Wednesday 31 July 2019

A Distasteful Horror Story by Johnny Mains reviewed in Phantasmagoria Magazine #11

The next issue of Phantasmagoria Magazine will contain a review of Johnny Mains' A Distasteful Horror Story:


A DISTASTEFUL HORROR STORY by Johnny Mains

Review by Trevor Kennedy for Phantasmagoria Magazine.
 

The narrator of this very darkly humorous novel is a horror fanboy - a huge fanboy, in fact. Especially for the British literary scene, excitedly attending as many of the conventions as possible with an enthusiastic glee. He’s been an obsessive collector of horror-related books, film props and other memorabilia all his life, growing up in the 1980s binging on Video Nasties and other related pastimes. All set to the backdrop and trauma of his girlfriend’s brutal murder at the hands of her father when they were mere teenagers, naturally. The Wonder Years, this is not (thankfully!).
The man at the centre of things is looking back upon his life so far - from the highs (interviewing Stephen King for Fear magazine and hanging out with other genre stars), to the lows (errr… let’s just say they’re pretty graphic and crazy) - from the comfort of his relatively new home, a prison cell where he is spending some time at Her Majesty’s pleasure for a little incident that resulted in him murdering the popular (and fictional) horror author, Carson Fisher. But as this reflective plot develops, it turns out that Carson is not quite the hero the narrator once thought he was and a revenge plan is soon on the cards. I mean, what would you do?
This book is a fascinating read on many levels so I’ll try my best to convey this without losing myself somewhat. Bear with me.
First and foremost, it works as an outright (very) dark comedy/revenge/horror story, at times rather extreme and almost flirting with the bizarro sub-genre. Fans of this type of material will enjoy it for that reason alone, especially if you have as warped a sense of humour as I do (it’s only fiction, people - calm down!). But there is a lot more to it than just that.
Admittedly, I often have a habit of personalising my reviews, and it’s one I’m conscientiously trying to break, but it is totally necessary in this case. Murder and much other nasty stuff aside, I actually found myself relating to a lot of what the ‘anti-hero’ in the prison cell is recounting, especially the nostalgic tributes to 1980s non-mainstream childhood pastimes, like the under-appreciated magic of VHS, watching obscure foreign films late at night on Channel 4, old horror anthology paperbacks, and more. The fact that the author and I were born in the same year and (presumably) have similar interests dating back to our younger days, is, of course, an obvious factor in me liking and ‘getting’ this book more than perhaps people with more mainstream interests will. But it’s not a mainstream book anyway, so my point here is sort of a moot one.
I also found myself smiling broadly at the narrator’s rants about modern life, especially certain aspects of social media. This book is arguably even in part an angry satire of twenty-first century life, Brett Easton Ellis-style, Johnny Mains looking back on those halcyon days of his youth through the eyes of his character, rose-tinted glasses affixed (maybe).
Another really enjoyable aspect of this book is how Mains blends real-life people and names within the genre community into his tale alongside his fictional creations like Carson Fisher, in a very humorous meta manner. They’re all there - Stephen King, Stephen Jones, Ramsey Campbell, Les Edwards, Harlan Ellison, Tanith Lee etc. And when the main character lands a job at Fear magazine, it really did bring a grin to my face.

Additionally, along with the extreme violence and horror, there are also some very well-observed digs at fandom in general, and other pop culture staples (Jimmy Savile included!). The picture it paints of prison life is remarkably accurate and well-researched (I think!) as well.
This book is never going to be everyone’s cup of tea - it is niche in quite a few ways - but so what? It wasn’t written to have a broad appeal anyway. Aficionados of the British genre scene (and the scene as a whole) will generally love it, and I include myself in that category too, of course.
It’s a read that is rather hard to put down, with all its erratic, deranged madness, brutal murders, horror lore references, and savage commentary on a plethora of issues.

Friday 19 July 2019

A Distasteful Horror Story by Johnny Mains now available on Kindle

We are pleased to announce that Johnny Mains' A Distasteful Horror Story is now available on Kindle.

Amazon UK £5.00

Amazon USA $6.27


Ginger Nuts of Horror reviews A Distasteful Horror Story

https://gingernutsofhorror.com/fiction-reviews/a-distasteful-horror-story-by-johnny-mains-book-review

"A Distasteful Horror Story is an unusual and audacious debut novel, combining Mains’ love of genre with a rollocking and twisty narritive and a payoff that will, I’m sure, be hotly debated for some time to come. I found it to be a disturbing joy to read."

