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.

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...

Review: Absalom, Absalom!

Absalom, Absalom!

            This is the tragic story of Thomas Sutpen’s attempt to establish a dynasty in the 1830s.  He arrives in Jefferson, Yoknapatawpha County, MS as a strange outsider with wild slaves, a mysterious source of seemingly limitless income, and a rigid plan—establish an estate, find a wife, produce a male heir.  While Sutpen does accomplish his life’s goals, his unwavering adherence to an ideal brings out the ruin of him and his family.  The story of Sutpen and his various il/legitimate children is told primarily through the point of view of Quentin Compson (the same as in The Sound & the Fury).  The book, however, is much more than a straightforward narrated life history.  Absalom, Absalom! is layered through multiple points of view.  It is a richly detailed story, but is also complex.

            If you are not a fan of Faulkner’s writing style, I would not recommend this book.  Other works by him, though still distinctly “Faulkner” in style, are much more accessible.  Here Quentin and his roommate Shreve spend a cold winter night at university telling the Sutpen tale to one another.  It is obvious that Shreve has heard much of the history before as he interrupts, embellishes, and at times takes over the narrative.  The story is not only about Sutpen, but also about Quentin’s experiences in Jefferson, about the ways in which he learned bits and pieces of these events over time from a variety of characters such as Aunt Rosa (Sutpen’s wife’s sister) and his father – who himself is retelling it from Quentin’s grandfather.  He experienced other events directly.

            The hearsay third-hand jumbled nature of the transmission is important because the reader experience the plot not as a straightforward narrative, but as a palimpsest of events across nearly a century.  The reader learns details in waves; at the beginning of the book, you get the basic idea and then Faulkner builds upon that foundation by adding details or retelling a section through a different character’s point of view. Unfortunately, many characters are unreliable, so as they passed on their story to Quentin or his grandfather, they edited and/or omitted crucial information.  “’Your father,’ Shreve said. ‘He seems to have got an awful lot of information awful quick, after having waited forty-five years.’… ‘Grandfather didn’t tell him all of it either, like Sutpen never told Grandfather quite all of it.’”  (220).

            Another example that is illustrative of the mangled transmission of key information, involves a tragic incident between Aunt Rosa and Sutpen; specifically, he has told her something, which she never is never able to forgive him for saying.  The reader is left in suspense about what exactly he said for over half the book, and the answer comes embedded within a page long sentence casually thrown into a paragraph on an unrelated topic.  There you finally learn, with little warning, of how Sutpen insulted Rosa.  Faulkner does not make reading easy.

            I could go on for pages about the way the book is written, about foreshadowing (“The day after we—after that night when we—“), and flashbacks, and mind-numbingly long rambling sentences.  I will not.  However, I do think ultimately, Absalom, Absalom! is worth reading.  First, you discover much more about Quentin’s personality and inner turmoil that I think helps clarify his actions in The Sound & The Fury.  He is a fascinating character.  Second, it is a powerful book about important issues—idealism, blind ambition, doomed Romanticism, and the end of an era.  It is also about deep-seated racism, so unwavering that incest is preferred over relationships between people of different color.  Finally, it is also about rigid class differences in the South.  It is a hard read, but worth the effort.

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In case you were keeping up, I have read 9 books by Faulkner at this point:
A Soldier's Pay
Mosquitoes
Sartoris
The Sound & the Fury

As I Lay Dying
Sanctuary 
Light in August
Pylon

Absalom, Absalom!

The reason why there are not reviews for that second collection - As I Lay Dying to Pylon - is because a) I read As I Lay Dying a long time ago and did not re-read it and b) because Pylon is the worst book Faulkner ever wrote, unreadable in fact.  As for the other two, I just didn't get around to reviewing them & now it has been too long.  I will say that so far Light in August is my favorite and I recommend it to any/everyone. 

The Sound of Building Coffins

My review of an awesome book that everyone should read (now).

