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A review by jdhacker
Turn to Ash Volume 2. Open Lines by Benjamin Holesapple
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.75
Turn to Ash Volume 2's title, Open Lines, is referencing its framing story, that of a late-night call-in AM radio show...something which has all but disappeared in I suspect all markets over the years since its publication, thanks to the proliferation of podcasts and livestreamers as somewhat predicted in the text itself. The framing story is handled by the deft editor Benjamin Holesapple and master of the high strange on loan from his own Muzzleland Press, Jonathan Raab. The recurring framing story involves a Hunter S. Thompson-esque radio personality and his limited staff during what should be a first night with a new format for his previously successful show under new station ownership. Perhaps malign station ownership, as our radio hosts going rogue and taking the calls which follow leads to something while seemingly menacing and certainly terrifying may in fact be something transcendent and wonderful.
The calls are individually brief, quick reads. Brief enough that I feel a summary would give away too much of any particular story. Each is a distressing encounter, experience, or memory of a caller, with a few like "Lullabies from the Formicary" by Betty Rocksteady and "OGRE" by Joseph Bouthiette Jr. at least loosely interlinked. Rebecca Allred's, "The Sun Screams in Retrograde", Kurt Fawver's "The White Factory", Joanna Michel Hoyt's "A Room With Two Views", and Evan Dicken's "All That Moves Us" were particular favorites, beyond the excellent framing story.
There are also a few non-fiction pieces to round out the end of the volume that fit with the general theme. There's a brief interview with genre favorite Matt Bartlett about his own radio centered world, an essay by Jose Cruz about a subject close to my heart (old-time radio drama horror), an academic essay by Jon DeLaughter that is ostensibly about the roots of myth-making and the connection to late night radio but feel heavy on the former and light on the latter, and a series of reviews of older horror films by James Newman that feels connected thematically only in that it involves media.
Overall an excellent collection if you can still find a copy.
The calls are individually brief, quick reads. Brief enough that I feel a summary would give away too much of any particular story. Each is a distressing encounter, experience, or memory of a caller, with a few like "Lullabies from the Formicary" by Betty Rocksteady and "OGRE" by Joseph Bouthiette Jr. at least loosely interlinked. Rebecca Allred's, "The Sun Screams in Retrograde", Kurt Fawver's "The White Factory", Joanna Michel Hoyt's "A Room With Two Views", and Evan Dicken's "All That Moves Us" were particular favorites, beyond the excellent framing story.
There are also a few non-fiction pieces to round out the end of the volume that fit with the general theme. There's a brief interview with genre favorite Matt Bartlett about his own radio centered world, an essay by Jose Cruz about a subject close to my heart (old-time radio drama horror), an academic essay by Jon DeLaughter that is ostensibly about the roots of myth-making and the connection to late night radio but feel heavy on the former and light on the latter, and a series of reviews of older horror films by James Newman that feels connected thematically only in that it involves media.
Overall an excellent collection if you can still find a copy.