Yaddith Times

An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


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

Dark academia and vampirism -- in this case, an updated riff on Carmilla -- combine in this lush exploration of love and blood at a New England women's college circa 1968. Compressed into one fall semester, the plot manages to blend artistic ambition, obsessive romance, serial murder, and a spectacularly inappropriate professor/student relationship (hint: fangs are involved) into an entertainment that keeps pages turning or clicking.

How well this approach works otherwise depends on the reader's taste for erotic description, or possibly said reader's preference for romance vs. vampiric worldbuilding. I'm a fan of both well-written vampire fiction and dark academia, but not so much explicit material. S.T. Gibson's prose is elegant, if slightly florid in an traditionally Gothic way. Her approach to dark academia, however, left me wondering if anyone was making it to class after the first half of the novel. Though there was that drained body found in the quad . . .

I suspect that I'm simply not the right reader for a novel like this, which would probably rate at least four stars from its intended audience. Gibson has created a perfectly stylish box of blood-dark chocolates for long winter evenings. I'd just prefer to curl up with something a bit more varied, or perhaps harder-edged.





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Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


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

Darkly lyrical and dreamlike, this feminist Gothic vampire tale examines the lives (un-lives?) of two women trapped in circumstances they never chose, struggling to sustain themselves through fragile relationships and disappointments. One, sold by her family as a consort/menu item for the local undead lord, finds herself abandoned and adrift through Europe and into 19th century South America. The other, a single mother in modern Buenos Aires, is sinking under the weight of her own mother's terminal illness and a difficult connection with her small son.

The first half of this tightly plotted narrative is a blood-tinged historical, with many classic vampire tropes put to good use. The second half -- linked by a somewhat artificial device -- is a family drama sliding toward tragedy. When the two narratives mesh, a third option for both women emerges -- something neither is entirely prepared for.

This is Marina Yuszczuk's first novel to be translated into English. I'm left wondering what other shadowed gems we've been missing, and how quickly the problem will be corrected. Highly recommended for vampire fans in search of more substance, dark feminist fiction enthusiasts, and anyone seeking a thoughtful approach to undeath.




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Impact Winter Season 2 by Travis Beacham

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Continuing Season 1's highly addictive blend of SF, horror, & Buffy style vampire-hunting angst in a dark post-asteroid world, this episodic audio drama is great for car trips with like-minded folks. (But not, perhaps, very young folks. This would carry a solid R rating.)

The plot is nearly impossible to summarize coherently, but suffice it to say that many danging questions from Season 1 (including why Earth got smacked by a life-changing chunk of rock) finally get explained. There are revelations & prophecies, new vampires made, old vampires slain, fight sequences galore, & possibly a little too much melodrama with everyone's personal lives. Even so, this is first-class shadow theater of the mind designed to make the miles roll by -- even if you're stuck in road construction for quite a few of those miles.

Like Season 1, this is available as an Audible Plus free item. The seasons should definitely be listened to in order, & you'll probably be a little confused even with the helpful Season 1 recap provided. Also, I'd be very surprised/disappointed if a Season 3 isn't flapping in the wings -- this had the feel of a middle book.



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Impact Winter by Travis Beacham

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Combining the SF tropes of asteroid winter (and let's all hope it stays SF) & post-apocalypse with a fresh yet traditional take on vampires, Impact Winter delivers a solid nearly five hours of British dark entertainment. I had a slight problem getting used to some of the northern accents; but once I adjusted, I was into it for the duration.

The feel of this is more dark SF adventure than pure horror, likely to appeal to listeners who enjoy things like the Aliens saga. The plotline is female-forward, always a plus for me, & the vampire aspects have good internal logic. The plot, however, is nearly impossible to summarize without spoilers. Suffice it to say that it ends with a suggestion of more to follow -- not strictly a cliffhanger-- & I'm ready to place my preorder already.

This is less of a formal novel than a fully voiced "theater of the mind" experience, which makes it great for long car trips. One word of warning: this is not family listening. The F-bomb gets dropped with great regularity -- usually for understandable reasons -- & there is some sexual content.



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Dracul by Dacre Stoker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


[I was supplied with a NetGalley copy of this book for award voting purposes, and in exchange for an honest review. ]

Despite being marketed as a prequel to Dracula, this novel feels less prequel than "secret history." Bram Stoker, members of his family, and several other real (or possibly real) characters are the focus of an intricately plotted classic horror adventure. Though it ends with a fairly traditional hunt-down of the Big Bad (no spoilers as to how this version ends!), there are enough unusual bits of vampire lore and associated legends to keep even a seasoned reader turning or clicking the pages.

The Authors' Note and Acknowledgements chapters are not to be skipped. In fact, I almost wish I'd read them first, as they explain the research and thought processes behind this nearly-nonfiction entertainment.

I hesitated long and hard between four and five stars for this one, but finally chose four (for most readers) due to a framing device which broke up my attention on the story in progress until it was finally concluded in the last portions of the novel. Readers with more patience, or simply a faster reading pace, may not be troubled.

Recommended for fans of classic vampire horror, Gothic novels, or dark "secret history." Probably essential for those primarily interested in Bram Stoker himself.





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I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Though this classic post-apocalypse thriller is showing its age a little (especially, to me, in its view of women), it was still an amazing read. Though generally spoken of as a horror novel, it's actually pure SF at its bones. The vampire theme allows Matheson to examine human nature in the face of the unthinkable, although some of the ways this works itself out have since become standard in this sub-genre.

Though the book is short, it's worth slowing down once in a while to savor the stark beauty of some of its prose. It's also interesting to think about all the fiction this book has probably spawned: The Passage came immediately to mind.

Psychologically effective and still chilling after all these years -- a great choice for late summer reading in nervous times.



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The Nightmare Stacks by Charles Stross

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Charles Stross just keeps ringing new changes on his popular Laundry Files. This time around, he's added urban fantasy. Or rather, the Secret History behind it. As newly minted Laundry employee -- and PHANG -- Dr. Alex Schwartz discovers, elves are not only quite real, but remarkably unpleasant. At least, most of them are . . .

The Laundry, Leeds, and possibly the planet are all under attack in this one, as CASE NIGHTMARE RED (alien invasion) picks an otherwise ordinary weekend to manifest. The result is a bizarre but satisfying blend of military thriller, occult adventure, & just a touch of very strange romance.

Regular readers of this series won't be disappointed, though some may find Stross's worldbuilding into the fey realm a bit of a stretch. (I did not.)





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Sustenance by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Number 27 in the blessedly long-lived Saint-Germain series finds the Count in post-WW II Paris, acting as publisher and friend (and, in one case, much more) to a group of American academics driven into exile by the House Un-American Activities Committee. When their lives become entangled with a shadowy CIA operation organized by a corrupt agent, no good can come of it -- and, pretty much, it doesn’t.

Yarbro’s take on the anti-Communist witch-hunt is detailed and fascinating. As usual, she provides a preface of historical information – always worth the time when starting out on one of her novels. Regular readers of this series will also find much information about how vampirism “works” in Yarbro’s world (some of this was new to me, & I’ve read the majority of these books) and discover the fates of several characters from previous novels.

That said, this still wasn’t one of my favorites. Although I enjoyed the postwar atmosphere and probably learned a great deal, I had trouble seeing how all the plot threads wove together. Perhaps this is due to my own unfamiliarity with the history, but the CIA operation and the misadventures of the Ex-Pats’ Coven never quite meshed -- and there were a few too many members of the Coven to keep track of. Though Saint-Germain proved to have some particularly lethal enemies, their motives remained obscure. Given the level of espionage and paranoia, though, perhaps this isn’t surprising.

I’m uncertain whether to make this a three-star or a four-star review, but I’m afraid I’ll have to go with three this time. This is no reflection on Yarbro’s writing, or indeed on the series as a whole. I’ll be preordering the Count’s next adventure, but his brush with the Cold War left me a little cold.





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The Rhesus Chart by Charles Stross

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



If you’re a Laundry loyalist – and I am – you’ll want to read this one no matter what. The Rhesus Chart is absolutely essential to the ongoing eldritch history of Bob Howard and the approach of CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN (aka When the Stars Turn Right), & the ending is heartbreaking. The arcane history of the Laundry (who knew it went back to Elizabethan times?) is also fleshed out in some detail, as is the very complicated relationship between Bob & his boss Angleton. Full points for world-building here.

That said, however, this was far from my favorite Laundry File. No matter how well-justified in Lovecraftian terms, vampires – sorry, PHANGS – just do not fit well into this dark SF universe. Or at least, they didn’t for me. I have no problem whatsoever with urban fantasy, & regard it as a favorite guilty pleasure – but I wasn’t prepared for elder vampire duels in Laundry London.

I’m really sorry not to be able to rate this one higher. Stross’s style is as darkly witty as ever, and Bob’s relationship with his wife Mo (and her sanguinary violin) gets some much-needed attention. PHANGS or no PHANGS, I’ll be preordering the next File.




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The Twelve by Justin Cronin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


As with The Passage, I'm not sure what to call this novel. Thriller horror? Post-apocalypse SF with a side order of mysticism? Literary/genre hybrid? Whatever it is, the series is still working for me. The weaponized vampire virus idea has something to do with it -- as does the discovery that, for once, the Savior of Civilization is a girl person. Cronin's prose style is also a couple of cuts above what I've found in most thrillers, though that's strictly personal taste.

Anyone who lives or ever has lived in the Rocky Mountain West -- particularly Colorado -- is in for some morbid fun with this one. There's nothing quite like seeing the city you're living in (or at least near) made into Ground Zero for the vampire apocalypse, and my college town didn't fare too well either.

This is, as several other reviewers have mentioned, a very long book. At times, I wasn't sure every bit of it was necessary, but Cronin still does an excellent job of keeping the reader interested in each & every character. There are a lot of characters, though, & I found the X-Ray feature on the Kindle edition very useful for keeping them straight.

I'm reluctant to say much about the plot of this one, to avoid spoiling it for others. There's a more satisfying conclusion this time around than there was for The Passage, which was a big relief. I found the narrative to be well-constructed despite its length, with very few really slow spots. Violence toward women was more of a plot point than it might have needed to be, though the violence made sense in context.











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