A couple more excellent reviews for Now It’s Dark have appeared. The first is by Alexander Glass at IZ Digital and among other things observes that:
The long shadow that lies over the ten pieces assembled here is perhaps that of Robert Aickman: they are stories not of overt horror but of deep and abiding disquiet, with a sense that, upon turning a corner or turning a page, one might stumble upon something unspeakable, something malevolent and beyond comprehension. Rucker holds back from showing us the full horror. She leaves it lingering, lurking, at the corner of one’s eye. Of course, when we turn to look, there is nothing of note to be seen – a random collection of elements, transformed by a kind of Arcimboldo effect into a snarling face.
The second review is by Dejan Ognjanovic at Rue Morgue and concludes that the book is “brimming with the juices of life and believable characters who are certain to stay with you for a long time. Strongly recommended for lovers of atmospheric, unusual, and slow-burn literary horror.” Now It’s Dark is also the “Dante’s Pick,” meaning it’s the most notable book of the issue.
In other news, Part Three and Part Four of my interview with Gemma Files and Simon Bestwick at the No Darkness But Ours podcast have been posted.
And in “now for something completely different” news, writer DF Lewis (whose name you will surely know if you spent a lot of time reading small press horror magazines in the 1990s) has for years maintained a site where he writes impressionistic and delightfully eccentric reviews. Now he has been using those reviews to generate AI imagery based on the reviews. What he’s produced from his reviews of my work is alluring and a series of prompts for an entire new set of stories.
You can buy the limited hardcover edition of Now It’s Dark direct from the publisher, Swan River Press.
Lynda E Rucker 