Marvin Kaye has crafted a wondeful sequel to Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, picking up the story of Ebenezer Scrooge and revisiting familiar characters such as Jacob Marley, Bob Cratchit, and many others, following it through to an altogether satisfying conclusion in an intricate tapestry of the real and the supernatural, as the reformed Scrooge tries to satisfy a nagging feeling of something yet undone. ...intriguing and unusual. It's a very interesting idea to put a new text into an 'intertextual' relationship with a Dickens original.The treatment of the Jewish angle throws a sidelight on early C19th society and fictional representations of it at the time which is extremely interesting. I'm sure that many readers will find it fascinating...In short, a worthy endeavour with much that is thought-provoking.-Charles Palliser It's a brave soul who writes a sequel to a universally-loved and -known book like A Christmas Carol; it's a rarer man still who does a job as fine as Marvin Kaye of evoking Charles Dickens without imitating him, of extending a story that had until now seemed resolved and delivering a tale which will delight, terrify and affect all readers. Kaye's mastery of Dickensian style, but also by a kind of optimism, or idealism, far more consistent with Victorian Dickens/Kaye than with purely contemporary Kaye. I can imagine that Marvin really did write it as Dickens might have wanted it to go. -Paula Volsky This is a magical, indeed a miraculous, story. Here is the vision of the Afterlife which Dickens did not address, but was the unanswered question at the end of his original tale. It is rare indeed when an author writes a sequel to some other author's work and does not diminish both. It's brilliant. -Morgan Llywelyn

Weird Tales has always been the most popular and sought-after of all pulp magazines. Its mix of exotic fantasy, horror, science fiction, suspense, and the just plain indescribable has enthralled generations of readers throughout the world.Collected here are 13 of the best short stories published in Weird Tales' first year of publication, 1923 -- classics by many who would later play an integral part in the Unique Magazine, such as H.P. Lovecraft, Frank Owen, and Farnsworth Wright.

Hilary Quayle and her assistant, Gene, are asked to take on the publicity for an extravagant production of Macbeth to premiere at Madison Square Garden's Felt Forum. Hilary had known the director many years ago in summer stock. Events proceed as usual in the theatrical world -- a world fraught with the hectic, the impassioned, the absolute certainty that nothing will be ready by opening night, and the absolute drive to belie that certainty.And on the night of the technical/dress rehearsal all efforts seem to be paying off with a rather splendid production -- until one of the corpses turns out not to be acting, and the gunshot during the blackout turns out to be no flamboyant anachronism.Hilary suspects the play's the thing and studies the text and old sourcebooks, her trail finally taking her to the Folger Library in Washington, D.C. Gene, meanwhile, pursues the problem in more traditional fashion. His investigations leads through New York's glamorous and less than glamorous theatrical circles.The conclusions and solutions they find will surprise everyone. reader who enjoys good and intriguing mysteries.

The sixth issue of Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine features another stellar lineup of Holmes-themed non-fiction and Holmes-inspired mystery fiction. Included are:

NON-FICTION: "The Rare Mexican Sherlock Holmes Series," by Gary Lovisi; "Remembering Edward D. Hoch and His Sherlock Holmes Stories," by Len Moffatt; "Screen of the Crime: Baker Street on a Budget," by Lenny Picker; and "The Autumn of Terror: Sherlock Holmes Investigates Jack the Ripper," by M. J. Elliott.

FICTION: "A Memo from Inspector Lestrade," "The Curse of Bridges Falls," by William E. Chambers; "Let Them Eat Cake," by Jean Paiva; "The Little Blue Dog," by Marc Bilgrey; "The Bank Job," by Steve Hagood; "Silent Victim" (novel excerpt), by C.E. Lawrence; and "The Book of Tobit," by Carla Coupe.

CLASSIC REPRINT: "The Reigate Squires," by Arthur Conan Doyle.

POETRY: "The Shadow Train," by Mike Allen.