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The Human Alchemy
Heralded as one of the leading voices in contemporary weird fiction, Michael Griffin returns with his second collection, The Human Alchemy. Here you will find eleven magnificent tales of the strange and sublime, the familiar and the disquieting, where dreamlike beauty and breathtaking horror intertwine. Featuring an introduction by S.P. Miskowski.
321 pages, Paperback
First published June 30, 2018
9 people are currently reading
178 people want to read
About the author
Michael Griffin
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There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 8, 2018
There is no doubt that Michael Griffin is a skilled author of weird fiction. I loved his earlier collection, The Lure of Devouring Light. However, The Human Alchemy did not quite hit home for me. The writing is excellent, but I felt that some of the stories lacked resolution. Not the type of resolution that explains outcome in detail, but the kind of acuity that is felt intuitively. Still, this is a cosmic mélange worth exploring, especially for the inclusion of An Ideal Retreat, which was formerly released as a chap book.
August 23, 2018
Thank you to Word Horde and the author for giving me a copy to read and review.
3.5 stars!
This is a difficult collection to review. Imagine, if you will, a target zone like a bullseye. Visualize me reading these stories and some of the stories landing right there in the center. The zone. Then picture other stories hitting those outer rings; still others were flying right outside the whole target into free space. This is how the collection feels to me. The stories that landed right there in the center were so incredibly great that I must recommend this collection for those alone (but I'm not going to tell you which ones they are because that would serve to influence future readers and I want people to discover their own favorites and what resonates with them).
There were a few stories where I honestly felt like I was reading something through a dingy, grime covered window looking in from the outside. It was a disconnected feeling like maybe the story wasn't for me--I couldn't relate. I wasn't part of that audience. I even tweeted at one point during my experience that Griffin's prose was almost *too* elevated for me--I felt sophisticated and lofty reading such a fine piece of literature. It made me want to go out on the porch and sip on a giant glass of merlot, read a story and then pontificate on its meaning.
Those were the ones that didn't quite hit the mark but they were close. I liked the way they made me feel, a new experience even though not quite accessible. Does that make sense??
Griffin's characters are an interesting lot. For instance, so many of them in these different stories, have these very post modern ideals about love, relationships and marriage. All of which were so totally foreign to me, it was entertaining in a sense but at the same time, pretty strange.
The endings were strange too--and not in a bad way, just in a new way and there was a learning curve there that challenged me to press on despite my desire to go back and understand everything.
I think Michael Griffin is remarkably talented. I'd love to see what he could do inside a novel with characters he can really build into for an extended amount of time so that I could invest more into them-the short story format maybe wasn't enough time for me to really get my feet wet and get insight. I think fans of speculative, strange fiction would devour these stories.
3.5 stars!
This is a difficult collection to review. Imagine, if you will, a target zone like a bullseye. Visualize me reading these stories and some of the stories landing right there in the center. The zone. Then picture other stories hitting those outer rings; still others were flying right outside the whole target into free space. This is how the collection feels to me. The stories that landed right there in the center were so incredibly great that I must recommend this collection for those alone (but I'm not going to tell you which ones they are because that would serve to influence future readers and I want people to discover their own favorites and what resonates with them).
There were a few stories where I honestly felt like I was reading something through a dingy, grime covered window looking in from the outside. It was a disconnected feeling like maybe the story wasn't for me--I couldn't relate. I wasn't part of that audience. I even tweeted at one point during my experience that Griffin's prose was almost *too* elevated for me--I felt sophisticated and lofty reading such a fine piece of literature. It made me want to go out on the porch and sip on a giant glass of merlot, read a story and then pontificate on its meaning.
Those were the ones that didn't quite hit the mark but they were close. I liked the way they made me feel, a new experience even though not quite accessible. Does that make sense??
Griffin's characters are an interesting lot. For instance, so many of them in these different stories, have these very post modern ideals about love, relationships and marriage. All of which were so totally foreign to me, it was entertaining in a sense but at the same time, pretty strange.
The endings were strange too--and not in a bad way, just in a new way and there was a learning curve there that challenged me to press on despite my desire to go back and understand everything.
I think Michael Griffin is remarkably talented. I'd love to see what he could do inside a novel with characters he can really build into for an extended amount of time so that I could invest more into them-the short story format maybe wasn't enough time for me to really get my feet wet and get insight. I think fans of speculative, strange fiction would devour these stories.
July 29, 2018
A remarkably cohesive collection filled with refined, flowing prose. The Human Alchemy is an impressive leap forward in terms of artistry and skill. Like most people, I was won over by Griffin's previous collection, The Lure of Devouring Light, and he's only gotten better. The style here is toned down a bit, more assured, and the themes of each story almost seem to nest within one another. I'd previously read many of the stories in this collection, and I was surprised by how much I got out of rereading them. I feel like that says a lot about the quality of Griffin's constructions and the beauty of his sentences. Favorites are "Firedancing," "An Ideal Retreat," "The Only Way Out is Down," and the title story. Can't recommend this enough.
