The Godsend by Bernard Taylor: introduction

BevVincent

Just announced by Centipede Press: The Godsend by Bernard Taylor, for which I wrote the introduction. Signed by the artist, the author and me.

• Limited to 250 copies, each signed by Bernard Taylor, Bev Vincent and Lisa Desimini.
• Introduction by Bev Vincent.
• Reprints of original paperback and hardcover jackets, in color.
• Ribbon marker, head and tail bands, deboss stamp on front board.

As we continue our program of publishing classic genre novels from the past in the spectacular format that they merit, we turn to the works of British author Bernard Taylor who exploded onto the scene with the 1976 release of The Godsend (published simultaneously by Souvenir Press in the U.K. and St. Martin’s in the U.S.). Tales of xenogenesis have been a sub-genre of horror fiction for many, many years with notable examples including such landmark pieces of fiction as Ray Bradbury’s “The Small Assassin” among many others. 

From the introduction of the foundling “Bonnie” to the Marlowe family to the novel’s conclusion, Bernard Taylor demonstrates a remarkable gift for pacing, and subtly builds layer upon layer of tension and discomfort. We can only watch helplessly as an inexorable doom stalks the four Marlowe children while the parents are incapable of protecting them. While the parallels between “Bonnie’s” actions and the real-life behavior of the cuckoo are more than a touch obvious, it is Taylor’s skillful building horror upon horror without ever resorting to overt violence and gore that renders this short novel such a classic of the field. When your debut novel is selected by the legendary Charles L. Grant as his pick for inclusion in Horror: 100 Best Books, you are definitely doing something right. 

Limited to only 250 copies signed by the author, introducer, and cover artist, the book has a ribbon marker and full color endpapers.

Lou_Sytsma

Congrats.

BevVincent

Only 45 copies of the 250 copy print run remaining!