Thomas F. Monteleone is one of my favorite writers and I've tried to read everything I could find by him. I remember enjoying his Laser Books debut novel, Seeds of Tomorrow, and I followed him along with several other writers that switched gears from science fiction to horror. The first scary book I read by Tom was Night Things and I liked it a hell of a lot. He's a writer that has continued to grow and better his craft as he went on. Yet there is one novel of his that has eluded me until now.
The Magnificent Gallery was published in paperback from TOR in 1987. That was a hell of a year for me. My first born daughter entered this world then, and we had no insurance. I worked like a dog, putting in extra nights cutting firewood and we paid off the hospital before the baby was even due. Walked away clean owing not a dime. But it was a very bad time for book purchases. With few exceptions, I bought my reading materials from thrift stores.
Still, I don't think that's the only reason I hadn't read The Magnificent Gallery. I've always haunted used bookstores, and I never seemed to see copies of it on the shelves. This appears to be another case where a publisher spends the money to print up a title, then drops it on the market with little or no fanfare or publicity.
I'm not really sure how accurate that is. All I know is that The Magnificent Gallery isn't the easiest book to locate. And that, my friends, is a damned shame. Tom's writing is always entertaining, and it is often thought-provocative, suspenseful and unsettling. But The Magnificent Gallery is so much more.
The story is about a traveling shooting gallery that comes to a quiet Midwestern town that seems to be out of step with modern times. Tom dedicates it in part to Ray Bradbury and it does bring to mind Something Wicked This Way Comes. Most fantasy stories that involve traveling circuses or carnivals make us think of Bradbury, but he didn't invent the subject matter. It's probable that Ray Bradbury was influenced by Charles Finney's The Circus of Dr. Lao, and no doubt Finney was inspired by earlier works. Traveling shows are a longstanding tradition in fantasy fiction, with Tom Reamy's Blind Voices, Joe Lansdale's The Magic Wagon and F. Paul Wilson's theme anthology, Freak Show being good examples of the subgenre. Writers have continued on with magical traveling shows, such as with Richard Laymon's The Traveling Vampire Show.
I said that Tom's fiction is always worth seeking out by the discriminating reader, but The Magnificent Gallery is something special even by his standards. Never has his writing been so eloquent and beautiful. The Magnificent Galley is brimming with exquisite characterizations, as Mr. Monteleone introduces us to and gets us to know the residents of Brampden, Ohio. Change is a recurring theme in the novel, as is the wonder of youthful imagination. We meet people of all ages in the narrative and all experience wistful reflections upon their own lives. The magic of metamorphosing from a child to an adult, the sadness of remembering lost loved ones, the ache of remorse and the soul-killing drudgery of a life lived by repetition.
For there is magic in the world and Tom reminds us of this. The beauty of the changing of seasons, the joy of seeing a loved one, the almost painfully delicious ecstacy of a first kiss. Yet we know, especially those of us that love horror, that every silver lining has a cloud inside it. Evil comes to Brampton, yet The Magnificent Gallery celebrates the essential decency of the human spirit. It is a tale of optimism.
Small Press publishers are bringing back worthy novels by various gifted writers, like F. Paul Wilson, Douglas Clegg and Edward Lee. There are several wonderful books by Tom Monteleone that deserve new readers. Night Things, Lyrica and Night Train all would be great, but The Magnificent Gallery is the one that needs to be reprinted. If I had the means to do so, I'd try to get this back as a trade paperback, or even a deluxe hardcover.
I know Tom fairly well, but we've never discussed The Magnificent Gallery. I'm betting that this one is special to him and that he had a really good time writing it. It's easily my favorite of all of his novels.
The Magnificent Gallery was published in paperback from TOR in 1987. That was a hell of a year for me. My first born daughter entered this world then, and we had no insurance. I worked like a dog, putting in extra nights cutting firewood and we paid off the hospital before the baby was even due. Walked away clean owing not a dime. But it was a very bad time for book purchases. With few exceptions, I bought my reading materials from thrift stores.
Still, I don't think that's the only reason I hadn't read The Magnificent Gallery. I've always haunted used bookstores, and I never seemed to see copies of it on the shelves. This appears to be another case where a publisher spends the money to print up a title, then drops it on the market with little or no fanfare or publicity.
I'm not really sure how accurate that is. All I know is that The Magnificent Gallery isn't the easiest book to locate. And that, my friends, is a damned shame. Tom's writing is always entertaining, and it is often thought-provocative, suspenseful and unsettling. But The Magnificent Gallery is so much more.
The story is about a traveling shooting gallery that comes to a quiet Midwestern town that seems to be out of step with modern times. Tom dedicates it in part to Ray Bradbury and it does bring to mind Something Wicked This Way Comes. Most fantasy stories that involve traveling circuses or carnivals make us think of Bradbury, but he didn't invent the subject matter. It's probable that Ray Bradbury was influenced by Charles Finney's The Circus of Dr. Lao, and no doubt Finney was inspired by earlier works. Traveling shows are a longstanding tradition in fantasy fiction, with Tom Reamy's Blind Voices, Joe Lansdale's The Magic Wagon and F. Paul Wilson's theme anthology, Freak Show being good examples of the subgenre. Writers have continued on with magical traveling shows, such as with Richard Laymon's The Traveling Vampire Show.
I said that Tom's fiction is always worth seeking out by the discriminating reader, but The Magnificent Gallery is something special even by his standards. Never has his writing been so eloquent and beautiful. The Magnificent Galley is brimming with exquisite characterizations, as Mr. Monteleone introduces us to and gets us to know the residents of Brampden, Ohio. Change is a recurring theme in the novel, as is the wonder of youthful imagination. We meet people of all ages in the narrative and all experience wistful reflections upon their own lives. The magic of metamorphosing from a child to an adult, the sadness of remembering lost loved ones, the ache of remorse and the soul-killing drudgery of a life lived by repetition.
For there is magic in the world and Tom reminds us of this. The beauty of the changing of seasons, the joy of seeing a loved one, the almost painfully delicious ecstacy of a first kiss. Yet we know, especially those of us that love horror, that every silver lining has a cloud inside it. Evil comes to Brampton, yet The Magnificent Gallery celebrates the essential decency of the human spirit. It is a tale of optimism.
Small Press publishers are bringing back worthy novels by various gifted writers, like F. Paul Wilson, Douglas Clegg and Edward Lee. There are several wonderful books by Tom Monteleone that deserve new readers. Night Things, Lyrica and Night Train all would be great, but The Magnificent Gallery is the one that needs to be reprinted. If I had the means to do so, I'd try to get this back as a trade paperback, or even a deluxe hardcover.
I know Tom fairly well, but we've never discussed The Magnificent Gallery. I'm betting that this one is special to him and that he had a really good time writing it. It's easily my favorite of all of his novels.
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