Book Reviews

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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

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*Thank you to John R. Little for the recommendation

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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

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[marduk]

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

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

[marduk]

Re: Cabal

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

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

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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:

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Fearie Tales – Stephen Jones (Ed.), various authors

(on fairies)
“But they can’t have memories. They don’t know their name. Don’t have a favourite smell or sound, a longed-for taste or a book in which they might lose themselves. They have nothing.”
Peter Crowther – 'The Artemis Line'

Based on the tales of the brothers Grimm, this book consists of two woven bodies of stories. The first are the old fairy tales which are presented in easily accessible versions from Grimm’s Household Tales, not to be missed or skipped. They provide important counterpoints to the surrounding stories, are generally much shorter than the newer fiction, and in many cases prepare the landing field for the next story in important ways.

New stories modernizing the older, established tales are the second part and the real meat of the anthology. Horror abounds. These are bloody, scary, nasty tales, faithfully updating the original Grimm themes. Huge liberties are taken by the authors differentiating these newer spins from older ones, and some are entirely new.

Neil Gaiman, Tanith Lee, Robert Shearman, Michael Marshall Smith, Markus Heitz and John Ajvide Lindqvist knock it right out of the park, though most of the rest of the new fiction is quite good as well.

In particular two authors take it even further in a book filled with great material. Old and new tales, with a huge portion of the new fiction being excellent, these two stand as brilliant examples of how this is done to perfection.

“The Ash-Boy” – Christopher Fowler

Cinderella stories are never as well told as this one. Make sure to read the preceding, older retelling of Cinderella to get a firm grip on just how bloody this story really is. The oldie is a favorite, and moving from it into “The Ash-Boy” leaves the feeling the author was perhaps transposing the tale a little too accurately until around halfway through when it rockets into its own life. The characters and events differ drastically from the original, and the whole thing explodes into an ending that will have you fist-pumping.

“The Silken People” – Joanne Harris

A young girl is told by her nurse about The Lacewing King, or the king of the fairies, and to the nurse’s consternation spends all her time trying to locate the king based on the nurse’s pointers like looking from the corner of your eye and looking when first waking when fairies are most visible. A touching tale of longing and belonging, this one brims over with magic, sadness and wonder, as a penultimate fairy tale should.

This collection may seem a little niche to some in that it borrows so heavily from older material, but trust the editor and the authors. They do a great job of bringing the book to life.

Fearie Tales is a masterful collection of the themed short form, bringing modernized fairy tales of our childhoods and the childhoods of our fathers full-circle.

4 stars

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The Monk – Matthew Gregory Lewis
“Though I forgive your breaking your vows to heaven, I expect you to keep your vows to me.”

Well over 200 years old, The Monk details the fall of the most pious man the world knows. Ambrosia the hero-monk, the sinless man of God revered above all others, is softened by pride, seduced from his purity and mired in lust and murder as his appetites grow and Lucifer closes in.

Significant for many reasons, The Monk is considered one of the earlier Gothic tales, beating out Dracula and Jekyll and Hyde by a hundred years and Frankenstein by decades. It also has the distinction of its main villain being a devoutly religious man. Sorcery has a strong presence and while much of the plot is made possible by it the magic remains a background element. At the forefront is black and white morality, for once started down the path Ambrosia’s decisions propel him toward damnation.

As you might expect reading a book of this age comes with a few caveats including a slight language barrier and the impression stories were just told a little differently in that time. Readers are expected to have extra patience while it builds toward the payoff. You may feel confused a few times throughout the book and it doesn’t help that some of the characters have at least two names. However, this minor confusion is at last revealed as important and even intentional as certain details come to light by the end.

This is not Lansdale, where you sit down and read cover to cover as fast as you can through a lightning story. It’s a ponderous journey and a look into a time when religion was a major part of life. And this, depending on your interpretation, is not presented as a particularly positive thing. Zealots have always existed and will always exist as long as mankind persists; religion magnifies and focuses their actions. As The Monk demonstrates with an eye bent toward reality, history and superstition, this fanaticism is quite often extremely dangerous.

The Monk is a tale about darkness told from darkness. While the main character begins as a somewhat prideful but otherwise saintly holy man, the mitigated light that would normally be present in such a story barely exists at the onset and quickly dims until extinguished.

Also available free from Gutenberg, the Centipede Press edition merits special attention. Their book is massive, heavily illustrated and uses a heavy, thick paper stock. It’s superb in every way and highly recommended.