July 9, 2018
Michael Griffin's new collection, The Human Alchemy, is visceral, cerebral, as if you're inside the protagonists' head through each story, along for the strange, maddening ride.
Griffin's writing is more honed in this collection, and it's clear that he has improved his craft since The Lure of Devouring Light.
My favorite stories from the collection are: Firedancing, The Smoke Lodge, The Tidal Pull of Salt and Sand, Delirium Sings at the Maelstrom Window, Endure Within a Dying Frame, and The Human Alchemy.
Griffin's writing is more honed in this collection, and it's clear that he has improved his craft since The Lure of Devouring Light.
My favorite stories from the collection are: Firedancing, The Smoke Lodge, The Tidal Pull of Salt and Sand, Delirium Sings at the Maelstrom Window, Endure Within a Dying Frame, and The Human Alchemy.
July 8, 2018
English - Español
———————————————
”Away from the humdrum, toward the beautiful strange.”
This sentence, taken from the story that closes the second collection of short fiction from Michael Griffin, sums up what you are going to find in these pages: a love for the strange - celebrated disturbingly in this turn of the screw to Frankenstein that puts an end to the book - stained always with poetry, with a devotion for crafting evocative sentences and atmospheres.
Even if labels are always unfair, much of what Griffin offers here has notes of quiet horror: the dream-like fear born from solitude - bound in this case to the pain of loss, the wreckage of life. Cosmic horror lurks here too, coming from the awareness of our fragility.
In the first sense, solitude is something ever present throughout the collection. Not only many of the characters have lost their loved ones in some way or another, but also they spend most of their tales alone - or with their ghosts as only company. “The Slipping of Stones” and “An Ideal Retreat” are different examples of this. However, there is also a balance between isolation and the longing for community, as S.P. Miskowski highlights in her introduction, that we can find in stories as “The Smoke Lodge”, “Everyone Gathers at Haystack Rock” or “The Human Alchemy”.
But cosmic horror is also a constant, though ambiguous - there is a strange mixture of dread and lure toward the mystery of reality. This love for the mystery of things is anticipated in the quote from Paracelsus that opens the book: “The common matter of all things is the Great Mystery”. Many of the stories end in a moment of revelation - be it in a cosmic sense, as in the fascinating “Endure Within a Dying Frame” or the hypnotic “Delirium Sings at the Maelstrom Window”; or closer to a personal and emotional level, as in “An Ideal Retreat” or “The Only Way Out Is Down”.
And it is precisely the other quote that heads the book (from Jung in this case), the hint that gives the other key to the menu in The Human Alchemy: “The secret is that only that which can destroy itself is truly alive”. Expressed with complexity, tied sometimes to an erotic undercurrent that also impregnates most of the collection, this idea is another constant in the collection, specially in stories as “The Tidal Pull of Salt and Sand”.
It may not be as tight as The Lure of Devouring Light, the previous short fiction collection from Griffin, but still this is an impressive piece of work, from one of the most original voices of contemporary horror.
In short: thought-provoking, deliciously toxic and, of course, beautifully strange.
———————————————
”Away from the humdrum, toward the beautiful strange.”
Esta frase, tomada del relato que cierra la segunda colección de ficción corta de Michael Griffin, sintetiza lo que vas a encontrar en estas páginas: un amor por lo extraño - celebrado de manera inquietante en la vuelta de tuerca a la historia de Frankenstein con que termina la antología - siempre animado por cierta voluntad poética, con un cariño por construir frases y atmósferas evocadoras.
Aunque las etiquetas son siempre injustas, gran parte de lo que Griffin ofrece se puede encuadrar en el quiet horror: el miedo onírico que surge de la soledad - muchas veces ligado al dolor de la pérdida, el naufragio vital. Pero el horror cósmico también merodea por aquí, como algo que surge de la conciencia de nuestra fragilidad.
En el primer sentido, la soledad es algo omnipresente a lo largo del libro. No sólo muchos de los personajes han perdido a una persona cercana de una manera u otra, sino que pasan la práctica totalidad del relato en soledad - o con la única compañía de sus fantasmas. “The Slipping of Stones” y “An Ideal Retreat” son ejemplos diferentes de esto. Sin embargo, también hay un equilibrio entre esta soledad y la búsqueda de la comunidad, como destaca S.P. Miskowski en su introducción, tan presente en relatos como “The Smoke Lodge”, “Everyone Gathers at Haystack Rock” o el mismo “The Human Alchemy”.
