Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Les Femmes Grotesque by Victoria Dalpe: Somebody Else's Book is Coming Out

 Victoria Dalpe has been a repeat submitter to the Strange Aeon Anthologies and her story "City Planning" is in this year's presentation. It is now my pleasure to let you know that Clash Books is bringing out a single author collection of her work. The book is entitled Les Femmes Grotesque and is available for pre-order from the link below.

https://www.clashbooks.com/new-products-2/victoria-dalpe-les-femmes-grotesques-preorder


With blurbs by Gemma Files and Laird Barron, this book hardly needs my paltry comments but here goes: I liked it. I've been a fan of Ms. Dalpe since she sent me a copy of "Rig Rash" to read when I was putting together the first Strange Aeon anthology. And "Rig Rash" is in this collection; that alone makes the book worth the read. The stories range from cosmic horror to tales of creeping dread based in the human condition. There's a nice variety and balance and the collection is well-paced. Fair warning: like most horror fiction, the stories in the collection are "adult" but the gore and sexuality is in service of the story and appropriate, not merely to titillate the reader. I also read an e-version of the book so I can't speak to the quality of the printed volume. Clash has a history of putting out a decent product so that shouldn't be a concern. 

All in all, it's a solid work reflective of Ms. Dalpe's style and, if you're looking for a dark, evocative read, worth acquiring for your collection. Pre-order today.