R.I.P. VIII

It is slowly getting to be fall weather here where I am.  The Halloween decorations are out, aisles in my local stores have been taken over with Halloween candy. Must be that time of the year again. The R.I.P. challenge.

I almost forgot about it this year. But it isn't my fault. I fairly recently moved back from Ukraine, got a new apt, a new job, a new roommate. And I'm supposed to be writing my dissertation. Because of all that I'm keeping it super simple this year.

Before I tell you what I'm going to do, here is a brief description of what the RIP reading challenge is.
1. Have fun reading (and watching).
2. Share that fun with others.

Oh and read something (or watch something)  in any of these categories:
Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.

There are different levels of participation. For more information see here.

This year I'm going with Peril the Third in which I read only one book.  I have decided to read NOS4A2 by Joe Hill. I kind of enjoyed Horns when I read it (probably for a RIP challenge one year), but I remember not liking the ending much. Time to give Hill another chance I think.

I'm also going to complete Peril on the Screen. My friend made a Lovecraftian movie called Long on the Island.  I'm pretty darn thrilled about it.

Finally, I will do Peril of the Short Story. I haven't decided on anything for that, so suggestions are welcome!

Hi!

Ok, so it looks like I'm only ever going to use this blog to do RIP reading challenges. That is ok. I've abandoned blogger for tumblr is what actually happened. I like tumblr better for most things, but writing book reviews is not one of them. It is too complicated to enable comments.  So because it is almost Fall and because this is the only reading challenge I ever remotely get around to completing, I will soon have a post up about R.I.P VIII. For information about it before my actual post where I tell you what I have decided to read, you can go here Stainless Steel Droppings.

RIP Review: Rosemary's Baby

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

Most of you probably already know the plot; a happy young couple moves into a new apartment building and soon discover they are pregnant.  Maybe there are some strange stories about the history of the building, and yes, there is a tragic death soon after they move in, but really there is nothing to worry about. And those neighbors, perhaps a bit odd, but aren't they the nicest old people ever? So helpful, so caring ... 

Honestly, I expected to like this book more. I enjoy rather dark horror, but I also enjoy subtly creepy tales too (for instance Shirley Jackson).  I thought this book was well-written and it reads like a screenplay with exact details ("It was 4pm"). I could picture quite well their apartment and their neighbors, and I thought the dialogue between Rosemary and Guy was pretty realistic.

But it is not particularly suspenseful and even though there is this element of uncertainty about whether or not Rosemary can tell reality from fantasy, I thought the end fell too firmly on the side of reality.  So I was disappointed. There is one small section of the book towards the end right before she has the baby that I thought was very well done. Rosemary is ostensibly quite calm as all her suspicions coalesce , but there is this fascinating restrained hysteria lurking right at the edges that worked for me.

Now if you would have asked me two weeks ago if I'd seen the movie, I would have said "Of course, what sort of question is that" I love horror films; how could I not have seen Rosemary's Baby. Well, as it turns out, I guess I haven't because it was not familiar to me in the least, and from what everyone says the film is exactly the book.   So when I'm back in the states I have some catching up to do. 

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And Ladies and Gentlemen  I actually completed my R.I.P challenge! And wrote all the reviews! Here's to setting realistic goals for yourself. Actually, I read a few other books too. I started The Devil in Silver, which has been getting rave reviews, but has only managed to piss me off. I also read the first two books in Del Toro's vampire trilogy The Strain and The Fall.  If I find time (which might be on a 5 hour train ride to Kyiv at 6am after an all night Halloween party) you might get a bonus short story review. Something Lovecraftian-- actually, I want to reread "The Color Out of Space."  

RIP Review

My Life as a White Trash Zombie 

by Diana Rowland

Drug addict and "loser" Angel Crawford wakes up in a hospital room with some vague memories of a car crash that the nurse tells her could not have happened because there were no injuries on her anywhere.  Angel tries to figure out the truth as she begins to experience confusing and unsettling new cravings.  In the midst of some new discoveries, she also must deal with a slacker boyfriend and alcoholic father.

I promise that I did not read this just because it was set in my place of birth Louisiana, however, that might have been one small reason.  The book is pretty short, easy to read, and at times laugh out loud funny.  I wouldn't really say it is horrifying in any way though there are a couple of stomach turning scenes to be expected in a book about zombies.  The plot was a bit of a let-down. The mysterious communications via notes left on her car at the beginning had more potential to go somewhere interesting.  Also I found the ending to be over-the-top ridiculous. The last scene literally made me roll my eyes.  On the plus side, I thought the relationships in the book were well-scripted, the dialogue was believable, and Angel was an entertaining protagonist.

If you really like zombie novels, then sure pick this one up.  If you are looking for something in the horror category, I'd go elsewhere. I'll give it 3 stars out of 5 as it was decent, but not anything I'd ever want to reread.

RIP VII: Peril of the Short Story

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"Nethescurial" by Thomas Ligotti in The Book of Cthulhu Ross E. Lockhart (ed.)

A quick summary; the narrator finds a manuscript in the form of a letter/confession that reveals the existence of a cult to Nethascurial. Nefarious activities extending back centuries are revealed within the manuscript. The narrator ends up penning his own letter/confession about his experiences as he reads the manuscript and what happens later as a result.

Upon initial read, “Nethescurial” delivered the right amount of creepiness with a satisfactory ending. I knew that I wanted to write about this story for the RIP VII challenge, but it took quite a bit of pondering to pin down what exactly about Ligotti's piece drew me in (and lingered). A few weeks later as I was reading a different anthology of Lovecraft inspired stories, I came upon a quote, which coalesced my scattered thoughts. The introduction to New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird Paula Guran (ed.) lays out some themes in Lovecraft's fiction, and quotes from China Mieville's introduction to At the Mountains of Madness: The Definitive Edition.

“'Traditionally genre horror is concerned with irruption of dreadful forces into a comforting status quo...By contrast, Lovecraft's horror is not one of intrusion but of realization.”

Keeping this quote in mind, we can go through Ligotti's story.

“'In the rooms of houses and beyond their walls—beneath dark waters and across moonlit skies—below earth mound and above mountain peak...behind the faces of the living and the dead...'” (2) 

The narrator is quoting from the manuscript. He notes that the ideas encompassed in this quote are a theme throughout the document. In Ligotti's story, this quote also functions to tie the entire story together, occurring at the beginning and at the end albeit in a slightly different form. It also gives a sense of immensity, of the cosmos, of the “several worlds” that is a recurring element in Lovecraft's fiction. As Lovecraft himself stated, his stories contain “'the fundamental premise that common human laws and interests and emotions have no validity or significance in the cosmos-at-large,'” (as quoted in Guran, introduction).  Later sections in Ligotti's story support this theme, “Imagine all of creation as a mere mask for the foulest evil, an absolute evil whose reality is mitigated only by our blindness to it.” Not only is the evil unquantifiably vast, permeating everything in existence, humans are powerless before it, are insignificant in fact, and can only cope because they do not grasp its presence.

And the narrator initially continues to be blind to the truth, he dismisses the manuscript as a pedestrian fiction, something he has encountered many times before – until he has a dream. Now if you have read much (any) Lovecraft you know that dreams are important, and in later works by other authors imitating the style, dreams-as-gateways continues to be a significant theme. The dream here that afflicts our narrator lingers well into waking. “I tried to invoke the gods of the ordinary world – calling them with the whistle of a coffee pot and praying before the icon of the electric light.” As maybe we can guess considering the rules of this universe, the everyday, the ordinary has no power over the evil that lies beneath. The ordinary cannot drive away something that is a fundamental aspect underlying it. As Mieville stated above, it is not about intrusion, but about realization. 

“It seemed to be in possession of my house, of every common object inside and the whole of the dark world outside. Yes – lurking among the watchful winds of this and the several worlds … I could feel every damn thing squirming, not excluding my own flesh. And I could also see what was squirming beneath every surface … It was that dark color from the dream, I could identify it clearly now. Dark and greenish,”

Ligotti's use of color throughout the story to convey horror, to convey the presence of unimaginable evil really impressed me. I could see exactly what he was describing, the fungal menacing “singular” green of Nethescurial. And it was unsettling.

At this point, the narrator is haunted, he can't sleep, he is restless, the things revealed to him permeate every second of his life, every object he encounters. In his wanderings, he comes across a puppet show. Puppets are always creepy. “Their misshapen heads titled, and their glassy eyes stared straight into mine.” As he stands there watching and listening, he realizes that they are chanting the quote from the beginning, “In the rooms of houses and beyond their walls...” This encounter provides him with the answer to set everything right again. A moment of illumination. Or so he thinks.

He has gone from blindness to revelation (realization); he now knows what lurks within the watchful winds and the several worlds, but he tries to convince himself that he can go back to a state of unknowing. As he writes while putting his plan into action, he denies what is happening, as a litany across the last few pages. Clearly his plan isn't working; things get worse. He goes back to the thematic quote, “It is not in the rooms of houses and beyond their walls” [not] “beneath dark waters and across moonlit skies,” [not] “below earth mound and above mountain peak.” As if reversing this incantation will negate what he is seeing (or not seeing).  

I won't spoil the exact ending for you, but it is safe to assume that events don't really turn out the way that the narrator had hoped they would.

