‘I would urge you to check both Blaylock and [Tim] Powers out if you haven’t already, as what we get here is another fantastic treat… Blaylock delivers a tale that is fun, fast and as furious as the storm that is gathering, populated by a great cast of main and supporting characters, ingenious plotting, a well-rounded sense of place, punctuated by desperate measures, dastardly deeds and a seasoning of black humour, oh, and a cute dog, which all adds up to an entertaining read. If you haven’t read Blaylock before – and he has published novels regularly since the early 1980s – this might be the perfect place.’ — British Fantasy Society

‘A new novel from Blaylock is a major occasion… With PENNIES, Blaylock is back in contemporary times, in the setting he loves so deeply and limns so well, small-town California… authentic pathos, romance, and comedy… The supernatural elements in the book are vital and well done (the eventual capture of the ghost is colorful and ingenious), but the spook stuff takes a backseat to the human dynamics, the caper aspect and the interpersonal hijinks. Blaylock has always had an affection for eccentrics, misfits and visionaries, and while Jane and Jerry are more “normal” and wholesome than his typical cast, they qualify as non-whitebread souls. As for Phibbs, Blaylock succeeds in creating a true monster. PENNIES is very cinematic… until Hollywood smartens up and drops bushels of money on Blaylock, you can run this great screwball caper as often as you want, in your own head!’ — Locus

‘Lingering ghosts and buried treasure populate this corner of southern California, lending a wild-west vibe to a modern-day tale. Typically, the sun is scorching and the weather breathlessly hot but, in this story, a once-in-a-hundred-years storm follows an earthquake to release all kinds of spooky stuff. The novel lobs adventure and action from the first page… PENNIES FROM HEAVEN is a gripping mash-up of mystery, history, thriller and horror. Expect conspirators, murderers, fraudsters, charlatans and unquiet spirits among the cheerful co-op gardeners… Blaylock weaves these diverse strands with effortless skill, painting people and landscapes with the authentic touch of long familiarity. You can almost smell the desert, the wet wind, and that very malicious ghost.’ — Clare Rhoden, Aurealis #161

‘Blaylock is a master of the period piece, easily capturing a Doyle-esque voice that serves his Holmes-adjacent hero well… this collection is a concise introduction to St. Ives and a handsome volume for any steampunk fan.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘Accompanied by a cast of charming friends and allies, St. Ives faces a series of absurd dangers… The five stories in this collection (two new and three already published) treat readers to an amusing excess of genre-pleasing details — the plucky orphan assistant, gemstone-powered madness rays, a hot air balloon, the subterranean lair of an evil genius… a pleasurable entertainment. St. Ives is a very Holmes-ian hero and an enjoyable one, but his supporting cast, including Jack Owlesby, the Watson-like faithful chronicler, often provides the emotional anchor… A collection of enjoyable and cheerfully unsubtle adventures in the company of an endearing cast of characters.’ — Kirkus

‘Blaylock is a magician!’ — Michael Swanwick

‘James P Blaylock has been underpublished on this side of the Atlantic, a state of affairs Titan are addressing with THE AYLESFORD SKULL (£7.99), the first of three titles by one of the founders of the steampunk genre… Blaylock throws in all the furniture of the genre: derring-do and cliffhangers, a vivid portrayal of Victorian London, a gallery of grotesque characters and the obligatory airship, but the strength of the novel is his rendering of St Ives caught between his love of the chase and his commitment to family.’ — Guardian

‘St. Ives has to be one of the most fleshed out Victorian characters ever written, and I’m sincerely hoping that Blaylock isn’t finished with this scientist adventurer. THE AYLESFORD SKULL can easily stand alone without any knowledge of Blaylock’s previous steampunk stories, but you’ll want to hunt down additional St. Ives tales, I’m for certain.’ — Wired.com

