CALIFORNIA SORCERY: A GROUP CELEBRATION

Here's a book of magic, all right -- all right, dark magic -- and its contributors are, as the title implies, sorcerers of their craft. California Sorcery provides a virtual roll call of some of the most important names in the history of 20th-century horror, sci fi, and dark fantasy: Robert Bloch, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont -- just to name a few. And this is no reprint sham like we've seen too many times before; nine of the 12 stories were never-before-published! (The Bloch piece hasn't seen print in 50 years, and Harlan Ellison's piece is newly revised.)

We're talking the greats of the field, folks, guys who were writing high-octane tales of terror when Stephen King was still playing with toy soldiers. (King, in fact, has acknowledged a number of these authors as major influences.) In their day (though many are still actively writing) the contributors here were known in Hollywood as "The California School" or simply, "The Group"; they became a notorious creative coterie due to their sheer, indefatigable talent and, combined, helped brand the entertainment industry with some of the finest scripts, novels, and stories ever produced. Coeditor William Nolan says it best in his foreword: "The Group lives again in this book, brought together at last and for always..."

Matricidal decapitations, a camping trip with some haunting and
rite-passaging implications, sci fi in the Old West, graveyard ghosts and
philosophy, a spaceship with an appetite, a man who loses his memory and
someone else finds it -- these are just a few of the brilliant goings-on in this wonderful and important (and gorgeous!) limited edition. Plus, Christopher Conlon's introduction not only elucidates the importance of these men and their work but also provides a fascinating, in-depth biography.

If you revel in the best fiction being written today, this book will show
you where a whole lot of its spirit and inspiration came from. California Sorcery, in fact, is more than just an anthology; it's a celebration of dark
art conjured up by the masters of the form.

Let the conjuring begin.

—Edward Lee

Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Harlan Ellison, Charles Beaumont, Ray Russell: during the 1950s and '60s these legendary writers and others formed a SF powerhouse known as the California School or, more simply, the Group. Within their abundant novels, screenplays, television treatments and stories can be found the genesis of much of today's SF, fantasy and horror. In what is perhaps the first anthology dedicated to the Group's writing, Christopher Conlon provides a concise but comprehensive introduction to its history and its influences on the popular fantastic form, from literature to Roger Corman's films to The Twilight Zone. Informative headnotes from co-editors Nolan (himself a member of the Group) or Schafer preface each author's contribution. Nine of the 12 stories are previously unpublished--including Bradbury's "Pilgrimage," which recounts with sharp details a young man's visit to his cousin's grave ("There were more birds in the trees than leaves, it was that early in the year"). Unfortunately, the collection doesn't present the finest examples of Group work. The biggest disappointment is Russell's "The Way of a Man with a Maid," an excerpt from an unpublished Victorian romance that, with its giddy, steamy prose, departs from Russell's better-known writings. Nonetheless, most of the contributions are adequate and a few are jewels, such as Matheson's tale of a small-town postmistress who falls in love with a visiting writer; an excellent example of character study, "Always Before Your Voice" seamlessly moves from idyllic sweetness to eerie suspense. Sure to provoke a better understanding of these prolific authors, this anthology delivers cogent literary history and generally enjoyable fiction by master craftsmen. (Sept.)

Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information, Inc.