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Book Review: Haunted Nights edited by Ellen Datlow and Lisa Morton

Haunted Nights edited by Ellen Datlow and Lisa Morton

Blumhouse Books, 2017

ISBN-13: 978-1101973837

Available:  Paperback, Kindle ebook, Audible, and audio CD

Haunted Nights collects sixteen previously unpublished tales of Halloween. It is co-edited by Ellen Datlow, a highly respected genre editor, and Lisa Morton, an authority on Halloween. Haunted Nights presents stories of related holidays as well (e.g. All Souls’ Day and Día de los Muertos).

While I enjoyed all of the stories in Haunted Nights, a few stood out from the others. In “With Graveyard Weeds and Wolfsbane Seeds,” Seanan McGuire weaves a great haunted house story that switches perspective between the dead and the living. Mary can’t abide the teenagers who disturb her house, especially on her birthday, but she knows how to take care of her house, and the intruders. Stephen Graham Jones presents a tale of familial loss and a disturbing return in “Dirtmouth.” Jonathan Maberry’s “A Small Taste of the Old Country,” set in 1948, proves revenge can be served warm and comforting. Garth Nix always delivers an excellent story, and his entry in this collection does not disappoint. In his tale, “The Seventeen Year Itch,” the new hospital administrator disregards all of the warnings from staff about patient Broward and the incessant itch he feels compelled to scratch every Halloween. “A Kingdom of Sugar Skulls and Marigolds” by Eric J. Guignard is set during Día de Muertos rather than Halloween. A misspelling on a sugar skull leads to an eventful night for a man in mourning. Paul Kane’s “The Turn” takes the perspective of multiple characters, and is surprisingly well done in such a short story. Tom Nolan has never gone out on Halloween, but the urgent call from the hospital about his dying grandmother drives him outdoors on the most haunted night of the year.

This collection belongs on the bookshelves of readers who love Halloween and other ghost-related holidays. Other authors in this anthology include Joanna Parypinski, Kate Jonez, Jeffrey Ford, Kelley Armstrong, S.P Miskowski, Brian Evenson, Elise Forier Edie, Pat Cadigan, John Lanagan, and John R. Little.

Contains: blood, bullying, homophobia, rape, sexual content

Recommended

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on August 15, 2018 by , Reply

Book Review: In the Valley of the Sun by Andy Davidson

In the Valley of the Sun: A Novel by Andy Davidson

Skyhorse Publishing, 2017

ISBN-13: 978-1510721104

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook

 

In the Valley of the Sun is Andy Davidson’s first novel. It walks a thin line between the genres of Southern Gothic and classic Western. Andy Davidson has a gift for building atmosphere; at times, West Texas drips off the page like humid air. The world is made vivid: you can picture the rust of the trucks,  the stress on the sheriff’s belt, and the smells of the badlands. There are plenty of grim settings, balanced by gorgeous prose.

It is absolutely a monster novel. The story kicks off with the main character, Travis, waking up covered in blood. While is isn’t immediately clear, once the reader realizes what’s happening, the story takes on a dangerous, otherworldly edge. While the word “vampire” is never specifically mentioned, as the story progresses, there is no doubt what monsters we are dealing with.  These are not Anne Rice’s “sexy” vampires; Travis is in trouble.

In addition to his supernatural worries, Travis has financial problems. He doesn’t have the money to park his truck and camper at the campground run by Annabelle Gaskin. Many of the best moments in the book are Travis’ conversations with Annabelle’s ten-year-old son. These moments are both tense and emotional, adding depth to the story.

Davidson does an excellent job in jumping between different characters’ third person point-of-views. and a variety of time periods. It all works, and is not jarring at all.

In the Valley of the Sun is a close cousin of Stephen Graham Jones’ Mongrels. While the two books focus on different monsters and cultural backgrounds, both take the same off-color look at the American South.

This is not the kind of horror novel that would benefit from a marketing department blasting out its nature. Davidson definitely has the potential to become a powerful writer in the genre of literary horror. The reality is that this is a fine debut of a strong new voice in horror fiction, and a book that can appeal to both horror and mainstream readers. In the Valley of the Sun is a thought-provoking and entertaining read that should be in every library collection. Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by David Agranoff

 

Posted on November 2, 2017 by , Reply

Book Review: The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales edited by Dominick Parisien and Navah Wolfe

The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales by Dominick Parisien and Navah Wolfe
Saga Press, 2016
ISBN-13: 978-1481456128
Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition

The editors of The Starlit Wood challenged writers to choose a fairytale and view it through a dark crystal, choosing a new context to hang over the bones of the original story. In some cases, elements of the original stories were removed, and in others, transformed. Seanan McGuire, Catherynne M. Valente, Garth Nix, Karin Tidbeck, Naomi Novik and Stephen Graham Jones, among others, contributed, so I’m not surprised at all by the quality of writing. The originality and unsettled feelings stirred up by these stories will intrigue fairytale lovers, but you don’t have to be familiar with the fairytale behind each story to thoroughly enjoy the collection.

Outstanding stories include Stephen Graham Jones’ “Some Wait”, a tale of disappearing children and parental paranoia and disintegration that has crawled into my brain to take up permanent residence; Seanan McGuire’s “In The Desert Like A Bone”, a supernatural, magical realist Western; Karin Tidbeck’s “Underground”, which lights the way in showing how a person can be literally trapped in an abusive relationship;  Charlie Jane Anders’ “The Super Ultra Duchess of Fedora Forest”, set in a bizarre dystopia of talking animals and breakfast meats; Amal El-Mohtar’s “Seasons of Glass and Iron”, in which two women are able to set each other free; and Kat Howard’s “Reflected”, a science fantasy grounded in mirrors, snow, love, and physics.Every story in the collection plays with the tropes of fairytales from diverse sources and cultures, creating the sense of disquiet and magic that we expect from fairytales, with more darkness and dimension. Highly recommended for lovers of fairytales, short stories, and unsettling, genre-crossing tales. If you enjoy the stories of Kelly Link, you’ll definitely want to try these.

Contains: drug use, violence, abusive behavior and relationships, implied child sexual abuse.

 

 

Posted on October 30, 2017 by , Reply
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