Alice has been dead, or at least presumed dead, for quite some time. Her wife Keisha has mourned her. She has attended therapy. She has tried to contrAlice has been dead, or at least presumed dead, for quite some time. Her wife Keisha has mourned her. She has attended therapy. She has tried to control her anxiety, but it’s just too much... especially as she starts to see Alice in the news. Not as a feature of the broadcast, or as a newscaster, but as just a person in the background crowds always staring straight at the screen. Keisha decides to go on a road trip, as she’s now sure that Alice isn’t dead.
Written by Joseph Fink, one of the two creators of the popular Welcome to Nightvale series. Alice Isn’t Dead feels like it could very well take place in the same universe... except that Nightvale is funny, whereas Alice is dead serious. Bad things happen here. There’s a fairly high body count and some of those deaths are rather gruesome. It’s not explicit like an extreme horror novel, but it’s very clear what is happening to the people who have the misfortune of meeting one of the things along the road.
This book owes a great debt to David Lynch. Much more so than Nightvale even. In Nightvale the unexplained weirdness is so over the top and comical, where here it is threatening and just close enough to reality to make it uncomfortable. The Thistle Officer who changes her name every conversation reminds me rather unnervingly of the "Mysterious Man" from Lost Highway. I mean that in a complimentary fashion as he’s my favorite character in any Lynch film... but it adds to the overall uncomfortableness of the book
Let’s talk a moment about anxiety. Keisha suffers from it, and let me tell you, if you do too be prepared for a potential panic attack because Fink gets it like few other authors do. I felt myself starting to experience it quite frequently not during the monster encounters, but when Fink would describe the feeling of anxiety.
“It is often said that bad experiences are like nightmares. But what Keisha noticed most was how real it was, how she couldn’t escape its reality, how she would never be able to convince herself she had remembered any part of that evening incorrectly.”
That... that feels too real.
Overall I really enjoyed this one. I wish I could say I liked it more but I have two very big issues with it. First, frankly, the villains toyed with the characters too much for things that have managed to work in the shadows/survive so long. There were so many times where I felt it just seemed off that Keisha wasn’t flat out murdered. Also, the ending... no spoilers, but I’m not a fan of the approach Fink takes. It almost feels like the ending to a much different book.
In closing: I enjoyed it for what it was. I wish I had loved it. Still, I’ll take enjoyable. 3/5 stars. ...more
Last week I finished "The Easy Life in Kamusari" and coincidentally (because I sure didn't realize it while I was reading) the second book came out inLast week I finished "The Easy Life in Kamusari" and coincidentally (because I sure didn't realize it while I was reading) the second book came out in English the day before I finished it. As I have a trial of Kindle Unlimited I decided to go ahead and give the second one a shot. After all, the first was a nice slow paced relaxing read. That said, it wasn't exactly a book that called for a sequel, so I still had some reservations.
Well, much to my surprise I find the sequel superior to the first in almost every way. This one has a different structure, with a theme to each chapters (save one) being not only a continuation of Yuki's life, but also about him hearing a story about the Kamusari in some way. In one chapter it may be a myth, in another a story about how a couple got together, but all of theme stick with the theme of Kamusari and how the village functions. I said in my review of the first book that the village was just as much the main character as Yuki was and I'd say even more so here.
It's an enjoyable read altogether and my complaints are very minor. The only one that really bugged me was the constant repetition of the same joke every chapter where Yuki starts off thanking his imaginary readers (he doesn't intend to show it to anyone but writes better if he pretends there is an audience) and then says something along the lines of "… but you don't exist!" It was amusing the first time… it got old fast.
While I didn't initially thing the story needed a continuation, I found this to be a pleasant second visit to Kamusari. Much like the first book, it's not a great read, but it's overall fun and as said, I personally prefer this one due to my interest in the village over our lead. A solid 4/5 stars....more
A romantic weekend in a cabin on Pale Peak sounds like a wonderful opportunity for Felix and Faye to celebrate their engagement. Unfortunately things A romantic weekend in a cabin on Pale Peak sounds like a wonderful opportunity for Felix and Faye to celebrate their engagement. Unfortunately things do not go as planned. Something in the snow is watching them, listening to their very dreams and takes a great interest in the pair… something that wants to know everything there is to know about them.
This book has been coming highly recommended from multiple sources and frankly, I was all about it. It started off a "Creepy Pasta" on the No Sleep Reddit board, and I do have a love for those internet horror stories. Whenever one becomes a full fledged novel, I feel a little bit of joy (the Patient and Pen Pal for example)… and I must say, I understand why this one gets some love.
This has, without a doubt, one of the most chilling openings I've ever read. I'm a pretty seasoned horror reader, but I had goosebumps and was looking at the pages just going "oh shit." Had it just been that as a short story I would have called it an all time great.
It was not a short a story though, and as things stand it is still an enjoyable novel, but sadly not the masterpiece of terror that it started with.
The biggest problem with this book is that it feels so repetitive. We keep going through the same motions. Fall asleep, weird things in the night, tall figure running away… keep repeating with some variation on the same thing. As a reader, after a while, what was frightening became overdone and a touch boring. I was more than halfway through the book at the beginning of the month, but set it down and read several other books because I was tired of the repetition and needed something else for a bit. It really hurt the story for me, and honestly I think the book would have been better had it been cut down to more of a novella length.
Complaints aside, it's a fairly enjoyable read, and given the overwhelmingly high ratings among my friends, this likely doesn't bother many readers as much as it did me. I absolutely suggest horror fans give it a shot, and I do hope it works well for you. As for me, it's an enjoyable read, but I wished it would have hit me more consistently. 3/5 stars...more
The plot: Yunjae was born with a brain condition called Alexithymia that makes it hard for him to feel emotions like fear or anger. He doesn't really The plot: Yunjae was born with a brain condition called Alexithymia that makes it hard for him to feel emotions like fear or anger. He doesn't really feel happiness, at least not in a strong way, but he is content living with his mother and grandmother… until an incident that leaves his grandmother dead and his mother in a coma. Dealing with the aftermath of this, he tries to cope without anyone to help him make through life faking what he's "supposed" to feel.
This gif sums up the entire novel for me:
[image]
It really was so close. I loved getting inside this character's head. I loved seeing his attempts at getting to know others. The friendship he starts to form and how he interacts is quite clever. It was a four, possibly five star read. Really this is a book that's ruined by the last twenty pages.
Warning: Major spoilers.
(view spoiler)[So, the end of this book lowered this so much. Guess what, he feels emotions "because the heart is more powerful than the brain" or something like that… SO LOVE BEATS MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS AND THEIR SILLY MEDICAL DEGREES! Also, his mom comes out of her coma seemingly fine, despite the fact that those silly medical professionals said that she most likely wouldn't come out of the coma, and even if she did she would not be the same, THEY WERE WRONG BECAUSE THEY KNOW NOTHING. It's such a ridiculous happy ending that feels so tonally off that it just hurt what was such a good book. (hide spoiler)]
Had the book ended a few pages earlier or had a different ending this would have been a 4 or 4.5 star read. As things stand sections one through three are still great, but the ending lowered it to a generous 2.5/5 stars, rounded up to 3....more
"Okay self," I say to myself. "We really need to talk."
I sigh as I turn the page on the book I'm reading. "We're bringing this joke back for a review"Okay self," I say to myself. "We really need to talk."
I sigh as I turn the page on the book I'm reading. "We're bringing this joke back for a review? Been a while, but I guess some classics never die."
"Don't be a smart ass Tim. This time I'm not going to berate you. I wanted to say I'm proud of you. You've been… well, you've been reading Literature with a capital L again. It's only March, and you've already read two books by Steinbeck, two by Dickens and a book by Faulkner. You've been crossing off classics and it's refreshing after your recent forays into horror."
"Glad to hear you approve." I turn another page.
"Really I can't wait to see what you read next… oh no. This is a joke isn't it? I'm being used to set up some punchline where you reveal a shocking book and… WHAT ARE YOU READING?"
"The fact that this is a review should tell you already…" ________
I had never heard of this book outside of Goodreads, but a shocking number of my horror loving friends have reviewed this and almost all give it extremely positive ratings. My curiosity was certainly achieved by this, but I noticed very few actually gave much in terms of plot description. As such I decided not only to give it a shot, but go in pretty much blind to what it was about.
This was honestly the best approach to this work.
There are a couple of things that frankly I've come to expect from a book that has the words "An Extreme Horror Novel" on the front. You can probably guess without me explaining what those things are just from the phrase. There are also some things I've come to expect not to find. First is what one might call quality writing. Now, when I say that I do not mean it as an insult. I've read many an extreme horror and I usually have fun with them, but their not exactly the highest quality of fiction. In a way they're like a good b-horror movie, usually short, fun, but not the sort of thing that's going to the award ceremonies.
Second thing I don't expect is to be genuinely disturbed. This one may come as a surprise to some, but while I find them fun reads, graphic violence doesn't really bother me. It usually is something psychological in my horror that ends up being the thing that makes me put a book down and shudder.
Imagine my surprise when this book managed to have quality writing and a chapter that I genuinely felt myself recoiling from the page. The scene that got to me isn't even the most graphic or horrific scene in the book, but the way it was described my brain just kept on going "nope, we're done here. Put it down" while I continued reading like someone watching a trainwreck unable to avert my gaze. (view spoiler)[For those of you who've read the book, it's the coat hanger abortion scene. (hide spoiler)]
This is actually a well written horror novel. There's a psychological depth to it. There are some absolutely horrific scenes… and there's almost a sense of the poetic to it. Yes, you are getting a book with horrible uses of bodily functions and deaths/mutilations described in loving detail, but you're also getting a book with deeper ideas. What are those ideas?
I really can't say without ruining the book. This is one where knowing what it's even truly about kind of ruins the first experience. I will say it is DEFINITELY not for everyone. It has some truly stomach churning descriptions for many readers and some of the sexual scenes in it will no doubt really bother some, but if you've a strong stomach and would like an extreme horror with a bit of a literary ambition, this one gets a solid recommendation. 4/5 stars....more
I've had this book sitting on my shelf for some time, but have never been able to bring myself to try it. I picked it up around the same time EarthlinI've had this book sitting on my shelf for some time, but have never been able to bring myself to try it. I picked it up around the same time Earthlings, the author's other novel translated into English came out. A book club I was in was reading Earthlings, so I gave it a shot first… and while the book was interesting it was not a book I enjoyed at all. Thus this one say on my shelf for over a year before I saw a friend's review and said "I really should get around to that."
Now here we are. What did I think?
Well, it's significantly better than Earthlings, and actually makes me like the other book even less, as really Earthlings is in many ways just a darker retread of this one, but without as much of the humor. The ideas here are much the same as the other book, but gotten across much better and with a few sly winks. It's a much shorter, but stronger work.
I enjoy that our narrator is so ingrained in the world of the convenience store that she sees everything from that point of view in her daily life. My favorite touch is that the managers she's met are only referred to by their number. Unlike her co-workers who have names, the manager is just an extension of the store and thus is just referred to as their title.
She is such a part of the store that when others begin asking about her life outside of work she becomes uncomfortable. "Now, however, it felt like he'd downgraded me from store worker to female of the human species." It's less the female part that bothers her, and more being considered a human outside the store.
[image]
The store "never changes" a customer says, but our narrator knows this is wrong. She's been there since day one and see all of its changes; from staff to product, the store is its own world that is constantly evolving and the only world she understands and seems to fit in. The book sounds more melancholy than it is, and I'd be lying if I said there weren't some darker aspects (Shiraha is a despicable character and I found myself wishing our narrator would repeat a past event from her childhood involving a shovel with him), but overall the tone of this one is much lighter than Earthlings.
I can't say this is a great book, but it was by far the more entertaining and effective of the two translated to English. A fairly enjoyable read to kill a few hours. 3/5 stars...more
I don't know what you think this book is about going into it, but you are most likely wrong. I know I was. What is it about? Honestly, the les[image]
I don't know what you think this book is about going into it, but you are most likely wrong. I know I was. What is it about? Honestly, the less you know the better. This is a book you should walk into blind and experience for yourself. Instead of a plot description, let me give you a warning instead.
Nakamura has written several extremely dark novels. I'm on record as saying I love all of his books that I've read with only one exception (and I've read all that have been translated into English except for Cult X and The Kingdom which I will eventually get around to). The Boy in the Earth was not a terrible work. Far from it. In fact the reason I do not like that book is because it was so well written that it made me feel borderline sick while reading it. I had to finish it in one sitting because I knew if I put it down I would not be picking it back up.
This book was not as hard hitting for me as The Boy in the Earth, but I highly suspect it will be for many readers. In fact, I highly suspect it will be worse for quite a few. This is a dark novel. It goes many uncomfortable places. Things happen in here that I assure you will bother most readers to an extent once they figure out exactly what is going on. While all of Nakamura's books fit into a noir category, I would say this one is one of the darkest and that is saying something. It is also the closest to a genuine mystery of the books that I have read. The mystery is not so much a "who done it" as it is figuring out what exactly is going on. What does the narrator know… and who exactly is even narrating?
Dear readers, this is, in my humble opinion a masterpiece. It is dark and as uncomfortable as a book can get. Do not come here looking to feel hopeful. I think it easily sits beside Last Winter We Parted as my favorite of Nakamura's books (it also feels closer to it from a structural standpoint than any of his other books, to the extent that it's almost a companion novel). Which one is my favorite of the two? Right now it's too close to call. The book receives a perfect 5/5 stars but with a warning to all readers… please don't read it if you're feeling depressed. This one will not help at all.
"Turn this page, and you may forfeit your entire life."...more
I should start by stating that this book seems to have created a wide variety of strong reactions in my friends. I respect them, both the positive andI should start by stating that this book seems to have created a wide variety of strong reactions in my friends. I respect them, both the positive and the negative. I think I disagree with just about all of them though. This is well written book. Some of the ideas in it are very clever. I did not hate it… it was worse than that.
I was entirely apathetic to it.
This is a book that should have been entirely up my alley. I like things that are subtitle in their creepiness (and indeed I really liked aspects of when our leads visited the house) and I like clever ideas, which this book certainly had a few… it just never managed to make me care.
I made an update a few days ago where I said I thought I knew how it was going to end and I didn't like it. Well, I was half right. (view spoiler)[I called Jake's suicide (hell, after a couple dozen pages I felt that was obvious despite how the author used the title to imply a different meaning). No, I did not catch that they were the same person… but that does lead up to a big problem with having a plot twist like that. If it doesn't wow the reader, the rest of the book is hurt even more.
I don't really like either of those points though That aspect that I did catch? Said I wouldn't like it and I didn't. This is obviously a personal thing, but I didn't like that it was a narrative leading up to said action. The aspect I didn't? Well, I didn't get that delight that I should when an author takes me by surprise. Instead I just shrugged said "That's unique" and moved passed it without really feeling anything about it one way or another. Only while writing this review and thinking back to it do I realize that in a way it cheapens the narrative and our unnamed narrator's (or at least that aspect of the character) story. I just didn't give a damn when I read it and felt mostly relief that I could cross it off and say that I read it. It wasn't truly poorly executed, it just required the reader to feel a strong emotion for it to work… which at least in my case it failed to do. (hide spoiler)]
Should you read this? I honestly don't know. Most of my friends seem to have had a very strong reaction to it. They tend to be extremely favorable or intensely dislike it. Frankly in that regard, I don't get it.
So there you go, that's my exciting review. I can offer no real points of interest other than to say it simply didn't work for me. I can't write an enthusiastic review or an angry one. I simply don't care about this enough one way or another. I finished it thinking it would have to do something to get a strong reaction and it just fell flat. It doesn't hardly feel like I experienced it… instead it's feels simply like a bunch of words on paper. Sure, that's what it is, but I've rarely felt that way about a novel before. Simply words. Maybe they mean something so someone… for me I didn't feel a thing. 2/5 stars...more
A young woman walks into an employment agency and requests a job that has the following traits: it is close to her home, and it requires no reading, nA young woman walks into an employment agency and requests a job that has the following traits: it is close to her home, and it requires no reading, no writing – and ideally, very little thinking. She's had a complete burnout after her previous job and just wants something that doesn't feel like work at all. Something she can go to and leave without putting much effort into. We follow her over the course of five jobs; from mundane to bizarre.
Though it is a novel, it does have a short story feel because of the structure. Each section of the book covers one job, and each one introduces us to a new cast of characters for our lead to interact with. I honestly was really enjoying this from the start. I found the first job interesting, the second a delightful bit of possible magical realism, the third extremely entertaining and the fourth darkly fascinating. I was about ready to give it four or possibly even five stars as I was just enjoying it all around. Then the final job hit and had it been a short story collection I would have given that section one… maybe two stars if I was being generous. I didn't find the cast of that section interesting (in contrast I loved most of the characters we were introduced to in the other jobs), I found the main focus of the job tedious, the mystery aspect boring and the end a bit on the preachy side.
The book is very readable and an easy going sort of read. It's not a book I would care to analyze as it really is just the sort of thing I'd read to relax and turn off my brain just a bit. It's a book that at times feels like it's about nothing in particular and has little in terms of "action" going on… but it's consistently enjoyable (until that last job) and was always holding my interest. It's not a book I can recommend to everyone, but I do not regret my time with it. I only wish that last job was more interesting, then it could have had a much higher rating. Still, with the four jobs prior to that last, it still gets a 3/5 stars....more
At one point my wife saw me reading this book, thought the cover looked interesting (which I have to agree that I do kind of love the cover). Seeing IAt one point my wife saw me reading this book, thought the cover looked interesting (which I have to agree that I do kind of love the cover). Seeing I was halfway through, she asked me what it was about.
This was pretty much my response:
[image]
This is a weird one. The book follows our narrator who calls herself The Woman in the Yellow Cardigan who stalks another who she calls The Woman in the Purple Skirt. She keeps track of her night and day. She follows her life. She makes notes of her habits. She always watches, wanting to interact, but can't ever find the right time. It's not presented as a romantic stalker, or a horrific murder plan… she simply watches.
It's not a horror novel, it's not a comedy… if anything this comes off as a slice of life novel, just giving us a few weeks time observing The Woman in the Purple Skirt. While the story is certainly about obsession, I can't even call it a character study on the stalker as our narrator does her best not to give us details about herself (we only learn her name, her financial status and a few other details… some of which she doesn't even outright say). It's one of those books where once I finished I questioned who at a major publisher like Penguin greenlit not only a translation of this, but also a hardcover release. Don't get me wrong, it's far from a bad book, but it's one of those books that just doesn't have a clear audience and even someone like me who has a love of Japanese literature and is pretty much guaranteed to blind buy it (which I did) is perplexed after finishing it.
It's pretty well written and short (only 216 pages, and it's fairly small in terms of height size as well), so it's not a book that will take up much of your time, but it's a hard one to recommend. It's pretty well done, and I certainly do not regret my time with it, but it's not something I can't really suggest to anyone outside of Japanese literature fans who want to read something both mundane and extremely different. 3/5 stars ...more
Plot: An unnamed narrator discovers he's going to die. The devil makes a deal with him to give him more days to live, but in return something has to dPlot: An unnamed narrator discovers he's going to die. The devil makes a deal with him to give him more days to live, but in return something has to disappear from the world each day as a trade.
"In order to gain something, you have to lose something."
"You don't know what you've got till it's gone."
Repeat these two phrases over and over for 168 pages and you've essentially got this book. Perhaps the story would have been more moving with a better translation (it's awkward and honestly feels like the writing level of a high school creative writing course; moments of cleverness with a lot of awkward phrasing).
This is also one of the few books with a spoiler in the title, given that going in you know the devil is removing things from the world each day. Huh... I wonder if perhaps cats will be one of them?
It's not all bad. I like the idea that the devil is a doppelgänger of the lead. Given that the book seems to operate under several Christian principals in terms of how it views God and the devil, I like the implication that humans are made in God's image but the devil is made in ours. I also like the fact that he's presented as more subtle in his actions. He's offering something most would want (more life) and slowly making it a life not worth living by taking away the joys you experience.
The book is designed to try to hit your emotions. At one point it has the narrator discuss the feeling of watching the movie E.T. when he was three. He couldn't remember all the plot but he remembered how it made him feel. Obviously this is what the author is going for here, that even if you forget aspects of the plot, he wants you to remember those feelings. I know several people will find that charming, but that's instantly a negative point for me. It's honestly the reason I don't like MOST of Spielberg's films (I'm a big cinema fan, but I can count the number of his movies I even like on one hand). I personally feel that the over sentimental approach, with a story that can be summed up in one paragraph (but by God you felt emotions, right?) is honestly not a story worth even telling. It never earns those emotions from me if that's all it has to offer... It's at this point that Tim feels like a heartless monster even voicing this, but it's his review and he's sticking to this heartless approach.
In the end do I suggest this? If you can tolerate a super simplistic story that aims to seem deep while really only trying to tug on your emotions like a child desperately seeking attention and/or candy while the adults are talking, sure, knock yourself out. Personally, the only reason it isn't getting one star is because of the interesting ideas it presents on the devil and some of the comments it makes on the nature of cinema in one chapter. Overall, not worth the time. 2/5 stars...more
First off, thanks to Marie-Therese for buddy-reading this one with me!
