Tim Curran's "Dead Sea"

ttzuma · **Joined:** Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:15 pm **Posts:** 13517

Holy Shit!

ttzuma · **Joined:** Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:15 pm **Posts:** 13517

It's not perfect mind you....

wm ollie · **Joined:** Wed Apr 30, 2008 7:34 pm **Posts:** 363

ttzuma · **Joined:** Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:15 pm **Posts:** 13517

This one goes into the "top 20 of all time" column.

Tt

SteveVernon · **Posted:** Sat Jul 18, 2009 10:34 pm

I've always been a fan of Tim's work.

ttzuma · **Joined:** Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:15 pm **Posts:** 13517

I'd never heard of him before Steve. This book has been popping up on my Amazon lists for at least a year and I always passed it by, I finally decided to give it a chance after reading the Amazon reviews. Boy, am I glad I did. I am going to pick up The Hive by Curran on my next order.

What's interesting about Dead Sea is that it reminds me of a movie I saw when I was a kid. The plot is almost identical to a point, about a ship that gets lost in the ocean with creatures everywhere around them and how they wind up on another abandoned ship.

It also reminds me a bit of another movie I saw as a kid, a Japanese movie where this fungus was growing on a ship and overtaking everything, of course, you were not to eat the fungus, no matter how hungry you got.

It's funny how these movies stuck with me all these years. Believe it or not I think of them once in a while, and here this book arrives and it deals with the same plot lines (to a degree).
It's kinda cool I think.

Tt

ttzuma · **Joined:** Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:15 pm **Posts:** 13517

When was the last time you read a book and it actually scared you? I mean, when you could feel the tension coming from out of the pages and coiling around your throat, and you couldn't exhale even though your chest was puffed up with air?

When was the last time you read a book and wished it wouldn't end, but you had this all consuming urge to just skip to the end just to see if the charactures made it out alright?

When was the last time you read a book and when you put it down, you couldn't stop thinking about when you could start it back up again?

I would advise every one here to pick this one up. I can't believe I never heard or read anything about this book, its a couple years old, costs $20.00 (and worth every penny), and is published by Dimensions Books. And Greg Gifune says its "thought provoking and wildly entertaining throughout...genre fiction at its best". I will read whatever Greg Gifune blurbs from now on.

I should tell you a little bit about its plot: it's about a cargo ship that sails into the Bemuda Triangle.

This book was amazing. It was one of the most well written and terrifying books I think I've read. It actually brought back memories of when I first read The Stand or The Shinning.

Holy Shit, this book is good!

Tt

SteveVernon · **Posted:** Sun Jul 19, 2009 5:11 pm

I haven't read DEAD SEA yet, but I did read and enjoy THE HIVE, which read like a cross between John Carpenter's The Thing and HP Lovecrafts' AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS. Very visual, very exciting.

I really enjoyed Tim Curran's SKIN MEDICINE, an out-of-print weird western that is being re-released later this year.

Here's a link to Tim's website.

Tim is one of the three other authors who is teaming up with me for a four author, four novella collection due out probably in 2010 from Cemetery Dance entitled FOUR RODE OUT. I've always enjoyed his fun dark pulpy style.

I'll drop him an e-mail and see if I can lure him over here to chat with you, Tony.

SteveVernon · **Posted:** Mon Jul 20, 2009 4:43 am

Tim's having trouble signing up here, but Nanci is on it...

ttzuma · **Joined:** Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:15 pm **Posts:** 13517

Boy, it would be cool to hear anything Tim has to say about writing Dead Sea and his other books. I saw on his web site he's got a short story collection coming out also.

Tt

TMLCrow · **Posted:** Mon Jul 20, 2009 11:44 am

Only Tt could get another author on here to talk to us. This one went to the top of the Amazon wish list.

Laurel in Ely · **Posted:** Mon Jul 20, 2009 12:14 pm

ttzuma · **Joined:** Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:15 pm **Posts:** 13517

Well, I haven't done anything, if it happens, it's Mr. Vernon we have to thank.

But it may not happen at all. I see where Tim did manage to sign in at Horrorworld and he....well....lets just say he thought Scott Nicholson's board was more important than ours. (Sigh)...of all the other places he could have visited instead of our little home here, he picked Scott Nicholson's.

I would have understood if he visited Braunkecks, Pic's, Dunbar's, or a few others...but to go to a Scott Nicholson board over visiting his own fans!!! The horror of it all! We can only hope that he couldn't find The Cellar and decided to roam around a bit. Thank God we don't have a John Saul board, that would have been just too much.

Tim....why have you forsaken us?

tim curran · **Joined:** Mon Jul 20, 2009 12:29 am **Posts:** 107

Ha! I've found my way here. You have not been forsaken! I posted in Scott's board because it was one of the first things I came across and I liked his books (besides I had to see if this was working or not). But I was making my way here...

Hey everyone. Glad you liked Dead Sea. I wrote it because I've always been fascinated by sea folklore and superstition AND the tales of William Hope Hodgson. The whole Sargasso Sea thing which, you probably know, predates the Bermuda Triangle as the sea of lost ships. I thought if the Sargasso--the sailor's legend of it as opposed to the real Sargasso--was in another dimension then it would explain all those stories of ships claiming they had passed into some misty netherworld where vessels from all ages were trapped in the seaweed. That whole business ties in with the Devil's Triangle thing. People always claimed some patch of glowing mist swallowed their ship or plane. Anyway, I used all that stuff as the springboard. I mean what could be more claustrophobic than a fog-enshrouded dead sea of rotting ships? I saw it in my mind and it was pretty atmospheric. And I liked being able to work in real lost ships like the Cyclops.

Hey, Tt! That fungus movie you're talking about...I think it was Matango, the Fungus of Terror (cool title), aka, The Attack of the Mushroom People (even better). I haven't seen it in years. But I'm pretty sure it was in the back of my mind when I wrote Dead Sea. Pretty cool flick...people getting absorbed by that fungus. Although I seem to remember at the end they were on an island and people turned into giant walking phallic-shaped mushrooms...

I really appreciate you guys giving props to my book!

ttzuma · **Joined:** Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:15 pm **Posts:** 13517

Welcome Tim and thanks for coming down to talk with us!

I didn't want to give away too much of your plot so I was pretty vague describing it here, but I'm glad you gave us all a taste of it. I also did not want to comment on the characters in your story because what you do with them is so unusal in fiction that it was infuriating! I think I actually cursed you out loud a few times. I'm not going to say what you did, but readers, be prepared for an usually plotted horror novel!

And as far as the sea monsters go...I kept waiting for you to repeat yourself or run out of original ideas, but man, you kept em coming! You have one hell of an imagination.

Tim, your scenes of tension are some of the best I've read. It's a full on assult of the readers senses; you can feel, see, hear, and smell the action as its occuring. And a lot of that has to do with your characterization. Not one person in your story rang false, even Saks, who could have been written as sterotypical, was given a pretty fleshed out personality and a convincing back story. And what you did with Frebini (spelling?) will stay with me for a long time (it reminded me of a Stephen King story with the same premise which also scared the hell out of me when I read it).

I did have a few problems with the story though. I won't elaborate on them, but since you described a bit of this in your post, I will say my biggest problem was how it was determined that there was a ship in the graveyard with "the possible answer". I don't have the book in front of me so I forget the ships name (Lancet?), how did the scientist know the possible answer could be on that ship? Sorry folks if I'm being vague, I don't want to give too much away.

Anyways, like I've said, this book scared the shit out me while I was reading it and I would recommend this to anyone out there who loves tension filled horror. I hope The Hive is as good as Dead Sea cause that one is on my next order (Vernon says its great!). I was also wondering if you could tell us about your new short story collection.

Thanks agan Tim for talking to us.

Ttzuma

tim curran · **Joined:** Mon Jul 20, 2009 12:29 am **Posts:** 107

How did they know the answer was on the Lancet, the old slave ship? I mentioned in there that the scientists who had been trapped in the dead sea had discovered what they thought was the answer aboard the Lancet. I tried to give the impression that they had been there a long time and had been searching around, ship by ship and that brought them up to the Sea of Veils where the Lancet waited. Your question threw me, though. I had to look and find out myself!

I'm glad you liked the characters and monsters. I love creating good monsters and I never seem to run dry on them. I think my favorite part was the spider-woman on the wreck of the USS Cyclops. Poor Fabrini...nothing but disassociated particulated atoms for eternity!

I don't have a short story collection coming out (though I'd love to put one out!). I think what you saw on the site was mention of the collection of novellas I'm doing with Steve Vernon, Tim Lebbon, and Brian Keene. Steve mentioned it in another post: FOUR RODE OUT. I should actively pursue a publisher to put out a collection. I've been publishing short stories since the '90's so I've got a lot of material.

As far as HIVE goes. I hope you enjoy it. Keep in mind that it's the first of a series from Elder Signs Press. Kind of like the first chapter. It was published in 2005 and the next installment was to follow the next year or so, but it didn't happen. But ESP is back up and running again and I'm told the next one will be either later this year or early 2010. The sequel to HIVE was originally called SWARM, but by the time I was done with it it was like 450,000 words. That's okay for mass-market but awful big for small press. So I had to cut it into two books. Anyway, we're finally rolling on it again...

ttzuma · **Joined:** Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:15 pm **Posts:** 13517

Thanks for the answer. Again I don't want to give too much away, but the scientist seemed surprised by what was brought back by the men in the boat, like he didn't know it was on the boat in the first place. And in different areas you say, "It's just a feeling that "the answer" is on the Lancet". Oh well, all in all its a small thing really. The book is fantastic and the only reason I even thought about it was because I was so damn into the story.

Thanks for the heads up on The Hive and the second release. I'll head back to your web site tonight and take a second look at what I thought I saw on a short story release. I do remember seeing the phrase "extreme horror" somewhere. I hope I'm not confusing it with another web site.

It was great you coming here Tim! I hope everyone reads Dead Sea and thinks as highly of it as I do!

Tt

edit: I saw the picture of Vile Things on your site, which you are only part of. Looking at it quickly I assumed the whole book was your short stories. I'll admit to glossing over it last night to look at the book Steve Vernon was talking about (the weird western). That one sounds awesome also.

SteveVernon · **Posted:** Mon Jul 20, 2009 9:56 pm

Tasmaniac · **Posted:** Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:51 am

My name is Steve...and I'm a Tim Curran addict

Dead Sea was great

Skin Medicine was great

Toxic Shadows was great

Headhunter was great

And all the stories included in the DARK ANIMUS anthos were great too (Top Aussie mag)

Keep bangin' them out Tim,

Steve.

tim curran · **Joined:** Mon Jul 20, 2009 12:29 am **Posts:** 107

Thanks, Steve! Glad you enjoyed my stuff. It was great writing stories for Dark Animus and the editor, James Cain was a great guy to work with. DA seems to be on hiatus right now, but I hope to see it come back. It was unique

tim curran · **Joined:** Mon Jul 20, 2009 12:29 am **Posts:** 107

I think this is the movie we were talking about:

MATANGO, THE FUNGUS OF TERROR/ATTACK OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE. There was a sequel called ATTACK OF THE FUNGAL PHALLUS, but the producers decided the world wasn't quite ready for it.

Tim

ttzuma · **Joined:** Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:15 pm **Posts:** 13517

YES! That's the one!

(while I was there I looked at some other trailers too, to cool!)

Tt

SteveVernon · **Posted:** Sat Jul 25, 2009 5:03 pm

Here's a link to Severed Press, the folks who are bringing out the reprint of Skin Medicine.

I love the cover.

Laurel in Ely · **Posted:** Mon Aug 03, 2009 4:20 pm

Starting Dead Sea next.

Thanks friend. :hi

horrordude · **Posted:** Tue Aug 04, 2009 4:17 am

ttzuma · **Joined:** Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:15 pm **Posts:** 13517

Yeah...with Steve not having anything for us until later in the year it looks like Tim will keep us going in the gonzo horror department.

I tried to order Skin Medicine, Hive, and Shivers 5 (plus the newly remastered first solo Neil Young release) from Amazon yesterday and they wouldn't let me. I tried twice.

This morning I had no problem, by the way they said I grabbed the last copy of Hive...we'll see if it comes or not.

My wife is going to be pissed, I already have unread books scattered all over the den and my nightstand. But she is going away for 5 days starting this weekend, I may be able to put a dent into them, but I do have the latest Repairman Jack coming too...man...to much good stuff to read.

Tt

HugeHorrorFan · **Posted:** Tue Aug 04, 2009 10:46 am

I am about halfway through CONSPIRACIES and it is building up to be one of my favorite Repairman Jack novels to date. The fun factor is way up on this one, plus the Rakoshi are surfacing more since THE TOMB. Although, I must admit, I will never forget a memorable scene in LEGACIES. It has a total RJ signature move when he gets even with a thief that stole all the toys from the AIDS hospital for children. A true modern Robin Hood…

ttzuma · **Joined:** Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:15 pm **Posts:** 13517

...and many of my favorite scenes were in Gateways...the airport when he meets his father...and when he gets the skin from his dead woman friend....and....

Too many to list through all the books....its funny how when I read your post Paulo how many scenes did flash into my head...like when he was on the subway and took out the kid....the hole in the floor where everything was being sucked into it....and the car tires dropping from the skies onto the party...Wilson is one hell of a writer.

Tt

Tim Curran's "Dead Sea"

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