The Sick Stuff

When I heard Ronald Kelly was going to release a collection of his more “extreme” horror stories, I’ll admit I was a little skeptical. Kelly’s work has been more the atmospheric horror than the gross-out contest type, and despite the sometimes fractious nature of the horror community, you won’t ever hear anyone say an unkind word about him, and there is difficulty imaging a very nice person writing hardcore stomach-churning stuff. Maybe I should be more wary of nice people, because Thunderstorm Books’ edition of The Sick Stuff proves Kelly can more than hold his own against the Edward Lees, Skipp & Spectors and the like.

Back in the late eighties, a new trend emerged in horror called splatterpunk, in which authors pushed the boundaries of what had been acceptable, and their stories became steadily more extreme. In the long run, this was bad for the genre, as too many writers focused on topping one another at the expense of a well written story. The good writers in this trend, Skipp & Spector, David Schow, et al, ended up somewhat drowned out by a sea of exploitation writers. But for a brief time, this sort of story was what editors wanted, and it was against that backdrop that Kelly wrote most of what is contained here.

It’s always difficult to go into too much detail about short stories without giving too much away, but I’m going to hit the high points of them. My favorite is probably the lead story, “Diary”, in which a serial killer writes his life story prior to execution, including the observation that the babysitters had barbecued the wrong twin. One that will stick with a lot of people is “The Abduction”. It’s a story that will require you to pay attention and think a little at the end to get the thrust of the story, and then you’ll want to instantly re-read it. “Housewarming” should keep anyone with a phobia about spiders from sleeping with the lights off for a long time.

There are seven stories in all, presented in an affordable, smaller-than-usual paperback format. This is another side of Ronald Kelly than we are used to seeing, but he brings the same level of talent to these stories, all of which are keepers. The book includes an introduction by the talented young writer James Newman, artwork by Zach McCain, and an afterword by Kelly where he talks about the inspiration and the history of the stories, something I always find fascinating.

If you are a fan of Edward Lee or any of the other writers known for walking close to the edge with their fiction, you should check The Sick Stuff out, because you would like it. If you are not already a fan of Ronald Kelly, you should be, and this would be a good place to start. It is priced very affordably, so it won’t strain your budget, and there are only going to be 250 copies, so you should grab one soon. You can order the book through the website of Thunderstorm Books, and it is also available through The Horror Mall and Cemetery Dance. Mention my name, and they’ll sell it to you at the regular price. ;-)

Pan's Labyrinth

Guillermo del Toro has established himself as one of the more interesting visual stylists working in film today. From The Devil’s Backbone to Hellboy, even including Blade II, he has shown a unique camera eye, with a strong focus on fantasy. His most recent release was Pan’s Labyrinth, which I missed during the two minutes it was in the theaters here, and which I ended up watching on DVD.

I went in with high expectations. Pan’s Labyrinth has won a number of awards, and seen mainly favorable reviews since its release. And the movie does have a stunning look to it. Del Toro creates a believable, horrible and beautiful world of fantasy. But the story didn’t connect with me.

This is the story of Ofelia, a young girl at the time of the Spanish Civil War (also the backdrop of The Devil’s Backbone). Ofelia’s father has died, and she has journeyed with her mother to the country estate of her mother’s new husband, a cruel captain in Franco’s fascist army. There she finds adventure in two worlds. The first is the real one, with Ofelia struggling against the captain, who is beset by partisans. The other is the world of the labyrinth. Ofelia may be the lost princess of the kingdom reincarnated, and she is given a series of tasks to perform to determine this.

I found myself wishing del Toro had simply ditched the fantasy elements of the story, and concentrated on the more realistic. The story of Ofelia, her pregnant mother, the sadistic captain, and the rebels is gripping. But the fantasy plot contains the worst flaws that usually afflict fantasy. Ofelia solves puzzles with no explanation given why. She is told to choose the center of two boxes to find a needed key, but she enigmatically chooses the correct one, on the left. Ofelia behaves stupidly when it is needed to showcase a character. In one test, she is repeatedly warned ”Don’t eat anything”. Naturally, just as she has completed her task, she eats a grape, which awakens an eyeless demon.

The film is certainly beautiful, and the story of the captain and Ofelia hints at a greater movie. But, all in all, it just left me flat.

Dead Earth: The Green Dawn

I ordered Dead Earth: The Green Dawn because the authors, Mark Justice & David Wilbanks are the host/creators/ex-host of the Podcast of Horror, which I listen to religiously. Since I listen to the podcase for free, I figured buying their book would be a good way of showing support. I figured the book itself wouldn’t be a big deal.

I was wrong, and very pleasantly surprised. Dead Earth: The Green Dawn is a superlative addition to the current zombie-fiction trend. Set in the New Mexico of the near future (2048), it is a story from the perspective of a young sheriff’s deputy named Jubal Slate, as he watches his world come to an end. An infection breaks out, from a disputed source (A military experiment gone wrong? An alien invasion?). Jubal doesn’t know how it begins; he just has to deal with its effects. He watches as a wave of illness sweeps his beloved town, people sicken and die, and then are resurrected as zombies. (Flouting a horror convention, the zombies are referred to as such in this story.) All Jubal can do is try to escape with his fiancée. The story is exhilarating, shocking and funny.

The one complaint I would register is it’s too short. However, this is billed as the prelude to subsequent books, and I’m eager to see them. Dead Earth: The Green Dawn is available through PS Publishing and the Horror Mall.

