Literary Horror discussion

Please join us for our November monthly read: Michael Wehunt's new collection The Inconsolables.

A couple reviews (some may have spoilers! you've been warned):
https://litreactor.com/reviews/book-r...
https://gnofhorror.com/review-the-inc...

The Inconsolables is available on paper and as an e-book. Let's start next weekend.

Thanks for the review links, Bill. They sound promising and I'm looking forward to this book!

Damn. I would have loved to join you for this one, but I'm going to be away for most of November.

Bill, Last month's book was not a good fit for me and after checking the info on this new one I am reluctant to make the same mistake. If next month's read is not compatible I will be courteous enough to leave the group or just monitor the reads for awhile if you approve. Thanks.

I've read a couple Wehunt stories in some anthologies, and have been wanting to read more, so maybe this is the push I needed.

I just got the paperback. Starting soon.

Vampire Fiction:

The story didn't really work for me. Especially the ending didn't make any sense to me. The describtions of the maincharacters feelings and his sorrow were well done though.

Hollow

This was a good one. The maincharacter was very relatable and I loved the portrayal of ageing and losing physical abilities here. I wasn't sure what was going on most of the time, but I liked it anyway.

Let me preface this by saying that I’ve already read most of the stories in this collection. I’m a big fan of Wehunt’s first collection - Greener Pastures - so every time I found out an anthology had a story by him, I’d buy it even if only for his story. However, some of them fell flat, so I was pleasantly surprised by Vampire Fiction! I enjoyed the mention to his other story The Pine Arch Collection; the writing was top notch, and he can write grief like no one else I know. Although we don’t share a love of vampire stories, Wehunt’s description of the vampire game actually managed to creep me out. Well done!

"Vampire Fiction" was enjoyable, though I thought it could be tighter. (I think most things can be tighter, haha.) Were those namecheck of weird fiction writers? Ballingrud GA? (No such place according to Google maps.) Kirsten Mester? (Kristi DeMeester jokes about her name in her bio.) Ms Barron?

I liked a number of the images in "Holoow": the workmen in red, the lump on the bed, the play with the piano, and the general indistinctness. But I have reservations about the ending. I really like the idea, but it seems to be a punishment for the protagonist's emotional distance; I'm not sure the latter was properly established beyond a few throwaway remarks, and hence the ending might not have the emotional heft that it needed.

"Caring for a Stray Dog (Metaphors)" also has a protagonist dealing with the death of a child, and the subsequent breakdown of his marriage. ("Inconsolable" appears in the story; I'm beginning to wonder of dealing with the loss of children will be an ongoing theme in the collection.) The presence of the dog makes this a rather different experience from the first story. I like the weird elongated creatures. They remind me somewhat of Joel Lane's monsters, but Lane explained less, and you barely catch a glimpse of them out of the corner of your eye; all the more disturbing.

What do you guys think of the illustrations? I like how ambiguous (but creepy) they are.

I see "Pine Arch" reappears next. Looking forward.

Bill wrote: ""Vampire Fiction" was enjoyable, though I thought it could be tighter. (I think most things can be tighter, haha.) Were those namecheck of weird fiction writers? Ballingrud GA? (No such place accor..."

I think your happy place is close to flash fiction, Bill.

I've only read the first story, so far. Definite name checks for Ballingrud, Tremblay, DeMeester, and Barron. I was most feeling the Ballingrudiness of "Vampire Fiction"; sad, somewhat tawdry existence where the intrusion of the supernatural is almost incidental to the story.

I'll wait until I've caught up with a few more stories to check back in.

Whitney wrote: "I think your happy place is close to flash fiction, Bill. "
I've actually had trouble with a lot of flash that I've encountered.

If you think I'm thorny and difficult now, you should see me back in my industrial/punk days.

Bill wrote: "If you think I'm thorny and difficult now, you should see me back in my industrial/punk days.."

Were you in SF then, and was it the early 80's? If so, I probably did know you then. Or at least cracked skulls at the On Broadway, Club Foot, or Mabuhay Gardens.

Whitney wrote: "Were you in SF then, and was it the early 80's? If so, I probably did know you then. Or at least cracked skulls at the On Broadway, Club Foot, or Mabuhay Gardens."

I wish! I'm so envious. I was in central Illinois in the mid-80s/early 90s, with many days (ill)spent in Chicago. SF was from '92 on.

Bill wrote: "Whitney wrote: "Were you in SF then, and was it the early 80's? If so, I probably did know you then. Or at least cracked skulls at the On Broadway, Club Foot, or Mabuhay Gardens."

I wish! I'm so e..."

Ah, well. I moved to Seattle in '91, so no crossover.

@Bill: I love the illustrations. They are sooo creepy and strange.
Very well done. I would love to read a Graphic Novel illustrated by this artist.

Caring For A Stray Dog

This one was emotional challenging.
Stories that deal with this horrible kind of loss of a child are always hard to read. Also I was sooo afraid that something terrible is going to happen to the dog! Good story.

Schalka wrote: "@Bill: I love the illustrations. They are sooo creepy and strange."

Here's the artist's site:
https://trevorhenderson.format.com/art

"The Pine Arch Collection" is told through email exchanges, thus a different feel from earlier stories. I thought it was a fun but lighter piece. I like all the small, seemingly unimportant details that contribute to the general creepiness: the birch, Seba the cat, the minor characters that aren't quite right. And of course Evenson!

The Pine Arch Collection

I agree with Bill. This story told through emails was very fun and the describtions were quite creepy.

I am a bit late with this book.

