Book Review: 'Cursed' by Jeremy C Shipp

The thing about Jeremy C. Shipp is that:

1. You never quite know what you're going to get;
2. When you get it, it's hard to know how to take it in.

Cursed, Shipp's latest novel, is:

1. No exception;
2. No disappointment.

Once again, it has taken me a good couple of weeks since finishing Shipp's latest book before I have been able to sit down and put together a coherent review of his work (For a bit more background, check out my review of Vacation). There are several reasons for this. Shipp's writing:

1. defies definition;
2. cannot be boxed in the ragged old cliches of other more pedestrian authors;
3. gets inside your skull and messes with your head.
   

It may also be because I was:

1. looking at my watch;
2. scratching the mole on my left arm;
3. thinking about what I didn't say.
   

If you're wondering what the hell is up with the lists, I'll leave that to you to find out. Cursed is that sort of a book. I can't say too much without giving things away.

From the outset, Shipp drops us into a world slightly skewed and fundamentally wrong. Chapter by chapter that world tilts further into madness, as our protagonist Nicholas struggles to undo the curse laid on him by an unknown villain, for reasons unknown.

Shipp weaves an abstract tale that questions the nature of family and community in a world where we grow ever more estranged from each other, rendering the breakdown of our social constructs in the isolation of his characters. In their efforts to find meaning in lives which have grown more and more pointless, Shipp's characters, in their twisted version of a reality, do what we so often do without facing up to it: they hurt each other.

Once again, Shipp has written a book that cuts to the core of who we, as people, really are, and how we struggle to confront our emptiness, our grief, and our fear. In Cursed, we see characters who have fallen into the very blackest of despair, yet they find ways to battle through it regardless; sometimes, regardless of who gets hurt in the process. They put on brave faces, they write lists, they surround themselves with trinkets and memories of lives now faded, and they huddle to each other for the sake of not feeling so lost and alone.

Shipp has truly come into his own voice in this most idiosyncratic of books. Despite his experimental style and unorthodox structures, Shipp still tears at the reader's heartstrings as Nicky and his friends spiral deeper into the insane haze of the Curse. Cursed also has its uplifting moments, and plenty of laughs, if only in the blackest of humour. The sort of laughs that come because if you don't, you might just have to cry.

Cursed is definitely a book worth laying your hands on. I'm going to rate it at 4 Stars, with a bonus point for innovation.

Cursed will be available from October 30th, and can be ordered from his website.

Novel Review: Personal Effects: Dark Art by JC Hutchins

Readers of this site will no doubt already be aware of who JC Hutchins is, his epic technothriller 7th Son series (link is to my review), and probably of the innovative work that is Personal Effects: Dark Art.

If you are not, then you should be. Otherwise you risk missing out on bearing witness to the rise of one of the most important writing talents of this century.

Hutchins is more than just a fine writer of science fiction thrillers and supernatural horror. JC Hutchins is a pioneer in both the world of social media and in interactive fiction as a whole.

Besides his claim to fame as one of a select group of writers who adopted podcast technology to share their stories for free and to develop audiences that publishing marketers would have completely missed, Hutchins has proved himself to be an innovator in both audience engagement and fiction delivery. From his Obsidian series of fanfic short stories, which drew submissions from such luminaries as Matt Wallace, Mur Lafferty, Tee Morris, and Christiana Ellis, to running flash quizzes on Twitter with the prize being a cameo appearance in his new collection of short stories, Hutchins continues to push the boundaries of fiction, and to enthrall his fanbase in the process.

Personal Effects: Dark Art is no exception.

Taken as a book on its own, PE:DA is a breath of fresh air in a market of tired blockbuster hacks weighed down the morass of meeting publishing deadlines. Hutchins' writing in this book is dark and edgy, almost conversational, reminiscent of Kesey, yet bristling with ominous undercurrents. Perhaps it was simply that I read the book in Hutch's voice, familiar as I am with his tone and delivery, but there was an injection of life in this book that is sadly lacking in so many of today's big-name authors.

The other thing about PE:DA is, of course, the personal effects themselves. The book comes with a pocket full of documents and, well, personal effects: credit cards, appointments slips, drivers license, as well as photos and drawings. It is possible to read this book on its own, but there is another layer to be explored in the story, by chasing up the clues that appear in text and in the personal effects. There are phone numbers to call and websites to visit, as well as clues that allow the reader to delve deeper into the mystery of Martin Grace than even Zach Taylor, the protagonist, gets.

Is it a gimmick? Perhaps. But if so, it's one of the hands-down coolest gimmicks to accompany a book that I've ever seen. The images and the information that the effects conjure forth are chilling, perhaps more so than the story. But the story itself is a powerful journey regardless. The three elements - the book, the personal effects props, and the world of clues that lie beyond the book - serve to enhance each other, creating an experience which is somewhat more substantial than the sum of the individual pieces.

Is it the future of storytelling? Well, that all depends on how well PE:DA does in the marketplace. It's the sort of thing I'd certainly like to see more of. At the end of the day, however, only book sales will determine whether or not this bold venture into multi-dimensional story-telling will sink or swim.

For sheer creative flair, PE:DA is a clear winner, and it's a damned enjoyable read all on its own. I'm going to give it 4.5 Stars, and recommend you get your hands on a copy.

If you haven't checked out Hutchins work already, then a good place to start is probably with the podcast exclusive prequel novella to PE:DA, called Personal Effects: Sword of Blood. It's not yet complete at the time of this post, but it's well worth a listen to get a feel for how Hutchins writes.

And then when you read PE:DA, you might hear it in Hutchins' voice in your head, too.

'Toothless' Trailer

In a quick update to my last review, JP Moore has released a trailer for the Toothless audiobook, featuring the artwork of Scott Purdy and music from The Monster Symphony by Devin Anderson.



Enjoy!

Podcast Novel Review: "Toothless" by JP Moore

Meet J.P. Moore, genre-bending master of the dark and horrific, author of Toothless.

Not that I would have ever thought that, having encountered him first on Twitter, where he is truly a gentleman and a wit, to boot.

I was first enticed to listen to Toothless after following JP on Twitter, where I read a tweet he wrote which went something like this (and I paraphrase):

"So, you take issue with the historical inaccuracies in my audiobook Toothless. Was it the zombies or the demons that annoyed you more?"

Or words to that effect. How I laughed. And, accordingly, I had to get this book.
Imagine my surprise, then, when I get into it, expecting something lively and comic in a brutal, undead monsters sort of way. It is not.

Toothless is anything but comic, except in the blackest sense, but it is brutal, and it is utterly brilliant.

Moore sets himself a raft of challenges in setting this story up, not the least of which is the difficulty of making his main character - the eponymous Toothless - an undead warrior who draws his power by slaying the living, as his demon master leads his fell legions across medieval Europe. Martin was a Templar knight, and his jaw is hacked off in battle by the demon who kills him. When he is reanimated, his mortal memories fleeing his frail shell, he is given the moniker Toothless, and is set to destroying the living, combatants and innocents alike.(Artwork Copyright Scott Purdy 2009)

In this, Moore has his second task: to engage the listener with this lead character who cannot, by any means, speak. I was expecting some contrivance to allow Toothless a voice, but Moore plays the hand he has dealt himself with sheer determination, never once bowing to the lure of dark magic or telepathy to allow his anti-hero communication. In doing so, he reminds us of just how cheap talk really is. Toothless doesn't need to talk. His actions are everything.

Moore takes this tragic beginning and spins it out into a tale of woe, loss, despair, and the dauntless face of human courage despite insurmountable and indescribable odds. Toothless struggles with his guilt and grasps desperately to the fleeting memories he still holds of his lost wife and daughter. In these memories, in the loves he knew as a man, are the seeds of his redemption, and therein lies the story of Toothless.

What really kept me coming back to this book, however, was not the originality of the blended genres or even the need to know how Martin's final quest is resolved, but simply Moore's command of the English language. The writing is simply superb, painting the bleak yet inevitable collapse of civilisation before the Black Yew in infinite shades of mist and grey, scoured with blood and decay. Moore wraps his words around your ears like a fog, swirling to reveal the dying world in awful, sorrowful slivers. I was constantly drawn into the sheer poetry of Moore's prose, often paying more attention to the words themselves than the actual story.

The audio production is crisp and clean, and Moore's dry narration is well-suited to the dark, brittle tale he weaves.

If anything, I found that the story was in places a bit slow to progress, but the excellence of the writing more than made up for this small failing - one which, I'm sure, could easily be remedied in the editorial process.

I rate Toothless at 4 Stars out of 5, with a 5 Star Special Award for Awesome Prose.

Yes, I can make awards up if I so desire. See, I just did.

Podcast Novel Review: "Lost Gods" by Drew Beatty

I love a good supernatural urban fantasy, and I also love a good old-fashioned grifting story. It's rare to see the two genres cross, and I wasn't sure that it could possibly work. But after listening to the first chapter of Drew Beatty's Lost Gods, I was left hoping that such a wonderful hybrid creature could indeed exist.
I was not to be disappointed. Lost Gods starts out on a very low key, but it consistently cranks up the stakes as the story progresses. What begins as the story of two shady characters who share a dark secret planning a con that will set them up for life evolves into a struggle between ancient and (almost) forgotten powers, that threatens everything we know and love. Without wanting to step into spoilerville, I can say that this story delivered a whole lot more punch than I was expecting, and did so in clever, unexpected, and thoroughly well-thought-out ways.

Beatty maintains a relaxed grip on his prose and dialogue thoughout, rarely breaking a sweat as the fate of the characters and, finally, all of us, is thrown into the swirling chaos that he creates. His narration is likewise laid-back and unhurried, which makes for easy and pleasurable listening. Beatty's confidence with his work and with the mic shows through in a well-presented audio production that any amateuer podcaster ought to be proud of.

Lost Gods is equal parts dark supernatural thriller, grifter tale, and black comedy. The final chapters wind up towards some of the best twists I have come across in storytelling for a long time, particularly in podcast novels. For sheer "I-never-saw-that-coming" value, this is a winner.

I rate Lost Gods 4 Stars out of 5, purely for it's dry and original entertainment value. Fantastic stuff.

Complete at 21 Chapters, Lost Gods can be found at Podiobooks.com, and Drew Beatty can be found on Twitter or at either of his homepages, LostGods.ca, where readers can also download PDF chapters, and drewbeatty.com, where Drew keeps a blog and updates on the podcasting world (Hat Tip: Ron Earl thanks for picking up the linky foible). There is a book version of Lost Gods in the works too; check out Beatty's homepage for more details.