Fear Today—Gone Tomorrow by Robert Bloch

 

(pb; 1971)

From the back cover

“HORROR—

“Harvey Wolf had his first taste of it when a witch doctor offered him a warm red drink from a hollowed skull—and Harvey developed cravings that nothing in this world could ever satisfy.

“HORROR—

“Crothers created it when he devised a much-too-successful solution to population control: a Madison-Avenue-launched suicide craze that swept the globe—and swept it clean.

“HORROR—

“Dave Larson looked into its eyes and read its history—as ancient as tribal sacrifice, as destructive as war, as bloody as the hands of a mass murderer. And then he become its most devoted servant.

“HORROR—

“The men of Earth invited it when they under-estimated the power of a woman—Venutian variety—and discovered, too late, that lovers can sometimes be terrifying strangers.”

 

Review

Bloch’s Fear, about aliens plotting the acceleration of mankind’s demise, is an ambitious, often darkly clever (a Blochian trademark) and piece-meal work, one advertised as a novel. It should’ve been back cover-blurbed (and advertised) as a loosely linked anthology, given how many word-sketched and loosely linked characters play their parts in Fear’s wide-ranging and blink-and-you’ll-lose-track storyline(s) before the characters permanently disappear (usually for good reason). Also, Fear jumps around a lot, a la Ray Bradbury’s theme- and location-based story collection The Martian Chronicles (1950), but where Bradbury’s iconic work succeeds, Bloch’s feels (too) abstract, dialogue-chatty, and scatter-shot in its thematic arc to be effective or reader-rewarding in its wrap-up. By the time this reader got to the end, I was just glad it was over, despite its sly wit, fast pacing, and wild genre elements (with mythic sourcing—hello, Minerva).

A hard-to-follow novel by a great writer, this is best read as a story anthology, with a loosely defined theme (humanity is likely doomed), buoyed in fleeting parts by Bloch’s black wit and (sometimes, in this case) tight set-ups and events. Worth reading, with the right expectations.

King Diamond: Abigail by King Diamond, Dan Watters, Damien Worm and others

 

(pb; October 2021: graphic novel, based on King Diamond’s 1987 concept album. Publisher: Z2 Comics.)

From the back cover

“King Diamond’s classic horror story featured on his 1987 concept album Abigail has received a masterful in-depth overhaul and is brought to life in a whole new way in this. . . graphic novel by Dan Watters, Damien Worm, and King Diamond himself!”

 

Review

Summer 1845. Jonathan Lafey, in financial trouble in London, inherits a mansion from his never met and deceased uncle near the rarely visited and superstitious village of Wodenstone. Jonathan flees London with his second wife, Miriam, an eighteen-year-old, talented artist. (His first wife, Sarah, died during childbirth as did their child.)

While traveling through dark woods near Wodenstone, seven shadowy and supernatural horsemen stop the Lafeys’ carriage to warn Jonathan and Miriam to turn back, that the castle is a bad place. Of course, Jonathan scoffs at this (despite his spine-shivery response to the suddenly disappeared horsemen), and he and his wife travel on. Once in Wodenstone, they get a chilly silence when Jonathan asks where La Fey House is—not that they need directions once outside, they can see the mansion atop a nearby hill.

A stink (“It is iron and offal scent of botched surgeries. Of spilled amniotic fluid thickened by blood”) permeates Lafey House, although Miriam claims to not smell it. That’s just the beginning of their troubles in the abode where Count Lafey, Jonathan’s uncle and by most accounts a cruel man, murdered his wife and child—the latter a restless and hungry spirit named Abigail.

King Diamond’s spooky, bloody, and mood-immersive sonic work gets comparable graphic novel treatment, with a nightmare-inducing house with way too many shadowy corners, paintings, and secret places. Damien Worm’s artwork captures well the spirit of Diamond’s melodic and guitar-heavy tale, and Dan Watters’s writing is spare enough to not belabor the source album’s story yet detailed enough to supply further mood-effective details to Abigail.

I’d recommend this graphic novel to fans of Gothic horror, haunted houses and, of course, King’s 1987 album. Here’s hoping Z2 follows this up with a companion work to its 2002 sequel, Abigail II: The Revenge.

Not Long For This World by August Derleth

 

(pb; 1948: story anthology)

From the back cover

“Turn up the lights and lock the windows. . .

“These stories are of all kinds—these are tales of psychic residue and ghostly vengeance, of witchcraft and ancient sorcery, justice and pure horror, of black magic and THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT.”

 

Overall review

The twenty-two stories in this anthology range from solid to excellent, bearing in mind that when Derleth wrote these stories (between 1931 and 1948) his moralistic, tightly plotted and neatly wrapped up style was not as familiar to readers as it is today. This is a good anthology by a master writer whose horrors lurk largely and effectively in the reader’s imagination, less spelled out than suggestive. Worth reading, this, perhaps owning if you enjoy Old School/sometimes Lovecraft-inspired short waste-no-words short works.

 

Review, story by story

“The Shadow on the Sky”: A writer (Sir Hilary James) while writinghis family history on his estate, sees—imagines?—a man hanging on a nearby tree, one that repeatedly vanishes and reappears. When two doctors (Sir Massingham Halstead and Dr. Robin Davey) try to help him, James’s situation takes on a darker, more pressing urgency.

Modern readers are likely to figure out where “Shadow” (and other stories in this collection) are going, but between Derleth’s spare prose and unsettling premise, it’s still an entertaining read.

 

“Birkett’s Twelfth Corpse”: The rivalry between two boatmen (good-natured Fred Birkett and violent Hank Room) turns deadly, with a fitting end. “Birkett’s” brevity—shared by “The Shadow on the Sky”—as well as its succinct set-up and action makes this macabre tale effectively atmospheric, spooky and moralistic.

 

“The White Moth”: Paul Blake, a widower who got away with his wife’s murder, starts seeing her mocking presence everywhere. “White” ends the way many readers might expect, but it’s a solid story.

 

“Nellie Foster”: Delight, excellent piece about two women (Mrs. Kraft and Mrs. Perkins) who take matters into their hands when a vampire begins feeding on their town’s children. Effective commentary about sexism, with a smile-inducing end-line.

 

“Wild Grapes”: A killer (Luke Adams) buries his victim (Uncle Rasta) and grows grapes over Rasta’s corpse, a clever but flawed plan. Solid work.

 

“Feigman’s Beard”: Martha Feigman, who’s had it with her vain, thieving half-brother (Eb), has a hex woman (the widow Klopp) place a death curse on him, with unexpected (for her) results. Solid work.

 

“The Drifting Snow”: Extreme winter poses a serious supernatural threat to a family, one that will likely claim one of them before the night is through. Atmospheric story with a strong terror build-up and a solid finish.

 

“The Return of Sarah Purcell”: An old woman (Emma Purcell) is haunted by her recently deceased sister (Sarah) who’s obsessed with a doll. Solid, spooky writing, meh finish.

 

“Logoda’s Heads”: Logoda, a troublesome voodoo priest for certain Englishmen, becomes more so with an additional shrunken head in his collection—one that will change everything for him and one man in particular. Good story, could see myself reading this one in illustrated form in an issue of EC Comics.

 

“The Second Print”: A young woman (Moncati) becomes increasingly disturbed by the last photo he took of his evil, murderous stepfather (Hercules Teddifer), recently killed by his own machinations. Solid story, you’ll likely see where it’s going, but otherwise well-written.

 

“Mrs. Elting Does Her Part”: Solid end-twist tale about a psychic (Elting) whose séance strikes a too-true-for-comfort chord in a scam artist (Sanders Hawk).

 

“Mrs. Bentley’s Daughter”: In Sac Prairie, a woman (Mrs. Vaile) encounters a “pert” child (Dorothy Bentley) by a well, more storied than Vaile thinks. Modern readers might immediately suss what’s going on (the case with many stories in this anthology), but—like those stories—it’s well-written, entertaining.

 

“Those Who Seek”: An ancient oceanside abbey is the site of repeated supernatural terrors—in “Those,” the most recent tale, an artist (Jason Phillips) and Arnsley Leveredge (whose father inherited the abbey ruins) spend the night there, unaware of the horrors that lurk there.

 

“Seek” is one of the best, ambitious and thick-with-effective-atmosphere entries in this collection, a gripping Lovecraftian read, more straightforward than Lovecraft’s work. Memorable, excellent.

 

“Mrs. Berbeck Had a Dream”: Sometimes-spooky, overall excellent tale about a poisoned murder victim (Mrs. Berbeck), her son (Peter), his wife, and Mrs. Berbeck’s fitting, imaginative revenge. One of the few stories in this book where I wasn’t sure where the characters were going to end up. All-around great and memorable piece, this, with a clever title.

 

“The Lilac Bush”: Two children (Ada Jones and her brother) become obsess with a bush on their family property as well as the man they see picking lilacs from it. Solid story.

 

“A Matter of Sight”: Fun, quirky and memorable work about two strangers on a train, one talking about unlikely, phantasmic visions of high-profile history, and the other (his car-mate), nettled by the man’s intrusive presence and conversation. Intriguing lead-up, great ending.

 

“Mrs. Lanisfree”: Jack, hired to be a house-cleaning live-in companion to Roger Lanisfree (an older man)( in his summer house, is drawn into a macabre mystery of nightly sea-water footprints on the kitchen floor, Lanisfree’s absent wife (Myra), and an unsettled Roger Lanisfree.

Modern readers may immediately spot the set-up, but’s it’s still a fun ride.

 

“After You, Mr. Henderson”: Two cousins (Lucas and Ellerett Henderson) engage in a disreputable financial stunt with their company after their share-holder cousin (Laetitia) dies. Humorous, entertaining piece.

 

“The Lost Day”: Excellent story about Jasper Camberveigh, who wakes up one morning and discovers that his mirror reflection, for a second, is not his own. This leads him down a troubling and destructive path, involving an occult book bound in human skin and a sinister bookseller, Max Anima.

 

“A Collector of Stones”: Elisha Merrihew, an unscrupulous collector of everyday stones, takes four perfect specimens and discovers there’s much more to them than he first thought.

Entertaining read, with a finish that delightfully and subtly sidesteps the usual moralistic-horror tropes.

 

“The Gold-Box”: An ancient decorative box, containing dangerous contents, falls into the hands of a thief (Philip Caravel), with unsurprising, ghastly results. Good read.

 

“Saunder’s Little Friend”: Raneleigh Saunder’s Aunt Agatha, an old woman he dislikes, dies, leaving him her estate—with strange, specific stipulations. Of course, he can’t help himself. . . What follows is not shocking, but it’s fun and striking, at least for this reader. Good story from a master craftsman.

Heat 2 by Michael Mann and Meg Gardiner

 

(pb; 2022)

From the back cover

“One day after the end of Heat, Chris Shiherlis is holed up in Koreatown, desperately trying to escape LA. Hunting him is LAPD detective Vincent Hanna. Hours earlier, Hanna killed Shiherlis’s brother in arms Neil McCauley. Now Hanna’s determined to capture or kill Shiherlis, the last survivor of McCauley’s crew.

“In 1988, seven years earlier, McCauley, Shiherlis, and their highline crew are taking scores on the West Coast, the US-Mexican border, and now in Chicago. And Chicago homicide detective Vincent Hanna is following his calling, the pursuit of armed and dangerous men.

“Meanwhile, the fallout from McCauley’s scores and Hanna’s pursuit cause unexpected repercussions in a parallel narrative, driving through the years following Heat.”

Review

Like the movie that spawned it, Heat 2 is a slick, intense, clipped-tone and violent work that reads somewhere between a screenplay and a novel (given the background of its co-authors this is not unexpected), a book delves deeply into its characters while moving quickly through their actions and machinations. Heat 2 is an excellent, swiftly paced and worthy follow-up to Heat, one worth seeking out.

SIMPLE MEN and TRUST by Hal Hartley

 

(pb; 1992: screenplays, with an interview by Graham Fuller)

From the back cover

“Hal Hartley has one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary American cinema, and the two screenplays brought together in this volume display Hartley’s characteristic verbal dexterity and mordant humor.

“Simple Men tells the story of two brothers, Bill and Dennis McCabe. Dennis is a quietly handsome, inexperienced, bookish student, while his older brother is a rough-hewn ladies’ man who verges on misogyny. Thrown together to search for their long-lost father, the pair crash into confrontations with their expectations of themselves and their attitudes towards women.

“Trust is a droll analysis of family violence and the moral courage it takes to defeat it and assume faith in others.

“Also contained in this volume is an exhaustive interview in which Hartley explores both the personal and creative aspects of his work.”

 

Review

The two word-spare screenplays, true to Hartley form, are deadpan funny and clever, with characters who rarely (if ever) smile, and set-ups/situations/characters whose limited, sometimes violent situations ably reveal larger themes and commentary. Excellent, worth reading (and whose resulting films are viewing.