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Book Review: Songs of Dreaming Gods by William Meikle


Songs of Dreaming Gods by William Meikle

Macabre Ink, 2017

ISBN-13: 978-1946025951

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook

 

Haunted house stories have been overtaken by tropes and lazy writing, and in most cases, should be boarded up. In recent years, however, a few have managed to introduce something new. Books such as House of Leaves, The Unseen, and The Haunted have introduced new wrinkles to the sub-genre. Songs of Dreaming Gods is one of these: it’s far more than a haunted house story. It is a solid read that stretches the imagination: readers may have to flip back a few pages occasionally to be certain they’ve caught all the nuances and plot twists. Is it horror? Definitely. But it’s not contained by the genre.

Those familiar with the works of William Meikle know that the author conjures up some pretty freaky designs for plot and setting (The Hole and Fungoid quickly come to mind).  In Songs of Dreaming Gods, we see that Meikle has once again done an extraordinary job in the telling of the story and in the layering of both the house and characters. Reading the book is like peeling an onion, or opening Russian nesting dolls.

A trio of local cops are called to the house where a bloodbath has occurred. Several bodies, or what’s left of them, are discovered in an old house. What’s been done to them is unlike anything one would expect from any human being, or animal. The trio realize that this is unlike any crime they have yet encountered. Doors that led to the stained floors where the forensic team should be now open up to another room not in their reality. Each of the investigators come to the house with their own wounds, mentally or physically, and face different doors, each which lead to scenes and realities that break down what each has known in his or her life. Once the characters go deeper into the house, and themselves, the reality they knew cannot be retrieved. All they can hope for is to escape with whatever the house allows them.

Songs of Dreaming Gods is decidedly different from most recent haunted house reads. With its fast-paced plot and complex structure, Meikle’s latest is a welcome addition to the sub-genre. Recommended.

Reviewed by Dave Simms

Posted on April 11, 2018 by , Reply

Graphic Novel Review: Hellboy in Hell, Library Edition by Mike Mignola, art by Mike Mignola

 

Hellboy in Hell, Library Edition by Mike Mignola, art by Mike Mignola

Dark Horse, 2017

ISBN-13: 978-1-50670-363-3

Available: Hardcover

 

Hellboy in Hell, Library Edition contains storylines originally collected in the trade paperbacks The Descent  and The Death Card, and takes place after The Storm and the Fury.  In the opening chapter, we witness Hellboy’s liberation from an abyss by Sir Edward Gray, followed by a battle with a demon he once defeated, and a Dickensian introduction to Hellboy’s journey through Hell. It is the perfect beginning to the end. We witness Hellboy’s travels: Pandemonium denying his birthright and throne; the creation of his immobile army by the Fisher of Souls (who tells him “there is only one object that can breathe life into that army—your own right hand” p. 49); the birth of Hellboy; uncomfortable family reunions; a battle for the unwanted throne; facing old enemies thought long gone; and, ultimately, fulfilling his destiny to destroy Pandemonium. Shakespeare and Dickens references are scattered throughout, which really helps solidify what is happening at certain points in the story.

Mignola’s art is superb, as usual. The atmosphere and feeling of each chapter, with shadows and oppressive environments, set the tone for the overall book, even when there are brightly rendered scenes such as in Chapter 7, “The Trials of Dr. Hoffman”.

Looking at other reviews for this book, it seems that the consensus is clear: it’s sad to see the end of such a remarkable character, but what a graceful ending it is. I could not think of a better send-off for Hellboy. It still feels too soon for his saga to be over, but there is so much more to the character revealed in this last tome. I can’t go beyond that, lest I spoil the book for potential readers.

Additionally, this volume contains “The Magician and the Snake,” by Katie Mignola (age 7) and Mike Mignola (“much, much older”) and “The Exorcist of Vorsk: A puppet story told in Hell” by Todd and Mike Mignola. The first story in particular is moving in its storytelling simplicity. Also included is Mignola’s sketchbook material. Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on April 8, 2018 by , Reply

Book Review: And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe by Gwendolyn Kiste

And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe by Gwendolyn Kiste
Journalstone, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-1945373558
Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Every once in a while, a new voice emerges and takes the genre by storm. Remember this name: Gwendolyn Kiste will one day rule the world of dark short fiction if there’s any justice in the world of writing. The 14 hallucinogenic stories of And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe hit as hard as a sledgehammer; they are rich, brutally dark, and beautiful.

The stories captivate: each sucks in the reader, letting go only when the last word flows by. The first speaks of a woman who gives birth to birds, and is incredibly dark and endearing. Another describes a test citizens must pass to remain in society: a failure damns them to leaving, but it’s unclear how or why people fail. The story recalls the bleakness of Sarah Pinborough’s The Death House.  A few others recall the magic of what readers, as children, found in the best fairy tales, which most adults have lost the ability to see. These stories, reminiscent of Neil Gaiman’s best retellings of classic tales and mythologies, spin new twists on tired tropes to create something splendid.

Plenty has been written about the final tale, “The Lazurus Bride,” and rightly so. While it’s not the best story in the bunch, Kiste makes its second person point of view work, where most others fail. In the story, Kiste writes to her lover, who may or may not be dead, in a head-twisting wrench of a plot that displays the pain of loving someone– and how sometimes, that love may not be enough.

While praise for new writers is often overdone, that’s not the case here. Kiste seems as fresh as Gaiman, Bradbury, Braunbeck, or Pinborough. Pick this up and be ready for your mind to be turned inside out. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Dave Simms

Posted on April 7, 2018 by , Reply
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