He’s written songs for Blue Öyster Cult, movies like The Crow, and pioneering sci-fi novels. In between, he’s humped Christmas trees and gotten into onstage brawls with rival bands. John Shirley tells his pal and agent Paula Guran about the darkness, the light, and the poetry of it all.

Freaky old books are reborn and strange new ones claw their way out of the darkness, as columnist Scott Connors reviews recent releases and reissues from Leonard Cline, G.G. Pendarves, Eric Frank Russell, George Zebrowski, Thomas Ligotti and more.

original fiction by Carrie Vaughn  •  “The dragon would probably take a boy virgin as well as a girl. But there’s no way to tell with boys, and the priests won’t take a chance of making a mistake.”