I loved The Hollow Places. It was honestly one of my favorite horror releases iFirst off, thanks to Marie-Therese for buddy-reading this one with me!
I loved The Hollow Places. It was honestly one of my favorite horror releases in some time, thus of course I had to pick up the author's first attempt at horror as well. Like the Hollow Places, this is a spin on a classic horror story as well, this time Arthur Machen's The White People.
The plot per the publisher: "When Mouse’s dad asks her to clean out her dead grandmother's house, she says yes. After all, how bad could it be?
Answer: pretty bad. Grandma was a hoarder, and her house is stuffed with useless rubbish. That would be horrific enough, but there’s more—Mouse stumbles across her step-grandfather’s journal, which at first seems to be filled with nonsensical rants…until Mouse encounters some of the terrifying things he described for herself.
Alone in the woods with her dog, Mouse finds herself face to face with a series of impossible terrors—because sometimes the things that go bump in the night are real, and they’re looking for you. And if she doesn’t face them head on, she might not survive to tell the tale."
Okay, let's start with the good. Much like The Hollow Places, I find this fits into a sub-genre of horror I didn't even know existed... it's comforting horror. Kingfisher writes horror novels where horrible things happen, and I get a warm fuzzy feeling inside like I'm sitting on a rocking chair, under a blanket and have the nicest slippers on. There's something relaxing about her novels... that sounds weird, but there's several reasons for this. First off, she's very funny. Her books have good banter, protagonists with a sense of humor (without ever coming off too much like joke characters) and they realistically process oddities while realizing in retrospect how insane that just was. Second, her characters are good natured, they're... well, they're just nice people. I've read two of her books and both times I sat there going "Yeah, I would hang out with these people." They are the most wholesome novels you'll ever read with horrific monsters taking people apart.
I also like that this is also a creepier novel than The Hollow Places. There was a scene in this one scene that had me staring at the page in that “I feel I should recoil from a book, but that’s just silly” feeling. (view spoiler)[The scene in question? When the deer skull thing looked in at her window. Something about the description of it looking back and forth completely unnerved me, so bravo there. (hide spoiler)]
Alright, now the negatives.
The book is very slow paced for around the first third of it. It seems like an overlong transcript of an episode of some sort of hoarders show, and I really was ready for it to just get on with it after a bit.
The book is also a touch on the repetitive side if you read The Hollow Places. Friendly, but sarcastic barista? Check. Protagonist who just broke up with someone (previous novel it was a divorce)? Check. Good portion of the early bit of the book looking for WiFi to check email? Check. Lovable pet? Of course! We seem to hit note for note for a bit. Perhaps my criticism is unfair. I should be directing that criticism towards The Hollow Places as though I read it first, it was the second novel and thus the one repeating the points... that said, I felt the other book pulled it off better. I read the previous book and got this one immediately. Had I read this one first, I would have noticed the repetition in the other and maybe wouldn't have given it a fair shot (which would be a shame as mentioned above, I found it one of the best recent horror novels that I've read).
This one is frankly not as "fun" of a novel as The Hollow Places. It may just be that I was more invested in the museum in the previous novel than Mouse's grandmother's house (really, I sat there most of the time here going "It’s a horrible old house filled with things you don’t want. Leave."), or perhaps I enjoyed the side characters more (I definitely like Simon more than the side characters in this... though as a former barista, I appreciate the barista in this one as well because I can vouch that most of the night crew when I worked there would act the same way).
Also, (view spoiler)[I love animals, but personally after the deer thing started coming nightly, I’d be getting out of there even if my dog did run off. Again, I like dogs, but that is loyalty to an extreme given the situation. The comparison made in the book to Alien and going back for the cat in that film is accurate because it’s that scene all over again... and I was always annoyed by it. (hide spoiler)]
Alright, I had a lot of complaints, but I don't dislike the novel. I found it a disappointment after how much I enjoyed her other book, and I can't help but compare the two, but there's still a lot of positive things. This is going to sound like a very bizarre comparison, but I'm reminded of something Akira Kurosawa once said about his film Kagemusha. He was proud of it, but he also felt like in many ways it was just a dress rehearsal for his superior film Ran later... I get the same feeling about this one. 3/5 stars...more
"In a movie it's funny when a life falls apart, because the people say clever things while it's happening, but in reality it's only dismal and repugna"In a movie it's funny when a life falls apart, because the people say clever things while it's happening, but in reality it's only dismal and repugnant."
This is the story of a man's emotional collapse. It's told like a haunted house story. It could easily be one, or maybe it's something else entirely. It's off... and that's the point. You come for the ghosts, you stay because you're stuck in a metaphysics trap.
A screenwriter rents a house in the mountains intending to write a sequel to his most successful movie. His wife and four year old daughter accompany him and at first all goes well. The story is told as if you're reading the journal he's writing. Scenes from his screenplay are mixed with him talking about his own life... and then sentences show up that seem out of place. Sentences telling him to leave. Sentences he doesn't remember writing.
This is an odd little book (only 111 pages) and if you're here for a ghost story, you might be disappointed. If you're here for a serious story about a man's life falling apart, you might also be disappointed. The haunting presented is subtly unnerving, but seems more like it's hitting harder just because the guy is already going through a rough patch.
