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I haven't read enough Chekhov to know if Murakami is actually quoting him or just making stuff up. I wouldn't put either one past him.

"Pale Roses" is as English a winter's tale as there could possibly be. If you're not familiar with English history, you may want to brush up. If you are familiar, you are in for a treat, a mystery surrounding the Connoisseur's ailing cousin leads to decay and a discovery about a possible lost scion of the Stuart house. How does the protagonist know what he knows? I don't care. I believe. Five stars.

And, once again, I own more than half the books on my Want to Read list. Life is good.

Well, that Amazon gift card lasted all of five minutes. No surprise.

I hope you all have a Merry and book-filled Christmas! I already received one today (Christmas Eve - well, at least for another 54 minutes) and am hoping for more to come tomorrow! Happy reading!!!

I hope you all have a Merry and book-filled Christmas! I already received one today (Christmas Eve - well, at least for another 54 minutes) and am hoping for more to come tomorrow! Happy reading!!!

I was reminded of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" when reading "The Paravine Cries," for reasons that become obvious when one reads the story's conclusion. I won't spoil that ending, however. Suffice it to say that, while it does reflect some of those old tropes, it does so in a fairly fresh way. Fresh enough for four stars like glowing eyes in the night.

"After the Darkness" has it all: a pre-Great War poet, a masquerade, an apparition, and a mystery involving a sundial - or is it a moondial? In any case, what's not to like? Five stars and I am LOVING this collection so far.

"After the Darkness" has it all: a pre-Great War poet, a masquerade, an apparition, and a mystery involving a sundial - or is it a moondial? In any case, what's not to like? Five stars and I am LOVING this collection so far.

"The Effigies" is just what I had hoped it would be: witty, erudite, fantastically well-written in such a way that the eloquence is un-noticed, just absorbed. The Connoisseur explains his vase, which holds water, but never flowers, and for good reason. Imagine if the physical objects of Huysman's Against nature each had a tale to tell. Five stars.

Two of my favorite contemporary authors combining their talents on a promising character, The Connoisseur - aesthetical detective extraordinaire. I've been waiting a while to savor this. With a few days off on holiday, I should be able to bathe in this reading a bit more than is usual with my frantic life.

"Demiurge" is an interesting take on what it's like to be an alien intelligence possessing others' bodies that ends as the most ridiculous thing in the entire collection. It was pretty good until the last page, then, UGH! Three stars.

"Demiurge" is an interesting take on what it's like to be an alien intelligence possessing others' bodies that ends as the most ridiculous thing in the entire collection. It was pretty good until the last page, then, UGH! Three stars.

"Demiurge" is an interesting take on what it's like to be an alien intelligence possessing others' bodies that ends as the most ridiculous thing in the entire collection. It was pretty good until the last page, then, UGH! Three stars.

Goodreads, as a social media, makes me feel much more connected than other social media. Probably because there is *always* something to talk about.

Just "unfriended" anyone who hasn't been active on here since before 2016. I am working my way back to making Goodreads my primary social media (outside of twitter). I have a volunteer responsibility which ties me to FB for now, but when that's done in 2 years, I will only have a "signpost" presence there. Same with Instagram. And G+ is dead in April.

Just "unfriended" anyone who hasn't been active on here since before 2016. I am working my way back to making Goodreads my primary social media (outside of twitter). I have a volunteer responsibility which ties me to FB for now, but when that's done in 2 years, I will only have a "signpost" presence there. Same with Instagram. And G+ is dead in April.

Just "unfriended" anyone who hasn't been active on here since before 2016. I am working my way back to making Goodreads my primary social media (outside of twitter). I have a volunteer responsibility which ties me to FB for now, but when that's done in 2 years, I will only have a "signpost" presence there. Same with Instagram. And G+ is dead in April.

Why, yes, of course every Antarctic submarine researcher carries a Tommy gun with them, just in case. And riding a submarine down an icy slope like a bobsled is perfectly believable. Isn't it? "Under the Shelf" comes in under three stars. Two, to be exact.

Now things are starting to come together. The Little People are as creepy as anything Murakami has written about. At least from the Murakami I've read. Love it.

Murakami has a way of ratcheting up the tension to where you think it's going to pop, then suddenly hitting the release valve. Of course, that's probably just a build up to when things really do pop!

When I read the words Great Old Ones Ale near the beginning of the story, I thought that "Momma Durtt" might end up a puerile, trivial, mimetic, unoriginal,, silly, bleached-out shell of worn-out Lovecraftian elements that tried in vain to be funny and horrific and the more it tried the worse it became, until it nose-dived into a downward spiral of inane dreck.

And I was right. One star.

Nothing really happened "Beneath the Beardmore". The protagonists didn't do much protagonizing, and there was a lot of explaining about shoggoths and tentacles and stuff. But the characters were flat and unimpressive. Meh. The poetic voice of the "guide" was at least intriguing. But only intriguing enough to earn three stars.

I'm torn. Some of the writing in "Tsathoggua" is exquisite, Especially the segments about Maureen's transformation. But, again, "deus ex machina" comes in the form of someone, introduced halfway through the story with no preamble, who just happens to have all this mythos knowledge. Honestly, it's getting really, really tiresome. Three stars.

Ah! "The little people"! The crossover between realities begins!

This Shea collection better get better or you better bet I'm leming it.

Dear "Dagoniad", I'm sorry, but we just can't go on like this. Your blunt granting of "mythos" knowledge (and your characters even call it "mythos" knowledge) to common hookers is, well, just obscene. You're the kind of story that would take it for granted that everyone reads Lovecraft and knows everything about the mythos because they read it. Uh-uh. No more. We can't go on. One star. Next story up, please.

I don't know. Aomame isn't freaking out nearly enough. if I was questioning my own sanity like that, you would be able to tell.

"Copping Squid" is a great story. Best by far, so far. Sacrifice and complicity create a tangled web, with some deep characterization, as a result. The horror is just as much in the inner contemplation of decisions as it is in the outward cosmic forces that feed on the universe. This story is a darkly wonderful exploration of agency and respectful awe vis-a-vis stark terror. Five stars.

I think my Lovecraft stage might finally be over.