“The reality is this: Life is just a balloon floating dangerously in a roomful of lit cigarettes. At any moment, second, day or week, Pop! And then everything as you know it is different or gone. Sometimes both.” — John Bolden, Spungunion
Four books and two comic book collections this month.
Rosemary's Baby (1967) by Ira Levin
Rosemary and her struggling actor husband move into a New York apartment house with an unusual past. After she becomes pregnant, she starts feeling pain in her abdomen and strange things start happening. She starts suspecting that the people around her are manipulating her somehow. A slow burn at first but every chapter drops a clue and increases a sense of discomfort and dread until the last chapter.
Spungunion (2020) by John Boden
Deke is a truck driver devastated after the loss of his wife. She was murdered while he was on the road and the killer was never caught. Through flashbacks we learn how he felt when first met the love of his life and when he found out about her death. After a period of just going through the motions of living and working, he decides to find some answers by driving down the Soul Road, a road that lost souls and the damned are driven down.
An atmospheric story about love, loneliness, and revenge. I really liked the writing style.
The Balance (2020) by Kev Harrison
The setting is a village in Poland during the Cold War. Natalie is supposed to be watching her younger brother Kuba when he breaks his leg. With no access to antibiotics and Kuba in danger of losing his leg, she seeks help from Baba Yaga, the old woman in the forest. This upsets her mother, the townspeople, as well as the church.
The story drew me in right away and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. I really grew to like Natalie. She tries to do the right thing when faced with difficult choices. An excellent folk horror novella about balance and sacrifice. This was my favorite book of the month.
Song of the Red Squire (2022) by C. W. Blackwell
Crime noir meets folk horror in 1949. Charlie Danwitter is a WWII veteran who suffers from PTSD. Now he’s an agricultural inspector for the US government. He is sent to the backcountry of North Carolina to inspect apple orchards. After farmers keep running him off, he hears about an out of the way village and decides to head there. He discovers that the village has an incredibly old orchard and some very strange rituals.
Loved the prose, the dialogue, and the characters. As much as I liked the writing, the ending left me with questions, and I wasn’t sure what to make of the epilogue.
Comics:
Harrow County Omnibus Volumes 1 & 2 (2021) by Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook
These two volumes collect the entire run of Harrow County minus the extras from the comics and regular collections.
Harrow County, 1930s. When Emmy turns eighteen, she finds out the truth about her past and how she is connected to the creatures and ghosts of the forest known as haints. It’s a story of old magic and backwoods horror in a southern rural setting.
I love Cullen Bunn’s mix of dark fantasy and horror, the various characters, and the engaging storytelling. I like how Emmy grew throughout the story. I love Tyler Crook’s figure work, facial expressions, and creature designs. The watercolor artwork is gorgeous. I like how the Harrow County title is incorporated in the opening splash pages of every chapter. He also does an amazing job with sound effects, having them blend into the surroundings. It was a great read from start to finish.
Books I’m planning on reading in December:
The Winter Book by Tove Jansson
The Winter Solstice by John Mathews
A Maigret Christmas and Other Stories by Georges Simenon
A Christmas Carol and Other Writings by Charles Dickens
Christmas Gothic Short Stories from Flame Tree Publishing
I’m sensing a theme…
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