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Fat Face
With the deceptive ease and streetwise enlightenment of a weird storytelling master, Michael Shea fearlessly sounds the unplumbed depths of the Cthulhu Mythos to witness visions from which traditional cosmic horror has always averted its dark-adapted gaze.
Paperback
First published December 31, 1987
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About the author
Michael Shea
73 books197 followersFor the British author of thrillers and non-fiction see Michael Shea
Michael Shea (1946-2014) was an American fantasy, horror, and science fiction author who lived in California. He was a multiple winner of the World Fantasy Award and his works include Nifft the Lean (1982) (winner of the World Fantasy Award) and The Mines of Behemoth (1997) (later republished together as The Incomplete Nifft, 2000), as well as The ARak (2000) and In Yana, the Touch of Undying (1985).
Michael Shea (1946-2014) was an American fantasy, horror, and science fiction author who lived in California. He was a multiple winner of the World Fantasy Award and his works include Nifft the Lean (1982) (winner of the World Fantasy Award) and The Mines of Behemoth (1997) (later republished together as The Incomplete Nifft, 2000), as well as The ARak (2000) and In Yana, the Touch of Undying (1985).
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 14, 2021
Shea's eerily gripping prose resonates as a seemingly innocent prostitute is tempted by otherworldly horrors she can't fathom. An amazing tribute to At the Mountains of Madness, probably my favorite of all Lovecraft's stories.
October 4, 2020
Wow, FAT FACE hat mich umgehauen!
Michael Shea erzählt die Geschichte aus der Perspektive einer Prostituierte im Los Angeles unserer Tage. Patti ist psychisch angeschlagen, nimmt Medikamente und hält sich mit Drogen und Alkohol über Wasser. In einem Fenster gegenüber des Hotels, in dem sie ihrem Gewerbe nachgeht, sieht sie häufiger das freundliche Gesicht eines korpulenten Mannes. Patti ist im Herzen ein etwas naives Dorfgewächs geblieben, die gerne freundlich/freundschaftliche Beziehungen zu ihrem sozialen Umfeld pflegt - auch wenn es hauptsächlich aus Zuhältern, Freiern und Nutten besteht. Darum entschließt sie sich, gemeinsam mit einer Freundin FAT FACE - dem dicken Mann von gegenüber - einen "Freundschaftsdienst" zu erweisen. Kurz darauf stürzt ihre ihre Welt immer schneller in einen Abgrund.
Hell und freundlich ist das Leben von Patti von Anfang an nicht, aber als sie in den Strudel der Ereignisse gerät, die hier erzählt werden, wird das Gefühlt der Einsamkeit und Verlorenheit immer greifbarer und bedrückender. Schon allein diese Vorboten des Schreckens vermitteln ein Gefühl des Unbehagens, den ich so oft vergeblich bei Horrorgeschichten suche. Aber es sind tatsächlich nur Vorboten ...
Die Geschichte aus der Perspektive einer nicht gerade intelligenten Nutte zu erzählen und trotzdem den Leser dazu zu bringen, dass er mitfiebert, ist keine kleine Leistung, die Shea hier mit Bravour gelingt. Grundlage der Story ist Lovecrafts Cthulhu=Mythos, den Michael Shea über Jahrzehnte fortgeschrieben hat. Dabei übernimmt er die Elemente, aber nicht HPLs antiquierten Erzählton. Die Shoggothen, die wir aus Berge des Wahnsinns kennen, treffen wir nun im heutigen Kalifornien wieder; von ihrem Schrecken büßen sie dadurch nichts ein, im Gegenteil: Ich wünschte, ich hätte mich bei HPL so gegruselt wie bei FAT FACE!
Michael Shea erzählt die Geschichte aus der Perspektive einer Prostituierte im Los Angeles unserer Tage. Patti ist psychisch angeschlagen, nimmt Medikamente und hält sich mit Drogen und Alkohol über Wasser. In einem Fenster gegenüber des Hotels, in dem sie ihrem Gewerbe nachgeht, sieht sie häufiger das freundliche Gesicht eines korpulenten Mannes. Patti ist im Herzen ein etwas naives Dorfgewächs geblieben, die gerne freundlich/freundschaftliche Beziehungen zu ihrem sozialen Umfeld pflegt - auch wenn es hauptsächlich aus Zuhältern, Freiern und Nutten besteht. Darum entschließt sie sich, gemeinsam mit einer Freundin FAT FACE - dem dicken Mann von gegenüber - einen "Freundschaftsdienst" zu erweisen. Kurz darauf stürzt ihre ihre Welt immer schneller in einen Abgrund.
