What are you reading? — Page 58

Marvick, Louis - The Second Mask

This is a wicked book.
The sort of book Lord Henry would present to young Dorian to further his education, to deepen his corruption.
And this is a tale of corruption: of values, of morals, of pledges.
Corruption, betrayal, deception, with a knowing eye toward self-deception.

Circa 1890, Sir Archibald Hacker is the acknowledged preeminent artist of his time. Whether paintings or sculpture, his compositions all but breathe life.
Just before his death, however, he entrusts a commission, a task, to a young lawyer. A man who already knew Hacker cloaked darker activities behind a genteel façade.
What remains is a sketchbook of unspeakable studies. Of recognizable depravity, which, like so many lurid obscenities, is potently addictive.

Louis Marvick has crafted a decadent journey, quite in keeping with the rotting aftermath of London’s fin de siècle.
Marvick has succeeded where others preen and posture emptily, boasting of their modern decadence, yet incapable of rivaling the celebrity frauds of our era, of matching the venalities that spill from political figures, let alone equaling the twittering car wrecks that everyone slows down to wallow in.

Marvick’s The Second Mask is an elegant atrocity, skillfully written, a crystal mirror against clouds of falsehoods.
Those who would seek the truth, would soon blind their own eyes.

Saki - Little Red Book Wit And Shudders

Please, certainly you have a book by Saki on your shelves already.
This group has been selected by Stuart David Schiff and includes only a few of the more popular tales.
All of these are droll, if not outright sardonic humor.
Best enjoyed in small doses, like small poison or recreational drugs.
The book, from Borderlands Press, is a perfect size for dipping in and out.
Endpapers have a touch of glitter to catch the eye, a thoughtful detail that more expensive presses usually forego.
Schiff, for those who do not remember him, kept the flame of indie Horror flickering in the US during the 1970’s through 1990’s along with Harry O Morris and W Paul Ganley.

Vardeman, David - April Is The Cruelest Month

In many regards, this seems a continuation of “Tramp On The Street” from An Angel Of Sodom.
The usual barflys cluster at Uncle Miltie’s, where sitting is preferred.
“Uncle Miltie’s is not a place where people stand. We prefer our drunks seated.”
At the noisiest table, one of the cronies is absent. Eddie. The quiet Eddie. The Eddie who strangled his mother before blasting his brains out.
Around the table, slurred mouths express theories, opinions.
Why? How could he? Do you think? Will this impact us – meaning, me?
Miltie’s is a dump, the regulars are assorted failures, more sodden with each pitcher of beer.
For every stray nugget of insight that spills from someone’s lips, the remaining dribble is drivel.
If you enjoy following drunken warbling, inebriated boasts, and a brawl of misunderstanding, then crack this one already, junior.
If, however, you prefer to drink yourself to stupefaction by your lonesome, thank you very much, then this collection of eightballs might be your ticket to paradise.

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

France, Anatole - The Queen Pedauque

Young Jacques, son of the popular local cook, assists his father by hand-turning the rotisserie.
Soft spoken, yet intelligent, he catches the eye of the roguish Friar Ange who offers to educate the lad in exchange for meals, and the occasional drop of wine.
All well and good, until the friar misbehaves most shamefully – one too many times.
Jacques then comes under the tutelage of Jérôme Coignard, doctor of divinity, master of arts.
From now on, the novel picks up tempo and rollicks along is an escalating series of picturesque adventures.
Escapades, philosophizing, drunken bouts, gambling, romance, sexual fumblings. Plus, once the mysterious cabalist, d’Asterac, arrives, expect fanciful pagan explanations for what one might previously view as the “normal” world.
Not exactly what I would call a page-turner, yet this was far more entertaining than anticipated, and I would not have minded reading a few hundred more pages.

Falowo, Dare Segun - Caged Ocean Dub

Imaginative and expansive collection of tales tinged with supernatural and folklore. Author Falowo draws from his Nigerian community, bringing stories steeped in war strife, daily struggles for existence, and what I can only term destiny.

One story weaves through the apprenticeship of hair braiding – a complicated art where mastery seems better attained by those who are called, over those who simply want a profession.

