Dave Higgins's Blog, page 53

Where the Heart Is

As most of you probably know, the (not very) United Kingdom officially left the European Union on Friday. As many of you also probably know, this was not my preferred option. I have plenty of thoughts about it, but perhaps the strongest is irony: those of the Leave camp who are not indulging in triumphalism … Continue reading Where the Heart Is

Termination Shock by Gillian Andrews

Andrews mixes space opera tropes with fresh ideas to create science fiction that escalates sharply from personal to galactic without seeming superficial. Ryler Mallivan expects mandatory military refresher to be a short break in his life as the owner of a space freighter. However, when his training ship is caught in the middle of interstellar … Continue reading Termination Shock by Gillian Andrews

Caterwinning

This struck me as a slightly different take on Lovecraftian audio books: a female narrator reading in modern voice. One of the biggest barriers to immersion I experience listening to audio versions of Lovecraft stories is Vincent-Pricing; while I love the performances of Vincent Price and can see the similarity in archaisms, the slightly over-the-top … Continue reading Caterwinning

Harlem Smoke by James Champagne

Champagne blends psychogeography and philosophy with pop culture and torture-porn to create a post-modern collage of Lovecraftian dissonance. Nearly a decade ago, Isaac Grimalkin (under the name of the Reznorian pseudo-group ‘Dunwich Posse’) released “Harlem Smoke”, a Lovecraftian horrorcore hip-hop album. Abandoning his burgeoning music career when murderers and suicides cited his work as “inspiration” … Continue reading Harlem Smoke by James Champagne

…With More Feeling!

Thoughts on double-plus good writing are double-plus good. This morning, I discovered some notes I’d made years ago, which included this quote from Cliff Seal: “No one has ever been offended by proper grammar or proper sentence structure. No one has ever emailed you to say I really wish you would use six more exclamation … Continue reading …With More Feeling!

Emma and the Weeping Spirit by Matthew S. Cox

Cox reframes the classic haunted house trope for middle grade readers without sacrificing the complexities and uncertainties of spectral visitations. This is the fifth book in Cox’s Tales of Widowswood series. Potential spoilers for previous volumes lurk past this point. When a harpy attack drives ten-year-old Emma deep into unknown forest, her experiences help her … Continue reading Emma and the Weeping Spirit by Matthew S. Cox

Edge Cases

I came across this video earlier today—ironically, not while doing research for the Legend of the Five Rings game I’ve just started. There’s a pleasing combination of athleticism and humour from both combatants. However, one thing did seem very wrong; wrong enough for what appeared otherwise to be a great short film that I spent … Continue reading Edge Cases

Janna of Castle Ambrose by Jordan Elizabeth

Elizabeth riffs on the classic image of the monster in the lake to create an accessible fantasy tale about the difference between the clarity of stories and the reality of life. As the daughter of the Earl’s butler, Janna had a happy life at Castle Ambrose playing with the Earl’s children—until a conquering army sacked … Continue reading Janna of Castle Ambrose by Jordan Elizabeth

Casey Douglass: Dark Ambient Review: Hastur

Those of you who’ve read Bloody Red Nose will already be familiar with Casey Douglass. However, what you might not have gathered from his deliciously distilled tale is that he shares my taste for Yog-Sothothery. So, it seemed a public service to ease you into the new arbitrary time division by mentioning his review of … Continue reading Casey Douglass: Dark Ambient Review: Hastur

First Stone by Gary Ballard

Ballard fuses the viscerality of serial killer investigation with the mentality of Lovecraftian cosmology to create a gestalt that captures the shattering of mind and body without becoming tedious rubbery spatterpunk or abstract statements of indescribability. Forensic psychologist Jack Carter awakens in a mental hospital suffering from amnesia and prime suspect in his wife’s disappearance. … Continue reading First Stone by Gary Ballard