Hell und freundlich ist das Leben von Patti von Anfang an nicht, aber als sie in den Strudel der Ereignisse gerät, die hier erzählt werden, wird das Gefühlt der Einsamkeit und Verlorenheit immer greifbarer und bedrückender. Schon allein diese Vorboten des Schreckens vermitteln ein Gefühl des Unbehagens, den ich so oft vergeblich bei Horrorgeschichten suche. Aber es sind tatsächlich nur Vorboten ...
Die Geschichte aus der Perspektive einer nicht gerade intelligenten Nutte zu erzählen und trotzdem den Leser dazu zu bringen, dass er mitfiebert, ist keine kleine Leistung, die Shea hier mit Bravour gelingt. Grundlage der Story ist Lovecrafts Cthulhu=Mythos, den Michael Shea über Jahrzehnte fortgeschrieben hat. Dabei übernimmt er die Elemente, aber nicht HPLs antiquierten Erzählton. Die Shoggothen, die wir aus Berge des Wahnsinns kennen, treffen wir nun im heutigen Kalifornien wieder; von ihrem Schrecken büßen sie dadurch nichts ein, im Gegenteil: Ich wünschte, ich hätte mich bei HPL so gegruselt wie bei FAT FACE!
February 13, 2015
This is the story of a hooker who lets curiosity lead her into making a very bad choice. I'll leave it at that, and start off by saying I seldom buy single short stories, but I was in the mood for something small yet Lovecraftian. I saw this recommended on a forum and decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did because it was a 99 cents well spent.
The author does a great job of creating a sordid Los Angelos made all the more seedy by the characters involved. The main character is vividly portrayed through her actions and thoughts, and she has a vulgar believability that anchors the rest of the story.I have always felt that Lovecraft was as much about moods and atmosphere as it is scares, and this story succeeds very well on that level. While I never found it truly "scary", I think that came from the sense that the main character was doomed in the first place. All in all, a fine tale.
The author does a great job of creating a sordid Los Angelos made all the more seedy by the characters involved. The main character is vividly portrayed through her actions and thoughts, and she has a vulgar believability that anchors the rest of the story.I have always felt that Lovecraft was as much about moods and atmosphere as it is scares, and this story succeeds very well on that level. While I never found it truly "scary", I think that came from the sense that the main character was doomed in the first place. All in all, a fine tale.
January 16, 2014
Shea's story takes the reader into the urban underworld of The Mythos with a story that relies more on atmosphere but delivers on the nasty shocks. Owing perhaps a larger debt to the likes of Robert Chambers, Shea captures the Lovecraftian mood nicely in a sad, strangely lovely, tale of madness. RECOMMENDED.
September 11, 2014
Slightly disappointing , a routine girl-meets-monster with a credibility-stretching heroine and a plot that hasn't been well thought through...but it rates the three stars for a delirious passage in which a Shoggoth breaks into pure Lovecraftian purple prose. Quite fun, could have been better.
February 18, 2021
One of my die-hard Lovecraft fan friends lent this to me years ago. I think its old book smell (yuck) was keeping me away but if I had only popped it open and noticed how short it is, I might have gotten it over with years ago, LOL.
After reading it in all its 1987 glories, I can only wonder why my friend thought I wanted to read a "prostitute with a heart of gold" gets eaten by Shoggoths story. It was so much of its time and such a trope-y nightmare. .... Oh, but now that I think about it, I know the answer... our lil HP Lovecraft literary society may have read a Mack Bolan book when we were done with Lovecraft. This would have paired very well with that. But, now? After reading so many other awesome Lovecraftian pastiches more recently written, this comes off as pretty terrible.
But I did give it an extra star for Shoggoth poetry typed in eye-punishing font. The whole thing might have been worth it just for that.
After reading it in all its 1987 glories, I can only wonder why my friend thought I wanted to read a "prostitute with a heart of gold" gets eaten by Shoggoths story. It was so much of its time and such a trope-y nightmare. .... Oh, but now that I think about it, I know the answer... our lil HP Lovecraft literary society may have read a Mack Bolan book when we were done with Lovecraft. This would have paired very well with that. But, now? After reading so many other awesome Lovecraftian pastiches more recently written, this comes off as pretty terrible.
