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Book Review: The Apocalyptic Mannequin by Stephanie M. Wytovich

The Apocalyptic Mannequin: Poetry by Stephanie M. Wytovich

Raw Dog Screaming Press, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-947879-13-3

Available: Paperback, Kindle

 

It is shocking and deeply disturbing to know that in the aftermath of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and after the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, many people continued to survive, suffered through radiation poisoning, and then died. This living death is the theme of a relentless catalogue of ugliness in The Apocalyptic Mannequin: Poetry by Stephanie M. Wytovich.

Wytovich intends this collection to be a warning about the end of the world, or the end of the world as we know it, through war, violence, disease, and finally death. The images in these poems accomplish this goal by painting a setting littered with bloated dead bodies, twisted metal and ashes. Bodies transform into “meat,” clothing into “gasmask couture,” and survivors into “mannequins” who wander the apocalyptic landscape crawling with plague and vermin, barely able to survive or inevitably wanting to commit suicide.

The poems build a narrative in snapshots from the chaos of the first post-impact days, through the struggle to find relief, and, ultimately, to what will be the new normal. Wytovich deftly uses sensory details to create transitions between groups of poems. The initial poems are extremely dark with scenes of destruction that reduce the imagery to a handful of repetitive words that mirror the setting in a literal way.

The next group of poems represents a middle stage in which the survivors struggle to make sense of a world in which they have lost communication. They feel left alone to make sense of a situation in which they must now protect themselves from other people in need who bang at their doors and windows. The speaker in these poems recognizes that the survivors must start over and “re-make Eve” “with the tree of knowledge growing” in their “wombs.”  However, this is not to say that there is much hope because in the final group of poems, instead of new plants growing, there are  ”blossoms of collagen” with “the forest floor” growing “femurs.” The imagery in this section involves shape and color to describe the poisoning of the environment.

In the final group of poems, the imagery becomes more familiar and symbolic because its origin is memory. The speaker’s heart is hidden in “trunks of abandoned cars” and “empty cafes,” and she feels like a “broken doll.” But the world has changed, and so has she. After experiencing tragedy, hunger,  anger, and abandonment, she has turned into a scarred “scavenger” and a witch who has “woken.” Meanwhile, the new world is, ironically, still full of impending death. That is its toxic message to us in these poems.

 

Contains: body horror

 

Reviewed by Nova Hadley

Editor’s note: The Apocalyptic Mannequin was nominated to the final ballot of the 2019 Bram Stoker Award in the category of Superior Achievement in Poetry

Posted on April 14, 2020 by , Reply

Book Review: The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

Harper Voyager. 2019

ISBN-13: 978-0062846907

Available: Paperback, Kindle, audiobook, audio CD

 

Claustrophobic horror has always been a thrilling subgenre, and while this offering leans much more towards science fiction than pure frights, it’s a strong candidate for the Bram Stoker award for first novel.

It has been compared to several titles by the publisher, including Andy Weir’s The Martian and Jeff Vandermeer’s Annihilation, although this reviewer would call it an underwater Gravity. Most of the interaction in the story occurs between the two main characters, with a strong dose of inner monologues that suggests this would also be a great option for a Hugo Award. The sheer atmosphere of the novel is what turns what could be a literary musing on character motivation into a powerful tale that is a worthy addition into the scifi-horror library.

Gyre Price is a caver, miner and excavation worker who takes on the job of a lifetime. It’s a great paycheck, and could change her life- if she survives it. A few tangles in her story warp her reality. She shouldn’t even be down there in the bowels of a strange, dangerous planet. In addition, as in other novels of its kind, Gyre has quite a few skeletons in her closet. She lied to get the job, and hoped it would be a cake assignment. Well, cake besides the preparation that forced her to undergo some physical alterations to adapt to the alien environment.

Why does everyone else die who takes the job?

She finds herself deep (pun intended) in the mire of the water, caverns, and mystery, before she realizes her biggest threat might be the one person who can also keep her alive. Em controls much of Gyre’s fate, even her body; she feeds her, sometimes with drugs, and other times with misinformation. It becomes a strange symbiotic relationship that is reminiscent of the astronauts’ relationship with HAL in 2001, except for Em being human. The manipulation turns dark, with Em sometimes a distant voice from another realm, whose motives and goals are opaque to Gyre.

As she sinks deeper, Gyre finds she might not be alone. Think back to some of the underwater/alien planet films of the 80s and 90s. such as Leviathan and Planet Mars. What Gyre may be facing could be all of that- or none of it. Is her terror merely  a psychological manifestation brought on by the foreign depths and Em’s ploys? Or is it something Gyre’s brain simply cannot handle?

The point of view and mood created by Starling elevates this book into an interesting read, pushing it sideways into the dark tendrils of the horror realm. Recommended.

 

Reviewed by David Simms

Editor’s note: The Luminous Dead was nominated to the final ballot of the 2019 Bram Stoker Award in the category of Superior Achievement in a Novel.

Posted on April 14, 2020 by , Reply

Book Review: Invisible Chains by Michelle Renee Lane

Invisible Chains by Michelle Renee Lane

Haverhill House Publishing, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-949140-03-3

Available: Hardcover, paperback

 

Jacqueline, an enslaved Creole growing up on a Louisiana plantation in Michelle Renee Lane’s Invisible Chains, learns all too soon what it means to be black and female. She is beaten, raped, and terrorized but manages to survive by using the secrets of Vodun her mother taught her and by tapping the powers of the vampire and werewolf who assist her on the flight toward what she hopes will be a rescue.

Even though monsters help Jacqueline, she is still threatened by them and in constant danger, even from love. Lane uses these relationships, including a flirtation with the vampire, to highlight the suffering, marginalized groups depicted in this novel. This includes enslaved people and monsters but also mixed race people, Spanish Jews, Irish immigrants, circus performers, Gypsies, seers and couples in interracial relationships. People who are considered different by the larger white society are powerless and can survive only by appeasing and imitating their oppressors or using magical or supernatural powers against them.

Although the book often moves quickly from one terrifying event to the next, Lane effectively traces Jacqueline’s growing sense of her own talents and strengths. Jacqueline learns that each horrific experience enhances her abilities as a conjurer and intensifies her understanding of herself, thus making it possible for her to voice her demands and choose what she needs to live. She also learns that she must protect her mind and soul most of all and that she has a certain power in knowing the future in which her true freedom will never be a reality. However, she continues to be brave, heroic, and unstoppable. Recommended.

Contains: Graphic violence including rape and torture; sexual situations

 

Reviewed by Nova Hadley

Editor’s note: Invisible Chains was nominated to the final ballot of the 2019 Bram Stoker Award in the category of Superior Achievement in a Novel.

Posted on April 12, 2020 by , Reply
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