The Joy of Erudition > Recent Status Updates

"Yes; and very splendid, I believe, they were," said my father.

"Princely! But then his hospitalities are quite regal. He has Aladdin's lamp."

Interesting way of putting it.

From now on, if anyone asks me if they should read Dracula, I'll tell them they should read Carmilla first.

Written 25 years before Dracula, and so far it's so much better! This is beautifully written and full of emotion, whereas Dracula is mainly very sterile and businesslike, when it's not being a morality play. Not to mention the PoV so far has been consistent and immersive, whereas Dracula is disjointed and distant, in the form of letters written by various people.

The sheriff just revealed part of the big twist, but unfortunately I already know the twist, so this is more like Columbo for me. And I don't know if the ending for the book is the same as the movie or not, since there have already been plenty of differences, so there's still the possibility for surprise.

I don't think the murder victim was actually decapitated in the movie version.

First time reading the book. Just a few differences from the movie so far. It starts from Norman's PoV, establishing him as a meek introvert under the control of a narcissistic mother. He's also 40 years old and overweight, unlike the slim lad of the movie. It also comes right out and states overtly that he has an Oedipus complex.

"The Good Wife" by Lee Murray was an annoying story about a starving woman, an evil husband, and a lazy dragon. Everyone in this story would logically have starved to death years ago because they don't lift a finger to get food for themselves (unless forced to by others).

"The Canal" by Alessandro Manzetti is a poem. I'm not the audience for that.

Some good stories, some not, as expected. I'll read another later.

"Hats" by Joe Lansdale, about a magic hat shop, would make a good Twilight Zone episode (there was one like it, actually). Short, magic in modern day, with a predictable twist, but fun enough to read.

"Trailer Part Nightmare" by Gabrielle Faust is a tiny flash fiction about a woman experiencing a tentacled horror emerging in her trailer park. That's it. It emerges. The end. I don't like flash fiction.

"No One Ever Survives the Beach" by Weston Ochse was a chaotic mess of references to factions and characters like Red Queen Mab, the White Worm, the Sky Isles, and more, all told in a revolting first person present tense with a breathless narrator spouting off to the reader like a war correspondent, sketching out the plot without giving any reason to care about its participants.

"Last Days", the Dracula story, was everything you could want from a Dracula prequel. It fit the tone of the original book and set up the events we know. It claims to be actual content cut from the original beginning of the book, but I doubt that. I don't care much for prequels when they don't have proper endings like this, but this one was okay anyway.

"Last Days" is a story from Renfield's PoV from Dracula. It starts with a slavishly typical framing story as most supernatural stories used to do, with people insisting the story is true. And the characters act like this has never been done.

"Is this some sort of literary conceit?" I asked. "Pretending that your creations are real?" I chuckled. "If so, I cannot decide if it's heavy-handed or a stroke of genius!"

"To the Marrow", by Rena Mason, was a little disjointed by jumping back and forth in time between the narrative and police reports of cell phone recordings from after the fact, but this was a strong, interesting archaeology story.

"Feathers", by Tim Waggoner, was written in 2nd person, casting me the reader as an unsympathetic psychiatrist. The only good thing about this was that it was flash fiction, and over fast.

"The Beguiled Grave" by Marguerite Reed is the highlight of this issue so far. A powerful, immortal witch is sent to break a king out of his secret prison, using necromancy. Great world-building, character voice, and structure. Also liked her casual reference to the king's sexual parts even though there's no sex in the story.

"Ellende", by Gregory Frost, seems to be a sort of spin on Lovecraft's "The Shadow Over Innsmouth", where a couple happens upon a small rural town filled with deformed cultists. It wasn't bad.

"The Legend of Lightning Lizzie" by Marie Whittaker is flash fiction of some guys telling an urban legend that's actually real.

"Too Late Now", by Seanan McGuire, is just what I expect from Seanan McGuire from reading her Wayward Children books: Young women trying, and often failing, to survive in a brutal world with a fantasy or SF backdrop. This one is essentially her take on Day of the Triffids, and of the two, hers is the superior story.

Some really surreal stuff going on.

A really good revenge story, and uses the best approach to a series. This is no unfinished story ending on a cliffhanger. The story has a satisfying ending, then the epilogue gives an interesting hook to set up the next book.

“If you want to keep getting this medication, move to the yin seat .”

Qin Zheng’s brows pull together. “Excuse…me?”

“I know you can understand me,” I enunciate. I point down at the yin seat with the medicine kit. “Switch seats. Now.”

His chest heaves. “I’m…not getting…into the woman’s—”

Considering this is a "why choose?" polyamory story (she literally says, "Choose? Why do I have to choose only one of you?") it's surprising that it cuts away with a fade to black for the actual sex.

The tone of the book has shifted significantly, and seems to have slowed down a lot.

A lot like Evangelion.