Slenderman, no author listed
I haven’t read a good epistolic novel since Dracula. Now, I’m not saying that this story is as good as the OG. But it was pretty good.
The story starts off with the convention of a character keeping a journal at the direction of their psychiatrist. And it is very much that convention. After explaining to the journal why he has started to write in it, all mention of the psychiatrist is dropped until a couple hundred pages later. The bulk of the story is told through Matt’s journal entries, with a smattering of newspaper articles, text message exchanges, emails, transcriptions of recorded audio, and Reddit threads. Because of the variety and modernity of the included media, it kind of disappointed me that the journal entries were framed so conventionally. But I also understand the unnamed author’s reasoning in not just wanting the story to read like a creepypasta.
I don’t know if the story does anything revolutionary or breathtaking. But it is a solidly enjoyable story.
Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (not pictured)
I finished two books this month and feel quite proud of myself.
I can’t say that I have anything to add to what I said last month, when Good Omens was my ‘Currently Reading.’ It was an enjoyable story, one that I’m glad to finally have under my belt.
Ghost Eaters, by Clay McLeod Chapman
Mr. Chapman has been writing for quite a while now, though this is the first novel I’ve read of his. I will be looking for another novel of his to add to my TBR soon, a distinction shared by few writers recently, notably Catriona Ward (The Last House on Needless Street and Little Eve).
At the intersection of the tragedy of a real world story of addiction and the horror of the unknown of what lies beyond death stands Erin, the main character of Ghost Eaters. I’m only about 50 pages from the end, and I’m not sure what kind of ending it will be. It seems like it’s bending toward tragedy. But I hope for the kind of catharsis that hopes for a life after the horror.
A very strong story. If you don’t read anything else by Clay McLeod Chapman, I highly suggest you read this one.
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and other misfortunes, by Eric LaRocca
The novella occupies an awkward space in the publishing world. Too short to be its own book; often too long to fit in the magazine short story market. I often feel that the novella is an unrecognized and underappreciated form. It allows us to get to know characters better than a short story, but doesn’t have a bloated midsection caused by an author struggling to get to 300 pages.
I am unfamiliar with Eric LaRocca or his work. Honestly, the fact that I picked this book up is my love song to why I love browsing in a real, live bookstore. The title leaped off the page at me, speaking to a visceral part of me that could immediately empathize with the sentiment.
The book contains three novellas. I’m looking forward to digging into this one, as the form is not something that I often get a chance to enjoy.
The Chimerical Dark 