Punktown: Shades of Grey [Hardcover]

Jeffrey Thomas (Author), Scott Thomas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2006

China Miéville called Jeffrey Thomas’ PUNKTOWN “something wonderful,” and Ellen Datlow proclaimed it “a brilliant collection.” Now, in PUNKTOWN: SHADES OF GREY -- a brand new collection of stories -- Jeffrey Thomas is joined by brother Scott Thomas in giving voices to the citizens of this futuristic urban hell. In its dangerously alluring streets, you will meet: extradimensional monsters, murderous aliens, vampiric mutants, coffee-loving robots, confused clones, and war vets looking for one last, bloody battle to fight. Welcome: you are now entering Punktown. You are now entering the city that Publishers Weekly described as “equal parts H. P. Lovecraft’s Arkham and Blade Runner’s dark metropolis.”

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Praise for Jeffrey Thomas:

Michael Marshall Smith, on Punktown: "Stories of great impact, a collection of which anyone would be proud to have written just one tale."

F. Paul Wilson, on Letters From Hades: "Jeffrey Thomas' imagination is as twisted as it is relentless. Every page...presents new and original horrors."

Brian Keene, author of City of the Dead: "In time he will, in this reviewer's opinion, be listed alongside King, Barker, Koontz, and McCammon."

Praise for Scott Thomas:

Ellen Datlow, on Cobwebs and Whispers: "One of the best collections of the year."

Brian Keene, on Cobwebs and Whispers: "A delightfully wicked read... Highly recommended!

Jack Fisher, editor of Flesh & Blood: "Scott Thomas writes like a rainbow on fire: his prose is colorful and elegant, his ideas dark and unnatural."

Product Details

• Hardcover: 238 pages
• Publisher: Bedlam Press/Necro Publications; 1st edition (2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1889186317
• ISBN-13: 978-1889186313
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,624,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am the author of such science fiction/horror novels as DEADSTOCK (finalist for the John W. Campbell Award), BLUE WAR, HEALTH AGENT, MONSTROCITY (finalist for the Bram Stoker Award), THE FALL OF HADES, LETTERS FROM HADES, UGLY HEAVEN/BEAUTIFUL HELL (coauthored with Carlton Mellick III), THOUGHT FORMS, and A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: THE DREAM DEALERS. My short story collections include PUNKTOWN, VOICES FROM PUNKTOWN, PUNKTOWN: SHADES OF GREY (coauthored with Scott Thomas), NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS, UNHOLY DIMENSIONS, VOICES FROM HADES, THIRTEEN SPECIMENS, DOOMSDAYS, and AAAIIIEEE!!!. Stories of mine have been reprinted in THE YEAR'S BEST FANTASY AND HORROR and THE YEAR'S BEST HORROR STORIES. Though I consider Vietnam (my wife's place of origin) my second home, I am a resident of ye olde Massachusetts. Visit my blog at www.JeffreyEThomas.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Returning to Punktown has never been sweeter, nor as horrific..., February 26, 2006

By 

Schtinky "Schtinky" (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Punktown: Shades of Grey (Hardcover)

This time, talented author Jeffrey Thomas has teemed up with his equally talented brother Scott Thomas to give us another heaping helping of Punktown and it's mystic, alien attractions.

Part One written by Jeffrey Thomas includes these stories:

'The Unbearable Being Of Light' introduces a new species to Punktown, the silent and disfigured N'R'J, who have centered their old colony around iridescent floating blobs called blastulas and a strange creature stuck between dimensions.
'The Hate Machines' blends home and office décor with anger management.
'Sweaty Betty, Termite Queen Of The Deranged'. When a house becomes a home, or perhaps a womb.
'Purple Wings' is written in the rhyming intonations of popular Punktown musicians.
'Perfectly Beastly'. Who are the pets?
'Adrift On The Sea Of Milk'. What could possibly feed on us in the carnivals of Punktown?
'Hydra'. The downfalls of perfect cloning and too much wealth.
'Willow Tree'. They symbol of a neighborhood becomes an object of fear and challenge.


Part Two by Scott Thomas includes these stories:

'Pulse'. Beings too strange even for Punktown.
'Frankenstein's Reflection'. Godlike compulsion without thought to the consequence of those left alone.
'A Shade Of Gray'. Questioning consciousness in a robotic world.
'I Have Killed Millions'. A rather vague thought process of revenge. I didn't quite get it.
'Under The Cherub'. Jealousy gone awry.
'Veterans'. A strange tale of a strange war. Again, I didn't quite get this story.
'The Merciful Universe' is a lovely tale of time, companionship, and the sometimes-miracle of cloning.

Following the stories of our beloved Punktown is a nice biographical peekhole into authors Jeffrey and Scott Thomas, artist Travis Anthony Soumis, and publisher David G. Barnett.

Thomas's 'Punktown' world belongs with Mieville's 'New Crozubon', VanderMeer's 'Ambergris' and 'Veniss Underground', and M. John Harrison's strange worlds that have passed the test of time.

There are always more surprises, more aliens, new ghettos, darker monsters, creepier alleys, byways, and canals, darker motivations, and more squalor and valor than ever in this new Punktown collection. All these twisted stories written in Thomas's precise and gifted prose will make you more than glad you picked up this addition to the ongoing events that squirm and writhe inside Punktown. Well worth the money. Enjoy!