Dark Carnival

By Ray Bradbury  Illustrations by Dave McKean Introductions by Stephen Gallagher We at Grim Oak Press are pleased to present the Subterranean Press publication of Dark Carnival. About the Book: “I have always tried to write my own story,” wrote Ray Bradbury more than a quarter-century after the publication of Dark Carnival, his first collection of short fiction. “Give it a label if you wish, call it science fiction or fantasy or the mystery or the western. But, at heart, all good stories are the one kind of story, the story written by an individual from their individual truth.” Published in 1947 by weird fiction specialist Arkham House, Dark Carnival gathered stories from the early years of Bradbury’s professional life. Many had made their first appearances in the pages of Weird Tales magazine. Still learning and developing his craft, he revised the material for the book’s publication—in the case of The Skeleton, developing a brief vignette into a full-blown and layered narrative. To these selections he added six new pieces written specifically for the lineup. Then in 1955 a number of the stories were chosen for inclusion in a further collection, The October Country. Appearing there with further and mostly minor revisions, these became the author’s preferred versions. With Bradbury declining to authorise any further printings, Dark Carnival became a scarce and sought-after volume. This Subterranean Press edition presents all the stories in that first collected form, reuniting the twenty-seven originals and adding five more. Of the passed-over titles, a number remained unseen for decades. On the evidence here, Bradbury found his voice early. Though the language is rich, it’s also pure and precise. Styled with a purpose, and the tone is confident from the outset. Here you can experience that early, heady explosion of the young Bradbury’s talent, presented in this new edition with illustrations by the legendary Dave McKean. The Subterranean Press Edition of Dark Carnival will: Feature a unique, 8x8 trim size, as did our edition of Joe Hill’s Full Throttle; Be printed in two colors throughout; Contain an illustration for each story by Dave McKean; A wraparound full-color dust jacket; Full-color endsheets (a different image in the front and back)   Limited: 750 numbered copies signed by Dave McKean and Stephen Gallagher, housed in a custom slipcase   Table of Contents: The Homecoming Skeleton The Jar The Lake The Maiden The Tombstone The Smiling People The Emissary The Traveler The Small Assassin The Crowd Reunion The Handler The Coffin Interim Jack-in-the-Box The Scythe Let’s Play “Poison” Uncle Einar The Wind The Night There Was an Old Woman The Dead Man The Man Upstairs The Night Sets The Cistern The Next in Line The Lost Stories The Sea Shell Bang! You’re Dead! The Poems The Watchers Time Intervening From Norman Partridge: “Ray Bradbury’s imagination spanned galaxies, but some of his strongest work is found within the tighter (and darker) confines of the human heart. First collected by Arkham House in 1947 and now expanded by Subterranean Press with additional stories and illustrations by Dave McKean, the heartbeat of the early stories contained within Dark Carnival remains strong, sure, and eternal. You’ll find both nostalgia and cynicism within that heart’s chambers, blood that runs as cold as an October wind, quiet echoes of melancholy and chills as sharp as the Reaper’s scythe. If you’ve never heard that music, listen to a sound you won’t forget.” From Caitlín R. Kiernan: “Dark Carnival might almost stand as an all-purpose description of, if not all, so much of Ray Bradbury’s fiction. It’s amazing how just two short words can say so much about so brilliant a man and his work. Windy autumn nights, the wine smell of ground-fall apples, childhood, terrible things and unspeakable wonders, the monstrous things men can be and the very human nature of monstrosity. You may have encountered most of these tales in later incarnations of this collection, primarily 1947’s October Country. That’s where I first read many of them, so many of what would go on to become some of my very favorite Bradbury stories— ‘The Lake,’ ‘Homecoming,’ ‘The Jar,’ ‘Uncle Einar.’ But first, in 1957, there was Dark Carnival, thanks to Arkham House. Stories from Bradbury’s early years, and already they’re works of undeniable genius. A dark carnival, indeed, fit for no better land than an October country!”