(spoken by Nimue, scribed by James)

https://glottalstopbooks.sumupstore.com/product/shuck

This week, author Craig Hallam has a new novel out. I’m in the happy position of having already read it and am able to heartily recommend it. This is a gothic novel with strong folkloric elements and some horror. It’s more crepy than overtly violent. It’s a strong story with engaging characters as you would expect from Craig.

In this book Craig has done something very interesting. He’s taken the usual features of a gothic novel, but told a story that radically departs from usual gothic fare. Rather than the more usual aristocratic settings with big houses, this is an overtly working class novel. The setting is primarily urban, and the characters are dealing with some of the very real horrors of poverty. I’m keen on this new movement towards a more socialist take on the horror genre, and Shuck is a great addition to that.

Folk horror can often be about treating the folk as other. That doesn’t happen here. The folk element is rooted in the landscape and part of the culture of the people dealing with it. Those people are not threatening Others, but quite regular individuals, making this distinctly different from the Summerisle approach. The fantastical elements are spooky and compelling. Mingled with the gothic tradition of possible madness, there’s ambiguity in the threat, and for much of the book it isn’t clear what is real.

I very much enjoyed this spooky tale. If you’re looking for a seasonal read, it’s a perfect book for Halloween. It’s also entirely readable at any time of the year. Creepy things are not just for October.