Book Reviews

[bugen]

This next review is special for me, as it is of the 200th book I’ve completed and rated since taking a much more dedicated approach to reading in December 2012.

In the spirit of the occasion I’m going to dive just a little deeper, and submit to you:

[marduk]

Re: Cabal

Sounds good; I'll have to get this one.

(wow, four clicks to delete a screwed-up post!)

[marduk]

Here's a new one; non-fiction for a change.

http://newsok.com/book-review-police...rticle/5233252

[bugen]

Cabal – Clive Barker
“The sun rose like a stripper, keeping its glory well covered by cloud till it seemed there’d be no show at all, then casting off its rags one by one.”

Boone, a possible serial killer undergoing intense therapy, has his world turned upside down as the crimes come to light and he becomes a hunted man taking refuge in the lost and eerie town of Midian as the law closes in.

One of the more unique vampire novels you can read, Cabal has its monsters. They’re teeming all over the pages throughout the entire book, have cock-sure, mean spirited stupidity in their hearts and are 100% human. In contrast the Nightbreed creatures are mysterious, covert, and fiercely protective of their sanctuary underneath the town. Both groups are merciless.

Barker does it again here, like Chiliad and much of the Books of Blood, examining human characteristics and not really painting us in the best of lights. He strives for a brutal honesty with this style of writing using fantastic elements to emphasize his views. Many of the stereotypes that have been driven into the ground by authors capitalizing on teenage girly-horror were identified and turned on their heads by Barker here with his particular brand of the forbidden relationship. This story isn’t a point to point barn-burner but a thinker’s novel, though it maintains a good, solid pace.

A grim and ponderous novel, Cabal stands alone within the vampire genre. There isn’t a glamorous sight to be seen, the occult takes downstage left, the humans are worse than the devils and even Baphomet himself has a strong, mostly-positive presence. The book is excellent.

4 stars

SAM_2083.jpg

SAM_2070.jpg

SAM_2071.jpg

SAM_2074.jpg

SAM_2077.jpg

[bugen]

Black Evening – David Morrell
“The truth was, even if I had his promise in writing, the studio’s lawyers could have it nullified if Wes claimed he’d been misled. This town wouldn’t function if people kept their word.”

Somewhere in 2013, steeped in short stories and novellas, I began to get a better grip on where my tastes lie and what I was looking for. One particular author had a new collection coming out, the previous which was absolutely outstanding, but the publication was overdue. I waited, then a few months later with no update to the now-passed publication date I wrote the author (and publisher).

Eventually the new book came out, and it was easily one of the very best collections I’ve ever read: Little by Little by John R. Little. This kept the conversation going with Mr. Little, and at one point I asked him if he would provide a list of his favorite collections. Black Evening was on his list, so this is a favorite of a favorite.

The collection contains 14 short stories and novellas, around half of which were award winning or nominated. There is not a single bad story in the bunch and only two that were so-so but generally likeable. Two stories in particular, touched on below, border the brilliant. The rest are varying degrees of damned good.

“The Partnership” is a tale of two business partners that never figured out how to get along, and one resorts to hiring someone to ‘fix’ the problem with the other. Being America, a capitalistic hitman makes the most of the situation.

“Mumbo Jumbo” details the on-field and pregame antics of an invincible high school football team with an interesting locker room routine on game days, following two losers who make the team and the coach who leads them to victory.

The type of horror on display here shows strong supernatural elements in many of the stories but mostly stays away from monsters. It’s more the flavor of real life with supernatural elements added at certain points to add contrast to the story and color to the characters, perhaps a little similar to Jonathan Carroll’s short work. Nobody’s ever fighting vampires or running from The Devil, but ghosts and magic make a few appearances.

Overall the strong supernatural elements in most of the stories keep this collection firmly grounded in horror, but the sense of reality and sadness in a normal world is where the stories are centered. Then other elements are introduced to knock the mechanism of the story out of whack so we can see what’s really going on beneath the machinery.

Each story starts with a strong, full-bodied earth tone on the front end with dark, pungent peat following along with spicy undertones and finishing with alternating pepper, cherry and oak. Never tart, it’s all class.

4 stars

SAM_2657.jpg

SAM_2660.jpg

SAM_2058.jpg

SAM_2062.jpg

SAM_2064.jpg

SAM_2066.jpg
*Thank you to John R. Little for the recommendation

[Martin]

I count myself among the big Joe Hill fans. I felt your review was a fair representation of your opinion on the story.

