Lena’s Comments (group member since Nov 17, 2014)

Lena’s comments from the Spells, Space & Screams: Collections & Anthologies in Fantasy, Science Fiction, & Horror group.

I get that. I remember a gang rape scene in Lonesome Dove that was written briefly, softly, and with no emotional impact. As much as I loved that book I did not think that was the best choice.

It’s the fluffy language that it saved from that tag.

How to Stay Afloat When Drowning by Daniel Braum DNF
No I did not need that image of tourist bastards beating a shark to death with bat.

@Canavan: I was wondering what you would think on Watching. Do you agree has was abused himself? Did it imply that enough?

Slipper by Catriona Ward ★★★★½
This was the twisted tale I was waiting for, Flowers in the Attic rewritten as a Neil Gaiman dark fantasy. It was disturbing and memorable.

My Name is Ellie by Sam Rebelein DNF
This is a child telling a story. “Mom said... Dad said... Word I don’t understand ... Swear Jar...” Walking away now.

Just remembered I DNF’d Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora, it was written too artistically/illegibly/difficultly (just pick one) for me.

Bellow by Simon Bestwick ★★★½☆
A bit of Stephen King YA a bit of Kolchak: The Night Stalker. This was an ok story of children being naughty and running into monsters.

I only have four unfinished anthologies, including this one. I started a Lovecraft anthology a few days ago and it’s halfway done. The Weird has been taking me forever but I have not given up, there are lots of good stories there. The last is the Ligotti collection that won for April 2019, that one I will likely drop. The stories have an unpleasant quality, like the author was a fan of Lovecraft, mescaline, and rape.

Mr. and Mrs. Kett by Sam Hicks ★★★☆☆
I think this was a fae story: the mounds, the physical description of the glamour, and possibly the rust on the teen who breaks their magic.

Yes. I’m grateful I did not receive a $10,000 bill but the whole city is hovering under a guillotine of an energy debt.

It’s a good article. There is mostly bluster going around, lots of Trump style blame-everyone-but-me. If they manage to winterize even the biggest wind turbines I would be surprised. I’ll be shocked if they find the political will to make private industry pay for it.

That’s true, lots of sneaking and hustling about, before he faints, lol!

The gay characters in A Song For Wounded mouths were dislikable as well. But hey, much to my displeasure, dislikable characters are a trend. No reason you can’t be gay and dislikable.

The weirdest thing I have found today is John McEnroe narrating an English language Indian culture comedy: https://youtu.be/vmLCfFZiCAc
Netflix, you weird 🤣!

How would you even know where to dip? I think reading through but DNFing faster is a strategy I have come to employ.

Skipping a mountains of madness reread for now...


The Shadow over Innsmouth (1931) ★★★★☆
Something of a sequel to Dagon, it follows a young tourist looking into his family history. Starting in Arkham he is drawn to Innsmouth, though no one has anything good to say about it. Interestingly, the characters freely admit there is racial prejudice:

“...the real thing behind the way folks feel is simple race prejudice.”

It is implied that there was mixing from “queer ports in Africa, Asia, the South Seas,” etc. And yet,

“I guess they’re what they call ‘white trash’ down South - lawless and sly, and full of secret things.”

Oh yes they are! The Esoteric Order of Dagon presides over Innsmouth and they promise “marvelous transformations leading to bodily immortality - of a sort - on this earth.” More accurately, a second life deep underwater. Confronted by the fantastical nightmare of the cult he promptly faints. This is a Lovecraftian trope that never fails to amuse me.

He later finds out he is descended from Innsmouth stock and eventually accepts his fate to join his family in The Deep.

While the story speaks to a radical fear of foreign culture and racial mixing the overall feel is of someone who was once lost finding acceptance, of a joy in being other.

“...in that lair of the Deep Ones we shall dwell amidst wonder and glory forever.”

Watching by Tim Lees ★★★☆☆
That was SVU horror pillowed by fluffy language. But generally it’s the horror of a man realizing that after being abused as a child he has grown into a pedophile. He says he just watches but...

Adrenaline Junkies by Ray Cluley ★★☆☆☆
It was one long action sequence chewed up by a dozen flashbacks. That just killed the flow.

Playscape by Diana Peter Freund ★★★☆☆
“My doctor asked me if I ever have those thoughts, like I’d be better off without the baby. And I know you’re supposed to answer ‘of course not.’ But really. Think about it. I haven’t washed my hair in ten days.”

This was another all-too-real motherhood-as-a-horror story. There were no monsters, just a lack of help.

These stories are more depressing than scary. I’ll try one or two more but might just DNF the whole thing.