In a doomed attempt to catch up with the review books we have in hand, today we cover some English stuff. Our prime pick is The Snow Witch, by Matt Wingett, plus we mention the speculative works of Allen Stroud and Jilly Paddock. No deep weird or dogs this time, because we’re pressed against the Occult Detective Quarterly wall, beating our little fists at too many other jobs. So see what you think of these…
The Snow Witch: The Book of Our Mood at the Moment
Sometimes we read review books which we adore, but we know that they’d appeal to only certain folk. We might say something is recommended on the basis of quality or originality, or because of the particular literary corner in which it sits – and we’re often looking at the degree of horror or weirdness in the work. Sometimes the book has a style which is so interesting that aspects of plot become less important, and so on. It varies.
This time we’re going to recommend a book on the basis that we think that almost everyone would get something out of, and we won’t give it a label. We will say that it has a degree of horror, but very much the horror of human behaviour, not the graphic sort. It has fantasy, but a subtle working thereof, without grand sorcerous showdowns. It’s contemporary in setting, but harks back to the roots of belief and earlier practices. And you might see it as a myth or fable, but couched in the language of today.
Matt Wingett’s The Snow Witch is about a young woman, originally from the Balkans, who visits a city during one English winter. She plays the violin to earn her way, and in the process her life intertwines with that of the locals. Simple, really.
Less simple are the personal losses, inadequacies and desires of those locals. From the brutality of relationships to the heartache in families, especially that of mothers, Wingett paints a genuine and empathic picture of real people struggling with their lives. He understands our need for hope and magic, and how we fail to grasp it sometimes. Amongst the small ensemble of characters, he also delivers a man who is so flawed and empty of compassion that the occasional potential for sympathy is washed away utterly by the end of the book.
For those who seek fantasy, both magickal and symbolic strands are interwoven with the above, including the protagonist’s inheritance from the Snow Witch’s mother, and the powerful fox motif which slinks through the book. For those who seek horror, Wingett also provides images that disturb – atrocities in the Balkans, brutalities and betrayals of the heart far more terrible and effective than chainsaws or zombies. Despite both of those comments, you can still read The Snow Witch simply as a fascinating story of people’s lives.
The Snow Witch is clever, moving, well written and extremely readable. An outstanding book for a winter’s night.
http://amzn.eu/bADzoxkThe English Connection
As we’re being a bit English today (an accident of timing), we’re including coverage of Allen Stroud’s new book The Forever Man, reviewed by Dave Brzeski. Dave is the Hard Man of the Occult Detective Quarterly editorial team, known for sending story submissions back to me with just “Fell asleep after three paragraphs,” scrawled on them. The antithesis to my agonised and over-lengthy decision-making process.
What you may not know is that his partner, Jilly Paddock, has been quietly putting out speculative fiction for some years. Jilly is not a publicist, and rarely promotes herself. However, the greydogtales Editor-in-Chief (who also takes the photos to save you from greydog’s appalling efforts) reports that they are very enjoyable, and that she always looks forward to the next one.
They range widely, but many have a pulp-detective feel combined with more modern science fiction, a pleasant duality. You can check out Jilly’s work through Amazon – here are a couple of examples.
The Spook and the Spirit in the Stone
http://amzn.eu/89KnOtU“A nine year-old girl is abducted on a backwater colony world. Bad enough, but Sophie Crispianou is the daughter of the Terran Ambassador and the step-niece of Earth’s President, and the kidnapper has struck before, leaving his previous victim dead. Finding the child falls to Detective Inspector A. Afton Lamont and her new partner, Jerome.
“The Earth authorities don’t trust the local police to solve such a high profile case and send in some help from Terrapol, an agent with psionic abilities—a spook. Giselle is beautiful but deadly, a mind reader and possibly much more, and her only goal is rescuing the lost child, regardless of the consequences. Can this unlikely team find Sophie and save her before tragedy strikes? Deep in an abandoned mine at the edge of the city, something lurks, something old and evil, woken by the tears of a scared little girl and the cruelty of her captors…”
Dead Men Rise up Never
http://amzn.eu/1X5m5poJilly’s next book, StarChild, will be out soon.
Now, here’s that review…
The Forever Man
by Allen Stroud
Reviewed by Dave Brzeski
I don’t suppose I could write about something else? No? Y’see, the thing is, I went into this book cold. Didn’t really know much about it. I thought it looked a bit occult detectivey, and I’m quite into that sub-genre at the moment, so that’s what drew me in. So, is it an occult detective novel? Not really: ok, it does have some police officers investigating a very strange murder. The main protagonist, Doctor Andrew Pryde has the misfortune to have been sitting in the reference library with his nose in a book, when a corpse turns up. First he knows about it is when he looks up and notices the police. Obviously they suspect him, so he needs to investigate to try to clear himself.
Then there’s this scruffy, loner type, Ronald Gibbs. He’s investigating a series of missing people, all involving books. He has a group of like-minded types he talks to on the internet. Once they’ve finished confronting each other with knives, Ronald needs to convince Andrew that his problem is connected. Then it all starts to get a bit complicated.
Is that enough? Could you not just go read the book on my recommendation? Trust me, too many spoilers will just detract from your potential enjoyment.
All right, dammit, I’ll tell you just a little more. It involves alternate universes, and sacrifices and magic—or is that science we don’t understand yet? Damned if I know. It really is very complex—I’m not even sure that it’s just a coincidence that Stroud opens his foreword with a quote from Arthur C. Clarke, even if it isn’t the one about magic and science. There’s stuff hidden in the text of books, powerful stuff. There are also gods—or are they just people we don’t understand yet? I have no clue.
I suppose you could call it a police procedural, crossed with a fantasy novel. I don’t know why you’d want to, but if you feel the need you could. I detected a few possible influences. Neil Gaiman for one—and even a touch of Douglas Adams, albeit it’s not a comedy.
Do I have any criticisms? Well, for one thing the story is hardly over—I already told you it’s complex. It left me with far too many questions that I need answering. I suspect I may well have to reread this one before reading any follow-up. There had bloody well better be a sequel! I know where you live, Allen Stroud—ok, I don’t but I can easily find out…
Now you can all just stop pestering me and go read the damn book, all right!?
http://amzn.eu/0sWU4SKOccult Oratory
We made our basic goal! Our mega-anthology ODQ Presents is on, with a predicted publication date of March 2018. Now we’re looking for a little bit extra to get every single story accompanied by a specially commissioned illustration of its own.
Don’t forget that you can use the Kickstarter Campaign simply to pre-order the eformat or print of the anthology, and that everyone who backs it gets the free epub or Kindle version of Willie Meikle’s ‘Eeny-Meeny-Miney-Mi-Go’ novelette.
Check out the latest update here, and do back us if you can.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/280674519/occult-detective-quarterly-presents/posts/2061946
Next time on greydogtales, something weird from somewhere else in the world, and all sorts of other nonsense. Call back for literature, lurchers, and life…
Great mix of books. The Spook and the Spirit in the Stone sounds like a fun read. Thanks for sharing!
Pleasure. Thanks for calling in. 🙂