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Book Review: Inspection by Josh Malerman

Inspection by Josh Malerman

Del Rey, 2019

ISBN-13: 978-1524796990

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook

 

Hot on the heels of the biggest Netflix movie of all time, Bird Box, Josh Malerman is poised to continue his climb to stardom in this stellar new novel, a strange story that takes a left turn through the woods of Michigan instead of following a well-trodden road.

For anyone who has read him, Malerman a refreshing read because he eschews the normal, refusing  to follow formula: he entertains  readers. as well as forcing them to think. Bird Box, Malerman’s first novel, has been followed by Black Mad Wheel (music was the antagonist, allegedly), Goblin (a connected set of stories), and Unbury Carol (a western/horror/romance),

Inspection may remind some of 1984 or The Giver. The premise is that two towers exist in the forest, each just barely out of sight of the other. Within each, 26 students are raised from birth, given names of simply letters. The Alphabet Boys. The Letter Girls.  Neither is aware the other sex exists. The leaders of the experiment, D.A.D. and M.O.M., train their prodigies in several subjects, the arts, and more, honing the twelve-year-olds for mysterious lives.

The initial sections force the reader to push past the typical storytelling format, as the characters and setting require an intricate set up. Assigning each student only a letter for a name accomplishes both identity and sameness, the reason of which will reveal itself in layers. The schooling and activities impressed upon the students are mindbending and brutal: bizarre games and social events that twist in logic and morality.

J suspects something exists beyond the borders of his world when he sees a shadowy figure beyond a tree in the yard. It sends him on a journey that will alter him in ways he never thought possible, changing how he views his compartmentalized world. When a strange book lands on the students’ beds one day, one that reveals the truths about life outside of the school, the walls begin to crumble and terror of a new kind creeps into the students’ lives, one that could send them to “the corner,” a place from where no one has ever returned.

K embarks on a similar path, one that will bring her to a world she never knew existed.

Inspection will challenge readers. The result of Malerman’s story is a rewarding psychological journey that is guaranteed to garner him new readers and please his fans. His examination of the human condition, and of the “nature vs. nurture” debate, is relevant to the educational system and parenting today’s youth.

Finding a genre that fits this story will be a tough task, but one that should be determined by each reader. Inspection is destined to become one of the most talked about novels of 2019– and  it should be. Recommended.

 

Reviewed by Dave Simms

Posted on March 19, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker

Dracul by Dacre Stoker & J.D. Barker.

G.P. Putnam’s Sons. 2018

ISBN-13: 978-0735219342

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook, audio CD

 

There’s very little that can be added to the Dracula canon that would be deemed worthy of reading at this point, but when the great-grand-nephew of Bram Stoker pens a “prequel” to the original novel it’s worth making an exception. Dacre Stoker went deep into his research, discovering the many notes,  journals, and other documents in the family treasure trove, and emerged with an intriguing tale that is more a fictionalized “biography” of Bram than a true prequel.

Dracul chronicles the life of Bram Stoker, from a sickly young child to a man searching for the truth behind the mysteries in his life that laid the groundwork for his writing. Journals, letters, and narratives drive the novel, most notably those of Bram, his sister Matilda, and a man who is likely the inspiration for Van Helsing. Yet the true driving force in the book is Ellen Crone, the nanny who nursed young Bram back to health in mysterious fashion. Bram and his sister begin to notice odd things about the woman– until she suddenly disappears.

The search for her and the emergence of Dracul unfolds slowly, but in a manner that effectively builds tension, in a style similar to that of the original tale. The addition of J.D. Barker (author of The Fourth Monkey, a great thriller on his own), adds modern sensibilities to Dracul that help the pages turn more easily. Recommended for fans of classic horror fiction or any strong storytelling.

 

Reviewed by Dave Simms

Editor’s note: Dracul is a 2018 Stoker Award finalist in the category of Superior Achievement in a Novel.

 

Posted on March 17, 2019 by , Reply

Anthony Bourdain’s Hungry Ghosts by Anthony Bourdain and Joel Rose, illustrated by Alberto Ponticelli, Vanesa Del Rey, Leonardo Manco, Mateus Santolouco, Sebastian Cabrol, Paul Pope, Irene Koh, and Francesco Francavilla


Anthony Bourdain’s Hungry Ghosts by Anthony Bourdain and Joel Rose; illustrated by Alberto Ponticelli, Vanesa Del Rey, Leonardo Manco, Mateus Santoloucuo, Sebastian Cabrol, Paul Pope, Irene Koh, and Francesco Francavilla

Dark Horse Comics, 2018

ISBN-13: 9781506706696

Available: Hardcover, Kindle, comiXology

Hungry Ghosts, by the late Anthony Bourdain with Joel Rose, brings us the stories of a group of international chefs who are challenged to play 100 Candles by a Russian crime lord. The game is based on the Japanese Edo period game of Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai where samurai were challenged to tell ghost stories, each more terrifying than the last. After each tale, the storyteller then blew out a candle, making the atmosphere darker with each story. They also had to gaze into a mirror to ensure their fellow storytellers did not become possessed by the entities they could summon while telling their stories. The chefs participating in this game each tell a different cautionary tale all with the same theme: food.

I loved all of the stories in this graphic novel, but a few stood out over the others. In “The Starving Skeleton,” a cautionary tale about ignoring those in need, a homeless man enters a small restaurant in search of a meal. The chef turns him away, refusing to serve him, but soon discovers what happens when the spirits of those who starved to death are refused alms. In “The Pirates”, a voluptuous red-haired woman is rescued from drowning at sea by a ship of lusty pirates. What ensues is a feast of a different kind.

An apprentice chef who finds himself alone after his master dies unexpectedly is taken in by a group of chefs who each have a sad story to tell in “The Heads”. The masterless apprentice decides to stay with them, but discovers a disturbing scene in the middle of the night when he sees the bodies of his new friends in the kitchen missing their heads. It’s a far more disturbing sight when he sees what has happened to their heads.

A father and son are trapped in a blizzard in “The Snow Woman”. They find shelter, but in the middle of the night the son wakes up to find a mysterious woman over his father. She spares the son’s life, but tells him he must never tell anyone of what happened that night. Later, he finds the woman of his dreams. They wed, and have children. His fortune changes when he tells his wife the story of what happened that night in the snowstorm. The artwork for this story is particularly beautiful.

Included in the book are an afterword by Joel Rose, recipes, descriptions and artwork of the ghosts, demons, and entities in the stories, a cover gallery, and author biographies.

Rose and Bourdain, as well as the illustrators, did not pull any punches with content in some of these stories. They deal with disturbing content and imagery. If you are not a fan of body horror, gore, and/or disturbing themes, you should probably avoid this book. However, if you appreciate these horror elements like I do, consider picking up this title. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some new recipes to try. Highly recommended.

Contains: body horror, disturbing imagery, nudity, sexual assault

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

 

Posted on March 7, 2019 by , Reply
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