‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ Book; Former Out-of-Print Horror Novels Are Back

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I have some lightning news flashes on the releases, including re-releases, of dark fantasy and horror novels. But first, in case you missed it, my second post for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) is up. So you can view it here. The IWSG is a network of author-bloggers who discuss the challenges of writing and how to deal with them. Even if you aren’t a writer, the posts that IWSG puts out can give you some fascinating insight on what goes into our work. This is especially a plus if you are an avid reader who digs behind-the-scenes! So check it out if you haven’t already.

And now for literary lightning news flashes on releases of some dark fantasy and horror novels . . .

Pan’s Labyrinth Novel Adaptation

The 2006 Oscar-winning film, Pan’s Labyrinth, is being adapted into a novel according to /Film. The film’s director, Guillermo del Toro (the Hellboy movies) is collaborating with best-selling author Cornelia Funke in writing the book. The book will be titled Pan’s Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun. Besides the novel itself, it will contain short stories that will help develop the world of the Pan Labyrinth story line. The novel, like the movie, is a dark fantasy epic that features mythical creatures against a World War II background. The movie involves a young girl in Spain who flees from her fascist military officer of a stepfather to a dark fantasy land. According to the book’s synopsis, the novel is “for readers of all ages”. If this is so, then it will have to leave out certain scenes that are in the film since the movie has an R rating which includes brutal war violence. The book will include illustrations which will give more of a children’s and fairy tale flavour. Pan’s Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun will release 2 July 2019.

The Return of the Out-of-Print ‘70s and ‘80s Horror Paperbacks

Indie press Valencourt Books is releasing a limited series of five paperback horror novels that have been out of print for several years. The five books are from the 1970s and ‘80s, chosen by authors Grady Hendrix and Will Errickson. Hendrix is the author of the best-seller Paperbacks From Hell (Quirk Books) which the series of books is named after. The five horror novels will be in mass-market size format. Some will feature their original paperback book cover illustrations. Each book will include an introduction specifically written for the edition. The first title of the Paperbacks From Hell series, The Nest by Gregory A. Douglas, released 2 April. The story involves giant mutant cockroaches and so is reminiscent of Atomic Era sci fi horror while exemplary of the novel’s contemporary 1970s “nature strikes back” film trend. The other four titles, which each will release a month apart from each other, are:

When Darkness Loves Us, by Elizabeth Engstrom

The Reaping, by Bernard Taylor

The Tribe, Bari Wood

The Spirit, Thomas Page

The Spirit is another that is exemplary of its era which saw the Big Foot phenomena craze. In this novel, a Native American is on the trail of the legendary Sasquatch.

Valancourt Books specialises in re-introducing to publication “rare, neglected, and out-of-print fiction”. They were established “in 2005 to restore many of these works to new generations of readers.” The books they restore include Gothic, horror and supernatural fiction that go as far back as the 18^th century. It’s great to know that presses like these are raising out-of-print books back from the literary dead! This will give a chance for new generations to access and, hopefully, enjoy them.

Next time, I plan to talk about whether science fiction can be considered prophecy or not.

Have you seen Pan’s Labyrinth? What do you think about a book adaption of the movie? Are there any out-of-print horror novels or other speculative fiction books you would like to see back in print? Please feel free to leave your comments in the box below.

Until next time . . .