ankh_hpl: (Default)
Ten SleepTen Sleep by Nicholas Belardes

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


[My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.]

As a Wyoming native (though no longer resident), I was intrigued by the premise of this modern weird Western. A 20-something woman, adrift after dropping out of the U. of Wyoming (yes, I'm an alumna) and getting left by her girlfriend, takes up a friend's offer to work on a 10-day cattle drive outside the small town of Ten Sleep. Unfortunately, the drive leads into a canyon haunted by centuries of bloodletting, and hungry for more.

The Wyoming setting and characters of this novel rang true for me. Greta Molina, the main protagonist, is both flawed and deeply sympathetic. Her complex family history, though not always relevant to the plot, gives her something to hang onto when things start getting strange -- as they do very quickly. Unfortunately, it also blinds her to the considerably darker family circumstances of the friend who hired her. Generational curse, anyone?

The narrative proceeds through each night/sleep of the drive at a deliberate, often nerve-wracking pace. Sections of straight narrative are interspersed with scenes focused on animals, birds, or other entities -- scenes which don't always seem to follow from the section before. Most do eventually tie into the main plot, but a few never did for me. Greta is also riding with a headful of memories and anxieties, which may explain why she went on this drive in the first place, but do not necessarily move the story forward. When the dénouement comes, however, it's fast-paced and relentlessly bloody. In the wilderness, Belardes seems to be saying, we die like any other animal.

Ten Sleep is ambitious, imaginative horror with perhaps too many things going on at once. In addition to the family curse aspect, it incorporates historical horror, cosmic horror, eco-horror, supernatural horror, and more than I ever wanted to know about taxidermy. This makes for a creepy but scattered reading experience, as there are simply too many pieces to fit into this nasty little puzzle. It held my attention throughout, though -- and I can truly say I've never read anything quite like it.

Recommended for slow burn horror fans with a fascination for the weird West, and a certain amount of stamina.



View all my reviews
ankh_hpl: (Default)
The Kraken WakesThe Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I chose to listen to this after noticing a copy of the paperback being featured in early episodes of The Rig. Although it does not have a great deal to do with this series (no spoilers!), it does resonate with it to some extent.

That said, this is a rather dated though suspenseful alien invasion/slow apocalypse novel set in the UK in the 1950s. I was a little disappointed by the ending, but enjoyed the buildup & the characters. Wyndham knew how to build suspense & create disquiet, definitely. Possibly not worth a full credit purchase unless you particularly enjoy War of the Worlds style SF, but I don't regret having experienced it. It also has some foreshadowing of today's cli-fi trend.



View all my reviews
ankh_hpl: (Default)
I suspect I wasn't the ideal reader for this collection. Although I'm somewhat familiar with Kiernan's work -- I've read one novel, one novella, and a handful of their short stories -- I'm not a devoted fan. This particular collection has a deeply personal feel. Each of its twenty-five stories offers an afterword, explanatory or autobiographical or both. The vast majority first appeared in Sirenia Digest, a subscription-only ezine Kiernan produces.

Kiernan's brand of weird fiction is nearly impossible to describe. It's decidedly literary, atmosphere-forward, and influenced by their work in paleontology. There's a subtle (or sometimes not so subtle) vein of Lovecraft running through it, though it never approaches pastiche. This collection included a handful of what I would consider Lovecraftian stories, including one set in his Dreamlands. Quite a few others read more like SF, embracing themes of first contact or the discovery of alien artifacts. One or two were solidly climate fiction.

Although disturbing and well-crafted, however, many of the stories in this collection didn't seem to end in any conventional sense. I counted ten of the twenty-five as having distinct (often horrific) conclusions. The others read more like vignettes, either from the start or fluctuating between structured fiction and vignette throughout the reading experience. As someone accustomed to more conventional genre fiction, I found this frustrating -- even though I kept right on reading, pulled along by the disquieting effect of Kiernan's prose.

A few of Kiernan's themes also became somewhat repetitive. Dreams and dream retellings, visits to psychiatrists, and the miseries of freelance journalism all came in for possibly more than their share of attention. The deep ocean was also a frequent theme, but this is a bit more common in Lovecraft-influenced writing.

In the end, I wound up elevating my three-star rating to four stars solely on the strength of the writing itself, and on its eerily immersive quality. I suspect that Kiernan's more dedicated fans will find this collection a solid five star experience. My thanks to NetGalley and Subterranean Press for providing me with an ARC.
-
ankh_hpl: (Default)
The BewitchingThe Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Dark academia, multicultural witchcraft, and straight-up supernatural horror make a satisfying blend in Sylvia Moreno-Garcia's most recent foray into the shadows. As with many of her novels, this one is mostly a slow burn. The plotline stretches across three time periods -- 1908, 1934, & 1998 -- in both Mexico and New England.