So my ultimate assessment is that I really liked this story because it is spot on Lovecraft at his finest, just written by Thomas Ligotti. What Mieville notes about Lovecraft's fiction, what Lovecraft himself identifies as themes, are present in full force in this story. If you like your horror to be blood and guts, then “Nethescurial” might not be for you. But if you appreciate a subtle sort of terror and can be disturbed by a description of a menacing shade of green, then Ligotti delivers.

1. Photo at the top taken by me at a famous cemetery in Ukraine. I have more and they'll accompany all  of my RIP posts.

2. No page numbers because I'm Kindle illiterate and can't figure out how to find them. When I do figure it out, I'll add them.

R.I.P VII

This year since I'm technically doing research abroad you might think that I would skip the R.I.P. fun? But no.  Just last night my friends and I came up with an epic idea for Halloween costumes.  So clearly I've already been thinking about my favorite holiday. And then I remembered to check stainlesssteeldroppings.com this morning to see if it was time for R.I.P and it is!! Oh the joy.

Here is the link to the explanation. There you will find some cool artwork, a group read challenge (including The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman), and lots of links to blogs that are participating.

This year I can't do the Peril on the Screen challenge (alas), because I don't have access in Ukraine to a lot of movies.  I will, however, do Peril the Second where I read two books that I feel fit with the R.I.P theme.

Acceptable genres include Mystery, Suspense, Dark Fantasy, Gothic, Horror ... but really anything that you think works.  The rules are very flexible, which is good because I'm a bit limited by what I can find for free on my Kindle this year.  

Some potential candidates, but suggestions are always welcome:

1. Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin
2. The Damned by Algernon Blackwood
3. Off Season by Jack Ketchum

The other one I'll do is Peril the Short Story.  I'm not actually a big short story fan.  But I recently found a few books of modern Lovecraftian fiction, so I'm going to work through those. Though who knows what else I might find.  

A Tale of Two Exorcisms

Concerning The Last Exorcism and Exorcismus

I watched quite a few scary movies in honor of Halloween and for Peril on the Screen including two about exorcisms. There were some overlapping features, but they diverge enough that I thought it might be interesting to review them together here.

(Sorry there are spoilers)

Both movies are about young girls possessed by a demon of some sort. In each, the exorcism is recorded. I found that for the most part the characters' behaviors were realistic and they responded in believable ways (there are a couple of exceptions, but we can ignore them for now). The acting wasn't spectacular, but I would say that in both films the main characters-- the priests and the girls-- did a good job portraying the drama and terror of the ritual. These two movies are full of the “standard” tropes of such movies; body contortions, speaking in tongues/different voices, writing in blood, etc. I really wonder if there can be anything original about future exorcism films.

Despite these similarities, the two movies diverge in significant ways. The first The Last Exorcism is filmed as a documentary (mockumentary). I actually don't mind this usually, I'm not bothered by the “shaky camera." The premise is that an extravagant preacher (for once not a Catholic priest) from Baton Rouge, LA has been faking exorcisms for the past few years; he hashad a serious crisis of faith and has a rather contemptuous attitude towards his congregation at the beginning of the movie. He has decided to do one final exorcism, but will document the entire experience from deciding which case to take, during the investigation, and to the end. His purpose is to expose exorcisms as being not only fake, but, in fact, harmful to those undergoing such rituals. The girl he decides to visit lives in rural Louisiana.

Exorcismus is a Spanish movie (in English) filmed in the standard style, rather than as a documentary though there are scenes from the recorded exorcism. Here we have a Catholic priest who has been involved previously in a botched exorcism and, while not entirely removed from the Church, is in disgrace. He is presented as deeply religious. The possessed girl is his niece and they all live in an urban neighborhood (possibly in England, but I'm not sure).

The differences in the religious figures (priest/preacher) lead to differences in the ways that the exorcisms are cast. In The Last Exorcism, due to his lack of faith, the possession is portrayed as being purely social/psychological. The preacher arrives at the girl's house as a skeptic (well, disbeliever in fact) and interviews various people trying to piece together her life looking for secular reasons for her behavior. The priest in Exorcismus, on the other hand, firmly believes that his niece is possessed. Furthermore, there are incontrovertible signs that there is something supernatural going on with her that could not be explained away by a viewer such as her levitating off the ground. In the first movie, everything the girl does can (theoretically) be caused by something mundane rather than demonic.

In both films, there is a surprise development, a twist in the plot, revolving around the priest/preacher and the audience's perception of the possession. For the Louisiana preacher, it turns out that his client is in fact possessed by a demon. But in order to get to this point (after all the contrary evidence), the plot becomes totally derailed. The ending, which is over the top potentially to prove once and for all that the girl is possessed, is five minutes of some of the most ridiculous footage that I've seen in a movie. And here The Last Exorcism devolves into a series of stereotypes that seriously lowered my opinion of it. As I stated above, they are in rural Louisiana. Even from the beginning there are some cliches overplayed, but by the end what you have are incestuous, ignorant, backward superstitious country folk who just happen to be part of a Satanic cult. To top it off, the “manifestation” of the “demon” at the end just looks stupid, and I was definitely rolling my eyes during the final sequence.

