Richard Kadrey, The Grand Dark
A bike courier gets in over his head in a secondary world based on Weimar-era Berlin. Secret police, Grand Guignol theaters, automatons, a carnival, masked war veterans, an Anita Berber-analog, a radical resistance movement, thugs, a strange plague, man-made monsters, and a wicked morphine addiction stand between the protagonist and his lady love. Did I mention that he's in over his head?
A bike courier gets in over his head in a secondary world based on Weimar-era Berlin. Secret police, Grand Guignol theaters, automatons, a carnival, masked war veterans, an Anita Berber-analog, a radical resistance movement, thugs, a strange plague, man-made monsters, and a wicked morphine addiction stand between the protagonist and his lady love. Did I mention that he's in over his head?
Monoceros
Monoceros is a multi-author anthology of art and short fiction focusing on the unicorn. But these are not the unicorns of your Lisa Frank folder. We're talking blood and magic here.
Ugetsu
Ugestu is one of those movies I like to watch every couple of years. It's a perfect parable of how the families ultimately pay the price for male aspiration. All that and a ghost story to boot.
Drew Hayes,
Deathreats: The Life and Times of a Comic Book Rock Star
Deathreats collects the editorials and letters column from Drew Hayes's comic Poison Elves. The early editorials are a fascinating window in the world of self-published comics in the early 1990s, but unfortunately they take a turn into documenting Hayes's failed relationships and the bitterness that ensues. His unwillingness to self-examine and take some responsibility for his part in those failures becomes intensely grating. Unfortunately, we never get to see him grow; the next shift comes in the way of charting his rapidly declining health and untimely death.
Joel-Peter Witkin, Gods of Earth and Heaven
Joel-Peter Witkin's photography was foundational in establishing my aesthetic sense in the dark corners of the 1990s, yet oddly I never owned any of the collections of his work. As a teenager, I am sure they were out of my financial reach; in later days, they just never fell in my path even though his imagery is indelibly etched in my brain. And then, this book appeared on my doorstep from a mysterious benefactor who has my eternal thanks. You likely know about Witkin's preoccupations already: he specializes in the grotesque, in desecration, in the fallibility of all flesh, and an eroticism you wouldn't dare call desire. But have you ever noticed that his arresting central image is often providing the cover for a more pernicious image or idea to sneak up on you from some unobserved edge of the composition?
Vampire, With Primeval Force and Untitled
If we were to classify Vampire by what kind of vampire they'd be...it wouldn't be the seductive vampire, but it would instead be the bestial variety from Eastern European myth. Vampire deals out pummeling sarcophagal slabs of thrashy death metal, with touches drawn from the sinister side of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal moon. And if the sound of a sword being drawn on that one track doesn't make you want to play Castlevania, I don't know what we can do to help you. (Bandcamp link)
Ugestu is one of those movies I like to watch every couple of years. It's a perfect parable of how the families ultimately pay the price for male aspiration. All that and a ghost story to boot.
Deathreats: The Life and Times of a Comic Book Rock Star
Deathreats collects the editorials and letters column from Drew Hayes's comic Poison Elves. The early editorials are a fascinating window in the world of self-published comics in the early 1990s, but unfortunately they take a turn into documenting Hayes's failed relationships and the bitterness that ensues. His unwillingness to self-examine and take some responsibility for his part in those failures becomes intensely grating. Unfortunately, we never get to see him grow; the next shift comes in the way of charting his rapidly declining health and untimely death.
Joel-Peter Witkin's photography was foundational in establishing my aesthetic sense in the dark corners of the 1990s, yet oddly I never owned any of the collections of his work. As a teenager, I am sure they were out of my financial reach; in later days, they just never fell in my path even though his imagery is indelibly etched in my brain. And then, this book appeared on my doorstep from a mysterious benefactor who has my eternal thanks. You likely know about Witkin's preoccupations already: he specializes in the grotesque, in desecration, in the fallibility of all flesh, and an eroticism you wouldn't dare call desire. But have you ever noticed that his arresting central image is often providing the cover for a more pernicious image or idea to sneak up on you from some unobserved edge of the composition?
