Grimoire: A Compendium of Neo-Goth Narratives

by James Champagne

If all books are gateways to other realities, then Grimoire is a portal into a realm of the most profound darkness, a twilight world of black flowers thriving under the monstrous shadows cast forth across time by the writers and poets of the 19th-century French Decadence, the art of the Surrealists, and the weird fictions of H.P. Lovecraft and his acolytes. Each of the eleven stories, or Neo-Goth Narratives, which make up this collection presents the reader with a worldview of cosmic nihilism, a morbid atmosphere haunted by the revenants of the fin de si cle practitioners of black magic. Those who lose themselves in these sunless and Satanic vistas will learn arcane words of power, experience forbidden knowledge, and encounter fantastic and grotesque alien beings whose forms and powers we are unable to comprehend, whose very presence can drive one to insanity. Grimoire is no mere book: it is a 90,000 word scream from the Abyss of non-existence, a descent into Hell itself, a dream journal of God's nightmares. Let the Danse Macabre begin

Genres: Horror, Fiction

316 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 2011

Reviews

[Sirensongs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I remembered where I first heard of this book, but wrack my mind as I might, I cannot recall what drew it to my attention. I do know that I was immediately intrigued by the author's artistic influences, but was a tad bit skeptical about seeking GRIMOIRE out as the description of the book was so over the top as to appear somewhat pretentious. I wasn't sure if a book could actually live up to a description like that! I was willing to the give the book a chance in the end, however, and I must say that I am glad I did! The author states in his introduction that this is his contribution to the Lovecraft Mythos, but it is ever so much more than that! This is no mere pastiche of Lovecraftian lore. Champagne has created a whole new mythology of his own here, complete with his its dark pantheon and forbidden occult lore. And it blends seamlessly with Lovecraft's own pantheon, as well as myriad other dark gods from occult practice and world mythologies. Add healthy doses of the influences of Thomas Ligotti, occultist Kenneth Grant, and musical band Current 93 and you have the basis for the mystical and apocalyptic flavouring that spices up these stories. The main body for the recipe of these tales, however, is clearly Champagne's own concoction!

GRIMOIRE consists of a series of eleven interconnected stories, and an additional twelfth story that was included as a bonus upon its publication in hard copy form by Rebel Satori press. While each of the first eleven tales can be read quite easily as stand alone stories, many of the subtle complexities of the book as a whole don't come into play unless the stories are processed all together. And what stories they are! While a few are in conventional horror story mode, several of them explore differing literary forms. For example, "They Came From the Shadow of God" is written as a book review of a somewhat obscure occult tome, and "The Onyx Glossary" is presented as the eponymous glossary, although a fascinating tale unfolds as you read through the entries. The penultimate piece, "Nihil" (which was actually the ultimate piece in the original free PDF publication of GRIMOIRE) is more akin to a manifesto explaining some of the cosmic/spiritual/psychological viewpoints that influenced the writing of the previous tales.

What impressed me most about the book, apart from the author's apparent erudition in occult matters and mythology, was the vivid imagery portrayed throughout. Within the pages of GRIMOIRE, nightmarish creatures and landscapes abound, described in the minutest of details. Visions of the apocalypse were painted graphically before my inner eye in ways that were, to be quite frank, a little bit spiritually scarring. This book is definitely not for the faint of heart, and the squeamish might want to avoid the story "Reaping Time Has Come" entirely. I'm not usually one for tales that are heavily populated by monsters, but the demonic gods and creatures that were described in detail within these pages were so bizarre and disturbing, I relished every moment I spent with them! Reading this book was like taking a journey through a psychedelic and apocalyptic nightmare. An atmosphere of dark surreality abounded. The author states in his introduction that "This book was written during a period of sickness and mental instability", and this is painfully obvious on every single page. I took a masochistic delight in reading these tales. The anguish and torture of these characters was conveyed exquisitely! I particularly felt a strong connection with the art critic narrator and protagonist of "Mauve Movies". For reasons I won't get into here because of potential spoilers, I found the ending of this tale heartbreaking!