‘I never found it less than gripping. In fact I sped through it in just two sittings. I especially enjoyed the way Blaylock split his heroes up and had them all working vaguely towards the same end, while having no clear idea where the others were, or what they were up to. Even so, he managed to keep a tight control on who was where and when, so that the action ties up properly in the end… Narbondo is deranged, as all such villains should be. His plot to overthrow the throne and government would leave even the likes of Fu Manchu speechless. Off-the wall doesn’t cover it… The climactic scenes are spectacular to say the least, and I found it hard not to visualise it in terms of a Hollywood Blockbuster.’ — British Fantasy Society

‘Blaylock’s prose is so rich it literally stings!’ — Charles de Lint

‘… a perfect starting point for people interested in the two-fisted adventures of the Royal Society… In the hands of a lesser author, this would open the book up to the exact claims of romanticising imperialism that dog a lot of steampunk’s heels. However, Blaylock’s far too talented for that, using St Ives’ status as window dressing for a story which is far more personal than it first appears to be… There’s also a nice touch of the science vs. spiritualism debate that would become overt some time after the book is set, making the appearance of a young Arthur Doyle not only welcome but a neat bridge between the two worlds, given Doyle’s fascination with spiritualism in later life… Blaylock is clearly a lover of classic serials as the book has more cliffhangers per square inch than anything I’ve read in a long time… This leads to a couple of action sequences which are shown to you from multiple angles, the consequences of one group’s actions being shown in another’s chapter before being fully explained. It’s a great technique, very simple, very effective and incredibly useful for ramping up tension. Blaylock doesn’t pull any punches either: the fights in the book are as desperate, scrabbling and bloody as they can be, each showing just how evil, how depraved Doctor Narbondo is. He’s also quite happy to deploy some of the steampunk classics, and the finale, which involves an airship, a thunderstorm, an unusually creative science experiment and a prominent section of London is real white-knuckled, edge of the seat stuff. This is steampunk at full power and it’s a heady, thrilling read as a result. Packed with high adventure, mad science and derring do, THE AYLESFORD SKULL is a perfect place to start the Langdon St Ives books and, with Titan re-releasing the other books in the series, there’s plenty to keep you and St Ives busy. Which is, I suspect, just how he likes it.’ — SFX

‘Among the acknowledged originators of the [steampunk] form, James P. Blaylock is one of the best-known, and his latest offering, THE AYLESFORD SKULL (Titan Books) shows him at the top of his game… [a] rousing yarn reads like something that could have been serialized in The Strand at the end of the 19th century. Not for nothing does one of its supporting characters turn out to be a young Conan Doyle… Blaylock keeps the action – a series of near fatal encounters and escapes – diverse enough to keep you reading… His period details and non-ironic use of 19th-century imagineering (Is there an airship in the story? Of course there is!) prove engaging, while his straight-faced heroes and more-than-dastardly villains are colorful and distinct. Though at core a peril-packed actioner, [it] also displays a concern with the nature of family and friendship, which also provides much of the book’s heart. And when young Eddie also effects his own (short-term) escape, you can’t help cheering for the little scrapper.’ — Seattle Post Intelligencer

‘From start to finish a truly immaculate story… an amazing, gripping and brilliant read… a piece of art. James P. Blaylock has created a truly magical story, where most authors who write steampunk go for a direction of a more bold and brash steampunk setting, he takes on another route by writing a more-or-less common story but elevating it with hints of steampunk and a supernatural aspect… It is a great story fully accented by enough hints of steampunk and magic.’ — Fantasy Book Review (Book of the Month)

‘… stands out as a novel of some puissance, a potency that encourages a reflection and demands attention… strong occult flavor… The novel has plenty of twists turns and lots of action, enough to keep even the most flighty of attentions firmly fixed – chases, fights, explosions and of course kidnappings all add to the rich, vibrant story… richly detailed characters – especially that of Langdon himself who appears as a mix of Sherlock Holmes and Indiana Jones, with a witty and philosophical air that is quite a delight… The subtle humour at play through the novel works incredibly well and some of the dialogue between characters (notably between Langdon and his Wife Alice) is simply inspired… This slightly over-the-top bad guy actually works much better than I would have expected and is the perfect Moriarty counterpart to Langdon’s Holmes. The more you read the more you come to appreciate this subtle Steampunk setting, including the well described juxtaposition of the class system that played a large part in Victorian era London. The gentile and elegant lives contrast sharply with the filthy streets and savage inhabitants of the grimy Spitalfields area creating a realistic edge that helps to ground the story… a fast, rich and thoughtful thriller that is as different as it is clever and as bold as it is beautiful.’ — SF Book Review

