The Doomday Key by James Rollins
Occupying a genre that I might call historically plausible fiction, The Doomsday Key starts out with some historical facts that form the basis of the plot. This kind of grounding in reality does it for some people more than others. For me, I prefer my horrors to be a little more far-fetched, which helps to create separation between me and the story. As someone put it so well on Bluesky: dystopian fiction is less fun these days. I feel the similarly.
That being said, this story does a good job at what it’s supposed to do. There are a lot of chases, a lot of chapters end on cliff hangers, with the fate of our characters in doubt. That being said, despite the perceived danger, I never felt as if any of the characters were actually going to die. Rollins just didn’t seem like that kind of writer while I was reading the story.
It was exciting, though I stop short of using the phrase “paint by numbers.” If you’re into the genre, you should enjoy this story.
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Philosophy of Mind by Barbara Gail Montero
If you’re not into philosophy or have never thought about consciousness, you probably won’t be into it. As with most philosophy, this book spends more time analyzing the question than answering it, which can be frustrating. But it does provide a decent overview of theories about the mind’s origins and causes. If you’ve never stopped to think about it, or have never read anything on the subject, this book is a good intro.
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Cemetery Dance #79, Richard Chizmar editor
I’ve read 4 of the 9 stories, so I’ll do a short blurb on each. I won’t be covering the nonfiction bits. I hope that this means that CD will return to a more regular schedule. Let’s just say that it’s been long enough that I contacted them to make sure that I had updated my address when I moved 5 years ago.
“The Extra Hour” by Stephen King. This was a disappointing story. Because the conflict was introduced to us through a secondhand account, by the time we experienced it firsthand with Soames, it felt like I was reading the same story back to back, which lessened the impact. If you want to read a better insomnia story by King, read Insomnia.
“The Second Hand” by Kealan Patrick Burke. Framed as a “grown up confesses the truth about something that happened to them as a kid” story, it’s well executed and surprising. This is my favorite story so far and worth the price of admission.
“Blood Red and the Riding Hood” by S.A. Cosby. With a title like that, I figured it would be a werewolf story and I was right. I don’t know if it’s groundbreaking or subverts any tropes, but it was still a good and satisfying story.
“Auntie 9” by Felicia Lee. I’m not sure I understood this story. One of the reasons I tend to enjoy reading novels is because of the challenge of condensing a story down to a short form and still have the things that make it a story and not just a character study or scene without stakes. The stakes of this story just felt so low without any horror or supernatural elements.
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The September House by Carissa Orlando
If there’s one subgenre of horror that I love, it’s haunted stories. There’s something about thinking about what ghosts are, where they come from, and what they want that stands in for thinking about what comes after life for me. It’s something I think about often.
There’s been a shift in haunted stories that has characters trying to live with the hauntings. I think that’s something cool and opens up all kinds of allegorical avenues of storytelling. I’m looking forward to starting this one.
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I’m a few days late on this because I got horribly sick over the weekend. So I spent most of my time listening to movies as I moved between levels of Quil-fueled consciousness. What’s your favorite movie to watch when you’re sick?
The Chimerical Dark 