A True Masterpiece

FALSE MAGIC KINGDOM / BAD ALCHEMY / THE GOG AND MAGOG BUSINESS / YOUR CITIES, YOUR TOMBS by Jordan Krall (2012/13 Copeland Valley / 87 pp / 86 pp / 47 pp / 227 pp / limited edition chapbooks & trade paperback)

This epic 4-book saga had me skeptical at first: the first three installments come in three separate chapbooks, and while they held my interest, I wasn't sure where they were headed or what the point was. It's wonderfully weird and featured some amazing ideas and visuals, but I didn't know if the author would tie everything up in a way that would make these early sections valid.

Then I read the final installment, the novel-length YOUR CITIES, YOUR TOMBS, and was completely blown away.

This tale is told from mutliple viewpoints but isn't distracting. Each one reveals a little bit more about what's going on during a city-wide terrorist attack. Through three slightly off-balanced doctors, a married couple with a failing sex life and mental illness, to a woman searching for the truth about her father's suicide, Krall takes us on a surreal nightmare fueled by an ever-present and growing paranoid phobia that leads to a horrifying finale that may be a bit too real for some readers. The author's influences are evident, but the series as a whole takes on its own feel.

This intense study of fear and conspiracies uses shadow and suggestion and allows the reader to savor and discern every bit of information and ultimately feel deeply for its cast (especially one reluctant terrorist) as the tale comes into light; a shaded light, but a light nonetheless.

As far as bizarre fiction goes, Krall's "False Magic Kingdom" series is a true masterpiece and easily his finest work to date.