The Cold Beneath - Audiobook Review

Steampunk is a great genre, the creativity of those who write within it is deep and fascinating. With the simple requirements of a world where clockwork and steam technology have allowed humankind to create engineering miracles - it is very much sci-fi in the era of Edgar Allen Poe and HP Lovecraft. Which is why I find myself wondering at the lack of steampunk horror. Most of what exists is in cos-play and modelling. As literature, I think a sub-genre of steamhorror is as popular as sci-fi horror. A minority group within a genre.

Tonia Brown's brilliant steampunk horror novel "The Cold Beneath" has been brought to life in a new audiobook edition by rising star Chris Barnes of Dynamic Ram Audio Productions.

Chris has spent the last year building a portolio of audio book productions for pulp publishers Airship 27 and Pro Se Productions producing such voice talents as Fiona Thraille.

The book itself is well suited to the audio book narrative treatment, written in the first person, a memoir of a dying man trapped in an Arctic hell. Chris' natural Scottish brogue is evident only in the introduction, and when he voices the dialogue of the single Scots character in the story. Other characters inlcude an American and a woman. The accents and voices for each are unique. The rest of the time he reads in the main character's voice, a smooth, warm English accent that is both clearly enunciated and delivered at an easy listening pace.

From a technical point of view the production is professional, and well worth the $9.99 for the full audio book edition. With no music, and no breaks in the story it is very easy to lose yourself in the telling of the tale of bio-mechanical genius Phillip Syntax and the tragic expedition he joins seeking the North Pole.

The characters are detailed and complex, Syntax has a background of betrayal and lost love, the expeditions leader is Gideon Lightbridge, a Civil War veteran with mechanical legs (designed by Syntax). When their prototype airship crashes in the frozen wastes, the true hororr begins.



The Cold Beneath is a masterwork of character, steampunk and above all horror, and like revenge and gazpacho soup, the audiobook version is delivered with a delightful chill. Get a copy, listen to it, you will not be disappointed.

The Fabulous Furry Freakout

There are some events in life that people dream about, a celebrity sighting, a zombie apocalypse, losing their virginity, baking the perfect souffle. The most intriguing moment is when one of these WHOA! moments happens and you miss it.

I'm a member of a particularly active Facebook group called "Moody's Survivors" It's a fan-club for David Moody (author of the Autumn and Hater series). I've worked with David before on some audio projects (including scripting and directing an audio drama adaptation of his Autumn novel). A really nice guy, with great fans. Like most groups it's also a good forum to share your own work. I posted a link to the blog post about the Meow Cafe reading that I got ejected from. I think I linked to it on this group a few days ago. I linked to it in several places.

Someone mentioned in passing today that there was an absolute shit-storm went down on the Survivors list - over my post. What I have been told (and I have no way of verifying this, except it came from a source I trust) there were over 200 comments - which were a massive fight over this post and the story it related to. Some women were calling those who were defending me "pedophiles" and saying the story was "child pornography" and saying we should "all be arrested"

I'm not sure why they didn't just message me, or leave a comment on the blog post expressing their opinion. It's nice to know that in my absence (all this happened while I was offline) some fellow horror fans and writers defended me.

The only thing that concerns me, is that it's a story that people don't understand. I hope it's not because I'm a bad writer. I hope it's just because they have their own perceptions and fears.

So here is my analysis of the story.

It was written in response to a request. The requestor sent me this:

 Fun fact. Serial killers often keep the bodies of their victims, stashing them in the freezer or fridge, or burying them in shallow graves, or under the house, so that they can check in on them, care for them, and observe their deterioration. It's as if they nurture them like children, or lovers.

I was interested in that concept. The idea of someone who is completely devoid of normal human empathy and understanding being nurturing towards their victims.

So I started writing. There is nothing about a psychopath that is restrained. They generally don't react emotively or in normal ways (unless it's a learned response). So you have this first-person view story about a guy who has a clearly warped and monstrous view of the world.

It is evident in his language, his attitude and his behaviour. It's not justified, or presented in a way that is meant to glorify the behaviour. It is just presented. Uncensored, un-edited and in your face. You aren't meant to get off on it.You as a reader are meant to be disturbed by it. I know I was disturbed by it, and I wrote the damn thing.