The twist in Exorcismus, on the other hand, actually succeeds in making the movie better. The priest as we discover is not only a believer but actually an insane fanatic who is happy to destroy his entire family just so he can capture definitive evidence of demons on camera. Due to his disgrace from a previous exorcism, he hatches a plan to capture a demon in the act so that he can regain his position within the church and prove to people that he his behavior during the botched ritual was justifiable. He teaches his niece about demons and blood sacrifices and when she does become possessed he quickly jumps in to take over. As we find out though, his actions during the taped sessions do not quite match up; he has not been trying to cast out the demon because he wants it to get stronger – he wants to catch it in the act doing something undeniable such as levitating. There are some holes here. It is not a perfect set up, but overall this surprise addition to the plot works much better than the “surprises” in store for you in The Last Exorcism.

I give Excorcismus 3 ½ stars and I would have given The Last Excorcism the same score if the last 5 minutes of the movie didn't exist (yes, it is that bad). Instead, I give it maybe 2 stars.

RIP Review: The Night Circus

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

            Two dueling magicians chose two protégés to battle one another in a mysterious contest known only as “the challenge.”  As children Celia and Marco, each learn a different system of magic.  Their teachers care only about winning, but once the two are thrown together they fall in love.  The venue for their challenge is a traveling circus --Le Cirque des Rêves--full of colorful and eccentric characters, elaborate shows, and dangerous magic.  The contest set up by their masters ensnares everyone in the circus and leads to deadly consequences as the two contestants struggle to figure out the rules of the challenge and discover what they must do to win.

            The book is written from several points of view including the main characters and several secondary ones.  It is broken up into short chapters that are often not in chronological order.  Inserted between different sections of the book are second person narratives that describe the circus as if the reader is walking through experiencing the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes for herself.  

            Overall, this is one of my favorite books of the year.  The author provides amazing details of the circus from the taste and smells of carnival treats to the intricate workings of the troupe’s custom-made clock.  Colors play a prominent and symbolic role throughout the book.  Le Cirque des Rêves is mostly black and white – the tents, the exhibits, the costumes, etc.  But here and there splashes of red appear very much in a similar way that colors often intrude in dreams.  

            In fact, the whole book has a dream-like quality not limited to the circus (which is of course constructed to be a series of dreams), but also in the structure of the narrative itself.  At first, I was annoyed by how the chapters skipped back and forth in time, but I think this fits ultimately with how dreams often are not linear stories.  Rather, they are often fragments that need to be pieced back together in order to see the whole story.  And if we see dreams as stories (as our own personal stories) then the ending is nearly perfect as we learn that what we have just read is a story being told by one of the characters to Marco’s instructor.  

            There were a few nitpicky things that bothered me—the beginning was paced a bit slow for me, sometimes the author was bogged down in her own descriptions (such as saying a character was “elegant” 5 or 6 times in one tiny chapter)—but I do think the book lives up to all the hype.  4 1/2

R.I.P. Review: Drood

I must say that I did try very hard to like this book after so many recommendations, but I found it rather boring.  Drood is a fictional exploration of the last years of Charles Dickens' life as told by Wilkie Collins.  Dickens meet the mysterious stranger Drood in the aftermath of a terrible accident and basically becomes obsessed with him.

There is no denying that Simmons can write. He has a knack for sumptuous descriptions of people, places, and moods.  The chapter when Dickens and his hesitant sidekick Collins first explore London underground was exceptional and genuinely creepy.  If only more of the book had started off like this.  I also enjoyed the ambiguity of Wilkie's situation at first - is he experiencing hallucinations due to his drug addiction or are there supernatural events occurring around him?

What I really didn't like was the whole "society novel" aspect.  I just didn't really care to read about the London gossip, the dinner parties, etc.  I also didn't like Wilkie or Charles and couldn't see any point in slogging my way through nearly 800 pages in the hopes that maybe eventually things would get more interesting. 

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I read The Woman in Black by Susan Hill.  I prefer Shirley Jackson.  Hill's book wasn't creepy enough for me and I found it rather bland. (addendum: I just found out Daniel Radcliffe is staring in a movie version of this book and the trailer is 100 times scarier - The Woman in Black).

I am also reading The Passage, which is kind of hit or miss - some sections are super engrossing and others I feel like I should skim.  Also, the book didn't need to be that long.  Reminds me of the judges on Project Runway this season constantly telling Josh to edit. You don't need to throw every single idea into one creation.  Seriously.

Finally, about halfway through The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.  Its super cool.

Peril on the Screen

Seconds Apart 2011

(I tried to keep this spoiler free, but it might be spoilerish).