‘Populated by pirates, elves, and leviathans, the book is no mere battle of good versus evil; it’s a triumph of imagination over greed.’ — LA Magazine

‘From the tunnels and alehouses of London to the marshes and rivers of the surrounding countryside, Blaylock whisks the reader along through an all-immersive and atmospheric adventure… Every time I opened this book, I could hear the rustle of wind through the trees, I could smell the rivers, I could feel the cobblestones under my feet… This is rock solid storytelling in Victorian England, with some airships and specialized pistols thrown in for good measure. The plot is so fast-paced, it’s amazing he’s able to cram in as many details as there are. This doesn’t at all feel like a 400 page book.’ — Little Red Reviewer

‘… rollicking good yarn. It’s a steampunk adventure filled with plenty of swash and buckle, fast-paced action and dastardly deeds. Set in Victorian England with a touch of the supernatural, this book will transport you to a different world. Although the historical aspects are understated, the sense of time and place is really clear… St. Ives is a wonderful character, with his sense of adventure and curiosity tempered by his obvious affection for his wife and children… Dr. Ignacio Narbondo is deliciously evil… a fast-paced novel from beginning to end, with events rapidly flowing from one frightful situation to the next… a really enjoyable read, with plenty of action and a good sense of humour. It is a solid steampunk adventure that will keep you entertained for hours.’ — SF Crowsnest

‘This latest offering is a return to the series character Langdon St. Ives who first saw the light of day in 1984 and has been continuing his battle with Dr Ignacio Narbondo ever since. As one of his longer novels, I can report an author maturing in control of style and subject matter. This is a master class in how to write whatever it is he writes… reminds us you should never write off an old warhorse if there are still battles to fight… a wonderful recreation of a Victorian London as seen through a lens situated in Edwardian times and refocused so the language and sensibilities match our own… a wonderful sense of London as it might have been with airship technology just coming into its own and the supernatural augmented by the power of electricity without any of the rampant sexism and racism that would offend us today. The whole is a rollicking old-style adventure story of derring-do as a cohort of the good led by St Ives take on a battalion of the bad led by the evil genius Narbondo. As you would expect, there are fights, chases and explosions as battle is joined. Narbondo has kidnapped the hero’s young son and is plotting an attack on the throne and general mayhem. The game’s afoot as some might say!’ — San Francisco/Sacramento Book Review

‘A very engrossing book, it is a real page turner which will appeal to anyone who likes urban fantasy/steam punk. Blaylock manages to bring his creation to life, so that you can really smell it and feel you are present in it.  This is not a book which can be read in short stages – it grabs you and forces you to keep reading, until the very last page is read and all questions answered.’ — Monsters & Critics

‘Everything in here works as a stand-alone yarn. One of the great joys to me of this book was Blaylock’s writing. The prose often reminded me of the best of those turn of the century writers. It was elegant and refined but never stuffy and awkward.  He is defintely a writer I will be following in the future, just as St. Ives is a character I definitely want to revist.’ — NerdBloggers

‘James P. Blaylock is one of the founders of steampunk. He’s the reason there’s a steampunk costume of every comic book character in existence (seemingly). But is his new novel good enough to justify the praise? Well… Yes, to be blunt.’ — TrashMutant

‘Blaylock allows us to see the mundane world through new eyes, to perceive the familiar as strange, and therefore exciting.’ — Charles de Lint

‘Nerve-wrenching, deeply moving, and sparked with comic touches… brilliantly achieved.’ — Locus (1992)

