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A review by bjswann
The Black Veldt by Michael Reyes
4.0
Literary cosmic horror set in the seedy guts of 1970s New York.
Aspiring writer and drug dealer Jose Carvel finds himself sucked into a world of occult weirdness that connects to his own dimly-remembered past and the strange black infinity that lurks beyond it.
This book starts off like a juggernaut, with evocative dream sequences, a compelling main character, and sumptuously grimy atmosphere. Refreshingly free from the insipid clichés that mar the works of Lovecraft imitators, The Black Veldt takes cosmic horror and promises to do something original with it. For a while that promise is kept. Unfortunately the climax feels rushed and underwhelming, and the threads of subtle world-building fail to cohere into a meaningful whole. Which is a shame, because the prose is excellent overall and the first part of the book is brilliant. Despite these criticisms, I still found The Black Veldt to be a rewarding experience and would recommend it to readers of occult mystery and cosmic horror.
Aspiring writer and drug dealer Jose Carvel finds himself sucked into a world of occult weirdness that connects to his own dimly-remembered past and the strange black infinity that lurks beyond it.
This book starts off like a juggernaut, with evocative dream sequences, a compelling main character, and sumptuously grimy atmosphere. Refreshingly free from the insipid clichés that mar the works of Lovecraft imitators, The Black Veldt takes cosmic horror and promises to do something original with it. For a while that promise is kept. Unfortunately the climax feels rushed and underwhelming, and the threads of subtle world-building fail to cohere into a meaningful whole. Which is a shame, because the prose is excellent overall and the first part of the book is brilliant. Despite these criticisms, I still found The Black Veldt to be a rewarding experience and would recommend it to readers of occult mystery and cosmic horror.