Starr Creek

by Nathan Carson

"STARR CREEK is a phenomenal weird fiction debut. Laird Barron meets Jack Ketchum in David Lynch's TWIN PEAKS. I loved it!" - Brian Keene, best-selling author of THE COMPLEX and THE RISING

"Carson is a fresh new voice in Lovecraft country, and his prose dazzles." - Wendy Wagner, author of STARSPAWN and SKINWALKERS

Starr Creek is the debut novella by Portland writer and musician Nathan Carson. Set in 1986 rural Oregon, Starr Creek features Heavy Metal teens, Christian biker gangs, and hopped up kids on 3-wheeled ATVs. They all collide when strange occurrences unveil an alien world inhabiting the Oregon woods.

Genres: Horror, Science Fiction, Fiction, Lovecraftian, Bizarro Fiction, Novella, Adult

168 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 2, 2017

About the author

Nathan Carson is a musician, writer, and Moth StorySlam Champion from Portland, OR. He is widely known as co-founder and drummer of the internationally touring doom metal band Witch Mountain, host of the FM radio show The Heavy Metal Sewïng Cïrcle, and the owner of the boutique music booking agency, Nanotear.

Carson's byline can be found on hundreds of music and film-related articles in outlets such as the Willamette Week, Rue Morgue, Nightmare Magazine, SF Weekly, Orbitz, Noisey, Terrorizer, Metal Edge, etc.

In recent years, Carson has turned his sights toward weird fiction, earning immediate accolades and publication. He is regularly a panelist and reader on the convention circuit.

Starr Creek is Carson's first standalone novella.

Reviews

[Janie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that I literally could not put down.  While evoking feelings of nostalgia for childhood and teenage years, the element that made this novel shine was its ability to paint a picture.  I was drawn immediately into the prologue, and I could visualize the preternatural scene as clearly as moonlight.  There is a joie de vivre throughout the book that pulls the reader through the pages.  I "saw" every part in 3-D and full color (no hallucinogens were involved on my end).  If you enjoy the combination of weirdness, believable characters and ... well, more weirdness, then look no further.  This is the perfect trip. 

[Dan Clore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fast-paced, enjoyable and entertaining weird novella tells the intertwining tales of juvenile/teen/adult characters in backwoods 1980s Oregon that collide in an explosion of Bizarro genre-bending revelation after genre-bending Bizarro revelation.

The time of release, the ages of the character groups, along with the mix of science fiction, horror, and other fantastic genres, and certain details like the inclusion of a gaming session of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and Eggo waffles, make comparison with the season's genre sensation, Stranger Things, inevitable, though neither could have influenced the other. Unlike Stranger Things, Starr Creek was written by someone who knows the milieu from experience, not from watching E.T. and the Goonies, and describes it accurately (as I can attest from my own experience). It was a time when kids were just expected to go off on adventures, and if those adventures involved the quest for porno magazines, playing with machetes, heroic doses of LSD, and encounters with goat-kissing Lovecraftian rednecks, at least the kids were out of their parents' hair. Nathan Carson also happens to be drummer in the doom metal band Witch Mountain and a fixture in Portland's Bizarro literary scene, and brings a refreshing countercultural aesthetic sensibility to his material compared to the mainstream TV series.

While I found that the stripped-down, action-packed pulp narrative style worked well (in some parts reminding me of A.E. Van Vogt's technique of adding a major plot twist or revelation every few hundred words), I would probably have preferred a more fleshed-out, detailed, and atmospheric version with a more evocative prose style. That's more of an observation regarding my own personal taste, though, hardly even a criticism. Recommended for genre and Bizarro fans.

Note: Don't miss the video trailer for the book, or miss my appearance in it as central "backwoods lowlife":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8-3O...