In a similar vein, a starving orphan is accepted into a hectic kitchen, popular with the wealthy and the elites. She is marked out, she has “the gift”. And while the meals, grand feasts, are sumptuous and unforgettable, they carry a heavy toll.

All of Falowo’s stories will expose the reader to new vistas. This is a collection for adventurers.

I do have an issue, however, and it is a sticky one. Every tale has several Nigerian words. I never read with a computer at hand. I am often lax about looking up words, especially when there are 2-3 unfamiliar, unguessable words per page. By the final section, the author seems to have realized this, and has begun to add brief definitions.

For the book, a glossary would have proved useful, although I can understand a publisher’s reluctance in adding one.

Zelazny, Roger - The Dead Man’s Brother

Wiley finds a dead man in his gallery. A bygone partner from his questionable youth. Police summoned, they do what most might do: assume Wiley did the deed and put him on ice. That is, until the CIA decide to spring him.

From this point on, this nutty yarn scampers from Langley to Rome to Brazil, as our man Wiley is coerced to find a missing Vatican moneyman.

The first half has a dynamic momentum and jumps around more than a grasshopper convention.

The second half bogs down in overly talkative passages, and lengthy exposition attempting to explain whatever the current mystery perplexes.

Despite Zelazny’s attempts to enliven proceedings with beatings, jungle escapes and bedspring romps, the tale grows ever stagnant until it reaches Dullsville.

Various (Editor: Diniz, Alcebiades) - Et Sic In Infinitum

Three tales from Raphus Press, along with a back catalogue indicating a prolific output.

Jonathan Wood’s “The Self’s Dark Monograph” eyes the book dealer / collector, whose obsession plagues his sleep. Dreams of books – lost, forgotten, imaginary – stack like dust covered tomes in moldy, dark rooms.

“On The Art” by John Howard and Mark Valentine, asks …
So how do you find the obscure bookshop? Not the one devoted to felines. Nor ones specializing in travel books.
No, the sorts that won’t even have a listing in Google. The ones whose very obscurity means it might, just MIGHT, carry something truly unique. Something our narrator has been seeking for years.

Brian Evenson’s “Lancastrer” catches up with the small time author. No, he is not a household name. He sells just enough to keep trying. Every year, on the road for a few months, the pointless meet & greets, talking to empty faces, signing books, shaking hands.
Exhausting himself, for what? The futility of immortality?
The ground shifts in Lancaster. Which one? They are all the same. The man with the black beard and homburg hat, he is there – then he is not – then he is back.
Our writer senses an ugly joke is unspooling. Knows one public reading too many might finish him. Unless he can steal the moment.

Brooks, Louise - Lulu In Hollywood

A book I have read and reread numerous times.
Except no, it is the Barry Paris biography I have read over and over.
This is an irresistible collection of Hollywood essays.

Incisive profiles of W. C. Fields, the Ziegfield artist extraordinaire, whose talents were butchered in the editing room.

The theatrical dynamo, Humphrey, contrasted with the legend, Bogart, with his tics and mannerisms,

Self-destructive Pepi Lederer, niece of Marion Davies, and parties at the sprawling Hearst estate.

Observations of and advice from the Bennett sisters, girlfriends and rivals.

A book much, much too short from someone who was there when the 1920’s roared.
Not to overlook a wonderful essay on G. W. Pabst.

Finished rereading the Darth Bane trilogy now rereading my Lord of The Rings all in one edition.

Malfi, Ronald - The Mourning House

Following personal tragedy, Sam Hatch, physician, pushes himself adrift.
Literally. He becomes, in the truest sense, a drifter. Traveling without purpose, without destination.
Until he spies an abandoned, rotting homestead off Tar Road.
Hatch buys the house, unaware or unconcerned about its history or characteristics.
Repairs underway, he discovers the home does have ghosts – the ones he carried with him.
A grief haunted novella, one of a series of miseries that Delirium seemed to favor during its heyday.
While I am not necessarily a huge fan of this writer, Malfi’s focus is keen, his hand steady throughout.

