All The Creatures

by H.C. Turk

Trapped in a mountain cabin, a family suffers fantastic changes when an alien "Santa Claus" tries to fulfill their wishes. Snowed-in during vacation, six people in a cabin are standing before a fireplace when it explodes. Something comes down the chimney that they can look at but not see, an entity so alien that humans are psychologically unable to perceive it, just as lesser animals can view TV but not understand what's being shown. No one is harmed, but the alien senses the humans' sharing Christmas wishes, which it tries to manifest in a selfless manner. The entity makes the cabin more efficient by causing the heater to blow oven-hot air. The water faucets are like waterfalls. The lights become bright enough to blind, and food becomes active, trying to force its way into the humans' mouths. The personal modifications that begin are even more dangerous. Brad, a retarded man who wished to be smart, begins speaking fluently. His Uncle Martin and Aunt Lorraine, whose ages differ by 22 years, begin to close the gap. Limping Martin no longer needs a cane, and Lorraine's weak hearing turns to deafness. Six-year-old Alison, because her parents (Valerie and Wes) mentioned how quiet she was when younger, becomes a toddler. The "Christmas gifts" turn extreme. Frigid Valerie's breasts grow huge. Her weak husband becomes painfully muscle-bound. And Brad is a genius who deduces their final He will be thoughtless, Valerie a protoplasmic blob, Wes crushed by his own weight. Martin might survive as a permanent teenager, but Lorraine will be dead of old age in hours. Alison will soon be a fetus, and Valerie is inversely pregnant, ready to accept her daughter into her womb. The story is of average people turned bizarre who try to return to normalcy. They will only succeed not by defeating the alien, but by overcoming their own desires, which not even exceptional people always understand completely. For as Brad determined, the universe is more complex than all the creatures in it, and strangers are not alien to their greater worlds, but only to one another.

220 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 11, 2015

About the author

A: This is hard.
Q: Why is making a bio so hard for you?
A: Because it's like talking. I don't like to talk; I like to write.
Q: But people want to know about authors. Reading a book requires a lot of effort.
A: Writing one ain't exactly playtime.
Q: That's better. Go ahead, tell us more. Did you have a pleasant childhood?
A: Ask my dog; he was there.
Q: Your dog is stuffed. He's not a real dog.
A: He's more real than you are. You can’t even ask a good question.
Q: Here’s one: Why should people read your books?
A: Because my puppy will be sad if they don’t.
Q: We need to get serious here. How many novels have you written?
A: 33.
Q: I’ll bet your dog can’t count that high. How long have you been writing?
A: I’ll answer if you promise not to kick my dog again (metaphorically).
Q: He wouldn’t feel it—he’s stuffed.
A: If someone kicked the stuffing out of you, I bet you wouldn’t enjoy it.
Q: Would I enjoy it more than reading one of your books? Or would it be equally painful?
A: You’re cruel to dogs AND to authors.
Q: If you answer my last question, I promise to be nice. How many years have you been writing?
A: [mumbles]
Q: That’s pathetic.
A: Why don’t you ask me about my stories?
Q: Stories are for campfires.
A: The basis of history’s greatest novels is the story: the story of nations, cultures, families, individuals. The greatest idea that can be expressed in fiction is story.
Q: Great, so tell me about your characters.
A: Dull and Dumb are not two of my characters, or characteristics.
Q: Do you ever write about animals, stuffed or not?
A: Rescued greyhounds in Heaven Again, tiny ponies in Only The Impassioned, mudfish in Resurrection Flowers, ghosts in An Atmosphere Of Angels.
Q: Ghosts aren’t animals, they’re unsettled spirits. If ghosts continue to read, what will they find in your novels?
A: They will find passion, idea, and spirited characters whose lives are a story. And puppies.

Reviews

[Mandy Walkden-Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insane mixture of sci-fi and horror with Turk's usual bizarre twist.

Wishes of humans can be a dangerous thing when those fleeting thoughts are plucked from one's mind and implemented by an alien entity lacking insight and understanding; ostensibly helpful it seriously messes things up.

Flawed and interesting characters, a string of unsettling twists and a well written absorbing story. Quite exhausted upon reaching the final page!

I received this as an eARC and chose to post a review.