4 stars

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[marduk]

The Monk – Matthew Gregory Lewis
“Though I forgive your breaking your vows to heaven, I expect you to keep your vows to me.”

Well over 200 years old, The Monk details the fall of the most pious man the world knows. Ambrosia, the hero-monk, the sinless man of God revered above all others is softened by pride, seduced from his purity, mired in lust and murder as his appetites grow and Lucifer closes in.

Significant for many reasons, The Monk is considered one of the earlier gothic tales, beating out Dracula and Jekyll and Hyde by a hundred years, and Frankenstein by decades. It also has the distinction of its main villain being a devoutly religious man. Sorcery has a strong presence, and while much of the plot is made possible by it, it is still a background element. At the forefront of this tale is black-and-white morality, for once started down the path Ambrosia’s decisions propel him toward damnation.

As you might expect reading a book of this age comes with a few caveats, including a slight language barrier and the impression stories were just told a little differently in that time, expecting readers to have a sense of patience while building towards the payoff, which is certainly there. I felt confused a few times throughout the book when some characters are dealt with, and it doesn’t help that many of them have at least two names. However, this minor confusion is at last revealed as important and even intentional as certain details come to light at the end of the tale.

This is not Lansdale, where you sit down and read cover-to-cover as fast as you can. It is a ponderous journey, and a look into a time when religion was an even greater part of life than it is today. And this, depending on your interpretation, is not presented as a particularly positive thing. Zealots have always existed, will always exist as long as mankind persists, and religion magnifies and focuses their actions. As The Monk demonstrates with an eye bent toward reality, history and superstition, this fanaticism is quite often extremely dangerous.

Also available for free from Gutenberg or your favorite e-book repository, the Centipede Press edition merits special attention. Should you find something special in this story, the edition they printed is superb in every way and recommended.

The Monk is a tale told from darkness, about darkness, and while the main character begins as a somewhat prideful but otherwise saint-like holy man, the mitigated light that would normally be present in such a story barely exists at the onset and quickly dims until extinguished.

The obstacles and style of the book make a rating difficult – this is not for everyone.
To the horror lover – 3
To the hard – 4
To the occasional horror fan – 2
To the monsters, the giants – 5

4 stars

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Awesome. Drooling.

[RJK1981]

I agree, that is a gorgeous looking book. The price is too high for me though. I suppose there is a copy on eBay for $75, but that one doesn't have the limitation page and isn't signed.

I do have a large PB copy of that book that I found at Half-Price Books a couple years ago or so that I still need to read

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Thanks guys, it's a stunner, no doubt. A buddy of mine is an amateur photographer who might help me capture this one in more detail. There's a ton of art inside, but most of it is more classical. I'll post them somewhere around here if I end up getting a bunch of high-quality pics.

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The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains – Neil Gaiman
“If you walk the path, eventually you must arrive at the cave.”

A small man, half-human, enlists the help of a gruff mountain-dweller to guide him as they embark on a journey to a fabled cave in the mountains rumored to contain limitless gold.

Told in a fairy-tale style, most of the 30-page story concerns the journey to the cave, the warnings along the way, and the interaction between the two men. The reader is eventually shown why the journey is undertaken by both.

Gaiman, as usual, employs his hypnotic voice to keep you glued to the page. There’s not really enough time to get attached to character, but that rarely happens in fairy-tales anyway. The story’s engaging and interesting but not fun. It hints at a larger understanding but contains no epiphany.

What you get here is a short journey of discovery, a mystery that becomes partially solved, a little revenge, and expert storytelling by one of the greats.

3 stars

*This review is written from the story’s original appearance in the anthology, Stories: All-New Tales, not the new, standalone book. The review is intended for those who haven’t read it and may be considering the standalone, of which there is a hardcover as well as a $75 limited edition offered earlier this week. I have read that the artwork for the standalone release is extensive, and that the upcoming limited edition also includes a CD of the music composed for a 2010 live reading of the piece.

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[TerryE]

I really wanted to get that Faerie Tales, but it's really out of my budget. Looks as great as I expected.

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Everyone Loves Clowns and Other Tales – Thomas Cranham
“Because outside the walls the monster (no dragon but pain) had arrived and it struck the barrier with tooth and claw, fire and fist, and little Emily’s defender, her knight was nowhere to be seen.”

Consisting of six dark tales and a novella and written by one of the CD forum’s very own, this book covers a variety of horror.