‘For those who came in late, these books follow the exploits of Langdon St. Ives and his hunchbacked nemesis, the vile Dr. Narbondo. The two have a very Holmes/Moriarty type relationship, and their weapons of choice involve the whole of Victorian-era science-that-should-not-be. And this is the part that holds up, but not the way you think. Imagine, if you will, that you’re a learned individual in the late 1800s. If you can wrap your head around that concept, the scientific techno-babble of the age will make perfect sense to you, probably eliciting a curt nod and a silent exclamatory, “Of course!” From the 21st century perspective, it’s all complete and utter nonsense, and it will cause the reader to have many “WHAT?!” moments as things are explained. Don’t let that deter you; it really is part of the fun. Just go with it, and you’ll find yourself laughing and pulled along for the ride. These books are not about hard science, just the delusion of hard science as the Victorians would explain it. You get one of the best literary villains that’s never seen a screen translation, you get zombies in a way you don’t expect (refreshing in this day and age!), and you get rockets. Put it all together in your head. Go ahead, I’ll wait. See that? It’s not science if it’s not MAD science! Fun, right? And that’s what steampunk has been about from the beginning. It’s not about historical fact, it’s about historical fantasy and all that implies, delivered straight from one of the founding fathers of the genre. Once the setup is in place, the action flows accordingly. It’s the kind of story you just don’t seem to find too often in popular fiction these days, between the grimdark, oppressed volumes that line the book store shelves. As far as I’m concerned, more like this are always welcome regardless of when they’re written. Thanks to the reprints of these novels from Titan Books, the adventure lives again for a new generation. I can’t recommend them enough if you love a good steampunk story like I do.’ — SciFi Fix (Review of both LORD KELVIN’S MACHINE & HOMUNCULUS)

‘Overall, I’d say that this is another great story… Imagery remains startlingly realistic, and you can expect to read about your favourite characters, with all of their little quirks. This has become my most loved series and I am happily recommending it to any friend that I believe would find as much joy as I do in this series. So if you are into this genre, or just into good books, I highly recommend that you buy a copy of one of Blaylock’s novels but make sure that when you first open the book you have set aside enough time to read several chapters, because you just won’t want to put it down, ever. I’m a little sad that I haven’t had any more of his books to read, but I’m sure I can find a short story of his in my local book shop, so that is probably the next step.’ — NerdCabinet

‘St. Ives’s journey through time is very well handled, at once playful and thoughtful’ — Publishers Weekly

‘The world of Blaylock’s books feels fresh in large part because it is actually less invented than many steampunk stories to come later: the London of Langdon St. Ives is, for the most part, 19th-century London, but with things just slightly off, and our scientist hero St. Ives sometimes interacts with real people… LORD KELVIN’S MACHINE features a St. Ives who is both directionless and single-minded in his attempts to track down Narbondo. It’s a tricky balance that Blaylock pulls off, and nowhere better than in the middle section, when the third-person narrative breaks apart to make space for a supporting character’s first-person account of events. Seeing St. Ives — and all the strange machinations of the plot — through the eyes of someone who doesn’t understand where the hero’s head is, or why anything is happening, improves the character work. It also breathes even more life into the world that these books inhabit and, paradoxically, forces the story to make a lot more sense… There are parts of the last third of [LKM] that are fascinating and affecting. There are events that turn normal story structure and time travel conventions onto their heads in extremely satisfying ways… unerringly clear and vivid in their setting, and often wittily acerbic in their prose. The slightly sideways Earth of Langdon St. Ives feels very lived in, and strangely comforting, so I never really got tired of exploring it. I can only imagine how it must have felt to spend time there when these books were new.’ — Bookgasm