Martin I think I used the wrong word with critical; the book was certainly a positive experience and I'm glad you read my comments that way. I know there are huge Joe Hill fans here and I didn't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable by the review that was 'merely' good, so it felt just a little harder to write than some others.

Sock Monkey I combined the present and past Ig into one character when thinking about the story as a whole, but now that you mention it that's an excellent point. I also felt drawn to the past Ig, and it was the present Ig/devil character that was harder to reach.

Thank you guys for your comments, they are very much appreciated!

[bugen]

Martin I think I used the wrong word with critical; the book was certainly a positive experience and I'm glad you read my comments that way. I know there are huge Joe Hill fans here and I didn't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable by the review that was 'merely' good, so it felt just a little harder to write than some others.

Sock Monkey I combined the present and past Ig into one character when thinking about the story as a whole, but now that you mention it that's an excellent point. I also felt drawn to the past Ig, and it was the present Ig/devil character that was harder to reach.

Thank you guys for your comments, they are very much appreciated!

[Martin]

I always look at reviews as simply someones opinion. The only time I take issue with a critical review is when the writer bashes the author for reasons beyond their opinion of the story. With the said I do not think your review was critical at all. I take it as 'you liked the story but had higher expectations'.

No, it didn't quite meet my expecations, though I still liked it a good deal and would recommend it. I just can't gush over it like some other books. Admittedly, my hopes may have been a little unrealistic, based upon a killer theme and an author who is gaining serious momentum.

It was tough and I almost didn't write it because Mr. Hill is becoming a much beloved author and I don't want to be critical of our heroes. But I told myself I'd try this for 6 months and need to be honest if it's going to work, even with successful books from the heavyweights.

[Sock Monkey]

Bugen, you are not alone in your mixed feelings about Horns. I recently read this myself and while Hill's prose was top notch (some of the descriptions are just beautiful ), I found myself completely disconnected from present-day Ig's character. I felt for the character in the various flashbacks but once the story started following him in the present again, I just couldn't find that connection, at least not in the way that I could with Terry and the other characters. To me, there just seemed to be a coldness in personality that made sense in the context of the story, but also kept me at arm's length.

[bugen]

No, it didn't quite meet my expecations, though I still liked it a good deal and would recommend it. I just can't gush over it like some other books. Admittedly, my hopes may have been a little unrealistic, based upon a killer theme and an author who is gaining serious momentum.

It was tough and I almost didn't write it because Mr. Hill is becoming a much beloved author and I don't want to be critical of our heroes. But I told myself I'd try this for 6 months and need to be honest if it's going to work, even with successful books from the heavyweights.

[Martin]

Totally understand your point. The story did not meet your expectations.

Horns - Joe Hill

“Maybe all the schemes of the devil were nothing compared to what men could think up.”

This is a difficult review as there may be only one person on the planet who will fully agree despite having never read the book (Hi, Ma).

On the anniversary of his girlfriend’s sadistic murder, a young man finds himself growing horns which cause those around him to speak more candidly and act much closer to their base instincts than allowed in a generally civilized society. As events accelerate our protagonist must come to terms with his own, developing nature.

This second novel is so full of promise I was disappointed by the way the final events played out. Not that there was any kind of a bad ending, in fact I liked it, but I wanted this book to be something that in the end, it was not. It’s a small tale, involving a small group of characters, whereas based on the premise I had hoped for epic tale involving all the devilry in the world. Philosophical questions were presented occasionally, but this could have been the very heart and soul of the story. Religion is such a massive part of our everyday lives, whether we believe or we don’t, and I felt this area relatively untapped here considering the theme. Our devil character is not grappling with phenomenal cosmic powers with the potential to crack the Earth, he is wallowing in misery and doubt, following the breadcrumbs of his girlfriend’s murder that everyone thinks he committed. Still, everything works in this story and conflict abounds.

Mr. Hill is an excellent writer, and is fully capable of employing brilliance (see 20th Century Ghosts). He has not yet peaked, and that can only be a good thing.

A well written, highly enjoyable read with a pace that careens the story to its climax. Smaller in scale than I wanted? Sure. But the Devil takes over slowly…

3 stars

[bugen]

Horns - Joe Hill
“Maybe all the schemes of the devil were nothing compared to what men could think up.”