The two top stories deserve some special attention:

The book’s opener, “Oh To Be Alive,” deals with zombies. This can be a very bad thing. The zombie sub-genre has been butchered beyond what you’d think reparable and many have largely written it off in favor of other horror, a position a story like this can cause you to rethink. Told from the perspective of an intelligent zombie we follow Henry Waterford as he navigates a landscape where the undead are born a few minutes after peoples’ deaths. It has a voice, it tackles societal issues in the tradition of Romero’s first Dawn of the Dead, and evokes some of the prejudices shown more recently in District 9. It’s a story that challenges our lifestyles, our outlooks and our discriminations, and has the power to spark debate. These types of stories get us thinking, and with enough of us thinking we just might make it out of life alive.

Most important is the final tale of the book. The title novella, Everyone Loves Clowns, is magic. Barely 5 years old, a girl’s life is in jeopardy battling cancer. An imaginative young Emily is nearly alone in her world of books, beholden to a teacher who resents Emily’s mental prowess, and largely ignored by her classmates until the circus comes to town. After attending Emily is convinced the clowns are eating her peers as she deteriorates from her illness. The author weaves a tale of fancy and horror detailing Emily’s perspective, and a heartrending relationship develops between Emily (the Princess) and her ridiculed classmate Jasper (the Knight) as the clowns, the other classmates, the teacher and the disease are battled. Stories like this are good reasons to read in the first place.

Well done, Mr. Cranham.

4 stars

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Tortured Souls: The Legend of Primordium – Clive Barker
"This was my father you just murdered!"
"Yes. I see the resemblance."

Originally published as 6 very short short stories, Tortured Souls was written to back up a line of 6 toys Barker released. These backstories helped fill out the characters of his toys and work together surprisingly well considering their origins.

Agonistes, a creature created by God and answerable to no one but, transforms willing people into powerful monstrosities for various reasons but mostly to facilitate the individual’s revenge of some sort. The transformation is akin to torture where many of the willing ‘supplicants’ beg for death before the process is complete. In history Agonistes has granted only one such reprieve–to Judas Iscariot.

This collection follows a hired assassin who after a mission is convinced by his victim’s daughter to undergo the transition and cleanse the corrupt city. Kreiger, after returning from the change, dispatches the entire city’s ruling population in a single night. The rest of the book details the relationship between the daughter, who undergoes the change herself, and the assassin, as well as the political fallout after the ruling elite are no more.

Far better than expected the narrative is straight through the six stories, contains Barker’s trademark unapologetic and visceral gore, and is a very enjoyable but extremely short read.

4 stars

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The Case of Charles Dexter Ward – H.P. Lovecraft
“. . . do not calle up That which you can not put downe”

Dependent upon your specific definition, this is the only novel written by Lovecraft. His other works of some length beyond short stories do not reach the word count of this tale and are generally considered novellas.

Charles Ward, born into prosperity, dives deeply into the occult world attempting to uncover information about his ancestor Curwen, a long-dead wizard prosecuted and killed in Salem with whom Charles shares an uncanny physical resemblance. The townspeople grow increasingly alarmed and force Charles into an asylum while his doctor attempts to uncover the circumstances surrounding Charles’ supposed madness.

Many mystery elements are present in the story, and much of the plot is driven through questions the characters are asking themselves or from interpretations of intercepted letters meant for one of the occultists. Lovecraft exhibits a high degree of familiarity with the arcane here, and it comes off completely natural.

There is no shortage of the horror Lovecraft is known for. Mostly of a slow-burning, creeping kind, there are no boisterous shocks to keep the audience frightened. There is, however, one particularly memorable scene where the horror is realized in a much more literal way, though with none of the blood and guts, torture or dismemberment prevalent today. All told we’re invited to follow along if we can, and in doing so experience the same dread the characters are.

Lovecraft is an acquired taste. Many of us are probably constantly reading comments about how bad his writing was. These comments would be originating from a lack of experience with the obfuscating style and incorrect that the style in itself is poor. While the author’s stories can sometimes leave us sitting there blinking after finishing, wondering why we bothered, a bit of experience with him can put those days behind us. Nearly everyone loves riding a jet ski for the first time, but not everyone feels the same about surfing. One is extremely approachable to just about all, and the other takes a great deal of patience and practice to unlock the mysteries.

Published posthumously, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is a fairly complex, maddening horror story of the occult. It’s tough to recommend to those yet uninitiated or unaccustomed to the world of Lovecraft, but for those who have come up against Lovecraft’s wall and have pushed through: you’re going to love it.

4 stars


*version contained in the Centipede Press Library of Weird Fiction

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