Twins Jonah and Seth have telepathic powers, which they use to torment people.  This movie is a mixed bag.  It starts off with a gory round of Russian roulette that sets the scene, showing us exactly what the twins are capable of it.  The mass suicide also introduces us to the detective who is a central character in the film. (Unfortunately – but I’ll get to that later). 

What I liked: The twins are creepy.  The actors did a really good job of giving us detached psychopaths.  The twins’ parents are creepy.  The early scenes with them are some of the best in the entire movie.  Had the film makers concentrated on those two elements (the twins and their parents) this would have been a much better show.  Some of their abilities are pretty interesting like they can make people forget they were there, induce delusions, and control people’s actions.  They also are able to control reality in the sense that they make the victims see only what the twins want them to see. 

What I didn’t like: The detective ruined the movie for me.  His back-story provides a suitable tragedy so that he is the tormented yet driven hero.  Unfortunately, I think less effort was put into making his story/character and believable.  I honestly could have fast-forwarded through the parts with him, which is unfortunate because he is central to the entire plot of the story. 

What I hated: The end.  There was such potential when we start to learn about the twins’ childhood and how their powers developed and what really happened to their parents.  But by the time all of those elements came together the movie had pretty much fallen apart. 

But the twins are really creepy.  So I’ll give this one 3 stars.  

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I've encountered some really awful "horror" movies in my search for something to watch for this challenge.  I feel like its been a bad few years for the horror industry as a whole.  Or maybe I'm becoming more critical (or both).  

I'm currently reading Drood, but I have to say that I'm not all that into it.  I'm about 150 pages in.  I only kept reading because so many people enthusiastically commented about it.  I think I'll stick with the book a bit longer, but not sure if I'll finish it.  We shall see...

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VI

Yep, its that time again

I have recently been complaining about the demise of summer, about how August (and July and June) went by too fast, and how Halloween candy is out too early.  I think, however, I will stop whining now since it is time for the annual RIP challenge hosted by Carl at http://www.stainlesssteeldroppings.com/.

In past years (I think is my 3rd?), I have gone for Peril the First, which involves reading four books in the mystery/horror/thriller category.  Since I should be busy with arranging a year long trip abroad, I'm going to play it safe and go for the Peril the Second challenge which is reading two books in any of those categories.  (All is explained much more eloquently here).

In addition, there is Peril on the Screen and since I do enjoy a few scary movie marathons I will probably also post a brief review or two here for whatever I get around to watching.  Although, honestly, I'm not up-to-date on current horror films, so if anyone has suggestions for recent movies, I'm listening. 

There is also a new category for a group read if you are into that sort of thing. I tend to be very bad at them though the books they are reading do sound interesting.

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So you might be wondering what I am going to read.  Well, since I am still slogging my way through my 2011 LT Challenge, I thought I'd just pick two books off of there that I'd planned on reading anyway.

1) Drood by Dan Simmons
2) World War Z

Those are the two that immediately jumped out at me as being good fits for this challenge, but as everyone knows who has ever read any post on this blog about reading, I am very bad at sticking to these lists I make.  Therefore, you can expect almost anything really.  I tend to get sidetracked in libraries, attracted to new shiny books, or even old worn books so long as they aren't the books that I've said I was going to be reading.

If you are even remotely interested in books, or in Halloween, or in watching movies, I definitely think you should give this challenge a try.  I've always found it to be immense fun!

October Roundup

Not sure what happened to this month.  I can't believe it is Week 10 of the semester.  I have been busy reading, and writing, and revising.  OH, and I made Halloween costumes.  Pictures forthcoming as soon as I find my camera and upload pictures onto my computer.  It was EPIC.  Especially when one of your friends is willing to dress up as the Labyrinth.

No, not a Labyrinth, but the one and only David Bowie/Goblin King Labyrinth.

I would like to point out that this year I did, in fact, complete the RIP challenge.  You just don't know it b/c I didn't post that fourth review.  And I ain't gonna.  No time, no time.  Besides, how am I supposed to review the first gothic novel ever written - The Castle of Otranto?  However, I like to have completed some goals in life, even if in the grand scheme of things they aren't important.

I also importantly submitted not one but two grant applications.  Neither are very good, but at least I turned them in.  Another due on Wednesday, a paper due on Friday.... and then a small breather as we all gear up for the big AAA conference in the Big Easy (New Orleans that is).  Maybe this year will inspire me to write another poem.  The AAA in S.F created an ode to Talal Asad (which I won't dredge up as it was awful).  He is my academic anti-hero. 

Much love and happiness to you all, and happy November.

The Haunting of Hill House

Spoilers

Basic plot summary, four people move into a haunted house for the summer; Eleanor, Theodora, Luke, and Dr. Montague.  I loved this book and I am so very sad that I saw the movie first many years ago.  The entire time I was reading I saw Catherine Zeta-Jones in my head as Theodora.

