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A review by motherhorror
The Devil's Dreamland: Poetry Inspired by H.H. Holmes by Sara Tantlinger
5.0
You should know a few things:
This poetry collection won a Bram Stoker in 2018
These poems are based on "America's First Serial Killer" H. H. Holmes. If you haven't read, The Devil in the White City (a historical fiction novel by Erik Larson about Holmes, I highly recommend it as I believe that book only enhanced my reading of this collection)
Lastly, this book was included in the Night Worms package, "Feasting on Horror" November 2019 (and I am a co-owner). I was excited to buy this horror poetry collection for myself and so was Ashley, we're both big fans of Sara's after reading LOVE FOR SLAUGHTER and TO BE DEVOURED so we decided to include it for all the Worms out there.
Reading these poems was such an experience! Sara walks her readers through a timeline in history--each poem serves a purpose. The poem might be told as though we are a fly on the wall in a room observing events. It might be told through the eyes of a housekeeper who sweeps the floors of the Doctor's room--she wonders what's under the bed. There are smells.
We might get a poem from the perspective of a local pharmacist or perhaps a woman that catches the fancy of a young man with steel-blue eyes and a charming demeanor.
One of my favorite poems was told as Chicago itself, personified, after it had burned to the ground.
As I turned the pages, one thing stayed in the back of mind and that was how incredibly impressed I was with the amount of research that clearly went into this work. There are physical descriptions, dates, names, growing intensity, and patterns that I'm sure was quite likely close to reality.
Holmes' had built this "Murder Castle" and I believe Sara had to fill in some missing pieces to the puzzle but she managed to bring to life this depraved fantasy of a madman! Again I stress, this is very impressive work.
One thing I really feel like I need to say is that Sara gave H. H. Holmes such a distinct personality and voice, I felt like I yearned for more--a full novel. I could read this story in explicit detail and more in a storytelling format rather than poetry. But that's just because I'm a horror fiction lover and I'm new to the world of dark poetry. There's nothing lacking here. This is totally perfect just the way it is. I'm just greedy.
Recommend for fans of True Crime, Murder, Serial Killers, Grisly Deeds, Historical Fiction and Amazing Poetry.
This poetry collection won a Bram Stoker in 2018
These poems are based on "America's First Serial Killer" H. H. Holmes. If you haven't read, The Devil in the White City (a historical fiction novel by Erik Larson about Holmes, I highly recommend it as I believe that book only enhanced my reading of this collection)
Lastly, this book was included in the Night Worms package, "Feasting on Horror" November 2019 (and I am a co-owner). I was excited to buy this horror poetry collection for myself and so was Ashley, we're both big fans of Sara's after reading LOVE FOR SLAUGHTER and TO BE DEVOURED so we decided to include it for all the Worms out there.
Reading these poems was such an experience! Sara walks her readers through a timeline in history--each poem serves a purpose. The poem might be told as though we are a fly on the wall in a room observing events. It might be told through the eyes of a housekeeper who sweeps the floors of the Doctor's room--she wonders what's under the bed. There are smells.
We might get a poem from the perspective of a local pharmacist or perhaps a woman that catches the fancy of a young man with steel-blue eyes and a charming demeanor.
One of my favorite poems was told as Chicago itself, personified, after it had burned to the ground.
As I turned the pages, one thing stayed in the back of mind and that was how incredibly impressed I was with the amount of research that clearly went into this work. There are physical descriptions, dates, names, growing intensity, and patterns that I'm sure was quite likely close to reality.
Holmes' had built this "Murder Castle" and I believe Sara had to fill in some missing pieces to the puzzle but she managed to bring to life this depraved fantasy of a madman! Again I stress, this is very impressive work.
One thing I really feel like I need to say is that Sara gave H. H. Holmes such a distinct personality and voice, I felt like I yearned for more--a full novel. I could read this story in explicit detail and more in a storytelling format rather than poetry. But that's just because I'm a horror fiction lover and I'm new to the world of dark poetry. There's nothing lacking here. This is totally perfect just the way it is. I'm just greedy.
Recommend for fans of True Crime, Murder, Serial Killers, Grisly Deeds, Historical Fiction and Amazing Poetry.