Robert Bloch was best known for his novel Psycho, on which Alfred Hitchcock’s cinema masterpiece was based. However, he began as a teenage literary prodigy under the intense tutelage of weird fiction master H.P. Lovecraft. In this episode, we discuss those early stories, especially the debut collection The Opener of the Way.

Don’t miss the first two books from the Vigilante imprint of Gutter Books LLC: The Vigilante Crime Pulp Fiction Anthology and Fast One by Paul Cain.

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In honor of the launch of the hotly anticipated Vigilante Crime Pulp Fiction Anthology, we discuss the niche of short fiction, limited readership, value of the form, and one of its masters (Joe R. Lansdale).

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In this episode, we begin with a discussion of whether reading is dead in the 21st century. Spoiler alert: it’s not! Next, we discuss horror master Stephen King’s 1980s body horror short story titled “Survivor Type.” I read this as a young teen and have been haunted ever since. You can read the story, and many other bangers, in King’s sophomore short story collection Skeleton Crew.

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A review (no spoilers) of the novel Ubik by Philip K. Dick. Was the legendary speculative fiction forefather suffering insane delusions or did his fiction capture the future of technology and its impact on our modern sense of reality? Plus: one star reviews are back!

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Invite your friends to the cool kids’ table in the cafeteria:

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A deeper dive into American weird fiction master Thomas Ligotti: his bleak philosophy, mental health, and the extreme despair of his frightening tales of cosmic horror and uncanny nightmare realities. This is the second installment of our special October 2025 Halloween series. Buy some books mentioned:

THOMAS LIGOTTI

The Conspiracy against the Human Race: A Contrivance of Horror

Songs of a Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe

Teatro Grottesco

My Work Is Not Yet Done

ROBERT W. CHAMBERS

The King In Yellow

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From short pulp fiction to Hollywood screenplay machine, we discuss the career of Richard Matheson. He wrote 10% of the total episodes of Twilight Zone, invented the zombie genre, and got Steven Spielberg his start. Not bad for a working class typewriter jockey. Listen and learn how Matheson influenced Stephen King and even surpasses King as a top notch horror, speculative fiction, and weird fiction author. Buy books mentioned here: Richard Matheson, Stephen King, Charles Beaumont, Dean Wesley Smith’s Writing Into the Dark.

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An exploration of the late great king of Philadelphia, David Goodis, and his even better contemporary, Jim Thompson. Parallel themes and parallel careers. A deep dive into these two bleak writers and their impact and influence today. LINKS to buy books mentioned in this episode: David Goodis, Jim Thompson, Frank Kidd.

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David Lynch’s 1997 masterpiece Lost Highway deserves to be considered a neo-noir classic despite its unconventional elements of story, character, and audio-visual misdirection. Here we analyze and discuss how Lost Highway tells both a classic crime of passion murder story and a femme fatale narrative while exploring seemingly endless poignant themes, including lust, demonic influence, and the nature of reality itself. What is left in a man’s mind and soul when he steps too far into evil?

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A discussion of masterful yet obscure literary noir author Scott Wolven, and his excellent short story collections, Controlled Burn and Hundred Proof. Why should every men's fiction and noir fan read Wolven? Listen to learn. Also discussed: the rise and fall of Barnes & Noble, new books from Vigilante, and Horror and Weird Fiction themed episodes coming this October!

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Using B.R. Myers’s A Reader’s Manifesto (2002) as a starting point, we break down why the intractable purple prose of post-modern literary fiction is inferior to both classic literary fiction and commercial/pulp fiction. Why writing is meant for readers and not writers. In short, a lot of fun smack talk against snobs.

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