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Book Review: The Claw of Craving: The First Book of Lost Carcosa by Joseph Sale

 

The Claw of Craving: The First Book of Lost Carcosa by Joseph Sale

Blood Bound Publishing, 2023

ISBN: 9781940250595

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition 

Buy:  Bookshop.org  |  Amazon.com

 

Some of the best horror novels of the 80s and 90s weren’t really horror at all.  They were, at heart, fantasy books with a dark core, with James Herbert’s Once, Clive Barker’s Weaveworld, and Ronald Kelly’s Fear being standout examples. Joseph’s Sale’s The Claw of Craving is a beautifully crafted tale of darkness and light in the “world beyond our world” realm of Carcosa that could revitalize the genre.  If you like dark fantasy, this is a must-read.

 

Alan Chambers is an ordinary guy convinced there has to be more to existence than his mundane life on earth…it’s there, somewhere, just beyond his grasp.  His search ends when he is granted passage to the fabled land of Carcosa, ruled by the Yellow King (a nice nod/tribute to author Robert W. Chambers in the choice of ruler). Alan and a few companions find themselves on a journey to recover the Claw of Craving, so they can rescue the wife of the Yellow King from her captors.  Magic and mayhem abound, as the companions journey through the bleak land to the fortress where the Claw resides.  

 

It only takes 25 pages or so for Alan to get to Carcosa, afte suffering through a pain-soaked ritual.  Once in Carcosa, the story takes off, pulling the reader along at a quick pace. 

 

Dark fantasy books work best when taking the standard elements of magic and demihumans, then warping them or shading them in gray.  Author Sale does this throughout the book with impeccable skill:  this is outstanding writing.  The magic feels original, .the monsters are new creatures from old elements, and the fights are bloody enough for the gorehounds, but it’s all in service to the story, not the other way around.  One can catch hints of Lovecraft in the narrative, with the whole “describing things that cannot be described” style.  Author Sale does this well, and makes it sound like his own style.

 

The characters and their development are what really elevate the story.  At heart, this is a story about one man’s need for redemption and becoming a better person, even if he didn’t know he was looking for that.  It’s emotionally deep at times, and will give some fearsome yanks on the heart-strings, as Alan tries to put the damage from his past life behind him.  The other characters are also emotionally complex, with Princess Cassilda being especially well done. Her insights on human nature would hold up in any philosophy discussion. It’s Alan who is the star of the book, though, and an outstanding one he is.

 

Bottom line: enough talkie-talkie!  Just read this one: it’s hard to imagine anyone disliking it, and should appeal to non-horror readers as well.  The only problem is waiting for the next one in the series!  

Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

Posted on September 24, 2023 by , Reply

Book Review: Gods of Kiranis (Kiranis #1) by Ronald A. Geobey

Gods of Kiranis (Kiranis #1) by Ronald A. Geobey 

Temple Dark Books, 2021

ISBN: 9781838259419

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy: Amazon.com

 

Gods of Kiranis isn’t just a sci-fi novel.  It’s an achievement, and a very notable one.  The book has an unbelievably dense and complex plot, on the level of the Game of Thrones novels, and it’s impressive with the scope and imagination of the science fiction elements used..    Most importantly, it provides entertainment and leaves you wanting more.  Readers looking for a truly unique novel in terms of universe building and scope won’t want to miss this one.  It’s probably a bit much for readers who just like straightforward sci-fi, a la Buck Rogers.  

 

The book begins with a large metal cage suddenly arriving from space and being placed around Earth, and ends with a large battle (among other things) near the planet Kiranis in another part of the galaxy. It all connects to a genetic cross-breed experiment performed centuries before on humans and Garrans, one of the alien races involved.  Between those two events is a multi-layered story of lies, backstabbing, and shifting alliances between mankind and various alien races, as each race tries to come out on top, or just survive.

