Recent Reading

Miss Lonelyhearts said:
While I've sampled the book over many years, I'm finally reading Lovecraft's complete fiction (The Barnes and Noble edition) from beginning to end. It feels like I should have done this a long time ago, but better late then never I suppose. Some early stories had me doubting the wisdom of this enterprise, but I can honestly say it's been very rewarding to track Lovecraft's development as a writer. Favorites thus far include "The Outsider", "The Music of Erich Zann", and "The Festival". I'm about to start what most seem to consider his prime years with "The Call of Cthulhu".
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Yes, keep going... I did much the same thing a few years ago, and while I'm sure there are people around here who could speak with more authority than me, I'd say that HPL definitely found his voice with Cthulhu. But more importantly, he found his vision.

I recently bought a copy of The Rim of Morning: Two Tales of Cosmic Horror by William Sloane. I haven't read it yet, but I'm definitely curious. It might be high on my list. ("Better than Lovecraft! We'll see...)
 
Ironrose said:
Miss Lonelyhearts said:
While I've sampled the book over many years, I'm finally reading Lovecraft's complete fiction (The Barnes and Noble edition) from beginning to end. It feels like I should have done this a long time ago, but better late then never I suppose. Some early stories had me doubting the wisdom of this enterprise, but I can honestly say it's been very rewarding to track Lovecraft's development as a writer. Favorites thus far include "The Outsider", "The Music of Erich Zann", and "The Festival". I'm about to start what most seem to consider his prime years with "The Call of Cthulhu".
Click to expand...

Yes, keep going... I did much the same thing a few years ago, and while I'm sure there are people around here who could speak with more authority than me, I'd say that HPL definitely found his voice with Cthulhu. But more importantly, he found his vision.

I recently bought a copy of The Rim of Morning: Two Tales of Cosmic Horror by William Sloane. I haven't read it yet, but I'm definitely curious. It might be high on my list. ("Better than Lovecraft! We'll see...)
Click to expand...

After reading "Call of Cthulhu", I have to say I'm surprised that few mention just how much fun the story is. It's surprisingly fast paced and filled with exciting moments. I love slow, atmospheric stories as much as the next TLO user, but compared with "The Music of Erich Zann", this was a romp.

I've had The Rim of Morning on my to read list for sometime. I hope it delivers on that admittedly hefty promise.
 
Here is my humble reading list for June 2025

A Long Line of Dead Men – Lawrence Block I’m continuing on with my rereading of this series, one of the few series I enjoy. This is another good one, with no real “action” until almost the end, and then the end is wonderfully edgy and understated. Plus, it is centered around the idea of the “Club of 31.” I don’t know where Block gets all the stories he sprinkles throughout these books, but some of them are seriously interesting, and they come one after the other. Also good is the way he incorporates the Vietnam Memorial into the story, another long line of dead men (mostly?)

The Doomed City – Arkady and Boris Strugatsky This is my third ever by these guys, the masters of Soviet SF, with many more to come. Some dis this book, but don’t pay them any mind. It is alienating and unsettling, but what would you expect in a commentary on Soviet era St. Petersburg (Leningrad.) It is also experimental in its premise and structure. Read it. No excuses.

The Girl Green as Elderflower – Randolph Stow I picked up this book because it was described on Wormwoodiana (a blog) as “odd.” If that isn’t a recommendation, what is it? It is a short book, verging on folk horror, though one is not sure if anything supernatural happens in it. It incorporates three old British stories, including the legend of the Green Children of Woolpit, mixing them in with the characters and plot in present time. I wanted it to be better, but it’s the sort of book that makes one feel like they are in on a hidden secret. Also, Stow is not shy about the erotic elements, both homo- and hetero-.

Even the Wicked – Lawrence Block The next installment, and another good one, if only because – again – it is an anti Crime Fiction. Crime Fiction mostly sucks, with too much fluff and not enough mass. But Block forgoes all the nonsense, and makes his murderers wimpy losers, which seems more realistic to me, and more satisfying.

Neuromancer – William Gibson More SF classics for this reader. I was a little skeptical about this going in because it is billed as THE original Cyberpunk, which is not something I’d thought I’d like. But now I see that all that means is that half the plot is in a virtual world, and what could be more hallucinatory than that? Technically, the technological (!) aspects of the plot seem dated, but the ideas and understanding of what the internet can mean for human society is worth the read. There are so many ideas in this book it’s hard to keep up. Some say the writing is disjointed, and it might be, but it works for this book, plus Gibson thankfully foregoes any explanations, demanding that the reader do some work for themselves. That is how it should be. This is a visionary work. Read it, too.
 
Anne Youngson

Youngson, Anne - Meet Me At The Museum

Fifty years after being mentioned in an introduction, Tina writes Professor Glob of Silkeborg..
Mind you, he is long gone, but her query is answered by the museum curator.
From thence springs a lively correspondence between Tina and Anders.
That is much of the charm of this novel. Reading their letters, seeing their friendship deepen and progressing with each missive.
That is also the weakness of the book, and I have to set aside my skepticism and disbelief.
Ours is an era when few write actual letters. When even writing a paragraph is too taxing for most.
I found one early remark sadly accurate. “I have found that is no use to write … more than three or four lines because whoever receives it will not read to the end.”
That phrase hung with me throughout the exchanges, and I stayed disassociated.
Near the end, one of the characters makes a sharp turn which felt more like the heavy hand of the author. Then again, the time frame of the novel is barely more than a year, so I suppose compression of events might be forgiven.
 
Possession: Dreams Of Suffering And Sanity

Kelso, Chris - Possession: Dreams Of Suffering And Sanity

Part of the Midnight Monograph series, this wades into Andrzej Żuławski’s layered Horror film.
Possession equates with being possessed, being possessive. The film is a marital breakdown writ large, and according to Mr Kelso, may also be symbolic of the sundering and later reunification of Germany.
The movie can be a harrowing experience, as the main couple, Anna and Mark, are caught in a violent, scream filled separation.
The book goes into Berlin of 1981, with recollections from a few participants. Also a great deal of theories and guesses about writer / director Żuławski.
To be blunt, I found the second half of the book more enjoyable than the first.
The writer spends an inordinate amount of time inserting his own experiences into the text. He suffered a relationship breakdown, as well, which he shares with readers over and over and over.
He parallels his adolescent fallout with the Possession characters, as if his misery was unique.
I daresay most of us suffer youthful calamities; few of us escape dewy relationships unscathed.
Kelso’s whining about his poor-me period with X is a distraction for about 20% of the book.
The movie is not for the faint-hearted. The book may be better for collectors of the series.
 
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I'm a long term fan of, Caitlin Kiernan, back with Silk and when they edited the Dreaming comic, I remember waiting 2 yrs for Low Red Moon back when Subterranean couldn't get their shit together, 2004?, anyway, bias, but do yourself a favor - Bright Dead Star is very very good - trust me
 
Miss Lonelyhearts said:
After reading "Call of Cthulhu", I have to say I'm surprised that few mention just how much fun the story is. It's surprisingly fast paced and filled with exciting moments. I love slow, atmospheric stories as much as the next TLO user, but compared with "The Music of Erich Zann", this was a romp.

I've had The Rim of Morning on my to read list for sometime. I hope it delivers on that admittedly hefty promise.
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I enjoyed The Rim of Morning. Calling it “better than Lovecraft” feels so subjective. Personally, I wouldn’t say so. I didn’t find either story especially creepy (though I know that’s subjective too), but they were unique and fast-paced enough to be a lot of fun.
 
Damian Murphy

Murphy, Damian - Acephalic Imperial, The

Wayward spirit, Séverine, accepts a role in an unorthodox household.
Not a maid, not a servant, but as an observer, a watcher.
With instructions from her employer, Vital, to steal stray items occasionally.
Tasks are simple enough, and a change from the usual lethargy inducing jobs.
Séverine is a hired voyeur, aware that she herself, her activities are also observed.
The novella is increasingly steeped in a dream fugue.
The house, which is sumptuously furnished, along with her moonlit hours, influence her.
An alternate history emerges, perhaps a more aware doppelganger.
Murphy’s prose can be knotty at times, but never overbearing, and the wordplay is something to savor.
 
Steven L. Peck - A Short Stay in Hell (3.5/5) - A good entertainment but not as bleak and profound as others said it was. The prose is clear and sometimes reads like a simpler Jorge Luis Borges but with a lot of action description that I thought was not always necessary. People wonder how the author could cram all of it in a novella but for me he really stretched it to its limit. It could have been about 20% shorter and the impact would have been the same.


The forever falling ending is also a very underwhelming way of finishing the story.
 
Ironrose said:
Neuromancer – William Gibson More SF classics for this reader. I was a little skeptical about this going in because it is billed as THE original Cyberpunk, which is not something I’d thought I’d like. But now I see that all that means is that half the plot is in a virtual world, and what could be more hallucinatory than that? Technically, the technological (!) aspects of the plot seem dated, but the ideas and understanding of what the internet can mean for human society is worth the read. There are so many ideas in this book it’s hard to keep up. Some say the writing is disjointed, and it might be, but it works for this book, plus Gibson thankfully foregoes any explanations, demanding that the reader do some work for themselves. That is how it should be. This is a visionary work. Read it, too.
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I started re reading Neuromancer after they did a tv show of another one of his stories on amazon (which one presently escapes me) anyway this was during evening hours when I often read aloud for my partners pleasure as well-she did find it disjointed and disliked the subject matter-I haven't picked it back up but intend to as a youth I was very much into scifi and tech I still am to a lesser degree as sadly both have gone places I'd rather they not in many cases
 
Miss Lonelyhearts said:
While I've sampled the book over many years, I'm finally reading Lovecraft's complete fiction (The Barnes and Noble edition) from beginning to end. It feels like I should have done this a long time ago, but better late then never I suppose. Some early stories had me doubting the wisdom of this enterprise, but I can honestly say it's been very rewarding to track Lovecraft's development as a writer. Favorites thus far include "The Outsider", "The Music of Erich Zann", and "The Festival". I'm about to start what most seem to consider his prime years with "The Call of Cthulhu".
Click to expand...
I first found lovecraft on a website in the early 2000s read some stories there this led to spending a great deal of money on arkham house editions etc which I later sold for college money. I miss them but I have this Barnes and Noble edition and was just about to read from it today as I do at least every fall/winter season it seems enjoy I'm sure you are going to love your time with his work
 
I read “The Aristocracy of Weak Nerves” by Justin Isis. I really enjoyed it. Currently reading Georges Bataille An Intellectual Biography by Michel Surya. I tried to get into Bataille in my mid-twenties, but it didn't take. I am giving him another chance. So far, the book is fascinating. I love the layout. Short chapters that go into different aspects of his life and philosophy.
 
Having finished the Strantzas collection I'm now reading the anthology Prisms, edited by Darren Speegle and Michael Bailey. The theme is interesting: the prism as mirror and metaphor. As is par for the course with anthologies, not every story is bound to catch your fancy, but there are enough good ones in here to warrant the read, including entries by Brian Evenson, Lynda E. Rucker and A. C. Wise.
 
The Cipher - Kathe Koja 2.5/5 - Endless soliloquies of a noble but emotionally dependent protagonist and his despicable lover along a gang of artists and leeches who want to watch a tape that changes everytime it´s played (as long as the protagonist is around) and the slow mutation of his hand and body (turning to black goo-eating itself).
Also it is about a black living hole in a storage room.
 
Shadowplays

Various (Editor: Coleman & Chinn) - Shadowplays

Per the introduction, this is meant to be an homage to “Tales Of The Unexpected”, a UK series loaded with the sardonic humor of Roald Dahl. As with most anthologies, I anticipated a mix of gems and MOR.

Set in the television world, “Totu” finds theatre trained Izzy accepting commercial roles, cheap parts for money. Her boyfriend is a self-deluded sponge, yet her faith and desperation lead her up the stairs and into the part that would dominate the rest of her days.

No telling what one will find in the junk shop. “Damaged But Adorable” are broken articles that are alluring to others. Delay means the item will be gone by the next visit. No telling what you will find on the shelves – or what might find you.

It was specialist who had leveled the news at Gavin. He had never been able to make friends, not even with school misfits. Even his parents shunned him. There was a “Stigma” attached, and oh what a repulsive thing it was. The experimental cure was not without risk.

Isabella possessed glamor. An Italian beauty, she was certainly out of Nigel’s league. Nevertheless, he had the inkling where to find a legendary scroll. A grateful Isabella would reward his desires, how? Some quests are never to be found, or “Never To Be Told”.

Since day one, family members had been warned to keep away from “Begbrook”, the deep woods, the place where disappearances mounted over the years. When you are young, however, there is nothing so irresistible as the taboo. Besides, what do parents know?

“South Riding” closes out the book, again in the theatrical world, this time, rep. Small town Disston has an eager audience for old chestnuts, even Ayckbourn is too modern. Audiences are reserved, yet seats and stalls are packed. What is there to complain about? The long season, the mix of Christie and Vane, everything so blasé, grinds Don to the knuckle, although he was already half-dead to begin with.
 
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