The key element of the story that those who freak out over it seem to miss, is that the supporting cast are all dead. There is a reason that Theresa's eyeball popped out and fell in the popcorn. She's dead. The entire supporting cast isn't real. The voices he hears, the stories his alter-ego "Walter" tells him, it's all in his head. 

There is a reason that "Walter" made a hole in Lucy's stomach. It's because she's mummified. I have no idea how old she is. The only "little girl" referred to was a fantasy of "Walters" where he talks about leading little girls away from crowds. "Lucy" might have been in her mid-twenties for all I know. She is referred to as "the youngest" because someone has to be.

So people read it in response to the blog post. Some more people got offended. Accusations of various types were reportedly thrown about. I don't really care. I'm disappointed that people missed the key structure of the story, which if you do understand it, doesn't make it any less disturbing, but does give it the correct context.

If you want to read child-pornography, try those other best-selling works of fiction, the bible, the talamud and the koran.

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites ... And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males ... And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones ... And Moses was wroth with the officers ... And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? ... Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. Numbers 31:1-18

 How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives? ... And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children. And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man. And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh. Judges 21:7-11


 "A child is betrothed by intercourse if she is 3 years and one day old" ~ The Talamud

Surah al-Talaaq 65:4: If a woman does not menstruate, either because she is very young or old and past menopause, then her ‘iddah is three months, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And those of your women as have passed the age of monthly courses, for them the ‘Iddah (prescribed period), if you have doubt (about their periods), is three months; and for those who have no courses (i.e. they are still immature) their ‘Iddah (prescribed period) is three months likewise. [Basically an underage girl can be used for sex according to Islam]

Tales From The Bell Club

Tales From The Bell Club, published by Knightwatch Press. Edited by Paul Mannering.

Including stories from some fantastic authors from New Zealand, Australia and around the world.

“Welcome to the Bell Club,” he said. 

“Commiserations on your membership.” 

~ Helen Stubbs, Sayuri’s Revenge

Table of Contents:

The Kiss - Jason Nahrung

The Adventure of the Laboratory - Kathleen Dale

The Quarantine Station - Lee Clark Zumpe

A Gentleman's Folly - Phil Hickes

The Widow Dotridge - Douglas J. Moore

Sayuri’s Revenge - Helen Stubbs

Divine Providence - Robert J. Santa

Tell Tom Tildrum - Edward M. Erdelac

Fluke - Lynne Jamneck

Spawn Of The Crocodile God - John McNee

Life and Limb - Andrew Freudenberg

The Girl In The Cabin - Richard Barnes

The Wager - Jeff C. Carter

The Shrieking Woman - Doug Manllen

In The Weeds

The next story in 'The Man Who Could Not Climb Stairs and Other Strange Stories' was first published by Altair Books Australia in the 'Leaves of Blood' anthology this story was written around the idea of plant based horror. I immediately thought of biological warfare, and the sort of crazy things they might have come up with during the Vietnam War era. It was suggested at the time by the editor that the building in the story was an under-utilised horror element and I intend to revisit The Botanical Warfare Facility in a future story.

The Birth

First published by now defunct magazine 'The Willows,' this story was an homage to HP Lovecraft and the weird Universe he created. It's a pastiche but many great writers have done that, each one adding to the Cthulhu Mythos with their own macabre tales.
All the usual elements are there. An intellectual male, strident in his belief in science, finds himself in a situation that cannot be explained or perhaps survived.

I've always loved HP Lovecraft's stories. Mostly because they don't generally have happy endings. That in itself creates a sense of realism that is lacking in most fiction.

Too often there is the expectation that good will triumph over evil, that the good guys will win. But horror doesn't require that. One of the best elements of horror is when we realise that in fact, we can never be the same again. There can be no return to the safe ignorance of before. The reader, like the protagonist, is transformed by their experience.

Extinction Event

A bit Ray Bradbury, a bit Twilight Zone. The idea for Extinction Event came from the title. Extinction Events are mass extinctions, caused by asteroid impacts, pandemics, climate change etc. So what if you wanted to host one?

The personality quirks of Lionel are there to add an additional dimension to the horror. It makes his personal experience even more terrifying. It also gives credence to his fears...