‘The wry sense of humor and the delight in small human foibles are perfectly in place, but the stories are both pure steampunk… Blaylock’s peculiar sensibilities are fully intact. His unique blend of weird characters and nearly supernatural events are exaggerated in the Victorian setting. In HOMUNCULUS and LORD KELVIN’S MACHINE, Blaylock is fully determined that both he and the reader are just going to have fun. Even without all this deluxe packaging, that would be the case; but if you’re going to have fun, why not go all the way? That’s the kind of question that Blaylock himself might ask, and these three books are an excellent answer to that question.’ — Trashotron (dual review of HOMUNCULUS and LORD KELVIN’S MACHINE)

‘… [a] compelling novel… takes the reader on an adventure against time and shows us the true power of love and devotion even in the face of evil and destruction. The book is a must-read…’ — Dread Central

‘… the fastest, funniest, and most colorful and grotesquely horrifying novel that could ever be written about Victorian London.’ — Tim Powers

‘… every page is crammed with evidence of Blaylock’s feverishly Gothic imagination. Think Charles Dickens by way of Mervyn Peake and M. John Harrison, and you’ll have some notion of what’s in store. The wheels of the plot spin manically fast, but at the same time the weight of description makes everything feel as if it’s happening in slow motion. That might sound like a criticism, but the effect is strangely impressive and nightmarish. A steampunk Titus Groan.’ — Starburst

‘I absolutely love this book. I picked it up and, although I was initially a little sceptical of the idea of a ghostly airship, I soon became completely absorbed into the deep and exciting story… easy to read as a stand alone novel and due to this fact, even though I haven’t read the prequel book I could easily keep up with the wide variety of characters and plot lines… Imagery is used once more, to blow any reader’s mind completely out of their perceived realms of possibility. I couldn’t help but fall in love with the portrait of London that Blaylock has once again moulded with terrific use of words. I am now used to zoning out of the real world and into the fantasy world of Professor St.Ives, as this seems to happen whenever I pick up one of Blaylock’s novels…  be prepared to be lost in the wonderful world of Langdon St.Ives.’ — Nerd Cabinet

‘I found HOMUNCULUS entertaining, with its cast of Victorian characters and ingenious contraptions making me smile. It’s a book that makes you cheer for the good guys and will give your imagination a great workout.’ — SF Crowsnest

‘In a foggy Victorian London riddled with crazy inventors, weird science and bizarre intrigues, a bunch of colourful personages (including a brilliant toymaker, an ex-sea captain, a hunchbacked re-animator of corpses and an evangelist with a team of zombie henchmen working for him) vie to be in possession of four mysterious boxes, one of which is said to contain the homunculus of the title – a tiny alien who crash landed to Earth many years before and who has been influencing minds and events ever since. That box, though, is currently out of reach – believed to be on board a ghost airship helmed by a skeleton that sails periodically over the smoggy skies of the capital. It’s a startling image, but only one of many in a novel whose every page is crammed with evidence of Blaylock’s feverishly Gothic imagination. Think Charles Dickens by way of Mervyn Peake and M. John Harrison, and you’ll have some notion of what’s in store. The wheels of the plot spin manically fast, but at the same time the weight of description makes everything feel as if it’s happening in slow motion. That might sound like a criticism, but the effect is strangely impressive and nightmarish. A steampunk Titus Groan.’ — Starburst Magazine

‘… begins with the most classic of steampunk imagery: an airship flying over London. But this ship is extremely creepy, piloted by a skeleton, and very mysterious, scaring the hell out of everyone who sees it. It all works because Blaylock is absolutely a master of atmosphere… most every character in the novel has a fascinating quirk or hook… HOMUNCULUS is an entertaining ride through a bizarre London that feels fresh even now, when we’re at full steampunk capacity… unerringly clear and vivid in their setting, and often wittily acerbic in their prose. The slightly sideways Earth of Langdon St. Ives feels very lived in, and strangely comforting, so I never really got tired of exploring it. I can only imagine how it must have felt to spend time there when these books were new.’ — Bookgasm

