One of these two books is my favorite-read for 2008 and the other is my runner-up. Trouble is, I can’t decide which is which. You decide:
In the red corner, featuring a whirlwind descent into the vulgar cesspit of several American cities, from veteran comics writer Warren Ellis… Crooked Little Vein! Michael McGill, a ‘shit-magnet’ private eye, accompanied by a free-loving girl he found on a street corner, searches for a hidden, second Constitution of the United States. The plot sounded hokey to me at first, and the nastiest parts of the book are horrible exaggerations (just about anything that happens to Mike in this book would be too much for one man) but the book is well- and tightly-written. I’ve been reading Ellis’ comics work since I was a teenager and this debut novel was a real treat.
In the blue corner, reprinting a Delirium Books publication, from veteran horror writer and journalist John Everson… Covenant! Everson’s mass-market debut tells the story of Joe Kieran, a reporter who’s exiled himself to sleepy little Terrel. Unfortunately for Joe, Terrel’s not what it appears and he just can’t let go of a good story. It’s a complete tale in and of itself but its sequel, Sacrifice, comes out in mass-market form next Spring!
It’s a tough call, really. I read everything Ellis puts out as fast as I can find it and I’ve sought advice from Everson on writing and publishing. I’d point any aspiring pro-writer to both of these guys as shining examples of the craft, and I aim to be where they are as soon as possible. The deciding factor should really be the quality of the books, but both are ten stars out of five. The two are nothing like each other, and I enjoyed them both for entirely different reasons. Vein is witty and vulgar in the extreme and Covenant is the kind of in-depth, detailed story I usually only find from the “masters,” King, Straub or Rice.
Either way, you can’t lose. Check ’em both out, and drop us a line if you manage to come to a decision!
The Parasitorium: Parasitic Thoughts is the latest collection from the Yahoo writers’ group, The Parasitorium. This one is collection of nine tales of insanity and shocking violence.
“My True Name” by John Claude Smith kicks off the collection by setting the thematic mood. A gory tale of Triggerboy and Bill DeathDaughter, a pair of men who are outside of the throes of reality, and whose true names define themselves and their place in life. Triggerboy embraces his chaotic roll, but Bill shows some remorse, immediately following it up with a “but it’s not really my fault”. However, one day their morbid exploits come to an end when they meet a family at a rest stop that seems to know much more than they should and appear willing to share, for all the sense it makes. This tale exists somewhere between hard gore, bizarro and Cthulhu Mythos but never makes a solid decision as to what it wants to be.
Nancy Jackson’s “Cocked and Ready” is sex crazed story of a gorgeous woman too dim to live and Damien, the porn store clerk with a one track mind who is more than willing to see her to that nasty end. That the lovely, naive Christy follows Damien through a dank, foul subway tunnel to a concrete room beneath the city (that has a phone) kills any sympathy the reader might have with her as a character. Ultimately “Cocked and Ready” is a familiar mix of torture porn and exploitation tale without any last minute saves.
In “Days, Hours, Minutes, Seconds” by Jodi Lee the lead tells the reader at the opening that she’s crazy, to put it lightly. In fact she doesn’t know much, other than she’s crazy and she’s hearing voices in a house. She’s not just hearing the voices of the tortured and murdered children that live between the walls, but there’s an impostor named Maya who looks like her doing horrible things. The drama is turned up pretty high on this one, it’s successfully moody and dark, but the concreteness of the “house” is open to interpretation, which could work for or against the tale depending on the reader’s views.
“Father’s Pride” by Keith Gouveia is the tale of Jim, a blatant hick terrified that his son is gay (to the point of needing a psychiatrist to assuage his fears) and his son, who has reason to be scared of girls. Jim’s determination to make his boy a man (and deny his own past explorations) leads him to a strip club back room (even though his son is a minor) where an aging whore attempts to service the teen and where Jim’s true feelings about his son are revealed. Flat and depending on stereotypes “Father’s Pride” is a fast paced and twisted sex tale.
“Interloper” by Spider has most of the plot of Fran Friel’s “Mama’s Boy” but none of the subtlety. Rudy rushes to a diner at the wee hours of the morning only to find his friend Jake shaking and ranting, claiming the most bizarre things. Then he helps Jake home to disastrous consequences. Readers can probably guess what the men find, and what happens next in this Goosebumps style tale for grown ups.
“Keepsakes” by Jane Gwaltney is a poetic piece, a slice of thought bit of the mind of a murderous crazy woman. Like one of the previous stories boiled down to the strongest imagery it benefits from the short punchiness.
Also by Jane Gwaltney “Triad” starts out with a touch of dark humor, just as it’s predecessor ends. The twisted, parasitic tale of a man torn between siamese twins it’s one of the best in the collection.
In “Gemini Rising” by Scott E. Hancock Jason is pulled home from a conference in Vegas by police with the horrifying news that his wife has been killed. While he tries to move forward with his daughter he’s haunted by his own actions while asleep and when he seeks help from his daughter’s psychiatrist he discovers the truth about his wife’s death and his little girl. A fantasy tale of multiple personality disorder it also touches on Lovecraftian themes.
Last up is “Mind Games” by Paul Harris which looks at another form of psychosis outside of voices and sociopathy. Paranoia tinges this tale of an agoraphobic, housebound man whose hallucinations might just be real. It’s a gushing end to an anthology about sex, violence and extreme insanity that goes for fast, hard horror rather than slow building dread.
In the red corner, featuring a whirlwind descent into the vulgar cesspit of several American cities, from veteran comics writer Warren Ellis… Crooked Little Vein! Michael McGill, a ‘shit-magnet’ private eye, accompanied by a free-loving girl he found on a street corner, searches for a hidden, second Constitution of the United States. The plot sounded hokey to me at first, and the nastiest parts of the book are horrible exaggerations (just about anything that happens to Mike in this book would be too much for one man) but the book is well- and tightly-written. I’ve been reading Ellis’ comics work since I was a teenager and this debut novel was a real treat.
In the blue corner, reprinting a Delirium Books publication, from veteran horror writer and journalist John Everson… Covenant! Everson’s mass-market debut tells the story of Joe Kieran, a reporter who’s exiled himself to sleepy little Terrel. Unfortunately for Joe, Terrel’s not what it appears and he just can’t let go of a good story. It’s a complete tale in and of itself but its sequel, Sacrifice, comes out in mass-market form next Spring!