Cover of Hornytown Chutzpah by Andrew Hiller, featuring an impressionistic person wearing a fedora and trenchcoat, firing off multicolored water balloons, one with googly eyes.
Blog Posts

Book Review: HORNYTOWN CHUTZPAH by Andrew Hiller

No, the title probably doesn’t refer to what you think it does. Andrew Hiller’s Hornytown Chutzpah is an urban fantasy noir with a Yiddish twist, and the title refers to a demon-populated neighborhood that suddenly popped up beside Washington D.C., years prior, as sort of a colony of Hell. Think Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, but with horned-demons of Hornytown rather than the famous animated characters populating Toontown. That Zemeckis film, or Gary K. Wolf’s Who Censored Roger Rabbit? that inspired it, serves as a good reference for the tone of Hornytown Chutzpah: plenty of noir that leans into the tropes of the genre with humor. Urban fantasy noir and comedy are elements often mashed up as a subgenre, but two things make Hornytown Chutzpah stand out. First is the aforementioned Yiddish twist. Before the story begins, Hiller gives readers “The Ten Commandments according to Sol the Wise Guy” that already got me chuckling. And after the story’s end is a glossary of (some) Yiddish and Jewish terms that one finds in the book, with cleverly and humorously crafted definitions in Sol’s voice.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

837. Jason Sanford (a.k.a. Biographer of Vengeance) — We Who Hunt Alexanders

https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-837-jason-sanford/SandF_837_JasonSanford.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSBlood maws, neurodivergence, and the monstrous, oh my! Shaun Duke and Paul Weimer are joined by the wonderfully weird Jason Sanford for an interview about his new novella, We Who Hunt Alexanders! Together, they discuss Sanford’s approach to monstrosity, neurodiverse protagonists, writing style and influences, and so much more! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Cover of Night & Day (or Day & Night), a horror anthology edited by Ellen Datlow. The Night cover is blue-toned and features some sort of ghoul-like monster; the Day cover is red-and-orange with a gray-skinned woman with a huge cowlick (?) and what looks like a root coming out of her mouth.
Blog Posts

Book Review: Night & Day, edited by Ellen Datlow

As usual, readers who broadly enjoy the genre and styles of stories/authors will have a higher chance of loving the collection overall. But the book would also serve as a great entry point for people wanting to try out more from the genre, particularly with the cohesive strength and interesting dichotomy that this anthology holds.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

836. Unknown Island (1948) — Torture Cinema #157

https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/sand-f-836-unknown-island/SandF_836_UnknownIsland.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSWarthog sloths, dinosaur hugs, and lecherous captains, oh my! Shaun Duke, Jen Zink, and special guest R.E. Junker join forces to talk about 1948’s Unknown Island! Together, they discuss the film’s remarkably ridiculous dinosaurs, the many types of 1940s men, plot contrivances, Corriganville, and much more! Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Scroll to Top