A look At the Mountains of Madness

At the Mountains of Madness is, perhaps more then or at least alongside The Call of Cthulhu (and maybe The Shadow Over Innsmouth), H. P. Lovecraft’s magnum opus. At the Mountains of Madness is narrated by William Dyer, a geologist who is penning the story as warning for an expedition to the Antarctic; an expedition whose goal it is to further examine and verify the finds that Dyer and his compatriots discovered on their journey. The discovery of evidence indicating not only the existence of life, but an entire civilization that predates all things known to man at first appears wondrous but quickly shifts into the horrific as events unfold.

Review: The Revenant Road by Michael Boatman

The Revenant Road by Michael Boatman

The Revenant Road
Michael Boatman
Drollerie Press, 2009

Names are important to me.  Especially names in fiction.  I’m of the opinion that you can tell a lot about a fictional character on name alone and that a bad name can ruin a good a character.  So when I came across the name Obadiah Grudge a huge smile spread across my face.  I’ve come across few names that are as evocative, original, and fun as Obadiah Grudge; it is a name that fits the character like a glove.  The Revenant Road is humorous and over-the-top action/horror novel filled with great dialogue and creative world-building.

The story begins with the death of Obadiah’s father, Marcus.  It is quickly revealed to Obadiah, first by his mother Lenore (another great name!) and then by his father’s former partner Neville (the “crusty prophet;” a description that somehow manages to work to surprising effect) that Marcus comes from a long line of monster hunters.  Obadiah, a successful if somewhat hacky writer of crime thrillers, of course doesn’t believe, or at least doesn’t want to believe, in this new world.  As it happens Obadiah is constantly thrust, kicking and screaming, into a world he doesn’t want to believe and is forced to confront the presence of the weird in his life since a very young age.

Review: Zen in the Art of Slaying Vampires

Zen in the Art of Slaying Vampires

Zen in the Art of Slaying Vampires
Steven-Elliot Altman
Hells Kitchen Press, 1997

I feel kind of bad reviewing this book since it isn’t in print anymore and doesn’t seem to available for less then $32 from used vendors; I’ll do my best to keep this short.  Its limited availability is unfortunate since it was a thoroughly enjoyable read chock full of awesome.  During a time where many have begun to bemoan the lack of originality in the vampire tale or, perhaps more commonly, the “defanging” of the vampire Altman’s Zen in the Art of Slaying Vampires is both an original take on the vampire story and simultaneously a defanging and an elevation of badassery.   While it possible to read this as a spoof I think that it comes off with a whole lot more B-movie charm and an air of detached cool that elevates a notch (or three) above your average horror spoof.  It is, in essence, an mash-up of martial arts action and vampiric horror that is an exciting and engrossing read.

Review: The Space Between by Erik Tomblin

The Space Between by Erik Tomblin

The Space Between
Erik Tomblin
Blue Fairy Books, 2009

Yes, another book from another small press publisher Blue Fairy Books.  At this point The Space Between by Erik Tomblin is their only book.  The site has a really neat flash trailer that really captures the atmosphere of the novel; you should definitely check it out.  The Space Between is, in a sense, a haunted house story.  Then again it isn’t really a haunted house story.  It is, perhaps more accurately, a haunted person story.  Musician Isaac Owens arrives to the house already haunted by the memories of his recently deceased girlfriend and the house, and some of the other characters in the novel, are themselves haunted by their own pasts.  It is also a novel that, in the end, that left this reader a bit haunted himself.

Review: The Tel Aviv Dossier by Lavie Tidhar and Nir Yaniv

The Tel Aviv Dossier

The Tel Aviv Dossier
Lavie Tidhar and Nir Yaniv
ChiZine Publications, 2009

Yes, another book from the folks at ChiZine though admittedly this one was a bit harder to find since there seem to be few physical copies left floating around.  It looks like Amazon Canada (linked to on the image to the left) has some left which is where I got mine.  I was sold on this book courtesy of the excellent description from ChiZine:

Through a city torn apart by a violence they cannot comprehend, three disparate people—a documentary film-maker, a yeshiva student, and a psychotic fireman—must try to survive, and try to find meaning: even if it means being lost themselves. As Tel Aviv is consumed, a strange mountain rises at the heart of the city, and shows the outline of what may be another, alien world beyond. Can there be redemption there? Can the fevered rumours of a coming messiah be true?

As the city loses contact with the outside world and closes in on itself, as the few surviving children play and scavenge in the ruins, can innocence survive, and is it possible for hope to spring amid such chaos?

A potent mixture of biblical allusions, Lovecraftian echoes, and contemporary culture, The Tel Aviv Dossier is part supernatural thriller, part meditation on the nature of belief—an original and involving novel painted on a vast canvas in which, beneath the despair, humour is never absent.

Experience the last days of Tel Aviv…

Of course throw “lovecraftian” on just about anything and you’ll probably manage to sell me; maybe I’m a bit of a sucker that way. But With elements of Lovecraft thrown in with a dash of the Apocalypse I was sold pretty easily.  The Tel Aviv Dossier is a kitchen sink kind of novel that tries to do just about anything and everything.  While enjoyable it was something of a mixed bag in terms of how it succeeded with those elements and the ending in particular left me a bit cold.

Horror gone MIA: Serenity Falls

I still maintain that horror as a genre is desperately clinging on to life or, at the least, is a genre that is struggling to find its place in an increasingly virulent print world.  In the long form, as novels, horror is definitely struggling from my perspective at least (a casual observer) though is succeeding marginally better in the short form: anthologies and collection seem to be in the spotlight a bit more these days.   Elements of the supernatural have been making their way across ever blurring genre borders while perhaps the most important aspect of horror, fear, seems to remain a secondary concern.  While zombies remain a popular topic of film, fiction and other media and recent strides to reclaim the vampire from the clutches of romance (Let the Right One In, The Strain, Thirst) have proved there is still a place for horror fiction across multiple demographics it appears to me that is a genre that will never achieve the popularity and acclaim as it had during the height of what I’m beginning to think of as the King Era.  Perhaps it is the growing complexity and weight of the socioeconic climate of today, people are scared enough in real life maybe they don’t need or want to be scared in their leisure time as well.

Regardless it is still a genre I enjoy and one that remain a fan of.  I am typically a fan of horror with supernatural elements, as opposed to the often all-too-real human monster, and I tend to find that gore is a bit of turn off in horror.  Just after graduating college I was looking for some good horror to read and came across Serenity Falls by James A. Moore.  Being a fan of Stephen King, and having absolutely loved ‘Salems Lot, I thought that a series of horror novels set in and around another small town might be worth a look.  Luckily the book had just been republished as three mass-market novels and I eagerly snagged a copy of Writ In Blood from the local bookstore.  I loved what I read.  The slow revelation of a town’s dark history of violence and depravity, a strong anti-hero demon-hunter, and a promise of darker things to come were exactly what I was looking for and it was one of those novels that I polished off in fevered rush of eager reading.

Unfortunately, Grad school soon reared it’s ugly head and by the time I settled down enough to check for the rest of the series found that it was out of print and that, as far as I can tell, James A. Moore hasn’t done anything since 2006; at least that is the publication date of the material still listed on the front page of his website.  I am, of course, contemplating a purchased of the remaining two novels The Pack and Dark Carnival via used/independent booksellers.  If you ever see a copy of a Serenity Falls book in a store near you I highly recommend you pick it up and give it whirl.  It’s one of those rarely mentioned and forgotten gems of the 21st century horror scene probably because it falls so much in line with the “classic” horror of the King era.

Review: The World More Full of Weeping by Robert J Wiersema

The World More Full of Weeping

The World More Full of Weeping
Robert J Wiersema
ChiZine Publications, 2009

The World More Full of Weeping, its title unabashedly ripped from the W. B. Yeats poem, “The Stolen Child” is a new novella (almost a short story) by author Robert J. Wiersema.  ChiZine Publications is a relative newcomer to the publisher scene but as the print arm of the Chiarscuro ‘zine brings with it a wealth of experience and talent.  Wiersema’s debut novel Before I Wake achieved quite a bit of buzz on its release but slipped beneath my radar but, having read the chilling tale that is The World More Full of Weeping I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out on whatever Wiersema plans in the future.

Here’s ChiZine’s description of the novel:

Eleven-year-old Brian Page spends every waking moment in the forest behind the house where he lives with his father. But forests are always deeper than anyone can know. Secrets are hidden in the eternal twilight of the trees. Those secrets emerge into light when Brian disappears in the forest, as his father did three decades before. His father, however, came home with no memory of the events in the depths of the forest. What has drawn Brian away? Will he emerge, shuddering and broken, as his father did, or will the forests close around him, as they have done so often before?

Grave Tidings

So as I wrap up my September of Steampunk reviews I’ve started looking towards next month. Since I enjoyed working on a theme for my reviews this month I figured it might be fun to continue that next month. Since October is incoming I figured that I’d throw myself headfirst into some new horror titles. An idea that, as it turns out, isn’t quite as simple as it sounds.

I fully admit that horror is a genre I am not terribly well versed in, but it is a genre that from time to time I enjoy exploring. Over the years I have found that it has grown increasingly difficult to find new and interesting horror titles that interest me. While I am entirely open to the possibility that the problem is me it isn’t an idea I am entirely sold on. Before I delve into my misgivings about the current state of horror let me highlight the titles I’m looking to read in October.

Review: Whitechapel Gods by S. M. Peters

Whitechapel Gods by S. M. Peters

Whitechapel Gods
S. M. Peters
Roc, 2008

Whitechapel Gods marks my first foray into the steampunk genre during my steampunk extravaganza this month.  It is perhaps a bit of an odd book for a first choice since it is entirely lacking in airships and heavier on horror then adventure but it is rife with clockwork automatons and steam powered weaponry.  In truth Whitechapel Gods is something like steampunk as envisioned by H. P. Lovecraft or Stephen King.

In a post-industrial London, Whitecapel has been walled off by the strange deific figure known as Grandfather Clock, inscrutible and unwilling consort to the even more unfathomable Mama Engine.  Smoke and toxic gases turn the already dingy atmosphere of Whitechapel into a hostile place while a horrid clockwork disease transforms citizens into horrid amalgams of man and machine; robbing them of any hope of death.  Men given over to Grandfather Clock collect citizens to be added to a monstrous construction of man and machine while silent automatons known as the Boiler Men enforce Grandfather Clocks will and stamps out rebellion.  Amidst this oppressive atmosphere a rag-tag bunch of criminals and patriots seek to kill both gods and free the downtrodden citizens of Whitechapel.  Whitechapel Gods is a novel rife with familiar sights twisted into horrific visages and though the novel suffers from some issues with pacing manages to ensnare its reader with that imagery.

Review: The Island by Tim Lebbon

The Island by Tim Lebbon

The Island

Tim Lebbon

Spectra, 2009

Tim Lebbon’s Noreela books, starting with 2006’s Dusk, are books that have always caught my eye but I somehow never managed to find the time to read.  The same can also be said for Lebbon collaborations with Christopher Golden.  Now, however, it seems I’ll need to pay a little more attention to Lebbon’s work as I found The Island to be highly entertaining and thrilling blend; a lot of fantasy with a dash of both science fiction and horror made for some interesting reading and I’ll be curious to see where Lebbon takes Noreela in the future.

After a failed mission results in the death a number of innocent children, and his commander and lover, Kel Boon deserts the clandestine Core and hides himself in the fishing village of Pavsmouth Beak.  He makes his living there as a woodcarving, falling in love with the local witch Namior feels he has finally escaped his past.  Unfortunatley the sudden disastrous appearance of a mysterious island could possibly be the alien threat that the Core has been trying to thwart and Kel Boon must once again take up the mantle of soldier and determine the nature of the threat that this island represents.  Read on for more though be warned that minor spoilers are inevitable…