Whitehead, Henry S - Little Orange Book Voodoo Tales

Edited by Thomas Tessier.
The opening story, “Jumbee”, is sprinkled with errors. Typos, misplaced commas, periods, etc …
I envisioned the galleys lined on a wall, while a child with a magical editing spray gun, peppered the pages with spaces, commas, colons, in giggling, festive exuberance.
The proofing of these “Little” books seems more haphazard, depending on the diligence of the editor.
Nevertheless, this is an atmospheric juicy selection of voodoo yarns.
Perhaps mostly desirable for those seeking Mr Tessier’s signature.

Re-reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest because I was thinking about watching the movie again recently.

Murphy, Damian - The Explosion Of A Chandelier

Spain, possibly Sevilla, mid-1920’s, between the World Wars, pre-Franco.
Héctor enjoys a tenuous friendship with Vito, who professes more worldliness than he actually has.
While Vito poses and declaims a great deal, he is of a higher social standing than Héctor.
Both boys seem pre-teens, still engage in pranks, bound into mischief, tax their imaginations with wild role play. Viewing some adults as spies, saboteurs, anarchists, agitators.
Soon, Héctor, spending more of his summer afternoons in the enigmatic House Of Amaryllis, has a veil lifted: he glimpses a half lit world of alternative possibilities and ramifications.
This is a book that will carry you as far as you permit, in a variety of directions.
One may simply read a coming of age narrative. Another may read an analogy of Spain, or Europe, in an innocent, yet fraught period, just before the mass conflict. Yet another may see Fate’s hand, angels observing, utterly disinterested, the scrambling affairs of mankind.
This is the initial offering of the new Occult Press, and a real coup. One wishes them a long run.

Whitehead, Henry S - West India Lights

After a disappointing “attempt” from a modern press, I went to the shelves and retrieved this vintage Arkham House edition, purchased in 1984 for – get this – $1.50.
300+ pages, 16 stories and an essay explaining the obi to outsiders.

“Black Terror” is classic voodoo. A curse is laid, a Catholic priest summoned.

Recalling M. R. James “The Mezzotint”, the title story, “West India Lights” is of an eerie painting, and the soiled history of a privileged youth gone bad, quite bad, and the gallows.

“The Shut Room” lies in a small inn, losing business trade owning to thievery. Two of Whitehead’s recurring characters, Lord Carruth and Gerald Canevin, feature prominently.

The majority of these tales hail from the 1930’s and 40’s, published in popular pulps and magazines. All are eminently readable and should delight fans of old-fashioned yarns.

This was Arkham’s second volume devoted to Whitehead. I have never found volume one at a reasonable price. Good luck to all those who likewise hunt for books to fill your shelves.

Bell, Peter - Hauntings: Tales Of Supernatural Dread

At times, the sheer consistency of Bell seems uncanny, almost frightening.
Ten stories here, of recent vintage or new to this collection.

Rock climbers and Carl and William tackle the crags of Scotland in spring, before the horde of rookies, except they started too early and they are soon disoriented and trapped by a blizzard. In “The Bothy”, they find shelter in the self-named dwelling, only to encounter a fellow lost soul.

“Rounding The Stone” lingers in Machen territory, featuring an abandoned rural church, perhaps the grounds of an earlier pagan site, and the solitary explorer, overly curious, oblivious to the prickles rising on the back of his neck.

“Pict, Celt, Saxon, Viking and Norman had come and gone, yet the yews that crowded darkly round had outlived them all.”
So thought Blake, educated wanderer, with free time enough to traipse the back country, even take the wayward turn and finding an ancient chapel.
In “Ragnarok”, he scratches into the history, lightly, suspecting Norse origins, not suspecting how truly old the origins were.

The university professor and attractive female student. The thirst of knowledge, flirtation, followed by trysting. (I had witnessed similar scenarios during my college years.) In “The Curator Of Souls”, Dr. Slade proves a novice compared with Laura, in a tale that softly eddies into the realm of Aickman.

“Crucifix” concludes this strong collection and is a gem for bibliophiles.
Pamela worked for a Brighton bookshop, high end, prestigious. Until she was released owing to, shall we say, a misunderstanding.
Luckily, she accepts an offer to inventory a large, private collection in Scotland.
The owner, Lady Wilson Brodie, wants shed of the books, gathered over the years by her deceased husband, and his father before him, as well as … going back a century. Lady Gwen has no interest in, let alone knowledge of, books in general. She preference is for drink.
As for the books, Pamela spies numerous rarities, many worth a ransom, which could easily tempt the individual who was dismissed owing to “a misunderstanding”.

