Hi all,
I’ve decided to move this blog over to Substack. You can find it here. I’m keeping the name, and there will still be updates about my writing and reviews of books I enjoyed. Please head on over and subscribe if you feel like it!
“The Crossroads at Midnight” by Abby Howard
Abby Howard’s graphic novel The Crossroads at Midnight is a perfect fit for fans of Emily Carroll’s work. It tells five macabre stories, often featuring characters who are outsiders. In their loneliness, they reach out toward other presences that exist on the edges of society. These presences are sometimes helpful, sometimes harmful, but they always turn out to be stranger than the main characters ever imagined.
Just the title of the story “Mattress, Used” is enough to inspire horror in anyone who’s ever heard of bedbugs. But far from being a simple gross-out story based on bugs or bodily fluids, this story featured a truly unique monster.
My other favorite was “The Boy From the Sea.” A young girl who feels constantly overshadowed by her older sister is ecstatic to finally make a friend who’s interested in her for her own sake. But her new friend may not be what he seems. Despite the relatively short length of the story and the lack of narration imposed by the medium, Howard deftly gives the reader insight into the girl’s emotional state.
The art in The Crossroads at Midnight is all black and white. It’s an effective style for this book, evoking old horror films without sacrificing the expressiveness of the characters or the complexity of the backgrounds. Howard is an author/artist to watch, and I hope we see more work from her in the future.
Awards Eligibility Post
I had a pretty successful 2023 with respect to publications! The following are my publications that are eligible for the 2024 awards cycle.
Short Stories
“Star Light, Star Bright” in Utopia Science Fiction Magazine, August/September 2023
“Leviathan’s Legacy” in On Spec, No. 33 Vol. 1 (May 2023)
“The Better Angels of Our Nature” in Cosmic Horror Monthly, April 2023
“Paint It Red” in Collage Macabre: An Exhibition of Art Horror, April 2023
“Remnant Population” by Elizabeth Moon
Unlike the majority of sci-fi and fantasy stories, which focus on relatively young protagonists, the main character of Elizabeth Moon’s Remnant Population is elderly. Left behind by an uncaring corporation when her colony is disbanded, she’s in no immediate danger of starvation or exposure to the elements thanks to the colony’s infrastructure. But there may be a more subtle threat, because she begins to observe signs that she’s not actually alone. Who—or what—is still on this supposedly abandoned world with her?
I liked the portrayal of the aliens in this novel. They’re close enough to humanity that communication is possible but different enough that it’s not easy. Moon does a great job of showing the slow, laborious, but ultimately fruitful process that allows the human main character, Ofelia, to understand and be understood by the aliens. There are a couple of brief sections narrated from the aliens’ point of view, which serve to give the reader more direct glimpses into their culture. That culture was an interesting one, and I wish we could have seen Ofelia go to visit one of their population centers.
Ofelia is an interesting character in her own right. Used to being steamrolled by her overbearing son and daughter-in-law, at first she relishes her solitude after the other colonists have left. After getting over her initial fright at the appearance of the aliens, her fascination with them is mixed with irritation at once again having to be responsible for other people. Other human characters are introduced later in the story, and I wish we’d gotten to know them a little better. There are some tantalizing hints about differences among human cultures when they appear, and it would have been cool to get a better feel for what those differences are. It does feel like the book missed an opportunity to comment on Ofelia’s relationship with the aliens by showing that different groups within humanity sometimes seem nearly as alien to each other. On the whole, though, this was an interesting and atypical first-contact novel, and I’m glad I read it.
“The Black Maybe” by Attila Veres
The Black Maybe is Attila Veres’s first English-language collection. It’s subtitled “Liminal Tales,” and this is an appropriate description. Many of the stories take place in remote locations, places where our world seems to overlap with some other place.
