Barker has an interesting twist on a demon. We tend to view demons as supernatural beings possessing supernatural powers which boggle the mind, but with Barker, the mind behind The Hellbound Heart, does something rather interesting: he creates a modern parable.
The Yattering in a low class demon, capable of creating small time poltergiest activity and act only within a set system of rules and is overseen by Beezelbub. In a way, this tales is a retelling of the trails of Job in the Bible. Satan could cause every malady and misfortune to Job, but could do nothing to physically harm him enough to cause Job to die. The Yattering is charged with causing with bringing Jack's soul to Hell, but cannot kill Jack, though can splatter a pussy (cat) all over the household. The Yattering is cause for all sorts of terrible events in the home all in attempt to cause Jack to go insane.
However, this is were the parallels to the trials of Job end. Hell wants Jack's soul, but Jack won't give it willingly. In a twist of character development, Jack is almost nonchalant, even apathetic to an extreme degree while the Yattering seeks his destruction. "Che sera, sera" is Jack's answer to just about everything the Yattering does, which translates to "what will be, will be". Clearly the man doesn't aspire to much. Maybe.
Jack's near apathetic and seemingly nihilistic character doesn't give him any development--maybe. The plot is turned over on its head and similar to a parable there are multiple layers to this yarn. Reading this tale at a surface level will only serve to confuse a reader and condemn them to everlasting torment.
Rating: 5/5
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Fuzzy Cycles: King's "Cycle of the Werewolf"
Don't mind the hairballs or the dismembered corpses, those are just for show. Maybe. King's werewolf tale is certainly nothing less than chilling, despite a fuzzy exterior.
In King's tale, the evil exists without rhyme or reason, save maybe to feed. Perhaps this evils origins date so far back, it escapes human understanding. There is a rhyme this this evil: every full moon.
In more depth, King creates a sense of dread in Tarker's Mill. Of course King could have expanded the story, but that would have taken away from it. The town is certainly small, and with the narrative weaves, it feels outright claustrophobic. Sorry, I'm trying not to "fan-boy" too much.
Anyway, onto the teeth of the matter! With this tale, we get character. Yes, they may seem "cookie-cutter" but at the core, these are people, every day people going about their lives. When terror is introduced, you get more flavor to these characters. They each react differently, as anyone else would react to strange violent murders occurring in a small town.
Rating: 5/5
In King's tale, the evil exists without rhyme or reason, save maybe to feed. Perhaps this evils origins date so far back, it escapes human understanding. There is a rhyme this this evil: every full moon.
In more depth, King creates a sense of dread in Tarker's Mill. Of course King could have expanded the story, but that would have taken away from it. The town is certainly small, and with the narrative weaves, it feels outright claustrophobic. Sorry, I'm trying not to "fan-boy" too much.
Anyway, onto the teeth of the matter! With this tale, we get character. Yes, they may seem "cookie-cutter" but at the core, these are people, every day people going about their lives. When terror is introduced, you get more flavor to these characters. They each react differently, as anyone else would react to strange violent murders occurring in a small town.
Rating: 5/5
Thursday, September 15, 2016
A Monster with Intelligence: "Rawhead Rex" Analysis and Review
Clive Barker is certainly a storyteller worth his words and all the blood and guts. Rawhead Rex is a piece that I could rave about for quite some time. It's certainly worth the praise. Rawhead Rex is a monster worthy of fear, not just for being nine feet tall with two rows of teeth and its insatiable appetite for the flesh of children. Rawhead Rex possesses intelligence, not just instinct.
Rex is an ancient creature, older than the Christian faith as stated by Father Coot. This does add another level to Rex. How does one go about putting an end to such an ancient monster? Rex has weaknesses, of course: bullets can damage him, as can fire. Rex understands his own weaknesses, which adds a truly terrifying aspect to him.
A monster can be only as frightening as its visage and its cruelty, right? Wrong. Rawhead Rex is a monster with an intelligence, granted that intelligence in limited. What is also outright frightening about Rex is that his intelligence could be greater than what is seen in in the story. The reader is given an insight into the mind of a monster, a monster which adapts to its environment. Rex is a monster with human qualities.
Barker does something similar with his other work, Hellraiser. In it, evil is ancient and seems to be beyond the ability of humanity to understand through the context of religion. Rex and Pinhead aren't even fazed by a crucifix, but by other objects, like Lemerchand's Box and the Talisman used against Rex. What contrasts these stories is how each of the antagonists are defeated.
In further comparison, Lovecraft does something similar. Lovecraft removes the context of Christianity from the horror tale, something Barker does to a degree. However, Barker gives Christianity limitations. A cross wouldn't slow Rex down, but fire and enough bullets could. This is were the comparison ends, unfortunately. Lovecraft was heavy handed in his madness, Barker is not.
Rating: 5/5
Rex is an ancient creature, older than the Christian faith as stated by Father Coot. This does add another level to Rex. How does one go about putting an end to such an ancient monster? Rex has weaknesses, of course: bullets can damage him, as can fire. Rex understands his own weaknesses, which adds a truly terrifying aspect to him.
A monster can be only as frightening as its visage and its cruelty, right? Wrong. Rawhead Rex is a monster with an intelligence, granted that intelligence in limited. What is also outright frightening about Rex is that his intelligence could be greater than what is seen in in the story. The reader is given an insight into the mind of a monster, a monster which adapts to its environment. Rex is a monster with human qualities.
Barker does something similar with his other work, Hellraiser. In it, evil is ancient and seems to be beyond the ability of humanity to understand through the context of religion. Rex and Pinhead aren't even fazed by a crucifix, but by other objects, like Lemerchand's Box and the Talisman used against Rex. What contrasts these stories is how each of the antagonists are defeated.
In further comparison, Lovecraft does something similar. Lovecraft removes the context of Christianity from the horror tale, something Barker does to a degree. However, Barker gives Christianity limitations. A cross wouldn't slow Rex down, but fire and enough bullets could. This is were the comparison ends, unfortunately. Lovecraft was heavy handed in his madness, Barker is not.
Rating: 5/5
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Cookie-Cutter Breading Ground: A Review of "Breeding Ground" by Sarah Pinborough
This will likely be a short review, likely the shortest I have written. "Breeding Ground" is certainly a fun novel, but riddled with several issues, among them is the writing itself and characterization. I wanted to like Matthew Edge, but I wanted more.
The first issue with this novel is the over-saturation of detail. Granted, the devil is in the details, but when more time is spent on environmental detail, it takes away from the story. Pinborough, to her credit, does well creating environments that are alien yet familiar in the apocalyptic tale. However, she does take away from her own story. Where Pinborough does well is the beginning: the attention to detail coupled with the first person perspective, does create an atmosphere of dread. After the first few chapters, the over-attention to detail weakens her narrative. At times, her usage of language creates misdirection, I found myself deep in a word soup.
The second issue, and the greatest weakness, is characterization. I wanted to care for these characters whom fate has nearly crushed. They can certainly be forgiven for their weaknesses during a time of utter chaos and upheaval of their lives; their survival instincts are what drive them and under extreme stress, the less savory aspects of characters come out. This does take away from any sympathetic response I may have had. I wanted to sympathize with Matthew, but I just could not bring myself to do so. He was a cookie-cutter male.
With all due credit and respect to Pinborough, she does create a good foundation for her characters, but she came up short in generating a sympathetic response through development. She generated a great deal of fear. Fear versus sympathy in a Horror tale is a tricky balance to strike.
Rating: 2/5
The first issue with this novel is the over-saturation of detail. Granted, the devil is in the details, but when more time is spent on environmental detail, it takes away from the story. Pinborough, to her credit, does well creating environments that are alien yet familiar in the apocalyptic tale. However, she does take away from her own story. Where Pinborough does well is the beginning: the attention to detail coupled with the first person perspective, does create an atmosphere of dread. After the first few chapters, the over-attention to detail weakens her narrative. At times, her usage of language creates misdirection, I found myself deep in a word soup.
The second issue, and the greatest weakness, is characterization. I wanted to care for these characters whom fate has nearly crushed. They can certainly be forgiven for their weaknesses during a time of utter chaos and upheaval of their lives; their survival instincts are what drive them and under extreme stress, the less savory aspects of characters come out. This does take away from any sympathetic response I may have had. I wanted to sympathize with Matthew, but I just could not bring myself to do so. He was a cookie-cutter male.
With all due credit and respect to Pinborough, she does create a good foundation for her characters, but she came up short in generating a sympathetic response through development. She generated a great deal of fear. Fear versus sympathy in a Horror tale is a tricky balance to strike.
Rating: 2/5
Thursday, September 1, 2016
A Mockery of Death: A Review of "The Funeral" by Richard Matheson
Matheson's The Funeral is Gothic satire, a melding of Poe and Twain. In the beginning, a heaviness is present in the text, oddly similar to The Raven; though any one of Poe's pieces would make a fair comparison. In the satire aspect, Matheson's The Funeral draws parallels with works like The Mysterious Stranger, but only for how the subject matter is handled.
In The Mysterious Stranger, Satan has this indifferent attitude towards life and death, much like Asper. Satan's indifference to human life was polar opposite of Asper's. Asper wanted a proper send off, with his monster friends at the viewing. Which certainly does at another layer to this tale.
Matheson employed several monstrous archetypes: Ygor, and a few vampire's in the group, of which Asper is one. Asper's ability to die may likely have drawn him to the funeral parlor. It is possible to infer that Asper has a fascination with death and the whole spectacle of it. Though it is more of a given than in inference; however, no other information is given that Asper was never given a proper send off, hence why it stands as inference.
Rating: 4/5
In The Mysterious Stranger, Satan has this indifferent attitude towards life and death, much like Asper. Satan's indifference to human life was polar opposite of Asper's. Asper wanted a proper send off, with his monster friends at the viewing. Which certainly does at another layer to this tale.
Matheson employed several monstrous archetypes: Ygor, and a few vampire's in the group, of which Asper is one. Asper's ability to die may likely have drawn him to the funeral parlor. It is possible to infer that Asper has a fascination with death and the whole spectacle of it. Though it is more of a given than in inference; however, no other information is given that Asper was never given a proper send off, hence why it stands as inference.
Rating: 4/5
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)