 

The story format is unique, and gives the book its unusual flavor, but it also may make it off-putting to some readers.  The four sections of the book essentially cover the same events in the same time period, but each is done from the point of view of one of the four species: human, Jaevisk, Garran, and Kwaios.  During the first and second sections, many elements are inserted into the story with no background, so the reader doesn’t know how they relate to the story, or why they are present.  Context is provided later in the other sections, but it can be confusing at times.  There is a LOT going on in this book: it’s one of the most layered stories I’ve ever read.  Almost everything makes sense in the end, but the journey getting there can be difficult at times.  The book would have been helped by adding a simple “cast of characters” appendix to keep all of the names straight.    

 

Worth noting is the outstanding job the author did of world building, particularly with the Garran homelands.  It doesn’t go into every little detail, but it’s enough to make you feel like it’s an actual place, not just a figment of the author’s imagination.  All the science fiction elements (the cage, space vortexes, etc.) are used well, but the author avoids going the “hard science” route of Kim Stanley Robinson or Neal Stephenson.  The main focus is the characters, not the science or the devices.  Did I mention this book has dragons in it as well?  That’s not an element normally found in sci-fi!

 

Bottom line: it’s an amazing story, both in terms of interest level, creation, and complexity.  There are plenty of unanswered questions at the end, but considering this is the first of a planned seven books, there’s plenty of time for answers.  It will be interesting to see where it goes: we just might be looking at the science fiction equivalent of Jordan’s Wheel of Time series.

 

Recommended, highly so, for lovers of elaborate stories.

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

Posted on September 15, 2023 by , Reply

Book Review: You Can’t Kill Snow White by Beatrice Alemagna, translated by Karin Snelson and Emilie Robert Wong

 

You Can’t Kill Snow White by Beatrice Alemagna, translated from French by Karin Snelson and Emilie Robert Wong

Unruly, 2022

ISBN: 978-159270381

Available: Hardcover

Buy: Bookshop.org

 

 

You Can’t Kill Snow White puts a spin on the traditional story of Snow White by telling it from the Queen’s point of view. Alemagna reminds us of the darkness of the original Grimms’ tales and attempts to recapture and extend it by exposing the Queen’s evil plans, demented intentions, and murderous mind. We see her relishing the liver and lungs of the boar killed in place of Snow White that she believes are her victim’s and celebrating how “alive” and “renewed” she feels after feasting on them.

 

Although the idea of focusing on the Queen as narrator has great potential for enhancing the terror of the story and forcing the reader to feel the fear that children are protected from by modern re-tellings, Alemagna’s version does not go far enough. The fact that the focus on the queen cannot be maintained because she is not present at key points, like when the huntsman decides not to murder Snow White, causes breaks in the build up of tension. These breaks become longer and more difficult to bridge when the dwarves enter the picture and we are told by the queen that her heart is filled with “unspeakable pain” and she is full of “dread.” Are we meant to sympathize with her or to see her as so damaged that she is dangerous? Either way, the lack of development of the character does not shed much more light on her than we have had in the past.

 

It seems that rather than creating a new take on the story of Snow White, Alemagna has used it as an opportunity to showcase her art. The illustrations are plentiful and create a dark moodiness in a palette primarily of murky browns, reds, blues and golds with jolts of reds and pinks. The dwarves are Eastern European folkloric type figures, mainly bearded. The human beings typically suggest nightmares with elongated bodies, impossibly long hair, gaping mouths, and giant hands. There is much frenetic movement: sweeping, gorging, and screaming that is a much stronger portrayal of emotion and much more effective at eliciting it from the reader than the writing is able to do.

 

You Can’t Kill Snow White is published by Enchanted Lion Books under their new picture book imprint, “Unruly,” intended for older readers and adults. These publishers are on the right track by engaging the many readers who have, even since childhood, loved the way in which illustrations add depth and beauty to storytelling. What better way to draw out our deepest fears than to experience on the page the horrible pictures  we can only imagine from descriptions?

 

Reviewed by Nova Hadley

Posted on September 3, 2023 by , Reply
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