SYNOPSIS:
In the ruins of an old parking garage, there is an effigy lashed to a pillar. To anyone else, the remains of the woman with the goat skull head is a warning. To a lonely young boy looking for escape, it is a god of salvation. At its feet lay tattered old notebooks, scattered stories, tales of strange encounters, of broken people and monstrous things, and of corrupt hearts and evil minds. In order to complete his transfiguration, the boy must read these stories, but he has no idea the fate that awaits him. (first off, that TITLE) The beginning setup is eerie and disturbing. "So you can be free," she tells him. "And so you can be blessed by the Bone Mother." eeeep. Lines/thoughts for each story below! THE LAND OF SUNSHINE -- "She had never learned to sign, and he supposed this was a good thing. If her hands were not raised, he didn't have to see the pale scars that bisected her wrists, and thus be reminded of how he had failed her." ....damn -- "Here, in that building, the answer, the closure he sought, awaited. And so, frozen on this cold wet street, he would not move." TRAVELER -- so this is flat-out HORRIFYING -- "I didn't mean to do that. I forgot." I almost laughed. "I'm pretty sure I'll get over it." There's something so achingly human about this little moment in the midst of a frightening, alien situation. There are some short pieces that stay with you (and usually come back into your consciousness at ass o'clock at night) and this is going to be one of them. MANNEQUIN CHALLENGE -- "And even if the change wasn't anything so dramatic, maybe they'd include him in more of their ventures. He was free to decline at any point, obviously, but wouldn't it be pleasant just to be asked?" Aw, Theo. -- "What if I were to touch you? Would you move then?" he asked, and his voice sounded strange to his own ears in a way he didn't like. am now creeped out go back home to your dog before you do something awful please -- OH GOD TOO LATE GO WARILY AFTER DARK -- "The bombs fell just after midnight. They tell you to prepare for such things. There are drills, kits, leaflets and posters, stern voices instructing you over the radio, but nothing can prepare the human mind for the sound of the world coming down. It is as if the devil has felled God." what. an. opening. -- 'Rats, my husband said, they'll eat anything. We laid traps, and the traps disappeared too.' UM. -- ' I could smell the whiskey on his breath but did not, as was customary, resent him for it. When the world wants to kill you, a bottle is as good a place to hide as a basement.' DOWN HERE WITH US -- "Then I found myself wondering why he didn't just drown that one int he brook." To which I'd responded, "The water would have refused him." nice to meet you too -- I love the zombie-apocalypse-in-classic-dwarf/elves-fantasy setup -- THE WITHERER hi nightmares how are you -- 'Should we live to recount this tale, there will be no mention of the forced sacrifice, of my abandonment of the child.' Yeah, I bet there won't. -- the 'garden' AUGH SANCTUARY -- 'The dust found its way inside me', he'd written eeeek A WICKED THIRST -- 'The waiter appears. It might as well be a mannequin for all the life that's in his eyes. I order another round and tell him to cheer up.' His inability to shut up when drinking is amply proven here. -- "Did I blow it?" I offer her a sly smile. "No." "Good." "But you can if you want to." "Jesus, is that a line that ever actually works?" "Not really," I tell her and join her in laughing. These nerds. <3 -- 'The scent of her fills my nose. Her perfume and a metallic, coppery smell." oh no YOU HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR FROM ME -- Lonesome Dove mention! -- This guy's charming. What's wrong with him? -- Well. Her mom's a real winner. -- 'And bonus, if it all went to hell, nobody would know her here.' *flashbacks to dating* -- ...did NOT see that coming. THE MONSTER UNDER THE BED -- "DAAAAAD!" "Fuck sake." "DAAAAAD!" "Jesus Christ, Billy, what?" "You said a bad word." Ahhh, parenting, where any emergency can be postponed by letting a cuss word slip. -- I love this one. Short and sharp. THE HOUSE ON ABIGAIL LANE -- haunted house storyyyyy -- I like the pov for this one (also, I love Sharon Grey and she deserved better, poor kid) -- 'the iconic imagery of dozens of dogs and cats camped out on the lawn of the house on Abigail Lane, all of them unmoving, all facing the house' 0____O Yeah, that'd be when I'd invent teleportation just to get the heck out of Dodge -- 'That the president of the United States may be an inveterate liar and all-around archvillain is not a reality for which the nation is prepared.' *hums Everything Old is New Again* -- 'Unwillingly, I glanced over my shoulder. On the stairs was a ten-foot clown.' AND THIS IS WHERE I NOPE THE HELL OUT EVERYBODY -- ohhh, poor Doug Lowell. -- 'People might not have believed there was anything sinister or otherworldly about the place, but skepticism is always easier from a safe distance.' -- teeth. in. the. mailbox. -- 'The woman's eyes are such a brilliant ethereal blue they penetrate even teh lowest of resolutions' Just as long as she's not a Traveler ------------------- All in all, Traveler is the best nightmare fuel; House on Abigail Lane is a great take on the haunted house genre; The Monster Under the Bed is just FUN; but my favorite goes to You Have Nothing to Fear From Me.
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A WORLD WITH A BLUER SUNMy reviews are set up a little like live-tweets: I write down lines I like/impressions as I read, and then transcribe. Reviews will contain spoilers, but I'll give a warning before they start. Archives
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