On what would have been Bela Lugosi's 141st birthday, I urge you to check out my Rondo Award-nominated novel BELA LUGOSI'S DEAD (Crossroad Press, 2021), the ideal read for Spooky Season! A recent Amazon review described BELA LUGOSI'S DEAD as "perfect reading for October." Who am I to disagree?
You can hear me discussing BELA LUGOSI'S DEAD during my recent appearance on THE TYLER'S PLACE, the official podcast of the Supreme Council of Scottish Rite Freemasonry, as well as during my 2021 appearance on Adam Sayne's CONSPIRINORMAL podcast.
THE TYLER'S PLACE (10-16-23)
CONSPIRINORMAL (6-22-21)
“Blending intertextual rampage through the horror-movie canon with engrossing noir mystery and a backdrop of Hollywood esoterica, Robert Guffey serves up an intoxicating pulp cocktail that will leave you wanting more. A crepuscular treasure from a fascinating author.”
--ALAN MOORE, author of V FOR VENDETTA and WATCHMEN
“In Robert Guffey's latest and greatest novel, dreams of old movies and nightmares of classic horror rack into sharp focus through the lens of a brave film historian, one determined to squint clearly at fleeting grains of film through the shifting sands of time. Never has the truth of Hollywood been so well revealed through fiction. As a result, BELA LUGOSI'S DEAD delightfully and definitively proves that Bela Lugosi isn't dead.”
--GARY D. RHODES, author of LUGOSI and TOD BROWNING'S DRACULA
"[H]orror fans will delight in how Guffey cleverly immerses movie monsters in the real world. Film buffs and monster enthusiasts will relish the supernatural characters brought to life in this atmospheric celebration of monster mayhem."
--PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"The sensation [of reading BELA LUGOSI'S DEAD] is like being led deep underground while your flashlight grows dimmer and dimmer, until you’re left in total darkness. That’s when the lights of a subterranean crypt flash on to reveal that you’re not where you expected to be, and where you are is far worse than you could have imagined. The result is an ending that left me chilled and took me a few days to fully process. As shocking as it was, everything was set up from the beginning. I know, I went back and checked, and have to give Guffey credit for pulling off a literary sleight of hand that caught me by surprise. I won’t spoil it with more, except to say that like the frog in water that’s warmed so slowly it doesn’t realize it’s coming to a lethal boil, Guffey’s readers face an equally stunning conclusion."
--TERENCE TAYLOR, NIGHTMARE MAGAZINE
The unabridged Audible Audiobook of BELA LUGOSI'S DEAD is also available! It's brilliantly read by the talented SAMUEL E. HOKE. Hoke was so dedicated to nailing the audio version that he contacted me before he began narrating the novel to make sure the accent of a particular character was exactly correct. He also went out of his way to research some of the films and documentaries about the real people and events upon which the novel is based. If you're interested, you can listen to a sample of the audiobook right HERE!
And if you're not completely Lugosied out by that point, why not check out the Rondo Award-nominated nonfiction book I coauthored with Gary D. Rhodes, BELA LUGOSI AND THE MONOGRAM NINE (BearManor Media, 2019)? This is an in-depth analysis of the nine Poverty Row films in which Lugosi starred during World War II. You can hear Gary and I discussing this book at great length during the October 22, 2019 episode of Roejen Razorwire's PROJECT ARCHIVIST.
PRAISE FOR BELA LUGOSI AND THE MONOGRAM NINE:
"BELA LUGOSI AND THE MONOGRAM NINE,
by Gary Rhodes and Robert Guffey, critically and wonderfully examines a
series of no-budget films made by no-budget Monogram Studios in the
1940s featuring Lugosi that are among the most wonderfully odd cinematic
follies ever made--surrealistic, straight from the subconscious,
sometimes stupid, at moments seeming to spring from the mind of Bunuel,
and in the next, an idea Ed Wood would have discarded as too
unbelievable. But, movies always unlike any others, and at their best
seeming like fever dreams through which Lugosi calmly walks in evening
clothes carrying a flaming blowtorch. I highly recommend this book."
--JACK WOMACK, author of RANDOM ACTS OF SENSELESS VIOLENCE and LET'S PUT THE FUTURE BEHIND US
"Gary
Rhodes has become my favorite nonfiction author, while the subject of
some of his writings, Bela Lugosi, has long been one of my favorite
actors. Now Gary has teamed up with co-author Robert Guffey to present,
for the first time, a collection of in-depth and insightful essays
evaluating those lesser ‘classics’ that comprise the so-called ‘Monogram
Nine.’ If you are a Lugosi fan and also a fan of old ‘B’ horror films,
you will love this book."
--DONALD F. GLUT, filmmaker, Marvel Comics writer, and author of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK novelization
"An
extraordinary volume. Rhodes and Guffey refract these films through
the lens of surrealism, detailed genre study, auteurist-informed close
readings, star studies, and vigorous historicism to name a few of the
kaleidoscope of methods employed. This book provides a breakthrough
model for serious work on films that have to date received very little
scholarly attention.”
--MICHAEL LEE, Ph.D. (University of Oklahoma), editor at the journal HORROR STUDIES
"It
would require an enthusiastic writing team such as Gary Rhodes and
Robert Guffey to bring respect and probing inquiry to these Lugosi films
from Monogram Studios. Are the films minor miracles or minor
masterpieces? This book is food for thought in that area. For too long,
'the nine' was considered throw-away entertainment. Watch it once, then
forget it. The authors of this book demur [...]. I
encourage every monster fan to get this book. You’ll love it. The
treasure chest of Monogram classics is shown knowledgeable evaluation
and context at long last."
--MICHAEL COPNER, MONDO CULT ONLINE
"Containing
several chapters offering different variations on its subject matter,
Rhodes and Guffey explore the films Lugosi made at Monogram with an
open-minded approach, an intelligent appreciation, and a historical
knowledge. Even those of us long familiar with these films will be
enlightened by the further information provided in these essays [...].
The reader's understanding of film history, production, and promotion
will be enhanced by this exceptionally intelligent text.
"BELA
LUGOSI AND THE MONOGRAM NINE is a book that needs to be included in any
library, research center, or personal collection that even hopes to be
considered at all comprehensive. For fans of film history, of Lugosi, of
the horror genre, or of B movies, BELA LUGOSI AND THE MONOGRAM NINE is
an absolute must."
--JAMES L. NEIBAUR, author of THE MONSTER MOVIES OF UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
No comments:
Post a Comment