It's an interesting balancing act. I don't know how else to describe it. I can see where it would frustrate many readers. It's honestly one of those books that I do not envy the people writing a plot description on the back, because no matter what you write trying to sell the thing, it's not going to reflect what the reader actually gets.
What it is though, is stunning. I don't exactly know what to call it (horror seems acurate enough but not fully there) but what we have is something very unique and it will stay with me for a long time. I can see the comparisons to House of Leaves but honestly, I like this a lot better and it's a lot shorter. I cant describe it properly, but I can give it a rare 5/5 stars....more
"Lie there, lie there, little Henry Lee 'Til the flesh drops from your bones For the girl you have in that merry green land Can wait forever for you to c"Lie there, lie there, little Henry Lee 'Til the flesh drops from your bones For the girl you have in that merry green land Can wait forever for you to come home And the wind did howl, and the wind did moan La la la la la La la la la lee A little bird lit down on Henry Lee" - "Henry Lee" Nick Cave
Black Mountain is the second of Laird Barron's Isaiah Coleridge series. Now set up with a (mostly) legal P.I. business, Coleridge seems to be going legit. He hasn't killed anybody for a bit, his relationship with his girlfriend is going well and all around things are starting to look up... until Curtis contacts him and informs him that the mob would once again like to use his services. Not for a hit this time (though, they certainly wouldn't complain if it ended in one) but for his investigative talents. An old friend of Curtis' and a regular employee of his, one Harold Lee has been found murdered and mutilated. Thus begins an investigation that will turn up a lot of bad blood and some shed as well.
I read the first book in the series last week and decided I needed to immediately pick up this one. The first book was an enjoyable ride, but as I pointed out, surprisingly not very horrific at all for a book by someone with Barron's reputation.
This one is a lot more of what I expected from the first. This may still be a noir, but we're a lot closer to a horror noir hybrid here. There's less violence in this one, but what it does contain is more disturbing and our villain is... frankly downright scary. Fans of both genres will see a lot to love here, but those who enjoyed how the first was a straight up noir may not like some of the directions this one goes.
This one is a more poetic novel. Dreams are a recurring theme and we get a lot of symbolism (which is a recurring theme from the first book, in that Coleridge finds that the best way to solve a mystery is to get as much data as he can and hope his sub-conscious pieces it together). While this was in the first book some, there is a lot more of it here. Some of the sequences are clever and add a lot, some of them drag down the pacing a bit.
I debated on what to rate this one. On one hand I found it extremely enjoyable and I like a lot of the things it added, though some of them felt like an experiment that didn't exactly work. The first book was probably a more enjoyable read in my opinion, but not enough that I would lower the score. Another 4/5 stars....more
I picked this book up because I've been meaning to try out Laird Barron. I've heard he was an excellent horror author and I found a used hardcover cheI picked this book up because I've been meaning to try out Laird Barron. I've heard he was an excellent horror author and I found a used hardcover cheap. Excellent! I'll give him a try.
I realized very quickly that I was not in fact reading a horror novel. This was a noir, a dark and gritty one, but very much in the realm of probability (with obviously exaggerations for fiction's sake). Even still I could see a horror influence from the author. He's known for cosmic horror, which if there is a more nihilistic sub-genre of horror, I don't know it. Noir too tends to be cynical to say the least.
Honestly, when you think about it, mixing the two would work well.
As said (this volume at least) is not a horror story. There are unpleasant things that happen, but nothing too unexpected from a noir. In all honesty, it's my guess that Barron was hoping this series would break him into the mainstream.
I hope it works.
This was a fun ride. Our lead Isaiah Coleridge is not your usual gumshoe or former alcoholic cop. He drinks a bit too much, but never enough to let it cloud his senses and he sure wasn't a cop... in fact he was quite the opposite. He's a former mafia hitman, specifically the guy they would send after other mobsters if they stepped on the wrong toes. Coleridge though is sent into exile after he himself steps on one pair of toes (more specifically, chops someone in the neck). He's sent to a horse farm in rural New York to lay low and perhaps start anew. While there he finds himself involved in a the case of a missing teenager. Is this a chance at redemption? Or is it just an excuse to go back to his violent ways, but be deemed the hero?
I enjoyed this one all around. The characters are all solid, the case goes interesting places, the moral shades of gray are at times jarring (but in an entertaining way) and there's enough left open for the series to continue, but not where you sit there feeling like you missed part of the story due to lack of reveals. An excellent start to what could be a great series, and I will definitely check out the second. Recommended to all who enjoy a bit of Noir. 4/5 stars...more
If you're here you likely don't need me to go into the origins of the Slender Man creepypasta. He's the most enduring and most loved internet horror sIf you're here you likely don't need me to go into the origins of the Slender Man creepypasta. He's the most enduring and most loved internet horror story... and confession time, the only one that honestly unnerves me a bit. I read a lot of horror and much worse than the stories about the internet's Boogeyman, but there's something about Slendy that genuinely bothered me when I first discovered him online. Maybe it's the idea of how he gets into people's heads, maybe its that first (quite impressive) Photoshop image that introduced him to the world... who knows? He's the sort of figure though that lingers in the back of my head, that I'll forget about for some time and then remember the moment I need to go to the restroom at 3AM.
This novel (written in the form of diary entries, chat logs, text messages, extracts from a story and various other forms of media) tells the story of Matthew Barker, a bit of a loner high school student whose friend Lauren goes missing. He begins his own investigation into her disappearance and discovers several strange pictures on her computer... things get worse.
