 |
|
|
|
Reviews of books by some of the hottest writers working today, exclusive author interviews, literary news and criticism.
 |
|
|
|
|
Fill out your email address
to receive our newsletter!
|
|
|
|
|
 Get new reviews the instant they are posted to the site with RSS
What is RSS?
|
|
| Search Box (type in author's last name or one key word) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 I never thought I'd find myself interested in one of my daughter's books. Usually, her reading selections involve handsome vampires or goth wannabe witches. But when she decided to write a book report on her recent "most favorite" book September and Other Stories and asked for help, I found myself entrenched in some of the most original dark fiction I've read in quite some time.
Reviewed by Michael Grotovsky
September and Other Stories
by Julie Ann Dawson
Lulu Press
ISBN: 1411619226
Softcover, 188 pages
September and Other Stories is a collection of 16 horror short stories and poems. The first three stories feature the protagonist Natasha Collins. Collins is a classic pulp fiction heroine in many respects. She's wealthy, intelligent, beautiful, self-reliant, and finds herself in all sorts of strange situations. The stories (A Candle for Imbolc, The Horror in the Attic, and September) are all set in the 1920's. And like a good pulp fiction heroine, Natasha has a non-traditional career. She's a professor of philosophy and religion. Her two sisters, an archeologist and a physician, also embrace the budding feminist movement of the 20's. None of this sets too well with their mother, whose sole desire in life if to get her girls married and producing babies as soon as possible.
But Natasha is no ordinary woman. She has the ability to see supernatural creatures. We learn that Natasha's best friend, Tabitha, died in a boating accident when the girls were little. But Tabitha apparently never really left, and helps Natasha with some of her supernatural adventurers. Natasha approaches the supernatural with both the matter-of-factness of a child and the calculating intellect of a scholar. She has ALWAYS seen ghosts, so they do not bother her. The rest of the family, unfortunately, does not see what she does. This leads to some rather interesting conversations (particularly when Tabitha leaves watermarks on Mother's newly installed floor).
"A Candle for Imbolc" and "The Horror in the Attic" both evoke the feel of a Lovecraftian tale, complete with tentacled creatures and alien intelligences. It is in the longest story, the novella September, that the characters truely come to life. The sisters get invited to assist with an archeological dig outside of Cairo, but the dig turns into a horror/adventure when they discover the sponsor's real goal. Full of witty dialogue, heart-pounding scenes, giant scorpions, sand monsters, evil artifacts, and even a diabolical mummy, the story wraps a lot of traditional horror motifs into one exciting and entertaining package.
Dawson does an about-face with the second half of the book. With "To Dine with a Demon," we move to the modern world, where an author is propositioned by a sexy young co-ed possessed by a demon. But the deal isn't exactly what you would expect, and instead you walk away with an uneasy feeling that maybe the "good guys" haven't told us everything. A brilliant and creepy story. "Bad Karma" tells the story of a selfish businessman who finds himself trapped in a nightmare from which he can't awaken. The story is less than 200 words, but it packs an incredible amount of force.
My personal favorite is the story "Voodoo." In the story, Dawson explains how a co-worker asked her to make a voodoo doll. Apparently a real snippet from the author's life, the story is surprisingly funny.
There are also poems included in the collection, though I am not much for poetry so I really can't speak for it. I don't think they really needed to be included in this particular collection, but they don't detract from the overall work either.
If there is a problem with the book, it is a minor issue of proofreading. The book is self-published via Lulu Press, so the author must have done the proofreading herself. Having worked on company newsletters and publications, I know how valuable a second set of eyes can be, and perhaps that's what was needed here to catch some of the typos. But then again, I've seen worse glaring errors in books rushed to print by major publishers. So it is a minor issue.
Overall, this collection is a nice break from the typical fare that dominates the genre. And it was nice to see my daughter reading something that didn't involve girls wearing black nailpolish pretending to be witches. An added plus.
Author's website: http://www.bardsandsages.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