If I were going to be a horror writer, I would want to write like Shirley Jackson. Her descriptions of the house and her creation of atmosphere, of psychological and emotional tension are all superb. In fact, the beginning of this book might be one of the best I have ever read.

No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within...

This next line also spoke to me. "Hill House, she thought, you're as hard to get into as heaven." There is something subtly creepy about this sentence. We know the house is evil already (by pg 29), we know from pg 1 that it is not sane, and yet, Eleanor's reaction is a comparison to heaven. An example of antithetic parallelism if I have ever seen one (even if we aren't strictly reading poetry).

Another example of how opposition creates horror in this little book.

Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut.

This is a description of a house in order, of an aura of rightness, of correctness. Instead, inside is chaos and madness -- the order itself, the architecture, the clean lines we soon learn are a bit off.  Not skewed in any obvious way, but faintly almost indistinctly except on a subconscious level.  Askew in a way that is perhaps uncanny or to reference Freud more directly un-home-ly:

An instance where something can be familiar, yet foreign at the same time, resulting in a feeling of it being uncomfortably strange

Actually, I find the dialogue in this book to be quite uncanny also.  It often seemed as if the characters were having a normal conversation, just chatting among friends, but in fact the things they would say were so very strange, not quite right but not quite nonsense. 

However, I did find the end to be rather flat.  I am perfectly thrilled to be horrified sans blood, gore, and guts, but I came upon the last words thinking "oh, so this is the end."  I do like how Jackson concludes with the paragraph that began the novel, bringing the book and the house full circle.  What has stood for 80 years will continue to stand for 80 more.  I get that.  I also sense that the title of the book could easily be The Haunting of Eleanor Vance.  I just wish Eleanor had devolved in a more dramatic way.  Clearly, for the last 100 pages or so (well, half the book I suppose), Eleanor is losing her mind.  However, it is all so surreal that, for me, the moment of her death did not quite leave an impact (no pun intended) upon me.  Alas, I fear I am not explaining myself very well.  

Finally, I could have done without Mrs. Montague.  She interrupted the flow of the story.  If I thought about this more -- I literally finished the book about 30 minutes ago -- I might be inclined to forgive Jackson for this.  Perhaps, Mrs. Montague's disruptive influence served a narrative purpose.  I hesitate to think she was just there as a plot device to piss off the ghosts, but that is how I am feeling at the moment.  

But those are minor issues.  Shirley Jackson is an amazing writer, and I am also very sad that I have not read her in more depth before this moment (my only previous encounter being The Lottery).  

Do Not Write These Stories

So while I should be doing a thousand other things, I got a little distracted clicking through various blogs I sometimes (i.e. everyday) read as a form of procrastination.

During said process, I came across this page: Horror Stories We Have Seen Too Often.  "This list is part of the submission guidelines for Strange Horizons, an online speculative fiction magazine." Basically a list of plots and subplots that this magazine feels is over done.  Some of these I also think I have seen too often, and I'm not even in the business of reading through hundreds of story submissions.

1. Serial killer or vampire stalks and slays victim(s). --  Now I do like serial killer and vampire stories, but yeah market is the definition of oversaturated right now. 
2. Alien creature lays eggs under the skin of a human (#12 on their list) -- Uh, yeah b/c it is gross and creepy.  I don't think personally I have read too many such stories, but I can see why it is on their list.

But ok, that isn't actually the point of the post; the point (if there is one at all) is about #3:

Protagonist sits around for a while.

1. In the end, it turns out protagonist is dead.
2. In the end, it turns out protagonist is a serial killer.

Seriously?  People have written so many "protagonist sits around for a while" stories that it is now on a list of "things not to do."?  How could anyone ever think that was a good idea for a storyline?
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R.I.P news:  Reading The Haunting of Hill House. Wow is this ever one of those instances where Hollywood should have left the book alone.  Shirley Jackson's writing is amazing.  More on this book soon. 

Oh and I have read book #3, but I have to figure out how to review it.  I finished (weeks ago) The Castle of Otranto, but I'm not sure what I have to say that hasn't already been said-- seeing as how it was written in 1764.  It is also, supposedly, the first Gothic novel. 

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Ok ok, so sorry this post is random, I just have to add something this list is much funnier. Especially:

35. Twee little fairies with wings fly around being twee. 

Review: Berserk

By Tim Lebbon
(mostly spoiler free except where noted)

Summary:  Tom has lost his son to a military training exercise 10 years before the book begins.  Near the anniversary of his son's - Steven - death, Tom overhears a conversation that renews his uneasiness about the government's story regarding the "accident" that supposedly killed Steven.  He pursues a vague set of clues and rumors that lead him to a military cover up, a horrifying secret, and new information about his son's fate.

