Valancourt Books: 178 books

One of the great pulp writers, Fredric Brown (1906-1972) combined a flair for the horrific, a quirky sense of humor, and a wild imagination, and published many classic novels in the mystery and science fiction genres. But he was also a master of the “short-short story,” tales only a page or two...

"Remember the name John Braine. You'll be hearing quite a lot about him. Room at the Top is his first novel and it is a remarkable one . . . it's a long time since we heard the hunger of youth really snarling and it's a good sound to hear again." - Sunday Times "The most discussed,...

The offspring of a profligate scoundrel and a drunken circus performer, Aleck Severn was born inside a prison’s walls after his mother stabbed his father to death. Severn shows no outward signs of inheriting his parents’ faults: a handsome, affable man about town, he is popular with his friends...

J. B. Priestley (1894-1984) was a versatile and prolific novelist and playwright, but in The Other Place(1953) he shows an unexpected talent, proving himself a master of the weird tale. In "The Grey Ones," a man visits a psychiatrist after he becomes convinced that a group of demons masquerading...

'An entertaining confidence game, which seduces, startles, and ... assuredly succeeds in engaging one's interest.' - Kirkus Reviews '[Wilson] continues to try to find out what is really important in life ... surely his intentions deserve all our respect. And by the way, Necessary Doubt is...

"Gerald Kersh had a wild imagination matched by a vivid, near-hallucinatory style. Many of his concepts are so original that they blur the distinction between fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and horror, but the cumulative impact of his short stories is horrific in the extreme." - Penguin...

'One of the more earnest and interesting writers of his generation.' - The Guardian 'Mr Wilson's vitality comes through. He writes a clear, light prose, and he makes his interests, however bizarre, seem important.' - Punch 'Compelling.' - New Statesman Gerard Sorme thinks the...

In the opening story of this extraordinary collection, “California Burning,” a man must come to terms with a strange truth about his dead father, whose corpse refuses to be cremated. In “Snow in Dirt,” a man finds the woman of his dreams buried in a state of suspended animation in his garden....

When Lieutenant Alastair Lynch shoots young Drummer Malcolm Harley in the back for desertion in the face of an enemy attack, his action seems to be clearly justified by military precedent. But after a court martial is convened to examine the facts of the case, a different story emerges. A tale of...

"Mr. Kitchin has achieved a very considerable feat . . . written with amazing economy . . . in short, it is a work of art." - Spectator "A writer who deserves to be admired and cherished." - Francis King "Mr. Kitchin is one of the cleverest, most intellectual,...

'He writes a clear, light prose, and he makes his interests, however bizarre, seem important.' - *Punch * 'One of the more earnest and interesting writers of his generation.' - The Guardian 'He has the kind of story-telling power which could charm the birds off the trees.' - *The...

'What an unforgettable, really great evocation. Terrible and tragic insight ... An important book.' - Sunday Times 'Not since Dickens has a British fiction writer dealt with murder in a book of such size and seriousness.' - Sunday Express 'Brilliant ... Magnificent! Murder mystery...

Jack Quinlan, an American writer, travels to a small village in the remote western part of Ireland to research a book on the Irish Famine. The quiet, picturesque village seems just the place to spend a few months writing, but beneath its placid exterior lurk dark secrets. Why do the locals behave...

The Supreme Court has ordered an end to racially segregated schools, and folks in the predominantly white Southern town of Caxton are prepared grudgingly to comply with the ruling. At least until Adam Cramer, a handsome and smooth-talking young man, arrives in town and begins to make incendiary speeches...