A review by verkisto
The Dismembered by Jonathan Janz

2.0

I think I would have liked this more had I (a) read more Gothic fiction, or (b) seen more old Hammer movies. It's was a well-told tale, but the language was stilted like it was written in the 19th Century, the bad guys were over-the-top evil, and I felt like it did more telling than showing (which may have more to do with him trying to make it sound like an authentic Gothic novel). Janz did an excellent job of capturing the era, just through his narrative (I knew this was a turn-of-the-century story before he set the place or the characters), and I feel like I would have found this sufficiently eerie if I hadn't been rolling my eyes at what I kept seeing as cliches, but I now realize were just his homages to the genre. He does subvert some of the characteristics of Gothic literature, but it took me far too long to realize it.

So, yeah: Two stars, but in an "It's not you it's me" kind of way. I would read more by Janz (which should be easy; this guy has a ton of stuff), but I think I'd avoid his Gothic fiction. Fans and students of Gothic literature should have a field day with this.