[Danger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A twisted and drug-induced journey through the intersection of Lovecraft, heavy metal, and occultism - Starr Creek managed to whiz by at 100 mph, and left me with barely any time to get my head on straight. So while it never gets stale or boring (as each chapter brings on a slew of strange new delights) the brevity of the story sometimes works against it, and Starr Creek doesn’t always let it’s atmosphere breathe. As such, on occasion, some of the tension is lost to a more action-filled and kinetic kind of storytelling. In fact, I’d call it harrowing, if anything. And once the pace is set, it stays the course, ramping up to a bizarre and satisfying conclusion that ultimately left me wanting more. Carson can certainly write, and he’s got a head full of weird ideas, and if this novel was his debut, then I can’t wait to see where he takes me next.

[Michael Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review is based on an advanced, 100 copy, limited release

Starr Creek is a fast-paced, fun, compulsively readable novella from emerging author Nathan Carson. It tells an interweaving series of tales about shady backwoods lowlifes, some day-tripper teens, a biker gang, a couple of kids up to no good, and an inexplicable cargo cult, and that's all before stuff really starts getting weird. It's set in rural Oregon in the early 1980's, but never gets mired down in ticking off pop-culture references for 'authenticity', anything mentioned in that vein is organically part of the story, told from the perspective of someone who really lived through that time. The strange concepts start coming fast and furious about midway in, and there are fun allusions to a lot of literary and film tropes including having the kids find and befriend an alien, underground labyrinths, ancient-astronaut-theory spliced with local legends, and the inevitable and climactic showdowns that the whole town shows up for. All the while the bizarro mash-up meter is going right off the charts. Definitely a big recommendation to fans of fresh, funny, and inventive spec-lit stuff.

[Marvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nathan Carson's debut novel Starr Creek is a very ambitious book despite its under 200 pages length. There is a lot going on in it and succeeds in some areas very well. Let's discuss where it succeeds.

The author has created a very interesting Oregon environment of tune-outs, drop-outs and turn-ons. Some of them are the exiles of society and others are just teens stoning out for the ride. While none of them grabbed me as essential and fully developed, they are all meant for the plot and speed it along nicely. Carson seems to have a counter-cultural sensitivity and it shows well here. His style is quite poetically descriptive and memorable lines keep popping out at the reader. I sense a little Brautigan here and the residents of Starr Creek seem be similar to the eccentric population of Christopher Moore's Pine Cove with a much darker sense of humor. But Carson's horror and Lovecraftian elements shine through too. The author has seized upon a fine plot where the residents encounter strange beasts and strange occurrences without really knowing until the end where they are coming from and what their intentions are. And of course, every character sees and react on this based on their individual motives. It's a nice bit of plotting.

It is also a frustrating piece of plotting. In Carson's ambitiousness he seem to be spreading out too many characters. There are a lot of intriguing dudes and scoundrels here but none are given enough room to really shine. Kira comes the closest but there just isn't enough rounding out of character even for her. It basically comes down to great writing and insufficient structuring for so many ideas. It's a common error in debut novels and it really shows here. But still, there is a good sense of environment and atmosphere that keeps me reading.

Then there is the end. I loved the build-in to it. But without giving it away, it ends suddenly. My big question is : is it a definitive ending that makes any thing else in this story moot or a cliffhanger. I'm kind of hoping it is a cliffhanger because the Starr Creek gang with all their flaws have real promise.

You probably noticed I said little about the actual plot. This is because if you do read this it is best that you go in with little knowledge to get into the atmosphere and to let the surprises sneak up on you. Carson is clearly showing off his counter cultural experiences and has his own unique perspective. Wherever he goes in his writing, Starr Creek is a good if incomplete example of his work and can only get better.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliantly creepy and bizarre storytelling. Full review to come, but I loved it!

