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X's For Eyes
Brothers Macbeth and Drederick Tooms should have it made as fair-haired scions of an impossibly rich and powerful family of industrialists. Alas, life is complicated in mid-1950s USA when you're child heirs to the throne of Sword Enterprises, a corporation that has enshrined Machiavelli's The Prince as its operating manual and whose patriarch believes, Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds, would be a swell company logo.
Consider also those long, cruel winters at the Mountain Leopard boarding school for assassins in the Himalayas, or that Dad may be a supervillain, while an uncle occasionally slaughters his nephews and nieces for sport; and the space flight research division of Sword Enterprises "accidentally" sent a probe through a wormhole into outer darkness and contacted an alien god. Now a bloodthirsty cult and an equally vicious rival firm suspect the Tooms boys know something and will spare no expense, nor innocent life, to get their claws on them.
Between the machinations of the disciples of black gods and good old corporate skullduggery, it's winding up to be a hell of a summer vacation for the lads.
Consider also those long, cruel winters at the Mountain Leopard boarding school for assassins in the Himalayas, or that Dad may be a supervillain, while an uncle occasionally slaughters his nephews and nieces for sport; and the space flight research division of Sword Enterprises "accidentally" sent a probe through a wormhole into outer darkness and contacted an alien god. Now a bloodthirsty cult and an equally vicious rival firm suspect the Tooms boys know something and will spare no expense, nor innocent life, to get their claws on them.
Between the machinations of the disciples of black gods and good old corporate skullduggery, it's winding up to be a hell of a summer vacation for the lads.
94 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 11, 2015
63 people are currently reading
2059 people want to read
About the author
Laird Barron
174 books2,863 followersLaird Barron, an expat Alaskan, is the author of several books, including The Imago Sequence and Other Stories; Swift to Chase; and Blood Standard. Currently, Barron lives in the Rondout Valley of New York State and is at work on tales about the evil that men do.
Photo credit belongs to Ardi Alspach
Agent: Janet Reid of New Leaf Literary & Media
Photo credit belongs to Ardi Alspach
Agent: Janet Reid of New Leaf Literary & Media
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 212 reviews
March 27, 2017
What a nice surprise Mr. Barron has treated us with. What begins as an adventure tale, think of a cross between the Hardy Boys/The Venture Brothers which turns into a tale of cosmic horror beneath the Polar ice.
The names of some of the characters was a hoot. we get Tom Mandibole, a cyclops named Noman collector of lost dreamers, the sultry Dr. Bravery, Daredevil Telemachus Crabbe, Captain Ustinov, Dr. Amanda Bole and Cassius Labrador to name just a few. But you get the idea. Mr. Barron must have had a great time concocting this adventure.
Of course X's for eyes means death in cartoons, which comes from back in the day, they used to stitch the eyelids shut on the dead for the viewing of the body, so that they didn't suddenly pop open and freak everybody out.
A well written fun read by one of today's most talented authors.
The names of some of the characters was a hoot. we get Tom Mandibole, a cyclops named Noman collector of lost dreamers, the sultry Dr. Bravery, Daredevil Telemachus Crabbe, Captain Ustinov, Dr. Amanda Bole and Cassius Labrador to name just a few. But you get the idea. Mr. Barron must have had a great time concocting this adventure.
Of course X's for eyes means death in cartoons, which comes from back in the day, they used to stitch the eyelids shut on the dead for the viewing of the body, so that they didn't suddenly pop open and freak everybody out.
A well written fun read by one of today's most talented authors.
September 24, 2017
Macbeth and Drederick Tooms are the wealthy sons of the founder of Sword Enterprises, an evil corporation bent on world domination. When they discover the wreckage of a Sword space probe, one that isn't due to launch for several days, a mystery is afoot!
Since I've recently discovered Laird Barron, I plan to devour everything he's written by the end of the year. Fortunately, I had this one on my kindle already.
X's For Eyes is an homage to the Hardy Boys books with Laird Barron's twisted cosmic horror woven in. It's a pretty crazy tale. When the story starts with a 12 year old and a 14 year old going on a road trip with whiskey and hookers, you know the end result is going to be something crazy.
And crazy it was! The Hardy Boy analogues go from one harrowing situation to another and are confronted with artificial intelligent super computers, conspiracies, a dark god from another dimension, and the peculiarities of time itself. Barron manages to work his theories on the nature of time seamlessly into what's a young man's adventure tale.
Barron's prose is as gorgeous as ever. Once again, I found myself wanting to highlight half the book. I had no idea where the plot would lead, always a plus.
X's For Eyes was a really fun but thought-provoking novella. There aren't a lot of writers with the chops to blend the Hardy Boys and cosmic, sanity-blasting horror so well. Fans of modern takes on The Hardy Boys and Nancy drew, like The Boy Detective Fails and The Case of the Bleeding Wall will find a lot to like here. Four out of five stars.
Since I've recently discovered Laird Barron, I plan to devour everything he's written by the end of the year. Fortunately, I had this one on my kindle already.
X's For Eyes is an homage to the Hardy Boys books with Laird Barron's twisted cosmic horror woven in. It's a pretty crazy tale. When the story starts with a 12 year old and a 14 year old going on a road trip with whiskey and hookers, you know the end result is going to be something crazy.
And crazy it was! The Hardy Boy analogues go from one harrowing situation to another and are confronted with artificial intelligent super computers, conspiracies, a dark god from another dimension, and the peculiarities of time itself. Barron manages to work his theories on the nature of time seamlessly into what's a young man's adventure tale.
Barron's prose is as gorgeous as ever. Once again, I found myself wanting to highlight half the book. I had no idea where the plot would lead, always a plus.
X's For Eyes was a really fun but thought-provoking novella. There aren't a lot of writers with the chops to blend the Hardy Boys and cosmic, sanity-blasting horror so well. Fans of modern takes on The Hardy Boys and Nancy drew, like The Boy Detective Fails and The Case of the Bleeding Wall will find a lot to like here. Four out of five stars.
December 24, 2023
gee whiz! this is a perfectly executed novella about two boys, age 12 (and a half!) and age 14 (and a half!), at odds with ultra-dimensional villains. Azathoth, so-named, and Nyarlathotep, perhaps (my guess, at least). the twist is that these two young fellows are the übermensch scions of a world-dominating clan that controls a world-dominating corporation. so, despite the reader most likely being sympathetic towards the charismatic brothers, this is basically a tale of evil versus evil. in brisk and bloody action-novel format! what's not to love?
synopsis: in 1956, while on holiday from the school for assassins known as Mountain Leopard Temple, two likely lads first engage in a bit of drinking & shagging with loose local lasses and then find themselves on the run from who knows what from where God only knows. much bloodshed occurs. the two then take part in an archeological dig and more bloodshed occurs. finally, a journey across dimensions of time and space and life and death and a big dead whale, and a little more bloodshed of course. all's well that end's well and the masters of this mortal coil shall continue to pull our puppet strings. good job and nice work, kids!
Barron's pacing is tight and his characterization is sharply etched and his tongue is so far in cheek it has bored a bloody hole right through, you can see it wagging at you, cheekily. I really, really, really, REALLY wish that this had been novel-length. gosh it went by too quickly!
synopsis: in 1956, while on holiday from the school for assassins known as Mountain Leopard Temple, two likely lads first engage in a bit of drinking & shagging with loose local lasses and then find themselves on the run from who knows what from where God only knows. much bloodshed occurs. the two then take part in an archeological dig and more bloodshed occurs. finally, a journey across dimensions of time and space and life and death and a big dead whale, and a little more bloodshed of course. all's well that end's well and the masters of this mortal coil shall continue to pull our puppet strings. good job and nice work, kids!
Barron's pacing is tight and his characterization is sharply etched and his tongue is so far in cheek it has bored a bloody hole right through, you can see it wagging at you, cheekily. I really, really, really, REALLY wish that this had been novel-length. gosh it went by too quickly!
May 20, 2017
If you, like me, graduated from children's books to Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Archie Comics, then "grew up" into more adult fare, including the work of, say, Laird Barron; if you've given up hooded hawks and double jinx's and replaced them with existential darkness and horrors that await us all, then maybe it's time for you to take a trip into the void between the stars and rethink your notions of causality.
Because it's all going to come back to you. Everything at once, in an extra-dimensional loop of a plot that draws in all your memories of the boy detectives, the debauchery of your college years, the super science of venture brothers, and your favorite eldritch deities. But you'll have to abandon any notions of "then" and "now". Most of all, you're going to have to let go of your notions regarding what is a Laird Barron story. All the right elements are there: desperation, brooding threats, and sharp humor, all wrapped up in exquisite prose. The ingredients are all the same. But the proportions are different, contrasting with most of Barron's other work. Here, you'll find that the dark philosophical elements you are used to being in the forefront are used to accentuate, rather than saturate the taste of this novella. And humor - you've seen it peek out from the corners of Barron's work, but in this case, it's standing right in front of you, staring you in the face. It's horrific, no doubt, and only those who share a grim sense of humor will appreciate it, but if you want sardonic, boy howdy, you got it! One of the primary elements here is corruption: You'll read about a ten and twelve year old boy doing things you thought biologically impossible, which has its own . . . er . . . charm? Squicky charm? Okay, I give up, it's just plain squicky. But charming. No. Wait. Don't go! Hear me out!
If you're a fan of Venture Brothers, as I am, and a fan of Lovecraftian horrors, which I also am, you can't go wrong with X's For Eyes. But where VB steps off into the ridiculous, Barron's boys take a left turn into a serious warping of reality that reveals a certain kind of "coming of age" story. Sort of. From a certain point of view. A point of view that is as twisted and grim and hopeful in a fatalistic sort of way as you can't imagine. Because you can't imagine it until you've read this novella.
So what are you waiting for? No, wait, don't tell me. I know already. Because I saw it before you said it, even though you said it after I asked the question. Laws of causality be damned.
Because it's all going to come back to you. Everything at once, in an extra-dimensional loop of a plot that draws in all your memories of the boy detectives, the debauchery of your college years, the super science of venture brothers, and your favorite eldritch deities. But you'll have to abandon any notions of "then" and "now". Most of all, you're going to have to let go of your notions regarding what is a Laird Barron story. All the right elements are there: desperation, brooding threats, and sharp humor, all wrapped up in exquisite prose. The ingredients are all the same. But the proportions are different, contrasting with most of Barron's other work. Here, you'll find that the dark philosophical elements you are used to being in the forefront are used to accentuate, rather than saturate the taste of this novella. And humor - you've seen it peek out from the corners of Barron's work, but in this case, it's standing right in front of you, staring you in the face. It's horrific, no doubt, and only those who share a grim sense of humor will appreciate it, but if you want sardonic, boy howdy, you got it! One of the primary elements here is corruption: You'll read about a ten and twelve year old boy doing things you thought biologically impossible, which has its own . . . er . . . charm? Squicky charm? Okay, I give up, it's just plain squicky. But charming. No. Wait. Don't go! Hear me out!
If you're a fan of Venture Brothers, as I am, and a fan of Lovecraftian horrors, which I also am, you can't go wrong with X's For Eyes. But where VB steps off into the ridiculous, Barron's boys take a left turn into a serious warping of reality that reveals a certain kind of "coming of age" story. Sort of. From a certain point of view. A point of view that is as twisted and grim and hopeful in a fatalistic sort of way as you can't imagine. Because you can't imagine it until you've read this novella.
So what are you waiting for? No, wait, don't tell me. I know already. Because I saw it before you said it, even though you said it after I asked the question. Laws of causality be damned.
February 28, 2023
4.5 stars. This was a hell of a lot of fun and not at all what I was expecting. Akin to a Charles Stross Laundry Files story, Barron delivers a fast paced pulpy adventure mashup of Lovecraftian horror and science fiction with quite a bit of quick witted dialogue, humor and skullduggery. Highly recommended!
October 22, 2018
October spooky read #8!
My husband turned me into a huge “Venture Bros.” fan: if you don’t know that show, check it out; it is a masterpiece of adult animation, and a wonderful postmodern deconstruction of the superhero and super-villain story. It’s hilarious and unhinged. So when I learned that Barron took the basic idea behind the “Venture Bros.” and drenched it in cosmic horror, I knew I’d have to read it.
Brothers Macbeth and Drederick Tooms are the latest in a long line of eccentric industrialists. They are educated in a monastery training assassins in the Himalayas and via devices that give them lectures on various subjects in their sleep. One day, after a bit of partying, they witness the crash of a satellite that hasn't launched yet... This strange discovery will set them on a wild adventure through the glaciers of Alaska and even stranger landscapes...
Baron really has a bizarre sense of humor, and it really shines through in "X's For Eyes", where most of his characters have weird and hilarious names, most of which are inspired by Shakespeare or Greek mythology. I'm sure one could spend quite a bit of time peeling away at the possible layers of meanings this could have, but mostly, it's just fun. I also really enjoyed the references to 50's-style boy adventurer stories, albeit with more sex and booze than is healthy.
At 80 pages, this is barely a novella; more of a short story taking its time. But that was still my only real problem with it: I got to the end hungry for more. So many good ideas, so few pages! But then, this is my perpetual bone to pick with Barron, and I am longing for another novel from this twisted, brilliant man; something I could sink my teeth into for a few days instead of for a few hours...
4 and a half stars and a wish Barron would revisit those characters sometime soon!
My husband turned me into a huge “Venture Bros.” fan: if you don’t know that show, check it out; it is a masterpiece of adult animation, and a wonderful postmodern deconstruction of the superhero and super-villain story. It’s hilarious and unhinged. So when I learned that Barron took the basic idea behind the “Venture Bros.” and drenched it in cosmic horror, I knew I’d have to read it.
Brothers Macbeth and Drederick Tooms are the latest in a long line of eccentric industrialists. They are educated in a monastery training assassins in the Himalayas and via devices that give them lectures on various subjects in their sleep. One day, after a bit of partying, they witness the crash of a satellite that hasn't launched yet... This strange discovery will set them on a wild adventure through the glaciers of Alaska and even stranger landscapes...
Baron really has a bizarre sense of humor, and it really shines through in "X's For Eyes", where most of his characters have weird and hilarious names, most of which are inspired by Shakespeare or Greek mythology. I'm sure one could spend quite a bit of time peeling away at the possible layers of meanings this could have, but mostly, it's just fun. I also really enjoyed the references to 50's-style boy adventurer stories, albeit with more sex and booze than is healthy.
At 80 pages, this is barely a novella; more of a short story taking its time. But that was still my only real problem with it: I got to the end hungry for more. So many good ideas, so few pages! But then, this is my perpetual bone to pick with Barron, and I am longing for another novel from this twisted, brilliant man; something I could sink my teeth into for a few days instead of for a few hours...
4 and a half stars and a wish Barron would revisit those characters sometime soon!
October 25, 2020
There's really no point in writing a formal review of this book. Either you already know who Laird Barron is, in which case you're counting your pennies and cadging a buck from your moneybags pal to get the book, or you don't, in which case buy this book for $2.99 and read it and you'll be in Category A.
There are other options, of course, but they don't bear thinking too closely about.
One note to the author: NO MORE WINKING NOW OR EVER AND GO BACK AND EDIT IT OUT OF THIS BOOK TOO. WINKING IS GROSS. WINKING IS CREEPY. WINKING = PEDOPHILIA.
There are other options, of course, but they don't bear thinking too closely about.
One note to the author: NO MORE WINKING NOW OR EVER AND GO BACK AND EDIT IT OUT OF THIS BOOK TOO. WINKING IS GROSS. WINKING IS CREEPY. WINKING = PEDOPHILIA.
December 29, 2018
X's FOR EYES, by Laird Barron was a treat to read! Although it began with a Hardy Boys feel--two brothers up against a mystery of some sort--it quickly morphed into something so much more! Add in a scandalous family with no love for even its own, science-fiction/alternate dimension technology, a sadistic school where torture and pain are "useful lessons", and technological rivals, and you have a very rough outline of what you'll be getting here.
I'll admit that I honestly did NOT know where this was going at the beginning, middle, or even near the end. However, that is the beauty of something written by Laird Barron--all the multi-layers and individual threads come together in the end. At least, enough of them do in order for your own mind to make the rest of the connections as you see fit.
One of the things that draws me to this author is, in fact, his ability to give the reader the pieces he or she needs to put the story together, but it is still nearly impossible to do until that final chapter. The anticipation lasts throughout the entire tale.
This one crossed into Fantasy, horror, science fiction, thriller, Lovecraftian, and possibly a few other genres I've either forgotten to add, or failed to identify.
Highly recommended!
I'll admit that I honestly did NOT know where this was going at the beginning, middle, or even near the end. However, that is the beauty of something written by Laird Barron--all the multi-layers and individual threads come together in the end. At least, enough of them do in order for your own mind to make the rest of the connections as you see fit.
One of the things that draws me to this author is, in fact, his ability to give the reader the pieces he or she needs to put the story together, but it is still nearly impossible to do until that final chapter. The anticipation lasts throughout the entire tale.
This one crossed into Fantasy, horror, science fiction, thriller, Lovecraftian, and possibly a few other genres I've either forgotten to add, or failed to identify.
Highly recommended!
January 23, 2016
Laird Barron’s X’S FOR EYES is the first five-star book of 2016. I predict it will be this year’s A HEAD FULL OF GHOSTS or SLOWLY WE ROT — a book that readers talk about throughout the rest of the year and an early, almost certain contender to appear on many Best of 2016 lists twelve months from now. A television reviewers once described Adult Swim’s THE VENTURE BROS as “JOHNNY QUEST on acid.” If that’s so, then X’S FOR EYES is THE VENTURE BROS on acid. A loving homage to all things pulp — Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Doc Savage, etc. — with nods to everything from Arthur Machen to James Bond to The Hardy Boys, X’S FOR EYES is glorious, smart, whip-crack fast fun. Even the really disturbing parts (including one particularly gruesome scene where a Ben Grimm-like teen gets possessed by….well, spoilers).
January 11, 2016
Insanely fun pulp adventure, Lovecraftian, mash-up.
December 11, 2015
This was a hell of a lot of fun. Action packed and audacious cosmic pulp SF horror with more layers than an onion. A few names whirled through my mind at different points, including Cody Goodfellow, William Gibson, and Robert Howard. Links and references to a number of other Barron stories and the entire riff on the "boy adventurers" trope at the center of the story make this an immensely satisfying read.
September 4, 2016
Along with Laird’s usual heavy cosmic horror tones, there is also a bit of a lighter side in this one as well. A dark and wee more playful Lovecraftian tale from one of the masters of the genre. Fun isn’t typically a word I relate to Laird Barron, but dude pulls it off with this one. Very nicely done.
Btw, there is plenty of signature dark and crazy nastiness in this one as well, so don’t get me wrong. This ain’t no comedy.
Btw, there is plenty of signature dark and crazy nastiness in this one as well, so don’t get me wrong. This ain’t no comedy.
December 21, 2015
What to say about X's For Eyes? It's espionage on acid, nightmare noir, a black comedy that sends you reeling through a funhouse of gonzo horrors, fondly tweaking every shibboleth of the cosmic weird along the way. Thank you, Mr. Barron, for dropping this gruesome and hilarious chunk of coal in my Xmas stocking!
April 14, 2016
Yes, this is quite different fare from the author we have here. Still firmly rooted in the 'cosmic horror' category but there's a strong sense of black humour running through.
I quite like the novella length story; gives you something to get your teeth into without overstaying its welcome. But here I find myself wondering whether it would have been better either condensed into a short story or developed more fully into a novel. Although this was a good story I sometimes found it quite disjointed when the plot would take sudden inexplicable left turns. The dialogue was choppy and didn't flow very easily, and the large cast of characters were thinly sketched leaving me sometimes having to flick back through a couple of pages in order to recall who a character was.
Anyhow, it was disturbing and creepy to the degree that one has come to expect from the author but not necessarily something to start with if sampling his work.
I quite like the novella length story; gives you something to get your teeth into without overstaying its welcome. But here I find myself wondering whether it would have been better either condensed into a short story or developed more fully into a novel. Although this was a good story I sometimes found it quite disjointed when the plot would take sudden inexplicable left turns. The dialogue was choppy and didn't flow very easily, and the large cast of characters were thinly sketched leaving me sometimes having to flick back through a couple of pages in order to recall who a character was.
Anyhow, it was disturbing and creepy to the degree that one has come to expect from the author but not necessarily something to start with if sampling his work.
December 7, 2015
Something like a cosmic horror Hardy Boys adventure, this novella detailing the exploits of the adolescent Tooms brothers, Macbeth and Drederick, is wickedly poetic, deliciously dark, and brutally bizarro. Not only is Laird Barron at the top of his game here, you can also tell he's having a great deal of fun. Fans of The Venture Brothers and the weird renaissance alike will have a blast. Hopefully the future brings us more weird tales of the Brothers Tooms.
December 20, 2015
The most demented "teen adventure" book you'll ever read. This reminded me a bit of Barron's The Light is the Darkness, with the same breathless pace, and a similar focus on larger-than-life events happening just under the surface of a world that mostly resembles our own. It even has a character named Navarro, like Conrad Navarro in The Light is the Darkness. Other familiar Barron characters like Mandibole also appear. This story was a kick-ass, high octane blast of fun.
April 5, 2019
Fast paced, trippy, and fun! Cosmic horror insanity-evil conspiracies-that beautiful Laird Barron prose. Another winner. And the best part, is I still have a shelf full of unread Barron books to devour! 😁📚
November 9, 2015
Brothers Macbeth and Drederick Tooms should have it made as fair-haired scions of an impossibly rich and powerful family of industrialists. Alas, life is complicated in mid-1950s USA when you’re child heirs to the throne of Sword Enterprises, a corporation that has enshrined Machiavelli’s The Prince as its operating manual and whose patriarch believes, Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds, would be a swell company logo.
Consider also those long, cruel winters at the Mountain Leopard boarding school for assassins in the Himalayas, or that Dad may be a supervillain, while an uncle occasionally slaughters his nephews and nieces for sport; and the space flight research division of Sword Enterprises “accidentally” sent a probe through a wormhole into outer darkness and contacted an alien god. Now a bloodthirsty cult and an equally vicious rival firm suspect the Tooms boys know something and will spare no expense, nor innocent life, to get their claws on them.
Between the machinations of the disciples of black gods and good old corporate skullduggery, it’s winding up to be of a hell of a summer vacation for the lads.
Consider also those long, cruel winters at the Mountain Leopard boarding school for assassins in the Himalayas, or that Dad may be a supervillain, while an uncle occasionally slaughters his nephews and nieces for sport; and the space flight research division of Sword Enterprises “accidentally” sent a probe through a wormhole into outer darkness and contacted an alien god. Now a bloodthirsty cult and an equally vicious rival firm suspect the Tooms boys know something and will spare no expense, nor innocent life, to get their claws on them.
Between the machinations of the disciples of black gods and good old corporate skullduggery, it’s winding up to be of a hell of a summer vacation for the lads.
June 10, 2020
This was a short and fast and fun little bizarre novella of cosmic horror with nice little nods to (and lampoons for) the boys' adventures series of the last century. The lads here, Macbeth and Drederick Tooms, smoke and drink and consort with ladies of easy virtue and engage in all manner of vile and violent pursuits, so it's not intended for kids, but the spirit feels the same. There's nothing graphic; I can't imagine an adult taking offense. There are amusing gags and pop cultural references throughout, and it's an engaging read, too. There are an occasionally baffling number of (amusingly named) characters, but it's easy to pick up the main threads and sail through. "Are we having an adventure?" You betcha!
January 12, 2026
I don’t write reviews.
“The universe and its design is often one of arbitrary horror.”
Even in this lighthearted, for Barron, romp featuring two boys coming-of-age in the monstrous Tooms family, we are served plenty of cosmic creepiness and nightmare fuel. I reach this story and it’s a bittersweet moment knowing I only have one more book to go in my Barronian reading journey. Write more soon please!
‘“Mac, are we having an adventure? Is someone going to shoot at me? Am I going to get kidnapped again? Locked in a trunk and dropped into the sea? Experimented on with growth hormones? Chased by a lunatic in a mechanical werewolf getup? It sure feels like we’re having an adventure.”
“Yep, we’re having an adventure,” Mac said.’
Book 11 - Laird & I Will Follow: A Laird Barron Retrospective
“The universe and its design is often one of arbitrary horror.”
Even in this lighthearted, for Barron, romp featuring two boys coming-of-age in the monstrous Tooms family, we are served plenty of cosmic creepiness and nightmare fuel. I reach this story and it’s a bittersweet moment knowing I only have one more book to go in my Barronian reading journey. Write more soon please!
‘“Mac, are we having an adventure? Is someone going to shoot at me? Am I going to get kidnapped again? Locked in a trunk and dropped into the sea? Experimented on with growth hormones? Chased by a lunatic in a mechanical werewolf getup? It sure feels like we’re having an adventure.”
“Yep, we’re having an adventure,” Mac said.’
Book 11 - Laird & I Will Follow: A Laird Barron Retrospective
November 12, 2023
I will pat my self on the back for finishing this book. I am not a sci-fi reader and this book did not interest me much. I read it to finish a challenge. It sounded better read out loud.
All I can tell anybody about the story or the plot is that their was alot of killing and horror. There was a company, Sword Entrerprises, who wanted to own everything and this company killed anybody getting in its way. An ok-read.
Quote:
"A smidgeon of intuition and a stroke of luck and it came together. "
Sword Enterprises scientists afforded Big Black a holy reverence one might reserve for an oracle rather than a high-powered computer.
Resources, peons, the lives of your friends, your less gifted relatives....expendable in the pursuit of true power.
All I can tell anybody about the story or the plot is that their was alot of killing and horror. There was a company, Sword Entrerprises, who wanted to own everything and this company killed anybody getting in its way. An ok-read.
Quote:
"A smidgeon of intuition and a stroke of luck and it came together. "
Sword Enterprises scientists afforded Big Black a holy reverence one might reserve for an oracle rather than a high-powered computer.
Resources, peons, the lives of your friends, your less gifted relatives....expendable in the pursuit of true power.
January 17, 2016
The ratings from my goodreads friends for this novella ranged from 2 stars, 3 stars, and five stars. The novella is not like Barron's early horror fiction. But I don't think its bizarro fiction either.
The novella has been compared to the TV show The Venture Bros. I haven't seen the TV show. The Wikipedia article on The Venture Bros. says: "The Venture Bros. is an American animated television series that premiered on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on February 16, 2003. It is considered to be an action/adventure series that mixes comedy and drama together while chronicling the lives and adventures of the Venture family: well-meaning but incompetent teenagers Hank and Dean Venture; their emotionally insecure, unethical but under-achieving super-scientist father Dr. Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture; the family's bodyguard, originally the ultra-violent and psycho secret agent Brock Samson and his subsequent replacement, the reformed super villain and "cured" pedophile Sergeant Hatred; and the family's self-proclaimed arch-nemesis, The Monarch, a butterfly-themed super villain."
X's For Eyes is like that. The story is a pulpy science fiction-adventure story set in the 1950s. I found it entertaining. Even the arch pessimist Thomas Ligotti said, in another context, "Literature is entertainment or it is nothing."
The novella has been compared to the TV show The Venture Bros. I haven't seen the TV show. The Wikipedia article on The Venture Bros. says: "The Venture Bros. is an American animated television series that premiered on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on February 16, 2003. It is considered to be an action/adventure series that mixes comedy and drama together while chronicling the lives and adventures of the Venture family: well-meaning but incompetent teenagers Hank and Dean Venture; their emotionally insecure, unethical but under-achieving super-scientist father Dr. Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture; the family's bodyguard, originally the ultra-violent and psycho secret agent Brock Samson and his subsequent replacement, the reformed super villain and "cured" pedophile Sergeant Hatred; and the family's self-proclaimed arch-nemesis, The Monarch, a butterfly-themed super villain."
X's For Eyes is like that. The story is a pulpy science fiction-adventure story set in the 1950s. I found it entertaining. Even the arch pessimist Thomas Ligotti said, in another context, "Literature is entertainment or it is nothing."
December 18, 2023
Despite the snazziness of the title, this book was a miss for me.
February 16, 2019
Or "Tom Swift's Amazing Eldritch Adventures," now with more sex and gore!
This is a fun, funny, one-damn-thing-after-another adventure story with one foot in the classic Boy's Own adventures and the other in the Cthulhu-verse. It is often silly, and just as often grim or unsettling. The balance doesn't always work, but it is fast-paced and entertaining enough to pull you through the rough spots without much trouble.
As in most adventure tales, the characters are just one step up from cardboard, and this works just fine. The biggest problem I had was that the leads, with all the drinking and debauching and general chaos, are twelve and fourteen. This felt both icky and unnecessary, as if done mostly to shock. I realize the author probably intended it as a broadside at Tom Swift, Johnny Quest, and all the other boy heroes whose adventures were well beyond their ages, but it just made me cringe, especially in the scene with the party girls. Ewww.
Other than that, this is an awesome story and a ton of fun. Enjoy.
This is a fun, funny, one-damn-thing-after-another adventure story with one foot in the classic Boy's Own adventures and the other in the Cthulhu-verse. It is often silly, and just as often grim or unsettling. The balance doesn't always work, but it is fast-paced and entertaining enough to pull you through the rough spots without much trouble.
As in most adventure tales, the characters are just one step up from cardboard, and this works just fine. The biggest problem I had was that the leads, with all the drinking and debauching and general chaos, are twelve and fourteen. This felt both icky and unnecessary, as if done mostly to shock. I realize the author probably intended it as a broadside at Tom Swift, Johnny Quest, and all the other boy heroes whose adventures were well beyond their ages, but it just made me cringe, especially in the scene with the party girls. Ewww.
Other than that, this is an awesome story and a ton of fun. Enjoy.
February 28, 2018
Funny, fast-paced, pulpy, weird crime-noir horror. A story equal parts hard-boiled and Lovecraftian, about a pair of brothers, heirs to a family super-villains and latest link in a chain of liaisons to otherworldly alien gods. A pretty fun read through-and-through.
May 22, 2019
Ο Lair Barron είναι η τελευταία μου μεγάλη ανακάλυψη. Ένας συγγραφέας που γράφει την πιο απολαυστική λογοτεχνία τρόμου, αλλά που μπορεί να γράψει και τόσα άλλα πράματα. Το έχω καταλάβει από τον τρόπο που προσεγγίζει τις ιστορίες του -δεν παγιδεύεται στις συμβάσεις του είδους-, αλλά και από μια ματιά στην εργογραφία του. Σ' αυτήν την νουβέλα γράφει μια ιστορία κοσμικής φρίκης, που όμως δεν η τετριμμένη, αναμενόμενη διήγηση.
Οι διαθέσεις του Barron κρύβονται πίσω από τον τίτλο που είναι αναφορά στην καρτουνίστικη αποτύπωση του θανάτου, όπου τα μάτια παίρνουν σχήμα "χ". Δύο γιοι, διάδοχοι μιας τεράστιας βιομηχανίας, όπου σε μια εναλλακτική δεκαετία του '50, παρασκευάζει τεχνολογία υψηλού επιπέδου, βρίσκουν τον μπελά τους όταν χωθούν εκεί που δεν τους σπέρνουν. Η ιστορία είναι ένα μείγμα βιομηχανικής κατασκοπίας, κοσμικού τρόμου και μακάβριου χιούμορ. Ο Barron είναι αναίσχυντος, δεν έχει συμπόνοια για τους ήρωες. Ακόμα και τις στιγμές που όλα καταρρέουν, κανείς δεν φαίνεται να διακατέχεται από ιδιαίτερη ανθρωπιά. Είχα καιρό να γελάσω τόσο πολύ. Ο Barron είναι πανέξυπνος και δεν γράφει για να χαριεντιστεί με τους geeks, είναι σαρκαστικός και ωμός, σαν Βρετανός - κοντά στον Evelyn Waugh και καμία σχέση με τον Pratchet.
Το X's for Eyes είναι ό,τι πιο διασκεδαστικό έχω διαβάσει τον τελευταίο καιρό και το καλύτερο βιβλίο για το 2019 μέχρι ώρας.
Οι διαθέσεις του Barron κρύβονται πίσω από τον τίτλο που είναι αναφορά στην καρτουνίστικη αποτύπωση του θανάτου, όπου τα μάτια παίρνουν σχήμα "χ". Δύο γιοι, διάδοχοι μιας τεράστιας βιομηχανίας, όπου σε μια εναλλακτική δεκαετία του '50, παρασκευάζει τεχνολογία υψηλού επιπέδου, βρίσκουν τον μπελά τους όταν χωθούν εκεί που δεν τους σπέρνουν. Η ιστορία είναι ένα μείγμα βιομηχανικής κατασκοπίας, κοσμικού τρόμου και μακάβριου χιούμορ. Ο Barron είναι αναίσχυντος, δεν έχει συμπόνοια για τους ήρωες. Ακόμα και τις στιγμές που όλα καταρρέουν, κανείς δεν φαίνεται να διακατέχεται από ιδιαίτερη ανθρωπιά. Είχα καιρό να γελάσω τόσο πολύ. Ο Barron είναι πανέξυπνος και δεν γράφει για να χαριεντιστεί με τους geeks, είναι σαρκαστικός και ωμός, σαν Βρετανός - κοντά στον Evelyn Waugh και καμία σχέση με τον Pratchet.
Το X's for Eyes είναι ό,τι πιο διασκεδαστικό έχω διαβάσει τον τελευταίο καιρό και το καλύτερο βιβλίο για το 2019 μέχρι ώρας.
February 24, 2021
This was fun, pulpy and over the top. Though Laird's universe is very present, this felt like a much more light-hearted take on it than usual. It still manages to take itself seriously enough for the story to be compelling.
December 7, 2015
A short while back John F.D. Taff wrote a very insightful guest essay on the effectiveness of the short form in horror fiction. Since then I have had the great fortune to read and enjoy some outstanding novellas in the field, ranging from Adam Howe’s collection DIE DOG OR EAT THE HATCHET to Lisa Mannetti’s blisteringly gorgeous DEATHWATCH and, most recently, Laird Barron‘s newest book X’S FOR EYES.
Laird Barron is one of those authors whose work is difficult to write about. Everything he publishes is golden and I wonder what the hell I might say to do it justice. Like all of his work, X’S FOR EYES is an outstanding story, rife with quirky, often amoral characters and paced like a manic freight train on a downhill run straight to hell. It’s an action packed pulp-cosmic-noir adventure story that takes place in various locales, from an assassin’s school in the Himalayas to an excavation site in Alaska, and eventually an alternate universe where Macbeth and Drederick Tooms encounter horrors beyond imagining.
Every author has a major strength that makes their work stand out. Laird’s, in my opinion, is his mastery of setting. He uses a combination of what he imagines and what he knows to take you to the places he’s writing about. Whether it’s Alaska, The Olympic Peninsula, or a bizarre and twisted alternate universe peopled with old gods, you can feel the cold seeping through your shoes, hear the gravel crunching beneath your feet as you experience the story in a directly visceral fashion. This ability to transport you, coupled with powerful imagery and narrative prowess, makes for a captivating tale that sticks with you long after you’ve turned the final page.
For a book of only ninety or so pages, X’S FOR EYES is a huge addition to Laird Barron’s lexicon, a story that draws you in and pins you in place for the duration, reads way too fast and leaves you hoping beyond hope that we will see much more of the Tooms brothers and company. If you like your fiction, weird, fast moving, and filled with delightful pulpy goodness, X’S FOR EYES is right up your alley. Possibly my favorite Laird Barron book to date.
Laird Barron is one of those authors whose work is difficult to write about. Everything he publishes is golden and I wonder what the hell I might say to do it justice. Like all of his work, X’S FOR EYES is an outstanding story, rife with quirky, often amoral characters and paced like a manic freight train on a downhill run straight to hell. It’s an action packed pulp-cosmic-noir adventure story that takes place in various locales, from an assassin’s school in the Himalayas to an excavation site in Alaska, and eventually an alternate universe where Macbeth and Drederick Tooms encounter horrors beyond imagining.
Every author has a major strength that makes their work stand out. Laird’s, in my opinion, is his mastery of setting. He uses a combination of what he imagines and what he knows to take you to the places he’s writing about. Whether it’s Alaska, The Olympic Peninsula, or a bizarre and twisted alternate universe peopled with old gods, you can feel the cold seeping through your shoes, hear the gravel crunching beneath your feet as you experience the story in a directly visceral fashion. This ability to transport you, coupled with powerful imagery and narrative prowess, makes for a captivating tale that sticks with you long after you’ve turned the final page.
For a book of only ninety or so pages, X’S FOR EYES is a huge addition to Laird Barron’s lexicon, a story that draws you in and pins you in place for the duration, reads way too fast and leaves you hoping beyond hope that we will see much more of the Tooms brothers and company. If you like your fiction, weird, fast moving, and filled with delightful pulpy goodness, X’S FOR EYES is right up your alley. Possibly my favorite Laird Barron book to date.
December 15, 2015
That book was lovably crazy like the voice singing Adele songs coming from a padded cell inside an asylum for the criminally insane. I didn't know that cosmic horror could be so wild, idiosyncratic and all-around fun, to be honest. X'S FOR EYES is like a Hardy Boys novel that fell down a cosmic vortex and landed inside a pulp fiction magazine read by someone in hell. I hadn't read Laird Barron before, but now I know why everybody is crazy about him. His overflowing imaginary and his grandiloquent style are fun as hell and could adapt to to darker storytelling as well.
X'S FOR EYES was some of the best fun I've had reading books this year. It's short, its presentation is beautiful and the content lives up to its aura of madness in every possible way.
X'S FOR EYES was some of the best fun I've had reading books this year. It's short, its presentation is beautiful and the content lives up to its aura of madness in every possible way.
March 1, 2018
Sorry, not really sure what that was all about. Did the boys imagine this? What was the detail about a whale eating four boys all about?
Bizarre novella that has lots of knowing nods to the genre but is trying too hard to be clever.
I only read this because of a reading challenge commitment. Perhaps my lack of knowledge about this genre meant I was always going to find it weird. Sadly, this was not at all to my taste-it was a little rushed which might explain why so little made sense (but I didn’t find myself wanting more to slow the experience down).
Bizarre novella that has lots of knowing nods to the genre but is trying too hard to be clever.
I only read this because of a reading challenge commitment. Perhaps my lack of knowledge about this genre meant I was always going to find it weird. Sadly, this was not at all to my taste-it was a little rushed which might explain why so little made sense (but I didn’t find myself wanting more to slow the experience down).
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