jdcorley's reviews
189 reviews

Baal by Robert R. McCammon

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.5

The sexual assault and other rather gruesome elements don't really add up to much, the only real flaw in a rip roaring tale of devilry and monstrousness, with the mad level of escalation that is crucial to McCammons horror work. 

They Thirst by Robert R. McCammon

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

4.0

A marvelously grungy vampire novel unafraid of the most deranged escalations. A cackling, energetic kind of self-one-upmanship means you always have some idea of what's next, and the characters aren't too complex, but it's a full on delight as it delivers and delivers.

The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All by Laird Barron

adventurous dark 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

As Ive mentioned when reviewing Barron, he has a pretty facile view of pulp/mens adventure. His passion for it shines through with the glee of a teen sharing a sick looking horror comic with you. Yet it is the other points of view and focuses that make this collection shine - a woman hiding from a violent man, a recurring set of forgotten dreams, a bland corporate drone finding his lack of a soul does indeed mean something. A real development in his style and growth as an artist.

Because the Night by James Ellroy

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

Ellroy finds his feet in this second volume of the Lloyd Hopkins trilogy.  Hopkins himself seems more real, and the lead woman character also seems to be given a bit more psychological leeway by Ellroy (she does remain a sex worker, though - roll your eyes at Ellroy now folks).  Most importantly, Hopkins' unknown enemy, a truly awful cult leader, is given both flaws and strengths, moves and counter-moves by Ellroy. You do think about half way through that there's a strong possibility that he will win, which is almost unheard of in a cop novel. Ultimately it's the mastery of character that makes this a fantastic read, not the somewhat generic depiction of L.A. in the eighties. Incredible jump in quality after the first novel.

Lady by Thomas Tryon

emotional 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

4.5

I thought it would be a ghost story, and it really isn't, but the Gothic, haunted feeling is so overwhelming that it drips in through the widening cracks in the warm, enveloping nostalgia of slowly growing up. It's oddly beautiful, a real find.

The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo

challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

A fantastic classic mystery; a Kindaichi tour de force. There are Kindaichi books that are too convoluted or too casual with serious subjects, this is not one of them. It doesn't quite pay exactly fair (

A second map might have avoided this criticism.

) but it's very close, and when Kindaichi solves it you get even more mystified - but just for a moment. Fast-moving, yet with the nostalgia and sentiment that makes a Kindaichi story great.

Before Midnight by Rex Stout

adventurous medium-paced

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

3.5

A marvelous Wolfe, enhanced by his self-imposed (sort of) time limit which makes the whole impossible thing seem even more impossible. It's got such propulsion to it you almost don't notice that the ending just isn't all that much to write home about.

Occultation and Other Stories by Laird Barron

dark medium-paced

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

4.0

This, along with Barron's other great collections, establish him as a vigorous and vicious writer of exceptional horror. It's a cold collection; almost too cold at times, and Barron's tics sometimes make you roll your eyes, but overall, every character's descent feels imaginable and comprehensive. Lovely.

The Imago Sequence and Other Stories by Laird Barron

dark medium-paced

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

4.5

There are other Barron works and collections in my review history where I sort of roll my eyes at his shtick.  "What if those pulpy adventures really, if u think about it, starred a bunch of real shitheels?!" "Yea man, I know, that's why we have postmodernity. Like everything in all of contemporary genre literature exists as a response to this realization" "But what if they were real bad AND they came across something else real bad" (sigh) "Okay, fine, sure".  And in the first story of this collection you're kinda feeling like he's just doing it all again - imaginative enough to get you over the bumps but a bad omen.  Then in the second story, he pushes his protagonist just a bit further over the line into loneliness and pathos and it REALLY works.  The whole rest of the collection is equally terrific.  He resists his worst tics and develops his strengths - imagination, the embodiment of our point of view character, cosmic horror at its finest. Don't miss this terrific collection - even, or especially, if you got bored with Barron before.

Dis Mem Ber by Joyce Carol Oates

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

Oates' incisive observation of cruelty - specifically, gendered cruelty - makes these stories a sharp set of lovely teeth, ready to bite down. A vicious parody of airline safety announcements is a bit less insightful. She must have had a tough trip!