Anne Billson

This is the 27th review I’ve written for Carry on Screaming and it is the first for a book not written by a white man. That’s not on me. As you know, at Sci Fi and Scary we look to amplify diverse voices wherever we can. In 70s and 80s British horror though, the amount of diversity on offer was pretty slimmer than an After Eight mint. That probably isn’t surprising, but obviously it’s a shame. Especially as our first book by a female author is so much fun.
I owned a paperback copy of show more Suckers in the late 90s, but it was a book that never quite made it to the top of the to read pile. Rediscovering it 20 years later I wish it had, as I think I might have liked it even more if I'd read it in my 20s. It's a fast-paced, extremely engaging read that switches effortlessly from humorous to horrifying and packs in both contemporary (but still resonant) social commentary and a subtle take on the human condition that is beautifully honest.
Set in early 90s yuppie London, and populated with a cast of media types, it tells the story of the vanquishing of a powerful female vampire and her apparent reappearance a few years later. The protagonist, Dora, is as believable, likeable and sympathetic a lead as you could wish for, even when she is doing truly horrible things. Most notable, though, is the brilliant energy and sense of nihilism that Billson (and Dora) bring to the tale. There are traditional horror elements here, and Billson's vast knowledge of vampire lore and popular culture is abundantly clear, but at heart this is quite a punky book. Many of Dora's acts of civil disobedience reminded me of Tyler Darden from the later Fight Club and, at times, the (far cooler) hero of ‘Escape from New York’, Snake Plissken.
Even nearly 3 decades on from its original publication, ‘Suckers’ feels like a fresh take on the vampire legend. It’s more of a satire than a horror novel, but when the blood flows it flows freely and Billson’s love of the genre is evident on every page. It’s a novel with bite and balls and a refreshingly different addition to the Carry on Screaming list of recommended reads. show less

Another winner from the always entertaining Anne Billson, ‘The Coming Thing’ is a blackly comic blend of satire and horror that plays like a mix of ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ and ‘Final Destination’ co-directed by Chuck Jones and Alejandro Jodorowsky.
The story is a of an apparently immaculate conception that refuses to die no matter how many people try to terminate its mother and is told with a joy and verve that means there’s never a dull moment in this glorious, surreal ride of a show more book. Highlights being the frankly disgusting reminiscences of Jules Delgado and a wonderfully tense Grand Guignol musical scene. The late 90s London setting is brilliantly captured (complete with a load of amusingly named made up designers - Egon Spengler being my favourite) and populated with believable characters amidst all the craziness. Great fun, laugh out loud funny at times and gripping throughout. show less

A really entertaining and accomplished collection of short horror stories that reminded me of the pleasure that can come from a well told short as opposed to a novel.
Whilst the genre is definitely horror, there is a tonne of satire and black humour mixed in (as well as some slapstick) all of which works perfectly. Fans of Billson's excellent novels will definitely enjoy the collection, but anyone who likes the horror genre will find something to enjoy here.
My personal favourites were 'Paris show more When It Sizzles' which offers an enjoyable and stylish antidote to the normal po-faced, survivalist zombie claptrap; and the brilliantly conceived 'Born Again'. show less

This review first appeared on scifiandscary.com - the author provided a copy for review consideration
‘The Half Man’ by Anne Billson is a hard book to review because it’s so unlike most other things out there. It’s a witty, baudy, surreal, head trip of a book that mixes occultism and East End gangsters together with the kind of humour and great sense of character that Anne Billson shows in all her books. It helps that this one is also incredibly gory at times.
The book starts with a show more beautifully observed bit of stiff upper lip adventuring, with a British adventurer (think Indiana Jones played by Terry Thomas) infiltrating a European castle with his daughter and her fiancée. They’re searching for an arcane artefact which they find and take back to England. Years later, when the last of the trio dies, a bizarre cast of characters assemble at a weird country pub ‘The Half Man’, each of them trying to find the artefact for themselves. We have a sexy, shallow socialite, a rock star, a gangster, a gruff publican and more.
The set up feels a bit like the plot of one of those 60s or 70s movies that featured a superstar cast thrown together for spurious reasons. In fact, Billson explains in the postscript that the book did in fact start life as a screenplay. The backstory (as fun as it is) becomes kind of irrelevant as the colourful cast starts playing up and the events get weirder and weirder. The gangster, Vic, settles in as the main character, and his common sense view of world makes him an amusingly bewildered spectator as the story spins completely out of control. I don’t want to give away, because this is a book that needs to be enjoyed unspoiled. Let’s just say that it consistently surprised and delighted me with its utterly bizarre twists and turns. It’s not bizarro as such, but it’s definitely bloody odd. In the end it feels like a collaboration between ‘Evil Dead 2’ era Sam Raimi and surrealist Luis Bunuel.
Billson is an author that I think more people need to discover. Her books are consistently funny, imaginative and entertaining. They’re packed with pop culture references and her prose is lovely to read. ‘The Half Man’ is a great antidote to the formulaic nasties and creature features that make up so much of the genre nowadays. show less