Gladysz, Thomas - Louise Brooks, The Persistent Star

Yes, yes, as others have pointed out, there are scattered redundancies here and there. Also, for casual readers, much here borders on trivia or minutiae.
My biggest complain is the lack of an index. Possibly this will be remedied in a later edition.
Nevertheless, this is a goldmine of information and photographs, not only of Brooks but also of her contemporaries, along with billboards, newspaper clippings, adverts, etc …
There are reminisces of those smitten by her, during and after her moment.
Gladysz’s passion is remarkable, his dedication tireless. He is the proper definition of fan, a fanatic.
Overall, an excellent companion to the biography by Barry Paris, which itself is essential.

I started reading the books of the Raimi Spider-Man movies. I was expecting just a retelling of the movies, but they are basically their own things. You do have to disregard some things that were changed for the movies later on though.

Copper, Basil - Whispers In The Night

Unable to buy Mr. Coppers two Arkham House collections, “And Afterward The Dark” and “From Evil’s Pillow”?
Rest easy. This very fine assortment is still available from Fedogan & Bremer, reasonably priced, and available direct, since F&B are still extant.

“Wish You Were Here” opens in Hoddesden Old Hall, bequeathed by an eccentric aunt to her nephew, Wilson. The manor had been neglected and needs work. Fortunately, like so many, Wilson is a successful writer and awash with cash. Along with the money, Wilson has a fiancée, Deirdre, and a best mate, Barry. Together, they form a curious triangle.
Then there are the postcards. Curious things, Edwardian, perhaps? Smudged, barely legible, arriving with increasing frequency. An uneasy Yule tale, best when the fire burns low.

Following a row with Angela, Claverhouse feared their engagement was finished.
To clear his mind, he spontaneously decided to catch a carriage to Croxted. Mechanical difficulties, dreadful weather, finds him compelled to lodge at the Red Lion Inn – where – he spies the most beguiling female.
“In A Darkling Wood” is another novella, this set in lonely country, troubled country.

Oh, the rising artist and his model, perhaps his muse. In this case, two models (muses), whom Ainsley juggles to keep each unaware of the other. Jealously can be so unpredictable.
Ainsley worriedly finds himself “Riding The Chariot” of industry, deception and desire.

“Out There” makes for a change. SciFi, set in the far future where mankind braces in technological fortresses, besieged by forces unknown.

Selected and introduced by Stephen Jones, enhanced with appropriate illustrations by Stephen Fabian.

Weiss, Andrea - Paris Was A Woman: Portraits From The Left Bank

Outstanding introduction to an overlooked chapter of the Lost Generation.
Except these women were not lost. They arrived in Paris to find themselves, to be themselves.
Sadly, for me, I had only been aware of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, along with Renée Vivien (who is barely mentioned in this).
Most of the chapters are of the artists, writers, painters, poets, muses, publishers, females who found greater liberty in France than what was offered in the American heartland.
The one who most captivated me was Djuna Barnes, and I launched searches to retrieve a few titles.
Relationships ranged from lifelong (Stein / Toklas) to tortured infidelities to acrimonious rivalries.
I enjoyed this immensely, and yet this is an era that has always fascinated, the unsettled period between the wars.
Weiss also scripted the 1996 documentary of the same name.
Anyone who fell in love with Midnight In Paris (2011) should find this an excellent companion.

Howard, Robert E - A Little Bronze Book Of Weird Tales

Now, this is an imaginative collection. Interspersed with colorful poems, there are six stories. All originally published in Weird Tales.
A Soloman Kane and a Kull, troubled by visions. A cursed home and a cursed book. Two midnight terrors.
A diverse sampling of Two-Gun Bob, bypassing the usual yarns.
Editor P. Gardner Goldsmith also provides a thoughtful introduction, rather than regurgitating Howard’s biography.

Littlegood-Briggs, Sylvia - Old Children

Jack, walking with vague purpose, heard the child, trapped under fallen stones, crying on the other side of the wall. He rescues the child, only to see it seemingly disappear.
Jack is noticed, however, by a woman who advises him that queer things happen where he is, Hunters’ Wood, and worse at the top, Birdyard.
She introduces herself as Polly, then offers him job at her home, Blackwood Cottage, where she wants a stone wall built, rather a stone maze.
As mentioned, Jack has been noticed. He has a quality “not quite of the fields we know, with more than a touch of the fields don’t know.”
This section, Jack’s observations, training, experiences, make for engaging reading. Two thirds in, however, the author pivots the narrative, dropping Jack into the realm of the Fairy Feller. Jack is added into a caravan, similar to those of Edith Bikker’s The Night Of Turns.
For me, this proved to be a narrative error and I found myself reading with diminished involvement. It seemed as if Littlegood-Briggs lost interest in her own tale, or if she simply lacked the story-telling ability to properly fill and conclude the opening section.
What is here, is excellent, despite the feeling that the two halves have been crazy glued together.

Various (Editor: Jones, Stephen) - Weird Shadows Over Innsmouth

I usually avoid the Cthulhu Mythos, endless sidespins and attempts, even though HPL approved them.
This one is different, however, as the entries revolve around one story.
In addition, Mr. Jones, a superb editor, is a very known quantity.

First surprise, a discarded draft of “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” which Lovecraft was wrestling with and receiving feedback from his circle. Not essential, yet interesting.

“Brackish Waters”, set while World War II rages, reveals that a branch of the Order of Dagon had been established in California.

Usually, it takes one to know one. In “Take Me To The River” only a handful, a few chosen, are extended the invitation. Amateur musician, owner of a used bookshop is not one, although his friend, a madcap fool, draws the card. Invitees head to the cloudy waters of Bristol.

Brian Lumley’s “The Taint” covers Polynesian tales, grotesque jewelry, and a suicide. The seaside hamlet, a shambling outsider, and slow reveal. Fans of the Mythos are aware of Lumley;s ability.

My favorite had to be Kim Newman’s “Another Fish Story”. Mojave Desert, late 1960’s, Charlie country, Charlie being Manson. Enter Leech, recognized as Randall Flagg, Lucifer, Nyarlathotep, the whisperer of lies. Charlie wants to launch Helter Skelter. Leech prophesies a darker future:

“His favorite apocalypse was a tide of McLitter, a thousand channels of television noise, a complete scrambling of politics and entertainment, proud-to-be-a-breadhead buttons, bright packaging around tasteless and nutrition-free product, audio-video media devoid of anything approaching meaning, bellies swelling and IQs atrophying…”

Such are the nightmares of Mr. Newman. Humanity would never embrace this future.

I’m leaving out Hugh Cave, Steve Tem, Caitlín Kiernan. Sorry!

Fedogan & Bremer still stocks this, still stocks copies signed by Stephen Jones, modestly priced.

Boston, Lucy - Curfew And Other Eerie Tales

Born in 1892, died in 1990, worked as a nurse in France during the Great War, wrote a popular series of children’s books, as well as assorted ghost stories.

The boys’ aunt and uncle rented the cottage, close by the crumbling manor. The aunt is mad for gardening and repurposing, and that includes an old bell from the ruin. The “Curfew” bell, as it is called, bears a sinister reputation. Does the aunt heed?

How had I missed “Pollution” over the years? This is an exemplary piece and belongs in more anthologies. This is a creepy work, not of fouled air, but tainted waters, worsened by neglect. Wrigglers that lurk in the depths, rising, however, when hungry.

Francis was recovering from appendicitis surgery in the countryside. The house was restful, the furnishings a tasteful mix of antiques. Including “The Italian Desk” … provided one did not examine the intricate carvings too closely.

The collection concludes with “The Horned Man” which is a chamber play. Normally, I dislike reading scripts: film, TV, theatre. This one was brief, and features a charismatic witch-finder who understands how to charge the treachery of testimony.

The boards for this book show a painting of Boston’s house. Inside, there is a website listed of the home where one can arrange a visitation appointment.
As always from Swan River Press, thoughtful touches.