nature horror | Musings of the Monster Librarian

Book Review: The Marigold by Andrew F. Sullivan

The Marigold by Andrew F. Sullivan

ECW Press, 2023

ISBN: 9781770416642

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

The Marigold is a book readers will probably either love or hate: there won’t be a lot of in-between. It has a wildly inventive plotline revolving around city decay and revival, but its more literary style of prose may split readers: some will see it as genius, others as overly pretentious writing.

As noted, the plot is a true original, a nice horror-spiked take on urban blight. The book asks: what if there is a physical cause? That’s where the antagonist of the book, a fungus (or is it?) called the Wet, slides in, invading certain buildings in Toronto. Where the book really shines is playing with the possibilities throughout the book, never giving away too much. Is the Wet just an annoying mold? Can it infect people? Could there be intelligence directing it, or is it a sentient being in its own right? Scary possibilities! The author does a fantastic job leaving the avenues open, and it all becomes clear at the right time. He also avoids the usual big reveal at the end, and the story is much better for it. Tied in to this plot thread is another, the idea of actual sacrifices needing to be made to keep buildings standing upright. The two threads together make for a very creative knot in terms of story. Regardless of whether you like the book, one has to admire how well laid out the scenario is.

The book itself moves at somewhat of a “slow burn” pace, gradually picking up some speed, but it’s not a fast page-turner: it works best read in chunks. The characters push the story where it needs to go. They include a mix of health investigators, unscrupulous land developers, some nosy ordinary citizens, and a conspiracy theorist or two. All the pieces fit where they should in terms of character development, and there’s enough backstory for the characters to appear believable and generate emotion.

It’s the writing that is a blessing or a curse, depending on how you look at it. This isn’t straight-ahead Stephen King style writing, it’s more in the vein of T.E. Grau. The problem is, it doesn’t always work. The author is capable of reeling off beautifully written passages that would do a literature professor proud, and does it often. However, there are plenty of times where it winds up bogging down the story, instead of driving it. The main examples are the chapters dealing with how the Wet invades different apartments in the building called the Marigold, and what happens to the tenants. These chapters could have been trimmed down or slashed altogether. They muddle the pacing, and don’t add to the story. I started skimming those chapters, since I already knew how the chapters were going to end. Some of the character dialogue scenes suffered the same problem. They needed less fluff and more stuff. When it’s good, it’s very good, but the book lacks consistency.

Bottom line time: The Marigold has a lot of good qualities, but also some glaring deficiencies to overcome.

Recommended for readers who like what they read above. It’s not for all, but definitely for some.

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

Book Review: Eden by Tim Lebbon

Eden by Tim Lebbon

Titan Books. 2020

ISBN-13: 978-1789092936

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook.

Lebbon’s back to nature horror again, which is where he shines the brightest. His novels The Silence to The Nature of Balance, set the bar for subsequent titles as Scott Smith’s The Ruins and the movie A Quiet Place. Lebbon’s skill at turning the natural world on its ear and creating believable, unique adversaries from both animal and plant kingdoms is unsurpassed.

Eden will undoubtedly draws comparisons to Jeff Vandermeer’s Annihilation, but Lebbon’s tale veers into thriller territory rather than the straight out weird of Vandermeer’s world (althoughthat’s a stellar read itself). The pacing of the story is akin to the best thrill rides, replete with rocket-fast action scenes, balanced with smooth exposition that avoids the trap of miring the reader in information dumps.

In Lebbon’s near future, the world has become almost unlivable due to pollution and climate change. Sounds familiar, in our age of disgusting deregulation of environmental laws and reckless destruction of pristine lands. Lebbon never preaches but doesn’t have to– anyone living through today’s world and its frightening descent into chaos will likely be chilled by the “news” clips preceding each chapter that describe life in the “Virgin Zones.” These zones were set up in thirteen areas across the world to jumpstart nature and give environments human-free time to develop.

Of course, men are never smart enough to follow directions.

These clips often feature the “guards” of each zone, the Zeds, a force to prohibit intruders that bring to mind ICE and border patrols here in the states, and these set up the tone for each scene.

Thrill-seekers Dylan and his daughter Jenn, along with his team, enter Eden, the oldest, most pristine, and dangerous of the zones, to race through it. Jenn also has another motive– to find her mother, Kat, who abandoned the family years ago and entered the zone with her own team, which Dylan and Jenn quickly learned was ill-fated.

The search also expands as the characters seek a legendary Ghost Orchid, which is reported to have miraculous healing properties. When they find a corpse that is growing within a tree and through it, the dread and tension become as thick as the humidity of the jungle. Lebbon creates a world both claustrophobic and horrific, almost as if Clive Barker set out to rewrite the book of Genesis.

When follows is a discovery of creatures that grew unencumbered by human involvement, possibly to halt it from tainting this new world. These new organisms will do whatever possible to keep their home free from the infection of humans.

Dylan and Jenn’s journey is a thrilling one that incorporates the best elements of suspense, horror, and science fiction and surpasses the high expectations set by previous efforts.

Lebbon’s recent foray into thrillers and his Relics trilogy are on display here with stellar description and characterization that elevates it in a gorgeously painted world– with teeth. This could be our future. Highly recommended reading.

Reviewed by David Simms