{"id":3481,"date":"2017-01-02T17:26:13","date_gmt":"2017-01-02T17:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/?p=3481"},"modified":"2017-01-02T17:26:13","modified_gmt":"2017-01-02T17:26:13","slug":"creeping-waves-dismemoired-roads-books-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/creeping-waves-dismemoired-roads-books-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Creeping Waves on Dismemoired Roads: Our Books of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Wondering what three books you should have bought last year? Then wonder no more. Come with us, dear listener, and you can scoff at our choices, and point out that you wrote something far better. Or complain that we failed to mention Eric Pumley&#8217;s <em>Bumper Book of Chainsaw Maintenance for Girls<\/em>, which your Aunt Edith absolutely adored. And where is Uncle Harold these days, anyway?<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2395\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2395\" style=\"width: 362px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/corpse-road-26.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2395\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/corpse-roads-again-walking-the-dead\/corpse-road-26\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/corpse-road-26.jpg?fit=1200%2C799\" data-orig-size=\"1200,799\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"corpse-road-26\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;mardale-shap, c. alen mcfadzean&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/corpse-road-26.jpg?fit=300%2C200\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/corpse-road-26.jpg?fit=474%2C316\" class=\" wp-image-2395\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/corpse-road-26.jpg?resize=362%2C241\" alt=\"mardale-shap, c. alen mcfadzean\" width=\"362\" height=\"241\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/corpse-road-26.jpg?resize=300%2C200 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/corpse-road-26.jpg?resize=768%2C511 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/corpse-road-26.jpg?resize=1024%2C682 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/corpse-road-26.jpg?w=1200 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/corpse-road-26.jpg?w=948 948w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 362px) 100vw, 362px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2395\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">mardale-shap, c. alen mcfadzean<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>2017, huh? Only seven years after <strong>Helen Mirren<\/strong> escaped from Jupiter, and a transfigured Dave Bowman announce that ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS, EXCEPT BELGIUM. By luck, <strong>Arthur C Clarke&#8217;s<\/strong> novel <em>2010<\/em> was written in 1984, and <strong>Orwell&#8217;s<\/strong> <em>1984<\/em> was itself written in 1948. Nine years later, my mother gave birth and said \u201cRight, I&#8217;m not doing that again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So this year will bring my sixtieth birthday, if I make it. Never take anything for granted, I say. I&#8217;ll be writing very fast this year, just in case. In the meantime, we like to do some sort of review of the year gone by, so we will. In bits.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3484\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3484\" style=\"width: 368px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/baby-84626_960_720.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3484\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/creeping-waves-dismemoired-roads-books-year\/baby-84626_960_720\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/baby-84626_960_720.jpg?fit=960%2C640\" data-orig-size=\"960,640\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"baby-84626_960_720\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;john linwood grant&#8217;s frist novel was not entirely successful&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/baby-84626_960_720.jpg?fit=300%2C200\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/baby-84626_960_720.jpg?fit=474%2C316\" class=\"wp-image-3484\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/baby-84626_960_720.jpg?resize=368%2C245\" alt=\"john linwood grant's frist novel was not entirely successful\" width=\"368\" height=\"245\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/baby-84626_960_720.jpg?resize=300%2C200 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/baby-84626_960_720.jpg?resize=768%2C512 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/baby-84626_960_720.jpg?w=960 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 368px) 100vw, 368px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3484\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">john linwood grant&#8217;s juvenile novel was not entirely successful<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This first bit, dear listener, is bookish, as you might have guessed from above. But we&#8217;re not going to reel off a long gabble of the great stuff that came out in 2016. When you&#8217;re our age, a) You don&#8217;t have to do anything you don&#8217;t want to on your own blog, and b) You can&#8217;t remember half of what you read anyway.