Alba, a young Mexican woman (whose family may be cursed) in 1908, is the great-grandmother of Minerva, a 1998 graduate student -- who is in turn doing her thesis on Beatrice/Betty, a pioneering female writer of weird tales in 1934. When Minerva's research reveals Betty's own brush with the unexplained, she finds herself threatened by dangers both supernatural and otherwise. Her great-grandmother left her with a few valuable tips about witchcraft, but can the folk beliefs of rural Mexico possibly apply to the traditions of old New England? And if they do, will Minerva be able to access her own power in time?

It takes a while for the three separate story lines to intertwine completely, although each is compelling in its own right. Fortunately, Moreno-Garcia includes the appropriate date with each chapter. She also seasons the dark academia sections with intriguing book titles, some of which I may need to look up later. They feel very real, as do the practices and descriptions of rural Mexican witches. There's always something interesting to learn in Moreno-Garcia's novels, and this one is no exception.

The conclusion of The Bewitching owes as much to thriller-style pacing as it does to horror, and may wind things up a bit too neatly for some readers. I tend to prefer clarity, however, and was gratified that the author took time to tuck in loose ends. There is also an informative Afterword, detailing some of the more autobiographical aspects of this novel. Recommended for anyone who enjoys dark academia with intelligent heroines, or folk horror with a Mexican/South American flavor.

My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.




View all my reviews
ankh_hpl: (Default)
A Conventional Boy (Laundry Files, #13; New Management, #4)A Conventional Boy by Charles Stross

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Consisting of a novella, two novelettes, and a concluding Afterword, A Conventional Boy is a somewhat brief ( 211 pp. in my hardback) but highly entertaining series of sidetracks through the Laundry Files universe. The novella which gives the book its title details the adventures of Derek Reilly, a once-teenage Dungeon Master wrongly imprisoned by the Laundry a few decades back, during the Satanic D&D Panic. All Derek really wants to do is to escape for one weekend, to attend a local gaming convention . . . but it gets weirder than that, of course. A lot weirder. Derek's successful escape attempt brings him into the crosshairs of an actual group of cultists using the convention for their own eldritch purposes. This, in turn, brings in other members of the Laundry (some of whom sounded familiar to me), and chaos rolls on.

The two novelettes (at least one of which I've run into before in electronic form) are both Bob Howard adventures. Again, these are sidetracks rather than essential bits of the Laundry universe -- but regular readers will enjoy the extra details they offer. The Afterword is mainly an explanation of the D&D Satanic Panic of the 1980s, and how it happened to inspire this book. It's helpful to be familiar with tabletop role-playing games, though I suspect quite a lot of Stross readers (including myself) are.





View all my reviews
ankh_hpl: (Default)
Penumbra #5

My dark sonnet "Wind Tarot" appears in the 2024 issue of this yearly journal of weird fiction, poetry, & criticism. Edited by S.T. Joshi and published by Hippocampus Press, this perfect-bound trade paperback includes over 300 pages: twelve stories, one classic reprint, 8 pieces of nonfiction / critical essays, & ten poems.

For a complete TOC, or to order:

https://tinyurl.com/3sby4pb7


Where the Silent Ones Watch

I have a new 4-sonnet sequence, "Night Landing," in Where the Silent Ones Watch, edited by James Chambers & published by Hippocampus Press. This 278 page trade paperback offers twenty-seven tales & poems written in celebration of William Hope Hodgson's weird fiction.


For a complete TOC, or to order:

https://tinyurl.com/brnx5esk
ankh_hpl: (Default)
Always Haunted: Hallowe'en PoemsAlways Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems by LindaAnn LoSchiavo

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


LindaAnn LoSchiavo's Always Haunted: Hallowe'en Poems, is distinctly more than that. This smart, well-crafted collection strays beyond the graveyard (though it goes there, too!) to deliver a chilling variety of topics. Historical horror, true crime, multi-cultural mythology . . . it's all here, in twenty-four poems including a few haibun and one microfiction.

Although the collection begins with a lyric -- the quietly breathtaking "Samhain" -- the majority of these poems are narrative. In the timeless tradition of storytelling in meter, LoSchiavo makes frequent use of blank verse. This is an effective choice. When well used, blank verse approximates the natural rhythms of English, allowing the "crafted" aspect of the poem to get out of its own way and let the story flow. And flow it does, through retellings of Sleepy Hollow and A Night on Bald Mountain, to a celebration of "Elizabeth Siddal Rossetti, Cemetery Superstar" to the dark historical "Don't Monetize Those Poltergeists."