My two favorite stories were “Fogtown” and “The Amber Complex.” I’ve always been a fan of stories about media with some kind of eerie aspect, like “Candle Cove” and Sarah Pinsker’s “Two Truths and a Lie,” and “Fogtown” is a standout example of that subgenre. (It also reminds me a great deal of John Langan’s “Outside the House, Watching for the Crows,” to the point where I wondered if the two writers know each other.) “The Amber Complex” is notable for the wonderfully vivid descriptions of the visions experienced by the characters.
Interestingly, two of the other stories in the collection, “Return to the Midnight School” and “The Black Maybe,” are very similar in subject matter. Both concern farms where the crops being harvested are supernatural in essence. Again, there’s a thematic connection to other modern weird fiction, as both of these reminded me of Josh Malerman’s online serialized novel Carpenter’s Farm.
A couple of the stories have elements of parody or black humor to them. Remember the moral panic about the supposed Satanic influences on rock music, and later, heavy metal? In “Sky Filled With Crows, Then Nothing at All,” a demon uses heavy metal to try and make a teenaged Antichrist get with the program…and it does not turn out the way he expects. “Multiplied by Zero” reads like a product testimonial, in this case for a travel agency, except that the agency specializes in Lovecraftian destinations.
Overall, this is an excellent collection, and I hope Veres is able to get more of his work published in English.
“The Night Tiger” by Yangsze Choo
Yangsze Choo’s The Night Tiger, set in 1930s Malaysia, follows two characters who become caught up in mystery, magic, and murder. Ji Lin is a dressmaker’s apprentice whose dreams of pursuing a career in nursing have been derailed by her mother’s debts and her stepfather’s abuse. Ren is a servant trying to carry out his employer’s dying request. Although very different, they’re brought into contact by a web of mundane connections…and possibly supernatural ones as well.
Malaysia has a long and complex history. The peninsula has been inhabited by humans for at least 40,000 years. During their period of colonial rule, the British brought many Indian people to Malaysia to work as indentured laborers on rubber and palm oil plantations. Many Chinese people also came to Malaysia for work. Choo’s story reflects this multiethnic society. Her characters speak a variety of languages and hold a variety of traditional beliefs. The different cultures don’t always coexist easily, but they do coexist.
The Night Tiger is, in part, a mystery story. As in all the best mystery stories, I was kept guessing. I didn’t pinpoint the responsible party until shortly before the other characters did, but Choo did enough groundwork to not make the revelation feel like it came out of left field.
I enjoyed The Night Tiger. I’ve received an ARC of Choo’s new novel, The Fox Wife, and I’m looking forward to reading it.
“Gods of the Wyrdwood” by R.J. Barker
R.J. Barker’s Tide Child trilogy earned praise for its unique setting, and this was also the first thing that stood out to me about Gods of the Wyrdwood, the first installment in his new Forsaken trilogy. I loved the sheer eeriness of the Wyrdwood and the way the animals of the setting weren’t just copies of standard fantasy creatures.
I also appreciated the convincing character arc Barker laid out for his main character, Cahan. Cahan begins the story as a misanthropic, distrustful recluse. These aren’t endearing qualities, but Barker shows us that he has good reason to feel that way. And over time, he slowly (and reluctantly!) builds up relationships with a few other characters. The way he’s gradually drawn into a greater investment in his community helps the reader to become invested too.
Early on in the story, we learn that the Cowl-Rai has the power to tilt the world on its axis. Every time they do so, either the southern or northern hemisphere must endure a cold climate that makes everyone’s lives harder. Naturally, this leads to them trying to raise their own Cowl-Rai to to tilt the world back. This leads to a never-ending cycle of conflict that creates a lot of misery in the world. But it seemed to me like this should have an obvious solution: tilt the world halfway so that both hemispheres get large regions of temperate climate. None of the characters ever discusses or proposes this solution or gives a reason why it wouldn’t work. Since this ongoing conflict is a big part of the world, that damaged immersion for me a little bit. But overall, I was really impressed by how creative this book was and how invested I became in the characters. The second book in the trilogy comes out later this year, and I’ve already pre-ordered it.
Reading Summary, 2023
I read 55 books this year, up from last year’s 52. Genre breakdown:
Fantasy: 23
Science Fiction: 12
Horror: 14
Historical Fiction: 0
Mystery: 0
General Fiction: 0
Nonfiction: 3
Mixed Genres: 3
My reading was a bit more narrow than usual this year, with no historical fiction, mystery, or general fiction. (I’ve been wanting to continue with Sujata Massey’s Perveen Mistry historical mysteries but haven’t gotten around to it yet.) I did read more nonfiction than usual this year, though.
Favorite Book: Summers at Castle Auburn, by Sharon Shinn. A wonderfully unconventional and immersive coming-of-age novel.
“Deathless” by Catherynne M. Valente
I’ve long been a fan of Catherynne M. Valente’s work, but I only recently got around to reading her 2011 novel Deathless. This book retells the folktale of Koschei the Deathless and sets it against the backdrop of the rapid changes in Russian society during the 20th century, from the Russian Revolution to World War 2.
In addition to Koschei, other figures from Eastern European folklore play important roles in the story as well. During her early life, the main character, Marya Morevna, befriends the house spirit known as the domovaya. Once she arrives in Koschei’s country, she encounters a leshii and a vila. Most notably, Baba Yaga sets her three seemingly impossible tasks to complete before she’ll be allowed to marry Koschei. But Valente doesn’t just rely on name-dropping to make the story feel like a fairy tale. The first section of the book, which details the marriages of Marya’s three elder sisters, is written in a style that deliberately evokes such stories. A later section, in which Marya encounters her sisters once again, is written in a similar style. These are interspersed with parts of the story that take a more realistic tone, creating the impression that Marya is moving back and forth between real and mythological worlds, and that eventually, these worlds bleed into each other.
Valente also uses the story to critique communism and authoritarianism. Throughout the book, the names of Marya’s home city and the street she grew up on are changed to reflect the ideology of whoever’s currently in charge. The residents are expected to act as if these have always been the names of the street and the city, reminiscent of the “We have always been at war with Eastasia” in 1984. One interpretation of a scene late in the book is that the dominance of the Communist regime has stripped the magic and wonder from the world, such that many magical beings have forgotten what they are. (Baba Yaga seems to be the exception, proving that you don’t mess with Grandma if you know what’s good for you.)
This is a complex, multi-layered, at times surreal novel. It’s different from Valente’s other books, and I continue to be impressed by the versatility of her writing.
“Summer of Night” by Dan Simmons
Summer of Night has often been compared to Stephen King’s IT, and with good reason. Six friends living in a small town discover that an ancient, evil force is lurking beneath the surface of an idyllic summer. The adults would never believe them if they tried to tell anyone, so it’s up to them to destroy it before it can bring ruination to their town—and perhaps the whole world.
With all six of the main characters being boys living in the same town, and five of the six being the same age, it would be easy for them to blur into each other. But Simmons imbues each of them with a distinct personality, so I never had trouble telling them apart.
I also loved the atmosphere of the book. Simmons did a great job of evoking the feeling of a seemingly endless summer vacation, close-knit friendships, and the growing sense that soon things are going to change forever. The parts of the book that weren’t about the ancient horror felt really nostalgic.
The climax of the story was wonderful, too. Simmons switches back and forth between different groups of protagonists as the kids put their plan into action. He’s a master of the cliffhanger, pulling the “camera” away from one of the kids just as they’re in mortal peril. And he made sure that all the kids played a role in the ultimate defeat of the monster.
I did feel like the thematics of the ancient evil were a little muddled. The descriptions of the worms and their burrows were wonderfully gross and menacing. But the worms aren’t the only minions the monster has. There are also formerly-human revenants and an amorphous, insect-like darkness that Lawrence glimpses skittering under his bed. There doesn’t really seem to be any connection between these different types of servants. Overall, though, this is a great book that I think fans of King are especially likely to enjoy.
Outside of a Dog 