Truthfully, I don't read a ton of hardcore stuff but that's not because I don't enjoy it. I do enjoy most of what I've read and it seems these days that the subgenre of horror fiction has had a resurgence not seen in decades, largely due to the success and popularity of a bunch of relatively new authors carving out their own dedicated following. And these guys are all quite talented and damn good.
But for me, it doesn't get any better than Edward Lee. Books with titles like Coven, Succubi, Incubi, Creekers, The Chosen, Header and The Bighead (just to name a few) all have, and deservedly so, legendary status amidst diehard fans of hardcore horror fiction.
But let me share where and when I'd first discovered Edward Lee. Back in the mid-1990s, I visited a Bookstop bookstore here in Orlando (prior to B&N opening several locations in central Florida) and was browsing the shelves. I saw the provocatively lurid mass market paperback, Succubi. Picked it up and read the back cover. And then flipped it open to scan the opening chapter. I bought the book and read it soon thereafter. I was blown away by his writing style, his unabashedly and gleefully wicked way of blending together sex, horror, and darkly funny humor into this addictively readable stew. Without a doubt, I became a huge fan. And it all started with that book.
Needless to say, over the years, I bought everything by Lee I could get my hands on. The early 2000s had a veritable smorgasbord of new Ed Lee novels when he hooked up with Leisure Books, along with a whole slew of Must-Read horror authors writing similarly, legendary names themselves such as Jack Ketchum and Richard Laymon. Before Leisure imploded, some newer names began their own legendary run, most notably Douglas Clegg and Brian Keene.
Thankfully, Lee had great success after mainstream horror publishing died off for a while due his longtime partnership with Necro Publications, an Orlando-based extreme/splatterpunk horror publisher. Some of his stuff was published by Cemetary Dance, both short fiction in the magazine and books. His novels/novellas/story collections were also published by a few other indie horror publishers. On a personal note, I had the immense fortune of meeting Lee not once, but twice, at a local multi-author event called Horrorfest in the early 2000s. He was very cool, easy to talk to, and gracious to a young horror writer, who'd only published a handful of stories in some relatively unknown small-press horror publications. By some stroke of luck, I'd even had dinner with him and the late Dave Barnett, Necro Pubs owner/editor, at PF Changs after Horrorfest. I was nervous as fuck but Lee (and Necro Dave) both made me feel I was among not just friends but colleagues. I'll never forget that.
While his output has slowed down compared to 15-20 years ago (which is understandable), he still continues to pump out new stuff on a regular basis. Recently, his backlist has been reissued with Evil Cookie Publishing and newer books from such indie horror publishers like Madness Heart Press and Deadite Press.
The 2023 Splatterpunk Awards at Killercon in Austin, TX is this coming weekend and both the above Ed Lee books are nominated. I'm reading The Television as we speak and it's fucking fantastic! Best of luck this weekend for one of my all-time favorite horror authors, Edward Lee!