The Truth Behind the Swine Flu

Thanks to Val:

Threshold (Not The Series)

You’ve got to love the Sci Fi Channel – excuse me, that’s now the SyFy Channel, as they’ve now changed their name to take advantage of an apparent cross-promotion with syphilis. They take a lot of crap over the generally pitiful quality of their original programming, but without them, where would we go to see movies about moths from outer space trying to take over the world? It also has a cast made up of people from various sci-fi related series, including Nicholas Lea (The X-Files), Steve Bacic (Andromeda), Teryl Rothery (Stargate SG-1), and Jamie Luner (I’m sure she was in something, the name’s familiar).

An astronaut is floating in space, on an urgent mission to repair some space stuff, when a cloud or two blows past him. It’s better not to think about clouds blowing around airless space. One of the clouds strikes the astronaut, blowing through his suit, and into his arm, although he shows the Right Stuff by taking this calmly. It’s just the type of shit you have to put up with when you’re an astronaut.

Back on earth, the astronaut is treated by NASA’s head doctor, Dr. “Geronimo” Horne. Dr. Horne makes a pair of startling discoveries. There is living, insect-type cells in the fragments that struck the astronaut! And some are still embedded in his arm! Dr. Horne tells the astronaut there’s nothing to worry about, he doesn’t even need to be quarantined, and sure, he can sleep with the window open. He does call in entomologist Dr. Savannah Bailey to study the new DNA. Drs. Horne and Bailey clash upon first contact, which we know means they’ll fall in love. Horne tells Bailey they’re keeping the discovery of the first alien life form a secret even from the government for a while. What could possibly go wrong?

Bad news for the astronaut. His fingers turn into cocoons, moths hatch out, and he bleeds to death. That open window turns out to have been a bad idea after all. The moths escape into the outside world (Houston, Texas) and beginning biting people. Apparently, they bite anyone with the same blood type as the late astronaut, and convert them into man-bugs, complete with extra hidden appendages and nictitating eyelids. Those with different blood types shouldn’t feel left out, as they can serve as food.

One of the unusual things about this film is that through the first 40 or so minutes, the bug people only attack obnoxious jerks. An alien invasion where they kill only the assholes? I’m thinking this may not be such a bad idea.

Government spy types show up and tell Horne and Bailey if they don’t find and destroy the bug people in a day or so, the spy guys will blow up Houston with a bag of explosives. Having had generally poor experiences in Houston, I am ambivalent.

Fortunately for our heroes, the bug people have produced a giant larva, and they have to stick together to worship it, and also because they are a part of a hive, although I thought moths…oh, forget it.

Threshold is actually done with a reasonable level of competence, and the acting isn’t bad. It’s fun in a cheesy, mocking Sci Fi/SyFy sort of way.
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The 10 Best Horror Novels of the 21st Century

A while back, I produced a list of the 10 Best Horror Novels of All Time. For reasons discussed in that post, more recent novels were not considered. So as to not neglect them, here is a supplemental list of the The 10 Best Horror Novels of the 21st Century. Some of these will probably make it to the all-time list when I’ve had a long time to ruminate on them, but for now they are here, without any real elaboration. As usual, this list changes from day to day, and has changed drastically since I first did one of these last year. And, of course, it really isn’t a list of the best, but a list of my favorites, but I have to use the more provocative title to get you to call me a “dipshit” in the comments. A note on dating: I did not use a precise date of January 1st, 2001 as the cutoff. I have kept a book published in 1999, but dropped one from 1993. It is more books I associate with the 21st century I guess. The list does not include collections or anthologies, nor does it include books I have read that haven’t been published (There are at least three contenders there.). I’m sure there are wonderful books I either haven’t read or have omitted by accident.



1. Dark Harvest, by Norman Partridge
2. The Freakshow, by Bryan Smith
3. Ghoul, by Brian Keene
4. This Is My Blood, by David Niall Wilson
5. Heart-Shaped Box, By Joe Hill
6. The Conqueror Worms, by Brian Keene
7. Scarecrow Gods, by Weston Ochse
8. Duma Key, by Stephen King
9. Soultaker, by Bryan Smith
10. The Folks, by Ray Garton

The Hollower

Here is a book I had heard a great deal about before I read it. It is the first book by Ms. Sangiovanni, a highly regarded member of the horror community (she has written several short stories that I’ve enjoyed a great deal), and a number of the authors I admire, like Brian Keene and Gary Braunbeck, have lavished praise on the book. So I came to it expecting a lot from it.

But I found it a mixed bag. The novel has an interesting concept. The characters are stalked by a mysterious creature (the titular Hollower), who appears as a man in a black trench coat, black fedora, black gloves – and no face. The Hollower exploits the deepest fears of its victims until they break, then it eats them. This a new take on horror and an interesting premise. In my opinion, it is partially undone, however, by a few flaws.

First of all, the book plunges directly into the action, with very little time devoted to developing the characters, or in making us care about them. Characterization is the key to horror. It isn’t enough just to have someone decapitated, you have to have a reason to care that they have been decapitated. The novel fails in this regard, producing mostly cardboard characters, with little to even distinguish them one from the other.

There is also a common flaw in this type of story. The menace faced by the protagonists is absolutely invulnerable – right until you reach the time where it needs to be destroyed, and then it is suddenly susceptible to something that hasn’t been adequately set up in the story thus far.

I don’t want anyone to think I am completely down on this novel. The writing is quite capable, and some individual sequences are quite suspenseful. I will certainly be looking forward to reading Ms. Sangiovanni’s next book.
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