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A Witch's Dozen
"Poetry in all that she does is her hallmark, and few are able to equal it . . ." -- Charles L. Grant
176 pages, Paperback
First published December 5, 2002
8 people want to read
About the author
Janet Fox
38 booksLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Janet Kaye Fox was an American fantasy and horror writer, poet, teacher, and founder-editor-publisher of the now-defunct Scavenger's Newsletter. She lived in Osage City, Kansas. (source: Wikipedia)
Also wrote under the name of Alex McDonough
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Janet Kaye Fox was an American fantasy and horror writer, poet, teacher, and founder-editor-publisher of the now-defunct Scavenger's Newsletter. She lived in Osage City, Kansas. (source: Wikipedia)
Also wrote under the name of Alex McDonough
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 22, 2017
There's always a sense of tension, of brittleness, to Fox's writing. It comes out especially in the relationship of man and woman, who operate as though across a great gulf. But she also derives tension from a deep well of powerful, disturbing imagery and a keen understanding of grotesque human nature.
There are a number of gems. While "Witches" uses a man as a point of view character, it is clear that he is a passenger in his own story, a bystander to a conflict that he doesn't comprehend and can barely perceive. "A Witch in Time" deliberately shifts tense as the story progresses, an unsettling effect perfectly suited when time itself is a slippery variable.
"Morrien's Bitch", the story from Amazons! that introduced me to Janet Fox, remains a twisted cruller of a power struggle, perfect by itself. I don't know if a sequel was necessary, but am glad that the one we got is "Alliances", which continues Riska's struggles with intimacy and companionship and has to betray it.
For a conventional horror story, "Valentine" does a version of "The Telltale Heart", with an absolutely nailed ending.
In "The Skins You Love to Touch", the object of horror itself is not new, but Fox plays with the attraction of the forbidden and then twists it with the final revelation, of human nature perfectly deduced.
There are a number of gems. While "Witches" uses a man as a point of view character, it is clear that he is a passenger in his own story, a bystander to a conflict that he doesn't comprehend and can barely perceive. "A Witch in Time" deliberately shifts tense as the story progresses, an unsettling effect perfectly suited when time itself is a slippery variable.
"Morrien's Bitch", the story from Amazons! that introduced me to Janet Fox, remains a twisted cruller of a power struggle, perfect by itself. I don't know if a sequel was necessary, but am glad that the one we got is "Alliances", which continues Riska's struggles with intimacy and companionship and has to betray it.
For a conventional horror story, "Valentine" does a version of "The Telltale Heart", with an absolutely nailed ending.
In "The Skins You Love to Touch", the object of horror itself is not new, but Fox plays with the attraction of the forbidden and then twists it with the final revelation, of human nature perfectly deduced.
Displaying 1 of 1 review