The
Official Tim LebbonHomepage
Some
people are just plain poets. Tim Lebbon is that sort of person. His words
ring with a sort of elemental truth when you read them, and even the preposterous
seems perfectly believable when filtered through his prose. I've known
Tim for a while, seen him at a few cons, but only recently started reading
his work.
I hate
when it takes me a while to get to the good stuff. Tim is right up there,
and all of the praise he's garnered has been well earned.
Added
bonus: he's a nice guy. I'm always amazed by that when it happens. You work
in the industry and you run across an amazing number of people who have
let the hype about their stuff go directly to their heads. That's not Tim.
If there is an arrogant cell in his body, he's hidden it well.
The
first book of his I read was Until She Sleeps, which is
a very different tale involving dreams becoming reality. But really, not
just dreams, more importantly nightmares. Ever been caught in a nightmare
you couldn't wake from? Ever been caught in someone else's nightmare?
Hellish stuff written with the skill of a surgeon and a delicate touch.
Fears
Unnamed is the title for one of his short story collections, and
by the time he's finished, the fears have names and faces as well. The novella
White by itself is worth the cause of admission, but everything after
that makes for an amazing read as well.
One
of his projects that is getting a lot of justifiable buzz lately is a
series of novellas revolving around two characters with a hard on for
destroying each other. In this case, the two have a rather long history,
so far spanning a few hundred years and most of the globe. A man named
Gabriel is seeking vengeance against an assassin named Temple, who slaughtered
his family. In the first two stories alone, Lebbon slides the characters
through the wild west in Dead Man's Hand and then jaunts
back into their history to show us Pieces Of Hate, a tale
of pirates that is unsettlingly realistic in the setting. There are more
stories anticipated that will revolve around the timeless conflict. Get
them when you can.
The
little so and so has already won the British Fantasy Award and I believe
a Stoker. Weird how that works, the whole winning because you're talented
thing. Want to know how good Lebbon is? Chris Golden actually stole one
of his books from me. I got a copy before the book was readily available
and Chris needed a Lebbon fix. I let it slide this time, because I'm a nice
guy. Next time, I might have to get medieval on his G.I. Joe looking self.
That's okay. I bought the book and it was worth every penny spent and a
few besides. Treat yourself. Read Lebbon. He's definitely worth reading.
A few of his titles to consider: Dead Man's Hand, Pieces Of Hate,
Fears Unnamed, Face, Desolation, Berserk, (And good luck with that
the book is from an incredibly limited edition made to match pre-order numbers
only), Until She Sleeps, Nature Of Balance, As The Sun Goes Down,
Hush, Dusk, Dawn, Exorcising Angels (with Simon Clark), and MESMER,.
Trust me, find them and read them. You'll be more than glad that you added
Tim Lebbon to your diet.