"The best SM stories are always about his effect on normal people, rather than actually about him."
It's best to keep this quote in mind going into this book. Those looking for a story where Slender Man actively pursues our protagonist through the woods, or can be seen every morning on his way to school or some such will be disappointed. That's not to say he's not there. No. He's always watching, even if you don't see him.
Every.
Page.
I give the book points for this. There is a tension through the messages. Those of us who may have had an obsession with Creepypastas at one point in our lives (*Waves back to 20 year old Tim*) know immediately where some of this is going... but part of the fun of creepypasta was always seeing how the same ideas were reused. This is very much a creepypasta in novel form and a pretty well written one.
Did I have issues with it? Oh yes. I'll need to put this in spoilers though.
(view spoiler)[First off, while creepypastas always were intended to leave much to your imagination and make you puzzle over it, there's a lot here that could use more details.
For example, his internet buddy whose screenname is RightHereRightThere. What exactly was up with him? Was he the one who added the spy equipment to his computer (Honestly an unneeded plot point as it didn't make much of a reappearance and if it was him, our lead sent him everything anyway). Was he just playing along? If he was playing along, why did he post the stuff at the end knowing instead of letting Matt do it (as he probably would leave it to the author to finish his story) and if he wasn't, why did he act like he was a part of the writing process? While I know people on the internet can be assholes (and he even has a moment of that at one point in his emails) it just seemed... off. Maybe there's a piece of Slender Man lore on the internet somewhere that I could see and go "Ah, now it makes sense" but given how well the novel stands on its own, it comes off as just a poor choice in my opinion.
Also the nature of why Slender Man went after Matt seems... off. The implication is that maybe it was because of the pictures he found on Lauren's phone, but he went to a psychiatrist because he's been having nightmares before that. Also the story he wrote was from some time ago and is obviously tied to Slender Man even if he didn't realize it at first. It seems like good old Slendy was setting up a long term game, but we're given no reason for this other than because he could. (hide spoiler)]
Complaints aside, the book is atmospheric and has some nice touches. The use of an "anonymous" author seems a bit overboard, though I get that it's trying to capture the creepypasta anonymous online post feel, but at the same time giving some credit would be nice. Overall it's a quick paced and enjoyable time killer. Not the best and not even up to some of the rather amazing stories created on the internet about Slender Man, but still a fun read. 3/5 stars.
As an aside, I've seen this novel labeled as YA. While there is indeed a high school protagonist, I don't really pick up a lot of YA-vibes from this. It feels like a fairly standard horror novel, that just so happens to feature a younger lead. I don't know if this is a marketing thing now, or if every book with a younger lead is somehow required to be YA (if so, Stephen King has been a YA author for decades based on some of his books) but the label honestly confuses me a bit. As a heads up for anyone thinking it's a good read for teenagers, be ready for some violent content and quite a bit of strong language....more
I went into this one with some hesitation as when I looked at my friends reviews, a grand total of two of them seemed to like it and everyone else didI went into this one with some hesitation as when I looked at my friends reviews, a grand total of two of them seemed to like it and everyone else didn't (some disliked it quite a bit). Still, I received it as a Christmas gift and who am I to pass on a free Japanese novel?
After I got to the half way point, I had to agree with a few things I saw many reviewers commenting on; the book is repetitive and that it’s overly sentimental, both of which are negatives for me. Now when I say overly sentimental, I mean the book will pull out any trick to get an emotional reaction from you, short of a child cancer patient caring for a sick kitten. The book is designed to try to get you to cry. My wife is a big fan of Japanese and Korean dramas and this feels like the novel equivalent. Comedy and melodrama mixed, wanting you to either laugh, cry or simply hope things will work out because we want our melancholy to be mixed with joy.
As for repetitive, the book, while a novel, is in many ways really just four short stories that are essentially variations of the same set up and (to a degree at least) the same conclusion. When looking up the author I discovered that he was a play writer, which does not surprise me in the slightest. The book really is a play in novel format down to the entire book taking place in the same room (one of the time travel rules is that you can't leave your seat).
Now, those two complaints aside... honestly, I kind of liked it. This is by no means a great novel, but I found the time travel rules fairly amusing (and frustrating, but it kind of delighted me in that regard as well). Also, I liked the character of Kazu. As a former barista I delighted in her character. A customer comes in and pisses off a ghost and gets herself cursed? Well, offer the ghost some coffee. The ghost is just an annoyance and the customer should have been focusing on the coffee and leaving the ghost alone anyway (This really is how 90% of baristas who work the night crew would act, I assure you. You did something stupid, we would note it for future stories and possibly even post a snarky sign telling customers not to do the stupid thing again).
Maybe it's not great, maybe it's more sentimental than a Spielberg movie aiming for an Oscar, but overall, I personally found a lot to like. Maybe it just caught me in the right mood... but I'll give it 3/5 stars...more
Japan has a rich folklore, filled with Yokai, ghosts and various other interesting creatures. With "Where the Wild Ladies Are" Aoko Matsuda examines mJapan has a rich folklore, filled with Yokai, ghosts and various other interesting creatures. With "Where the Wild Ladies Are" Aoko Matsuda examines many of these classic stories, retelling them with a modern feminist viewpoint. The results? Delightful.
The tone of these stories is frequently comical, occasionally melancholy, but never without a sense of whimsy. The stories are also connected, though it may take a while to see how some connect. It creates an interesting tapestry of folklore, seeing that all these stories are to an extent happening side by side.
