 A CURSED FAMILY IS PLAGUED BY UNSEEN AND UNSPOKEN HORRORS IN OUTSTANDING DEBUTThe advance smoke signals for Shaun Hamill’s debut A Cosmology of Monsters were roasting hot, and I am delighted to report that on this occasion the hype was entirely justified. It is a very tricky book to review, so to avoid spoilers I will remain relatively vague on the plot. Upon reading, I knew little more about it other than its reputation and had no idea of the direction the story was heading into and was seriously wrong-footed on more on one occasion by this beguiling tale of invisible friends, madness and monsters. This was an incredibly original and fresh read, which also has an authentic sense of nostalgia for horror and b-movies from yesteryear. These days, everything seems to be ‘Lovecraftian’ in one way or another, A Cosmology of Monsters is slightly different, in that it is more of a love letter to HP Lovecraft and other weird fiction authors from that period, such as Ray Bradbury, as much as the cosmic horror world he is revered for. In its own quirky manner, it is steeped in Lovecraft, just not in the conventional way and that was one of its major strengths. Have I already said that this was a weird book? Part of its odd charm lies in the wonderful first-person narrator, a kid called Noah, but wait for it, his narration begins many years before his birth. He is even aware of the fact that his mother considered aborting him. The opening sentences were beauties and give you a feel for what lies ahead: “I started collecting my older sister Eunice’s suicide notes when I was seven years old. I still keep them all in my bottom desk drawer, held together with a black binder clip. They were among the only things I was allowed to bring with me, and I’ve read through them often the last few months, searching for comfort, wisdom, or even just a hint that I’ve made the right choices for all of us”. Noah narrates a story that is spread across many decades from years before his birth to well into his twenties. Although it certainly covers the themes of Lovecraft’s cosmic horror, it is confidently intertwined with a story of a boy (Noah) struggling to deal with life within his traumatised and highly dysfunctional family, which may suffer from mental illness or have a strange supernatural presence haunting the family. All of this begins when Noah’s mother and father meet in the early stages of the novel. The meeting of Margaret and Harry Turner is beautifully staged, she works in a bookshop which Harry frequently visits, they start dating and get married against her parent’s wishes. This is the late 1960s and Harry is a Lovecraft fanatic who gives Margaret “The Tomb” to read and the book touches her in a special way, he also has a massive and exceptionally valuable collection of originals. Who gives a girl a Lovecraft novel to a girl on a first date and seriously expects a second?!? They have two daughters close together, Sydney and Eunice, and much later, Noah comes along. At various times Eunice reads her youngster brother “The Tomb” as a bedtime story; the Turners were not exactly a normal family. Strange things happen around the Turners and it is beautifully portrayed both through the eyes of the child Noah and wherever he is ultimately narrating the story from. Much of this revolves around a Halloween business the family run, which is very popular and known as ‘The Wandering Dark’ and the whole family get involved playing ghosts, creating haunted attractions, behind the scene stuff like makeup and ultimately scaring kids for cash and. The Wandering Dark goes on for many years, but is it hiding something more sinister? There are monsters in this book, and it is how Noah approaches them which is one of the cleverest aspects of the story. Both Noah’s sisters are exceptionally troubled, and the family dynamics are so well pitched, the balance between drama and horror is totally convincing as it meanders into dark fairy-tale and mystery, taking in both mental illness and depression.  I loved this style of narrative, portrayed akin to a coming of age memoir, except for the fact that monsters are real and that for some inexplicable reason are only attracted to certain people. Some may find the pace to be a tad slow, however, this story of a cursed family was truly bittersweet and is surrounded in such tragedy and loss I thought the slow pace suited the story perfectly. The disappearance and death of loved ones dominates the story, giving it a very melancholic feeling of loss that is as believable as it is fantastical. It has been said on many occasions that the true horror in the story isn’t the monster but rather the heartbreak and tragedy found in the everyday visible world. This is certainly the case with Shaun Hamill’s superb A Cosmology of Monsters, a bolt from the blocks to rival Andrew Cull’s equally brilliant Remains for the most impressive debut of 2019. 4.5/5 Tony Jones   THE HEART AND SOUL OF HORROR FICTION REVIEWSComments are closed.
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