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Book Review: Hexis by Charlene Elsby

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Cover art for Hexis by Charlene Elsby

Hexis by Charlene Elsby  (Bookshop.org)

CLASHbooks, February 2020

ISBN: 9781944866525

Available: Paperback, Kindle

 

Hexis, the slickly crafted debut novella from Charlene Elsby, is entertaining, while using almost none of the conventions of typical horror writing.  Linear stories, easy to follow happenings…they don’t exist here.  Instead, you get a down-the-rabbit-hole journey into the inner mind and musings of a seriously disturbed lady.  This is what might have happened if Aristotle and Timothy Leary had decided to pool their intellectual resources to create their own version of serial killer Aileen Wuornos.  Sound insane?  So is the book.

 

Hexis is written in an extremely vague, open-ended fashion, so much so that even describing the book is difficult, a lot of it will depend on how the reader interprets it.  It seems to be about a lady who is never even named, so for this review, she’ll be called ‘X.’  X had a crummy relationship with a man at some point in her younger years, so she killed him.  From time to time as her life progresses, the man shows back up in her life, so she kills him, again…and again…and again.  The End.

 

If only it were that simple.  Due to the vague way this is written, even determining what actually happens will depend on personal perception.  Is he somehow brought back to life each time, forcing her to kill him again?  Is she simply killing people who look like him, and her deranged mind fills in the blanks to make it seem like the same person?  Does the whole thing take place completely in her mind, and none of it really happened?  No explanation is ever given, and that’s the enjoyable part about the book; the story allows the reader to decide what actually happened.  The whole book is an introspective study of X: what she feels, her anti-social tendencies, how she perceives her reality, or lack of it.  The story does not move in a linear fashion; it’s more akin to jumping in and out of the river of time at different points, for a brief moment.  Some of those moments are loaded with graphic sex and violent, gory killings, and that’s about the only nod to conventional horror writing.  This is written to appeal to a certain type of horror fan: the ones who like a lot of psychology and musings, and aren’t as interested in fast-paced plots that zip from Point A to Point B.  It’s a very well written piece of work, it just works best for a certain type of reader.  The book works best if you read a chapter or two at a time.  Take a break, think about what you just read, what it means to you, and what you think happened.  Then, read another chapter or two, and prepare to have your cerebrum twisted yet again.  Trying to burn through this book cover to cover in a sitting or two won’t work, you really need to take the time to think about it and enjoy it.  Otherwise, you’re missing the point.  This is meant for you to ponder over, not have everything explained and handed to you.  That’s why it’s so much fun, you can almost mold the story to your own liking.  It’s an unusual way to write, and makes for an “out there” reading experience.

 

Also worth noting is the author’s ability to write long passages that at times, don’t really mean anything at all… but they sound really good.  It’s not just rambling for the sake of wasting pages, it’s done to sound incredible, without really saying much at all.  It’s as if the words are no longer words, they are musical notes that form a melody, and it’s a quite a melody.  You may find some meaning, or it may mean nothing at all, but the melody sounds beautiful.  It’s not something you find often in horror writing; I really can’t think of any other examples to compare it to.  Well done, and truly original.

 

Bottom line: if you are looking for something that is truly unique and different from a standard horror novel, and you want a mind-breaker of titanic proportions, this is the way to go.  If you prefer straight-ahead stories where all is explained, look elsewhere.  It will be interesting to see where author Elsby goes next; she’s got an original and enjoyable style.  Highly recommended, for the reader type mentioned.

 

Contains:  graphic violence, profanity, graphic sex

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

Posted on December 9, 2020 by , Reply

Book Review: Malorie: A Bird Box Novel by Josh Malerman

cover of Malorie: A Bird Box Novel

Malorie: A Bird Box Novel by Josh Malerman ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

Del Rey, 2020

ISBN-13: 978-0593156858

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook

 

In a world where sequels and reboots are plentiful, encountering a followup that actually measures up to the original is rare. Malorie, the eagerly awaited sequel to the smash hit Bird Box, equals that debut novel in story, scope, characters and sheer emotional power.

Josh Malerman enters this summer as horror’s reigning rock star, both figuratively and literally (he’s the star of his own band, The High Strung), although to pigeonhole him in a single genre would be unfair. Take a deep dive into the dark western Unbury Carol or his supernatural thriller Black Mad Wheel to experience the breadth of his talent.

Malorie picks up a dozen years after Bird Box left off, with a chaotic scene at the school for the blind where the original concluded. A woman falls prey to the creatures introduced in the first book, that cause their victims to become violent and commit suicide, with our main characters escaping. Skip forward ten years, and Malorie, Olympia, and Tom are holed up in a summer camp, which they have modified to fit their every need. Yet, as teenagers,  it is only a matter of time before the kids, once named “Boy” and “Girl”, open Pandora’s Box, their curiosity overriding Malorie’s strict “parenting by paranoia”.

To state much of the plot would venture into spoiler territory, but the trio do leave their safe zone when a “census taker” visits and informs them that other survivors exist, possibly some that Malorie might know, and that a “blind train” exists, a haven that can deliver them to others like them. Much like the journey in the first book, the thrill is getting there. There’s no river here, just roads, with little to guide the characters.

What occurs when they reach the destination is mind-blowing and is world-building at its finest. For a short novel, Malerman nails it.

Of course, Malerman had zero idea that the pandemic would coincide with the book’s release, and its relationship to current events renders the story that much more effective. The issues of mask/blindfold wearers and the cult who refuse common sense and wish to face the terrors of the creatures we can’t see– and survive– mirror society today in a frightening way. To learn that staying alive can be thwarted by the ignorance and arrogance of a few is terrifyingly timely. Yet, Malerman also keeps it entertaining, with twists and turns, and the return of the only character who can best Malorie. Her fears of Gary’s arrival lingers, until her nightmares morph into reality.

The other concepts are handled with style and care. Is Malorie a solid mom or a paranoid woman who’s holding back her kids from developing into the people they need to be? Her guilt consumes her– and them–  a sensation to which any parent today can readily relate. Are her actions selfishness or altruistic? Both? Neither? The conflict and balancing act Malerman portrays display the compelling character readers fell for in the first novel. It’s easy to see why Malerman decided to return to Malorie’s world. Her damaged psyche makes the novel resonate. A new element elevates the story to another level here: her children. Olympia travels through her books and holds a secret that can either kill the family or deliver them to salvation. Tom’s fascination with inventions and gadgets is more than that of a boy with his toys; he’s determined to reshape his world into one that includes sight. How the pair battle their conflicts with Malorie and her maternal instincts and fractures, is crushing emotionally, raw and eviscerating. What could have been a rehash of Bird Box is transformed into a higher level tale that deserves a film, which is on the way.

What makes Malerman such a star in the literary world, and not just the horror genre, is his writing. It’s unobstrusive, yet inviting. It’s far from simple, yet feels as though he scrawled it out whilfe sitting out back, eyes closed and immersed in the Malorie’s mind. He becomes her and lulls the reader into her being, for a disturbed, exciting, and thoroughly enjoyable ride. Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by David Simms

 

 

Posted on August 15, 2020 by , Reply

Book Review: The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix


The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

Quirk Books, 2020

ISBN-13: 9781683691433

Available: Hardback, Kindle edition, Audible audiobook

 

It’s the 1990s in Charleston, South Carolina. Patricia Campbell gave up her nursing career to do what proper Southern white women were expected to do: marry a successful man (in Patricia’s case, an ambitious doctor), and then soon after become a mother. She thought that with this little family she would have the perfect life. In reality, her husband spends long days and nights at work, her daughter seemingly doesn’t need her mother anymore, her son is obsessed with Nazis, and her mother-in-law, Miss Mary, who suffers from dementia, needs constant care. She can’t keep up with her to-do list, let alone finish anything. Even with a new caretaker, Mrs. Greene, in the picture, she is still overwhelmed with domestic life. She’s not alone.

Patricia joins a book club with fellow housewives Grace, Kitty, Maryellen, and Slick. They bond over true crime and domestic not-quite-bliss. In their meetings, the women indulge in conversation and friendly debate regarding the FBI’s siege of Waco, Ann Rule’s friendship with Ted Bundy before and after she discovered he was a serial killer, and more.

After one of their meetings, Patricia ventures outside in the dark to take the trash out, only to be attacked by an elderly neighbor, Mrs. Savage, who is digging through the garbage and snacking in the innards of a dead racoon. She charges and attacks Patricia, tearing off part of her ear. Patricia is left with graphic memories of the attack, as well as feeling terrible for the old woman who was responsible for it, despite her being rather disagreeable in life. Soon after, Mrs. Savage’s enigmatic and charismatic nephew, James Harris, moves into the neighborhood. Patricia is intrigued by the newcomer, especially being the first of the book club to meet him in a rather unconventional way. She notices red flags immediately, but ignores them, thinking that maybe she’s letting the true crime books get the better of her. Suddenly, the book club meeting topic changes from discussing true crime to speculating on this stranger in their midst. Everyone seems to be talking about him. Even Miss Mary has something to say about him, although she calls him by a different name and accuses him of horrible things.

Then, children on the other side of town in Six Mile, a struggling Black community, start to go missing. Police write off the cases, claiming suicides or drugs are behind the disappearances. Patricia, desperate to get to the bottom of the disappearances, makes her way into the community where her mother-in-law’s caretaker lives to get more information and discuss her suspicions about James. What she discovers as the story unfolds is that James is far more sinister than she realized, and a real monster.

The friendships depicted are strong, and they go through their ups and downs as any adult friendship does. It is refreshing to read that none of the women, or the men for that matter, are perfect, despite the culture telling them they need to be. Slick blurts out at a book club meeting that she freezes sandwiches for her children’s school lunches just to save time. Grace works to maintain order and cleanliness in her house to an agonizing degree. To get out of the house to attend the book club meetings, Slick tells her husband that it’s a Bible study group. Those are only a few examples of what is expected of the housewives.

The Southern Book Club to Slaying Vampires is a fast read, with interesting and realistic characters, a solid storyline, and well written horror with the right amount of humor mixed in. Hendrix has been a favorite author of mine since Horrorstör, and this novel does not disappoint.

Contains: blood, gore, implied domestic abuse, rats and roaches, sexual assault, dismemberment, body horror

Highly recommended

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on June 6, 2020 by , Reply
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