Euan > Recent Status Updates

A Redress for Andromeda by Caitlin R. Kiernan (2000)- An excellent, pelagic horror about a strange ritual on Halloween. I've heard praise for Kiernan, and this bears that out.

The God of Dark Laughter by Michael Chabon (2001)- A sort of a satirical, noir story of a murdered clown hunting at long-lost secrets, with a gumshoe protagonist.

Yellow and Red by Tanith Lee (1998)- Excellent creepy, gothic story about an old house and a possible curse. Extremely well written, being Lee.

The Specialist's Hat by Kelly Link (1998)- Very creepy one about two twin girls left to their own devices in an old mansion while their father takes the more typical ghost story route in the background.

Although I still enjoyed the first section, I'm enjoying this one much more; our protagonist is much more active than passive and reactive. Feels like it took the event at the end of the first book to fully wake her up from her sleep under the volcano.

Made it to Part 2.

"she leaned in towards him and the bridge of her nose brushed his cheek..." What? The bridge of her nose? How? Is she shoving her whole face into his cheek?

Already not feeling this. We'll see if I can make it through by bookclub.

The Meat Garden by Craig Padawer (1996)- A surreal story about a nonsensical future war between a mechanical musically weaponized side and biological spore-wielding side.

The Stiff and the Stile by Stepan Chapman (1997)- A short nursery-style tale of a post apocalyptic wasteland in the style of The Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly.

The Snow Pavilion by Angela Carter (1995)- An interesting one, falling somewhere between fairytale and horror, and quite ambiguous in what exactly is going on. And, being Carter, exquisite writing and imagery.

Yeah, this is a weird one.

Now this is well written.

Though I don't understand yet why I've heard people say Humbert manages to make himself a sympathetic narrator; he's eloquent, sure, but everything he's describing is creepy af, and he admits it

"This book feels all thin, sort of stretched, if you know what I mean: like butter that has been scraped over too much bread."

It's a good premise... But I need more than an idea to keep my interest. Nothing's happening, and the main character or our picture of her isn't developing either.

The Delicate by Jeffrey Ford (1994)- A great short, surreal story about a strange, shapeshifting monster called The Delicate.

The Man in the Black Suit by Stephen King (1994)- A man in his nineties recounting the story of how he encountered the Devil as a young boy while fishing.

The Country Doctor by Steven Utley (1993)- a short and interesting one about what's unearthed when a graveyard is exhumed

Last Rites and Resurrections by Martin Simpson (1994)- A sad but sweet one about a man who hears the ghosts of roadkill after his son dies

The Ocean and All of Its Devices by William Browning Spencer (1994)- A good, eerie one about a strange holidaying family and their rituals with the ocean.

Definitely self-published so far, with the writing quirks that implies (that it's written in present tense makes for some particularly jarring grammar sometimes)... But it's just fun. Extremely melodramatic and edgy, but in a way that works, even as it edges on campy. Very fast-paced and an interesting world being built.