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The author of Skulls in the Stars is a professor of physics, specializing in optical science, at UNC Charlotte. The blog covers topics in physics and optics, the history of science, classic pulp fantasy and horror fiction, and the surprising intersections between these areas. -
Author Archives: skullsinthestars
Caitlin R. Kiernan’s The Drowning Girl
For day 17 of Blogtober, I look back at the haunting and mysterious novel The Drowning Girl, by Caitlin R. Kiernan! The story is told by a woman suffering from severe mental illness, so we as the reader are left … Continue reading
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A Different Darkness and Other Abominations, by Luigi Musolino
Day 16 of Blogtober! Let’s take a look at a recent excellent collection… Valancourt Books (whom I have written introductions for) has really stepped up their game in recent years. Following the release of their excellent Valancourt Book of World … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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The Auctioneer, by Joan Samson
For day 15 of Blogtober, here is a novel that grinds the reader down with constant anxiety and dread — and I mean that in a good way! The Auctioneer is a story about the depths to which humans can … Continue reading
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Roadside Picnic, by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
For day 14 of Blogtober, we look at a book that is technically science fiction, but it is also horrific in a number of ways! This science fiction classic describes an area of the planet where aliens made a pit-stop … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Science fiction
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Carnosaur, by Harry Adam Knight
Day 13 of Blogtober, a Friday the 13th! Which makes it an appropriate time to talk about a real classic! I have a special fondness for paperback horror of the 1980s, as that was the era that I first started … Continue reading
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Our Lady of Pain, by John Blackburn
Day 12 of Blogtober, and I look back at one of the best novels written by John Blackburn, who was in essence the British Stephen King of his era (1960s-1970s). Our Lady of Pain is a novel inspired by the … Continue reading
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A. Merritt’s The Metal Monster
For day 11 of Blogtober, here’s a reblog about another truly classic but relatively unknown book of cosmic horror. A. Merritt was practically the Stephen King of his day, his writings wildly popular, and his best is The Metal Monster. … Continue reading
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John Wyndham’s The Kraken Wakes
Here’s another classic reblog to celebrate Blogtober, this one a novel by the famed author John Wyndham. Even if you haven’t heard of Wyndham, you have: he wrote The Day of the Triffids and The Midwich Cuckoos, both of which … Continue reading
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The Thing From the Lake, by Eleanor Ingram (1921)
For day 9 of Blogtober, I look back again at a completely obscure novel of the supernatural that came out in 1921, a rare gem that very few people have heard of! The author died young soon after the publication … Continue reading
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Larry Blamire’s Tales of the Callamo Mountains
For day 8 of Blogtober, let me share again a post about Larry Blamire’s sublime collection of Western horror stories, set in his unique setting of the haunted Callamo Mountains! Since the first collection came out, there has been a … Continue reading
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