[Rodney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starr​ ​Creek​ ​is​ ​fresh​ ​and​ ​addictive, combining​ ​the​ ​freedom​ ​of​ ​youth​ ​in​ ​the​ ​80’s​ ​with​ ​otherworldly weirdness,​ ​altered​ ​states​ ​of​ ​consciousness​ ​and​ ​backwoods​ ​creeps.​ ​The​ ​best​ ​part​ ​about​ ​all​ ​of these​ ​facets​ ​is​ ​their​ ​organic​ ​and​ ​subtle​ ​use​ ​in​ ​building​ ​this ​surprisingly​ ​polished​ ​debut.​ ​The​ ​prose​ ​is extremely​ ​visual​ ​yet​ ​maintains​ ​readability.​ ​Near​ ​the​ ​middle​ ​things​ ​get​ ​stranger,​ ​escalating​ ​from there​ ​to​ ​the​ ​finale.​ ​Simply​ ​great​ ​reading.

[Wendy Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

One problem with Lovecraft's Mythos is that it ignores the entire West Coast of the United States. If HPL had grown up in Oregon, this novella is what he would have produced. Plus, the inbred villains in this riotous little volume would teach the folks of Innsmouth what it really means to put outsiders in their place.

Cosmic horror and occult mystery bleed together in a landscape populated by white trash, commune-dwelling hippies, and motorcycle gangs, all of whom collide while a band of teens and pair of eleven-year-olds dig into the deeper truth moldering in the forest. The kids all have a delightful sense of innocence about them (even as they're selling oxycontin and downing LSD) that makes them a joy to spend time with. I liked the characters so much I found I couldn't put down this fast-paced novella.

Carson is a fresh new voice in Lovecraft country, and his prose dazzles. I only wish this had been about twice as long, as the ending in particular feels a little rushed. But I still loved it!

[Autumn Christian · Rating 2 out of 5]

A great mix of elements - Lovecraftian, acid, D&D, and rural hillbillies with some fairly good writing. However I had difficulty relating to any of the characters or their motivations. Nobody seemed exactly human, and I was never drawn into their struggles or the swirling motif of the books different elements. It never seemed to coalesce into anything tangible that I could care about - and then abruptly ended.

[Andrew Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's like Stranger Things with copious amounts of acid. The story follows multiple narratives that, as the tale grows, brings the different groups of characters together. I really enjoyed Carson's debut book.

On a separate note, this is one of my all-time favorite book covers. Buying Starr Creek is worth it for the cover alone, but everything inside is equally as delicious.

[Fastnbulbous · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended for all fans of Lovecraftian horror and the Stranger Things series. Despite the fact that this book was started long before Stranger Things was out, there are a lot of similarities. It takes place in a small town surrounded by creepy woods (this one in Oregon in 1986 rather than Indiana in 1983) and features two sets of protaganists — pre-teens and teenagers. What bothered me about Stranger Things is that no way would these kids in a hick Indiana town be listening primarily to post-punk. Sure The Clash, but Joy Division and Television? Not likely. They would much more likely have been into Sabbath, Dio, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. Carson would never make that mistake, having served as the drummer and founding member of the doom metal band Witch Mountain for over 15 years. Metallica among other bands are the soundtrack for these kids. He’s also a veteran writer, having done thousands of reviews, and transitioned to writing fiction. With a few horror themed short stories under his belt, the writing in his debut novella is crisply economical but with an evocative atmosphere that drew me in quickly. I finished it quickly, within a couple days, and it was a nice break from Alan Moore’s unwieldy new novel Jerusalem. Just a warning, parents might not want to buy this for kids younger than 16. There’s creepy hillbilly violence, horrifically gross demon sex, and copious drug use in this sweet little horrible baby.

[Horror DNA · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s a new thing going around: comparing books and movies to Stranger Things. You know what? I’m fine with that as long as the comparison makes it clear that whatever is being discussed is its own animal. In the case of Nathan Carson’s Starr Creek, the friends running around the woods and facing something bizarre and dangerous make the aforementioned comparison inevitable. However, given the richness and depth of the novel, it requires a few expansions, clarifications, and addendums. Try this on for size: Starr Creek is like a gonzo version of Stranger Things directed by David Lynch on crank after he went to a biker bar and spent three hours getting high with a redneck who claimed to have been abducted by aliens.

You can read Gabino's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.

[Jemiah Jefferson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended for those of you for whom the evocations of ordinary nerdy kid life in the 1980s was the best thing about Stranger Things, but if the uneasy balance between the mundane and the horrifically, inexplicably unusual is also appreciated, this book is most definitely for you. It's a quick read - a sunny, undisturbed afternoon would be perfect - and its pacing and rhythms keep the reader gripped from beginning to end.

[Jayson Shenk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad mix of 80's culture and Lovecraftian Mythos, but it tries to do way too much in too few pages.

[Gensho Welsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Initially got my hands on an uncorrected proof. This novel is exactly what I seek in strange fiction - the realities of growing up in the 80s swirled with mind-fucked, gibbering madness!

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a bizarre fun ride. Coen brothers meet Lovecraft. One minute I'm envisioning The Tri-Pods on PBS, the next I feel like Yakkity Sax should be playing. So much fun.

[William Tea · Rating 4 out of 5]

As drummer for Portland-based doom group Witch Mountain, Nathan Carson knows all about heavy metal madness and mind-melting psychedelia. Hence, it’s no surprise that his debut novella, Starr Creek, churns as much with hallucinogenic flamboyance as it does with gloom and grit.

It’s been compared to everything from Stranger Things to Twin Peaks to Gummo, but none of those associations really does Starr Creek justice. Set in backwoods Oregon during the 1980s, this surreal cosmic-horror coming-of-age epic sees pubescent D&D nerds facing off against a clan of (surprisingly humanized) hillbillies, not to mention terrifying Lovecraftian entities, all while scouring the forest in a quest for the origins of all human life and, more importantly, the holy grail of teenage existence: free nudie mags.

A frantic, fast-paced read, Starr Creek is rife with colorful, well-developed characters and crazy anecdotes that ring true because of (rather than despite) their strangeness. It’s like a window into the adolescent id, a kind of living, breathing, black-light fantasy poster crossed with the rawer real-world experiences of the kid who tacked said poster up on his wall. Carson turns nostalgia from mere wistful reminiscences through rose-colored glasses into a kind of transformative vehicle through which he creates something far more wonderful and weird. Think about that saying, "The past is a foreign country," then take it one step further so it's "The past is an alien world."

The same way King Arthur stories reinterpret medieval history as an age of myth and magic, Starr Creek makes the world of 80s adolescence something larger than life, an otherworldly realm so far removed from the here and now it might as well be Atlantis. And that speaks to a deeper truth that Carson utilizes beautifully. That is, he shows us the misadventures of childhood in a way that makes them as big and bizarre as we remember them, as big and bizarre as they felt when we were young.

The reality of Starr Creek is not a parallel universe. It's not Narnia or Wonderland or Oz. It's something even scarier, more mysterious, and ultimately more relatable. It's our reality, the one we've always lived in. Carson just sees it with different eyes. The fact that he is able to translate that onto the page is arguably more impressive than most fabricated fictional worlds you're likely to encounter any time soon.

Don't believe it? Put on an old Metallica record, pour yourself a glass of acid-spiked OJ, and give Starr Creek a look. Just don't act like you've haven't been warned.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time author, though you'd never know it. Despite the action whirring away from one brief chapter to the next, the characters assert themselves and their motives are clear. I can't stress how much is covered in this slim volume. Weird yet somehow real. A stellar debut. I can't wait to see what comes next.

Recommended for fans of Stranger Things, Wolf in the White Van and Bay Area Thrash Metal.

[Ramunas K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised to discover that this book wasn't written in the 80s. The atmosphere of that time is very convincing (even though I was only two). This was a quick and easy read, but it doesn't mean the book is written in simple language. It is very descriptive, painting the mood and setting in a deeply immersive way. Reading it was just a very nice and comfortable flow. Cred to the author! And I loved the weirdness, gross details and the Lovecraftian influence.

[Brooke Warra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Authentic, fun, and kind of gross. I loved this book and look forward to more from this author. It's changed my mind about Lovecraftian themes which I've normally found to be a bit verbose and drab-- Carson makes it gritty and dirty and sets it to a rock n' roll soundtrack in the backwoods of Oregon, complete with hallucinogens.

[Brendan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, picture this. David Lynch and Steven Spielberg meet up for coffee. Spielberg is bummed out because he desperately wants to recapture the magic of his early movies, but can’t come up with a good idea. Lynch agrees to help him, but Spielberg is intimidated by the man’s creative genius and feels that he needs a little chemical assistance to be on the same wavelength. So, when the two directors sit down to develop a story idea, Spielberg drops a ridiculous amount of acid and trips so hard he leaves his body and meets mushroom men from outer space.

The product of this writing session would have been something very similar to Nathan Carson’s Starr Creek. The story kicks off when a group of teenagers ingest LSD and venture out into the backwood wilderness of Oregon. What begins as a fairly routine drug trip quickly transforms into something much, much stranger. There’s rednecks who worship an eldritch abomination, a commune of hippies with an affinity to the cosmos, an invisible forest-dwelling creature… the list goes on. As you can see, this novella has a lot going on and this works both to its benefit and detriment.

The first half did a great job of introducing a vivid cast of characters, all of which were a pleasure to follow throughout the story. Carson also did an excellent job of transporting the reader back to the 80s, infusing the plot with a generous helping of nostalgia, as well as sketching a vivid picture of rural Oregon.

Starr Creek also succeeds in establishing a sense of intrigue, often by steadily cranking the dial on the WTF factor. The only thing the first half of the novella was missing was a sense of gathering momentum. I never really got the feeling that the plot was moving toward anything except, maybe, the collision between the main characters.

The biggest issue for me, however, was the third act. So much was happening at once, and all of it was moving so quickly, that I actually wished the book had been longer. At times it felt like Starr Creek had originally been a longer work, but had become somewhat streamlined in the editorial process.

Nathan Carson’s Starr Creek is an excellent addition to the canon of weird fiction. It's sure to leave you with some truly bizarre imagery you won’t soon forget. You’ll shut the book feeling as though you’ve just come down from an acid trip unlike any other, and this is definitely a trip you should take.

[Jonathan Louis · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5

In this short novel, Nathan Carson takes the Lovecraft mythos and imports it from New England to the mist-girdled hills and woods of rural Oregon. Set in the mid-1980s, Starr Creek captures the spirit of the decade: arcades, laser tag, hair metal, and Dungeons and Dragons (with a dash of Satanic Panic, naturally) without ever becoming heavy-handed with the reminders. The prose is excellent, and the novel's structure of short chapters makes the reading experience a brisk glide from sequence to sequence. For such a short novel, there are a large number of characters, but Carson manages to just about develop most of them with admirable economy.

(If you'd rather not have any of the plot spoiled, stop reading now)




**Spoilers**





The plot is at once simple and also bewilderingly complex. At the very basic level, the story concerns three different groups of main characters: a trio of teenagers whose experimentation with psychedelics leads them into supernatural trouble, a pair of pre-teen boys whose quest for pornography magazines leads them into the same trouble, and a backwoods family (Puppy, Kitty, and their disabled prisoner, Squirrel) who lead a cult of sorts worshipping the Black Goat of the Woods. But that's not really everything--there's also a brutal biker gang out for revenge after one of their brothers is murdered by Puppy, a race of fungoid aliens (heavily based on Lovecraft's Mi-Go), and a hippy commune/flying saucer cult led by a charismatic and ageless leader named Rex.

