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The Shadow Box: Twelve Curios
Stumble into darkened alleyways, tree groves under alien skies, strange deserts and fetid jungles. Lurch through backwoods rituals to forgotten deities, through the neon glow of futures that will never be, and into histories of other realms. This is where Hickey and Jacobs make their home.
Here the ley lines of horror, fantasy, science fiction and a dozen other genres converge and form a tangle, and it is from that chaos that these stories have been woven. Icy northern fantasy shares a vast living space with Arabian myth, academic horror, weird noir, bloodstained cyberpunk, and more.
Here are twelve tales cultivated over the years since their last anthology, That Weird City. In that anthology they kept their scope narrowed to the eldritch and the cosmic, here they expand it to encompass stories from across many times and dimensions. From "Icaro," where a man's drug-fueled spirit quest leads him through a shifting dreamscape of existential quandaries, to "Shadows of the Stone Tree," where two travelers in a strange desert find themselves tracking one imaginary being while being pursued by other ones. From "Our Lady of Atlantis," where a woman's quest for artistic freedom dredges up old and forgotten powers, to "Terra Pinguis," where an arson investigator must try to explain fires that don't obey the laws of science. These stories and many more await you, featuring an introduction and foreword by Eric Heisserer, the horror and science fiction connoisseur behind the scripts for Lights Out and The Arrival.
Here the ley lines of horror, fantasy, science fiction and a dozen other genres converge and form a tangle, and it is from that chaos that these stories have been woven. Icy northern fantasy shares a vast living space with Arabian myth, academic horror, weird noir, bloodstained cyberpunk, and more.
Here are twelve tales cultivated over the years since their last anthology, That Weird City. In that anthology they kept their scope narrowed to the eldritch and the cosmic, here they expand it to encompass stories from across many times and dimensions. From "Icaro," where a man's drug-fueled spirit quest leads him through a shifting dreamscape of existential quandaries, to "Shadows of the Stone Tree," where two travelers in a strange desert find themselves tracking one imaginary being while being pursued by other ones. From "Our Lady of Atlantis," where a woman's quest for artistic freedom dredges up old and forgotten powers, to "Terra Pinguis," where an arson investigator must try to explain fires that don't obey the laws of science. These stories and many more await you, featuring an introduction and foreword by Eric Heisserer, the horror and science fiction connoisseur behind the scripts for Lights Out and The Arrival.
243 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 29, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 3, 2016
This collection of short stories was a buffet of horror and suspense treats. Several were so immersive that I am still thinking back to those characters wanting more, wanting to know what happened next to those characters. I'm not sure I'll be able to look at crawly bugs and stair cases quite the same way.
There was a bit of lovecraftian flavor, but it also jumped off in lots of other new directions. Having the two very different voices of the two authors was an interesting counter point too. Would highly suggest!
There was a bit of lovecraftian flavor, but it also jumped off in lots of other new directions. Having the two very different voices of the two authors was an interesting counter point too. Would highly suggest!
December 19, 2016
*Shadowboxing*
Chris Hickey and Aaron Jacobs have returned with a second anthology of horrific horror tales, an expansion or development of the ideas, themes and styles found in 2012s "That Weird City" (described as a set of tales from 'the Weird and the Strange'). It is true that the 'narrow scope of eldritch and the cosmic' has been expanded to encompass 'many times and dimensions' - and this is very much a good thing. Thus, allow me a moment to offer two reviews simultaneously, to connect and juxtapose the first collection with the second "Shadow Box".
The first anthology was a collection of... good stories, but (at least to me) they felt rather barren and even, at times, quite derivative. The core lacked something, perhaps a cohesive grounding or an inventive amplification, a wholeness to tie the stories together, a message to create a purpose? In a nutshell, there were issues... but of the like which oftentimes happen to débuts anyway. The book had rough spots, lacking polish - and, although the subject matter(s) walked a path between sci-fi, fantasy, horror, the weird and so forth, the whole lacked a necessary imaginative punch. The stories had good ideas, which the authors, alas, could not realize to their full poetic and narrative effect.
A few years of growth and development later - we get this new book of stories. Twelve Curios. And oh boy, things have changed and evolved a lot. The prose in "The Shadow Box" flows much better, the stories have some really good and thoughtful backing, they are much tighter and more focused. It is a skill to hone when it comes to writing short stories: how to use the allotted (small) amount of words to actually say more. To tell more stories in one swoop, to insert additional ideas - and even, dare I say, deliver commentary on some serious modern-day issues (in the fore- or background). This brings in layers and possibilities for added interpretations, helping to craft a far stronger overall effect - and it breaks the curse of being 'derivative'. This curse plagues a lot of what is sometimes called 'genre fiction', so that even when authors try to go more experimental or 'postmodern' with an aim to mix, blend, reshuffle, combine aspects of different genres, it often ends up feeling... exactly like a mix, a mash-up of ideas or favourite genres or themes. Thus it feels unnatural, it feels... crafted. It feels like things are fused together without any purpose except that this blend sounded like a 'cool idea'. A 'what if?' story, but with themes that are too large and abstract or generic.
"The Shadow Box" avoids these pitfalls very well. The generally wider and more diverse range of settings helps out and the 'twist' (not in the sense of a surprise, but the changing up, the variation of perspectives in the storytelling) creates an interesting, enticing atmosphere. We see in a few of the tales how a more 'grounded' approach around(/inspired by) Lovecraftian horror gives the reading experience a really nice spin. Proper to horror, the creep factor goes up way high in a lot of spots: 'The Colony' made me feel wonderfully queasy, and the damned staircase story unnerved me a lot, although it is quite subdued and constrained. A strangely tame tale, with its epistolary form describing some very mundane events... yet still, feels surprisingly uncomfortable.
Additionally, time and effort has gone into crafting the story composure and the overall flow of the anthology. There is a rhyme and reason to how the tales follow eachother, how the atmosphere shifts across chapters. Having the collection end in a rather more upbeat way (very last story aside) was a good idea too. When most of the tales are about initially creepy events ending even worse, you get this constant negative assault (It was horrible! As in full of horrors!) Which, admittedly, is fine. Yet, having some ass-kickin' Einherjer or mystical eastern-influenced magus & warrior stuff at the end stretch added a really cool layer. Sure, creepy events still ended badly, but at least there a few dudes around being all badass. So perhaps that says: even in the worst of times, there still exists a tiny little bit of hope.
Chris Hickey and Aaron Jacobs have returned with a second anthology of horrific horror tales, an expansion or development of the ideas, themes and styles found in 2012s "That Weird City" (described as a set of tales from 'the Weird and the Strange'). It is true that the 'narrow scope of eldritch and the cosmic' has been expanded to encompass 'many times and dimensions' - and this is very much a good thing. Thus, allow me a moment to offer two reviews simultaneously, to connect and juxtapose the first collection with the second "Shadow Box".
The first anthology was a collection of... good stories, but (at least to me) they felt rather barren and even, at times, quite derivative. The core lacked something, perhaps a cohesive grounding or an inventive amplification, a wholeness to tie the stories together, a message to create a purpose? In a nutshell, there were issues... but of the like which oftentimes happen to débuts anyway. The book had rough spots, lacking polish - and, although the subject matter(s) walked a path between sci-fi, fantasy, horror, the weird and so forth, the whole lacked a necessary imaginative punch. The stories had good ideas, which the authors, alas, could not realize to their full poetic and narrative effect.
A few years of growth and development later - we get this new book of stories. Twelve Curios. And oh boy, things have changed and evolved a lot. The prose in "The Shadow Box" flows much better, the stories have some really good and thoughtful backing, they are much tighter and more focused. It is a skill to hone when it comes to writing short stories: how to use the allotted (small) amount of words to actually say more. To tell more stories in one swoop, to insert additional ideas - and even, dare I say, deliver commentary on some serious modern-day issues (in the fore- or background). This brings in layers and possibilities for added interpretations, helping to craft a far stronger overall effect - and it breaks the curse of being 'derivative'. This curse plagues a lot of what is sometimes called 'genre fiction', so that even when authors try to go more experimental or 'postmodern' with an aim to mix, blend, reshuffle, combine aspects of different genres, it often ends up feeling... exactly like a mix, a mash-up of ideas or favourite genres or themes. Thus it feels unnatural, it feels... crafted. It feels like things are fused together without any purpose except that this blend sounded like a 'cool idea'. A 'what if?' story, but with themes that are too large and abstract or generic.
"The Shadow Box" avoids these pitfalls very well. The generally wider and more diverse range of settings helps out and the 'twist' (not in the sense of a surprise, but the changing up, the variation of perspectives in the storytelling) creates an interesting, enticing atmosphere. We see in a few of the tales how a more 'grounded' approach around(/inspired by) Lovecraftian horror gives the reading experience a really nice spin. Proper to horror, the creep factor goes up way high in a lot of spots: 'The Colony' made me feel wonderfully queasy, and the damned staircase story unnerved me a lot, although it is quite subdued and constrained. A strangely tame tale, with its epistolary form describing some very mundane events... yet still, feels surprisingly uncomfortable.
Additionally, time and effort has gone into crafting the story composure and the overall flow of the anthology. There is a rhyme and reason to how the tales follow eachother, how the atmosphere shifts across chapters. Having the collection end in a rather more upbeat way (very last story aside) was a good idea too. When most of the tales are about initially creepy events ending even worse, you get this constant negative assault (It was horrible! As in full of horrors!) Which, admittedly, is fine. Yet, having some ass-kickin' Einherjer or mystical eastern-influenced magus & warrior stuff at the end stretch added a really cool layer. Sure, creepy events still ended badly, but at least there a few dudes around being all badass. So perhaps that says: even in the worst of times, there still exists a tiny little bit of hope.
December 30, 2016
Having enjoyed their previous set of short stories (That Weird City), I knew I needed to read this one too when it came out. Full disclosure: I know one of the authors. As with all collections of stories, some are better than others. I actually enjoyed more of the stories deeper in the book than the first couple. Many of them kept me up later than I should have been to finish reading. A couple of them I wish had been full novels. Both authors are able to speak with different voices and both have a delightful capacity for the dark and freaky side of things. I eagerly await another book from these guys!
November 3, 2016
A fine collection of stories from the dark side. As with any short story collection, you may not love every one, but you will find something to think about in each. From chronicles with ironic twists O. Henry would appreciate to tales where the pit of your stomach tightens because you know how it will end but hope you are wrong, it's a dozen yarns well worth your time.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews