This wasn’t really what I was expecting and, because of that, it was better. I expected some sort of nautical ghost story. You know, “ghost pirates” aThis wasn’t really what I was expecting and, because of that, it was better. I expected some sort of nautical ghost story. You know, “ghost pirates” a la Scooby Doo or something like that.
What I found in stead was a sophisticated precursor to the weird fiction movement that culminated in people like Algernon Blackwood and H P Lovecraft and continues to this day in the people like Jeff VanderMeer. It was spooky and creepy. It gives a strong reminder that we know less and 1% of the universe and it is probably much larger and stranger than we imagine.
The author spent a lot of time in his young life on boats and it shows in his superb command of nautical language. ...more
I have enjoyed greatly every single book that I have read by Darcy Coates. As I look back at the reviews I have posted I see a field of four and five I have enjoyed greatly every single book that I have read by Darcy Coates. As I look back at the reviews I have posted I see a field of four and five star books. She never seems to disappoint. This book is no exception.
Coates seems to always start with a simple, tried and true (maybe even over-tried) haunted house premise. In this one we meet a woman named Jo who lives next to a house which she has always suspected is haunted. After the former resident leaves in a hurry (don’t they always?), she befriends the new occupant. They become good friends. Slowly, Jo gets pulled into the drama of the house, it’s history, and it’s ghostly inhabitant.
It has taken me a while to figure out what it is that I like so much about Coates’ books. I’ve always vaguely known that it has something to do with her writing. But I couldn’t quite place it. Her stories always seem classic, tried and true. Like there is nothing new there. So, I always dismissed the idea that what I liked most was the specific stories.
I finally figured out that that is inaccurate. Yes, I like her writing. It is crisp, flows well, and conjures her scenes vividly in your mind. But what I really like is that they are not old, tried and true formulas. That is their husk, their broadest form. But what she’s managed to do is fill those old forms with a host of modern themes which makes them very compelling.
In The House Next Door we have the old trope of someone getting sucked into the drama of a friend’s haunted house. But it is also a book about domestic violence. It is about the power dynamic between men and women. It’s also about the assumptions we make regarding those dynamics and how sometimes they are right but sometimes they are wrong. It’s about finding healing when that dynamic goes wrong, violent, destructive. The story is about suffering, madness, and the inability to let go of the past. It is about the damage done by parents with narcissistic personality disorder and climbing out of the whole those parents would place their children in. It’s about the strange and often strained relationships we have with neighbors in our modern communities. Coates isn’t writing the same old haunted house stories. Her writing is very fresh, modern, compelling stuff and it speaks to me....more
There is no question that some people liked this book very much. For me, it is hard to see this book as anything more than 200 pages of amputations haThere is no question that some people liked this book very much. For me, it is hard to see this book as anything more than 200 pages of amputations happening, or being remembered, or being argued for, or being anticipated, or being fantasized about, or being threatened, or being celebrated. Time is taken from this in order to speak about stumps, the use of stumps, or the pain of stumps, or the bleeding and oozing of stumps. Lastly, on rare occasions, there’s is a murder mystery used as the dental floss that hold everything else together.
Perhaps that’s an unfair characterization, but that’s honestly how this book seemed to me. ...more
This book is a collection of four pieces by four different authors. Normally the quality of anthology books is uneven. This book, however, is the exceThis book is a collection of four pieces by four different authors. Normally the quality of anthology books is uneven. This book, however, is the exception. Every one of the four was excellent, leaving me panting and wanting more.
Ammonia by William Holloway sets the stage for an “event” which has occurred in Antarctica, splitting the Ross Ice Shelf. It is the story of the beginning of an apocalypse. It sets the ground rules for the stories that follow, opens the mysteries which will be unveiled in the following tales, and establishes the tone of bleak nihilism which the hallmark of all great Lovecraftian storytelling.
Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason’s The Sunken Desert introduces us to life in the new world order created by “the event“. It is almost something of an adventure caper, fun and thrilling. Criminals, cops, and tough minded women and together to make their way in a new world where the rules are only just beginning to be understood. At the same time it introduces us the a world of squid beasts, insane cultists, and survivors doing their best.
Brett J Talley’s Rise and Fall brings us to a world where the apocalypse has been settled. People finally understand what’s going on, more or less. We experience organized human resistance, communities trying to rebuild themselves, and a culture in radical flux. Talley explores the different ways in which humans and our communities break under unbelievable strain. He does to to great effect. I have long maintained that Talley is one of the best modern practitioners of Lovecraftian tales. This story shows him in his full glory, weaving issues of interpersonal relationships, religion, culture, survival, and family and exploring them within a world gone as mad and brutal as possible.
Rich Hawkin’s work “The Great Beast” is the perfect companion piece to Talley’s. Talley looks at the larger social effects of a Lovecraftian nightmare world come to be. Hawkins leaves behind the communal exploration for the individual. He gives us a protagonist somehow left behind in a dead world now ruled by horrific beasts. We see the effects and strain of this world. Slowly, as a few new characters are introduced, we see what this world has made of them.
This work is a first class exploration of humanity confronted with the unknown, the horrific, and the insanity inducing. It’s well worth the time of horror nerds. It should be required readings for any Lovecraft geeks. ...more
A creepy and excellent start of a longer work that’s been serialized. Because it’s only the first part, the ending leaves you hanging... but also wantA creepy and excellent start of a longer work that’s been serialized. Because it’s only the first part, the ending leaves you hanging... but also wanting for more. I will be reading on with this series. ...more
It is hard to be sure what makes a good haunted house novel. One would think that by now I have read enough of them to know. Sadly, that is not yet thIt is hard to be sure what makes a good haunted house novel. One would think that by now I have read enough of them to know. Sadly, that is not yet the case. I am still working on it. But whatever the formula is, this book has it.
Somewhere between the relatable protagonist, the intriguing story, the twist ending, etc. this book delivered. Or, at least it did for me.
In the case of this book, I think most of what really worked for me was the style of writing and the protagonist. To be honest, the “mystery“ of the house and the spooks were a little on the anemic side. The “twist ending“ was something that I saw from a mile away. However, none of that kept me from enjoying the book. And I can only assume that is because the quality of the writing and the characters.
Giving this one four stars, appears to be on the upper end of ratings for this book. I assume that is because of the problems that I mentioned above.But the truth is, I’m not sure how much new ground there is to break in the story of a haunted house. I’m not sure that it is fair to hold a story about a haunted house accountable for its inability to do something totally new and outside of the box. That said, this story did about as much as anybody could to shake up the normal haunted house tropes. I especially enjoyed the ways in which the book directly addressed haunted house archetypes and tropes, it’s use of them, and their efficacy in telling scary stories.
I wanted to like this book. I really did. However, it never really worked. At least, not for me. It was - I assume - going for a clever symbolism or mI wanted to like this book. I really did. However, it never really worked. At least, not for me. It was - I assume - going for a clever symbolism or metaphor for life, memory, and forgiveness. Perhaps some will find it profound. Sadly, for me, it just came off as trite and highly predictable.
Perhaps the fault lies with me. Maybe I was demanding more from it than it was able to give. It wouldn’t be the first time I caught myself being a bit unfair to a book because I was too demanding. But, I’m this case, I don’t think that’s what’s happening. I think it just wasn’t able to find more depth in the metaphor it was putting forward, depth many others have in fact been able to find. ...more
Andrew “The Weirdling”
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