inquisitrix's reviews
54 reviews

Naturalism, An Annotated Bibliography by Michael Goodfellow

5.0

Lure by Tim McGregor

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I’ve never been much into mermaids. As fantastical creatures go, fishy ladies just don’t speak to me. I like to keep an open mind, though, and I like it when someone proves my generalized disinterest wrong by catching and holding my imagination with a fresh take that has something to say to me after all. Lure may not have changed my feelings about mermaid stories on the whole, but it certainly kept me on its hook right up to the end. 

I have a weakness for a good folk horror story which doesn’t necessarily hold much sentimentality or even sympathy for its own protagonist (Rookfield, I’m looking at you...). Lure’s main character, Kaspar, makes a perfect mirror of his society and surroundings in a way that serves the story exceptionally well. McGregor makes a tidy job of showing both Kaspar’s inward-looking perspective and the world as it really is just past his gaze. The young man’s self-centred version of his village’s stories leaves enough room for the mysteries of the unspoken to let the tension build, while his conversations with his frustrated older sister, Bryndis, reveal just enough of what Kaspar doesn’t notice to show readers where much of the horror really lies. 

In Lure, McGregor strikes a nicely calibrated balance between themes, plot, and atmosphere. The story bubbles and eddies around the snags created by its characters’ longings and hungers and feelings of loss and entitlement, hope and hopelessness, selfishness and fear-driven community spirit. The things no one says out loud but everyone knows blend into the bleak setting to create a deliciously gothic sensibility. The story lives equally in details as it does in emotions: The dusty bones of the sea monster hung in the church, the names disastrously carved into a rough plank, the disturbing stench of sea life gone to rot. Though the ending isn’t fully predictable from the beginning, by the time it arrives it feels like the only possible conclusion. 

Lure is another strong entry in Tenebrous Press’s growing catalogue of truly unsettling books. I would recommend this novella to readers who like mermaids, readers who don’t like mermaids, and readers who can’t help wondering what really goes on in those fishing towns that look so appealing in the tourism brochures. 

Uncommon Charm by Emily Bergslien, Kat Weaver

emotional funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

When I started this book, which is labelled on the publisher’s website as a “gothic comedy,” I wondered if there might be such a thing as a truly gothic story with a light and gladsome heart. This novella is certainly built of all things gothic—the great old houses, brimming with mystery and menace; the weight of dark and tragic pasts; the sense of something inexorable and inevitable building—and yet its fundamental sweetness and good humour subvert these classic tropes into something new. This isn’t to say that Uncommon Charm is not possessed of gravity. Indeed, its frothy silliness and the acidly comedic voice of its narrator quite belie the heft of its themes, such that said themes slowly creep up on readers and catch them all unaware. This only serves to heighten the novella’s effect. 

As always, I do not want to say too much in this review and spoil any of the story. I will say, though, that this is a lovely read for people who like stories about characters escaping cycles and refusing to be weighed down by the burdens of a past with which they did not have any involvement. This is, too, a lovely story about friendship, family, and learning to fully inhabit one’s own life while taking care not to neglect the other lives one impacts. Funny and touching in equal measures, Uncommon Charm is both a pleasurable diversion and a genuinely thoughtful meditation on the value of choice and self-determination. 

I received a free digital ARC of this title from the publisher to cheer me up when I was sick with COVID-19 (thanks, dave, it really did cheer me up). All opinions are my own, though I am undeniably a Neon Hemlock fangirl and probably not very objective about their titles. 

Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

It’s possible that body horror rooted in a mysterious and terrible illness is not the best choice of reading material when the reader is sick in bed with COVID-19. I, however, am not always known for making the best possible choices, and so when the fever abated just enough to allow more than a few moments of reading at a time, I eagerly switched on my ereader and let myself be carried away by Naben Ruthnum’s beautiful and disgusting tale of complex marital devotion. 

Truthfully, based on the snippets I had seen from other ARC readers, I thought this novella would be more gross than it was, and I was ever so slightly concerned I wouldn’t be able to handle it. Maybe it’s just because I’m still running a fever and feeling quite detached from both the world and my own body, but the body horror—grotesque though it is—did not hit me as hard as I was expecting. What struck me and stuck with me far more intensely was how delightfully inexplicable I found the protagonist’s disturbing level of dedication to her dying husband. I don’t want to spoil what happens in any part of this book—it is so brief, and so strange, and I think surely best experienced without too much forewarning—but I must say that the emotional state of its characters was truly beyond my ken. This, I must also say, is what made Helpmeet such a great read. 

Depending on who you are and how you have experienced love, I expect there are many ways to receive this story. I doubt there’s any one particular best way. There are, of course, a few features I think should be evident to all readers. Ruthnum’s lovely prose, of course, at once a reasonable pastiche of a bygone style and possessed of a fluid, pleasantly readable modernity—a tidy balancing act, nicely pulled off in a way that perfectly suits the story and its setting. The hazy, eerie calm of the way every character who matters accepts everything that happens, no matter how distressing—this is nearly as unsettling as the devoted wife’s lack of concern regarding the worst of her husband’s past actions. The startlingly fantastical ending—truly not where I would have expected this to go. This is a strange little chimera of a book, holding many different possibilities and reflecting, I expect, more than a little of what the reader brings into the reading. 

I think this is the kind of book that will stick around in my memory long after reading. At this point I am still quite ill—thankfully, less revoltingly so than the husband in Helpmeet—and perhaps when I have recovered I will find that this story takes on a new shape in my mind. I’m looking forward to finding out, and maybe even to reading it again in a less feverish state. I’d recommend this one to anyone with a strong stomach—or, perhaps, an illness-induced detachment from things physical—and anyone who likes to contemplate the most dire frontiers of attachment. 

Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No

4.0

 Under Fortunate Stars is a rollicking good time of a novel. If you like stories about friendship, found family, and sympathetic smugglers in space, this one might be for you. 

This is a nice read for anxious times, as its stakes are somehow never particularly high despite the fate of humanity apparently and unexpectedly resting on its protagonists’ shoulders. Hutchings’ narrative arc and light, entertaining writing style keep dread and terror at a safe distance, making it clear that no matter how tense things get for the crews of the two spaceships accidentally brought together via a rift in time, things will work out. At times I found that this distance also kept me from becoming emotionally engaged with the characters and events, but I enjoyed the book anyway. After all, sometimes it’s nice not to get worked up and worried; sometimes it’s nice to read a far-flung adventure story and simply look forward to the inevitable mostly-happy ending. This is a great book to read if you just want to feel amused and be distracted from whatever else is happening in your world. 

I’d recommend this title to readers who enjoy space opera and stories in which everything somehow comes together despite all odds. 

I received a free e-ARC of this title from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my review. 

The Night Library of Sternendach by Jessica Lévai

adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

As someone who generally adores most things involving vampires, operas, novellas, and books that aren’t quite like other books, I had a feeling that Sternendach—a book which speaks to each and every one of those conditions—would be precisely my cup of tea. I was delighted when Lanternfish agreed to send me a galley for my #sfnovellaofthemonth review series, and I am equally delighted to say that my feeling turned out to be an accurate prediction.

There’s something deliciously audacious about writing a vampire novella in a series of Petrarchan sonnets framed as an opera. This is a book for readers who are willing to let themselves be unironically seduced by all things dramatic, romantic, star-crossed, and, well, operatic. From the setting—a hazy, just-unreal-enough, theatrically-1960s Europe populated by vampires and vampire hunters existing in a state of uneasy truce—to the division into acts, The Night Library of Sternendach gives a wonderful impression of being something that you’ll surely one day see on a stage, framed by red velvet curtains and performed by a cast who are enjoying every second of the production. This is pure fun, best enjoyed alongside a good cup of tea (or a glass of red wine) and some delicately sumptuous treat.

Where I Can't Follow by Ashley Blooms

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

 Where I Can’t Follow is such a lovely book. Its blend of literary realism with magical touches creates a vivid, engrossing world that pulls readers in and holds them close while the narrative plays out. 

Blooms writes frankly and evocatively about the struggles inherent to contemporary Appalachian life without pandering to the gaze of readers who expect to wallow in the trauma and poverty of people other than themselves. Her descriptions of characters and settings resist objectification, insisting that readers view Maren, Julie, Carver, Iris, and everyone else around them (with, perhaps, the exceptions of Julie’s disastrous girlfriend, Rachel, and the truly horrid local police) as complex individuals rather than tired archetypes. This is one of only books I’ve ever read about Appalachia that I’d feel comfortable sharing with someone who grew up there. 

I’d recommend this novel to anyone who has ever struggled with the tensions between home and growth, between acting responsibly toward others and saving some care for oneself, between protecting one’s heart and learning to let love take root. 

I received a free e-ARC of this title from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my review. 

