Does anyone have any recommendations for the English author John Gordon?

[njhorror]

I know he's listed as a writer of adolescent fiction, but his stories seem quite good for adults, as well.

I'm interested in his short-story collections, and any input on his novels.



Thank you.

[njhorror]

I see that Medusa Press put out a large collection of his supernatural short stories. I wonder if they're still in business?

[ChildofOldLeech]

- I absolutely recommend John Gordon; he is perhaps the greatest writer in the Jamesian tradition of supernatural fiction alive today. Although his work all falls under the rubric of 'young adult', it neither condescends to the reader nor shirks from being frightening. My personal favorite is Gordon's first novel, The Giant Under the Snow, a 'young people getting involved in ancient struggle between good and evil' dark fantasy not dissimilar from Alan Garner's early books and Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising sequence, but in my opinion superior to these; not least from the genuinely 'weird' tone Gordon's writing possesses. Also notable is Gordon's genuine love for the fens of Great Britain, as captured by his incredibly atmospheric recreations of that country, and his psychological characterizations of adolescent protagonists rings true and occasionally, poignant.
-In later books the Jamesian influence becomes overt; Gilray's Ghost and The House on the Brink are both excellent, while The Flesh Eater, while unable to capture the promise held in the combination of its title and a cover featuring a blind dessicated lich, is still well worth reading. I believe only one thin volume of his short fiction has been released into the US, and while all included were capable ghost stories, I found them to fall quite short of his longer work.

[njhorror]

Thanks

The reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, etc., are pretty positive and those novels come up as favorites, especially The Giant Under the Snow.

The Medusa Press collection, LEFT IN THE DARK, appeals to me, because it contains thirty of his supernatural short-stories, and offers a print run of five hundred of which fifty are signed.

A number of his novels sound interesting, so I'm definitely going to give him a try.

[yellowish haze]

The recommendation that drew my attention to the collection from Medusa was one from Karl Edward Wagner: "John Gordon's precise control of his fiction and his mastery of the English language are unequalled since the death of Robert Aikman."

I know these are the qualities for which I admire Aickman's fiction, but I still need to read more from this collection to be able to second Wagner's praise.

[njhorror]

I see that Medusa still has copies if anyone is interested.

http://medusapress.com/