What I Liked:  After a slightly slow beginning the pace of the story picked up - it was quite an action packed adventure.  Some of the ideas in the book were fairly creative, especially the background information.  The writing wasn't the worst and Lebbon is decent at conveying visuals to the reader.  The ending wasn't totally obvious and there were a few unexpected twists.

Now then, why are all my positive comments so trivial?

Things that Annoyed Me:  Foremost, at the beginning, the "interrupting narrator" voice (maybe there is a more technical term for this?).  By way of example, I mean the foreshadowing of horror to come, "But if he had only known then what was to come later..."  In small doses fine, I guess the technique serves to build atmosphere.  However, Lebbon over did it a bit and several times bordered on the melodramatic.  Thankfully this was only a problem for the first quarter or so of the book.

The main character Tom is seriously lame.  He spent a lot of time whining, saying "Oh God" or "I am confused."  You might count the times someone in that book says "confused" and come up with a ridiculously high number.  Find another word please.  At the opposite end where Tom is pathetic and annoying, Cole - the main antagonist (sort of) - is too much of a bad ass.  He gets away with unbelievably crazy behavior, not sure how he made it to the end of the book.  I will admit that Lebbon did try to give both characters some depth, but I don't think he succeeded very well.  In fact, many of the characters in Berserker had inconsistent personalities especially Natasha - another main character who has a rather ambiguous role in Lebbon's story.

Spoilerish problems:

There is this thing with categories.  I am all for blurring boundaries, being creative, rethinking old cliches, but the author tried way too hard to create a monster that was everything scary he could possibly think of; traits of vampires, werewolves, and ghosts.  In addition, he threw in scary science gone wrong, psychic powers, mind control, and viruses in combination with creepy military programs and conspiracy theories.  Not to mention psychotic/terrifying children (see cover).  My Quote of the Moment (top to your right) is rather perfect here.  Honestly, there were just too many things going on for it to be enjoyable. 

Finally, if you are going to use "science" to explain away the supernatural, I need to be convinced.  This might merely be a personal problem, but the vagueness of some sort of man made super-monster turned into infectious vampire creating machine seems like a cop out to me.  A random reference here and there to syringes and military secret programs gone wrong is not enough.  I want to know more about where these creatures came from.  And here is where I think the background story was more interesting than the one Lebbon actually told.  I think had he backed the story up and not done the "10 years after" thing, I might have liked it a lot more.

3/5
(btw, I am probably way more generous with stars when it comes to horror than with other genres)

Review: Daybreakers

I am going to keep this short.*  I really liked this movie.  I know pop culture is over saturated with vampires these days in all forms - sparkly, law enforcing, vicious, loveable, children, etc.  But here is what I loved about Daybreakers.

It shamelessly exploits every vampire myth you ever heard of.  Stab them through their heart - check.  Sunlight is deadly - check.  Can't see one in the mirror - check.  Cut off their heads - check.  However, it takes all these predictable elements and wraps them up in an almost Marxian social commentary mixed with some original characteristics that you would have never thought of.**

Things I didn't like***: the bloodbath scenes that were utterly unnecessary; the fact that there will almost definitely be a sequel; the lack of a back-story -- how did all those people become vampires in the first place?  What sort of disease/epidemic causes vampirism? 

4/5 Stars


*mostly b/c I suck at writing reviews.
** or at least I wouldn't have, but I'm not a writer
*** in order from most annoying to least

Review: Horns

One of the signs for me of a good book is if it compels me to sit still and read it in large chunks, maybe even all at once.  Now granted, I don't always have time to do this since grad school, and furthermore compulsive reading is not the only sign of greatness; otherwise, I would have to condemn Kraken to mediocrity since I have been slowly plodding through it since late July. 

The point, however, is to say that Horns was one of the most engaging reads I have recently come across.  It is a tale of transformation on multiple levels.  The premise is that Ignatius Perrish (Ig) wakes up one morning after a less than wise night out to find a pair of horns growing from his head.  However, he does not just change physically, but also mentally and emotionally as the story unfolds - although not always in a positive way. 

I did notfind Horns outright horrifying even though there are some cruel acts of violence.  The book was disturbing more on a psychological level.  Ultimately, I think the author Joe Hill has a rather pessimistic view of humanity.  The characters in this book express some pretty deviant desires and fantasies.  I didn't find that any of them had truly redeeming qualities.  No doubt if you have read the book you will adamently disagree right about now.

But wait, you say, isn't the novel also about love?! What about Merrin Ig's girlfriend?  Isn't their story a beautiful if tragic tale of love and redemption?  Well, personally I think it could have been.  Maybe Merrin was supposed to embody the good in humanity, but she was not quite developed enough as a character, and I simply was not convinced.