To read the full review click on this link.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0993288804

Thursday 18 July 2019

A Distasteful Horror Story by Johnny Mains is now available on Amazon

A Distasteful Horror Story by Johnny Mains is now available to order on amazon, price £11.99.

"A darkly humorous, satirical look at the tight-knit world of horror writers - and their fans. Contains no scenes of violence against actual books, only their authors”Johnny Mains has been prominent in the horror genre ever since his 2010 debut anthology, Back from the Dead: The Legacy of the Pan Book of Horror Stories, which won the British Fantasy Award in 2011 for best anthology. Mains has been at the forefront of the UK’s new wave of horror, editing Best British Horror (Salt Publishing and NewCon Press), Dead Funny: Horror Stories by Comedians (edited with Robin Ince), and The Screaming Book of Horror.Mains has also written several collections of his own stories: With Deepest Sympathy (2010), Frightfully Cosy and Mild Stories for Nervous Types (2012) and A Little Light Screaming (2015).Mains has also written the introduction to Stephen King’s 30th anniversary edition of Thinner, and has discovered ‘lost’ works of fiction by Algernon Blackwood, Edith Nesbit and Daphne Du Maurier.
"Johnny Mains is the Herbert van Thal of our age" - The Independent
"Mains' knowledge of fantastical fiction is enormous" - Robin Ince
"Mains is the Minister For Horror" - Charlie Higson"

Amazon UK £11.99
Amazon USA $15.99

Tuesday 16 July 2019

A Distasteful Horror Story by Johnny Mains

Cover artwork: David Whitlam
Started the process to get A Distasteful Horror Story by Johnny Mains published within the next few days. Providing there are no unexpected glitches the book should be available in paperback on amazon later this week, priced £11.99.

"A darkly humorous, satirical look at the tight-knit world of horror writers - and their fans. Contains no scenes of violence against actual books, only their authors”

Johnny Mains has been prominent in the horror genre ever since his 2010 debut anthology, Back from the Dead: The Legacy of the Pan Book of Horror Stories, which won the British Fantasy Award in 2011 for best anthology. Mains has been at the forefront of the UK’s new wave of horror, editing Best British Horror (Salt Publishing and NewCon Press), Dead Funny: Horror Stories by Comedians (edited with Robin Ince), and The Screaming Book of Horror.
 

Mains has also written several collections of his own stories: With Deepest Sympathy (2010), Frightfully Cosy and Mild Stories for Nervous Types (2012) and A Little Light Screaming (2015).
Mains has also written the introduction to Stephen King’s 30th anniversary edition of Thinner, and has discovered ‘lost’ works of fiction by Algernon Blackwood, Edith Nesbit and Daphne Du Maurier.
 

"Johnny Mains is the Herbert van Thal of our age" - The Independent
"Mains' knowledge of fantastical fiction is enormous" - Robin Ince
"Mains is the Minister For Horror" - Charlie Higson"

Tuesday 9 July 2019

An extract from A Distasteful Horror Story by Johnny Mains

From A Distasteful Horror Story by Johnny Mains, due out from Parallel Universe Publications soon:
"Our biggest score was Ramsey Campbell. I was gutted, as was he. It was the worst day of my life, but Carson had him targeted, but didn’t think that he would ever have been able to take him down on his own. We took him down at a convention of all bloody places, the most stupid, and riskiest thing we could have ever done. Ramsey, in a rare move, was alone, his wife did not accompany him on this trip, for whatever reason. He was, by all accounts, having a rare old time of it – he was there to pick up a lifetime achievement award; he even mentioned Carson in his speech, prompting the audience to give Carson a round of applause. That, at least, gave Carson safety when it came to the police questioning everyone. Nobody would ever think that he would have ever wanted to kill anyone."

Monday 8 July 2019

A Distasteful Horror Story by Johnny Mains


Parallel Universe Publications will very shortly be publishing the paperback and ebook versions of Johnny Mains' satirical horror novel, A Distasteful Horror Story. I've just requested a proof copy and, provided there are no unexpected glitches to it, the book will be available within the next couple of weeks.
The book's cover is the work of artist David Whitlam. It also has an introduction by Reginald Oliver.