Short Story Review: “Shadow Transit” by Ferrett Steinmetz

5 of 5 stars.

The Lovecraft canon is often wielded in an attempt to express indescribable horror–and to mixed results. This tale works precisely for digging deeply into the human angle and that which is known and yet broken, in this case, a mother’s love–and guilt.

Michelle wasn’t sure how to tell if her daughter was going insane, because kids weren’t stable. She remembered how Lizzie would boldly greet her favorite aunt one day and then hide behind Michelle’s legs the next. Lizzie slept through the night for years without a nightlight, and then suddenly developed a terror of the dark. That was just how kids were; their personalities fluid, like water, ever-changing.

Lizzie has been virtually institutionalized in the Shadow Transit which allows Michelle only monthly visits if she behaves and doesn’t ask any questions of her daughter’s treatment and education there. Michelle dreads these visits and hates herself for dreading them. No topic is safe, there is only play. But Lizzie’s idea of play is cruel & innocent, possessed & maternal . . .

Michelle scratched at the tears on her cheeks, feeling the throbbing ache of I’m a terrible mother, I’m a terrible mother. Comfort shouldn’t flow from child to parent. Maybe she could be a good mommy if she could just stay, just follow Elizabeth in class, but even then there was so much at stake …

Lizzie wrapped her arms around Michelle’s neck. “No more playtime for Mommy,” she whispered.

Lizzie hears supernatural voices and messages in wordless images. There is no denying it after Lizzie woke up from a nightmare once, and in her terror telepathically emitted the images to Michelle–pure living nightmare. Lizzie was taken away the next day . . .

This tale appears in Whispers of the Abyss 2: The Horrors That Were and Shall Be edited by Kat Rocha. I received this new anthology directly from 01 Publishing through bookreviewdirectory.wordpress.com.
 
 
 
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Short Story Review: “Red Americans” by Cody Goodfellow

2 of 5 stars.

The drive of greed in consumerism has often been vilified, blamed for atrocities to nature and common decency alike [Think: Avatar]. A polluting American factory making crappy plastic toys with questionable safety ratings in northwestern China sets the stage for this outre tale inspired by Lovecraft. The all-female native workforce comes from a suppressed minority possibly from Mongolia or Tibet, but most likely from mythical Leng. More on Leng later . . .

Charlene “Charlie” Bledsoe is a new factory manager not happy with her reassignment to remote China, it doesn’t help that her predecessor was killed and buried on the site. Neither the Chinese Communist Party nor her company makes her job easy, and Christmas is coming. The factory makes Realive Dolls that cry and soil themselves and beg for food. They even come with a propriety food that is the only substance known that can keep them “alive”. Nevermind that the food stuff and dolls are made from possibly primordial organic slime . . .

More disturbing is the obscenely high pregnancy rate among the female factory workers despite the lack of males. Full terms occur in nine weeks, and the abandoned babies/fetuses beg for food and cry and crawl despite abandonment, abuse and even being shot. Something alien, or primordial is going on. In alignment, the cultural practices of the factory workers is older than old and itself base. Their bifurcated god[s] split and reunite, cannibalize and mate and kill in a hermaphroditic yin-yang. Meanwhile, the workers start to take on goat-like characteristics . . .

Otherness reigns in the tale which unfortunately lacks coherence. More would be more in this case as there is so very much going on.

Leng inspired another tale with certain similarities to this one in Marc Laidlaw’s “Leng”. Mycologists, those who study fungus, beat a path to Tibet to find the mythic land of Leng to find a missing party of mycologists and the fungus-infected caterpillars they had been hunting. The second batch of scientists find the first at a monastery worshiping old gods and the fungus-caterpillar entity. One of the first party is infected . . . This tale from 2010 was quite intriguing.

This tale appears in Whispers of the Abyss 2: The Horrors That Were and Shall Be edited by Kat Rocha. I received this new anthology directly from 01 Publishing through bookreviewdirectory.wordpress.com. I had previously read this author’s interesting take on a post-Zombie apocalypse, “We Will Rebuild”, with its social commentary about what it means to belong to a group.
 
 
 
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Short Story Review: “Skoptsy” by Jonathan Sharp

4 of 5 stars.

This horror vignette, told in the first person, starts at the ending and then flashes back through the preceding hours until caught up with its opening lines of terrified horror. And then it cuts off . . . One could almost hope that this was the script for a movie preview to snag an audience. With luck, a longer version will emerge but even in its abbreviated state, it works.

Jess, the narrator, and Mitch are hired killers, no questions asked. The opening lines set a high bar for expectations, if one promises madness, one had better deliver:

It’s fucked. It’s all gone to fuck. Mitch is dead and I’m running. Running for my life. Running away from, from total fucking madness . . .

However, often in Lovecraft inspired horror the madness is not described as it’s ineffectually described as “indescribable.” That’s not the case here. The ethically-challenged duo are sent to clean some squatters out of a deeply rural farm in northern England. Their opening observations on the farm are of mutilated naked teens, sans genitals and breasts, marching from the farmhouse to the barn. Yup, that qualifies as sufficiently effed up. The scene properly devolves from there . . .

The creature and farmyard setting is reminiscent of Charles Stross’ highly enjoyable and yet disturbing Equoid which starts with a feared unicorn infestation . . .

This tale appears in Whispers of the Abyss 2: The Horrors That Were and Shall Be edited by Kat Rocha. I received this new anthology directly from 01 Publishing through bookreviewdirectory.wordpress.com.
 
 
 
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Novel Review: New Reality 3: Fear by Michael Robertson

New Reality 3: Fear by Michael Robertson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Picking up where New Reality 2: Justice left off, the New Reality series explores life within a deeply caste-divided society drawing on some of the worst 20th century abuses seen in segregated America and South Africa, caste-divided India and even anti-Semitic Nazi Europe.

Fear is an apt title as unmarried-but-pregnant Marie, though born with the privileged ranks, has slumped to the basest tiers of society, the estate rats. The Estate is the densely populated public housing ghetto for the largely untouchable caste that may not speak to or purposely engage with the privileged class. Jobs and opportunities are few for the estate rats. Police harassment and court convictions without trials are rampant. Social hatred for the Rats is so high that self-hatred and suicide are endemic on The Estate.

Marie used to work for Rixon, the private company running the jails that doses the “criminals” with the addictive psychogenic, New Reality, in which the prisoners can no longer tell what is real. With her attempt to blackmail Rixon ruined, Marie cannot tell whether the psychological hell she is experiencing is real, insanity, or New Reality.

This is just as true for the reader. And that’s a good thing. A very good thing.

The wrap-up is less satisfying, but complete in that there is no cliff hanger. Rather, this book could have been tightened up as a extension to the 2nd in the series rather than as a separate book. The first in the series, New Reality: Truth, was a stand alone from a very different facet of reality than the following two in this trilogy.

I received my copy of this novel directly from the author after previously reviewing his thoroughly enjoyable zombie apocalypse novel series [The Alpha Plague, The Alpha Plague 2, and The Alpha Plague 3] which deservedly made my Best Reads of 2015 list. I’ve also reviewed his sadistic opener to his series Crash.
 
 
 
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Graphic Novel Review: World War Kaiju by Josh Finney [w/ Patrick McEvoy]

World War Kaiju by Josh Finney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Artist Patrick McEvoy wields a multitude of visual styles to bring Finney’s revisionist, conspiracy theory laden version of 20th Century politics to life. From the end of WWII, through the Cold War presidents, and into near-modern times, the tale is spun by a CIA whistleblower to a journalist willing to expose the internal battle between the presidency and the intelligence community.

In this history in which WWIII saw the destruction of Washington DC, Maryland, Manhattan and San Francisco, the Americans co-opted German research and Oppenheimer to develop the ultimate weapon nicknamed “Fat Man,” a Kaiju. The Kaiju attack on Tokyo ends WWII but leads to a Cold War after Russia soon develops the Kaiju, too.

Soon the tale broadens beyond allegorical atomic mega-monsters. Pixies present themselves to Eisenhower to warn of the ancient extraterrestrial origin of Kaiju [think Lovecraft] while Martians come to Roswell to propose an economic alliance. Even Carl Sagan makes a psychedelic appearance at this point . . .

I highly recommend this graphic novel. I received my copy of this novel directly from 01 Publishing through bookreviewdirectory.wordpress.com. I’ve previously reviewed this author’s Utopiates, an extremely creative graphic work of near future speculative fiction, and Casefile: ARKHAM, a detective noir delving into a Lovecraftian landscape. The second of these two was also graphically rendered by Patrick McEvoy.
 
 
 
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Novel Review: New Reality 2: Justice by Michael Robertson

New Reality 2: Justice by Michael Robertson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Better and more fully realized, this sequel emerges perpendicular to New Reality: Truth by taking a minor character from a different plane of reality from that of the first book, and using her to explore a dystopian society which has lost its sense of humanity.

The few wealthy are obscenely so, the ubiquitous poor are stymied at every turn. The world building has borrowed liberally from the worst social abuses of the 20th century: the pre-Holocaust ghettoization of the Jews-gays-&-gypsies, American racial segregation, and the Indian caste system with their notion of the Untouchables, to name a few. Here, the down-and-out caste live in a vast ghetto known as The Estate. The Estate Rats cannot address citizens, nor ride train cars, nor work non-subservient jobs. They are constantly harassed both verbally and physically and inundated with anti-“Estate Rat” propaganda. Self-hatred and fear is high. Most roads lead to The Estate: including unmarried pregnancy, homosexuality, alcoholism, and merely sympathizing with Estate Rats.

Marie, the protagonist, has lived a privileged life. And, she has a good job watching over the fantasies of estate rat criminals lost to the haze of New Reality, the drug convicted criminals are put on in jail to keep them complacent. Nevermind that the criminals are convicted in unjust media trials . . . But Marie has a few secrets. Her roommate, Frankie, is the rare man that escaped life on The Estate. They hide his past. However, she’s now pregnant and they cannot afford to get married. That is a one-way ticket to The Estate for the two of them unless she gets a back alley abortion that she doesn’t want or they turn to more drastic measures.

I received my copy of this novel directly from the author after previously reviewing his thoroughly enjoyable zombie apocalypse novel series [The Alpha Plague, The Alpha Plague 2, and The Alpha Plague 3] which deservedly made my Best Reads of 2015 list. I’ve also reviewed his sadistic opener to his series Crash.
 
 
 
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Short Story Review: “The Knot” by Dennis Detwiller

2 of 5 stars.

A half-century of nuclear rocket science is rewritten, or seen through a new lens in this speculative history tale. The first person narrator, a nuclear scientist emerging from school right as Oppenheimer’s project is getting underway, has been involved in one capacity or another in the A-bomb, the first lunar landing, and even in the Cold War nuclear plans.

But he is not alone in this–the narrator has witnessed the mysterious “pale” man with white-to-translucent skin at each of these crucial junctures either confirming or correcting the mathematical equations . . .

The pale man acts as a Lovecraftian Dr. Who making sure that timelines unspool correctly and that the narrator has the proper information each time. Then the pale man comes for scientist, whisking him away from humanity and his point in history . . .

This tale, like so many inspired by Lovecraft, veer at the end into new territory. Which would be fine if any continuity was maintained, or possibly even an explanation or a “next chapter.” In this case, the narrator ceases to be the narrator and his new role in another time and place is ignored. Nor does it end with an open ending implying new adventures or experiences to be had. No, it just changes everything without explanation to a dead-end timeline, the Cretaceous Period[?!], and walks away.

This tale appears in Whispers of the Abyss 2: The Horrors That Were and Shall Be edited by Kat Rocha. I received this new anthology directly from 01 Publishing through bookreviewdirectory.wordpress.com.
 
 
 
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Short Story Review: “Death May Die” by Nathan Wunner

2 of 5 stars.

Unknown phenomenon and truths await as new bounds are bridged and borders crossed. This is especially true for the depths of the oceans and the farther reaches of space. However, sometimes the bigger unknown is whether humankind is ready for the cosmic truths.

This Lovecraftian tale sees an outer frontier grave robber stripping labyrinthine mausoleum spaceships for their assets. It’s an unsavory life beyond the practical reach of human laws. The narrator’s latest quarry proves particularly strange–it’s plastered in warnings and it’s been breached before. A mangled corpse lies in a passageway, and the single coffin aboard the huge ship is empty with door ajar . . .

The detail-rich start to the tale is not matched by its abstract end. This is a common conundrum for Lovecraft inspired tales which attempt to express the inexplicable with abstractions to impress upon the reader the vastness of it all. While horror lies often in the unknown, abstraction muddies the connection.

A few jarring narration issues atop the increasing abstractions derails the reader investment. The first issue disrupting the suspension of disbelief lies in an alien immediately communicating not just in human speech and mannerisms, but in flawless idiomed English. This is a tale of otherworldliness. Aliens should reflect otherness, too, but don’t here. Secondly, a first person narration in the past tense shouldn’t be able to tell the story past the character’s ability to tell the story . . .

This tale appears in Whispers of the Abyss 2: The Horrors That Were and Shall Be edited by Kat Rocha. I received this new anthology directly from 01 Publishing through bookreviewdirectory.wordpress.com.
 
 
 
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Short Story Review: “The Labyrinth of Sleep” by Orrin Grey

3 of 5 stars.

This short tale plumbs the edges of reality, and thereby unreality and the perceptions of both. As is common with Lovecraft-inspired work, a greater cosmic source which can’t truly be “known” lies beneath the murky surface of perception.

Here, there is a land of dreams, or rather a plane to which all dreamers ultimately visit and wander only to not remember upon waking. Within this monster-laden dream plane sits a labyrinth, and at the unseen heart of the labyrinth, a castle . . .

Humans have devised a machine that allows non-dreamers to piggyback on the dreaming experience of dreamers–it allows them to enter the plane and labyrinth without forgetting. Kendrick is a professional user of the machine. He’s chasing another pro, McCabe, into the heart of the labyrinth to see why McCabe lies comatose in the outer world . . .

This tale appears in Whispers of the Abyss 2: The Horrors That Were and Shall Be edited by Kat Rocha. I received this new anthology directly from 01 Publishing through bookreviewdirectory.wordpress.com.
 
 
 
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Graphic Novel Review: Casefile: ARKHAM by Josh Finney [w/ Patrick McEvoy]

Casefile: ARKHAM: Nightmare on the Canvas by Josh Finney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The detective noir voice owns its pulp-cliche niche often making any particular story into a guilty pleasure, yes, but not a standout. Then comes PI Hank Flynn, PTSD-rattled WWII vet, to buck the trend in 2 very important ways. 1) The black-and-white inked artwork by Patrick McEvoy in this graphic novel is pure stylized pleasure. Bonus points must be awarded for melding a couple of images and adding color to create the classic horror movie poster look for the cover. 2) Author Josh Finney’s balanced incorporation of Lovecraftian mythos infuses the tale with horror-filled outre and layers left unplumbed for future volumes. There had better be future volumes.

Hank Flynn is hired by a young widowed socialite–at the request of a tarot-reader–to find missing person Richard Pickman, a controversial talented artist that paints hellish landscapes. Flynn has the help of a few buddy cops and the provocative Glynda, his own personal good witch:

Sure, I was sweet on the girl. I would’ve had to have been blind not to be, and yeah . . .maybe there was something just a bit blasphemous about making time with a proud heretic . . . but that’s the benefit of being Catholic, right? If I ever did get lucky enough to get a bite of that apple . . . I could always go to confession in the morning.

The city of Arkham is Jackson Pollocked with the blood of art patrons, and nobody seems to have a clue as to why. The missing artist also has some unexplained tie to the mobsters of Innsmouth, so the detective is not alone in his hunt. A secret artist loft. Underground tunnel systems riddled with bones. The mysteries just keep adding up. But Flynn is our everyman probing and musing his way to an answer:

With a full meal in my belly, the fog had lifted from my brain just enough for the jigsaw pieces to begin falling into place. Minot’s carved up corpse . . . What was it doing in Pickman’s cellar? Being turned into fine art, obviously. But how’d it get there?

I highly recommend this detective noir in graphic novel form. I received my copy of this novel directly from 01 Publishing through bookreviewdirectory.wordpress.com. I’ve previously reviewed this author’s Utopiates, an extremely creative graphic work of near future speculative fiction.
 
 
 
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