‘I welcomed the re-release of these novels, as my own copies had quite literally fallen apart. It also provided me with an excuse to re-read them, and I am pleased to say they have not lost their charm. Blaylock has the ability to draw marvelous characters, and the cast assembled in HOMUNCULUS is nothing short of delightful… As both sides clash in their various endeavours, a mystery unravels in Victorian London that is both captivating and, at times, highly amusing. Characters fall over each other and interact in ways you never see coming, while the tension for each individual character builds differently, for they all have different goals, but are united by one unfathomable creature: the Homunculus… undeniably wonderful aspects, and prose written to perfection for this genre… I have read it numerous times and will doubtless read it again at some stage. There is something about the world created and the characters populating it that is simply irresistible and, without a doubt, it is one of the few so-called Steampunk novels deserving the title. The reason for this is not that it is filled with flying machines, and Victorian costumes and etiquette, but rather that it explores the underlying themes of the genre, and does so both subtly and elegantly… HOMUNCULUS remains one of my favourite Steampunk novels, and one of a very few in this genre not written by H.G. Wells or Jules Verne that is truly worthy of the term “Classic”.’ — Aädenian Ink

‘While many recent novels have picked up the steampunk banner, this one fully delivers, offering action, farce, tender relationships, and prose full of genuine Victorian cadence and flavor.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘… steampunk without the steam — but with all the energy — with the distinctly Victorian feeling of a tale of Sherlock Holmes by Conan Doyle… Blaylock manages to set the scene and mood, ramp up the tension, and lead us from clue to clue. He manages all this while keeping the reader in the dark much as the associates of St. Ives are left to wonder what he knows that they don’t. The feeling is very much of menace and danger where any misstep on the part of these men could lead to the downfall of their country and the loss of many lives. The fast pace of the story somehow makes it feel like a much longer work because the writing pulls you in and keeps you there until the final climax and resolution… If you haven’t read Blaylock before, this is a good place to start, particularly if you enjoy steampunk and/or mysteries. If you are a fan of Blaylock’s writing, you’ll want to add this to your collection.’ — SF Revu

‘… a short but excellent steampunk crime adventure… Blaylock riffs off Jules Verne, creating some interesting versions of lasers and submarines, and adventure writers. Having mused on the notion of influence in the short story, 13 Phantasms, and the debt owed by writers to the pulp writers of the 1930s onwards, Blaylock appears to be doing something similar in this book… Perhaps not a book to start with but ripping yarn nonetheless.’ — Yatterings

‘The story is a very entertaining read, filled with the tropes – such as an emerald-powered confusion ray – that make steampunk such a delightful genre. The Victorian elements are also in play, and Blaylock has obviously mastered 19th-century England. My only complaint about this book is its brevity; I could easily have enjoyed more pages in a similar vein.’ — Rambles

‘Rather delightfully, Victorian detective Langdon St. Ives returns for another rousing adventure against the nefarious Dr. Narbondo… These novellas by author James Blaylock are literary candy for fans of the Sherlock Holmes tradition, and as the Robert Downey Jr. films… appeal to a wider audience and make Holmes hip in all sorts of ways, it is obvious to me that teens need only meet St. Ives to fall hard for him. He’s smart but not perfect; he has a stalwart group of friends who are equally crafty; Narbondo is a most capable foil; and there are always some fabulous steampunkish twist and turns to give the stories a classic feel. Chalk Cliffs also includes the talented Alice St. Ives (Langdon’s wife), who is in trouble but quite capable of doing some rescuing on her own, thank you very much. (No, really, thank you for not making her a total wimp!) … the witty repartee is matched only by the thrills in this stylish adventure. Along with Blaylock’s text, readers will also enjoy the always impressive interior illustrations from J. K. Potter, whose aesthetic is perfectly matched to the author’s, and makes these books not just fun to read but objects to treasure.’ — Bookslut

‘… slight but enjoyable novella… A battered old map, possibly drawn by St. Ives’s long-missing companion, Bill Kraken, displays the location of a strange object that plunged to earth years earlier. Hilario Frosticos, longtime nemesis to St. Ives, is also in pursuit, and a series of amusing feints and counterfeints culminates in a frantic race to an underwater grotto. New readers will have no trouble getting oriented…’ — Publishers Weekly