El horror cósmico es también una constante, aunque ambigua - hay una extraña mezcla de temor y atracción hacia el misterio de la realidad. Este amor por el misterio de las cosas se anuncia ya en la cita de Paracelso que encabeza el libro: “The common matter of all things is the Great Mistery”. Muchos de los relatos culminan en un momento de revelación - ya sea en el plano cósmico, como en la fascinante “Endure Within a Dying Frame” o la hipnótica “Delirium Sings at the Maelstrom Window”; o a un nivel más personal y emocional, como en “An Ideal Retreat” o “The Only Way Out Is Down”.
Y es precisamente la otra cita que encabeza el libro (en este caso de Jung), la pista que da la otra clave del menú en The Human Alchemy: “The secret is that only that which can destroy itself is truly alive”. Reflejado de manera compleja, ligado a veces a una pulsión erótica que también impregna gran parte del libro, esta idea es otra constante en las historias, plasmada de manera magistral en relatos como “The Tidal Pull of Salt and Sand”.
Puede que no sea una colección tan redonda como The Lure of Devouring Light, la anterior antología de Griffin, pero sigue siendo una impresionante muestra del trabajo de una de las voces más originales de la literatura de terror contemporánea.
En fin: interesante y provocador, deliciosamente tóxico y, por supuesto, maravillosamente extraño.
———————————————
”Away from the humdrum, toward the beautiful strange.”
This sentence, taken from the story that closes the second collection of short fiction from Michael Griffin, sums up what you are going to find in these pages: a love for the strange - celebrated disturbingly in this turn of the screw to Frankenstein that puts an end to the book - stained always with poetry, with a devotion for crafting evocative sentences and atmospheres.
Even if labels are always unfair, much of what Griffin offers here has notes of quiet horror: the dream-like fear born from solitude - bound in this case to the pain of loss, the wreckage of life. Cosmic horror lurks here too, coming from the awareness of our fragility.
In the first sense, solitude is something ever present throughout the collection. Not only many of the characters have lost their loved ones in some way or another, but also they spend most of their tales alone - or with their ghosts as only company. “The Slipping of Stones” and “An Ideal Retreat” are different examples of this. However, there is also a balance between isolation and the longing for community, as S.P. Miskowski highlights in her introduction, that we can find in stories as “The Smoke Lodge”, “Everyone Gathers at Haystack Rock” or “The Human Alchemy”.
But cosmic horror is also a constant, though ambiguous - there is a strange mixture of dread and lure toward the mystery of reality. This love for the mystery of things is anticipated in the quote from Paracelsus that opens the book: “The common matter of all things is the Great Mystery”. Many of the stories end in a moment of revelation - be it in a cosmic sense, as in the fascinating “Endure Within a Dying Frame” or the hypnotic “Delirium Sings at the Maelstrom Window”; or closer to a personal and emotional level, as in “An Ideal Retreat” or “The Only Way Out Is Down”.
And it is precisely the other quote that heads the book (from Jung in this case), the hint that gives the other key to the menu in The Human Alchemy: “The secret is that only that which can destroy itself is truly alive”. Expressed with complexity, tied sometimes to an erotic undercurrent that also impregnates most of the collection, this idea is another constant in the collection, specially in stories as “The Tidal Pull of Salt and Sand”.
It may not be as tight as The Lure of Devouring Light, the previous short fiction collection from Griffin, but still this is an impressive piece of work, from one of the most original voices of contemporary horror.
In short: thought-provoking, deliciously toxic and, of course, beautifully strange.
———————————————
”Away from the humdrum, toward the beautiful strange.”
Esta frase, tomada del relato que cierra la segunda colección de ficción corta de Michael Griffin, sintetiza lo que vas a encontrar en estas páginas: un amor por lo extraño - celebrado de manera inquietante en la vuelta de tuerca a la historia de Frankenstein con que termina la antología - siempre animado por cierta voluntad poética, con un cariño por construir frases y atmósferas evocadoras.
Aunque las etiquetas son siempre injustas, gran parte de lo que Griffin ofrece se puede encuadrar en el quiet horror: el miedo onírico que surge de la soledad - muchas veces ligado al dolor de la pérdida, el naufragio vital. Pero el horror cósmico también merodea por aquí, como algo que surge de la conciencia de nuestra fragilidad.
En el primer sentido, la soledad es algo omnipresente a lo largo del libro. No sólo muchos de los personajes han perdido a una persona cercana de una manera u otra, sino que pasan la práctica totalidad del relato en soledad - o con la única compañía de sus fantasmas. “The Slipping of Stones” y “An Ideal Retreat” son ejemplos diferentes de esto. Sin embargo, también hay un equilibrio entre esta soledad y la búsqueda de la comunidad, como destaca S.P. Miskowski en su introducción, tan presente en relatos como “The Smoke Lodge”, “Everyone Gathers at Haystack Rock” o el mismo “The Human Alchemy”.
El horror cósmico es también una constante, aunque ambigua - hay una extraña mezcla de temor y atracción hacia el misterio de la realidad. Este amor por el misterio de las cosas se anuncia ya en la cita de Paracelso que encabeza el libro: “The common matter of all things is the Great Mistery”. Muchos de los relatos culminan en un momento de revelación - ya sea en el plano cósmico, como en la fascinante “Endure Within a Dying Frame” o la hipnótica “Delirium Sings at the Maelstrom Window”; o a un nivel más personal y emocional, como en “An Ideal Retreat” o “The Only Way Out Is Down”.
Y es precisamente la otra cita que encabeza el libro (en este caso de Jung), la pista que da la otra clave del menú en The Human Alchemy: “The secret is that only that which can destroy itself is truly alive”. Reflejado de manera compleja, ligado a veces a una pulsión erótica que también impregna gran parte del libro, esta idea es otra constante en las historias, plasmada de manera magistral en relatos como “The Tidal Pull of Salt and Sand”.
Puede que no sea una colección tan redonda como The Lure of Devouring Light, la anterior antología de Griffin, pero sigue siendo una impresionante muestra del trabajo de una de las voces más originales de la literatura de terror contemporánea.
En fin: interesante y provocador, deliciosamente tóxico y, por supuesto, maravillosamente extraño.
September 18, 2018
There is so much I want to say about The Human Alchemy. The prose are composed by one of the best writers currently out there, every story left me thinking about it well after I put the book down for the night. But then I think what can I say that isn’t better said in the introduction by S.P. Miskowski, which in a couple pages is a great examination of both the author’s work specifically and the state of weird fiction in general. She writes, “Often Griffin’s tales of longing and loss express a dangerous duality, one life observed and another just out of reach…” This isn’t easy or tidy fiction wrapped up in a bow, it’s the sort of writing that keeps you thinking about it because there’s something more to it than just the story on the page.
July 31, 2018
Another powerful collection by one of the field's best new talents.
March 30, 2023
Read this when it first came out but just finished a 2023 reread. Favorite stories were The Only Way Out Is Down and An Ideal Retreat.
June 4, 2021
This is Michael Griffin’s second collection and I had a much easier time with this one. Lots of great ideas for stories with great atmosphere. The Novella ‘An Ideal Retreat’ felt like relaxing into a warm bath whilst reading as it had a great atmosphere you can soak in. Other faves include ‘The Only Way Out is Down’ and ‘Delirium Sings in the Maelstrom Window’ which I’m sure had a few Lovecraft references? Is the Music of Zahn from Lovecraft?
Anyway ratings are below:
- Fire Dancing (7)
- The Smoke Lodge (8)
- Everyone Gathers at Haystack Rock (7)
- The Slipping of Stones (6)
- The Tidal Pull of Salt and Sand (6)
- Delirium Sings at the Maelstrom Window (8)
- An Ideal Retreat (8)
- Endure Within a Dying Frame (4)
- The Only Wait Out is Down (9)
- The Insomniac Who Slept Forever (7)
- The Human Alchemy (7)
Anyway ratings are below:
- Fire Dancing (7)
- The Smoke Lodge (8)
- Everyone Gathers at Haystack Rock (7)
- The Slipping of Stones (6)
- The Tidal Pull of Salt and Sand (6)
- Delirium Sings at the Maelstrom Window (8)
- An Ideal Retreat (8)
- Endure Within a Dying Frame (4)
- The Only Wait Out is Down (9)
- The Insomniac Who Slept Forever (7)
- The Human Alchemy (7)
September 22, 2021
It is rare that I have the urge to read more than one anthologie of an author in one year. Michael Griffin is one of the exceptions on my shelf. Like in "The Lure of Devouring Light" we are offered a collection of stories of quiet, intimate horror. Nothing in here is really scary but plenty of it is indeed disturbing, no less so when you start to see yourself in those narratives centered around relationsips, failure, dreams and delusions.
May 20, 2019
A fantastic collection of modern weird tales. I particularly enjoyed “The Slipping of Stones” and “The Tidal Pull of Salt and Sand” (what a title!). The absorbing and subtly powerful novella “An Ideal Retreat” was another favorite, along with “Endure Within a Dying Frame.”
June 30, 2025
I think I preferred his first collection more, but this is a remarkably cohesive and, dare I say, stately collection. Griffin is building an intriguing mythology of his own, and I’m down for the ride.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews