' B]lack comedy doesn't come blacker . . . This is Gothic diablerie with a smile - a very nasty smile, as though a Charles Addams character had escaped from his picture and perpetrated an elaborate practical joke in prose.' - "The Guardian"
' A] semi-surrealist, pseudo-Gothic adventure . . . Read on if you can; I could.' - "The Observer"
'John Blackburn is deservedly well established as a . . . thriller writer. "The Cyclops Goblet," his twenty-third, shows no falling off: it is admirably assured, and as admirably exciting.' - "British Book News"
Bill Easter and his common law wife Peggy Tey, two small-time crooks down on their luck, have been hired to help steal the legendary treasure of Renaissance goldsmith Guido Calamai. Calamai's masterpiece, the Cyclops Goblet, rumoured to possess the power to kill whoever drinks from it, is under lock and key at the Danemere Museum, the gift of the rich and eccentric millionaire Sir Thomas Moscow. But when the goblet is discovered to be a fake, Bill and Peggy must locate the real treasure, and to find it, they'll need to break Sir Thomas's daughter, a murderous madwoman, out of an asylum. From there, the trail leads to a remote Scottish island contaminated with anthrax, where the treasure - and the shocking truth behind its deadly power - is hidden. Unprepared for the horror they will uncover, will Bill and Peggy survive to enjoy their big payday, or will they become the next victims of the Cyclops Goblet?
John Blackburn (1923-1993) was regarded as the best British horror writer of his time, but in "The Cyclops Goblet" (1977), he shows a different side, infusing a thrilling heist story with elements of horror and dark humour. This first-ever republication of the novel includes a new introduction by Greg Gbur.

'A real creepy crawly ... Recommended to those who like their thrills chilled.' - "Evening Standard"
'John Blackburn lives right up to his reputation for the eerie and the sinister.' - "The Guardian"
'A stylish, genuinely chilling author. Blackburn's devils do not loom vaguely in the background, but seem unstoppable and are among the most malevolent portrayals in the genre.' - "St James Guide to Crime and Mystery Writers"
'An accomplished writer.' - "Spectator"
Three directors of the Van Traylen Fellowship have died in gruesome ways, and now a bus carrying children to the Fellowship's orphanage has crashed, killing the driver and injuring seven-year-old Mary Valley. While in hospital, Mary, the daughter of triple murderess Anna Harb, suffers horrifying nightmares, and psychiatrist Peter Haynes believes she is mentally ill. Is it schizophrenia, or is there another explanation for the strange and vivid images she sees: memories of a past life, psychic possession, or psychological trauma from her lunatic mother's attempts to give her occult powers? When Anna Harb goes on a murderous rampage at the hospital, trying to kill Mary and exclaiming that she is a 'soul that should never have been born', the mystery deepens. General Charles Kirk of Foreign Intelligence and his friend Marcus Levin, an esteemed scientist, believe Harb is connected with the Van Traylen deaths and are determined to solve the case. They will follow the madwoman to a remote Scottish island, where against the backdrop of a blazing Guy Fawkes night bonfire, a sinister and unthinkable truth will be revealed
John Blackburn (1923-1993) was unrivalled at blending the genres of mystery, horror, and science fiction into chilling, page-turning thrillers, and "Nothing but the Night" (1968) is one of his best and most frightening. This new edition, the first in over forty years, includes a new introduction by Greg Gbur.

'This is an historical novel in the grand manner . . . A lot of research must have gone into the work, and the result is wholly satisfactory.' - "The Guardian"
'The versatile John Blackburn has deserted one kind of horror for quite another, diabolism for divinity.' - "Times Literary Supplement"
'An accomplished writer.' - "The Spectator"
The year is 37 A.D., and Rome faces a dangerous threat in the form of a new religion whose doctrines could undermine the entire foundation of the Empire. Sextus Marcellus Ennius, one of Rome's top spies, is dispatched to Jerusalem to investigate this cult and discredit its founder, a criminal named Jesus-bar-Joseph, who was rumoured to possess supernatural powers and reputedly rose from the dead after his execution. But as Sextus searches for the truth, he will be faced with dangers on all sides: the intrigues of the mad Emperor Caligula, traitors among his fellow Romans, and murderous religious zealots. And when he finally unravels the mystery, the truth is more terrible than he could have ever imagined . . .
Regarded by many critics as the best British horror writer of his time, John Blackburn (1923-1993) was the author of nearly thirty thrillers that blended the genres of horror, mystery, and science fiction in unique and inventive ways. "The Flame and the Wind" (1967), his most ambitious work, is an epic historical novel infused with elements of mystery and horror, told in the page-turning style for which he is known. This edition includes a new introduction by Greg Gbur and Bill Botten's striking black and white dust jacket art from the first edition.

'John Blackburn is today's master of horror.' - "Times Literary Supplement"
'Achieves a delicious sense of nausea.' - "The Guardian"
' G]iant monsters . . . products of a mutation . . . bubonic plague ' - "The Observer"
'He is certainly the best British novelist in his field and deserves the widest recognition.' - "Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural"
A remote area of the Scottish Highlands has been cordoned off and is being guarded by an army of I.R.A. mercenaries and ex-Nazi thugs. Local rumour has it that eccentric laird James Fraser Clyde is looking for buried treasure, but the British government fears he might be building an atomic bomb in an attempt to win Scottish independence. Yet the truth may be something far worse: a mysterious contagion is turning the locals into deformed, grunting creatures, with a single-minded urge to kill and spread their infection. Sir Marcus Levin, the Nobel Prize-winning bacteriologist, must find a way to halt the epidemic before it gets out of hand and destroys the world. But what is causing it? Who started it, and why? And can it be stopped?
First published in 1976, John Blackburn's horror thriller "The Face of the Lion" capitalized on the popularity of apocalyptic zombie tales in the wake of George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" (1968). This edition includes a new introduction by Greg Gbur, which situates Blackburn's novel within the tradition of zombie literature.

"Our only current writer who can induce such terror as the Grimm Brothers did." - "Times Literary Supplement"
"A real chiller. . . . The book moves rapidly from beginning to end and Hitchcock ought to be advised. It would make a heck of a movie." - "Evening News"
"He is certainly the best British novelist in his field and deserves the widest recognition." - "Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural"
When a dead prostitute is found floating in the river, the local police assume it's just another routine murder. But when it turns out the woman may have been a notorious East German spy, General Charles Kirk and his assistants, Michael Howard and Penny Wise, are called in from the Foreign Intelligence Office to investigate. Kirk is baffled: the evidence of numerous impeccable witnesses proves the murder could not possibly have happened, and yet there's a dead body in the morgue to show that it did. The only clue is a wooden idol in the form of a hideous, misshapen boy, found in the dead woman's room. Soon Kirk realizes that this is no case of espionage: what he is up against is an evil centuries old and long thought vanished from the earth. And when Kirk and his colleagues get close to the truth, can they unravel the mystery before they become the next victims?
John Blackburn (1923-1993) was the author of more than thirty popular thrillers in which he blended the genres of mystery, horror, and science fiction in unique and often brilliant ways. Although recognized as the best British horror writer of his time, his works have been sadly neglected since his death. This new edition of "Broken Boy" (1959), Blackburn's third novel, includes a new introduction by Greg Gbur.

'John Blackburn is today's master of horror.' - "Times Literary Supplement"
'Another of Blackburn's gripping, elemental confrontations of good and evil.' - "New York Times"
'He is bang on curdling form with this tale of a sealed tomb in a cathedral city and the Destroyer who lurks. Not for the timid.' - "Evening Standard"
'He is certainly the best British novelist in his field and deserves the widest recognition.' - "Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural"
For two centuries, the body of Sir Martin Railstone, poet, artist, and libertine, has lain undisturbed in its crypt, amidst rumours that important artistic works of genius are buried with him. The Church of England has refused to allow the opening of the tomb, believing that Railstone was a murderer and dabbler in the black arts and that anything buried with him must be diabolical in nature. But now plans are in the works for a dam, which will leave Railstone's tomb under 100 feet of water, and a small group of fanatics obsessed with Railstone will stop at nothing to discover the crypt's contents before they are lost forever. One of them, George Banks, opens the tomb and releases something ancient and evil. He dies a horrible death, raving mad, and whatever he has unleashed is not done killing. Four unlikely allies - a clergyman, an ex-Nazi scientist, a journalist, and a historian - must come together and find a way to stop it before it destroys all of humanity. . . .
John Blackburn (1923-1993) was the author of more than thirty popular thrillers in which he blended the genres of mystery, horror, and science fiction in unique and often brilliant ways. Although recognized as the best British horror writer of his time, he has been sadly neglected since his death. This new edition of "Bury Him Darkly" (1969), one of Blackburn's best, includes a new introduction by Greg Gbur.