Books I Read in March 2023

Four books this month. Two fiction and two non-fiction.

Imaro by George Saunders (Night Shade Books, 2006) 

Imaro is a sword and sorcery adventure based on Africa and African traditions and legends. At the start, the main character Imaro is a young boy struggling to fit in with his people. He faces bullies and then a lion, evil sorcerers, and creepy monsters. He becomes a fierce warrior but he remains an outsider no matter where he goes.

I like how the chapters progress and tie into each other, something that becomes more apparent towards the end. Although the chapters were originally written as short stories, they move a larger story forward. Yes, he’s taller, stronger, and a better fighter than everyone else, but every time he finds some form of happiness, something gets in his way. 

I’m interested in languages so I liked the use of Swahili vocabulary, which I think helped create a unique setting. On the other hand, so many terms were used so often it felt a little overwhelming at first. Luckily there’s a glossary in the back. 

I read the 2006 updated edition from Night Shade Books. I’m looking forward to reading the other volumes, especially since this volume ends on a cliffhanger.

In a Lonely Place by Karl Edward Wagner (Valancourt Books, 2023)

I’m a big fan of Karl Edward Wagner’s Kane sword and sorcery stories. I’ve been interested in reading his horror fiction but most of his collections are out of print and go for ridiculously high prices. Luckily Valancourt Books put out a new edition of his 1983 collection In a Lonely Place. It includes the story “Sticks,” a Cthulhu Mythos story which is believed to have influenced the 1999 film The Blair Witch Project. I don’t care much for the film but the story is outstanding. So are the rest of the stories. Wagner was a master of atmosphere, tension, and powerful endings, and I liked how a number of these stories are set in the Southern United States. This new edition includes one extra story, “More Sinned Against.”

Non-fiction:

Supernatural Horror in Literature by H. P. Lovecraft (Dover Publications, 1973)

This is an excellent overview, analysis, and criticism of gothic literature, weird fiction, and horror, originally written in 1927. 

Quite a few authors are covered including Ambrose Bierce, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allan Poe, who receives his own chapter. In the final chapter on “modern masters,” he discusses Algernon Blackwood, Lord Dunsany, M. R. James, and Arthur Machen.  

A must read for anyone interested in weird fiction. Just be aware that Lovecraft goes into great detail regarding the plots of many of the works he discusses.

The Road to Unfreedom by Timothy Snyder (Tim Duggan Books, 2018)

In this book historian Timothy Snyder analyzes events in Russia, Europe, and the United States from 2011 to 2016 in great detail. Some of the things he covers are Putin’s rise to power, the writings of philosopher Ivan Ilyin, leadership changes in Ukraine, the Maidan revolution, how propaganda and disinformation campaigns were used during the annexation of Crimea as well as afterwards, and the US presidential election campaign of 2016. 

Recommended reading if you are at all interested in the history of Ukraine and what’s currently happening in Ukraine and in the United States, even if you may not agree with every one of Snyder’s conclusions. 

The following quotes about Russia really stood out to me as I feel they could also be referring to current events in the US.

“If citizens doubt everything, they cannot see alternative models beyond Russia’s borders, cannot carry out sensible discussions about reform, and cannot trust one another enough to organize for political change. A plausible future requires a factual present.” 

“If citizens can be kept uncertain by the regular manufacture of crises, their emotions can be managed and directed.”

Five Great Short Stories

“For my money, when it comes to literary modes, short fiction ranks as first among equals. From London’s “To Build a Fire,” and Blackwood’s “The Willows,” to Vance’s “Liane the Wayfarer,” and “The Cask of Amontillado,” by Poe, the short story, the novelette, and novella strike me as the most potent expressions of horror and dark fantasy literature. Horror thrives on escalation of tension and dread, elements that all too easily dissipate in novel format.”

— Laird Barron from his afterword to Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of Karl Edward Wagner 

I love Karl Edward Wagner’s sword and sorcery stories about Kane the eternal wanderer and I've been looking forward to reading his horror fiction. I finally jumped into the new edition of Wagner’s In a Lonely Place from Valancourt books. Reading the first story led me to some other stories. 

“In the Pines” by Karl Edward Wagner from In a Lonely Place (Valancourt Books, 2023)

A couple is staying at a cabin in the mountains of Tennessee when the husband finds an old painting of a woman. When he talks to the locals, he learns about some tragic events connected with the cabin. The more he learns, the more he becomes fascinated with the woman in the painting. From the lonely atmosphere of the opening paragraphs to the use of lyrics from “In the Pines,” an old bluegrass song, to the final lines, this is such a haunting and original story. 

After reading this story I came across an entry on author Laird Barron’s blog where he posted his full afterword to Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of Karl Edward Wagner. I love short fiction and the quote above really spoke to me. I’m familiar with the stories he mentions. I’ve read most of them, and I have all of them in various collections. I figured now was a good time to read or reread them. 

“To Build a Fire” by Jack London from The Call of the Wild (Penguin Classics, 2018)

This story is included in my copy of The Call of the Wild and I read both a few years ago. Ignoring warnings, a man decides to hike to some friends in the extreme cold of the Yukon. The story highlights the importance of preparation and thinking carefully before making decisions in extreme weather conditions. A powerful story about man versus nature.

“The Willows” by Algernon Blackwood from Best Ghost Stories of Algernon Blackwood (Digireads.com, 2009)

Two men are canoeing down the Danube River when they decide to make camp on a small island covered with willows. The narrator becomes creeped out by the way the willows move in the wind and begins sensing some kind of presence. The way the environment gradually becomes threatening is very well done as is what comes after.

In Supernatural Horror in Literature by H.P Lovecraft, Lovecraft had this to say about the story and I have to agree: 

“Foremost of all must be reckoned The Willows, in which the nameless presence on a desolate Danube island are horribly felt and recognised by a pair of idle voyagers. Here art and restraint in narrative reach their very highest development, and an impression of lasting poignancy is produced without a single strained passage or a single false note.”

“Liane the Wayfarer” by Jack Vance from The Dying Earth (Baen Books, 1986)

I read The Dying Earth a few years ago and wrote a review. Here’s what I wrote about this story:

“We meet Liane again, the vain and dangerous thief from the previous story. He meets a beautiful woman named Lith. He is infatuated with her, but she will have nothing to do with him unless he performs a task for her. Lith shows him half of a beautiful tapestry.  She explains that the other half has been stolen and placed in some ruins in the north. His task is to recover the missing tapestry. He agrees without hesitation. When I started this story, I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did, but it became one of my favorite stories from this collection. Short and sweet with one heck of an ending.”

“The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe from The Murders in the Rue Morgue and Other Tales (Penguin Classics, 2012)

I don’t remember when I first read this, but it was probably during my school days. The main character Montresor takes revenge on Fortunato, who he claims has insulted and offended him greatly. Fortunato seems unaware of how Montresor feels, and we get no details of the supposed insults. This is one of Poe’s most macabre and famous stories. It does an excellent job of creating a foreboding atmosphere and has quite an unsettling ending. Although short, by having certain details left out it’s also complex. 

Here is Lovecraft on Poe in Supernatural Horror in Literature, and once again I agree:

“Certain of Poe’s tales possess an almost absolute perfection of artistic form which makes them veritable beacon-lights in the province of short story.”

All of the stories above have some things in common. First, each story in its own way starts out very atmospheric. Next, Laird Barron’s quote applies because I feel each one “thrives on escalation of tension and dread.” Finally, each story has a powerful ending. 

These are all some of my favorite authors and I’ll be reading more of them, including Laird Barron who is relatively new to me. He’s been on my radar for a while and I have a copy of his first Isaiah Coleridge novel Blood Standard, but I haven't gotten to it yet. After reading what he had to say about short fiction, I’m really interested in checking out his shorter work as well.