The Dog Horn has released “Volwys & Other Stories” by some bloke called Douglas Thompson (!), supposedly “a darling of the indy presses” and “an undeniable master of his craft” (Chris Kelso, SF Signal). This book is Thompson’s eighth to hit the shelves and his second release from Dog Horn. Here’s the synopsis:
Two centuries from now, humans’ unchecked environmental pollution will have provoked a new ice age. Amid the ruins of the city of Volwys, a bio-dome is under construction to protect a privileged elite, while the peasants outside live in mediaeval squalor, facing gradual extinction as the planet cools. Only one man alive remembers our world, having been kept alive by genetic manipulation by the mysterious ‘cherubs’. The cherubs are frequent visitors at the court of the ruler: The Wolf King, who is guarded by bird-headed soldiers. Rrio is plagued by nightmares and visions as he attempts to uphold his odious regime by interrogation and torture. As his consciousness disintegrates, he comes to realise that the rebel leader each of his victims speaks of holds a fascination that may unlock the enigma of his own soul. This edition also includes nine acclaimed science fiction short stories published over the last ten years in magazines and anthologies.
Douglas Thompson’s short stories have appeared in a wide range of magazines and anthologies, most recently Ambit, Postscripts, and New Writing Scotland. He won the Grolsch/Herald Question of Style Award in 1989 and second prize in the Neil Gunn Writing Competition in 2007, and has been a director of the Scottish Writers Centre since 2011. His first book, ‘Ultrameta’, was published by Eibonvale Press in August 2009, nominated for the Edge Hill Prize, and shortlisted for the BFS Best Newcomer Award. His critically acclaimed second novel, ‘Sylvow’, was published in autumn 2010, also from Eibonvale. A third novel ‘Apoidea’ was released from The Exaggerated Press in 2011, a fourth ‘Mechagnosis’ from Dog Horn and a fifth ‘Entanglement’ from Elsewhen Press in Autumn 2012. In 2014 ‘The Rhymer’, ‘The Brahan Seer’ and ‘Volwys & Other Stories’ were published by Elsewhen Press, Acair Books, and Dog Horn respectively.
HorrorAddicts.net 