Many other verse forms appear in this collection as well -- again, in the service of storytelling, and often women's history. One Italian sonnet celebrates "Hetty Green, the 'Witch of Wall Street", while an abecedarian (26-line poem incorporating each letter of the alphabet as a first letter) deals with murder and its vengeful feminine aftermath. A pair of bilingual haibun celebrate Our Lady of the Holy Death.

There is much to learn as well as to enjoy in these poems -- fortunately, LoSchiavo includes unobtrusive notes for the curious. Several original black and white illustrations complete this intelligent, diverting, and at times extremely creepy seasonal entertainment.

My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.




View all my reviews
ankh_hpl: (Default)
I have a new sestina -- "Papered Over" -- in Shunned Houses (WordCrafts Press), edited by Katherine Kerestman and S.T. Joshi. Billed as an anthology of "weird stories, unspeakable poems, and impious essays," this compilation offers over three dozen short stories, poems, & essays featuring haunted or otherwise off-kilter residences. Contributors include both classic authors & modern Usual Suspects: John Shirley, Ramsey Campbell, Kyla Lee Ward, & many others.

312 pp. Available in hardback, paperback, & e-formats.

For more information, to read a sample, or to order:
https://tinyurl.com/3bf3uas7
ankh_hpl: (Default)
Baltimore ward
a last mystery
evermore


-- Ann K. Schwader

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe

(never too late to remember . . . . )
ankh_hpl: (Default)
The 2024 Rhysling AnthologyThe 2024 Rhysling Anthology by Brian U. Garrison

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This first juried edition of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association's annual Rhysling votimg anthology is leaner than recent past ones (only 133 pp.!), but it still serves as a fine survey of some of the best new writing in this field.

With 50 short-form poems & 25 long-form poems on offer, there's plenty of variety -- though, as usual, formal verse is sparsely represented. The narrative tradition remains strong, particularly in the long form poems. This year's anthology seemed (to this reviewer) to skew a bit darker than some in the past, with a respectable amount of out & out horror verse. Fairy tale themes may be making a comeback, & traditional space opera is still popular.

As might be expected from such a diverse anthology, not every poem here will be to the taste of every reader. Still, the Rhysling anthologies remain an invaluable annual sampling of current speculative poetry in (mostly) the English-speaking press.

Truth-in-reviewing disclaimer: I have a poem in this anthology.




View all my reviews
ankh_hpl: (Default)
Spectral Realms No. 21 (Summer 2024)

I have a new sonnet -- "Solstice Ghosts" -- in the twenty-first issue of Hippocampus Press's semiannual journal of weird verse and reviews. Edited by S.T. Joshi , 126 pp. perfect-bound trade paperback with color cover by Daniel V. Sauer.

As usual, this issue offers a wide array of practitioners , ranging from the Usual Suspects in weird lit to other well-known names in spec verse who don't generally venture to the dark side.
For more information, TOC, or to order:

https://tinyurl.com/3w4w75te
ankh_hpl: (Default)
The Real History of DraculaThe Real History of Dracula by Sara Cleto

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A short (10 lecture) Great Courses audio course with a remarkable amount of interesting information on the book, the movies, and a diverse set of other Gothic & folkloric topics. This is actually less about the character -- or even the novel -- than about influences on Bram Stoker, Bram Stoker's influence on other writers & creators, and many speculations on why we as readers/viewers are still fascinated by vampires.

Despite the bubbling enthusiasm of Sara Cleto & her audio colleague Brittany Warman, this came off as a solidly academic experience. I've had a good bit of coursework on the Gothic & have been reading horror/vampire literature for longer than I want to confess, and I still got something fresh from this. This Great Course was included in my Audible subscription (not a credit purchase), and I found it listening time well spent.





View all my reviews
ankh_hpl: (Default)
White HorseWhite Horse by Erika T. Wurth

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I listened to this as the 2024 selection for One Book Westminster (CO), a library reading program. I look forward to the upcoming discussions & author talk, etc., but wonder if the novel would have had quite the same effect on me if it wasn't so local. This is a Denver-area dark mystery/fantasy, with many local references & locations which painted vivid pictures in my mind as I listened. Would this have quite the same effect on a reader / listener living elsewhere? YMMV, though I suspect anyone interested in a solid modern ghost story with Urban Native connections will probably enjoy it.

Kari, the first-person protagonist, is a young woman with a troubled past & plenty to be haunted by -- until her long-dead mother takes up the challenge. The overall plot is as much mystery as horror or fantasy, leaving the reader guessing until near the end whether this actually IS a fantasy novel or something more mundane. (Take a guess as to which way I was hoping.) The writing style is serviceable enough, but what impressed me were its deeply felt characters & the indigenous details (all of which were pretty much new to me). This one is woman-focused, though there are sympathetic male characters as well, & a balanced sense of justice.

A fun, atmospheric read for anyone looking to expand their dark fantasy horizons. Well worth a full credit purchase on Audible.



View all my reviews
ankh_hpl: (Default)
Vampire Ventures: PoemsVampire Ventures: Poems by LindaAnn LoSchiavo

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This slim chapbook offers exactly what the title implies: vampire poetry in a number of forms, all executed by an experienced speculative poet who knows what she's doing. The focus is mostly on Dracula (both character and novel) , though many of the poems are set in contemporary times and none of them felt old-fashioned in a pejorative sense. Forms range from sonnet to prose poem to Fibonacci to the first truly dark Golden Shovel I've encountered, along with two longer narrative poems which felt more like free verse.

The overall feeling of this collection is fun rather than heavily Gothic, though there's plenty of depth. Poetically inclined fang-fans might find it a tasty seasonal stocking stuffer.




View all my reviews
ankh_hpl: (Default)
Midnight SunMidnight Sun by Ramsey Campbell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Classic British cosmic horror. This one combines aspects of the family curse theme with creepy British countryside / village life and domestic terror, all winding up around the winter solstice -- which makes this novel ideal for those of us looking for something a bit different in our Christmas creepers. Ramsey Campbell does slow burn better than almost anyone out there, and the menace here is truly cosmic rather than standard supernatural or psychological.

I chewed through this one at a deliberate pace to enjoy the quality of the writing -- and all the elegant attempts to describe something that, in the end, cannot possibly be described in merely human terms. (See? Cosmic H!) If you're looking for a quick shock-fix, this isn't your book. If you've got a taste for deep winter disquiet building to something quite disturbing, however, you won't be disappointed.




View all my reviews
ankh_hpl: (Default)
Season of Skulls (Laundry Files, #12; New Management, #3)Season of Skulls by Charles Stross

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Even by the elevated standards of the Laundry Files as a whole, Season of Skulls is remarkably weird. Stross exploits the time-travel & time-branching aspects of his dream roads for all they're worth, allowing the improbable combination of The Village(yes, that Village, be seeing you) & The New Management to wind itself up to an epic conclusion.

This one is Eve Starkey's novel (finally!), which gives the reader a good look into the complex magical system of the Laundry universe. Eve is a highly talented sorceress on a desperate mission, & she won't allow trivialities like a whole Hunt of Tindalos to get in her way. Meanwhile, back at home, brother Imp & his superpowered housemates are doing their utmost to help -- which of course results in additional chaos.

Like all the Laundry novels, this one is self-referential -- do not attempt until you're up to date on at least the New Management arc, preferably the whole series. Stross has also introduced characters both real & literary from the Regency period, though he includes some helpful comments in his Acknowledgments. All in all, I found this one a bit complicated at points, but in no way disappointing. And it does indeed complete the trilogy which began with Dead Lies Dreaming.



View all my reviews
ankh_hpl: (Default)
Whitechapel autumn
a sharpening
of shadows


-- Ann K. Schwader

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ann_Nichols
ankh_hpl: (Default)
The Horror Writers Association announced the 50-poet lineup of its latest Poetry Showcase this week. I am thrilled & honored to be among those chosen, with a historical / supernatural sonnet.

Find the full post, with TOC & a cover reveal, here:


https://horror.org/announcing-hwa-poetry-showcase-x-selectees/

The Showcase will be offered in both hard copy & e-formats later this year.
ankh_hpl: (Default)
The Ballad of Black TomThe Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This horror novella is essentially an answer to H.P. Lovecraft's "The Horror at Red Hook," with a black protagonist and some serious revision of the events in that story. Unlike Lovecraft's early tale, this is full-on cosmic horror rather than supernatural horror. Many of Lovecraft's signature concepts (the Sleeping King / Cthulhu, the Outside) replace the vaguely described rituals of the original. LaValle also addresses the racism of both the era and the tone of THaRH, though he makes the Irish police officer Malone a somewhat sympathetic victim.

Unlike many cosmic horror tales, inside & outside of the Lovecraftian Mythos, this one offers a real sense of a cultist's (or top henchman's?) motivations. Why would anyone be willing to help the Sleeping King wake up & reclaim his kingdom? Black Tom explains, in articulate detail. And it's chilling.

One tip for readers: I found that rereading THaRH really made this story "pop" for me. It's readily available in the public domain, though not one of Lovecraft's best.








View all my reviews

June 2025

S M T W T F S
123 4567
89 1011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930     

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jun. 12th, 2025 05:11 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios