I had to put it down, because work and eating and such, but this just brought me so much joy. Kingfisher is so good at creating an outrageous fictive I had to put it down, because work and eating and such, but this just brought me so much joy. Kingfisher is so good at creating an outrageous fictive world in which people behave much more like real humans do. Very much more than I do, to take one example. The mix of horror, humor, and caper is beguiling.
Plus geese, and beautiful endpapers, and a really lovely cover that I can't stop admiring. Highly recommended for a Halloween read, or a gift to others if you can't hold off reading it yourself right away.
A marvelous, creepy, story set on an isolated island owned by a man with too much money to be bound by society. Mrs. Charles Fort is underestimated byA marvelous, creepy, story set on an isolated island owned by a man with too much money to be bound by society. Mrs. Charles Fort is underestimated by everyone, including Theodore Drieser, a fan of her husband. Set during the global flu pandemic of 1918, everything here feels familiar, plausible, and too disturbing to be fiction. The author does a lovely job of recreating a weird time of great change and horrible possibilities and a woman's precarious security in the world. Also: a ripping yarn with echoes of Verne and Wells.
Knocking off half an hour before bedtime because the creepiness factor has increased exponentially. And it is in no way related to memories02 May 2023
Knocking off half an hour before bedtime because the creepiness factor has increased exponentially. And it is in no way related to memories of my grandmother who was sternly disapproving.
***
05 May 2023
Probably the first time I've closed a horror book and thought "relatable," but there you are. Sam's reactions, her sense of humor, and that damn grandmother all provide a firm reality with no self-concious spookiness. And this does fall into that sweet spot where the humor doesn't break up the building horror. Just the thing to delight my darlings with for All Hallow's Read. Well, maybe I'll just let them borrow mine.
Shout-out to Karolis Strautniekas and Ester S. Kim, jacket artist and designer respectively, for the excellent work. Great concept well executed. Love the vulture shadow, but the wallpaper, perfect.
The joy of reading YA is that stories about young adults, written for young adults, often veer off in unexpected directions. This is a s6 January 2023
The joy of reading YA is that stories about young adults, written for young adults, often veer off in unexpected directions. This is a story about five teens and a dog living in yet another small town hollowed out by catastrophe and no future. Two have just graduated, but this summer will be spent with time carved out from between their jobs at Walmart and the YMCA shooting video of themselves ghost hunting. And then one night something amazing falls from the sky...
You can shoot your own trailer from that. There's danger and excitement and mystery in the best Scooby-Doo tradition, although these kids can't afford a van. There is ever increasing creepiness and un-put-downable suspense. And then there's more.
The beginning, the grim reality of their lives, drags on the reader as much as on Franny. But Henry knows how to raise the stakes. So worth it.
Because Hendrix knows exactly what can actually terrify me, I only read his books in the morning, when I won't be alone or in the dark05 February 2023
Because Hendrix knows exactly what can actually terrify me, I only read his books in the morning, when I won't be alone or in the dark for hours yet. Sitting here, petting the cat, watching the Spouse sleep through the open door, I look up from the page, the freeze/fight/flight adrenaline stronger than 2 cups of coffee and my ADHD meds with a decongestant chaser.
"falling as fast as she could, landing...so hard it knocked the soul right out of her body...and a millisecond later her head hit the wooden floor with a jarring, hollow knock she could smell."
That sounds so Southern, and the synesthesia works well.
***
06 February 2023
Finished this morning. So satisfying. The contempt for people from outside the South buying up houses is spot on, as is the excitement to be looking at a profit in that inflated, hot sellers market. See The House Next Door for a 1978 Atlanta take.
What makes it so great is how banal it is: the family at the funeral, the stupid, embarrassing fights, the ugliest house in the neighborhood, the stuff left over when the kids move out and on, the detritus parents hang on to, nostalgic for a childhood the kids can't leave fast enough.
Read for my 365 Kids Book challenge. You can see all the books on their own shelf.
And since this book is very nearly all the things, I also read it foRead for my 365 Kids Book challenge. You can see all the books on their own shelf.
And since this book is very nearly all the things, I also read it for Halloween Bingo. I am using it for the Halloween square which had been giving me trouble, but it is also fine for Dead Lands, Dem Bones, Doomsday, Gallows-Humor, Ghosts, Gothic, Grave Or Graveyard, Haunted-House, Horror, In The Dark, Dark Woods, Mad-Scientist And Evil Geniuses, Monsters, Murder-Most-Foul, Paint-It-Black, Spellbound, Supernatural, Trick Or Treat, Stranger Things, and Vampires. It is set on Halloween when 10-year-old Mona flees a monster in her house, takes a short cut through a graveyard to get to the police station, and falls in with a some other kids. It is a bit creepy: there are so many monsters at least one will disturb everyone. But it’s funny and hits so many of the tropes in unexpected ways. I look forward to more volumes of kids trying to save the world.
Sometimes I grab a book for its cover and it is even better than I hoped.
Bluebeard was described as a "feminist fairy tale," so it's going to differ from the traditional in some way, right? But there was just no telling howBluebeard was described as a "feminist fairy tale," so it's going to differ from the traditional in some way, right? But there was just no telling how it was going to differ, which meant that anything could happen, which made it rather more suspenseful than I had anticipated. Very atmospheric and creepy. Pretty, too. I'll be looking for more of their work.
Edited to add: oh, and Bluebeard made me think of Johnny Depp, which made it even creepier.
Lippman is brilliant and scary. How can any reader not love all the variations on writers and modern fiction? I am always on about novels in which no Lippman is brilliant and scary. How can any reader not love all the variations on writers and modern fiction? I am always on about novels in which no one ever reads, or in which someone is a reader but isn't shown reading, or talking about books. This is just marvelously book-rich.
And Gerry Anderson feels at once archetypal and plausibly real. Not that I imagine he is based on a real person, but we've all encountered goys who resemble him in various ways. He is such a mediocre sort of guy, and also so defensive, and horrible, and clueless.
Highly recommended to just about everyone for the sheer readerly fandom, but also because Lippman is so great at creating expectations and fulfilling them in unexpected ways. Just the thing if one is looking for a riff on classic crime novel themes, writer themes, horror themes, or a combination thereof for Halloween.
Speaking of pronouns, [review for [book:All Systems Red|32758901]]they are just one of many difficulties of acquiring a new language, let alone meetinSpeaking of pronouns, [review for [book:All Systems Red|32758901]]they are just one of many difficulties of acquiring a new language, let alone meeting intelligent aliens. For background: I loved The Martian, strongly disliked Artemis, and loved the short Randomize. Weir is really brilliant at creating a science puzzle and then showing how someone can arrive at a solution, both the thinking it through to a possible answer and the testing of the possible answer. This is not a trivial skill. Trying to explain science to the general public is something only half a dozen people are really good at, as witnessed by all the very bad writing about science there is.
So this is Weir playing to his strengths: we’ve got a smart guy who wakes up all alone in space and who has to figure out everything. Life and death stakes, dad jokes, so many puzzles, so much thinking them through. He’s a flawed guy, and over the course of the novel the reader comes to understand his flaws and respect his strengths and his efforts and want the best for him. So much science! New planets! New catastrophes! Nerds a plenty! New life forms! Things to quibble over for those so inclined. Fun for the whole family that doesn’t feel stupid. Provocative questions for your next awkward cocktail party type conversation.
I'm using this one for Lost in Space because how could I not?
This would have been a library copy, but the wait list at all of them is like three years long, so thank you, Bryon, for the loan! ...more
Possession stories are all about girls becoming young women and how poorly everyone else deals with the change from sweetly innocent and virginal chilPossession stories are all about girls becoming young women and how poorly everyone else deals with the change from sweetly innocent and virginal child to totally-asking-for-it-slut whom guys will start terrifying on the street, never mind if she's ten. It's a time of incredible vulnerability for the girl, both emotionally and physically, because not only is she changing but so is the way everyone reacts to her.
When one of four smart, popular, best friends starts behaving strangely after a failed LSD trip their sophomore year in high school, Abby has to discover and name every awful thing about being a 16-year-old girl in 1988. It's a substantial book, as you can imagine. There's class and wealth and power in Charleston, which might as well be a small town given the insularity of this private school. There's all the public pressure on girls to protect their virginity and their drinks from drugs which facilitate rape, with no equivalent pressure on the guys not to rape. On the contrary, every movie of the decade showed that incapacitated hot chick = major score for the nerdy guy. There's sex and drugs and rock and roll in the chapter titles. There's a very narrow range of acceptable looks: clothes, of course, but makeup, hairstyles, body shapes, and everyone is policing and judging girl’s appearance all the time. There's an expectation of all-around excellence from the girls and women that is rather at odds with the expectation of marriage to a good provider followed by a couple of kids and well, really, nothing else except chauffeuring for a few decades. There’s the destructive economy of Reaganomics played out in downward mobility for some, limited access to health care, undisguised systemic racism, there’s urban legends and satanic panic, and the stigma of mental health issues. There are earnest Christians being brought in to proselytize in school assemblies, when every student understands football is more important.
And against all of that there is friendship and being seen and known and having shared jokes and memories and an entire shared lifetime by 16. The importance of having your friends stick with you when everything is awful and adults don’t listen, don’t understand, and don’t help. Hendrix evokes the lives of teen girls in a way that doesn’t feel weird or clueless and he shows how helpless a bright 16 year-old is when everyone turns against her.
The amazing thing about Hendrix is that he understands and respects both genre horror and the real horrors that genre reflects obliquely. He makes the most of both of them, with a gentle mockery but very serious intentions. Unlike the books and films he evokes he shows real insight and empathy for the lives of women. One is tempted to say "uniquely."
Library copy Read for American Horror Story...more
That's one of the best thrillers ever. Cole has proven herself as a respected and popular author of historical, contemporary, and scifi, so it's no suThat's one of the best thrillers ever. Cole has proven herself as a respected and popular author of historical, contemporary, and scifi, so it's no surprise that everyone wants to read this one. Which also just happens to be the book that captures 2020 best, although not set then. Such a rewarding and enjoyable read, so good at building the dread, fear, and rage that has you hoping the leads survive. And with its focus on community, it has strong traditional values in view without moralizing.
Cole is an excellent writer who gets better with every book. Now I can't wait to see the movie. In a theater, please.
This is now the third book I've read in this series, and I am well pleased. There is a formula that Rayne uses. Phin is pulled into research, his neigThis is now the third book I've read in this series, and I am well pleased. There is a formula that Rayne uses. Phin is pulled into research, his neighbor provides comic relief, the historical part tells the story of more than one generation, there's a murderer about in the present and an immediate threat at the climax, there's a fabulously gothic setting, and there's a dark family secret. The result is several hours of pleasant distraction in the company of an intriguing cast. It's a formula that enables Rayne to focus on the best parts of the story and the plotting is so very well done indeed. This past week has seen an escalation in the perceived threat level of Covid 19, with strong reactions in the stock markets and the White House. Now that cases are reported from countries in Europe and the Middle East, and the first case not associated with a clear proximate link, now it's becoming a subject of conversation outside health care. The US suffers from a chaotic delivery system and deeply stratified access: response to a pandemic is not likely to go well, despite excellent resources. Where 10 days ago it seemed extreme to start stockpiling canned goods and water, now it feels like responsible adulting. Which it is, of course, we are all encouraged to prepare for an emergency, and catastrophic weather is becoming more frequent. So, this week I'm grateful for really effective distraction....more
This is the first book I've read by Shan, so I didn't really have any expectations. Well, okay, one: I did expect the book to be a complete story, eveThis is the first book I've read by Shan, so I didn't really have any expectations. Well, okay, one: I did expect the book to be a complete story, even though I know it's first in a series. So that was points off. Contrariwise, lots of points for having an unlikeable protagonist, for addressing domestic violence so realistically, for addressing racism and bigotry so clearly. Loved all of that. I also really loved the development of the zombie outbreak with clips appearing on the news and YouTube, and the scene in school where are the crazy and less crazy theories are explored. I was disappointed with how heavy-handed the whole B thing was, it made my eyes roll but that might come across differently to an actual YA reader who hasn't seen it before. Definitely a good choice for the gore-lovers out there, the violence is graphic and squicky. Probably I'll enjoy the next book more expecting less of a resolution. Library copy. ...more
The Evil Garden - Edward Gorey This is my jam: Rhymed couplets about visitors to an Evil Garden being picked off, one at a time, with circumspect yet The Evil Garden - Edward Gorey This is my jam: Rhymed couplets about visitors to an Evil Garden being picked off, one at a time, with circumspect yet detailed illustrations. This is exactly the kind of thing I love as a Christmas present. I also received an Edward Gorey calendar to hang up at work. I really hope light verse makes a comeback one day.In the spring I have been invited to come up and visit the Offspring at college and take her off to visit The Edward Gorey House museum. Other book-related tourist inducements: the Eric Carle museum, The Yiddish Book Center, Antonio's Pizza (from The Penderwicks!), the inflatable polar bear from Iver & Ellsworth, and numerous used book stores. Yes, it would be a very simple thing to lead me into a trap.Personal copy...more
Rayne's stand-alone novels are marvelous: atmospheric and creepy as hell. Also, historically interesting. This series is different from those in multiRayne's stand-alone novels are marvelous: atmospheric and creepy as hell. Also, historically interesting. This series is different from those in multiple ways, not least of which is that they manage to maintain a creep factor but also somehow they're cozy. There's the romance and developing relationship, there's the cute kid, there's the adventures of Wilberforce. Thankfully no recipes, but yes, they are cozy horror, which is not a thing I ever considered before. I only know of one other author who has done such a thing: Deborah Grabien's Haunted Ballad series is similar in mood and charm. I love those, too.
Anyway, a good book to have on hand as I continue to fight this ongoing plague or whatever it is. Comforting and cozy are good for me. Now I'm going to take Moomin Midwinter to bed with me, because I need more cozy charm. Stupid germs.
Loading...
