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torchlab's Reviews (130)

Creation Lake

3.0

The main character is obviously loathsome and i kind of wanted to see her take a bigger L in the end than what ended up happening. Much has been said about the fake michel houellebecq but he’s only there for like 2 seconds. Way more interesting (and funny) imo is the fake bruno latour. Why wasn’t this book just about him and the moulinards… did we really need miss sadie to filter it all through her uber nihilist american three letter agency cold “realist” snark

Echo on the Bay

Masatsugu Ono

4.0

One thing i really admire about this book is how it manages to feel insular and expansive at the same time — on one level it’s about the secrets of an isolated and quirky small town but also it is about the legacy of japanese imperialism and the rot it left behind at the core of japanese society

The Book of the Most Precious Substance

Sara Gran

3.0

I really liked the premise and characters in this but sometimes the plot was like. Okay this is the fifth rich asshole you’ve talked to and he’s exactly like all the other rich assholes can we get some other types of guy in here please

Come Closer

Sara Gran

3.0

Not as scary as i wanted it to be but still fun

Dark Entries

Robert Aickman

4.5

Probably my favorite Aickman collection I’ve read so far. The first and last stories in this are brilliant, and brilliantly placed — they parallel each other perfectly. Aickman is so good at writing horror because he understands that on some level what we are most afraid of is what we most desire.

The Devil's Best Trick

Randall Sullivan

2.5

Imagine if Daniel Molloy (TV version) was real and Catholic and obsessed with the devil instead of vampires

Does get a little racist & sexist with it at times. Weird section of apologia for Spanish colonization of Latin America which then makes sense once you realize the author is deeply catholic and believes the aztec empire literally worshipped satan, who is real. Ok whatever man