The Godsend - Sweetheart, Sweetheart - This Is Midnight (Matching #'d Set)

This is for a Matching Numbered Set of the following titles:

The Godsend

As Centipede Press continues their program of publishing classic genre novels from the past in the spectacular format that they merit, they turn to the works of British author Bernard Taylor who exploded onto the scene with the 1976 release of The Godsend (published simultaneously by Souvenir Press in the U.K. and St. Martin’s in the U.S.). Tales of xenogenesis have been a sub-genre of horror fiction for many, many years with notable examples including such landmark pieces of fiction as Ray Bradbury’s “The Small Assassin” among many others. 

From the introduction of the foundling “Bonnie” to the Marlowe family to the novel’s conclusion, Bernard Taylor demonstrates a remarkable gift for pacing, and subtly builds layer upon layer of tension and discomfort. We can only watch helplessly as an inexorable doom stalks the four Marlowe children while the parents are incapable of protecting them. While the parallels between “Bonnie’s” actions and the real-life behavior of the cuckoo are more than a touch obvious, it is Taylor’s skillful building horror upon horror without ever resorting to overt violence and gore that renders this short novel such a classic of the field. When your debut novel is selected by the legendary Charles L. Grant as his pick for inclusion inHorror: 100 Best Books, you are definitely doing something right. 

Limited to only 250 copies signed by the author, introducer, and cover artist, the book has a ribbon marker and full color endpapers.

Edition Specifications

• Limited to 250 copies, each signed by Bernard Taylor, Bev Vincent and Lisa Desimini.
• Introduction by Bev Vincent.
• Reprints of original paperback and hardcover jackets, in color.
• Ribbon marker, head and tail bands, deboss stamp on front board.

Sweetheart, Sweetheart

One year after publishing his startling debut novel The Godsend,Bernard Taylor followed it up with Sweetheart, Sweetheart, a longer, more richly complex tale of ghostly romance. Always a popular theme, and so outstanding that it was picked for inclusion in Horror: Another Hundred Best Books by the late, great Charles L. Grant. Generally recognized as the foremost American author of the ghost story, Mr. Grant called it “The best ghost story that I have ever read, and am ever likely to read!”

This chilling tale unfolds as David Warwick, expatriate Englishman residing in New York, has a premonition of doom involving his twin brother Colin. Rushing back to England, Warwick is too late, as both his brother and his lovely wife have died sudden, shocking deaths. The villagers are reluctant to share much in the way of information. They seemingly know more than they are telling, but how much more? A lengthy novel of well over 300 pages, Sweetheart, Sweetheart provides ample room for Taylor to slowly build to a crescendo of horror that will leave readers spent as they’ve just been dragged through an emotional wringer by one of the finest craftsman our genre has ever produced. 

Limited to only 250 copies signed by the author, introducer, and cover artist, the book has a ribbon marker and full color endpapers. Despite simultaneous publication in both the U.S.A. and Great Britain, Sweetheart, Sweetheart has been unavailable in hardcover for forty years, resulting in high prices on the secondary market.

Edition Specitications

• Limited to 250 copies, each signed by Bernard Taylor and Lisa Desimini, with a facsimile signature by Charles L. Grant.
• Introduction by Charles L. Grant.
• Reprints of original paperback and hardcover jackets, in color.
• Ribbon marker, head and tail bands, deboss stamp on front board.

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This Is Midnight

With the 1976 publication of the novel version of The Godsend,Bernard Taylor quickly established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the horror genre. Over the next two decades he produced a number of notable novels. However, rather than launch our Bernard Taylor program with one of his classic novels, we’re going to begin with a very special volume indeed: This is Midnight is a complete collection of the author’s short horror fiction to date. Starting with the short-story version of The Godsend in 1973, Taylor quickly became a favorite of acclaimed editor Mary Danby, who was soon to be followed by noted editors Peter Haining and Charles L. Grant who also were eager to include his stories in their anthologies and finally with his most recent tale appearing in Johnny Mains’ 2012 anthology The Screaming Book of Horror. 
      Two things to look forward to when a novelist turns their hand to short fiction is how are they going to handle characterization and pacing. Obviously, the writer faces a challenge that isn’t present at novel length where there is plenty of space to slowly paint a picture of the character, gradually providing details until the full character is ready to step off the page. Taylor is a master of showing rather than telling and he manages to breathe life into his characters in just a few pages. As for pacing, all too often when a novelist turns their hand to short fiction the result seems cramped and rushed as they are unused to working with the economy of the short form. Bernard Taylor ably demonstrates that this change in venue presents no obstacle for him. He’s always been a master of sustaining tension over the length of a novel and in this volume proves repeatedly that he is just as comfortable with the short form as he is with the novel.
      Weighing in at over two hundred pages, this exquisite edition of This is Midnight contains all thirteen of the author’s short stories published to date as well as a new introduction specially written for this edition by Mr. Taylor. It is limited to 250 copies for sale and is signed by Taylor and cover artist Lisa Desimini.

Edition Specifications

• Limited to 250 copies, each signed by Bernard Taylor and Lisa Desimini.
• New introduction by Bernard Taylor.
• All of Bernard Taylor’s short fiction collected in one volume.
• Includes stories never before published.
• Ribbon marker, head and tail bands, deboss stamp on front board.

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