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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Two brilliant novellas that meld Lovecraftian weird fiction with Latin American magical realism ("The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky") and Southern Gothic ("My Heart Struck Sorrow"), respectively, to make for some very refreshing and imaginative cosmic horror. Searing, smart, and scary as hell.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this title.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this title.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
four stars overall.
The Sea Dreams it is the Sky: five stars
My Heart Struck Sorrow: three stars
A Lush and Seething Hell is two cosmic horror stories in the same vein. It's a pretty standard setup, with everyday objects revealing themselves to be the catalyst for madness and a view of the world beyond.
The first story, The Sea Dreams it is the Sky, stood out to me as the creepier, more unique of the two with the accursed photos/texts/acts overlaid and intertwined with a world of political strife and the friendship of an old, one-eyed poet and a young teacher. This one carried me along and struck perfect notes of fear and strangeness. The prose is inventive and lurid and deserving of the title of the volume in which it resides.
Story #2, My Heart Struck Sorrow, is similar but the found objects are old acetate recordings of folk music and the recorder's journal cataloguing his obsession with a particular tune - with predictable results. the build on this was to slow and a bit repetitive and as a result shed some of its horror as each step in journey went on too long. the wraparound story of the heartbroken librarian is beautiful and sad but regrettably watered down by the extensive relating of the exploits of his predecessor.
I've just been discovering the breadth of cosmic horror available recently, but I suspect if cosmic is your bag, this'll fit right in.
The Sea Dreams it is the Sky: five stars
My Heart Struck Sorrow: three stars
A Lush and Seething Hell is two cosmic horror stories in the same vein. It's a pretty standard setup, with everyday objects revealing themselves to be the catalyst for madness and a view of the world beyond.
The first story, The Sea Dreams it is the Sky, stood out to me as the creepier, more unique of the two with the accursed photos/texts/acts overlaid and intertwined with a world of political strife and the friendship of an old, one-eyed poet and a young teacher. This one carried me along and struck perfect notes of fear and strangeness. The prose is inventive and lurid and deserving of the title of the volume in which it resides.
Story #2, My Heart Struck Sorrow, is similar but the found objects are old acetate recordings of folk music and the recorder's journal cataloguing his obsession with a particular tune - with predictable results. the build on this was to slow and a bit repetitive and as a result shed some of its horror as each step in journey went on too long. the wraparound story of the heartbroken librarian is beautiful and sad but regrettably watered down by the extensive relating of the exploits of his predecessor.
I've just been discovering the breadth of cosmic horror available recently, but I suspect if cosmic is your bag, this'll fit right in.
I *loved* the second novella/novelette in this, about an Alan Lomax-like guy, Cromwell, who works for the Library of Congress and he's been through some horrific things. He becomes obsessed with what the journals of field work uncover for another guy who preceded him, Parker, and with good reason. Alternating between a present-day and past timeline structure, I was engrossed and sucked into this world of white librarians and archivists chronicling the folk music particularly of the South, of African American people, and often, despite their beliefs about how socially aware they were (the Parker parts of the story are in 1938), knowing that they are very virtue signalling and the equivalent of asking the teacher for a gold star. They were blithely unaware of the exploitative nature of what they were doing as Cromwell's coworker, Hattie--a woman of colour--points out to him, understandably and justifiably angry. It's an odyssey into fascinating madness, and does not go in the direction you would expect in some ways. Highly recommended. I've loved this author's work since SOUTHERN GODS and cannot wait to read more.
challenging
dark
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I put off listening to this book because I was pretty sure I'd have issues with it.
I was right. Maybe cosmic horror (and some earthly horror) just really isn't for me.
The language the writer uses is fine. He writes very well, with lots of lush adjectives.
I listened to "My Heart Struck Sorrow" first. A musical folklorist goes chasing after the origins of a song in the rural south. There may be some cursed verses of the song. He goes looking for them, and finds some weird stuff. A generation or so later, another musical folklorist tries to follow his trail. He also finds some weird stuff.
I strongly disliked the modern-day folklorist. But that was the worst part of this story for me.
The other story is the one with the lovely title "The Sea Dreams it is the Sky." I honestly had some issues with this one, because of the abuse and torture depicted here. I couldn't even pay good attention to what was going on because of my revulsion. If you have a stronger stomach than I do, you will probably like this story more than I did. The writing, the words on the page, is fine. The subject matter is repellent to me. YMMV.
2.5 rounded up to 3 stars because of the writing. I hated almost every minute I listened to the first story.
I was right. Maybe cosmic horror (and some earthly horror) just really isn't for me.
The language the writer uses is fine. He writes very well, with lots of lush adjectives.
I listened to "My Heart Struck Sorrow" first. A musical folklorist goes chasing after the origins of a song in the rural south. There may be some cursed verses of the song. He goes looking for them, and finds some weird stuff. A generation or so later, another musical folklorist tries to follow his trail. He also finds some weird stuff.
I strongly disliked the modern-day folklorist. But that was the worst part of this story for me.
The other story is the one with the lovely title "The Sea Dreams it is the Sky." I honestly had some issues with this one, because of the abuse and torture depicted here. I couldn't even pay good attention to what was going on because of my revulsion. If you have a stronger stomach than I do, you will probably like this story more than I did. The writing, the words on the page, is fine. The subject matter is repellent to me. YMMV.
2.5 rounded up to 3 stars because of the writing. I hated almost every minute I listened to the first story.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I haven't had a book emotionally drain me like this since I read Cormac McCarthy's "The Road". Very fuckin good read.