New Orleans in the late 18th to early 20th century.  A place full of death, hope, and rebirth, of yellow fever, voodoo, and the discovery of jazz.  This story is about the Morningstar family and a cast of others connected with them through fate, coincidence, or love.  It is hard to place Maistros’ book into one particular genre.  It is historical fiction, magical realism, and horror, but more importantly it is also literature at its very best.  

From the first page, the grotesque (a theme throughout) is evident as we are introduced to a nine year old boy carrying “a burlap bag, full of fresh fetuses.” The supernatural permeates the story; ghosts, zombies, and voodoo Queens.  Music is also important, one of the main characters is Buddy Bolden said to be the first man to front a jazz band.  But not just music in an abstract way, rather literally music - lyrics and sound - are central to the plot of this story.  In fact, the entire book is a sensual experience, encompassing the sights of turn of the century New Orleans, but also the sounds, smells, and even the texture of the city.  

Maistros’ novel is about people, the hard times they lived in and the difficult choices they had to make admist death, violence, and racism.  Ultimately, however, the author has produced a story about hope and rebirth (both literal and metaphorical).  Water is a key symbol of these themes whether in the form of the Mississippi River, the bayou, or the storms that bring flooding (both nurturing and destructive).  It is hard to imagine this book in a pre-Katrina era.  The motifs that take center stage here are ones expressed recently by residents of New Orleans who did not evacuate or those who left only to return because they could not stay away.

The Sound of Building Coffins is an amazing first novel, an amazing book in general that I would recommend to anyone no matter your usual tastes.  I won’t say that it is perfect of course.  There is some initial disconnect between Book 1 and Book 2 (it takes place several years after the opening scenes).  It took me a few chapters to get back into the story after the break.  Also the writing is at times disjointed, but for me this fit with the mood of the story. Others might find it off-putting. Regardless of these minor issues, this book is absolutely worth checking out!

The Sound of Building Coffins by Louis Maistros (2009)

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).  

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

____________________________

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

Book The Third

I bet you didn't think I would get this far? That I had given up on the book challenge? Almost...but not quite. A few pages left in The Keeper, but I don't want to rush through it b/c I actually like that book. However, for now, for my 3rd book I read Dark Delicacies, which is a collection of short stories. I am not the biggest fan of short stories or anthologies in general, but there was a lot of hype about this one. And it had some cool names on the front - people I've read, like, or at least recognized. But what can I say about this book? Meh. Thats it. I really liked the first story - by of all people Ray Bradbury.* It was a sort of ghost story/zombie/reincarnation mixture that was a bit creepy, but over all entertaining. The Brian Lumley story is ok, yet seriously weird - and way more sci fi** than horror. Not outstanding though. My favorite story by far was by Nancy Holder "Out Twelve Steppin." It was about a couple of famous rock stars who are in fact cannibals, and who have a strangely co-dependent relationship. Overall though, I wasn't impressed with the book. I would probably give this book 2.5 stars

* I saw him give a talk once. FYI

** Which is odd b/c Bradbury is usually sci fi, and Lumley pure horror - guess they decided to switch up genres here.

Blade Runner

I watched this movie last night when I was supposed to be doing work for school - as usual. And yeah I managed to watch the movie (while reading The Reindeer People), and read Pandemonium. But no, I haven't finished reading for my "Imperial Russia" class. Which is what I should be doing RIGHT NOW. Priorities.

I just wanted to write quickly that I had never seen Blade Runner, but became a bit more interested in watching it after I learned all sorts of fun things about Phillip K. Dick (see previous post). Anyway, I gave it 4 out of 5 stars on Netflix. I liked it. I hear people complain b/c it is very different from the original story (which I haven't read, but cannot be worse than the adaptation of Queen of the Damned), and that it was slow. Neither of those issues bothered me, but what drove me bloody crazy was the voice-over narration. That sucked. Apparently the director's cut leaves this out, but then people say you miss a lot of what is going on. This is probably true, I might have been really confused without the narration, but it sucked. This is one movie actually that I would love to see remade. Actually, I want whoever directed The 5th Element to redo Blade Runner. They might not be able to get Gaultier for the costumes again, but there are lots of new edgy designers who would be perfect.

