Charles Beaumont was a master of the short form, whose chilling and unsettling tales often delved into the darker aspects of the human psyche. With an original style and a piercing gaze into what it means to be human, Beaumont earned acclaim for his stories, which appeared in prominent literary and mainstream periodicals. His work, characterized by ambiguous moral questions and an unsettling atmosphere, continues to resonate today. His influence can be found across a variety of genres.
Russia is struggling to defeat Ukraine on the battlefield. But can it win the war for influence? Simon Sharman is out for revenge, pursuing the assassin of his former colleague across war-torn Ukraine. Back in London, a Russian spy ring at the heart of the British Establishment remains active and a secret, yet desperate, struggle is underway to limit its attempts to sabotage the West's support for Ukraine. On the battlefields of the Donbas, Simon may have a chance to locate the assassin but larger forces are at work and he finds himself sucked into a terrifying shadow conflict between Russia and the West. Can a lone spy at war make a difference to the course of a conflict? From the rubble strewn streets of Bakhmut to the meeting rooms of Whitehall, from dirty bombs to dirty politics, A Spy at War takes the reader behind the scenes of the war in Ukraine and the war for the hearts and minds of the international community.
No Oxford spy ring has ever been identified. Because it never existed? Or because it has yet to be found? 2022. Former spy Simon Sharman is eking out a living in the private sector. When a commission to investigate a mysterious Russian oligarch comes across his desk, he jumps at the chance. But as Simon digs deeper, he realises that his own student experiences may point to an unbelievable truth. Has he uncovered the biggest secret in intelligence history, a Russian spy ring at the heart of the British Establishment? Or is he just another embittered ex-spook left out in the cold?
Charles Beaumont was, in the words of Ray Bradbury, "a pomegranate writer" someone whose imagination burst with such creative seeds that it yielded a garden of rich and diverse work. The Carnival and Other Stories is a testament to the flowering of Beaumont's unique talents. Its twenty-six stories run the full gamut of his literary legacy, from his first professional sale, "The Devil You Say"--later an episode of The Twilight Zone, the series for which he was the second most prolific writer after Rod Serling--to "Beast of the Glacier," receiving its first publication here. The variety of themes and approaches that Beaumont tackled is on full display in this collection, from the ruminative science fiction of "Elegy" (another Twilight Zone adaptation) to the muted horror of "Mourning Song," and from the broad humor of "The Last Caper," a Mickey Spillane spoof, to the elegiac poignance of "Mass for Mixed Voices," a celebration of life distilled from a future steeped in death. Beaumont also wrote outside of the science fiction and horror genres where his work was best known and this volume collects three stories--"The Love Master," "Genevieve, My Genevieve," and "Dead You Know"--written for the men's magazine Rogue, which he contributed to at the same time he was selling some of his best fiction to Playboy. His excellence as a screenwriter is celebrated further in "Anthem," a story in script form. The variety of themes and approaches that Beaumont tackled is on full display in this collection, from the ruminative science fiction of "Elegy" (another Twilight Zone adaptation) to the muted horror of "Mourning Song," and from the broad humor of "The Last Caper," a Mickey Spillane spoof, to the elegiac poignance of "Mass for Mixed Voices," a celebration of life distilled from a future steeped in death. Beaumont also wrote outside of the science fiction and horror genres where his work was best known and this volume collects three stories--"The Love Master," "Genevieve, My Genevieve," and "Dead You Know"--written for the men's magazine Rogue, which he contributed to at the same time he was selling some of his best fiction to Playboy. His excellence as a screenwriter is celebrated further in "Anthem," a story in script form. Although written more than half a century ago, the stories gathered here are remarkably modern in their ideas. Beaumont grappled with themes such as the Holocaust ("The Man with the Crooked Nose") and the racism entrenched in justice system ("The Crimes of Willie Washington") at a time when few other writers did. The tales gathered for The Carnival and Other Stories are solid proof that Beaumont was more than a writer for his time: he was a writer for the ages. Förlagstext
The significance of Elegy throughout human history is emphasized in this modern republishing effort, ensuring its preservation for future generations. This edition has been meticulously reformatted, retyped, and designed for clarity, avoiding the pitfalls of scanned copies. The initiative aims to make the text accessible and readable, highlighting its enduring importance.
The Beautiful People is a significant work in human history, now preserved in a modern format for future generations. This edition has been meticulously reformatted and retyped, ensuring clarity and readability, rather than relying on scanned copies of the original text.
With tales from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, this new collection features sixteen macabre gems, including three original works and many others that have never or seldom been reprinted by. -- Page 4 of cover.
Perchance to Dream contains a selection of Beaumont's finest stories, including five that he later adapted for Twilight Zone episodes. Beaumont dreamed up fantasies so vast and varied they burst through the walls of whatever box might contain them. Supernatural, horror, noir, science fiction, fantasy, pulp, and more: all were equally at home in his wondrous mind. These are stories where lions stalk the plains, classic cars rove the streets, and spacecraft hover just overhead. Here roam musicians, magicians, vampires, monsters, toreros, extraterrestrials, androids, and perhaps even the Devil himself. With dizzying feats of master storytelling and joyously eccentric humor, Beaumont transformed his nightmares and reveries into impeccably crafted stories that leave themselves indelibly stamped upon the walls of the mind.
Exploring the unsettling nature of media consumption, the narrative centers on Mary and her mother, Mrs. Cuberle, as they react to a distressing film depicting a disaster. The mother's decision to turn off the film highlights a critique of society's desensitization to tragedy and the desire for more uplifting content. Their conversation reflects a longing for meaningful experiences, contrasting the grim spectacle of the disaster with the excitement of historical achievements, like the first Mars landing.