‘This is steampunk of the highest order, and was written in a pseudo-Victorian style containing a good deal of humor. When one of the major events of the book is a field full of flying cows, one is generally expecting other absurdities to follow. That having been said, it’s only a little over a hundred pages long, and contains a great deal of movement, action, excitement, danger, and science (imagine that last said in a Julius Sumner Miller voice). Some characters are trustworthy, some are not; some turn out to be somewhere in between… Fans of the St. Ives books will definitely be interested in reading this volume, slim though it is, and I definitely enjoyed it…’ — Read Already

‘… his novella doesn’t display the kind of greatly transformed nineteenth century that readers might tend to associate with steampunk now. Instead, it is to that time as The X-Files is to ours, revealing a secret, mysterious world of which the general populace is completely unaware or deeply sceptical: a ring of floating cows, for example, or the exciting discovery made by St. Ives and Owlesby under Morecambe Sands. Nevertheless, Blaylock’s books are currently being republished in the UK with the rubric “Steampunk Legend” affixed to his name, and I doubt new readers will be disappointed; one hopes this brings him a degree of well-deserved commercial success.’ — Theaker’s Quarterly

‘… an enjoyable romp…’ — Tor.com

‘What Blaylock has done here, on one excellent level, is to construct a pure Carl Barks adventure…. on another, arguably higher plane, he’s shown that the innocent archetypes of youthful adventuring can fully withstand the larger horrors of the twenty-first century and all our cynicism and decadence.’ — Locus

‘…in the best tradition of The Twilight Zone, crossed with wacky characters, humor and moments of real love stunningly portrayed… Blaylock doesn’t give his supernatural events the short shrift. His low-key descriptions ring true and are quite chilling, much more so than the buckets of gore we’re used to finding in horror novels. But then, ALL THE BELLS ON EARTH is quite a bit more than a horror novel…’ — The Agony Column

‘Blaylock is one of the most brilliant of that new generation of fabulist writers: ALL THE BELLS ON EARTH may be his best book… mystical and enthralling… at once reminiscent of C.S. Lewis’s That Hideous Strength and Clive Barker’s urban fantasies.’ — Washington Post

‘Weird and funny and touching.’ — New York Review Of Science Fiction

‘With acrobatic grace, Blaylock … once again walks the dividing line between fantasy and horror … Blaylock’s gentle satire on ‘capitalism gone rancid’ is supported by his authentic rendering of a small town where the economic reality of having to pay the bills occupies much of people’s time. While the author probes the dark side of small-town life, he ultimately celebrates the virtues of simple living, yielding the sort of homey moral one finds in a Garrison Keillor monologue.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘A magical world, magically presented… having journeyed there, you will not wish to leave, nor ever to forget.’ — Philip K. Dick

‘A magical world, magically presented… having journeyed there, you will not wish to leave, nor ever to forget.’ — Philip K. Dick

‘A magical world, magically presented… having journeyed there, you will not wish to leave, nor ever to forget.’ — Philip K. Dick

‘A literally wonderful novel – Blaylock’s convincingly idiosyncratic characters lurch, rage and strive through a sort of modern day Hieronymus Bosch cityscape that makes us peer a little more suspiciously at the pavement under our feet. Blaylock has a uniquely colorful perspective on the world, as well as the craft to communicate it and the art to make it delightfully entertaining.’ — Tim Powers

‘Blaylock is an original author grounded in the quintessential classics, yet ready without notice to astonish: not only with what he reveals to us but how.’ — Philip K. Dick

‘Blaylock’s contemporary fantasy thriller features an intriguing and convincing reluctant hero, amiable cartoonist Calvin Bryson… The plot line begins to sound familiar when Bryson falls for a childhood friend, but as the Knights and their enemies battle for control of the veil, Blaylock… bolsters the predictable climax with solid prose, summing to an enjoyable read.’ – Publishers Weekly

‘… a light, nostalgic contemporary fantasy steeped in legend. Blaylock is a master of this genre… This isn’t the headiest or heaviest of work by Blaylock, but it is damn fine! I read it in an hour or so and was completely engrossed. Blaylock’s work solo, and with Tim Powers, adds incredible fantasy to very familiar landscapes. If you haven’t read any of his work, this is a good place to start.’ — BoingBoing

‘… a singular fabulist.’ — William Gibson

‘LAND OF DREAMS is Blaylock’s best yet – powerful, magical, suspenseful and funny, this novel sails us through the supernatural backwaters of the northern California coast, and none of its readers will ever quite be able to leave its landscape of rotting waterfront towns, and strange songs echoing in from the sea, and vast, unknown cities visible on dubious horizons. Blaylock is the best of contemporary writers, and LAND OF DREAMS is destined to be one of the field’s classics.’ — Tim Powers

‘Striking, beautifully turned surreal fantasy… Weird, complex, wise, original, delightful: pounce!’ — Kirkus Reviews

‘Against a lyric vision of the Southern California coast, cosmic conspiracy theories bump heads in a gleeful farce to produce another strange and wonderful book from the idiosyncratic author of HOMUNCULUS and LAND OF DREAMS.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘An achievement that demonstrates that James Blaylock is well on his way to taking a place among the first rank of American novelists.’ — Lucius Shepard

‘Weird and wonderful touches abound; Blaylock makes good use of his coastal setting, extracting his own brand of magic from familiar places and familiar things. While Biblical conspiracies and revisionist scriptures are all the rage now, Blaylock got the jump on the current crop by several years. I like to think that THE LAST COIN is the sort of book THE DA VINCI CODE might have been if Dan Brown lived in southern California, could write three-dimensional characters, and had a sense of humor.’ — SF Chronicles

‘Blaylock… redeems the familiarity of his plot with a gift for drawing characters who are eccentric in delightful and original ways, whichever side of the war they are on.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘Blaylock allows us to see the mundane world through new eyes, to perceive the familar as strange and therefore fascinating – for what it is as well as for what it might be.’ — Charles de Lint

‘The central conceit of this elegant, accomplished contemporary ghost story is that fuentes–springs in which children have been ritually drowned — are portals of inexact time travel. Ambitious plotting and characterization augment Blaylock’s (WINTER TIDES) lush language (ripples in a well “cast a hundred shifting shadows… crisscrossing in geometric confusion”). This is one ghostly tale that stands on very solid ground.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘[A] seamlessly produced… intriguing and absorbing work from a major talent.’ — Kirkus

‘Refreshing natural lunacy. Blaylock is a true American original.’ — Bruce Sterling

‘Blaylock continues to extend his range, this time with a novel of quiet–but not entirely psychological — horror. Blaylock constructs what might be described as a leisurely page-turner: one wants to find out what comes next but doesn’t feel compelled to rush onward to do so. Fans of horror in general — especially those who don’t demand a high body count — as well as dedicated Blaylock fans will be well pleased.’ — Booklist

‘The author of WINTER TIDES continues to display an uncanny talent for low-key, off-kilter drama, infusing the modern world with a supernatural tint. Blaylock’s evocative prose and studied pacing make him one of the most distinctive contributors to American magical realism. Recommended for most libraries.’ — Library Journal

‘A short story collection from [Blaylock] is cause for celebration and rejoicing.’ — Neil Gaiman

‘Plenty of chills… Both nature at large and human nature (for the living and the dead) contribute to this book’s impact. You’ll come away from it shaken by the force of those tides.’ — Faren Miller

‘This story of good and evil siblings examines how we all learn to live with who we are, and does so through supple writing and a tense and carefully executed plot… Blaylock combines the supernatural with a deep understanding of contemporary California and human nature, producing a book with appeal for both fantasy fans and readers of realistic fiction.’ — Publishers Weekly