's Vampire Hunter novels (Obsidian Butterfly, etc.). "Kinsman," Krinard's (Touch of the Wolf) tale of two telepaths who try to prevent an interspecies war, falls victim to its own exposition and draws to a conclusion that is steamy but familiar. Shayne's "Immortality" features Puabi, a Dark Witch of Sumer who is reincarnated to right an ancient wrong. Each of the works in this anthology is solid and should please current fans, but as a whole, the stories are only loosely connected and would have benefited from a stronger theme to tie them together.