Us | review by Douglas J. Ogurek

It’s unexceptional. It’s brilliant. A mixed review for Us.

Writer/director Jordan Peele follows his captivating directorial debut Get Out with Us, another horror film that has garnered critical acclaim. I wasn’t blown away by the film, but I understand why many others praised it.

The British Fantasy Society's monthly pdf chapbook series

Did you know that British Fantasy Society members have been getting an exclusive pdf chapbook every month for the last three years? And that they are edited by none other than Allen Ashley, one of our contributors? Did you know that anyone who joins the society can download all 36 of them from an archive? It's all true, and it only costs £20 for a digital membership!

I've been working (very slowly) on a article for TQF (or maybe a booklet) to celebrate the society's 50th anniversary in 2021, and as part of that I made the following list of Allen's short story series:

• #1: Journal of the Eldritch Plains by Allen Stroud. 20pp.
• #2: The Drinker of Tears by Sandra Unerman. 14pp.
• #3: Poison Tree by Gary Couzens. 16pp.
• #4: Feast of Fools by Nicky Peacock. 17pp.
• #5: The Travellers by M.D. Kerr. 17pp.
• #6: Mind of its Own by Geoff Nelder. 13pp.
• #7: The Rat Catcher's Dance by Andrew Knighton. 13pp.
• #8: Summer of Ants by Pauline E. Dungate. 15pp.
• #9: You Have Reached Your Destination by Peter Sutton. 15pp.
• #10: Ella by Jemma Picken. 18pp.
• #11: Ash Flower by James Brogden. 12pp.
• #12: Empire Is No More by Nigel Robert Wilson. 20pp.
• #13: Putting on a Brave Face by Rowena Harding-Smith. 10pp.
• #14: Mycul Zas by Clint Wastling. 26pp.
• #15: The Contract by Lisa Farrell. 19pp.
• #16: Milk by Rowan Bowman. 14pp.
• #17: Only the Broken Remain by Ian Steadman. 12pp.
• #18: Our Ghost by Sandra Unerman. 15pp.
• #19: Elise Ridley, There Are Castles in the Sky But Not for You, M.M. Lewis. 16pp.
• #20: The Final Act by Edmund Glasby. 17pp.
• #21: The Boom Show by Anne Wrightwell. 13pp.
• #22: Coquetry, She Disdained by Stephen Theaker. 16pp.
• #23: Daddy by Rowena Harding-Smith. 8pp.
• #24: Five Black Bolts by Michael Button. 13pp.
• #25: The Gaze of the Abyss by Edmund Glasby. 13pp.
• #26: Bicycle by Marilyn Thompson. 12pp.
• #27: The Silence by Lisa Farrell. 11pp.
• #28: Emeralds of Eros by Clint Wastling. 25pp.
• #29: Lenore! by Cheryl J. Sonnier. 15pp.
• #30: The Curse of Narcissus by Suzy A. Kelly. 16pp.
• #31: The Manual by Robin Lupton. 15pp.
• #32: Soul Cages by Lucy Stone. 17pp.
• #33: Next in Line, by A.N. Myers. 9pp.
• #34: Afore the Master by Suzy A. Kelly. 7pp.
• #35: Ice Heart by Marilyn Thompson.
• #36: Monster for Hire by Jason Gould. 20pp.

Worth £20 on their own, quite apart from the other benefits of BFS membership, and I hear that #22 is particularly good!

Armada by Ernest Cline | review by Stephen Theaker

Zack Lightman’s dad died in an explosion at a sewage treatment plant, and it made the papers so everyone knows. That was back in 1999. A bully called Douglas Knotcher once took the mickey about it, and got battered to a pulp after Zack went into a blind rage. He’s been trying to live it down, but it hurts to miss his dad so much while finding his death so humiliating. His mum kept all his dad’s stuff in boxes up in the attic. Zack watched his videos, played his games, and wore his jacket covered in high score patches.