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, we&#8217;ll praise three peculiar books from 2016 that we do remember, and thus we shall remain typically idiosyncratic. It&#8217;s always unfair, of course \u2013 we had bleak dystopian horror from <strong>Rich Hawkins<\/strong>, warped Orford Parish whimsy from <strong>Tom Breen<\/strong>, cracking paranormal adventure from <strong>Willie Meikle<\/strong>, and we discovered Sword and Soul through the energetic <strong>Milton Davis<\/strong>. And we thoroughly enjoyed works such as <strong>Michael Wehunt&#8217;s<\/strong> collection <em>Greener Pastures<\/em>, <strong>Ted E Grau&#8217;s<\/strong> novella <em>Sometimes They Don&#8217;t Come Home<\/em> (both excellent), and many others. Decisions, decisions. But <em>\u201cThirty Seven Books We Liked\u201d<\/em> would merely be a list to be checked off or ignored.<\/p>\n<p>We chose to bite the bullet, and so here are our picks of the year, in no especial order.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><em><strong>Purchase links for all three can be found on the right-hand sidebar<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Creeping Waves<\/em><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">by Matthew M Bartlett<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/true-cover-reveal.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2812\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/tag-team-horror-matthew-m-bartlett-and-tom-breen-exposed\/true-cover-reveal\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/true-cover-reveal.jpg?fit=474%2C720\" data-orig-size=\"474,720\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"true-cover-reveal\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/true-cover-reveal.jpg?fit=198%2C300\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/true-cover-reveal.jpg?fit=474%2C720\" class=\" wp-image-2812 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/true-cover-reveal.jpg?resize=268%2C406\" alt=\"true-cover-reveal\" width=\"268\" height=\"406\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/true-cover-reveal.jpg?resize=198%2C300 198w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/true-cover-reveal.jpg?w=474 474w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 268px) 100vw, 268px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Building on his earlier <em>Gateways to Abomination<\/em>, this year Bartlett (as he is known to his tax inspector) gave us something which brooded and spat and oozed. Why is it here on our tiny list? Because this exploration of the author&#8217;s twisted Leeds, Massachusetts is both a collection and a single inter-related story in its own right. It is horrific and yet wryly funny, coherent and yet fragmentary. The author draws with enormous skill on a dark and troubled psychogeography, the trivia and banality of daily life, and the kind of history which sucks you down into the blackness. The result is a small wonder.<\/p>\n<p><em>Creeping Waves<\/em> is, in short, its own beast (possibly some sort of goat). Whether you like this sort of thing or not, it&#8217;s hard to forget. We absolutely loved it. You can read <em>Gateways<\/em> first, because <em>Creeping Waves<\/em> does have the same roots, but you don&#8217;t have to. Dive in, and be worried&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong>(We interviewed the author, along with <\/strong>Tom Breen<strong>, here <a href=\"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/tag-team-horror-matthew-m-bartlett-and-tom-breen-exposed\/\" target=\"_blank\">tag team horror<\/a> , and also wrote our own warped response from Leeds, Britland, on <\/strong>Brian O&#8217;Connell&#8217;s<strong> site <em>The Conqueror Weird<\/em> here <a href=\"https:\/\/conquerorweird.wordpress.com\/2016\/04\/25\/in-leeds-john-linwood-grant\/\">conqueror weird<\/a> )<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>The Surgeon&#8217;s Mate: A Dismemoir<\/em><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">by Alan M Clark<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/o.cov_surgeonsmate.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2142\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/creeping-waves-dismemoired-roads-books-year\/o-cov_surgeonsmate\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/o.cov_surgeonsmate.jpg?fit=336%2C522\" data-orig-size=\"336,522\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"o.cov_surgeonsmate\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/o.cov_surgeonsmate.jpg?fit=193%2C300\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/o.cov_surgeonsmate.jpg?fit=336%2C522\" class=\" wp-image-2142 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/o.cov_surgeonsmate.jpg?resize=264%2C410\" alt=\"o.cov_surgeonsmate\" width=\"264\" height=\"410\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/o.cov_surgeonsmate.jpg?resize=193%2C300 193w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/o.cov_surgeonsmate.jpg?w=336 336w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 264px) 100vw, 264px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>An entirely unusual animal, and as memorable as<em> Creeping Waves<\/em>, but for other reasons. <strong>Alan M Clark<\/strong> has a history of writing history, and is very good at marrying a sense of humanity with the bones of what did happen (or may have happened) in the past. So, for example, despite our doubts about the overuse of Jack the Ripper as a literary theme, he chose to walk another path and brought new light to bear on the subject. Instead of re-visiting tired tropes, he portrayed the private and tragic lives of those women who died in Whitechapel, in an excellent series whose latest book, <em>A Brutal Chill in August<\/em>, emerge last year.<\/p>\n<p><em>A Dismemoir<\/em> is different again, and such a dark fancy that it stuck with us. This time we have the author&#8217;s genuine autobiographical notes, covering such issues as his marriage, alcoholism and almost fatal brain lesions, and yet we also have a work of Victorian fiction. Or is it? Delusion is explored as hospital monitors beep and troubled relatives call, while a century before, a man creeps through fog-bound streets, dragging his own psychopathic needs along with him. Perhaps, for us, the surprise page-turner of the year. We started it for mundane review purposes and finished because we really needed to. Odd, and well worth a visit.