A new Jonathan L Howard is always a pleasure. I've never played the game this is a tie in to, but you know, Lovecraft. It's a romp through foggy VictoA new Jonathan L Howard is always a pleasure. I've never played the game this is a tie in to, but you know, Lovecraft. It's a romp through foggy Victorian Britain, with a slightly HG Wells quality along with HP Lovecraft. Fake mediums, Mancunian coppers, dodgy colonials, eldritch horrors from beyond the stars, all sauced with plenty of death and mayhem, and some real pathos. Highly enjoyable.
Ebook has a few formatting glitches in the paragraph separation on Kobo, hopefully the publisher will sort that. ...more
I like the British Library's collections of themed uncanny stories a lot, but this is weaker than most. Man Size in Marble and MR James are pretty claI like the British Library's collections of themed uncanny stories a lot, but this is weaker than most. Man Size in Marble and MR James are pretty classic anyway, the rest could have remained forgotten to my mind. I have a sneaking suspicion they did this one purely because someone thought of the title, and who could blame them. ...more
A standalone horror novel from JLH, yes please. There is a sweet romance element in it but it's very much a subplot. Premise: a pair of con artist broA standalone horror novel from JLH, yes please. There is a sweet romance element in it but it's very much a subplot. Premise: a pair of con artist brothers get caught up in the Klondike gold rush and head up to stake their claim. Unfortunately there's something scary in the woods.
I am absolutely here for something scary in the woods, particularly the element of 'don't answer if something calls your name' which is exquisitely terrifying. But honestly a large part of the terror here is entirely natural. The description of the travel to the Klondike, the physical challenges and mental exhaustion and the life there in a log cabin in sub zero temperatures is...I think I said 'man, fuck this' aloud at least twice. You know what, I don't want gold that much. No thank you.
But we absolutely believe our protags do. The horror is really an externalising of the horrors humans create: greed, selfishness, and the particular expression of those in colonialism: invading, destroying, taking what isn't theirs. The gold-rushers bring their destruction with them; they *are* their own destruction, and the only escape lies in true change. Which is a challenge with the weak, flawed characters of this book. (Not a criticism: the narrator's weakness in particular is horribly plausible in its execution, reminding us you don't have to be an official Bad Person to do bad things: sometimes just going along with stuff is enough.)
Hugely atmospheric, proper spooky, and offers an intelligent, interesting engagement with the historical setting. I wolfed it down.
(I had an ARC from the author, with whom I have co-written. )...more
Overview of the British taste for true crime and crime novels. I say British: Worsley makes a big deal of how it's a super special national obsession Overview of the British taste for true crime and crime novels. I say British: Worsley makes a big deal of how it's a super special national obsession while not actually drawing comparisons with any other countries' taste for true crime and detective novels to indicate what makes it 'British'.
It's also a bit sloppy with a taste for random assertions and odd turns of phrase. My copy is dog eared with ??? notes. Points for the reference to 'William Coleridge', though at least it's not paired with Samuel Taylor Wordsworth. And mostly it just rubbed me the wrong way with the extremely dismissive attitude towards the subject matter. Worsley makes it clear that melodrama was shit and we clever moderns would now see it as absurd, public murder obsessions were creepy, most of the Golden Age writers weren't very good, etc etc, like we have to be told that she's more intellectual than this nonsense.
In which I write a murder mystery. NOT A ROMANCE. Just to be clear on that, genre betrayal/confusion being a thing.
This book is my stab at a detectivIn which I write a murder mystery. NOT A ROMANCE. Just to be clear on that, genre betrayal/confusion being a thing.
This book is my stab at a detective novel and I am terrified and excited. It's also whatever the opposite of a love letter to Oxford University might be. Possibly hate mail.
It's your classic Group Of University Friends Reunite With Murder set 1895/1905, enjoy. I am thrilled by the cover. ...more
What the literal fuck. I mean, 'what', and also 'the fuck', and literally what the FUCK did I just read. No, seriously, what. The fuck.
It's not the uWhat the literal fuck. I mean, 'what', and also 'the fuck', and literally what the FUCK did I just read. No, seriously, what. The fuck.
It's not the unbelievably detailed descriptions of horrific child sexual abuse and murder. I mean, it is, but I knew the MC was all about Gilles de Rais so it didn't come as a shock. No. It's...
