I'm currently reading
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 23 edited
by Stephen Jones in a vain attempt to inspire my own writing. I am
drawn to writing not so much traditional horror but uncanny fiction -
less screams but more a sense of being unsettled. However, a great deal
of horror fiction already appears to have taken that direction. One of
my favourite stories in the collection is Michael Marshall Smith's 'Sad,
Dark Thing' which is a truly unsettling tale about loss and emotional
suffering. What comes through many such stories is a sense of quiet
turmoil rather than abject terror. Not that I completely reject visceral
fear - we all need a damn good scare from time to time.
***
It's
been sometime since I've played War Machine and I'm starting to hanker
for a return to the tabletop. I'm keen to rediscover the rules and look
to create tactical plans which will lay waste to my enemies.
Translation: I'm looking forward to arguing over interpretations of
rules and trying to launch flanking maneuvers which ultimately end in
shameful defeat for my Menoth forces. Good times!