<\/p>\n<p><strong>(We interviewed Alan here, and also talked about his award-winning artwork &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/dark-arts-dark-lives-the-world-of-alan-m-clark\/\">dark arts, dark lives<\/a> )<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Corpse Roads<\/em><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">by the Folk Horror Revival<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/tumblr_inline_o1eo353L4W1rndm08_540-1.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2386\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/creeping-waves-dismemoired-roads-books-year\/tumblr_inline_o1eo353l4w1rndm08_540-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/tumblr_inline_o1eo353L4W1rndm08_540-1.jpg?fit=321%2C450\" data-orig-size=\"321,450\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"tumblr_inline_o1eo353L4W1rndm08_540\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/tumblr_inline_o1eo353L4W1rndm08_540-1.jpg?fit=214%2C300\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/tumblr_inline_o1eo353L4W1rndm08_540-1.jpg?fit=321%2C450\" class=\" wp-image-2386 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/tumblr_inline_o1eo353L4W1rndm08_540-1.jpg?resize=322%2C451\" alt=\"tumblr_inline_o1eo353L4W1rndm08_540\" width=\"322\" height=\"451\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/tumblr_inline_o1eo353L4W1rndm08_540-1.jpg?resize=214%2C300 214w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/tumblr_inline_o1eo353L4W1rndm08_540-1.jpg?w=321 321w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 322px) 100vw, 322px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Our last book is here because there&#8217;s too much inside to leave it out. Over five hundred pages of classical verse, new poetry and stunning photography from the Folk Horror Revival movement (edited by <strong>Andy Paciorek<\/strong> and <strong>Katherine Beem<\/strong>). Unlike the other two, it&#8217;s a browser (although oddly enough you could probably browse <em>Creeping Waves<\/em> and probably still get the same effect as you would from linear ingestion). The sheer range of the musings in <em>Corpse Roads<\/em> makes it a recommended work \u2013 you can go for the <strong>Yeats<\/strong> and <strong>Spenser<\/strong>, <strong>Poe<\/strong> and <strong>Keats<\/strong>, or dive into the work of dozens of modern poets. This includes many works specifically written for the collection.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to individual works on loss and darkness, it includes themed sections such as <em>The<\/em> <em>Poetry of the Dead<\/em>, <em>The<\/em> <em>Poetry of War,<\/em> and <em>The<\/em> <em>Poetry of the Living<\/em>. You can go poetical for hours, or you can just enjoy the evocative black and white photography, which adds so much to the verse and the impact of the collection.<\/p>\n<p><strong>(We provided an outline, with some choice illos and extracts here, <a href=\"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/on-corpse-roads-bound\/\">on corpse roads bound<\/a>, and went into the subject of corpse roads themselves here <a href=\"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/corpse-roads-again-walking-the-dead\/\">corpse roads again<\/a>.)<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2130\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2130\" style=\"width: 279px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/KeysOfTheKing.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2130\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/dark-arts-dark-lives-the-world-of-alan-m-clark\/keysoftheking\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/KeysOfTheKing.jpg?fit=1000%2C1415\" data-orig-size=\"1000,1415\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;2001 SNOWBOUND, ALL RIGHTS RESER&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"KeysOfTheKing\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;keys of the king, copyright alan m clark&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/KeysOfTheKing.jpg?fit=212%2C300\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/KeysOfTheKing.jpg?fit=474%2C670\" class=\" wp-image-2130\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/KeysOfTheKing.jpg?resize=279%2C395\" alt=\"keys of the king, copyright alan m clark\" width=\"279\" height=\"395\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/KeysOfTheKing.jpg?resize=212%2C300 212w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/KeysOfTheKing.jpg?resize=768%2C1087 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/KeysOfTheKing.jpg?resize=724%2C1024 724w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/KeysOfTheKing.jpg?w=1000 1000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/KeysOfTheKing.jpg?w=948 948w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 279px) 100vw, 279px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2130\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">keys of the king, copyright alan m clark<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em><strong>Now we must go and write notes of apology to authorial friends who we didn&#8217;t include or highlight. And explain why there&#8217;s no science fiction, no fantasy and so on in our top three. Back soon, and don&#8217;t forget to pretend to vote for greydogtales in the Critters awards&#8230;<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/critters.org\/predpoll\/reviewsite.shtml\">critters