All the news that’s fit to capsulize!

NO ‘MIDDLE’ GROUND
To promote MAN IN THE MIDDLE, Brian Haig’s latest political thriller, Hachette Book Group has created an online game in which visitors must determine whether each of 10 chilling scenarios are a plot from a Haig novel or from real-life world events. Regardless what you score (8 for me), it’s mildly amusing and vaguely depressing.

SIMMONS SAYS
For those of you who already have read, are reading or planning to read Dan Simmons’ new novel THE TERROR, Borders offers this brief essay from Simmons on the real-life events of the 19th century that inspired his epic tale of icy fright.

A CASE OF ANTICIPATION
Hard Case Crime has just announced a slew of forthcoming titles for 2007 and, presumably, early 2008:
• SLIDE, Ken Bruen and Jason Starr’s sequel to the lively BUST, coming in October.
• DEADLY BELOVED, a new novel by Max Allan Collins – and the first to feature his long-running comic-book detective Ms. Tree.
• ZERO COOL, another reprint from John Lange (the nom de plume of Michael Crichton), following GRAVE DESCEND. This one’s an adventure set in Spain.
• And, most notably, Hard Case is moving into twofers with SHOOTING STAR and SPIDERWEB, a pair of long-out-of-print Robert Bloch thrillers for the price of one. As in their original run, this premiere Hard Case Crime Double will print the book in the flip-cover format.

SCI-FI GETS BUTCHERED
Long in development, the Sci-Fi Channel finally debuts THE DRESDEN FILES on the night of Sunday, Jan. 21. This fantasy series, of course, is an adaptation of Jim Butcher’s series of novels about Harry Dresden, the detective with magical powers. The most recent book was PROVEN GUILTY, with WHITE NIGHT to follow in April.

THE MASTERS OF ‘MASTERS’
A little birdie (flu-free, one hopes) tells me to expect a tie-in anthology of stories that were adapted into Showtime’s popular MASTERS OF HORROR series, now in its second season. No further details yet, but considering the show has taken on the works of H.P. Lovecraft, Ambrose Bierce, F. Paul Wilson and Clive Barker, it sounds like a fine idea to me.

HAPPILY NEVER AFTER
One of BOOKGASM’s favorite websites is Curt Purcell’s Groovy Age of Horror, in which the cheese ‘n’ sleaze that were horror books and comics of the ’70s are reviewed. Now Purcell is writing a novel on his own, serialized online. Check out his NIGHT FALLS ON A FAIRY TALE as new chapters are posted. With a tagline of “Where storybooks end, the horror begins,” what’s not to love? Well, computer monitor-induced eyestrain, for one, but hopefully Purcell’s virtual monster mash will follow the path of David Wellington and find a home in print in the near future as well.

SELF-PROMOTION CORNER
Jan. 15 brings the release of the updated illustrated anthology GRAPHIC CLASSICS: H.P. LOVECRAFT. This edition carries 75 pages of new material over the now-out-of-print original edition, including “Sweet Ermengarde,” a unique Lovecraftian comedy – yes, comedy – scripted by yours truly and brought to manic life by Kevin Atkinson. Other new material includes adaptations of the fright master’s “Dreams in the Witch-House” and “The Shadow over Innsmouth”; reprints include the four-part “Herbert West: Reanimator,” with art by Richard Corben, Rick Geary, J.B. Bonivert and Mark A. Nelson. –Rod Lott

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