...look, this book has lengthy disquisitions on the following:
--Why modern literature is rubbish except for the author --The inadequacy of modern church architecture --How incubus demons use their bifurcated penises to fuck nuns in both holes at once --The bad quality of many restaurants in Paris, many of which serve poorly cooked fish --The symbolism of bell-ringing --The best way to eat gingerbread (between thin slices of buttered bread--it tastes of fresh walnuts!) --Why trees are disgustingly pornographic forms of gross sexual depravity, mostly anuses --Is celery liqueur actually nice? --Full description of a Black Mass with sodomy, desecration of the Host, etc --How eating 'high' game and spicy food turns you into a child murderer --Modern literature: still shit. --Cats, eh.
It's profoundly, to-the-bone misogynistic and also homophobic, but at this point we're already so far into Evil La La Land that to get upset would suggest you've skipped about 70% of it. Which would probably be for the best because there's no plot as such, all the characters are just hobbyhorses for the author talking to himself. I'm going to guess not a lot of people wanted to talk to him.
Anyway if you want fin de siecle decadence, occult whatever, or a fuckload of overwrought descriptions, you have come to the right shop. Just be aware that the shop is mostly selling lavish descriptions of child rape and jizzing on consecrated bread, and also has a LOT of 'modern literature is rubbish' to shift....more
A delightfully creepy and disturbing sequel to What Moves the Dead. It's lovely to see Alex (gender: soldier) again, along with Angus and the marvelloA delightfully creepy and disturbing sequel to What Moves the Dead. It's lovely to see Alex (gender: soldier) again, along with Angus and the marvellous mycologist Miss Potter, and especially to delve into Gallicia, which is basically Ruritania's evil twin, ie the endless-war-mud-murder-and-awful-spirits part of Europe.
This takes place just after What Moves the Dead and it is notable that Alex is actually *really fucked up* by and about the events of that book, which I respect greatly.
A big old sapphic Gothic novel with isolated house from which women run in dresses, weird English family, servant with hook for hand, bloodstains, ghoA big old sapphic Gothic novel with isolated house from which women run in dresses, weird English family, servant with hook for hand, bloodstains, ghosts, Uncle Tom Cobleigh and all. It's good fun. I found Kit rather lachrymose and ineffectual for a lot of the book (and the premise of 'I have no idea why the woman I love is being cold and unfriendly to me! In other news, I just married her brother' is perhaps taking naivety a little too far). But she picks up nicely towards the end, and Alexandra is a chilly, guilt-ridden delight throughout.
The premise is bonkers, but it's a Gothic novel so it would be very disappointing if it was sensible. The world needs more bonkers sapphic Gothic novels. Could have used an edit for consistency issues, but held my attention very happily. ...more
Kind of odd in that it's a historical mystery romance without quite enough romance to be a romance, and not really enough mystery to be a mystery. It'Kind of odd in that it's a historical mystery romance without quite enough romance to be a romance, and not really enough mystery to be a mystery. It's mostly about Violet's picaresque hijinks around Hastings as she gets a job, finds her spine, has various comedy enncounters and falls in love, interspersed with really quite unpleasant sexual aggression from a variety of men, plus her massive sexual trauma and abandonment inflicted by her mother.
The light comedy with bleak undertones kind of reminded me of The Nothing Girl so if you enjoyed that, this might well be for you. It didn't work quite as well for me but I've got a stinkinng cold which probably impeded my sense of humour. ...more
Apparently the first pulp to present the criminal as hero, according to the intro. This is pretty fun. 'Colonel Clay' is the nom de guerre of a con arApparently the first pulp to present the criminal as hero, according to the intro. This is pretty fun. 'Colonel Clay' is the nom de guerre of a con artist who sets out to rip off a millionaire who has made his fortune in South Africa witth dodgy diamond dealings. It's narrated by the millionaire's secretary, and as the book goes on it exposes the millionaire's greed, corruption and profound dishonesty, and the fraud at the heart of capitalism, in quite a spectacular way. It's good fun watching the millionaire reduced to a quivering suspicious wreck and his equally corrupt secretary's weaseling. The cons become a little repetitive and I was a bit sad about the ending, though it does work, but overall this is a really interesting read for anyone who likes period pulp and I'm surprised it hasn't come to my attention before. ...more
Very good indeed. A history of the runn up to WW1 themed around the monarchs of Britain, Russia and Germany, culminating in the cousin King, Tsar, andVery good indeed. A history of the runn up to WW1 themed around the monarchs of Britain, Russia and Germany, culminating in the cousin King, Tsar, and Kaiser who presided over the mess. This is the opposite of a Great Men of History book: it's more a demolition of the concept of monarchy by demonstrating how these untalented, unimaginative, self-centred charisma voids didn't even make the best of their limited capacities.
