I’ve
recently broken down and taken to ordering a few items here and there
from Amazon- which is to say, there are no bookstores nearby that sell
new releases, much less carry an individual “Horror” section for those
of inclined toward literary bloodletting and terror. I don’t get a
chance to catch up on my favorite authors all that often and so many of
my “reviews” of these sort may be a bit old- but I’m an avid reader and
tend to mow through books with a voracious appetite for the especially
sick and twisted. So buckle yourselves in for a quick jaunt through my
recent finds:
The Innswhich Horror: By Edward Lee
Edward
Lee is considered one of the genre’s sickest writers. And when he
decided to tackle some Lovecraft, I eagerly leaped at his “Travel
Journal” book- but the one I really wanted to read was based entirely on
the title; “The Innswhich Horror” brings to mind the very crux of
Lovecraftian lore- the towns of Dunwich and Innsmouth with a little nod
to the familiar strain of titles in the genre. I didn’t really care what
the book was about, I just loved the title-
This
book could read as a sequel of sorts to his previous “Journal” effort,
this time following a devotee of the writer as he traces the “Master’s”
path throughout New England. He comes a town that shares far too much in
common with the protagonists beloved “Innsmouth” and he discovers that
not all of Lovecrafts’ amazing tale was one of fiction. There are
certainly changes since the Masters’ last visit and visceral gore
replaces some of the atmospheric purple prose of Lovecraft’s style, but
the story moves along at a quick pace and delivers the goods so far as
the gore and blood and disturbing imagery are concerned. My one concern
is that I don’t feel as though I had enough time with the lead
characters to form a connection. There was something missing here that
wasn’t missing in the much shorter “Journal” and felt a little rushed. I
still enjoyed the story, but would’ve preferred more “bang” for my
buck.
3 out of 5.
Last of the Albatwitches : By Brian Keene
I
love love LOVE Brian Keene, even if I do find his work to be an
exercise in suffering and total masochism on my part. The guy tears me
apart with his prose and renders me little more than a gibbering fool by
the time I’ve finished most of his stories. But ever since he left the
crappy publishing company that screwed him over on royalties and went to
Deadite (which upped the price of nearly every title I already had and
any forthcoming by maybe a little more than 50%) it’s been hard to catch
up on his latest outings. But I was eager to catch up on the adventures
of his recurring “Powwow” Wizard and former Amish-man, Levi Stolzfus.
And
talk about wishing for more “Bang” in my buck- Levi appears in two
short stories here, fighting a demon in the first and then facing one of
the erstwhile terrors from Keene’s previous effort in “Castaways”. And
what we have here are the beginnings of a better story, but not enough
to justify spending $12 on a paperback book. $3 less and I might not
have such a negative opinion of the book- but it’s that $10.00 limit
that just sort of sticks in my craw and leaves me with a bad taste in my
mouth for the little bit of income I can afford in keeping books in my
hands.
“The Witching
Tree” is the first story and is the better of the two as we find Levi
doing what he does best- fighting evil. We see what he’s willing to do,
the cost he’s willing to pay, the doubt in his heart, and the fear that
leads him to make what might be the biggest mistake in his career as a
“Mean MF’in Man of God” (quote to Tarantino via “From Dusk Til Dawn”). I
loved this story and would’ve enjoyed a second chapter in the longer
tale-
“The Last of
the Albatwitches”- however, only peripherally continues the story as
Levi is forced to deal with the consequences of his actions in the
previous story. The focus, however, is on the hunt for a monster baddy
straight out of the pages of a previous work from Keene (“Castaways”).
This monster escapes from Captivity and Levi tracks it down- there are
some passing references to a Pennsylvania legend known as the
“Albatwitch”- a creature I am wholly unfamiliar with despite having
grown up in and around the New York area and not so far from
Pennsylvania Amish country. So I’m not entirely certain whether this
creature is a creation of the writer or if this thing (A close cousin to
Big Foot, by description) is a real legend from the back country. Be
that as it may, the story felt a little rushed and maybe a little
lighter than many I’ve read from the Pennsylvania native.
3 out of 5.
There
are a few other titles I’d like to read from Deadite Press, but the
problem is that these books cost money that I just don’t have available
to me. It seems the titles are almost half the price in Kindle format,
but that means purchasing an electronic device for the sole purpose of
purchasing a product. I’ll probably come to terms with it eventually,
but it still grates in my engine block.
Ugh.
No comments:
Post a Comment