If we were to classify Vampire by what kind of vampire they'd be...it wouldn't be the seductive vampire, but it would instead be the bestial variety from Eastern European myth. Vampire deals out pummeling sarcophagal slabs of thrashy death metal, with touches drawn from the sinister side of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal moon. And if the sound of a sword being drawn on that one track doesn't make you want to play Castlevania, I don't know what we can do to help you. (Bandcamp link)
Stranger Things 3
Stranger Things never blows me away, but it's always a satisfying watch. Oddly, this is the season where some people have cottoned to the fact that maybe this show has something to do with 80s nostalgia.
Six Feet Under, Haunted
I don't really know why, but my metal listening friends in high school were Chris Barnes diehards. When he left Cannibal Corpse, Cannibal Corpse was deemed to be no longer worthwhile. But they weren't really that steadfast; turns out that all that was needed from his next band, Six Feet Under, was the first record. Anyway, Haunted is still a fun album. While Six Feet Under aren't mind-blowingly technical, they manage some thick grooves. "Human Target" would make for a good stage theme in a fighting game.
Kameron Hurley, Infidel
Infidel, the second novel in Hurley's Bel Dame Apocrypha series, amps up the pace and action. Kameron Hurley really excels at exciting, cinematic action scenes and there is no shortage of them here. Also, please note that I am #TeamInaya.
Stranger Things never blows me away, but it's always a satisfying watch. Oddly, this is the season where some people have cottoned to the fact that maybe this show has something to do with 80s nostalgia.
I don't really know why, but my metal listening friends in high school were Chris Barnes diehards. When he left Cannibal Corpse, Cannibal Corpse was deemed to be no longer worthwhile. But they weren't really that steadfast; turns out that all that was needed from his next band, Six Feet Under, was the first record. Anyway, Haunted is still a fun album. While Six Feet Under aren't mind-blowingly technical, they manage some thick grooves. "Human Target" would make for a good stage theme in a fighting game.
Infidel, the second novel in Hurley's Bel Dame Apocrypha series, amps up the pace and action. Kameron Hurley really excels at exciting, cinematic action scenes and there is no shortage of them here. Also, please note that I am #TeamInaya.
D&D Essentials Kit
Pretty nice box of stuff for new D&D players. The sidekick rules are already seeing quite a bit of use.
Kingdom
The Crown Prince of medieval Korea finds himself embroiled in a political power struggle while a strange plague that creates a zombie uprising. Kingdom has solid action scenes, genuine moments of tension, and some very funny comedic moments. Finally, a zombie show that isn't all dour "humanity tears itself apart in times of crisis" posturing!
Hannah Berry, Adamtine
A train stops mysteriously in a darkened tunnel. Its passengers are each connected to a suspected serial kidnapper (and perhaps murderer) who was acquitted of the crime and who blamed the disappearances on a monster. Complex and unsettling.
Slayer, Hell Awaits
Rough production, but any Slayer is good Slayer.
Glen Cook, Shadows Linger
A quick read, as was the first Black Company novel. Not a complex story, but it's very satisfying to see the three narrative threads--Croaker's account of the Black Company chasing down rebels in the hinterlands, Raven's continued flight to protect Darling, and an indebted innkeeper with a weakness for vice--intertwined and playing off each other like notes in a plucked chord. Also, Cook realizes that capitalism makes mercenaries of us all: "Essentially, the mercenary sets morality aside, or at least reorders the customary structures to fit the needs of his way of life. The great issue becomes how well he does his job, how faithfully he carries out his commission, how well he adheres to a standard demanding unswerving loyalties to his comrades. He dehumanizes the world outside the bounds of his outfit. Then anything he does, or witnesses, becomes of minor significance as long as its brunt is borne outside the Company."
Electric Wizard, self-titled
Sabbath-worship, yeah yeah, but there is something so bright-eyed here in Electric Wizard's full-length debut that it's hard to knock it as humble beginnings.
The Perfection
This movie seems pretty divisive, but to be honest I didn't watch it with an eye toward if it was doing feminism right. I just wanted a weird, semi-brutal movie, which it provided. I really could have down without the "let me explain the movie you've been watching, idiot" rewind scenes, but this is where we're at as a culture.
Molly Tanzer, Creatures of Want & Ruin
A strong-willed bootlegger and a bow-wielding socialite take on demonic fungus to save Long Island. I got so engrossed in this one that I read it in one day. I was already a fan of the first book in this loose "series" (and we did a Bad Books for Bad People episode on it here), but I loved this one even more.
Heiling, Futha
Heilung return with more Scandinavian pagan ritual music. But don't mistake this for ambient music; it's hard to relax when it sounds like your village is being invaded.
Steamtown
I had a nice day out at Steamtown in Scranton, PA. I am a big fan of Old Man vacations, so a day of looking at old steam-powered trains was just right for me.
Philip Reeve, Infernal Devices
There's so much going on in the third Mortal Engines book and it doesn't coddle or talk down to its young adult audience. Things get complicated when Tom and Hester's daughter gets kidnapped and ends up involved in a plot to unleash a super-weapon on the already traumatized world. Personally? I'm fully on team #HesterDidNothingWrong.
Richard Sala, In a Glass Grotesquely
The three pieces at the end of the book feature stunning art, but the real draw is "Super-Enigmatix," the story that fills most of the pages of In a Glass Grotesquely. That story feels...disquietingly prescient, but I suppose the writing had been on the wall for quite some time given our levels of media saturation, shock doctrine politics, and cultural self-absorption.
Jess By the Lake, Under the Red Light Shine
Jess, from the band Jess & the Ancients, arrives with her first solo effort: a bluesy, psychedelic slab of heavy rock. (Bandcamp link)
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Carmilla
(introduction and annotations by Carmen Maria Machado)
Le Fanu's Carmilla is, of course, a unparalleled classic of vampire fiction. What tempted me to buy another edition was the furor generated by this interview with Machado. As a fan of literary hokum, I had to read the introduction and annotations for myself. To be honest, the introduction and annotations feel slight; they do nudge the narrative in new directions, but they don't go nearly as far as I thought they might in altering the tale. Which may be for the best--it is a perfect Gothic tale and requires no embellishment. However, what I didn't know I would be getting would be some utterly lovely illustrations in this edition. Those proved to be the real unexpected pleasure of this edition.
Eyehategod, self-titled
The New Orleans sludge masters returned after something like fourteen years with a new slab and it's like they never left. I got caught off guard by the full-speed punk opener, but things soon settle into familiar misanthropic blues with an orchestra of feedback serving as punctuation.
Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque, Sean Murphy,
American Vampire vol. 3
This was a welcome relief after reading the disappointing New 52 reboot of I, Vampire. One thing I really appreciate about American Vampire is how it takes the reader on a tour of the non-capes comic landscape. This volume is a horror take on war comics; we've got the horror of the Pacific theater, doomed units, and, of course, Nazi vampires. Man, I'll never get tired of Nazi vampires.
Pretty nice box of stuff for new D&D players. The sidekick rules are already seeing quite a bit of use.
The Crown Prince of medieval Korea finds himself embroiled in a political power struggle while a strange plague that creates a zombie uprising. Kingdom has solid action scenes, genuine moments of tension, and some very funny comedic moments. Finally, a zombie show that isn't all dour "humanity tears itself apart in times of crisis" posturing!
