Things that brought me delight in July, 2016.
Books
Books
David Mitchell, Slade House
(A good bit of spooky haunted house tomfoolery, only slightly marred by the author's willingness to explain everything about the novel's mysteries.)
Jeffrey Ford, The Physiognomy
(Ford manages that difficult authorial trick of giving you a ruthless, abusive, and casually malign character--and getting you to invest in his story.)
Jeffrey Ford, The Physiognomy
(Ford manages that difficult authorial trick of giving you a ruthless, abusive, and casually malign character--and getting you to invest in his story.)
* * *
Television
The Living and the Dead
(It's like Far From the Madding Crowd-meets-Turn of the Screw-meets-hauntology.)
Stranger Things
(You probably already know all about this one, but if you haven't it is an inspiring mix of 1980s horror tropes. Even the font takes me back to the days of yellowed Stephen King paperbacks and late-night John Carpenter binges.)
Stranger Things
(You probably already know all about this one, but if you haven't it is an inspiring mix of 1980s horror tropes. Even the font takes me back to the days of yellowed Stephen King paperbacks and late-night John Carpenter binges.)
* * *
Music
Mortiis, Keiser av en Dimension Ukjent
(Recent joking among friends about silly genre labels, such as "dungeon synth," tempted me to revisit the works of super-silly troll-man Mortiis. I used to listen to his ambient records when I just wanted to zone out for a while and it turns out that they're still great for that purpose.)
Hecate Enthroned, The Slaughter of Innocence
(Even the black metal bands derided as being derivative sound fresh at the moment.)
Hecate Enthroned, The Slaughter of Innocence
(Even the black metal bands derided as being derivative sound fresh at the moment.)
* * *
Movies
She Creature
(Why aren't there more horror movies about killer mermaids? This one is fun; it plays out like a really good episode of Tales from the Crypt.)
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* * *
Art
The Art of Magic: The Gathering--Innistrad
(A lush coffee table book of art from the Innistrad setting from Magic: The Gathering. There's definitely enough text in the book to use it as an RPG setting, plus WotC has made this nice pdf supplement adapting it to 5e D&D. Definitely worth your time if you like tricorn hats.)
