Post by brlesh on May 1, 2020 18:27:54 GMT
Finished 5 in April.
Behold the Void by Philip Fracassi was one of the best short story collections of recent memory. Nine stories total, and not a bad one in the bunch (the opening story, 'Soft Construction of a Sunset' being my least favorite). Fracassi takes normal people, puts them in normal situations (for the most part) and then cranks up the weird, with bad things often happening to good characters. Favorite stories included the chilling 'Altar', where a trip to the local pool turns bad in both supernatural & real life events, 'Mother', where a young married college professor learns his wife is not what she seems to be, and 'Fail Safe', where a young boy is put in circumstances that will require him to make a decision that will change his life forever. Those were my favorites, though I could heartily recommend any of the other stories in BTV other than 'Sunset'. Highly recommended, but be prepared for some very dark fiction. 4.5 / 5
Scanlines by Todd Keisling is the latest chapbook from Dim Shores Press, and some what of a departure for them, as Scanlines is a straight out horror story & not the weird fiction usually published by DSP. The story, which borrows heavily from the movie The Ring, deals with three nerdy high school friends who come across the video of a Pennsylvania congressman's suicide in the late 1980's and how viewing the video precedes dark changes in their lives. The story was based on the real life suicide of PA congressman Budd Dwyer, who shot himself in the head at a press conference the day before sentencing on bribery & corruption charges against him. The suicide was later broadcast for public viewing. Dark subject matter and Scanlines is a very dark story, but well worth seeking out. I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for more by Todd Keisling. 5 / 5
Blackwater by Michael McDowell was a sprawling southern gothic tale spanning over 50 years in the lives of the Caskey family in Perdido, Alabama. At times I was so engrossed with Blackwater that I couldn't put it down; at other times I grew frustrated with the overriding Steel Magnolias feel to the story. I actually put the book aside at around page 200 and moved on to something else. I went back and finished it, and I was glad I did, as I found the ending of this very lengthy story (nearly 800 pages) to be satisfying. But I was left with the overriding thought that McDowell could have told essentially the same story without any supernatural elements at all.
3.5 / 5
The Best of Subterranean ed. by William Schafer was a best of collection from the now defunct Subterranean magazine. This was a multi-genre anthology, with stories ranging from hard SF, Space Opera, Steampunk, Dark Fantasy, Horror and a Western. This was a pretty solid anthology, with only one story (out of 30 total) that I felt just fell flat. Several of the more memorable stories include: the screenplay 'Toys of Caliban' by George RR Martin, which was right out of the Twilight Zone, 'The Screams of Dragons' by Kelley Armstrong was a very dark urban modern fairy tale, 'The Last Log of Lachrimosa' was a dark SF story by Alastair Reynolds, 'Final Breathe' by Joe Hill was another Twilight Zonesque piece & 'White Lines on a Green Field' by Catherynne Valente, a light hearted look at Loki as a high school football star with a twisted, dark ending. There were other good stories by Caitlin Kiernan, Lewis Shiner, Michael Marshall Smith, Kage Baker, Tim Pratt, Daniel Abraham, KJ Parker, Ian MacLeod and Jay Lake. 4 / 5
The Institute by Stephen King revisits a favorite long running theme in King's fiction: kids with psychic powers. In The Institute the kids are being kidnapped and weaponized by a shadowy organization that is using them to control the course of world events. As with all of King's stories, the characters are well drawn and the narrative flows at a smooth, unhurried pace. However, with it being a common theme in King's fiction (and horror fiction in general), the story got a little long in the tooth for me at about the half way point. The ending was satisfying, though I could easily have done without all the explanation in the last 30 pages. It just kind of came off as anti-climatic on a story that was already over staying its welcome. Overall, I'd say it was firmly middle of the road King. In comparison to recent King publications, I'd put The Institute a step or two behind The Outsider & several steps above Sleeping Beauties. 3.5 / 5
B
Behold the Void by Philip Fracassi was one of the best short story collections of recent memory. Nine stories total, and not a bad one in the bunch (the opening story, 'Soft Construction of a Sunset' being my least favorite). Fracassi takes normal people, puts them in normal situations (for the most part) and then cranks up the weird, with bad things often happening to good characters. Favorite stories included the chilling 'Altar', where a trip to the local pool turns bad in both supernatural & real life events, 'Mother', where a young married college professor learns his wife is not what she seems to be, and 'Fail Safe', where a young boy is put in circumstances that will require him to make a decision that will change his life forever. Those were my favorites, though I could heartily recommend any of the other stories in BTV other than 'Sunset'. Highly recommended, but be prepared for some very dark fiction. 4.5 / 5
Scanlines by Todd Keisling is the latest chapbook from Dim Shores Press, and some what of a departure for them, as Scanlines is a straight out horror story & not the weird fiction usually published by DSP. The story, which borrows heavily from the movie The Ring, deals with three nerdy high school friends who come across the video of a Pennsylvania congressman's suicide in the late 1980's and how viewing the video precedes dark changes in their lives. The story was based on the real life suicide of PA congressman Budd Dwyer, who shot himself in the head at a press conference the day before sentencing on bribery & corruption charges against him. The suicide was later broadcast for public viewing. Dark subject matter and Scanlines is a very dark story, but well worth seeking out. I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for more by Todd Keisling. 5 / 5
Blackwater by Michael McDowell was a sprawling southern gothic tale spanning over 50 years in the lives of the Caskey family in Perdido, Alabama. At times I was so engrossed with Blackwater that I couldn't put it down; at other times I grew frustrated with the overriding Steel Magnolias feel to the story. I actually put the book aside at around page 200 and moved on to something else. I went back and finished it, and I was glad I did, as I found the ending of this very lengthy story (nearly 800 pages) to be satisfying. But I was left with the overriding thought that McDowell could have told essentially the same story without any supernatural elements at all.
3.5 / 5
The Best of Subterranean ed. by William Schafer was a best of collection from the now defunct Subterranean magazine. This was a multi-genre anthology, with stories ranging from hard SF, Space Opera, Steampunk, Dark Fantasy, Horror and a Western. This was a pretty solid anthology, with only one story (out of 30 total) that I felt just fell flat. Several of the more memorable stories include: the screenplay 'Toys of Caliban' by George RR Martin, which was right out of the Twilight Zone, 'The Screams of Dragons' by Kelley Armstrong was a very dark urban modern fairy tale, 'The Last Log of Lachrimosa' was a dark SF story by Alastair Reynolds, 'Final Breathe' by Joe Hill was another Twilight Zonesque piece & 'White Lines on a Green Field' by Catherynne Valente, a light hearted look at Loki as a high school football star with a twisted, dark ending. There were other good stories by Caitlin Kiernan, Lewis Shiner, Michael Marshall Smith, Kage Baker, Tim Pratt, Daniel Abraham, KJ Parker, Ian MacLeod and Jay Lake. 4 / 5
The Institute by Stephen King revisits a favorite long running theme in King's fiction: kids with psychic powers. In The Institute the kids are being kidnapped and weaponized by a shadowy organization that is using them to control the course of world events. As with all of King's stories, the characters are well drawn and the narrative flows at a smooth, unhurried pace. However, with it being a common theme in King's fiction (and horror fiction in general), the story got a little long in the tooth for me at about the half way point. The ending was satisfying, though I could easily have done without all the explanation in the last 30 pages. It just kind of came off as anti-climatic on a story that was already over staying its welcome. Overall, I'd say it was firmly middle of the road King. In comparison to recent King publications, I'd put The Institute a step or two behind The Outsider & several steps above Sleeping Beauties. 3.5 / 5
B