Furthermore, the climax at the end lost some of its power due to Hill's movement from writing dark humor to camp.  Franky, the last third of the book was a bit too much.  Some "lighter" moments, rather than lifting the somber mood a bit with laughter, just became quite ridiculous.

Despite these rather critical reflections, I actually did enjoy Horns.  The first half was definitely stronger, powerful enough that I kept reading to see what would happen to Ig despite my problems with the ultimate resolution.  4/5 Stars

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As for the film challenge, I watched Daybreakers. I will write a review soon.  I have checked out too many books from the library as usual.  This habit is atrocious as I end up overwhelmed with choices.  I don't know what to read next.

I also read a few short stories from some anthology that is at present lost under my bed (?) and unfortunately I don't remember the name of it.  For a fact however, it should not be called a "horror" collection.  The first three selections are exceedingly boring and I probably won't finish the rest.  

Finally, I also might not read Berserk by Tim Lebbon for a semi-stupid reason.  I can't look at the cover - even during the day time.  I think the front of that book might be the most terrifying one I have ever seen. 

Review: The Horsemen

The Horsemen (2009) starring Dennis Quaid
Minor Spoilers

An apocalyptic biblical themed serial killer movie.  Sounds exciting right? Well, you will be disappointed, or least I was.  The first hour of the movie is boring, and the second half fails to tear at your heartstrings. 

We have your stereotypical overworked dad/detective trying to raise his children after their mother died.  Yeah, sounds familiar I know, even Stargate Universe used it*. He is plodding along and gets involved in a murder case because he has "special knowledge" - the murder was tailor made for him (or was it....?).   In the midst of police procedures or other mundane activities the camera flashes to something bloody.  The directors tried to liven things up with gratuitous images of bloody body parts, but I was not impressed.  I don't mind blood and gore, but it should serve some purpose in the film rather than trying to cover up your pathetic attempts at a thriller. 

I could drag out a long list of things I didn't like about this movie, but I will stick to the main problem.  The film employs absurd plot furthering devices to get the story moving along.  The sudden insights of knowledge, those ah ha moments that worked for Downey Jr. in Sherlock Holmes, they just aren't believable here.  A man who isn't religious** has this amazing biblical revelation?***  It seemed random.  In another part, the detective has an intimate heartfelt conversation with the daughter of one of the victims, and then suddenly....

Well, I won't tell you what happened, but the point is, it shouldn't have happened, because I cannot believe that a detective would ditch his kids to go meet with some victim's daughter and divulge his soul to her.  Really? The writers couldn't think of any other way to get to the next chapter?!

Finally, the acting was just bad.  I never sympathized with any of the characters.  I wasn't horrified by the evil villain (nor did I feel sorry for this person).  I wasn't moved by the morality speech at the end.  As another review put it, I was really glad when the movie was over.  Oh, and the "surprise" ending? The plot "twists"?  Guessed them all.  Usually I am really bad at this, but these were all based on pretty generic stereotypes, so that made it easier. 

2/5 Stars because I did actually finish watching the movie. 

*I am exaggerating a bit, but there is a character in S.G.U. whose wife died of cancer.
** Though his wife was and he is seen at church he felt more of a "dutiful" church goer than a faithful one. 
*** Pun intended

R.I.P. Challenge: Peril the First

Read four books in any of the following categories (or whatever you might think is "scary"):

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.

Despite advice (sorry Carl) to just read one book, I can't help it, I have to go with the 4 book challenge.  I have a few scattered wishlists on various sites, so I decided to go through them to compile pool of potential reads.  

 

Serial killers? Sounds like Halloween to me.

I have heard a lot about this one from various people, and I like many of her other books, so I am hoping it will be as good as everyone has said it is. 

Last year I had City of Saints and Madmen on the list.  I never managed to read it.  I am determined to read Vandermeer one day.

This one is at my house right now, so it is a pretty likely candidate.  Also another book I have heard a lot about. 








Berserk by Tim Lebbon: Not posting the cover because it is too creepy and too late at night right now for me to look at it.  Probably makes it a good choice.

Not sure if this one totally counts, but then again it is a mystery and there are some seriously evil bad guys.  On the other hand, I did start it before the challenge, so maybe that is cheating. 






And as for Peril on Screen, the movie challenge, the next film up on my queue is Daybreakers.

R.I.P Challenge

I fail miserably at this every year.  I never finish reading the books I say I am going to read.  But this year, oh yes, this year I will do it!!  In between the teaching, grant writing, and coursework of course.  But actually this year there is a new film challenge in addition to the book challenge.  I really like scary movies. 

Here is the website that hosts the annual event.

As of right now, I am undecided on which Peril I will go for.  Or even which books I want to read.  But as we know (and you can check the previous RIP posts) I never read the things I say I will read.  So, I might not even make a list this year.