Guy N. Smith

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can. (July 2006)
Guy Newman Smith

Born 1939
Hopwas, Staffordshire
Occupation writer
Nationality English
Genres Horror fiction, Fantasy, Children's literature, Non-fiction

Guy Newman Smith (b. 1939, Hopwas, Staffordshire) is an English writer of horror fiction.

He wrote his first horror book, Werewolf by Moonlight in 1974, which spawned two sequels. He is probably best known for a series of six Crabs books, the first of which, Night of the Crabs, was published in 1976. The series chronicles invasions by giant, man-eating crabs of various areas of British coastline. These books are legendary in the horror fiction world, so much so that they were even spoofed by the award winning comedian and writer Matthew Holness under the guise of his Garth Marenghi persona. (See http://www.garthmarenghi.com/books/crab.htm)

A prolific writer, Guy has had over a thousand short stories and magazine articles published. He has written a series of children's books under the pseudonym Jonathon Guy, two thrillers under the name Gavin Newman and a dozen non-fiction books on countryside matters. But, it is for his 70 or so horror books that he is best known.

The success and popularity of Guy N. Smith is down to a tried and tested horror book formula, mixing plenty of sex, violence and gore with an easy to read and descriptive writing style. But the thing that has most endeared him to his fans is his ability to inject humour into serious and sexual situations in a self-lampooning way. This means his books work on two levels; they are a good horror novel, which is at the same time a satire of itself. The best of these phrases, known amongst the fans as "classic quotes" can often be enjoyed in isolation, without reading the whole book.

Guy's books have also inspired a card game, a board game and a computer game, all produced by Merlin End Games [1].

His novels enjoyed considerable popularity in Poland in the early 1990s, having been cheaply translated and published as pocket editions by the Amber publishing house.

A life-long pipe smoker, he won the British pipe smoking championship in 2003. He collects pipes and smoking ephemera and has also written a book on tobacco - Tobacco Culture: A DIY Guide, published in 1976. He is also an active pro-smoking campaigner. He is married to Jean and they have four grown-up children.

Contents

[edit] Some examples of Classic Quotes:

Gordon would you … take me away from here? Take me with you, where there aren’t such things as wolves, Black Dogs and people cutting their heads off with saws. – from Werewolf by Moonlight

She needed a man. A real man. Not the boyish Chris Latimer. Someone who would dominate her. Take her as a woman should be taken. – From The Sucking Pit

...her reply was lost in the moans and the writhings of their united bodies as they reached the ultimate possible peak of pleasure which any man and woman can climb. – From Night of the Crabs

...Suddenly he found himself becoming aroused. Hell, it was a long time since he’d gone a fortnight without a woman. Nevertheless he was determined that such pleasures would have to wait and attempt to satisfy his craving the only way he knew how. But it did not stop him getting an erection again… Every man had his Achilles heel. – From Sabat 1: The Graveyard Vultures

But what chance did they stand against this army of attacking pheasants? – From Carnivore

Why shouldn't a child's corpse turn into a pike? No reason at all...Maybe he was a fish and hadn't realised it up until now. – From The Undead

Any woman who could give him an erection after all the anti-hormone drugs they stuffed into Caerlaverock personnel deserved to be heard out. – From Warhead

It was his first taste of human flesh and he wondered why he had ever bothered with hares and sheep before. – Werewolf by Moonlight

This doomed girl had not only risen from her deathbed but she had turned into a nymphomaniac. – From The Resurrected

He did something that caused the elephant to go berserk and the potato vendor to burn to death. – From The Dark One

Nothing else mattered...Not even the giant crabs. - From Night of the Crabs

… his brain tottered on the brink of that chasm of imbecility from which there was no return. - From Fiend

[edit] Selected bibliography

[edit] Werewolf series

  • Werewolf by Moonlight (1974)
  • Return of the Werewolf (1976)
  • The Son of the Werewolf (1978)

[edit] Crab series

The 1980 film Island Claws, starring Robert Lansing and Barry Nelson, was based on the first books of the Crab series.

  • Night of the Crabs (1976) ISBN 0-450-02942-5
  • Killer Crabs (1978)
  • The Origin of the Crabs (1979)
  • Crabs on the Rampage (1981)
  • Crabs' Moon (1984)
  • Crabs: The Human Sacrifice (1988)

[edit] Crab short stories

  • "Crustacean Vengeance" (from Scare Care ed. Graham Masterton, Tor 1989)
  • "The Decoy" (from Fear #13, 1990)
  • "The Crabs" (from Peeping Tom, 1992)

[edit] Truckers series

  • The Truckers 1: The Black Knights (1977)
  • The Truckers 2: Hi-Jack! (1977)
  • Blood Circuit (1983)

[edit] Sabat series

  • Sabat 1: The Graveyard Vultures (1982)
  • Sabat 2: The Blood Merchants (1982)
  • Sabat 3: Cannibal Cult (1982)
  • Sabat 4: The Druid Connection (1983)
  • Dead Meat (1996) (omnibus of all 4 books plus two new Sabat stories, Vampire Village and Hellbeat)

[edit] Thirst series

  • Thirst (1980)
  • Thirst II: The Plague (1987)

[edit] Deathbell series

  • Deathbell (1980)
  • Demons (1987)

[edit] Pit series

  • The Sucking Pit (1975)
  • The Walking Dead (1984)

[edit] Writing as Jonathon Guy:

  • Cornharrow (1988)
  • Badger Island (1993)
  • Rak: The Story of an Urban Fox (1994)
  • Pyne (1995)
  • Hawkwood (1996)

[edit] Writing as Gavin Newman:

  • The Hangman (1994)
  • An Unholy Way to Die (1999)

[edit] Disney books

Novelizations of the classic Disney films. Paperback novels all originally published by New English Library in 1975 and reprinted by Pyramid Books in 1976 both with black and white drawings throughout.

