caracabe rated Always Haunted: 4 stars
Always Haunted by LindaAnn LoSchiavo
Trick or treat, twisted with treachery.
Haunting and harrowing visions of All Hallows' Eve here include horrific crimes committed on …
Writer and software engineer in the US Midwest. I enjoy poetry, horror, some f/sf, some mystery, some literary fiction (but not the kind where the main character is a professor and nothing happens).
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Trick or treat, twisted with treachery.
Haunting and harrowing visions of All Hallows' Eve here include horrific crimes committed on …
No Gods, No Monsters is a weird book on many levels, from the unreliable omniscient(ish) narrator to the ant teleportation circles and the finger-eating dragon boy. It’s also a book that asks meaningful questions, both personal and social, and answers them in the ways that life does: enigmatically, heartbreakingly, surprisingly, or not at all. This is not a book to skim: there are many characters and a multitude of storylines, and the prose is worth paying attention to. A rewarding read.
Alone Annabel Lee City in the Sea Conquerer Worm Eldorado Haunted Palace Lines on Ale Raven Sleeper
A wonderful, creepy anthology that’s perfect for not reading late at night when you’re alone in the house. The stories feature a variety of styles, themes, and approaches, ranging from folk horror to cosmic, from conventional narrative to experimental. Writers I‘m familiar with are here, like Nnedi Okorafor, Nalo Hopkinson, and Tananarive Due, but I also discovered a few new names for my bookshop.org wishlist.
Beautiful music telling us terrible things, to paraphrase Tom Waits. Heartbreaking and lovely. (And if, like me, you get stopped short by the guillotine being used in the 1950s — the last execution by guillotine in France was in 1977.)
When I read a nonfiction book that has points to make, I often find myself in a debate with the author. I bring up counter-examples. I construct parallel tracks of thought, with facts they omit, that lead to contrary conclusions. I point out where their reasoning by analogy breaks down, and I call the word “obviously” a euphemism for “because I say so.” I do this whether I disagree with the author or not. “Sapiens” is a good book to argue with.
A blend of science fiction, folk horror, and cosmic horror, this collection of stories is hard to classify but well worth reading. The story notes at the end are an entertaining touch. (Tip: read the story before the note. Spoilers.) My favorite pieces here are “Four Hours of a Revolution” and “Quietus,” but there’s not a clunker in the book.
An interesting book in itself, and a good resource to plan your future reading. My TBR list has grown by a few dozen titles. I’m happy that this book starts with Margaret Cavendish, and that it includes Nobel laureate Toni Morrison as a horror writer.
Bora Chung is versatile in her weirdness. Some of these stories might be classed as surrealism, some as horror, some as science fiction or fantasy. Almost always, the characters are relatable no matter how bizarre their circumstances.
This novel always has another surprise in store, but the surprises are organic, not gimmicky. It’s a story about racism, sexism, classism, and other isms, but also about personal regrets and second chances. It absolutely nails the landing.
As a visual artist, Carrington was unjustly overshadowed by her lover Max Ernst. Her literary works have similarly been underrated. She was one of the greats of surrealism, and these stories are disturbing, funny, confusing, horrifying, poignant, and deeply philosophical, often all at once.