Stranger Aeons
The Domain of Horror Writer Glynn Barrass
The King of Deadtown
The King of Deadtown is a 52-page A5-sized novella with a lovely cover by Allen Koszowski limited to just 150 signed copies. It is well-presented and would make a perfect present for the genre-fiction lover in your life and will be a must-have for anyone who enjoys Glynn’s work.
The story opens with an outbreak of disease in Iraq. Given the title, it will not be too great a surprise to learn that it is the sort of disease which doesn’t keep you down for long. People transform into cannibalistic ‘virums’, the term adopted by a society scared of using a word so blatantly apocalyptic as ‘zombie’. Now, telling you that this is a zombie story in the mould of Romero that includes a brief visit to a shopping mall in homage, you will be thinking “ah, a Dawn of the Dead rip-off”. It’s the obvious comparison and is an error. Glynn makes no apologies for the genre nor does he try to disguise it and pretend he is doing something different – he embraces the genre but also writes something different. I’d like to tell you more, but it would spoil the surprise.
Suffice to say, this is not a slavish retread of the zombie apocalypse genre. Glynn takes the familiar tropes and gives them a twist. Well worth reading. – The Supplement, Issue 42, September 2008 (DJ Tyrer)
Zombie Diva
“Zombie Diva written by Glynn Barrass with artwork by Lucas Hinchley. This is the only prose in the issue which can be read as a poem. I’m not normally into poems so much (although, after reading Murky Depths for a few issue, it is growing on me), but this is a blinder: strong words create horrific visions. ‘Back to the roots’ Murky Depths. The artwork is on a par with the poem, dark and horrific, and just a little bit (a lot?) sick. It’s probably why they have the normal lights so low, and the fluorescent lighting turned up in those strip clubs (so I’ve been told). Gruesome and horrific.” [Full Review] - Scifi UK Review (Richard Hawkins)
“Glynn Barrass' 'Zombie Diva' has a punch line that would give Bukowski nightmares.” [Full Review] - Rev. Edward Morris' Old-Time Gnostic Gospel Hour (Edward Norris)
““Zombie Diva” by Glynn Barrass is the only recognizable poem in this issue. If the purpose of a poem is to evoke a strong image, then this one succeeds well, even without the horrific artwork accompanying it.” [Full Review] – The Fix Short Fiction Review (Michele Lee)
“A seriously dark poem.” [Full Review] - SFRevu (Sam Tomaino)