But I did give it an extra star for Shoggoth poetry typed in eye-punishing font. The whole thing might have been worth it just for that.
July 24, 2024
[The Axolotl Press] (1987). SB. 36 Pages. n/500. Purchased from Cold Tonnage Books.
Introduced by Karl Edward Wagner; signed by he and the author to the rear limitation page.
The writing’s polished and quirky - I’m interested in Shea.
The story starts reasonably well. It’s atmospheric, to a degree, and there’s deft characterisation. Sadly, the narrative ultimately spirals off into the nonsense zone.
Introduced by Karl Edward Wagner; signed by he and the author to the rear limitation page.
The writing’s polished and quirky - I’m interested in Shea.
The story starts reasonably well. It’s atmospheric, to a degree, and there’s deft characterisation. Sadly, the narrative ultimately spirals off into the nonsense zone.
September 18, 2018
Wonderful contemporary Lovecraft
This story is a perfect example of Lovecraft for the modern day. Captivating to read and terrifying to experience. A must for horror fans.
This story is a perfect example of Lovecraft for the modern day. Captivating to read and terrifying to experience. A must for horror fans.
October 7, 2020
The call girl of Cthulhu.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 7, 2022
4-1/2 stars. Excellent writing and atmosphere; the characters are deeper and better drawn than is usual for horror/Lovecraftian fiction. Will read more Shea.
December 16, 2022
A well executed story that is slightly weighed down by wordiness and syntax which seems to attempt an impression of Lovecraft.
July 30, 2018
A very good little story that manage to do exactly what it needs in its page count. It was a long time since I read any short stories that wherent part of a larger story (the expanse for example), but I think I will have to rethink that.
If you want a quick fix of well written mythos horror, then "Fat face" is a great one.
If you want a quick fix of well written mythos horror, then "Fat face" is a great one.
March 22, 2016
The Cthulhu Mythos. What are they? I don’t think anyone actually knows. People just make it up as things go along. Of course they deal with the writings of Howard Phillip Lovecraft, but in what way? So many authors just regurgitate names of otherworldly demons and cut and paste them into less than average prose.
Nyarlathotep, Azathoth, Shub-Niggurath – Just learn to spell them and inject them into a bad horror story. Holy Shit! I’m part of the Mythos!
Michael Shea is not average. He tells the story of two prostitutes. Two people who are just trying to make a living. And they live and love until they each meet an untimely death. And the deaths are frightening.
The story – “Fat Face” – is a scary thing. The seemingly benign prose is riddled with statements such as, surfacing from a long deep drowning; like sea-things of blue and rose and gold, bannering and twisting cryptically over the drowned pavements; the silence she was hearing contained a presence not an absence….
And so on.
This book is a perfect example of the Cosmic Horror that Lovecraft originated, but it does not emulate him. Not until it is totally necessary.
Nyarlathotep, Azathoth, Shub-Niggurath – Just learn to spell them and inject them into a bad horror story. Holy Shit! I’m part of the Mythos!
Michael Shea is not average. He tells the story of two prostitutes. Two people who are just trying to make a living. And they live and love until they each meet an untimely death. And the deaths are frightening.
The story – “Fat Face” – is a scary thing. The seemingly benign prose is riddled with statements such as, surfacing from a long deep drowning; like sea-things of blue and rose and gold, bannering and twisting cryptically over the drowned pavements; the silence she was hearing contained a presence not an absence….
And so on.
This book is a perfect example of the Cosmic Horror that Lovecraft originated, but it does not emulate him. Not until it is totally necessary.
July 24, 2016
Mostly, I read this as research/inspiration for my (as of writing this) next book. I got a bit of what I wanted at the end. Would've liked more but it is what it is. That said, what I did get was really rad and offered up an interesting concept. The execution overall read very much like a Contemporary Lovecraft. Similar phrasings but without some of the stilted, archaic language. Unfortunately, a lot of the story just plods along. All the interesting bits come and go too fast but it gets points for not using the first-person narration that's all too common in Weird Fiction (the monster is pounding at the door but lo! I must continue this journal despite the beast now devouring me!). I'm not sure I'd recommend the story to anyone but the most voracious Lovecraft fans.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews