Reviews and Reactions to October Dark

Highlights of the first wave. . .

"Ambitious in scope and execution, October Dark is a love letter to Bradbury, Star Wars, Halloween, and the special effects masters of the cinema, most prominently Ray Harryhausen and Willis O'Brien, the latter a character in the story. Herter mixes fact, fiction, and fantasy seamlessly, and it's often difficult to separate the three. (I was fooled in many instances. For example, don't go searching for certain titles or you'll be greatly disappointed.) The more you know about the life and work of folks like O'Brien and Bradbury, the more enjoyment you'll get out of October Dark."
— Craig Clarke, Somebody Dies

"This book has a distinctive premise. So-called movie magic is real, the special effects masters are its practitioners, and it’s the only thing protecting the world from unspeakable evil. [. . .] October Dark is a delight. Consider recommending it to mature YA readers as well."
— Library Journal

"Spectacular! Brilliant! Fan-freakin-tastic! [. . .] It seems like [Herter] has memorized every issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland and the creators of the fantastic in film. I can’t remember ever reading something so enjoyable and memory touching. [. . .] This is the latest addition to the Halloween series of books from Earthling and I have not been disappointed in any of the offerings."
— The Baryon Review
"October Dark is brilliant for so many reasons. [It's] a very personal authorial vision; an immersion in the world of 1977 boyhood. It's the portrait of an artist, a budding film animator and story teller. [. . .] The historical research here concerning Willis O'Brien and Huygens and the early processes of animation is incredible. [. . .] There is so much more to the story — arcane knowledge, conspiracy, a lurid automaton, a secret device, other centuries, monsters. Herter, like the stop-motion magicians of history, has brought a monster of imagination to life. Enter this dark carnival and see for yourself."
— Jeffrey Ford

PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF DAVID HERTER:

“Distinctive and imaginative, a debut of immense promise.”
—Kirkus Reviews on Ceres Storm

“A marvelous fantasy.”
—SF Weekly on Evening's Empire

“Through voyages on haunted spaceships, encounters with sentient plagues and descents into ancient tombs. . . bemused readers will sympathize with naïve Daric as one enigmatic incident follows another, characters shift from flesh to hologram to crystal to mechanical insect, and reality encompasses dream worlds, shared hallucinations and miniature cities. The book's a grand exercise in weirdness, cloaked in a coming of age story. It's a unique reading experience.” —Starlog on Ceres Storm

News and Interviews

October Dark continues through post-production. Though it's already been distributed to twenty venues for review, via a slickly-produced ARC, the ms. hasn't been officially copy edited until now. While waiting for the results, I've been busy with discrete trimming and tightening (though in a couple instances, rather extensive final revision), and of course vetting the filmic details in the manuscript. OD is set to emerge sometime between Halloween and Christmas, appropriate since the book begins on Halloween and ends on Christmas.

Meanwhile, I've received the amazingly cool introduction to One Who Disappeared by Brian Stableford (see below for excerpt). The ms. for OWD needs no tightening; I'm entirely happy with it. Nick Gevers is currently giving it a final look before we hand it off to the capable Robert Wexler for typesetting. It, too, should be out by Christmas. I've signed the sheets for the limited edition and forwarded them to Mr. Stableford. I'm currently signing the five hundred sheets for October Dark (almost done, Paul). And I received the remainder of my pay for OWD from Pete Crowther, minus the cost of the PS's Tim Powers anthology, Secret Histories, which is currently wending its way from England to the US and into my hands.

What else? I've completed an interview set up by Jeff Ford, set to debut at a major internet site. My five-volume far-future series, The Wilderness of Ruin, is being considered by a certain major editor. I recently wrote (with unprecedented ease) a prolog novella for the series, "in the ancient ancient," inspired by a rereading of Cordwainer Smith. I've also been at work subtly expanding my first novel Ceres Storm, again inspired by Smith.

Reading-wise, I've tackled none of the books under discussion by my book club (sorry, folks). But I've been re-ripping through Philip K. Dick and Brian Moore, and ripping for the first time through Tim Power's cool Declare (which I somehow missed) as well as his potent collection, Strange Itineraries. I also read my friend Christopher Paul Carey's new story, Caesar's Children -- a Tale of Pluritopia, a suave, knowing mash-up of Ignatius Donnelly, Albert Robida, Jules Verne, Jack London and H.G. Wells, set partly (to my amazement) in the subterranean world beneath Evening, Oregon, the location of my second novel (though in an alternate-world 19th century). Given its Pluritopian pluralities, it holds together as a gripping narrative, proto SFnal, full of eye-popping and mind-popping details. It's due to lead off the next Tales of the Shadow Men anthology, with (by coincidence) a story by Brian Stableford capping the book. Finally, I'm currently reading Robert Wexler's strange, moody The Painting and the City (I met Robert during his passage through Seattle this summer), and given his chops as a top-rank book designer, it's as compelling to the eyes as it is to the brain.

Mix in with this various outings with my film group (Ted, Fleetwood, Peter) to mostly disappointing results (District 9 and Drag Me to Hell, which none of us liked), working my menial job, and helping my Dad through the long, arduous post-op for a DSAEK partial-corneal transplant, and it's been a busy late-summer/autumn.

From Brian Stableford's introduction to One Who Disappeared

"One Who Disappeared is the third volume of a trilogy, which began with On the Overgrown Path and continued in The Luminous Depths. There are, of course, numerous ways to concoct a trilogy; many are merely three-decker novels, others follow the N-shaped trajectory favored by script-writing theorists, in which a set-up phase is followed by a phase in which everything goes wrong, in order that the concluding phase can take the form of a soaring ascent. The most ambitious and most appropriate way to plan and build a trilogy, however, is the inverted pyramid.

"The inverted pyramid begins with a phase that is economical, neat and self-contained; a perfectly-satisfactory work of art in its own right. On top of that is placed something much larger; not merely, or even necessarily, larger in terms of mere wordage, but something more substantial, with greater reach and grasp, which is, once again, whole in itself, perhaps to the extent of seeming conclusive. On top of that is then placed something so much larger, thematically and ambitiously, as to seem vast. The escalation of scale is, in itself, easy enough to contrive, but what is difficult is to keep the whole structure in balance, so that it stands up and does not wobble, in spite of its seeming defiance of safety. The third volume of such a trilogy must not only absorb its predecessors into a coherent whole but must demonstrate their perfect balance, prove that they function as a pivot and an intermediate support that are both essential and reliable. Without that, the whole edifice falls.

"David Herter’s trilogy, to which One Who Disappeared provides a spectacular and moving conclusion, does not fall; on the contrary, it remains perfectly suspended, sturdy and elegant—and by virtue of its topography, it does not, like more myopic literary projects, taper off into soothing closure, but opens wide to an even vaster and more glorious universe of possibility. . ."

First Review of October Dark

From Library Journal. . .

Herter, David. October Dark Earthling. Dec. 2009. c.560p. ISBN 978-0-9795054-7-8 $50
This book has a distinctive premise. So-called movie magic is real, the special effects masters are its practitioners, and it’s the only thing protecting the world from unspeakable evil. The novel tracks back and forth between Halloween 1931 and that of 1977. For movie buffs, that year could only mean Star Wars, and the film plays a major role here. Amateur filmmakers Will Travers, 13, and his best friend, Jim, capture something on a roll of Super-8. Their search for answers leads them to a reclusive model maker and a battle against dark forces.
Verdict Filled with nostalgia triggers for baby boomers and Gen Xers alike, with an original story and the liberally dropped names of a pantheon of horror moviemakers, October Dark is a delight. Consider recommending it to mature YA readers as well.

A Terror-ific Offer

October Dark — being a Halloween book — deserves a trick or a treat to mark the publication. I'm not quite sure which this one is. But here goes.

To anyone nice enough to purchase a copy, I and Earthling Publications — upon request — will include an insanely scribbled-up manuscript page from October Dark. Marvel at the illegible scrawl. Compare your page to what's in the book (or have fun trying). Puzzle out that sentence curving along the corner of the paper. And what the hell did Herter mean by these arrows and stars and circles? Is that a grocery list on the bottom margin? What's with the phone number? (Feel free to dial it, if you dare).

More to the point: How can a grown adult have such terrible handwriting? (Partial answer: I like to edit with the stack of pages on my knee, kicked back in a chair in a coffee house or lying on the couch).

And for those brave and kind enough to purchase a copy of the ultra lettered boxed edition, I imagine we could offer pages (plural) from any of my previous novels, upon request.

To illustrate how entertaining (or not) my manuscript pages can be, here are some examples, pulled mostly at random from my stockpile.



I'm guessing they're close to what other authors produce; just, well, messier. So, a treat? A trick? You decide.

From the introduction by Jeffrey Ford

"October Dark is brilliant for so many reasons. In it I see the synthesis of the techniques and styles of Herter's other fiction joined with what seems a very personal authorial vision; an immersion in the world of 1977 boyhood. It's the portrait of an artist, a budding film animator and story teller. And in addition to the wonderfully rendered scenes of that time and place — Star Wars and weed and eight tracks — the reader sees the young artist's pursuits as part of an historical tradition of magicians who create life with light and shadow, from [astronomer Christiaan] Huygens to Ray Harryhausen and beyond.

The historical research here concerning Willis O'Brien and Huygens and the early processes of animation is incredible. Herter relays all this so naturally and convincingly that even the times when he veers away from real history for the sake of plot, those manufactured places, people, and events are indistinguishable in the power of their presence from the authentic. As a writer, I'd often find myself going to the internet to find out if what I'd just read really happened in history. There were times when I was sure these instances must be imaginative and they weren't and times I was sure they were real, but not so. For me as a reader, in the long run, it didn't matter which they were because the story so thoroughly had me convinced of its own fictional authenticity. These connections form secret catacombs of thought that run through the interior of the story, making for a reading experience that continues when the book is closed.

There's a scene in which Will and Jim (two characters you will meet in the story) play hooky from school in order to go see Star Wars on opening day. They miss the bus, so they go to Jim's older brother's place to see if they can get him to take them. He does, joined by his girl friend. The resultant journey is so well rendered with dialogue and description, revealing the characters and capturing the time period (I remember 1977), I felt like I was in the car with them and the scene was actually a memory of mine.

There is so much more to the story — arcane knowledge, conspiracy, a lurid automaton, a secret device, other centuries, monsters. Herter, like the stop-motion magicians of history, has brought a monster of imagination to life. Enter this dark carnival and see for yourself."

— adapted from the introduction by World Fantasy, Hugo, Nebula and Edgar-nominated author Jeffrey Ford

Announcing October Dark. . .

Here's the near-final cover art and promotional copy for October
Dark, my forthcoming Halloween novel inspired by Ray Bradbury, Tim Powers, and Fritz Leiber (as well as the cinematic works of Willis O'Brien, Ray Harryhausen and David Allen). I would like to thank Paul Miller and Earthling Publications, as well as Jeffrey Ford for writing the introduction, Chris Nurse for the wonderful cover art, and pals Chris , Ted, Peter and Fleetwood for helping with the synopsis.

From acclaimed author David Herter, a new novel in the tradition of Ray Bradbury's SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES and Tim Powers's LAST CALL...

Halloween, 1931. The metropolis of Grenton. On the ruined canals, a clock tolls midnight. Willis H. O'Brien, the father of stop motion animation, seeks the base elements of a new animation. And Henri Mordaunt, the undying Phantasmagoria magician, will soon provide them. An uncanny bargain is struck, leading to betrayal and dire retribution, and an act of cinematic alchemy that echoes down the history of fantastic film.

Halloween, 1977. For thirteen-year-old Will and his best friend Jim — amateur animators and Famous Monsters of Filmland fanatics — summer darkens into mysterious autumn, with a black balloon prowling the skies of their suburban neighborhood, and supernatural images haunting the frames of their latest 8mm epic, heralding doom. Everything leads to the edge of Grenton’s ruined canals, and the faded cinema palace where Star Wars has been showing non-stop since late May, a gateway into the mysteries of Grenton’s past, and to a secret history playing out on either side of the silver screen.

Introduction by Jeffrey Ford

David Herter was born on Halloween, 1963

OCTOBER DARK will be available in two states, both available for reservation (without prepayment):
- 500 numbered, clothbound copies, signed by the author, $50
- 15 lettered, traycased copies, bound using the finest materials, signed by the author and artist (Chris Nurse), $300.

Please email Paul at earthlingpub@yahoo.com to reserve your copy.

Praise for the novels of David Herter

"Distinctive and imaginative, Herter's tale moves to its own disconcerting logic: a debut of immense promise." — Kirkus Reviews on Ceres Storm

"A marvelous fantasy." — SF Weekly on Evening's Empire

“Through voyages on haunted spaceships, encounters with sentient plagues and descents into ancient tombs. . . bemused readers will sympathize with naïve Daric as one enigmatic incident follows another, characters shift from flesh to hologram to crystal to mechanical insect, and reality encompasses dream worlds, shared hallucinations and miniature cities. The book's a grand exercise in weirdness, cloaked in a coming of age story. It's a unique reading experience.” — Starlog on Ceres Storm

“Herter’s blending of contemporary fantasy and the Verne opera-in-progress is seamless and intense. . . an exquisite, subtle performance.” — Booklist on Evening’s Empire

“Evening’s Empire is a literary fantasy novel of grace and quiet strength, with echoes of Gene Wolfe, Jonathan Carroll, and even a little of H.P. Lovecraft.” — Elliott Bay Booknotes on Evening’s Empire

"This epic unfolds in a seductive faerie tongue as we follow the perilous transformation of Daric from an adolescent boy into a primal galactic force. We flee with him along elusive coordinates as he deals with constructs that aid or hinder him, and one chromatic scene follows another as he escapes creatures who would bind him to their own uses. And so we move to a shattering climax. A beautiful read.” — Charles Harness on Ceres Storm

“Ceres Storm is sublime, and though the language is sparse, it is rich and poetic, swinging easily between dreamlike perceptions and hard-edged reason. This astonishing debut leaves me hungry for more.” — Elliott Bay Booknotes on Ceres Storm

“Just as there are touches of D.M. Thomas’s The White Hotel in Herter’s depiction through his beloved Janacek of the warp and weave of civilization under stress, so there are suggestions of Algernon Blackwood’s “The Willows” in the way he spells his great composer into tranced rapport with whatever breathes there and does not wish to be taken into music.” — John Clute on On the Overgrown Path

“The Luminous Depths has a richness of prose and a density of allusion and ideas reminiscent of authors like Aldiss and Wolfe — and, incidentally, it is a page-turning cracker of a horror story. Outside his homeland, Karel Capek may be remembered primarily through his legacy of the term “Robot”. It is Herter’s achievement in this novella to lead us through the narrow window of that single chthonic word to a rich evocation of a fragile, doomed period of Central European history” — Stephen Baxter on The Luminous Depths