Starr Creek just about manages to tie up all of these threads in a memorably chaotic, action-packed sequence where all of the aforementioned characters and plots collide in a battle royale. While the incidents themselves are well-written, I do wish the novel had taken another 20 or so pages to more thoroughly develop some of the undercooked plots. By the end I still don't quite know if Rex's cult have any connection to the fungoids, and if either were aware of the machinations of the Black Goat of the Woods' own cult. The ending is also rather abrupt, with some characters dead, others alive, but no real sense of what comes next or what the events have meant for the survivors or the rest of the world.

I would definitely recommend Starr Creek to fans of the Lovecraft mythos, but also to general fans of horror and anyone who's feeling nostalgic for a time of ubiquitous arcade machines, leg warmers, and cults on every street corner.

[Marcus Sherwin]

Psychic fungus, dog food eating contests, D&D metalheads on acid-fueled vision quests, pre-teens on 3-wheeled ATVs, cultists vs bikers, and giant creatures that defy description! Nathan Carson's Starr Creek is a trippy romp through the backwoods of the pacific northwest, perfect for fans of Stranger Things and H.P. Lovecraft.  Comparisons to Twin Peaks are also applicable, although Starr Creek is in my estimation considerably weirder.  There were even some elements which reminded me of a little film called Escape From Witch Mountain (!!!) Hardly surprising considering the author's background. ;-) 


The book drew me in from the start with strong characters I was really interested in, and the 1980s setting also pulled me in with a strong dose of nostalgia. The narrative is tight; the book is perhaps too short for all the threads to fit. I definitely wanted to know more about many of the characters, either because I liked them or because I wanted to like them more. 


I enjoyed Starr Creek from its start to its painfully abrupt finish. 

[Scott Unfried · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book starts a bit slow and the prose is a bit pretentious, especially early on. However, it can serve as a good vocabulary lesson.

Twenty pages in I started getting hooked. I realized that this was one of those intertwining tales of convergence in which we get introduced to disparate characters (a pair of pre-teens, a trio of teens, a hillbilly family and a lakeside commune) with interconnected destinies. I enjoy these kinds of stories. Furthermore, this story is set in the 1980's, one of my favorite eras. Gotta love them hillbillies, too, especially where their existence seems to be a stretch (Oregon). This book reminded me of Super 8 and The Goonies.

There are many pop culture references I enjoyed such as The A-Team and especially Silly Symphony.

Unfortunately, the ending left me underwhelmed, missing my literary G-spot. Somehow I yearned for more. Nonetheless, Nathan Carson does a good job of putting the reader into rural Oregon in the 1980's.

[H.J. Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recently I had the distinct pleasure of receiving an advance copy of Nathan Carson’s new novel Starr Creek. It took me a bit to get to sit down and read it because I was waiting to give it my full attention. So, not long ago I got comfy on my front porch and dipped in – and it took me for an amazing ride!

The story follows two sets of kids: an older group who are busily experimenting with a smorgasbord of mind altering substances, and a couple of younger boys who are more concerned with riding 3-wheelers and getting hold of some choice adult magazines. Both groups cross paths with a rather terrifying back woods family, and end up having to deal with something else … something not human.

Read the rest of my review at Starr Creek: An Out of This World Ride.

[Michael Kepler · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Starr Creek" hit the ground running and went by so fast I had to read it again to make sure I didn't miss anything. The universe of "Starr Creek" is instantly, vividly real, and even a little familiar. Carson's well disciplined economy of language bursts with poetic word choices that convey what might have otherwise been paragraphs. My only complaint is I want to know more about everything in the book. I could write quite a list of open questions, but I don't feel cheated, either. This is the kind of story that tends to draw me back every year or so, to enjoy the ride, search for secrets, and ponder the implications.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun, and hard to put down once the action really starts. But that goat was NOT HOT.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starr Creek: Kid tested, Shub-Niggurath approved!

[Jay Slayton-Joslin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think lots of people will love this book, but just for me it didn't fit.

[Greg Trout · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any lover of weird fiction, trash culture, metal, and dark comedy is required to read this.