A train stops mysteriously in a darkened tunnel. Its passengers are each connected to a suspected serial kidnapper (and perhaps murderer) who was acquitted of the crime and who blamed the disappearances on a monster. Complex and unsettling.
Rough production, but any Slayer is good Slayer.
A quick read, as was the first Black Company novel. Not a complex story, but it's very satisfying to see the three narrative threads--Croaker's account of the Black Company chasing down rebels in the hinterlands, Raven's continued flight to protect Darling, and an indebted innkeeper with a weakness for vice--intertwined and playing off each other like notes in a plucked chord. Also, Cook realizes that capitalism makes mercenaries of us all: "Essentially, the mercenary sets morality aside, or at least reorders the customary structures to fit the needs of his way of life. The great issue becomes how well he does his job, how faithfully he carries out his commission, how well he adheres to a standard demanding unswerving loyalties to his comrades. He dehumanizes the world outside the bounds of his outfit. Then anything he does, or witnesses, becomes of minor significance as long as its brunt is borne outside the Company."
Sabbath-worship, yeah yeah, but there is something so bright-eyed here in Electric Wizard's full-length debut that it's hard to knock it as humble beginnings.
This movie seems pretty divisive, but to be honest I didn't watch it with an eye toward if it was doing feminism right. I just wanted a weird, semi-brutal movie, which it provided. I really could have down without the "let me explain the movie you've been watching, idiot" rewind scenes, but this is where we're at as a culture.
A strong-willed bootlegger and a bow-wielding socialite take on demonic fungus to save Long Island. I got so engrossed in this one that I read it in one day. I was already a fan of the first book in this loose "series" (and we did a Bad Books for Bad People episode on it here), but I loved this one even more.
Heiling, Futha
Heilung return with more Scandinavian pagan ritual music. But don't mistake this for ambient music; it's hard to relax when it sounds like your village is being invaded.
I had a nice day out at Steamtown in Scranton, PA. I am a big fan of Old Man vacations, so a day of looking at old steam-powered trains was just right for me.
There's so much going on in the third Mortal Engines book and it doesn't coddle or talk down to its young adult audience. Things get complicated when Tom and Hester's daughter gets kidnapped and ends up involved in a plot to unleash a super-weapon on the already traumatized world. Personally? I'm fully on team #HesterDidNothingWrong.
The three pieces at the end of the book feature stunning art, but the real draw is "Super-Enigmatix," the story that fills most of the pages of In a Glass Grotesquely. That story feels...disquietingly prescient, but I suppose the writing had been on the wall for quite some time given our levels of media saturation, shock doctrine politics, and cultural self-absorption.
Jess, from the band Jess & the Ancients, arrives with her first solo effort: a bluesy, psychedelic slab of heavy rock. (Bandcamp link)
(introduction and annotations by Carmen Maria Machado)
Le Fanu's Carmilla is, of course, a unparalleled classic of vampire fiction. What tempted me to buy another edition was the furor generated by this interview with Machado. As a fan of literary hokum, I had to read the introduction and annotations for myself. To be honest, the introduction and annotations feel slight; they do nudge the narrative in new directions, but they don't go nearly as far as I thought they might in altering the tale. Which may be for the best--it is a perfect Gothic tale and requires no embellishment. However, what I didn't know I would be getting would be some utterly lovely illustrations in this edition. Those proved to be the real unexpected pleasure of this edition.
The New Orleans sludge masters returned after something like fourteen years with a new slab and it's like they never left. I got caught off guard by the full-speed punk opener, but things soon settle into familiar misanthropic blues with an orchestra of feedback serving as punctuation.
American Vampire vol. 3
This was a welcome relief after reading the disappointing New 52 reboot of I, Vampire. One thing I really appreciate about American Vampire is how it takes the reader on a tour of the non-capes comic landscape. This volume is a horror take on war comics; we've got the horror of the Pacific theater, doomed units, and, of course, Nazi vampires. Man, I'll never get tired of Nazi vampires.