[edit] Softporn books

  • Sexy Secrets of Swinging Wives, Part 1: The Partner Swappers (as Anonymous)
  • Sexy Confessions of a Relief Nurse (as Wendy Davis)
  • Sexy Confessions of a Games Mistress (as Joan Hudson)
  • Sexy Confessions of a Bank Clerk (as Peter Lynch)
  • Sexy Confessions of a Secretary (as Patricia Mathews)
  • Sexy Confessions of a Pop Performer (as Alan Myatt)
  • Sexy Confessions of a Window Cleaner (as Adrian Wood)

[edit] Other Novels

  • The Slime Beast (1975)
  • Der Ruf des Werwolfs (Night of the Werewolf) (1976) (Only printed in German, Published by Erich Pabel as a part of their "Vampir Horror Roman" line)
  • The Ghoul (1976) (based on the 1975 film The Ghoul)
  • Bamboo Guerillas (1977)
  • Bats Out of Hell (1978)
  • Locusts (1979)
  • Satan's Snowdrop (1980)
  • Caracal (1980)
  • Doomflight (1981)
  • Warhead (1981)
  • Entombed (1981)
  • Manitou Doll (1981)
  • Wolfcurse (1981)
  • The Pluto Pact (1982)
  • The Lurkers (1982)
  • The Undead (1983)
  • Accursed (1983)
  • Throwback (1985)
  • The Wood (1985)
  • Abomination (1986)
  • The Neophyte (1986)
  • Snakes (1986)
  • Cannibals (1986)
  • Alligators (1987)
  • Bloodshow (1987)
  • Fiend (1988)
  • The Island (1988)
  • The Master (1988)
  • The Camp (1989)
  • The Festering (1989)
  • Mania (1989)
  • Phobia (1990)
  • The Unseen (1990)
  • Carnivore (1990)
  • The Black Fedora (1991)
  • The Resurrected (1991)
  • The Knighton Vampires (1993)
  • Witch Spell (1993)
  • The Plague Chronicles (1993)
  • The Dark One (1995)
  • Dead End (1996)
  • Water Rites (1997)
  • The Pony Riders (1997)
  • The Busker (1998)
  • Deadbeat (2003)
  • Blackout (2006)
  • The Cadaver (2007)

[edit] Non-Fiction:

  • Gamekeeping and Shooting for Amateurs (1976)
  • Tobacco Culture: A DIY Guide (1977)
  • Ferreting and Trapping for Amateur Gamekeepers (1978)
  • Hill Shooting and Upland Gamekeeping (1978)
  • Profitable Fishkeeping (1979)
  • Ratting and Rabbiting for Amateur Gamekeepers (1979)
  • Sporting and Working Dogs (1979)
  • Animals of the Countryside (1980)
  • Moles and Their Control (1980)
  • The Rough Shooter's Handbook (1986)
  • Practical Country Living (1988)
  • Writing Horror Fiction (1996)
  • Hunting Big Cats in Britain (2000)

[edit] Short story collections

"Crustacean Vengence" (a Crabs story)
"The Brain Crawlers"
"The Last Boot"
"Hellfire" (a Sabat story)
"Come Back, My Darling"
"Hounds From Hades"
"The Ghouls"
"The Baby"
"The Shooting on the Moss"
"Wheels of Evil"
"Curse of the White Rhinoceros"
"The Hoax"
  • Mystery & Horror Shorts: 1st Collection (August, 1999 by Bulldog Books) ISBN 0-9532701-2-2
  • Fifty Tales from the Fifties (November, 1999 by Bulldog Books) - Collects most of his stories from the Tettenhall Observer. ISBN 0-9532701-4-9
  • Science Fiction & Horror Shorts: 1st Collection (July, 2000 by Bulldog Books) ISBN 0-9532701-5-7
"Skywatch"
"Converging Forces"
"The Influencer"
"Phoenix"
"The Grim Reaper" (a Black Fedora story)
"President Seven"
"Red Alert"
"Alone"
"Chapters of Destiny"
"The Book of Lies"
"The Crabs" (a Crabs story)
"The Ginger Bear"
"The Grim Reaper" (a Black Fedora story)
"The Vampire Village" (a Sabat story)
"Hollow Eyes"
"Come On In and Join Us"
"The Executioner"
"Until Death"
"Return to Innsmouth"
"Ratmania"
"The Waiting Game"
"Pocklington's Walk"

[edit] Anthologies edited

  • Horror Shorts (1999)
  • Mystery and Horror Shorts (1999)
  • Fifty Tales from the Fifties (1999)
  • Science Fiction and Horror Shorts (2000)

[edit] External links

Official Website:

Merlin End Games website: