|
Only thing I've read by Barron is "Blackwood's Baby" in The Beautiful Thing.... I found the attempt at writing old-timey characters really off-seeming and off-putting. It was a bummer because I love Algernon Blackwood and was expecting an homage. Should I try Barron again or if I hate that story will I hate his work in general?
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2018 05:09
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 15:45 |
|
|
Dr. Video Games 0081 posted:Only thing I've read by Barron is "Blackwood's Baby" in The Beautiful Thing.... I found the attempt at writing old-timey characters really off-seeming and off-putting. It was a bummer because I love Algernon Blackwood and was expecting an homage. Should I try Barron again or if I hate that story will I hate his work in general? Barron does have a range to his cosmic horror. Try his free stories online before you shut the door on him completely. http://www.freesfonline.de/authors/Laird_Barron.html
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2018 06:31
|
|
|
ultraviolence123 posted:Paperbacks from Hell is also ruining my bank account, because while I still have many of the Zebra and Tor books that I bought as a teenager, I don't have half of what's covered, so of course it makes sense to spend $35 on an eBay auction for a paperback of The Gilgul. This is actually a really, really bad time to try to collect vintage horror paperbacks because Hendrix's book has inspired a lot of folks to rush out and try to buy up every book they can and sellers are responding by jacking up prices. Wait six months to a year and prices should drop.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2018 18:39
|
|
|
I'm reading Wide, Carnivorous Sky and really enjoying it. I feel like they made the wrong choice for the firs story, though... it kind of sells the whole collection short. As a whole, it's nothing earth-shattering or revolutionary, but the stories are more than what passes for standard fare in the genre and do some interesting things in terms of storytelling.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2018 19:32
|
|
|
MockingQuantum posted:I'm reading Wide, Carnivorous Sky and really enjoying it. I feel like they made the wrong choice for the firs story, though... it kind of sells the whole collection short. As a whole, it's nothing earth-shattering or revolutionary, but the stories are more than what passes for standard fare in the genre and do some interesting things in terms of storytelling. Wide, Carnivorous Sky was great and prompted me to read all of Langan's other short stories and then his novel The Fisherman, and I haven't been disappointed yet. I particularly enjoyed Technicolor and City of the Dog. As you said, they're nothing revolutionary but they they're a cut above the crowd and I feel Langan's work has become more and more literary and complex as he's written more, feels like he's striving toward something, which is not a sense I get from a lot of horror writers.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2018 20:03
|
|
|
Hungry posted:Wide, Carnivorous Sky was great and prompted me to read all of Langan's other short stories and then his novel The Fisherman, and I haven't been disappointed yet. I particularly enjoyed Technicolor and City of the Dog. As you said, they're nothing revolutionary but they they're a cut above the crowd and I feel Langan's work has become more and more literary and complex as he's written more, feels like he's striving toward something, which is not a sense I get from a lot of horror writers. Yeah it's definitely making me eager to read The Fisherman. It seems like a weird thing to say, but I do appreciate that Langan doesn't feel like he's trying to write capital-h Horror in the way that a lot of his contemporaries are, he's just writing solid stories with interesting concepts. I think as a result he dodges a lot of the problems that others have, like the complaints we've been levelling at Barron over the last couple of days regarding leaning heavily on ambiguity and sometimes including token creepy scenes that don't further the plot that much. I haven't read City of the Dog yet so I'll keep an eye out for that one... I did like Technicolor way more than I thought I would. I sometimes don't enjoy stories that make it apparent they're intentionally holding back important info, but the format of the story made it work, and the writing strung me along just well enough to keep me engaged throughout. That may be the vaguest spoiler I've ever tagged, but I suppose there's an off chance it could give something away... MockingQuantum fucked around with this message at 20:14 on Jan 19, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2018 20:09
|
|
|
MockingQuantum posted:Yeah it's definitely making me eager to read The Fisherman. The Fisherman did something to me I still can't quite put my finger on - something very good. Before I picked it up I read some reviews which really tore into it but afterward I couldn't figure out how they hadn't seen what I'd seen, but maybe that's it - in some ways it's not written like standard horror, it does things with storytelling method and narrative construction which are more common in 'high' literature but less so in horror as a genre.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2018 20:21
|
|
|
Do you like John Carpenter's 1982 film The Thing? Then you might like this short story.
|
|
#
?
Jan 20, 2018 17:57
|
|
|
that's, uh, one hell of an ending line. whoo
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2018 00:48
|
|
|
I'm 4 stories into North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud and I'm completely blown away. Highly recommend.
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2018 03:58
|
|
|
Dienes posted:I'm 4 stories into North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud and I'm completely blown away. Highly recommend. Yo, right? He's insanely good.
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2018 04:56
|
|
|
Hungry posted:The Fisherman did something to me I still can't quite put my finger on - something very good. Before I picked it up I read some reviews which really tore into it but afterward I couldn't figure out how they hadn't seen what I'd seen, but maybe that's it - in some ways it's not written like standard horror, it does things with storytelling method and narrative construction which are more common in 'high' literature but less so in horror as a genre. Agreed. That is a book that has stayed with me for longer than usual.
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2018 19:35
|
|
|
Really liked Barron's Broadsword in Black Wings. I'll re-visit Occulation after I finish this.
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2018 14:10
|
|
|
Relevant to the thread’s interests.
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2018 21:04
|
|
|
This is fun.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2018 08:44
|
|
|
My biggest gripe with The Fisherman was the ”story being told in a bar” thing. It’s really hard to suspend disbelief at the idea of one guy going on for what must have been nearly a workday, dropping in florid language and details that could not possibly have been known by anyone alive to tell the story. There was an attempt to provide some explanation, as I recall, but I wish Langan had just come up with a less contrived narrative device.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2018 11:51
|
|
|
Just finished the first story in North American Lake Monsters. Yep, this is gonna be an interesting ride.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2018 14:44
|
|
|
Jack Ketchum died this morning. He's more of a "humans are terrible, look at these terrible things they do" kind of horror writer, but he was still a giant of the genre.
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2018 20:04
|
|
|
Ornamented Death posted:Jack Ketchum died this morning. He's more of a "humans are terrible, look at these terrible things they do" kind of horror writer, but he was still a giant of the genre. Yeah, Ketchum had a pretty unique voice when it came to writing. The Girl Next Door is one I'll likely never forget.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2018 06:15
|
|
|
Sorry if this has been covered before, but I finished the VanderMeer trilogy and have (obviously) a few questions, but was hoping somebody could clear up a couple for me - trying to keep it vague enough to avoid excessive spoiler tags. - The S&SB people who keep bugging Saul (Henry, Suzanne, and the mysterious other lady who shows up at one point) - did I miss any clues as to their backstory? I'm not supposed to know who the 3rd person is in that list, right? All I can surmise is that Henry made contact with that thing somehow and it drove him to everything he ended up doing. Was kind of hoping that he would turn out to be Control's grandfather or something. - The alien thing - so Ghost Bird has a vision when touching the Crawler of the cataclysmic events over on the alien homeworld, that blasted it to pieces and sent all these bits of the biome scattering off through space, one of which ended up on Earth. But it's also stated that there is nothing left over there - that the thing that ended up on Earth is trying to make contact back to something that does not exist anymore. So then what is made contact with, exactly? When Saul has the vision of something huge and terrible in the sky near the end of the 3rd book, what is that, if not what was destroyed already? Made me wonder if it was making contact, but with something different than what it came from. But I think I must have missed something. Hope these questions aren't too dumb.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2018 17:21
|
|
|
I will be ignoring the thread until I finish this now--just about 50 pages into Annihilation and love love LOVE it so far
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2018 19:28
|
|
|
Mozi posted:Sorry if this has been covered before, but I finished the VanderMeer trilogy and have (obviously) a few questions, but was hoping somebody could clear up a couple for me - trying to keep it vague enough to avoid excessive spoiler tags. I've just recently finished these myself and am still thinking about it and processing, so there will be others here better suited to answering these questions, however, I know there are some prequel books coming out soon which will hopefully shed some light on the S&SB background, their connection to Central.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2018 21:30
|
|
|
That's a pretty dreadful poem, but works really well with enthusiastic Billy Joel singing. "I have seen things I care not to gaze on again" sounds hilarious noncommittal to my modern ears. "Eldritch horrors from out of the Stygian abyss? Eugh...id rather not guys, do we have to?"
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2018 15:08
|
|
|
General Ledger posted:I've just recently finished these myself and am still thinking about it and processing, so there will be others here better suited to answering these questions, however, I know there are some prequel books coming out soon which will hopefully shed some light on the S&SB background, their connection to Central. Yes, I just heard that as well - should be very cool. Also I wasn't aware they were making a movie until I read it in this thread, but when I was reading it there were a lot of moments that jumped out at me as very cinematic, so I have my fingers crossed - could either be amazing or awful, but either way should be interesting.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2018 15:12
|
|
|
I just finished Acceptance a few minutes ago and I don’t even know what to think. What is up with the cell phone? I get that Control turned into his cat at the end, what did jumping into the light do to change Area X? I assumed that there was a portal at the bottom snd that’s how the clones got out. Is that really the end of the storyline? Is Area X located on Earth? Is it pulling chunks of Earth somewhere else? Is there a good resource I could read?
