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Book Review: The Fatal Move and Other Stories by Conall Cearnach

cover art for The Fatal Move and Other Stories by Conall Cearnach

The Fatal Move and Other Stories by Conall Cearnach

Swan River Press, 2021 (reprint, originally published in 1924)

ISBN: 978-1-78380-037-7

Available: Hardcover  ( Swan River Press )

 

 

Reprinted for the first time in nearly one hundred years, The Fatal Move is a slim collection of six ghostly tales penned by Conall Cearnach (the pseudonym of F.W. O’Connell, a peculiar and versatile Irish clergyman and scholar).

 

Thus, lovers of ghost and supernatural stories have the opportunity to get a taste of a different author rather than keep reading the classic works of the usual suspects.

 

The title story, “The Fatal Move” effectively portrays two bachelor friends, both passionate chess players, in love with the same woman. In a final chess game, an ingenious trick bound to bring death to one of the players will select the survivor(and winner of the woman’s heart).

 

The excellent “The  Fiend That Walks Behind” describes the obsession of a psychiatrist whose fame has usurped that of the real author of a scientific discovery, and becomes the object of a paranormal haunting and vengeance.

 

“The Homing Bone”,  a traditional type of ghost story– featuring an anatomist stealing a femur from a grave site– is  so well-told it entices the reader despite its predictable outcome, while “Professor Danvers’ Disappearance” is an intriguing, clever mystery, with a supernatural veneer.

 

The volume is enhanced by a number of quite enjoyable short essays by the author, addressing topics such as dreams, sleeplessness, nervous children, and the power of languages, plus an Irish alternative view of Dante’s Divina Commedia, “ The Vision of Merlino”.  The book is prefaced by an exhaustive, learned introduction by Reggie Chamberlain-King. “F.W. O’Connell: Master of Strange Tongues”.

 

A delightful change from the usual stuff published nowadays.

 

Reviewed by Mario Guslandi

Posted on June 25, 2021 by , Reply

Book Review: Night Terrors and Other Stories by Lisa Morton

cover art for Night Terrors and Other Stories by Lisa Morton

Night Terrors and Other Tales by Lisa Morton

Omnium Gatherum, 2020

ISBN-13 : 978-1949054286

Available: Paperback, Kindle ( Bookshop.org |  Amazon.com )

 

Night Terrors and Other Tales collects twenty of Lisa Morton’s short stories selected by the author. There are so many great stories in this anthology. Morton has separated the sections titled “Monsters,” “The Psych Ward,” “Mad Science,” “Bad Magic,” “and “The Unnamable”.

 

Several tales stand out in each section. From the “Monsters” section, “Joe and Abel in the Field of Rest” presents a unique take on the zombie story. Joe knows loss all too well. He has spent his last few years killing zombies and burying them in a large pit he calls the Field of Rest. One day while he is out near the field, he finds a walker still alive in the pit. The creature doesn’t move to attack Joe, so they become friends of sorts, with Joe feeding him and spending time out at the pit. Another human, Hansen, comes onto Joe’s property, and it is only a matter of time before the human and walker meet. Will Joe and Abel’s friendship survive? Another story, “Sparks Fly Upward” tells of a woman who has to confront the fact that in the Colony, there are limited resources and her second child cannot be born. Doc Freeman has deemed it so. The dead return to spots that meant something to them in their lives. Unfortunately, as she and her escorts arrive at the family planning facility, they find a group of undead pro-life protestors in their way.

 

“The Psych Ward” is the next section of the book. In “The New War,” Mike hates the caretaker Maria in the nursing home. He insists she brings something dark in with her whenever she’s around. Mike’s daughter, Angela, doesn’t believe him. No one believes him. Then, the black thing and where it’s from becomes clear.

 

“Mad Science” contains some deeply disturbing tales. In “The Resurrection Policy,” a wealthy man defaults on his payments to his insurance company. He discovers this after he dies, and his essence is saved in a folder on a server somewhere. After talking with the insurance agent handling his claim, he is finally resurrected into a body that does not meet quality control. He finds that navigating in this new form is more difficult than he ever could have imagined. “Feel the Noise” reveals a new weapon that has the capability to scramble the body’s senses, mixing them up, driving the victim crazy. Jackson Howard was a private in the military when he was hit by this weapon. It takes an outside party and a point in the right direction to get his vengeance on the person responsible for his condition.

 

One of the best stories in “Bad Magic” is “Erasure.” Linda visits her husband’s grave every day, despite the fact he was a terrible person. She meets a young woman in the cemetery who offers Linda a chance to forget.

 

“The Unnamable” is the final section in Night Terrors. In “The Secret Engravings”, set in 1523, Death comes to Hans Holbein with a commission. The entity is so pleased with Holbein’s work that he is commissioned for a second time, which proves to be all too real. “Night Terrors” involved a worldwide pandemic that begins with someone screaming in their sleep. Soon, the night terrors take over the world, one by one.

 

Morton, a well-deserved six-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, selected some incredibly effective stories in this volume. I recognized a few of the stories I have read elsewhere in other anthologies, and was ecstatic to revisit them. Morton is a polished storyteller. I would recommend this collection to anyone looking for a good short story anthology. I would caution those sensitive to child sexual abuse that “Poppi’s Monster” deals with this topic.

Contains: blood, child sexual abuse, gore, murder, sexual assault, sexual content

Recommended

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on May 28, 2021 by , Reply

Book Review: Children of the Fang and Other Genealogies by John Langan

 

cover art for Children of the Fang by John Langan

Children of the Fang and Other Genealogies by John Langan

Word Horde, 2020

ISBN-13 : 978-1939905604

Available:  Paperback, Kindle edition  ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

 

Some writers manage to wrangle the beast that is storytelling through blood, scars, and evisceration– and then some–  but emerge on the other side victorious with a skill that seems to be effortless.

 

Then there’s John Langan.

 

For anyone who’s read The Fisherman, it’s apparent that this man was born with a storyteller’s DNA. Langan’s prose and style shouldn’t be this seamless, this well, perfect. Yet it is.

 

When Children of the Fang was released, many reviewers touted the collection of 21 tales as Stoker-worthy, and it is. It’s the strongest collection of horror short stories this reviewer has read in many a year. To not have at least one story that doesn’t put a stranglehold on the reader through its quiet, yet vicious voice, is beyond rare.

 

It’s almost as if Langan has that Jungian prescience to peer into the collective unconscious and toy with the shadows within us.

 

The styles and genres explored here display Langan’s vast talent, from science fiction, to fantasy, to noir, before circling back to straight-up horror.

 

Choosing a favorite here is difficult. It may vary from person to person and from read to read, depending on the mood and style desired, attaching to the current mood and infecting the soul. On this particular day, a trio stand out. “Episode Three: On The Great Plains, In The Snow,” is a beautiful ghost story, and while it’s not the most innovative story in the collection, it will feel like it is. “Children of the Fang” wormed its way into this reviewer’s consciousness and tattooed its afterimage there. To describe it would dilute the effect, but there’s a reason why it’s the title of the book.  “Hyphae,” is the most “different” tale in the collection. The less said, the better, but it’s best read alone without another story before or afterwards.

 

Langan’s next offering will be well-sought-after, whether it’s short, spiked bites such as the ones here or a longer, slower dive into darkness that will likely challenge The Fisherman for his best story to date.

Highly recommended reading.

 

Reviewed by David Simms

Editor’s note: Children of the Fang and Other Genealogies is a nominee on the final ballot for the Bram Stoker Awards in the category of Superior Achievement in a Short Story Collection. 

Posted on May 20, 2021 by , Reply
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