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A review by lakserk
Dark Gods by T.E.D. Klein
3.0
Four novellas from an author with an extremely small oeuvre - this is his only short story collection, there is also the novel Ceremonies, his most famous work, and that's it.
As with the Ceremonies, this came highly recommended, with a wealth of good reviews. All of the stories proved quite interesting but of varying quality, while Klein seems to have a thing for underwhelming (and somewhat weak) endings. His prose is practical, with a dearth of ornamentation, but quite efficient.
Children of the Kingdom was the weakest for me. Concerning a humanoid race living beneath New York, it tries to create a sort of mythology but tumbles before the realization of anything concrete and satisfying. Also an unhealthy dose of racism (which seems suspiciously genuine and is not contradicted). 2.5/5
Petey takes place in a single evening, in an isolated newly-bought mansion, and involves a great quantity of really well-written dialogue. It too tries to combine several elements (tarot, occult, insanity) but does it a bit more elegantly than Children of the Kingdom, even though the ending is again underwhelming. 4/5
Black Man with a Horn is a tribute to Lovecraft narrated by a protagonist that knew HP at some point. It has a nice sense of suspense, as well as good amounts of lore, but is again stumbling at the final pages, remaining to vague and unfulfilling. 3.5/4
Nadelman's God won a World Fantasy Award, I guess rightfully so. It is the best of the 4 (and the longest, too, I think), has an almost gratifying ending and navigates masterfully a plot concerning an old poem of the protagonist from when he was dabbling in the occult; a healthy dose of murder, too. The pace is great, as well. 4.5/5
As with the Ceremonies, this came highly recommended, with a wealth of good reviews. All of the stories proved quite interesting but of varying quality, while Klein seems to have a thing for underwhelming (and somewhat weak) endings. His prose is practical, with a dearth of ornamentation, but quite efficient.
Children of the Kingdom was the weakest for me. Concerning a humanoid race living beneath New York, it tries to create a sort of mythology but tumbles before the realization of anything concrete and satisfying. Also an unhealthy dose of racism (which seems suspiciously genuine and is not contradicted). 2.5/5
Petey takes place in a single evening, in an isolated newly-bought mansion, and involves a great quantity of really well-written dialogue. It too tries to combine several elements (tarot, occult, insanity) but does it a bit more elegantly than Children of the Kingdom, even though the ending is again underwhelming. 4/5
Black Man with a Horn is a tribute to Lovecraft narrated by a protagonist that knew HP at some point. It has a nice sense of suspense, as well as good amounts of lore, but is again stumbling at the final pages, remaining to vague and unfulfilling. 3.5/4
Nadelman's God won a World Fantasy Award, I guess rightfully so. It is the best of the 4 (and the longest, too, I think), has an almost gratifying ending and navigates masterfully a plot concerning an old poem of the protagonist from when he was dabbling in the occult; a healthy dose of murder, too. The pace is great, as well. 4.5/5