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2018 02:08
|
|
|
Done with Annihilation and LOVED IT. As a working biologist (of a sort) I also understood the protagonist and that side of the narrative; it wasn't technical but biologically plausible for sure. Fantastic book! Into Authority now
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2018 05:23
|
|
|
Professor Shark posted:I just finished Acceptance a few minutes ago and I don’t even know what to think. I think a lot of this is left vague deliberately, but I didn't get any impression that it was a portal to someplace off earth. I think it just corrupts and changes life it encounters, for some unknown reason. I must have missed that Control thing though, what was it that gave you the impression he jumped into the cat? I thought his fate was just completely unknown. I didn't think that the light was a portal either, I thought it was the center of the phenomenon or something. It's been a while since I read it though, I might be misremembering some stuff.
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2018 13:48
|
|
|
Professor Shark posted:I just finished Acceptance a few minutes ago and I don’t even know what to think. I could be wrong... 1. It's Lowry's 'cloned' cell phone that Area X made. It's actually alive and runs around, presumably keeping an eye on things. It's a sign that Area X has followed Lowry back into the normal world, which is another way of saying his war against Area X was lost before it even began. Unless he was a double agent. 2. Good catch on turning into the cat, I think you're correct about it. Probably similar to how the giant boar used to be an expedition member. I think when he goes through the portal it sort of finishes and expands the connection between wherever Area X is and Earth, but this is just speculation. 3. There will be prequels, not sure about sequels. 4. Area X itself is a bit uncertain - when they go through the portal to enter Area X, they are leaving Earth, but in the end of the books Area X is back on Earth. Not much of an answer, maybe. 5. Would also like to know!
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2018 20:03
|
|
|
Drunkboxer posted:I think a lot of this is left vague deliberately, but I didn't get any impression that it was a portal to someplace off earth. I think it just corrupts and changes life it encounters, for some unknown reason. I must have missed that Control thing though, what was it that gave you the impression he jumped into the cat? I thought his fate was just completely unknown. I didn't think that the light was a portal either, I thought it was the center of the phenomenon or something. It's been a while since I read it though, I might be misremembering some stuff. I think it was just before they arrive at the Tower that he's thinking about how much he missed Chory or whatever it was called, then when it briefly switches perspective to him it mentions that the floor was warm beneath his paws. Just a guess, but I think he turned into the cat he felt guilty for leaving behind. Anyway, in the CD thread I reasoned that Area X is basically like an Alien Roomba that Control's mother and the two agents activated. Once turned on, it analyzes and starts to clean its environment, purifying it for whatever long dead species designed it. It learns what should be in a living room, and then when it encounters something that shouldn't be there, like a towel on the floor, it turns it into something that should be there, like a lamp, hence why everyone is getting turned into animals. Of course the creators are long gone, so the entity is just coldly destroying humans without any hate or malice, just following its programming. Is that anywhere near where other people are at?
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2018 21:50
|
|
|
Professor Shark posted:I think it was just before they arrive at the Tower that he's thinking about how much he missed Chory or whatever it was called, then when it briefly switches perspective to him it mentions that the floor was warm beneath his paws. Just a guess, but I think he turned into the cat he felt guilty for leaving behind. Yeah I think so, though I'm still not clear on a bunch of stuff. I liked how you don't get all the pieces and just have to accept it along with the characters though. Have you read The Other Side of the Mountain by Michel Bernanos? It's included in The Weird (a collection that the Vandermeers edited) and you can really see its influence on the Southern Reach Trilogy. It's a strange, bleak story.
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2018 23:11
|
|
|
It’s been a bit since I’ve read the trilogy so I’m a bit hazy on this, but I thought it was implied that Control turned into a rabbit, not his cat (its ambiguous though because IIRC he’s got a cat figurine in his pocket doesn’t he?). In Whitby’s freaky attic painting it shows some recognizable characters as animals, and a few of them are definitely people who got animal’ed in Area X, and the species-to-person matches up. I think Control is portrayed as a rabbit there. This stands out to me even more remembering the thousands of white rabbits the Southern Reach drove into the border early on. Kind of a nice parallel with Control being the ‘rabbit’ breaching the second border and going somewhere/catalyzing something new. Edit: found the quote— ”Then he found himself. Incomplete. His face taken from his recent serious-looking mug shot, and the vague body of not a white rabbit but a wild hare, the fur matted, curling, half penciled in.” mareep fucked around with this message at 05:59 on Jan 30, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2018 05:53
|
|
|
Drunkboxer posted:Yeah I think so, though I'm still not clear on a bunch of stuff. I liked how you don't get all the pieces and just have to accept it along with the characters though. I hadn't, but I checked it out last night and I'm enjoying it! redcheval posted:It’s been a bit since I’ve read the trilogy so I’m a bit hazy on this, but I thought it was implied that Control turned into a rabbit, not his cat (its ambiguous though because IIRC he’s got a cat figurine in his pocket doesn’t he?). I'd forgotten about that part of the mural! I guess I just associate "paws" less with rabbits and more with animals like cats. I do wonder what change he brought to Area X, hopefully it will be explored in the new books somehow.
|
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2018 10:11
|
|
|
As far as I can tell it seems to be almost universal consensus that Laird Barron started out amazing but has dropped off in quality markedly over time. If I wanted to read his best stuff, what would that be. Just individual stories, or is there a collection that's all concentrated goodness?
|
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2018 21:39
|
|
|
Xotl posted:As far as I can tell it seems to be almost universal consensus that Laird Barron started out amazing but has dropped off in quality markedly over time. If I wanted to read his best stuff, what would that be. Just individual stories, or is there a collection that's all concentrated goodness? I don't think it's quite as simple as "he's gotten worse over time." I think he's like a lot of writers, where prior to really getting a name for themselves and getting widescale publishing deals, they have a lot of time to accumulate work. Now that his initial popularity is past, he's still gotta keep paying the bills, so the work's gotten a little more inconsistent. Also I missed his first surge in popularity, but I'd say he got kind of overhyped initially, so to say he started out "amazing" is probably a bit strong. He's got a unique tone and style which made him feel fresh... but then he wrote a handful of samey stories with hyper-masculine dudemen for a while and it started to look like maybe he didn't have much range as an author. I still think he's one of the better ones out there today. Hot take aside, all of his collections are actually pretty solid quality by the standards of weird and horror fiction anthologies. They each have really excellent stories, but they all have a dud or two as well. Probably the best showing is Imago Sequence, which was indeed his first one. It really comes down to opinion though. Usually that and Occultation are considered his strongest showings, and The Beautiful Thing that Awaits Us All is considered his weakest (though it has arguably one of his best stories in it, "The Men from Porlock"). I thought Swift to Chase was good, though kind of a different approach to a short story collection, so I know at least a handful of people who didn't care for it. TL;DR: Imago Sequence is probably your best bet.
|
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2018 21:49
|
|
|
Thanks thread for recommending North American Lake Monsters, I'm really digging it. Very well written, compelling, freaky and disturbing. I'm never sure quite what to expect or where the stories are going.
Mozi fucked around with this message at 22:43 on Jan 30, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jan 30, 2018 22:37
|
|
|
Werll, I just grabbed the Imago Sequence and threw in North American Lake Monsters for fun. Thanks as always for the recs, folks.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2018 01:23
|
|
|
About to finish North American Lake Monsters. Is it safe to continue reading more from Ballingrud?
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2018 22:48
|
|
|
the only other thing he has out is the visible filth, which is just a novella. it's good but NALM is better
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2018 00:42
|
|
|
C2C - 2.0 posted:About to finish North American Lake Monsters. Is it safe to continue reading more from Ballingrud? I think the very last story in NALM has traumatized me for life.
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2018 00:49
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 15:45 |
|
|
Just finished The Croning a couple of nights ago. It was pretty good overall, though I wasn't crazy about the last section of the book. In general it's a pretty good read, if you go in knowing 1) the story will eventually tie back together, treat the book as if it was sort of a fix-up, and 2) no matter what the book tells you, the protagonist is in his 60s. No other number told you is true. I also knocked out The Mist which is probably one of King's most cosmic horror-y works. It feels a little dated, and honestly I liked the ending of the movie better, but I have a soft spot for King and always find his stuff fun to read, even if the plot isn't fantastic. Any more good books/shorts like this? I like the whole idea of people stuck somewhere trying to figure out what the hell is trying to kill them.
|
|
#
?
Feb 1, 2018 16:57
|
|