I feel very fortunate to have stumbled upon this tome, however mysteriously or accidentally. My inner life feels darker and richer for me having read it. I would highly recommend GRIMOIRE to those who like their strange tales with a liberal dose of chaos, nightmare and absurdity. Subtle is one thing I would NEVER call this book. I am slightly saddened because I have gathered the impression from various snippets I have read online that James Champagne got a lot of his darkness out through the writing of these tales, and that this exorcism might mean that he has no more of such darkly decadent nightmares to share with us. If this is the case, I am at least grateful that I have had the chance to experience GRIMOIRE, and I think that I will revisit its pages again when the stars deem it auspicious.

[Patrick.G.P · Rating 5 out of 5]

“His nightmares began to stink with decay, as if his subconscious itself was starting to slowly rot."

James Champagne’s stories delve deep into a mysticism that’s wholly his own, a feverish nightmare world where the search for knowledge and truth ends in madness or worse. His prose is fresh and concise, painting characters that often live on the edge of reality itself, desperately searching for a meaning or a purpose in their lives. Bizarre occult tomes and cryptic religious lore loom in the background offering a glimpse of a truth that will send them screaming into the abyss.

Throughout the collection an interconnectivity slowly reveals itself to the reader, the same obscure occult books pop up into new hands, previous characters’ fates are hinted at, the machinations of strange corporations seems to follow a pattern, and through all this, there starts to form a bigger picture, of some hideous, crooked dimension forcing its way into our reality. A maniacal intensity lies over his portrayal of the horrors and alien vistas that befalls some of his protagonists, flooding the pages with outlandish pictures of monstrous gods and some truly grotesque descriptions of mutilations and death. These images work together to create hallucinatory dreams of some unknown hell, twisted religious visions caught on paper to show a reality infested with some cryptic sickness. Though amidst all this carnage and weirdness, Champagne often writes with tongue planted firmly in cheek and manages to find humor in the total strangeness he describes to great effect.

The nightmare stories of James Champagne is something one has to experience for themselves, the merging of references, soundtracks, paintings, and movies melds together with the dark void of Lovecraftian horrors, bizarre corporations, Catholic imagery, and outlandish occultism. Though there are similarities to both Thomas Ligotti and Mark Samuels in his prose, Champagnes works read a lot more personal, as many of the references can be seen as a reflection of his own personality and tastes. The use of music in his tales strikes me as very personal and unique, as several of the stories has specific songs mentioned playing or a suggested as soundtrack to the reading experience. The English neo-folk band Current 93 is the most prominent, and his prose are littered with references and tributes to the wonderful lyrics and melancholy tunes of David Tibet. There is a longing in the prose to discover something hidden, some mystical truth that will reveal a cryptic revelation, yet every time this gnosis presents itself it leads into the yawning chasm of insanity. In the very best moments there is a sadness accompanying these moments, of something wonderful within reach, and then lost forever.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the problems with the label "Lovecraftian" is that it can refer to so many different aspects of H.P.'s style, not all of which should be treated equally. The imagery and the mythos, for instance, only seem to get more powerful with every year that passes, while, on the other hand, certain aspects of his language have aged rather poorly. Contemporary writers who try to pick up his mantle often make me squirm with their attempts to forge a neo-Victorian prose.

Grimoire is Lovecraftian in the best sense of the term. Champagne has a stranglehold on the whole malignant universe school of imagery, but, more importantly, he's worked out a style of prose that makes drags that world-view into the present. This is Lovecraft with food poisoning contracted from a bad burrito, late for his appointment at the methadone clinic, surfing the Dark Net. Essential.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

5+ in terms of Mythos, Decadent, chthonic fantastic fiction. Immensely talented writer, not your usual pulp Mythos stuff.

I felt very touched by and sympathetic to the Nihil chapter.

I’ve got Harlem Smoke in hardback on my TBR bookcase, hope to get to it soon.