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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
I was excited for this book but it’s just too slow and not exciting enough.
nothing wrong, but havent read the second story yet. just setting aside for now.
4/29/2025 I have finally read "My Heart Struck Sorrow" and wow. This one is gonna stick with me for a while. It lingers... I don't know if I would call it cosmic horror but tbh I don't full understand the genre itself. It's been several years since I read "The Sea Dreams it is The Sky" so I don't have much to say about comparisons but I did mostly remember that I was just confused. Will have to reread it again one of these days. It could have just been that most novellas tend to confuse me. Anyway, this book in its entirety was good and I'm glad I have read it.
4/29/2025 I have finally read "My Heart Struck Sorrow" and wow. This one is gonna stick with me for a while. It lingers... I don't know if I would call it cosmic horror but tbh I don't full understand the genre itself. It's been several years since I read "The Sea Dreams it is The Sky" so I don't have much to say about comparisons but I did mostly remember that I was just confused. Will have to reread it again one of these days. It could have just been that most novellas tend to confuse me. Anyway, this book in its entirety was good and I'm glad I have read it.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
A lesbian poetry professor travels across semi-fictional Latin America to find her tormented revolutionary friend. Two parallel stories of Library of Congress folk music archivists uncovering demonic variants of Stagger Lee and grappling with guilt all across the American South. I love it. Even if those characters and settings don’t speak to you like they do to me, these novellas are well-written, charming, and mysterious.
3.5 stars
I think the concepts of these stories were really unique and interesting. The length and intensity of each story was just enough for me to be hooked and spooked but never hoping to just get it over with.
My only complaint is that these weren’t really “horror” enough for me. I don’t know if they are intended to be, but I got this book as a horror book of the month. That coupled with the somewhat misleading title threw me off.
These stories are much more creepy and unsettling than anything else.
But I do have to say, the way the author writes the horrors of war and the beauty of poetry is wonderful. I’ve also never read ANY stories set in the 1930’s and/or following the lineage of folk music. The way the author writes the hot and humid environment of the south in the summer made me feel like I was in a fever dream....make that a fever nightmare.
Would I highly recommend this? Not necessarily. I think there are other books I would push first. But...
Did I enjoy it? Yes! I liked the variability this book brought to my reading this month.
I think the concepts of these stories were really unique and interesting. The length and intensity of each story was just enough for me to be hooked and spooked but never hoping to just get it over with.
My only complaint is that these weren’t really “horror” enough for me. I don’t know if they are intended to be, but I got this book as a horror book of the month. That coupled with the somewhat misleading title threw me off.
These stories are much more creepy and unsettling than anything else.
But I do have to say, the way the author writes the horrors of war and the beauty of poetry is wonderful. I’ve also never read ANY stories set in the 1930’s and/or following the lineage of folk music. The way the author writes the hot and humid environment of the south in the summer made me feel like I was in a fever dream....make that a fever nightmare.
Would I highly recommend this? Not necessarily. I think there are other books I would push first. But...
Did I enjoy it? Yes! I liked the variability this book brought to my reading this month.
DNF at page 42…. I wanted to like this because I love cosmic horror. Admittedly maybe I didn’t give it time to truly hook me - but damnit if I have to read another sentence where John Hornor Jacobs over explains what a ‘thought’ is using every synonym that he finds in a thesaurus, I was going to set the book on fire. AND I fail to see how any of what I read could possibly relate to cosmic horror even in build up, unless you consider humans being in the general definition of the cosmos, horror. I’m not wasting another second on this — two stars because it’s certainly a book with words.
A Lush and Seething Hell collects two not-quite-novel length tales of cosmic horror by John Hornor Jacobs. While cosmic horror is a term that gets bandied about probably far too often by anyone with an even slight inclination towards the Lovecraftian, Jacobs' collection is exciting, original, and often terrifying.
The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky -
The first tale in the collection focuses on a dictatorship in a fictional South American country and the ways it influences and changes the lives of the main characters. An ex-pat poet meets a young woman who has also left her home country, and they form a strange friendship that takes center stage when the poet returns to his homeland. The majority of the text is the woman's perusal of the poet's old journal from his pre-exile days, in particular his capture, torture, and attempts to translate a singular text with dubious (perhaps Cosmic!) origins. This story is the most overtly Lovecraftian: I was half expecting the text to be revealed to have been written by Abdul Alhazred himself, and there's even a Yog-Sothoth name drop. Despite these tropes, it stands out due to its brutal portrayal of the dictatorship's treatment of what it perceives as dissidents.
My Heart Struck Sorrow -
The longer of the two stories, this is the tale of two members of the Library of Congress on a trek to catalog Deep South folk songs. Themes such as race, guilt, and the power of song in culture are used in tandem with a propulsive and chilling narrative, culminating in a denouement that I can honestly say I did not seeing coming.
This one is destined to be towards the top of my horror list towards the end of the year, and serves as a great personal introduction to James Hornor Jacobs for me. Highly recommended.
**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to HarperCollins.**
The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky -
The first tale in the collection focuses on a dictatorship in a fictional South American country and the ways it influences and changes the lives of the main characters. An ex-pat poet meets a young woman who has also left her home country, and they form a strange friendship that takes center stage when the poet returns to his homeland. The majority of the text is the woman's perusal of the poet's old journal from his pre-exile days, in particular his capture, torture, and attempts to translate a singular text with dubious (perhaps Cosmic!) origins. This story is the most overtly Lovecraftian: I was half expecting the text to be revealed to have been written by Abdul Alhazred himself, and there's even a Yog-Sothoth name drop. Despite these tropes, it stands out due to its brutal portrayal of the dictatorship's treatment of what it perceives as dissidents.
My Heart Struck Sorrow -
The longer of the two stories, this is the tale of two members of the Library of Congress on a trek to catalog Deep South folk songs. Themes such as race, guilt, and the power of song in culture are used in tandem with a propulsive and chilling narrative, culminating in a denouement that I can honestly say I did not seeing coming.
This one is destined to be towards the top of my horror list towards the end of the year, and serves as a great personal introduction to James Hornor Jacobs for me. Highly recommended.
**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to HarperCollins.**
I’m not one for long reviews. You should read a book for yourself and experience it the way the author intended.
The Sea Dreams It Is The Sky: 4/5
This novella is inventive and dark. I visibly cringed twice while reading it, which is always a good sign in horror. Would have enjoyed a little more information to tie up the ending
My Heart Struck Sorrow 5/5
This novella is nearly a full novel and when I put it down I just wanted more. I thought I knew what to expect in tone and flow, based on the first story, but man was I wrong. This tale was one of the best I’ve read in years.
Based on this collection, I can’t wait to read more by this author.
The Sea Dreams It Is The Sky: 4/5
This novella is inventive and dark. I visibly cringed twice while reading it, which is always a good sign in horror. Would have enjoyed a little more information to tie up the ending
My Heart Struck Sorrow 5/5
This novella is nearly a full novel and when I put it down I just wanted more. I thought I knew what to expect in tone and flow, based on the first story, but man was I wrong. This tale was one of the best I’ve read in years.
Based on this collection, I can’t wait to read more by this author.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes