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Ichthyic in the Afterglow
In the afterglow of a world that was, and will never be again… Clem is a suicidal mime, degenerating into a fish. Cassie is a teenage brat, pregnant with a child that seems to center around mysterious cults devoted to cats and dogs.“In ICHTHYIC IN THE AFTERGLOW, Jason Wayne Allen has selected elements from Robert W. Chambers’ THE KING IN YELLOW and H.P. Lovecraft’s fictional dream-realms and skillfully constructed a futuristic nightmare world that gleams like a poisoned river with an oil-slick spectrum of toxic colors. Move over, William S. you may have prepared a NAKED LUNCH, but now Allen is serving up an orgiastic smorgasbord of decadent horrors and wonders.”– Mark McLaughlin, Author of BEST LITTLE WITCH-HOUSE IN ARKHAM and HIDEOUS FACES, BEAUTIFUL SKULLSMORBIDBOOKS. READ LIKE THE DEVIL.
136 pages, Paperback
First published September 7, 2015
5 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Jason Wayne Allen
13 books24 followersJason Wayne Allen has published several short stories, mostly in the Bizarro and Horror genres.
Jason Wayne Allen is Southern by the disgrace of some dark god, but currently resides in Mesa, Arizona with his wife and two dogs.
He likes Nintendo and beer.
jasonwayneallen.wordpress.com
Jason Wayne Allen is Southern by the disgrace of some dark god, but currently resides in Mesa, Arizona with his wife and two dogs.
He likes Nintendo and beer.
jasonwayneallen.wordpress.com
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 23, 2015
Government-sponsored suicide chambers. Warring cults in dog and cat masks. A mime slowing morphing into a fish. The travails of a cute Chihuahua named Chico. All this and more is found in JWA’s funny, sad, surreal, and nightmarish tale of a dystopian world on the brink of transformation into a new world order. A fun read, Ichthyic in the Afterglow is The King in Yellow meets Lovecraft meets bizarro meets Blind Willie McTell.
September 27, 2015
From the opening scene with the suicide chamber, I knew I was going to like Ichthyic in the Afterglow. This is a dark tale enriched with Carcosa and Lovecraftian weirdness. That being said, there is an unmistakable air of originality here. The dark feel of the setting(s) and the imaginative characters are a huge part of why I enjoyed it so much.
The order of Nosarii are the ruling class. Canine worshippers with a twisted agenda, they use a malignant mix of religion and politics to achieve their goals. At odds with them are the Utharians, whose devotion lies with the feline sort. The Calico Militia is an extremist group within the Utharians, brainwashing the younger members to belief that they actually have nine lives. The way the conflict between the two groups unfolds was subtle and tactful. Last are the Ichthyic, fish-like beings who start out a bit like third wheel in the equation, but later take on very significant roles.
Chem, who is Ichthyic and Cassie who is Utharian, stand out as the most memorable characters. We don’t really see a clear protagonist until possibly the very end, which for me was another plus, as it worked well with how the story progressed.
Last, the world building is very well done, strong and thorough. Allen is able to maintain a nightmarish, mystical quality throughout. A solid, well executed story which I hope eventually spawns a few more books that tie into this one.
The order of Nosarii are the ruling class. Canine worshippers with a twisted agenda, they use a malignant mix of religion and politics to achieve their goals. At odds with them are the Utharians, whose devotion lies with the feline sort. The Calico Militia is an extremist group within the Utharians, brainwashing the younger members to belief that they actually have nine lives. The way the conflict between the two groups unfolds was subtle and tactful. Last are the Ichthyic, fish-like beings who start out a bit like third wheel in the equation, but later take on very significant roles.
Chem, who is Ichthyic and Cassie who is Utharian, stand out as the most memorable characters. We don’t really see a clear protagonist until possibly the very end, which for me was another plus, as it worked well with how the story progressed.
Last, the world building is very well done, strong and thorough. Allen is able to maintain a nightmarish, mystical quality throughout. A solid, well executed story which I hope eventually spawns a few more books that tie into this one.
Read
January 3, 2018I am not going to star rate this. I'm starting off with a new policy not to star rate books heavily steeped in bizarro genre conventions. I'm just going to gloss over those conventions entirely, because what is important is the style and story.
For this book, I want to start and end with style by saying that I'd really like to see JWA's style as filtered through a different genre. I'm looking forward to checking out more of this author's work in horror or possibly non-fiction.
For this book, I want to start and end with style by saying that I'd really like to see JWA's style as filtered through a different genre. I'm looking forward to checking out more of this author's work in horror or possibly non-fiction.
September 14, 2015
JWA was gracious enough to give me a copy of Afterglow in exchange for an honest review. This is a surreal novella that blends in a variety of influences while staying original and bizarre. Allen has a knack for creating a world that you would only see in nightmares, and while you would expect the story itself to ramble incoherently it makes a great of deal of sense. This is where Allen thrives. He looks beyond the normal themes that lie scattered around the bizarro genre and creates something that you would only see while you're tripping on acid It's a nod to Lovecraft and while it has elements of violence it isn't over done and fits in with the theme of the novella.
There isn't a lot mentioned in Afterglow about the cults or their origin. That doesn't matter though and while at times I felt as if I were only getting pieces of the story as they unfolded it made for an interesting read. I think there could be a prequel here that goes into the importance of Cassie and even Clem's role as the sacrifice that allows her to go to Carcosa. Carcosa is essentially paradise and the novella itself is about the destruction of one world to usher in another. At least that's what it felt like to me. This is one of those novellas that is open to interpretation and there really are no wrong answers. You don't just read Ichthyic in the Afterglow you're thrust into it and that's what a good book does.
Allen has created a jarring vision that distorts all rules of fiction and writes something original. There's a lot of potential here for another book and I hope that at some point we get that. For what we have now it's a book that talks about the end of the world. The two cults are opposing religions and the end result is paradise. In order to achieve that there has to be sacrifice and war. That is how organized religion tells it and so does Ichthyic In The Afterglow. It's a novella that I've waited a long time to read and now that I have I can't wait to see what JWA comes up with next.
There isn't a lot mentioned in Afterglow about the cults or their origin. That doesn't matter though and while at times I felt as if I were only getting pieces of the story as they unfolded it made for an interesting read. I think there could be a prequel here that goes into the importance of Cassie and even Clem's role as the sacrifice that allows her to go to Carcosa. Carcosa is essentially paradise and the novella itself is about the destruction of one world to usher in another. At least that's what it felt like to me. This is one of those novellas that is open to interpretation and there really are no wrong answers. You don't just read Ichthyic in the Afterglow you're thrust into it and that's what a good book does.
Allen has created a jarring vision that distorts all rules of fiction and writes something original. There's a lot of potential here for another book and I hope that at some point we get that. For what we have now it's a book that talks about the end of the world. The two cults are opposing religions and the end result is paradise. In order to achieve that there has to be sacrifice and war. That is how organized religion tells it and so does Ichthyic In The Afterglow. It's a novella that I've waited a long time to read and now that I have I can't wait to see what JWA comes up with next.
August 19, 2016
A dark and bizarre tale of warring factions of people represented by cats and dogs. While a group of Ichthyic people seem to be stuck in middle. There are really two main narratives going between a Clem, a depressed mime of the Ichthyic variety, and Cassie (short for Cassilda) who is pregnant and trying to track down the father of her child who has escaped to Carcosa. Their stories eventually collide in one of the District's sanctioned suicide chambers. Yeah there are suicide chambers. Seems Ligottian to me. The story obviously pays tribute to elements of the Chamber's King In Yellow Mythos as well, but like any good story with tributes this book has a completely original twist to it.
The world appears to be a dystopia, but not a science fiction one, more of a dark fantasy realm. Allen does a great job of creating an atmosphere that is interesting and nihilistic. With that being said, some of it is very over the top but not in a way that makes it goofy. Ichthyic In The Afterglow has all the right elements that make Bizarro such an interesting branch of fiction. The world is completely created with so many beyond unreal things happening yet the story comes together in a coherent fashion.
I think JWA is a promising talent and I look forward to reading more of his Bizarro and Horror books in the future.
The world appears to be a dystopia, but not a science fiction one, more of a dark fantasy realm. Allen does a great job of creating an atmosphere that is interesting and nihilistic. With that being said, some of it is very over the top but not in a way that makes it goofy. Ichthyic In The Afterglow has all the right elements that make Bizarro such an interesting branch of fiction. The world is completely created with so many beyond unreal things happening yet the story comes together in a coherent fashion.
I think JWA is a promising talent and I look forward to reading more of his Bizarro and Horror books in the future.
September 2, 2018
FULL REVIEW HERE
Ichthyic in the Afterglow is a funny and entertaining read and a promising first novel. Fans of Lovecraft and bizarro fiction will especially get a lot out of this. Jason Wayne Allen is a new bizarro/horror author to keep an eye on
Ichthyic in the Afterglow is a funny and entertaining read and a promising first novel. Fans of Lovecraft and bizarro fiction will especially get a lot out of this. Jason Wayne Allen is a new bizarro/horror author to keep an eye on
October 8, 2015
I came into this book knowing nothing at all about it, other than that I enjoyed the authors earlier work. This book was totally different and really fun and surreal. I really enjoyed my trip through this strange purple world full of mutants and malcontents. There is a very funny nihilism in the tone that I found very amusing and easy to relate to. The writing is very strong in the tone, the originality and imagery, and also very interesting and somehow believable characters that are also completely fantastical. This book is super weird and twice as much fun as you think. If bizarro is your bag, you will dig this one. What Would Dagon Do?
January 9, 2020
This is the weirdest book that I have ever read. That is not why I only gave it three stars. It was suuuuuuper rushed, which made the weirdness way less appealing. There were also some strange tense changes that I did not follow at all. I really wish the writer actually took time on this book. I probably could have liked it. Maybe.
April 25, 2017
A mash up of Chambers and Lovecraft
A king shall come. What started with a suicide attempt ends with a suicide and birth of a prince. A world where people's religion stems around cats and dogs. Terrorism and sadness. I recommend this book to all fans of modern horror.
A king shall come. What started with a suicide attempt ends with a suicide and birth of a prince. A world where people's religion stems around cats and dogs. Terrorism and sadness. I recommend this book to all fans of modern horror.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews