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HORROR FICTION REVIEW: THE NIGHT OF ELISA BY ISIS SOUSA

11/10/2016

NIGHT OF ELISA

To paraphrase Tom Jone's "My My My Elisa" everything was just so normal for you until the day The Devil himself took you for a wife.Who robs her of almost everything she holds dear: her health, her wealth and what is left of her family, to leave her living a life like a trapped animal. However being the wife of a devil does have its benefits, as it allows her to straddle the worlds of the living and the dead, cqan she use this new found gift to find a way out of her predicament before her failing health finally consumes her?

The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp

10/10/2016

THE LAST DAYS OF JACK SPARKS BY JASON ARNOPP

Orbit
432 PAGES

The Last Days of Jack Sparks is a brilliantly constructed book. The central conceit, as discussed in the introduction, is that the book represents the unfinished final non-fiction work of Jack Sparks, a writer who specialises in gonzo journalism in book form (his previous bestseller, Jack Sparks On Drugs, where he documents the effects of many illegal substances on his mind, is illustrative). The book, which was to be titled ‘Jack Sparks on the Supernatural’, is instead being published by his brother, and is appended throughout with additional explanatory notes at the end of each chapter, filling in the perspectives of other characters.

Detritus in Love - Mercedes Murdock Yardley and John Boden - a review

6/10/2016

DETRITUS IN LOVE

Omnium Gatherum; First edition (3 Oct. 2016)
40 PAGES

So, disclaimer: I know John Boden well, and Mercedes M Yardley a little, and am happy to call them both friends. That said, my standard review policy applies - I only review books I a) finish and b)enjoy.

Detritus in Love is a work of dark poetry. The two authors have a blended prose style that is both deeply lyrical and barbed, jagged. The story feels like a Frankenstein's monster of stitched together Neil Gaiman, Tim Burton, and Clive Barker, scarred and brought to it’s own horrible, beautiful life. I mean that as high, praise, to be clear - this is far from simple pastiche or fan fiction, instead building on those influences to create a tale with it’s own voice, rhythm, and beating black heart.

The story has many of the qualities of dark mythology, even children’s tale (though I wouldn’t actually read this to any children under the age of 25). The story is simple, without being simplistic, and the pleasure in reading it came as much from the journey as the destination - perhaps more. The characters are brilliantly realised, vivid portraits that I found to be genuinely affecting, even haunting.

There’s a lot churning away under the hood here - about poverty, cruelty to children, mortality, morality - but it’s a long way from ‘message fiction’ - the story, the style, is the thing, the compelling force behind the book.

I’m sure this book won’t be for everyone - I’m sure there will be some who find the florid prose a little too much, and that’s fine, that’s ultimately a taste thing - for the record, this is not my normal cup of tea either. But I did find it, in this instance, to be a delight - barely a sentence passed, and never a paragraph, without some vivid turn of phrase that really spoke to me.

Detritus in Love is an unusual story, maybe even a unique one. It’s also, I think, quite brilliant. I’d say it’s a must read for anyone who enjoys lyrical dark fiction - and even if you think you don’t, you might want to give this book a chance to surprise you.

KP
5/10/16

MIDNIGHT MOVIE MONOGRAPHS: THEATRE OF BLOOD BY JOHN LLEWELLYN PROBERT

5/10/2016

Reviewing non fiction is never easy, it requires the reviewer to be not only have an understanding of the book, but to fully understand and appraise the book in question an understanding of the source material is also advantageous.

Luckily, John Llewellyn Probert's book on the Vincent Price film Theatre of the Blood is not only well written, it also happens to be about one of my favourite films of all time....

Forward

﻿HORROR FICTION REVIEW: THE NIGHT OF ELISA BY ISIS SOUSA ﻿

The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp

Orbit 432 PAGES

Detritus in Love - Mercedes Murdock Yardley and John Boden - a review

Omnium Gatherum; First edition (3 Oct. 2016) 40 PAGES

MIDNIGHT MOVIE MONOGRAPHS: THEATRE OF BLOOD BY JOHN LLEWELLYN PROBERT

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HORROR FICTION REVIEW: THE NIGHT OF ELISA BY ISIS SOUSA

Orbit
432 PAGES

Omnium Gatherum; First edition (3 Oct. 2016)
40 PAGES