On the anniversary of his girlfriend’s sadistic murder, a young man finds himself growing horns which cause those around him to speak more candidly and act much closer to their base instincts than allowed in civilized society. As events accelerate our protagonist must come to terms with his own developing nature.

The author’s second novel is so full of promise you may be disappointed with the way the final events play out. Not that there was any kind of a bad ending, just that you may find yourself hoping for something it’s not. Horns is a small tale involving a small group of characters, whereas based on the premise you might hope for epic tale involving all the devilry in the world. Philosophical questions are presented occasionally, but this could have been the very heart and soul of the story. Religion is such a massive part of our everyday lives, whether we believe or we don’t, this area remained relatively untapped considering the theme. Our devil character is not grappling with phenomenal cosmic powers with the potential to crack the Earth. He is wallowing in misery and doubt, following the breadcrumbs of his girlfriend’s murder that everyone thinks he committed. Still, everything works in this story and conflict abounds.

Mr. Hill is an excellent writer and is fully capable of employing brilliance (see 20th Century Ghosts). He has not yet peaked, and that can only be a good thing.

Horns is a well written, highly enjoyable read with a pace that careens the story to its climax. Smaller in scale than you want? Sure. But The Devil’s work begins slowly.

3 stars

horns ps.jpg

[RJK1981]

Just finished I'm Not Sam thanks to the earlier review from RJ. What a frighteningly disturbing read! Thank you RJ for reviewing it; I might never have read it otherwise.

Glad my review got you to check the book out and that you enjoyed it! Frighteningly disturbing is right!

[bugen]

North American Lake Monsters – Nathan Ballingrud
"Mankind had acquired an appetite for dying; doctors were merely shephards to the process."


Consisting of 9 short stories, North American Lake Monsters won the 2013 Shirley Jackson award for best collection in May 2014. Particularly notable is the fact it beat Michael Marshall Smith's Everything You Need for the award, a collection not to be underestimated.

All stories within are solidly written in easy, accessible language and each page flows effortlessly into the next. There seems to be an accelerating trend over the last few years of not ending the tale, ostensibly giving the reader opportunity to view the story as a ‘slice of life’ of the characters. The technique works here, but it’s not something everyone looks for in short stories. It’s kind of like channel surfing. You can switch to a channel and view a few moments of a story, either well or poorly done, and by the time you see a commercial switch to another channel for another slice of a story. If well done you did just enjoy the few minutes you saw but moved on too quickly to for any deeper meaning. Not all the stories in North American Lake Monsters behaved this way, but enough of them do to give this impression.

Despite a little trouble with the non-endings, the high quality of personable writing moves the reader through the book very quickly. Even with no intention of doing so the slick style of writing may compel you to finish this book in a single sitting.

Clocking in at about 200 pages, it’s a quick, award winning read.

3 stars

SAM_2656.jpg

[bugen]

Where the Summer Ends – Karl Edward Wagner
“I was your friend, Curtiss.”
“Writer’s don’t’ have friends. Only deadlines.”


This is an excellent, dark collection that comes at you from an unsuspected angle, often due to a sense of gravitas permeating the stories. A black and white picture early in the book reveals about 9,000 truths of the writer in a beautiful and tragic way. In this picture you can’t help but notice a deep intelligence, tempered by the accumulated pain of a life felt perhaps too deeply. Awe, pity, and the highest respect to the man shown here, and high marks to the photographer.

20140802_100527.jpg

Containing some of his most famous stories including “Sticks,” a Lovecraftian slow-brewed horror story, “The River of Nights Dreaming” about a female prison escapee who finds herself a prisoner again in a house with 2 other ladies, “.220 Swift” and “Where the Summer Ends,” there were two other standout tales stealing center stage in this volume 1 collection: “The Fourth Seal” provides a scathing and unapologetic look at our medical profession, and “Neither Brute Nor Human” lifts the curtain for us to see part of the private lives of authors struggling to succeed and has this author’s own struggles written all over it.

There is a sadness present, and this might be one of those volumes that is best read in spurts, here and there. It’s not happy horror, but the weight of the author’s voice over the course of these tales really shouldn’t be missed. Reading this will temper thoughts on the art of writing, and this slight shifting of view will always be with you.

4 stars

SAM_1552.jpg

SAM_2039.jpg

SAM_2048.jpg

SAM_2046.jpg

SAM_2051.jpg