Ok, going to read A Woman's Kingdom: Noblewomen and the Control of Property.

Book the Second

Finished Pandemonium by Daryl Gregory. No, please don't ask me how I had time. Basically, the story is focused around the main character of Del who experienced a possession by a demon known as the Hellian when he was about 5. This isn't possession as you are used to hearing about it - no Catholic priests involved. In fact, this is a sort of alternate Earth where demons (or archetypes or spirits or whatever) take over people's bodies usually for short periods of time to cause random trouble, paint pictures, or murder people. Most of these incidences are linked back to a specific cohort of demons all named all with certain immediately recognizable "signatures" or characteristics. But the story isn't really what you think it is. There are all sorts of little gems embedded in the main story - for instance, I learned more about Phillip K. Dick than I ever cared to know.

Cons: The story pulls from a lot of obscure literary references, and if you don't read Science Fiction some of the jokes might be lost on you. I had to look up a couple of authors. There were several scenes that were gratuitious - mainly the completely random sex scene between two of the characters. And I do mean "completely random." A couple of others come to mind, enough for me to be annoyed. Finally, I would have liked to know more about the underlying mythology - I am left wondering what was really going on with these demons/archetypes.

Pros: An interesting mix of gossip (possibly via Wikipedia), conspiracy theories, Jungian psychology, and possession. It was totally readable with a well-paced plot and memorable characters. Despite problems, clearly I was interested. Finished the book in 2 days - it is a fairly quick read.

I am undecided between a 3 1/2 and a 4. I have a longer "con" list, but it was a good story overall.

Not sure what I am reading next.

Book the First

One book out of four done! Hurray. I read Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey. It was ok. Basically, this magician living in L.A. gets sent to Hell, but miraculously survives, then comes back to earth to get revenge on the people that sent him down under. The book jacket says it is "twisted, irreverent, and hilarious." I would agree with irreverent, but I did not find it hilarious. Don't get me wrong I love dark humor and sarcasm - Sandman Slim has both, but not on such a scale that would warrant "hilarious." However, it is a new take on some old mythology, has several original concepts (see one exception that annoyed me), the characters are well-developed, and if there is a sequel, which I have a feeling there will be, I would read it.
One exception: I don't think this counts as a minor spoiler, but it might. So beware. There is one character, an angel, who Stark (aka James, Jimmy, Sandman Slim) doesn't get along with. Every meeting between these two reminded me of the movie Constantine. Remember Gabriel? Tilda Swinton? Not a major problem with the book, just an association that I found annoying. Actually, the more I think about, there are other similarities between Constantine and Sandman Slim. Regardless, I guess I would give it 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. It wasn't bad.

Was going to read The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters. Why did I say "was?" Well, funny story that. So, I ordered the book from the library, and start thinking "this title reminds me of something." And this kept bothering me b/c that is a fairly unique title. I pick up the book today, and read the book cover. And I keep thinking "what does this remind me of?" I then sit down and force myself to really think about it - a couple of random images come to mind, but I still cannot figure out what is bothering me. I read the book jacket again, no idea. I read the first page - still confused. I start flipping through the book, and what do I discover? I already read the book!! When? Not a clue. Did I like it? I have no idea. But I find it very very strange that I finished the book, and had zero recollection of doing so even after getting it from the library and reading the cover - twice. Clearly I am getting old. My memory is failing me.

The second book I will read, and sat down to read half of it already today when I should have been doing something else (anything else really), is Pandemonium. More demons, but after all it is a Halloween book challenge. This one is very different though and so far I like it better.

4 Down...5 to go

Finally, I have finished the first volume in my quest to read the earliest 9 Faulkner books. I know I think I said I was going to do that this summer, but at least I am only 2 months behind. It could be much worse, I am so bad at these book challenges. The ones I read were Soldiers' Pay, Mosquitoes, Flags in the Dust, and The Sound and The Fury. Out of the four the best was The Sound and The Fury. The worst by far was Mosquitoes. It was absolutely the most pointless book ever. Next up is As I Lay Dying, which I read last year, and Sanctuary - the beginning of this last one is amazing, so hopefully it will not disappoint.

Soldiers' Pay

I started the book several months ago, and couldn't really get into it due to time constraints rather than lack of interest. Once I had a chunk of time to really engage with it, I found the book utterly captivating. I am rather impressed that this novel was Faulkner's first, but at the same time I felt it was very different - less sophisticated perhaps? - than his other works that I am familiar with. The plot at least is pretty generic. Sections are definitely slow, but other scenes blew me away - I was totally amazed by Faulkner's skill at writing. Granted that might be obvious, he did win a Nobel Prize, but it is nice to experience an author's ability for oneself. As part of a reading challenge, I decided to read Faulkner's first 9 books - this one is definitely a good start.

Mosquitoes

Took me a really long time and to be honest I skimmed most of the second half. One of the most utterly pointless books I have ever read in the sense that there wasn't too much of a plot and nothing really happened throughout most of the book. Gets 2 1/2 b/c some minor sections were interesting and b/c I found W.F's descriptions of the landscape (esp the swamp) and some of the characters' emotional states to be well-written and realistically portrayed. Otherwise, honestly I would say it is not even worth the time to read it.

Flags in the Dust

A bit more developed in terms of characters and plot than his first two books, but had the potential to be so much better. The biggest problem is that some of the most interesting scenes - that create tension and drama in the novel - are never resolved. There is an entire secondary plot that seems, at the beginning, like it will be the focus of the action as the story unfolds, but Faulkner never really follows up on this aspect of the book. It is also a bit confusing in parts because so many people have the same names, and it isn't always clear who is being referred to. I do realize that Faulkner had a specific reason for doing this; he is trying to show the Sartoris legacy and tradition is bound up in the names of the family members as if they develop a particular set of characteristics or a certain personality type simply because of their name. I think that point is made very clear at the end of the book when the new Sartoris is named. 3/5 stars.

The Sound and the Fury

I am so happy I finally read this book. I think I started it in 8th grade, but never could get through the beginning. Trying to follow the flow of the story through the perspective of Benjy amidst numerous flashbacks through time, characters, and space was, I think, a bit too much. However, this time around, I didn't find it that confusing - except for maybe the first 5 or so pages. Really Faulkner does a good job of leaving clues in the text as to when certain events occur whether early in the story when the characters are young, or later when the whole family has nearly disintegrated. The Compson Appendix definitely helps clarify some issues that Faulkner was not completely clear about in the novel itself. The ending was a bit random, but maybe considering the "stream of consciousness" style of the work that was to be expected. My absolute favorite part was with Dilsey at the end when she goes to church. The passages during the revival with the out of town preacher are amazing. Try reading them out loud (I did, it was great). Faulkner nailed this section. 4/5 Stars

Fishies!

I went fishing today for the first time in forever. It was fun, but the fishes were just too smart for me. They were jumping around right by me, but would not bite. It then started raining so we had to leave having had zero luck. Then these crazy redneck people drove by with all sorts of "suggestions" about what we should and/or should not be doing.
In other news, not doing much of anything. Watched "Mr and Mrs Smith" today, it was so stupid. I almost couldn't finish watching it. Strange how the last few movies I have seen with Angelina Jolie I have hated, and I thought I liked her as an actress. However, I have "Changeling" to watch, which I have heard was really good (but sad, and you know how I feel about that). Also watched "Max Payne" and "Driving Lessons" both were decent. "Driving Lessons" was so British and so awkward, but pretty funny.
Currently reading Pillars of the Earth. It is taking such a long time. Yes, it is about 1000 pages, which normally isn't an issue - I like long books - but with this one I feel like I cannot make progress.