I usually try to review all the stories when I do a short story collections, I find though that it is a bit difficult this time without spoiling how the stories connect. I will instead say that I enjoyed all the stories but that my favorites were The Peony Lanterns, Quite a Catch and What She Can Do. The first two of those three are hilarious and the third is shockingly heartwarming.
This was a pleasant surprise. Don't get me wrong, I expected I would like this book, but not this much. While not every story was perfect I find that the book as a whole is enhanced when looking at them all. There are so many tie ins and clever nods, that even the lesser stories come off better when the book is done and it is examined as one piece in a larger picture.
In the end I give it my highest recommendation for those who enjoy Japanese folklore, but would like to see a more modern take. A rare 5/5 stars....more
Brady Sims' son has just been sentenced to the electric chair, but he never makes it. As he's being escorted out by his guards, a voice behind them yeBrady Sims' son has just been sentenced to the electric chair, but he never makes it. As he's being escorted out by his guards, a voice behind them yells "boy" and as they turn around he's shot. The shooter is Brady Sims himself. He tells them to come for him in two hours and he'll gladly give himself up.
The events are witnessed by a report who is then assigned to write a human interest piece on it. Who is Brady Sims? Why did they give him two hours? Why did he kill his son? The story unfold with a melancholy sense of humor, and it does indeed contain a touch of tragedy, but not the way one might initially expect.
This is an excellent short work. Sims is a wonderfully three-dimensional character, being portrayed at times horribly and also with kindness. He's a human, prone to faults (many in fact) but not without his good deeds. He's an interesting character, and much like a side-character in a barbershop listening to stories about him, I found I should be doing something else, but wanted to just keep listening/reading.
While we don't get a lot of the characters outside of Sims, what we do get is well done. Much like Sims, the sheriff is another well done character. A white man who was friends with Sims, went out hunting with him repeatedly, and more than anything seems angry that he's the one who has to bring Sims in because he doesn't like the idea of being the one to send a friend to jail.
My copy was only 112 pages. This is a short work, but a very good one and well worth a read. This is the first thing I've read by Gains. It will not be the last. 4/5 stars...more
Well, I just read two extreme horror novels. Time for a break. Something light-hearted, something silly... what's this? A Japanese novel about a womanWell, I just read two extreme horror novels. Time for a break. Something light-hearted, something silly... what's this? A Japanese novel about a woman who thinks she's an alien and with a cute cover? No doubt this will be a light comedic read.
...
Ha. Ha. Ha.
No, no it was not. This review is going to be mostly covered in a spoiler tag, but let me stress this to would be readers. This is the single most uncomfortable read I've had all year (and this has been a year filled with mostly horror novels for me). This is honestly one of the most uncomfortable books I've ever read. I won't say the MOST, but certainly up there.
(view spoiler)[As mentioned, the plot follows a woman who believes she's an alien. She's also been verbally abused by her mother frequently, sexually abused by her teacher and we get to witness detailed descriptions of these in the first two chapters. She becomes so conditioned to just accept these sort of things that she views her family as perfect if she wasn't around, and creates the delusion that the teacher must be a good person but is being controlled by a "wicked witch." Whenever she faces the possibility of change, she reacts with trying to just keep things stable.
"Please don't throw me out. I'll listen and obey whatever you say, just please don't throw me out. A child thrown out by adults will die. Please don't kill me."
Yeah, let's go back to that cute book cover. Keep looking at it. Its the only comfort you're getting from this book.
Is it any wonder our lead feels alienated (pun unintended)? Not only was she sexually abused as a child (with no one believing her and some of the dialogue when she told her "friends" made me feel borderline sick while reading) but her mother was verbally and sometimes physically abusive. She was always made to feel her sister was superior for conforming to everything her mother wanted, where her sister's personality came off as cruel as a child and disturbed as an adult (just in a different fashion than our lead).
There's a distinct lack of subtlety to this critique on how a culture can push you to conform, but it's certainly delivered in a way that makes an impact. For example, there's a scene where she visits her in-laws after they discover that her and her husband have never had sex (and indeed married each other just so they could keep their families from pressuring them into starting a conventional family). A conversation with the mother in-law was so strikingly horrible, I had to make a note of it. "Look, Tomoya. Do it a lot and make a family, then once the relationship has cooled, you play around outside of marriage.That's the way it is for lots of couples, isn't it? Playing around is a man's reward. Your father has had his fair share, haven't you dear?"
Wow... I... yeah, that's some uncomfortable as hell dialogue there.
I don't know fully what to make of this book, but I kind of feel like that it makes some excellent points on some really disturbing subjects. It addresses why so many people who have been sexually abused would not come out about it. It deals with alienation and it deals with how anyone who doesn't fit into what society wants is pushed even further. It deals with all these things, but it works so much in extremes, that it feels like a weird cult movie in literary form.
I'm apparently in the minority, but I liked the later chapters better. The first were so uncomfortably detailed in real world horror that I found the embracing of the delusions actually made the book easier to read and less uncomfortable. What does it say that the section with cannibalism was the more comfortable read? (hide spoiler)]
Overall I cannot say I was a fan of this one. It's an interesting read, and certainly a unique experience. While I'm all for horror and weird fiction, it's so tonally all over the place that I never really "enjoyed" reading it. It's an interesting curiosity, but not one I'd want to repeat. 2/5 stars...more
Loading...
