Ur "Malik rising" av Paul Haines (1970 - 2012)

"He draws back the plunger and the opaque liquid is sucked into the syringe. 'Now, who will go first?'
This is about belief - and no one's belief is stronger than mine. I roll back my sleeve and slap my arm on the table.[...]People will remember that I was the first, the bravest, the most loyal. I will be the first angel to step out into the city."
Paul Haines, ur "Malik rising" i novellsamlingen Last Days of Kali Yuga.

Haines var en australiensisk/nyazeeländsk skräckförfattare. Hans berättelser har ibland kallat för back packer horror. Han anknyter till den gamla skräckkonventionen med exotiska främmande platser på ett samtida intressant sätt.

Haines dog i förgår. Han hade haft cancer en längre tid. Den 29e november förra året skrev han på sin hemsida:

"The Official End of My Writing Career

My health has taken such a pounding these last months and the cancer is spreading like cancer does. Sadly the end is nigh, and the first to go is my writing career. She is now officially kaput.[...]

I truly truly wish this wasn't the case, but sometimes reality is a hard hard bastard.

Thanks to those who have supported my writing, bought, read, enjoyed (or even hated as the case most likely to be). I appreciate it. I've enjoyed it. I'll miss it.

And I'll miss you all too."

Förutom berättelserna i Last Days of Kali Yuga har jag bara läst nån enstaka novell av Haines. Jag är rätt så sugen på att läsa långnovellen "Wives" (i Year's Best Australian SF & Fantasy 5) som blev nominerad till James Tiptree jr-priset och fick en massa andra utmärkelser.