Witchery Plus — Keith Chapman

Here are three novelettes that are eerie gems of fantasy in a classic tradition. BLACK ART IN VYONES and WILDBLOOD AND THE WITCH WIFE both feature characters with unsuspected origins in the darkest reaches of the unknown. NIGHT HOWL is set in more contemporary times but has no fewer chilling thrillls. The author's introduction describes how the stories came to be written, and discusses developments over the years in the field of weird fiction.Charles R. Rutledge, popular author of Horror, Sword and Sorcery, and Heroic Fantasy, writes: A treat for fans of Weird Tales style fiction! Something sadly missing from much of today's fiction is good story telling. Writer Keith Chapman knows how to tell a story and how to make you keep reading. Plus, he also knows a thing or two about writers like Clark Ashton Smith and Robert E. Howard. The first story in this book takes place in Smith's Averoigne and manages to capture the feel of CAS's tales of that mythical French province. As a fan of sword and sorcery, the second story is my favorite. It involves a Conan style adventurer named Wildblood and his monk sidekick, and there are swords and sorcery aplenty. If you like REH, CAS and HPL, you'll enjoy these tales.James Reasoner, New York Times bestselling author, writes: I've been reading and enjoying Keith Chapman's Westerns written under the name Chap O'Keefe for several years, but Witchery proves that he does a top-notch job with other genres as well. After an interesting introduction that addresses the genesis of the tales, he produces a fine Clark Ashton Smith pastiche set in Smith's evil-haunted French province Averoigne. A young protagonist, a beautiful blonde, and a sinister femme fatale give this tale a slight noirish feel. In the second novelette, Chapman ventures into sword-and-sorcery territory featuring a very likable pair of adventurers reminiscent of Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. It's set in historical England rather than a fantasy world, but there's still plenty of sorcery and action. These are excellent stories and I'm looking forward to more fantasy from Chapman.