Hammers on Bone (Persons non Grata #1)[October 15, 2023]

[Yanique, Thread Master]

This is a Buddy Read for Hammers on Bone by Cassandra Khaw starting on October 15, 2023.


Happy Reading!

[Nirkatze]

Thank you!

[Nirkatze]

Read the first chapter and am really loving the Noir vibes! It reminds me a lot of the opening book of Dresden, which also had that "A dame walked into my office, all leg and cold cold eyes" feel. It's just fun when a book opens with a client walking into a PI's office, and making an impossible request...

The body-flush language is very evocative. Bare, crass, rude, bursting into image like the MC bursts into the mother's house. Events are moving fast too--proper for a novella.

[Nirkatze]

Chapter 2--still really loving the language. The mix of old P.I. and physical descriptions... a lot of things hinted at but not explicitly said. (view spoiler)[Like the girl at the diner. Did the P.I. almost say her granny was a demon? Or the hint at him being an elder god--but NOT one of the Great ones... or the line about him not having a good meal in a long time--"more than you know." I'm guessing he hasn't eaten a person in a while? And his current host was willing...? It seems like more people are "in the know" about monsters than not... (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 3 (view spoiler)[The ghost of his body is his conscience... (hide spoiler)]

Interlude (view spoiler)[So it didn't happen? Which do we trust? (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Chapter 4 (view spoiler)[The neighborhood picture painted--the old man who rushes by without looking, the people at the diner... no one stepping in--though they did call the police--when McKinsey hits his "wife"--small kindnesses too, from Sasha and the waitress, mostly in the form of food... it's an interesting picture. One that looks away--but then sneaks in food by the back door... (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Finished! Really enjoyed the writing. The story I also liked, but it was second to the writing... (view spoiler)[I liked the twist, and the world, though I feel like there's a LOT going on here and we've only poked, not even scratched, the surface. I hope we get into things more as the series goes on, and it isn't all surface story on a deep world. (hide spoiler)]

I'd definitely be interested in continuing on to the sequel novella, if anyone else makes it in here!

[Felina]

I finished the first two chapters. I’m not sure how I feel. My initial reaction is that I don’t like it and if it were a longer book I’d probably DNF. But it’s short enough and strange enough that I’m willing to stick it out. We’ll see!

[Nirkatze]

Hmm, it's probably not your thing then--the mood stays pretty much the same throughout. Thanks for giving it a try!

[Felina]

I finished this one. It was a miss for me. I like the writing. It was very visceral but ultimately, I’m not really even sure what I just read. If you told me to break it down for someone who hadn’t read it, I don’t think I could.

[Nirkatze]

Yeah, very meta, a lot in between the lines. I think I followed it okay, but definitely on the darker side of gray and the more confusing side of weird. Were I to break it down, I might try... (view spoiler)[Eldritch horror turned P.I. John Persons hired to kill battered kid's father. Stalks him for information, find father is in fact also eldritch horror eyeball monster. Goes to do the deed--only to find the kid really didn't need him, and only needed a scapegoat to take care of it himself, as he'd already made a pact with another eldritch god thing to protect him and his brother. Mom got caught in crossfire. (hide spoiler)]

I wonder how much of this style is going to be continued in her other works? We're reading that co-authored book with Richard Kadrey in December...

[Felina]

Okay phew. Cause that is what I picked up so I’m glad I understood it!

I guess I prefer my (view spoiler)[ Lovecraftian horrors more funny like Meddling Kids or Terminus? That’s not true because I adore The Fisherman. Which is dark and moody and the best literary breakdown of grief I’ve ever read. John Langan is a genius.

Honestly, as a boy mom and a woman, the sexual assault and implied molestation was a turn off for me. Maybe this is the real dark side of Lovecraftian horror that I just haven’t experienced before. But, if I believed in this type of monsters and bodily cohabitation, it would make sense they would dapple in those thing to ruin a person the day to day living, not just some apocalyptic event. Much like demons.

It’s definitely a very interesting concept. (hide spoiler)]

I will admit to being a little nervous about the other book we have scheduled for Cassandra. Another where the synopsis sounds so interesting.

[Nirkatze]

Have you read Richard Kadrey before? I haven't, but maybe that'll be a limiting factor... it does seem like Khaw is known for body-horror, especially.

I'll have to add The Fisherman to my TBR. ^^ And I can definitely appreciate certain themes being a big turn off. I have my own buttons too... somewhere...

[Felina]

Oh man, if you do read The Fisherman I’m guaranteed to join you…just wait a bit. I’m slammed. 😉🥴

[Nirkatze]

I'll add it to the list for next year's spooktober--if that's not too far away. :)