ANTIFA SPLATTERPUNK by M. Lopes da Silva, Caias Ward, Eric Raglin, Cynthia Gomez, Gordon B. White, Kathe Koja, J.V. Gachs, Joe Koch, John Baltisberger, Patrick Barb, Max D. Stanton, Donyae Coles, Keith Rosson, Sam Richard, Jonathan Louis Duckworth, Sarah Peploe, Ana E. Robic

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

4.0

 

 Splatterpunk isn't a genre that greatly appeals to me; I love horror fiction, but I'm rarely delighted by gore. Most rules result in exceptions, though, and ANTIFA SPLATTERPUNK seems to be one of mine. It turns out there's something immensely satisfying about a big horrible messy gross splatter when it's made up of fascist garbage, and this collection leans into that satisfaction as far as it can go.

I'll admit that I'm the kind of coward who reads books like this with one hand in front of my face like I'm watching a movie I know is about to get gory and I'm scared I'll have to look away at any moment. Many of these stories contain scenes of carnage so vivid and visceral they feel burned into the backs of my eyelids. This is not a book for the faint of heart or the weak of stomach, but if you dream of rolling with punk necromancers and punching Nazi trash so hard they're propelled directly through the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead (see Caias Ward's wonderfully wild story "Snorting Ghosts in the Cause of Anti-Fascism", possibly my favourite story in the anthology) well, this is definitely a book for you.

Fans of contemporary indie horror may recognize many of the names in this book's TOC. A few of my recent favourite writers of weird and terrifying fiction make gruesomely effective appearances here (Gordon B. White, Donyae Coles, Joe Koch, Jonathan Louis Duckworth, and anthology editor Eric Raglin). Extreme horror still isn't really my cup of tea, on the whole, but this book does what it does so well that even a coward like me found a lot to enjoy.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Violence

Sisters of the Forsaken Stars by Lina Rather

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Sisters of the Forsaken Stars is a remarkable follow-up to Lina Rather's previous novella, Sisters of the Vast Black. I have a soft spot for stories that engage with the tensions one so often encounters in the intersections of religious faith, moral requirements, obligations to institutions, and personal dreams, desires, beliefs, and aspirations. Both novellas do so beautifully, Sisters of the Forsaken Stars building on and expanding the foundations laid in its predecessor. 

If much of Sisters of the Vast Black’s focus was largely on individual choices, Sisters of the Forsaken Stars zooms out to place more consideration on the consequences choices made by both individuals and groups can have not only on those groups and individuals but on the futures of whole societies. The stakes grow ever greater for these spacefaring nuns and all the people they encounter, but Rather’s writing remains eloquently personal. 

There are a lot of reasons I would recommend this novella. First of all, it is a pleasure to read, written in clear, unfussy prose that largely stays out of the story’s way without becoming dull. Its themes are immensely engaging, their particular combination of faith and queerness making for a truly captivating read. This is a deeply moving story, and the kind of thought-provoking that will keep readers thinking long after the last page is turned. 

I received a free e-ARC of this title from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my review.

The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed

challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

 There are many things I could say about this little book, but the first thing I must remark is that it is beautiful (and not just in form, though that cover art is truly stunning). Mohamed’s writing bubbles and flows like a crystal-clear brook uninterrupted by dams. Both poetic and precise, this is language that truly adds to the story. Scenery and setting are so clearly and tangibly described that this ravaged new world nearly leaps off the page, as do its characters and their complex and wrenching relationships. This is a little book that paints a big world and sucks its readers in through the deceptively pretty portal to a land they may never completely leave. 

The Annual Migration of Clouds is a satisfying read on multiple levels. From big-picture elements—such as the perfect match between the novella form and the amount of detail and emotional content the author chose to include—to the tiny details of relationships, smells, sounds, and so on that enhance the story’s startling realism, there was no point at which I wanted any part of it to be less, more, or in any other way different from exactly the way it was written. This book is a lot of things, and one of those things is “just right”. 

With The Annual Migration of Clouds, Premee Mohamed has created a perfect example of how to write climate fiction that—devastating though it may be—does not make readers feel hopeless or resigned. It’s far too easy to find books that focus on environmental collapse to the point of neglecting to give readers any hint of possible futures that humanity can endure, both on a species-wide scale and in a more individual sense. The possible world portrayed in this book is full of frightening details, and yet the story offers a future in which community, friendship, family, and everything else worth living and working for are still essential parts of what it is to be human and alive. I’ve read a lot of post-apocalyptic and cli-fi novels that focused on the survival of the individual, often at the cost of many other lives, often portraying community as cultish, sick, and dangerous. This novella zooms in instead on the tension between community (a relatively normal, relatively healthy community, made up of relatively ordinary people, that is) and autonomy, exploring the possibilities of finding and being true to ourselves without losing our connections to the people we love and the ideals we value. In doing so, it offers readers a truly timely reminder that we do not have to lose ourselves even as the world relentlessly changes around us.