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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I found the first novella a bit bland and unsatisfying, unfortunately, and the main character of the second quite annoying and a bit gross. However, the second novella did an excellent job of the musical deal with the devil tale and definitely had me creeped out. He has a way with his unsettling imagery that rarely steers fully into gross and certainly is masterful in his creation of the traditional unreliable narrator (ie. the one that can't understand what's really going on vs. the modern "Girl/Woman/Wife" book-style one who is actively fooling the reader into not realizing that they are even more awful than they appear). Plus it had a shocking end that was sort of philosophically satisfying.
While I didn't absolutely love the second tale, it intrigued me enough that I'd try the author out again.
While I didn't absolutely love the second tale, it intrigued me enough that I'd try the author out again.
I received this book from a goodreads giveaway. I had not read any of John Hornor Jacobs books before this, but I plan to now. I thoroughly enjoyed both stories contained in this book as both commanded my attention from the very first pages. Both stories are filled with vivid yet unnerving imagery that is just fascinating. They are both eerie stories that are on the verge of terrifying. If you like horror and specifically Lovecraftian horror you will definitely enjoy this book.
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Didn't actually finish but that's more about me than the quality of the stories. I made it about halfway through the second one.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Infidelity
Minor: Racial slurs
I have just finished the first story called The Sea Dreams It Is The Sky. It's about this young literature lecturer in Spain, she is originally from a fictional country in Latin America called 'Magera'. Magera is under a dictatorship, and her parents were among those who have been 'disappeared'. While out one day, she meets this older man who it turns out is the missing Mageran poet Avendaño. From there, a series of events leads her back to Magera in order to deal with the tragic history of her country and her own past.
First off, the plot rings close to home because I am from the Philippines, where we also had/have the phenomenon of 'desaparecidos'. Thousands of people - students, activists, civic leaders, ordinary citizens were disappeared by agents of the state bent on fighting the supposed scourge of communism. This had its heyday in the 70s and 80s during the Marcos dictatorship, but this pattern of 'enforced disappearances' has continued in the succeeding administrations up to the current one under Duterte.
The integration of the supernatural with the mundane, as well as the quality of the prose reminds me of Clive Barker's works. Surprisingly, I did not expect how good the action/fight scenes would be. I feel like this novella would make for a really good movie. Overall, it is a tightly-written supernatural tale against the backdrop of a horrific political reality.
First off, the plot rings close to home because I am from the Philippines, where we also had/have the phenomenon of 'desaparecidos'. Thousands of people - students, activists, civic leaders, ordinary citizens were disappeared by agents of the state bent on fighting the supposed scourge of communism. This had its heyday in the 70s and 80s during the Marcos dictatorship, but this pattern of 'enforced disappearances' has continued in the succeeding administrations up to the current one under Duterte.
The integration of the supernatural with the mundane, as well as the quality of the prose reminds me of Clive Barker's works. Surprisingly, I did not expect how good the action/fight scenes would be. I feel like this novella would make for a really good movie. Overall, it is a tightly-written supernatural tale against the backdrop of a horrific political reality.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No