Wilhelm is probably the worst, being not entirely sane, uttterly unreliable, ego-crazed, profoundly damaged by terrible parenting, and an absolute shocker at administration. Nicholas would probably have been harmless if he hadn't been born into a position to do an incredible amount of harm by a combination of insane self regard and horrendous inaction. George comes out relatively sympathetic if only because he did occasionally get over himself long enough to try to do a decent job.
It's terrifically written with deadpan humour and some actual laugh out loud moments, and it conveys the complex family structures and wildly shifting politics extremely well. Highly recommended. ...more
A very interesting collection of essays around queerness in the Western occult tradition (including the parts of practice taken from other traditions A very interesting collection of essays around queerness in the Western occult tradition (including the parts of practice taken from other traditions eg Tantra). I am in no way informed on that so can't comment: I came here for Dion Fortune and Crowley era stuff, and found that really in-depth and informative. There's also a marvellous piece on gender and sexual fluidity in the Norse traditions, and a note-perfect Round the Horne parody (no, I didn't see that coming either) called Bona Shamans, which mad props if you like me are a Julian and Sandy devotee. (Bona Law: "we have a criminal practice that takes up most of our time". I will never stop laughing.)
Niche, obv, but should you be into the historical occult it is super interesting, and immensely readable. I wish everyone in this area (or any academic area) could write with this level of humour and clarity. ...more
Intensely creepy retelling of the Fall of the House of Usher, with more fungal infection. Wonderfully vivid and compelling storytelling with a beautifIntensely creepy retelling of the Fall of the House of Usher, with more fungal infection. Wonderfully vivid and compelling storytelling with a beautifully drawn world. Lovely casual detail about the pronouns in narrator Easton's language, reminding us how clunky and limited/limiting the basic English pronouns are and how language can shape thought. (Easton's gender is basically "soldier" because there is a pronoun just for soldiers, which includes people who were previously counted as women but enlisted.)
Merged review:
Intensely creepy retelling of the Fall of the House of Usher, with more fungal infection. Wonderfully vivid and compelling storytelling with a beautifully drawn world. Lovely casual detail about the pronouns in narrator Easton's language, reminding us how clunky and limited/limiting the basic English pronouns are and how language can shape thought. (Easton's gender is basically "soldier" because there is a pronoun just for soldiers, which includes people who were previously counted as women but enlisted.)...more
This book opens with an absolutely magnificent sequence whereby the heroine is abducted by a bandit, who turnsThe hat on the cover is giving me life.
This book opens with an absolutely magnificent sequence whereby the heroine is abducted by a bandit, who turns out to be some random guy she hired to abduct her in an effort to make her tight fisted and exploitative uncle ransom her. (We never really address what a clearly terrible plan this is, because sssh let people enjoy themselves.) Obviously the hero isn't actually a bandit, and there's some off the charts chemistry and fun in the first half as the alliance unspools.
I didn't enjoy the second half as much because the plot takes a sharp turn into family traumas and betrayals and plots with lots of angst and enmity, all of which are excellent things but I was very much wanting the fun exuberant adventure to continue because that's the mood I was in. Can't have everything. Great setting and period detail, strong writing, vividly drawn characters.
Lively Gilded Age romance with an impoverished duke who needs to marry an heiress, and an heiress. Which doesn't sound like much of a conflict on the Lively Gilded Age romance with an impoverished duke who needs to marry an heiress, and an heiress. Which doesn't sound like much of a conflict on the face of it, lol. It's very well played--she is a strong feminist in a mostly period-appropriate way, believing in free love and contraception in the teeth of the Comstock Act, but she's also very afraid of loss and isolation. Meanwhile he has a heart condition that will probably shorten his life, and she'd need to move to England to be with him and fears she'd be socially excluded as she is in New York. We believe in her hesitation and the duke is a charming hero.
I liked the Hell's Kitchen and the depiction of the seedier side of life along with the glitter, and the Comstock Act setting gives it real heft. Nevertheless the sex to plot ratio is definitely skewed to the former, so this will be catnip for those who like their historicals with lots of well-executed spice. ...more
A really interesting overview of some radical Victorian thinkers and activists, many now forgotten (publishers, vegetarians, anti vivisectionists, proA really interesting overview of some radical Victorian thinkers and activists, many now forgotten (publishers, vegetarians, anti vivisectionists, pro cremationists, socialist vicars) or half remembered (Besant and Bradlaugh) along with Josephine Butler, Keir Hardie and Francis Galton (radical ideas aren't always right, see also Florence Cook the spiritualist). Strong focus on women, pleasingly. It's revelatory as to the extremes of radical thought--many of those here would currently be considered rather left-wing and socially radical by the average US Democrat.
Well told with a few cracking jokes, though really needed a more thorough edit. Strongly recommended to everyone who bleats about "anachronism" in Victorian historical romance whenever they see women demanding jobs, votes, power, or satisfying sex (including outside marriage)....more
Demon-hunting lesbians with paired magic, battling against the demon hordes and their own strict nunnery-type Order. There's exciting demon-slaying acDemon-hunting lesbians with paired magic, battling against the demon hordes and their own strict nunnery-type Order. There's exciting demon-slaying action, plots, betrayals, looming apocalypse, and a slow burn romance. All my favourite things.
The story is told in alternating current events / flashback chapters till about two thirds of the way through. The pair come together as students, develop a relationship, and are torn apart with their memories wiped. So the now story is a reunion, and rebuilding of the relationship, while the flashbacks show us the actual beginning. This didn't entirely work for me at this extent, as I felt it pulled me out of the 'now' story when it was heating up, but possibly I'm just too linear. Lovely cover. ...more
Wow. I had to read more of this author after the fabulous The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas and I'm glad I did. This, like the other, feels so fresWow. I had to read more of this author after the fabulous The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas and I'm glad I did. This, like the other, feels so fresh it could have been written yesterday though it's from the 1890s. Linguistically and structurally inventive, with the narrator in constant back and forth with his own text, writing and manipulating it. That kind of thing can easily go right up its own arse: here it does not because of the masterful characterisation. The structural messing about is absolutely part of the MC's unreliable, wavering, yet obstinate personality.
Which is superbly done. This is a story of a spoiled boy whose mother has destined him for the church but who falls in love with the girl next door. It is a love story, absolutely, with some descriptions (particularly of Capitu's 'undertow eyes') that I want to steal for my next romance novel because wow. And it also isn't, because Bento is a deeply flawed and self centred man. And, again, an unreliable narrator because he's so up in his own head, so we don't know if what he reports is the truth--we only see what it does to people's lives.
Just a masterly performance with form and character and everything. The skewering of the suffocating church, Brazil's moribund social structure, and of course slavery are all done through Bento's uncomprehending eyes. The sequence about his neighbour with leprosy is at once the most inhumane and the most deeply and humanly relatable thing I've ever read: it tells you everything you need to know about people, very little of it good.
The translation is good rather than brilliant, and the ebook has a few typos in this edition. I wish I could read this in Portuguese and knew more about Brazil's history because I'm doubtless missing a lot, but even with that caveat this is terrific. ...more
A series of linked shorts where a Noble Man attempts to foul an Evil Female Criminal Mastermind and gets comprehensively shafted. Like, I think he winA series of linked shorts where a Noble Man attempts to foul an Evil Female Criminal Mastermind and gets comprehensively shafted. Like, I think he wins about once, and the body count is startlingly high with some very unexpected deaths. One gets the impression the author was firmly on the side of the Evil Lady. (She also wrote school stories and clearly needed the break.) Good old fashioned fun....more
Genius concept: a private detective who is in fact a total crook, not to say sociopath, who is absolutely in it to fleece anyone possible, client or oGenius concept: a private detective who is in fact a total crook, not to say sociopath, who is absolutely in it to fleece anyone possible, client or otherwise, and doesn't hold back from crime or murder. Victorian pulp at its totally amoral and frankly disturbing best. ...more
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