Vampire Fiction
I liked the whole story except the end. I think it was not fitting to what I thought was happening.
I felt myself represented many times by the main character. I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A VAMPIRE VISIT ME AND TRANSFORM ME! LOL!
I have been having so many vampire-related dreams my whole life. The first one when I was seven. Probably it was not a good idea to watch Dracula, Prince of Darkness at that age. It opened Pandora's box...

Holoow

I liked the depiction of old age, pain, and loneliness. It was predictable. I still enjoyed reading it.

I thought "The Tired Sounds: A Wake" had some interesting ideas. The first nightmarish scene (view spoiler)[ in the toilet with the mime/clown (hide spoiler)] was striking. But I thought it was too long for its material.

We read "A Heart Arrhythmia" as a group in the anthology Miscreations. I didn't care for it the 2nd time around either.

"The Teeth of America": funny and horrific, but I've been told I have a weird sense of humor.

I am slowly (in a good way) continuing my way through this collection. Wehunt is going on my list of favorites.

I found Haloow to be very effective. As an introvert who's getting older and who doesn't have any close, younger family, the idea of having your only consolations taken from you, and the loss of power that can come with age, really resonated with me.

Caring For a Stray Dog. As Shalka said, stories dealing with this kind of horrible event are challenging. Wehunt added two layers of distance with a metaphorical story about a man seeking metaphors for the event, which may have been just enough padding to make it tolerable. Well done.

The Pine Arch Collection. I love found footage stories, and this is a great one. I read its companion story in Greener Pastures, October Film Haunt: Under the House, right afterwards. That one even better captures the "fill in the blanks" nature of good found footage, I immediately reread it after realizing its true structure.

I rather enjoyed the opening novelette “Vampire Fiction” as one of the best metafictional explorations of vampires while developing both pathos and dread.

"It takes slow sips..." is probably my favorite in the collection so far. Pine Arch is back, contributing to the general creepiness. I really like the opposition of the stalker protagonist, and (view spoiler)[the mysterious surveillance vids turned back on him (hide spoiler)]. And the tube (YouTube? ha), and small sips, whew.

"Is there human kindness...": I'm not quite convinced of the connection between the cupids and the sexual predators. What happened at the end?

There's a reference to Pine Arch in Vampire Fiction as well.

Bill wrote: "I thought "The Tired Sounds: A Wake" had some interesting ideas. The first nightmarish scene [spoilers removed] was striking. But I thought it was too long for its material.

We read "A Heart Arrhy..."

Have you read Wehunt's first short story collection Greener Pastures? There is a story in it called "The Dancers". Wehunt mentioned that both "The Dancers" and "The Tired Sounds: A Wake" stemmed from the same initial idea, but he just wanted to develop it more in "The Tired Sounds: A Wake" . Personally, I loved it, but The Dancers was also my favorite story from the outstanding Greener Pastures!

Holoow

I liked this one just as much after the third reading. I loved the atmosphere and the imagery as well as the subtle references to Ramsey Campbell's stories.

Caring for a Stray Dog (Metaphors)

I can't explain why this one just did not resonate with me. I like what he was going for here, and the writing is absolute gold, but I've lost count of how many times I've read it since it was first published, and I still don't like it. :/

The Pine Arch Collection

I also love found footage stories, and "The Pine Arch Collection" did not disappoint! Creepy, fun, and effective.

The Tired Sounds: A Wake

I am a big fan of this one as well as of its companion story from Wehunt's previous collection Greener Pastures , "The Dancers".

Adriane wrote: "Have you read Wehunt's first short story collection Greener Pastures? There is a story in it called "The Dancers". "
Thanks for pointing out the connected stories. I've read Greener Pastures, but don't remember much about it. I might check "The Dancers" again, though I wasn't that thrilled with "Tired Sounds".

Thoughts on a monthly book for the holidays?
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Bill wrote: ""It takes slow sips..." is probably my favorite in the collection so far. Agreed on this one hitting hard. Sips is getting reprinted in PseudoPod in December as part of the Anthology and Collection Showcase.

I finally finished this book. I was in a bit of a slump, and this one is definitely a slow read, in a good way. I like the way Wehunt spends the time to let things slowly unroll, with the uncanny elements sporadically appearing in people's lives, reinforcing the Nathan Ballingrud vibe. Looking forward to more Pine Arch in the future.

A Heart Arrhythmia was probably my favorite story in Miscreations: Gods, Monstrosities & Other Horrors, happy to revisit it, but I thought it wasn't one of the strongest in this collection.

The Teeth of America. The epistolary / reportage structure was perfect for this one. This story, and "Lord of Corrosion" by Lee Thomas, are the best stories I've read showing the self-destructive / self transformative nature of extreme hate to people subsumed by it.

It Takes Slow Sips. Agree with people who thought this was one of the strongest stories. Another great vision of how creepy obsessive people, and their online "support groups" are complicit in their own self destructive transformations. Also appreciated how Pine Arch subverted said online support.

Is Their Human Kindness. Also a great one for the crippling, grinding effects of grief. If there is a main "inconsolable" in this collection, it's Jessie. Bill, I think the connection between the predators and cupids isn't anything more than what Wehunt says, the idea that a creature could violently force 'love' on you is a form of predation.

Just guessing here, but I feel like the end represented how Jessie's overtly happy and rewarding life was largely a construct. We're happy for how she finally moved on and found love, but her talking about the pain in her chest, like being shot by the arrow, and her "deep and cavernous love for the whole of her life" ring hollow, reinforced by the failure of her family to answer her calls. Societal pressure to let things go and move on can be another form of coercion.

An Ending (Ascent). This one was good as a think-piece. I've spent a lot of brain cells imagining how this brave new world would affect those left behind, as well as those granted potential immortality.The irony that those who now have limited time would consider their lives less valuable as a result was a great insight.

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday break!

January poll is up:
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...