web-site awards (open until 14th January)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wondering what three books you should have bought last year? Then wonder no more. Come with us, dear listener, and you can scoff at our choices, and point out that you wrote something far better. Or complain that we failed to mention Eric Pumley&#8217;s Bumper Book of Chainsaw Maintenance for Girls, which your Aunt Edith &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/creeping-waves-dismemoired-roads-books-year\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Creeping Waves on Dismemoired Roads: Our Books of the Year<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"iawp_total_views":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Creeping Waves on Dismemoired Roads: Our Books of the Year - greydogtales<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/creeping-waves-dismemoired-roads-books-year\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Creeping Waves on Dismemoired Roads: Our Books of the Year - greydogtales\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Wondering what three books you should have bought last year? 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Holmes forced more of the vile Turkish tobacco into his pipe, wincing as he realised that yet again he was smoking the damnable stuff in order to keep up appearances. \u201cDespite the fact that you are secretly my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"sherlock holmes\"","block_context":{"text":"sherlock holmes","link":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/tag\/sherlock-holmes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Huty1913428","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/sherlock-holmes-basil-rathbone-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4232,"url":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/shiela-crerar-clay-corpses-psychic-investigation-girls\/","url_meta":{"origin":3481,"position":1},"title":"Shiela Crerar, Clay-Corpses &#038; Psychic Investigation for Girls","author":"greydogtales","date":"July 20, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cOh, you modern women! You dabble in science and medicine, you dabble in politics and law, and now you dabble in the occult. What else is there left for mere man?\u201d Today we get lost in Scotland and its folklore with Shiela Crerar, follow a plucky young woman's psychic endeavours,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"classic horror\"","block_context":{"text":"classic horror","link":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/tag\/classic-horror\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"shiela crerar","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/doll-626790_960_720-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7509,"url":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/clarks-world-the-willvent-bin\/","url_meta":{"origin":3481,"position":2},"title":"CLARK\u2019S WORLD: THE WILL\u2019VEN\u2019T BIN","author":"greydogtales","date":"November 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"We\u2019re always pleased to see a new book from Alan M Clark, not only a talented author but also, as it happens, an award-winning artist. The Will\u2019ven\u2019t Bin, just out from IFD Publishing (15th October), joins his other intriguing historically-set works, this time with a Young Adult focus and science\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"alan m clark","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/EbookCover_TheWillventBin_small-200x300.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4071,"url":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/fables-disappearances-untethered-tales-gwendolyn-kiste\/","url_meta":{"origin":3481,"position":3},"title":"Fables and Disappearances: The Untethered Tales of Gwendolyn Kiste","author":"greydogtales","date":"May 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Today, dear listener, we have loss and identity; clarity and hope; the core of writing, style, Angela Carter and some dark, magical stories. When we thought about interviewing author Gwendolyn Kiste, we realised we wanted to burrow behind her work a bit, so we went there.\u00a0 Though we centre on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"interviews\"","block_context":{"text":"interviews","link":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/tag\/interviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"SONY DSC","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/And-Her-Smile-Will-Untether-the-Universe-Gwendolyn-300x201.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7318,"url":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/scotland-the-strange-the-eyes-of-doom\/","url_meta":{"origin":3481,"position":4},"title":"SCOTLAND THE STRANGE: THE EYES OF DOOM","author":"greydogtales","date":"January 24, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This week, in honour of Burns Night, which celebrates Scottish poet Robert Burns (25 January 1759 \u2013 21 July 1796), our greydogtales site begins a ramble through the subject of Scottish supernatural\/horror and related cultural stuff. We\u2019ll have some classic tales, new material, guest reviews of some really bad films\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"SCOTLAND THE STRANGE","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Ben_Lomond_from_Beinn_Narnain-300x163.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3481"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3481\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3489,"href":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3481\/revisions\/3489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}