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The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies
John Langan has, in the last few years, established himself as one of the leading voices in contemporary horror literature. Gifted with a supple and mellifluous prose style, an imagination that can conjure up clutching terrors with seeming effortlessness, and a thorough knowledge of the rich heritage of weird fiction, Langan has already garnered his share of accolades. This new collection of nine substantial stories includes such masterworks as “Technicolor,” an ingenious riff on Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death”; “How the Day Runs Down,” a gripping tale of the undead; and “The Shallows,” a powerful tale of the Cthulhu Mythos. The capstone to the collection is a previously unpublished novella of supernatural terror, “Mother of Stone.” With an introduction by Jeffrey Ford and an afterword by Laird Barron.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Reading Langan, by Jeffrey Ford
Kids
How the Day Runs Down
Technicolor
The Wide, Carnivorous Sky
City of the Dog
The Shallows
The Revel
June, 1987. Hitchhiking. Mr. Norris.
Mother of Stone
Story Notes
Afterword: Note Found in a Glenfiddich Bottle, by Laird Barron
Acknowledgments
Table of Contents
Introduction: Reading Langan, by Jeffrey Ford
Kids
How the Day Runs Down
Technicolor
The Wide, Carnivorous Sky
City of the Dog
The Shallows
The Revel
June, 1987. Hitchhiking. Mr. Norris.
Mother of Stone
Story Notes
Afterword: Note Found in a Glenfiddich Bottle, by Laird Barron
Acknowledgments
Audible Audio
First published August 1, 2013
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12260 people want to read
About the author
John Langan
82 books1,853 followersJohn Langan is the author of two novels, The Fisherman (Word Horde 2016) and House of Windows (Night Shade 2009), and two collections of stories, The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies (Hippocampus 2013) and Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters (Prime 2008). With Paul Tremblay, he co-edited Creatures: Thirty Years of Monsters (Prime 2011). He's one of the founders of the Shirley Jackson Awards, for which he served as a juror during its first three years. Currently, he reviews horror and dark fantasy for Locus magazine.
John Langan lives in New York's Hudson Valley with his wife, younger son, and many, many animals. He teaches at SUNY New Paltz. He's working toward his black belt in the Korean martial art of Tang Soo Do.
John Langan lives in New York's Hudson Valley with his wife, younger son, and many, many animals. He teaches at SUNY New Paltz. He's working toward his black belt in the Korean martial art of Tang Soo Do.
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September 30, 2015
Every insular creative scene has its personalities, its movers, its stars. It's like the cover of Tiger Beat magazine. Or a boy band... covered by Tiger Beat magazine. These personalities have labels: The Shy One. The Flirt. The Bad Boy. The Heartthrob.
As mainstream publishing occasionally—and grudgingly—accepts while also further insulates indie press Weird fiction (not an easy bit of cultural gymnastics), a brighter light is being shed on the personalities in this scene, as well. The boy (and girl) band members. While others can hash out who is who and whom is whom, I have my own labels. And in this issue of Tiger Beat, John Langan is The Professor. Or, The General. But mostly The Professor.
You see, Langan actually is a professor in his workaday life, and seems to be naturally suited to the proud vocation, as he can't help but teach us—his students—with each and every one of his layered, finely crafted, incredibly interesting stories of horror and the strange, which are on full display in his latest collection of short fiction The Wide, Carnivorous Sky & Other Monstrous Geographies (Hippocampus Press, 2013), a title I muchly dig, splayed over a cover featuring art by the renowned Santiago Caruso.
When I write "teach" I don't mean "preach," as his work is not preachy in the slightest. Didactic, yes, but I enjoy didacticism, as I'm a huge fan of stylistic writing, unique voice, and guiding subtext. In the case of The Professor, the teaching comes from his deconstruction of the supernatural tale, tearing it down, showing us the parts, and then building it back up in front of our wide, wondrous eyes. There is a deftness in the way he plays with tropes, a celebration, and even at times a wink and a nudge to the reader while he turns them inside out, showing you a new angle of something you thought you already knew. This is an expert at work within genres, archetypes, and iconic monsters that he clearly loves, and his enthusiasm for the subject matter is infectious, which translates to the reader as a good professor does with an interesting, or even a complex, lecture. One gets the sense of learning while being entertained, or moved, or horrified. That is not an easy thing to do. Hence, my clumsy metaphor above. Hence, Langan as The Professor.
The analogy is set from the first pages of The Wide, Carnivorous Sky & Other Monstrous Geographies, as "Kids" takes place in a classroom, a setting to which we are returned two stories later, in "Technicolor." The former is a piece of flash fiction written from a viewpoint you'd imagine is quite common amongst teachers forced to deal with the smallish nightmares birthed into the world and hustled off into the local schools, while the former is a mesmerizing rumination on Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death," in which the reader gets a glimpse of what The Professor might sound like when standing in front of his assembled students. An arcane history of Poe's famed short story and the details surrounding its creation are reeled off by an instructor in loving homage and as a bit of slight of hand, while something else is happening just outside the schoolhouse. This is a dazzling info-load couched inside historical and dark literary fiction, wrapped up by a Weird mystery tale. EAP would be incredibly proud.
In between these two pieces is the meaty, strong-limbed "How The Day Runs Down," which is a zombie tale unlike any I've previously read. Not that I've read a lot of zombie fiction, mind, but I love the theatrical, shattered fourth wall way that Langan structures this tale, and inside of this armature of a narrated stage play, his overall rendering of a zombie apocalypse touches on the often random nature of total societal collapse and those who will survive. Terrifying, heartbreaking, and boldly experimental, this is—as are other stories in this collection—a piece of meta horror fiction that evidences a writer who can look at stories in three, and sometimes four, dimensions when deciding how to tell them.
The titular tale arrives next, shifting gears into an action-packed Gulf War story detailing the decimation of an American platoon by something that swoops down from the sky, told in both the present and through flashback, as the survivors prepare to deal out some payback against a cosmic bloodsucker that apparently hasn't read any of the old, tired vampire yarns about what it can and cannot do, and when. This is grim, grisly, totally fun stuff, reminiscent of the Pulps, and reflects Langan's love of comic books and Robert E. Howard.
"City of the Dog"—in addition to being a story about canine monsters prowling the more ancient parts of 1990's Albany—struck me as a powerful tale about cowardice, and other emotional failings of selfish people trying to hold onto relationships, and ultimately save themselves, at a very selfish age. "The Revel" deals with similar beasts, but in a much different way, walking the reader through the commonplace steps of your classic werewolf film while not telling that same reader that the camera was never rolling.
At this point in the collection, we've seen the author give the Langan Treatment to zombies, werewolves, and vampires, while also discussing, in detail, the work of Edgar Allan Poe. Not many writers can jump strata with such a deft, confident touch, or with such a sense of enjoyment.
Veering left is "The Shallows," which shows us backyard Lovecraftian horror drenched in the bizarre. Dread and loneliness and grief and madness now live in a world that has changed forever, while something incredibly large is moving out in the water... The story had what can only be described as a psychedelic effect on me while reading it, as I imagined the scene dotted with colorful strobes and that weird soundtrack music of early 70's experimental film while the narrator puttered around his property and garden, accompanied by his trusty crab.
"June, 1987. Hitchhiking. Mr. Norris." is a quick, jarring tale of a serial killer answering to a higher calling, intent on making a spitfire named "Laird" his next victim, written for an online ribbing/tribute page to fellow horror author Laird Barron. The creep-out factor of the antagonist balances well with the reader cheering on the protagonist, who obviously knows what to do when he has a knife in his hands. Blades ain't just for slicing sled rope, bub.
"Mother of Stone" is saved for last, which is fitting, as this big, intense work of investigative supernaturalism grabs up the reader and shoves them inside a very real world where things aren't as they appear, and dark forces from outside are at play in the most common of places. This story of a headless statue of mysterious origin and the skeptical writer who tracks down the truth could have easily served as the anchor text for a full novel, so well drawn are the characters, so vibrant is the setting. The crescendo created by "Mother of Stone" struck the perfect note to finish off the symphony.
Following the fiction, I loved the story notes section, as my inner fanboy geeks out on background and inspiration info related to stories I enjoy. The early edition ARC I received unfortunately didn't include the afterword by Laird Barron, as I'm always interested in Barron's take on writing in general, and specific writers in particular. His close friendship with Langan would have made for epic reading.
Last year I read Langan's previous collection, the outstanding Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters, and upon finishing The Wide Carnivorous Sky & Other Monstrous Geographies, I can see the growth of a writer in terms of narrative scope and guiding structure, in the confidence and audacity. One can sense newfound freedom in these nine tales. This is a powerhouse collection, large and deep, both familiar and innovative, at times heartrendingly tragic and other times giddy fun. John Langan is a writer working at the leading edge of horror fiction, tipping his hat in respect to the landmarks behind him while helping map the new terrain ahead. The genre is in good hands while The Professor is drawing up tomorrow's lesson plan.
As mainstream publishing occasionally—and grudgingly—accepts while also further insulates indie press Weird fiction (not an easy bit of cultural gymnastics), a brighter light is being shed on the personalities in this scene, as well. The boy (and girl) band members. While others can hash out who is who and whom is whom, I have my own labels. And in this issue of Tiger Beat, John Langan is The Professor. Or, The General. But mostly The Professor.
You see, Langan actually is a professor in his workaday life, and seems to be naturally suited to the proud vocation, as he can't help but teach us—his students—with each and every one of his layered, finely crafted, incredibly interesting stories of horror and the strange, which are on full display in his latest collection of short fiction The Wide, Carnivorous Sky & Other Monstrous Geographies (Hippocampus Press, 2013), a title I muchly dig, splayed over a cover featuring art by the renowned Santiago Caruso.
When I write "teach" I don't mean "preach," as his work is not preachy in the slightest. Didactic, yes, but I enjoy didacticism, as I'm a huge fan of stylistic writing, unique voice, and guiding subtext. In the case of The Professor, the teaching comes from his deconstruction of the supernatural tale, tearing it down, showing us the parts, and then building it back up in front of our wide, wondrous eyes. There is a deftness in the way he plays with tropes, a celebration, and even at times a wink and a nudge to the reader while he turns them inside out, showing you a new angle of something you thought you already knew. This is an expert at work within genres, archetypes, and iconic monsters that he clearly loves, and his enthusiasm for the subject matter is infectious, which translates to the reader as a good professor does with an interesting, or even a complex, lecture. One gets the sense of learning while being entertained, or moved, or horrified. That is not an easy thing to do. Hence, my clumsy metaphor above. Hence, Langan as The Professor.
The analogy is set from the first pages of The Wide, Carnivorous Sky & Other Monstrous Geographies, as "Kids" takes place in a classroom, a setting to which we are returned two stories later, in "Technicolor." The former is a piece of flash fiction written from a viewpoint you'd imagine is quite common amongst teachers forced to deal with the smallish nightmares birthed into the world and hustled off into the local schools, while the former is a mesmerizing rumination on Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death," in which the reader gets a glimpse of what The Professor might sound like when standing in front of his assembled students. An arcane history of Poe's famed short story and the details surrounding its creation are reeled off by an instructor in loving homage and as a bit of slight of hand, while something else is happening just outside the schoolhouse. This is a dazzling info-load couched inside historical and dark literary fiction, wrapped up by a Weird mystery tale. EAP would be incredibly proud.
In between these two pieces is the meaty, strong-limbed "How The Day Runs Down," which is a zombie tale unlike any I've previously read. Not that I've read a lot of zombie fiction, mind, but I love the theatrical, shattered fourth wall way that Langan structures this tale, and inside of this armature of a narrated stage play, his overall rendering of a zombie apocalypse touches on the often random nature of total societal collapse and those who will survive. Terrifying, heartbreaking, and boldly experimental, this is—as are other stories in this collection—a piece of meta horror fiction that evidences a writer who can look at stories in three, and sometimes four, dimensions when deciding how to tell them.
The titular tale arrives next, shifting gears into an action-packed Gulf War story detailing the decimation of an American platoon by something that swoops down from the sky, told in both the present and through flashback, as the survivors prepare to deal out some payback against a cosmic bloodsucker that apparently hasn't read any of the old, tired vampire yarns about what it can and cannot do, and when. This is grim, grisly, totally fun stuff, reminiscent of the Pulps, and reflects Langan's love of comic books and Robert E. Howard.
"City of the Dog"—in addition to being a story about canine monsters prowling the more ancient parts of 1990's Albany—struck me as a powerful tale about cowardice, and other emotional failings of selfish people trying to hold onto relationships, and ultimately save themselves, at a very selfish age. "The Revel" deals with similar beasts, but in a much different way, walking the reader through the commonplace steps of your classic werewolf film while not telling that same reader that the camera was never rolling.
At this point in the collection, we've seen the author give the Langan Treatment to zombies, werewolves, and vampires, while also discussing, in detail, the work of Edgar Allan Poe. Not many writers can jump strata with such a deft, confident touch, or with such a sense of enjoyment.
Veering left is "The Shallows," which shows us backyard Lovecraftian horror drenched in the bizarre. Dread and loneliness and grief and madness now live in a world that has changed forever, while something incredibly large is moving out in the water... The story had what can only be described as a psychedelic effect on me while reading it, as I imagined the scene dotted with colorful strobes and that weird soundtrack music of early 70's experimental film while the narrator puttered around his property and garden, accompanied by his trusty crab.
"June, 1987. Hitchhiking. Mr. Norris." is a quick, jarring tale of a serial killer answering to a higher calling, intent on making a spitfire named "Laird" his next victim, written for an online ribbing/tribute page to fellow horror author Laird Barron. The creep-out factor of the antagonist balances well with the reader cheering on the protagonist, who obviously knows what to do when he has a knife in his hands. Blades ain't just for slicing sled rope, bub.
"Mother of Stone" is saved for last, which is fitting, as this big, intense work of investigative supernaturalism grabs up the reader and shoves them inside a very real world where things aren't as they appear, and dark forces from outside are at play in the most common of places. This story of a headless statue of mysterious origin and the skeptical writer who tracks down the truth could have easily served as the anchor text for a full novel, so well drawn are the characters, so vibrant is the setting. The crescendo created by "Mother of Stone" struck the perfect note to finish off the symphony.
Following the fiction, I loved the story notes section, as my inner fanboy geeks out on background and inspiration info related to stories I enjoy. The early edition ARC I received unfortunately didn't include the afterword by Laird Barron, as I'm always interested in Barron's take on writing in general, and specific writers in particular. His close friendship with Langan would have made for epic reading.
Last year I read Langan's previous collection, the outstanding Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters, and upon finishing The Wide Carnivorous Sky & Other Monstrous Geographies, I can see the growth of a writer in terms of narrative scope and guiding structure, in the confidence and audacity. One can sense newfound freedom in these nine tales. This is a powerhouse collection, large and deep, both familiar and innovative, at times heartrendingly tragic and other times giddy fun. John Langan is a writer working at the leading edge of horror fiction, tipping his hat in respect to the landmarks behind him while helping map the new terrain ahead. The genre is in good hands while The Professor is drawing up tomorrow's lesson plan.
May 10, 2020
Rarely will I read a short story collection that pulls me in quite as completely as this one did.
Or rather, it's a rare short story collection that not only pulls off truly excellent horror in every instance while simultaneously *deconstructing* the field, drawing in clever and wide literary techniques, WHILE also making it evocative and delicious.
Sometimes the voice breaks the fourth wall and sometimes it drenches you in a very dry sense of humor. Sometimes it's written in an immediate, deeply detailed way that drowns out the real world and swallows you whole.
Interestingly enough, Langon writes his won sophisticated takes on zombies, werewolves, and even vampires, but that is NOT to say they are at all derivative. Langon knows and loves his horror genre and brings his stories to truly excellent literary heights. He's a writer's writer, making his words sing and he always takes his time to fully develop each story.
I can't recommend him enough.
ALL of the stories are wonderful, but I should point out that I have a large fondness for a few.
Technicolor - A tribute to a Poe story written in a delightful lecturer's voice. I chortled and had to google the crap out of it.
City of the Dog - Post-Lovecraftian apocalypse Norman Rockwell.
Mother of Stone - Excellent investigative journalism meets... oh just read it. Langon pulls off something very special here. :)
I repeat: all of the stories are fantastic. :) But there's a very special treat for the end. Writer's notes. :)
There wasn't a single thing about this collection that didn't delight. :)
Or rather, it's a rare short story collection that not only pulls off truly excellent horror in every instance while simultaneously *deconstructing* the field, drawing in clever and wide literary techniques, WHILE also making it evocative and delicious.
Sometimes the voice breaks the fourth wall and sometimes it drenches you in a very dry sense of humor. Sometimes it's written in an immediate, deeply detailed way that drowns out the real world and swallows you whole.
Interestingly enough, Langon writes his won sophisticated takes on zombies, werewolves, and even vampires, but that is NOT to say they are at all derivative. Langon knows and loves his horror genre and brings his stories to truly excellent literary heights. He's a writer's writer, making his words sing and he always takes his time to fully develop each story.
I can't recommend him enough.
ALL of the stories are wonderful, but I should point out that I have a large fondness for a few.
Technicolor - A tribute to a Poe story written in a delightful lecturer's voice. I chortled and had to google the crap out of it.
City of the Dog - Post-Lovecraftian apocalypse Norman Rockwell.
Mother of Stone - Excellent investigative journalism meets... oh just read it. Langon pulls off something very special here. :)
I repeat: all of the stories are fantastic. :) But there's a very special treat for the end. Writer's notes. :)
There wasn't a single thing about this collection that didn't delight. :)
October 20, 2017
Πότε δίνουμε άριστα; Τι αντίκτυπο έχει η βαθμολογία; Δηλώνουμε κάτι καταβαραθρώνοντας ή εγκωμιάζοντας ένα έργο; Και γιατί περιφρονούμε τόσο την γκρίζα περιοχή μεταξύ των δύο άκρων; Τέτοια κι άλλα παρόμοια περνούσαν από το νου μου, καθώς ξεκινούσα να γράφω αυτές τις γραμμές.
Τον Λάνγκαν τον γνώρισα από το μυθιστόρημα -και πιο πρόσφατο βιβλίο του-, The Fisherman, το οποίο με τις αρετές της γραφής του, την εκλεπτυσμένη γραφή του και την αγάπη πρωτίστως για καλή λογοτεχνία με μια προτίμηση στον τρόμο, με είχε κερδίσει. Υποσχόταν ακόμα περισσότερα πράματα, τα οποία τελικά βρήκα σε αυτήν την εξαιρετική συλλογή διηγημάτων. Η αγάπη του για τον ακαδημαϊκό χώρο, μια συνακόλουθη προσέγγιση στην γραφή του που δεν υποπίπτει σε λογιοτατισμούς αλλά σε εξαιρετικό ύφος, η σχολαστικότητα που θυμίζει Τζιν Γουλφ - αυτά και άλλα πολλά γνωρίσματα του πρώτου βιβλίου, εδώ, μέσα από την ποικιλία των διαφορετικών ιστοριών, αστράπτουν σαν διαμάντι. Ίσως του πηγαίνει περισσότερο η μικρή φόρμα. Ίσως πηγαίνει σε εμένα η μικρότερη φόρμα. Όπως και να έχει πρόκειται για ένα εξαιρετικό βιβλίο τρόμου, τόσο καλογραμμένο, με τέτοιον χαρακτήρα και υποδόριο χιούμορ, που κλείνοντάς το καταλαβαίνει κανείς -εγώ, εσύ που πρέπει να το διαβάσεις, όλοι σας που διαβάζετε σαχλαμάρες, το ξέρετε αλλά δεν ξέρετε που να στραφείτε- πως αυτοί είναι συγγραφείς και όχι οι σαχλαμπούχλες που μας πλασάρουν.
Έτσι κάπως βάζω άριστα. Διανύω μια περίοδο λατρεμένη, όπου διαβάζω απανωτά εκπληκτικούς συγγραφείς και προσθέτω καινούριους αγαπημένους στην λίστα μου. Κάπως πρέπει να ανταμείψω αυτούς τους ανθρώπους. Να εξευμενίσω το σύμπαν, μην και με ρίξει από αχαριστία σε εκείνη την ζοφερή πραγματικότητα που τίποτα δεν σ' αρέσει και αναπολείς τις εποχές που διάβαζες βιβλία που σ' άρεσαν.
Πέντε αστέρια λοιπόν! Διαβάστε τον. Ανακαλύψτε έναν εξαιρετικό συγγραφέα και αποτινάξτε τον ζυγό των βλακωδών αναγνωσμάτων από πάνω σας.
Τον Λάνγκαν τον γνώρισα από το μυθιστόρημα -και πιο πρόσφατο βιβλίο του-, The Fisherman, το οποίο με τις αρετές της γραφής του, την εκλεπτυσμένη γραφή του και την αγάπη πρωτίστως για καλή λογοτεχνία με μια προτίμηση στον τρόμο, με είχε κερδίσει. Υποσχόταν ακόμα περισσότερα πράματα, τα οποία τελικά βρήκα σε αυτήν την εξαιρετική συλλογή διηγημάτων. Η αγάπη του για τον ακαδημαϊκό χώρο, μια συνακόλουθη προσέγγιση στην γραφή του που δεν υποπίπτει σε λογιοτατισμούς αλλά σε εξαιρετικό ύφος, η σχολαστικότητα που θυμίζει Τζιν Γουλφ - αυτά και άλλα πολλά γνωρίσματα του πρώτου βιβλίου, εδώ, μέσα από την ποικιλία των διαφορετικών ιστοριών, αστράπτουν σαν διαμάντι. Ίσως του πηγαίνει περισσότερο η μικρή φόρμα. Ίσως πηγαίνει σε εμένα η μικρότερη φόρμα. Όπως και να έχει πρόκειται για ένα εξαιρετικό βιβλίο τρόμου, τόσο καλογραμμένο, με τέτοιον χαρακτήρα και υποδόριο χιούμορ, που κλείνοντάς το καταλαβαίνει κανείς -εγώ, εσύ που πρέπει να το διαβάσεις, όλοι σας που διαβάζετε σαχλαμάρες, το ξέρετε αλλά δεν ξέρετε που να στραφείτε- πως αυτοί είναι συγγραφείς και όχι οι σαχλαμπούχλες που μας πλασάρουν.
Έτσι κάπως βάζω άριστα. Διανύω μια περίοδο λατρεμένη, όπου διαβάζω απανωτά εκπληκτικούς συγγραφείς και προσθέτω καινούριους αγαπημένους στην λίστα μου. Κάπως πρέπει να ανταμείψω αυτούς τους ανθρώπους. Να εξευμενίσω το σύμπαν, μην και με ρίξει από αχαριστία σε εκείνη την ζοφερή πραγματικότητα που τίποτα δεν σ' αρέσει και αναπολείς τις εποχές που διάβαζες βιβλία που σ' άρεσαν.
Πέντε αστέρια λοιπόν! Διαβάστε τον. Ανακαλύψτε έναν εξαιρετικό συγγραφέα και αποτινάξτε τον ζυγό των βλακωδών αναγνωσμάτων από πάνω σας.
September 24, 2019
October spooky read #7!
This collection of short stories was brought to my attention by a fellow Laird Barron fan: I can’t get enough of that dark, existential, creeping dread, so I am always happy to discover new authors who have some cosmic horror stories to tell me. And with its amazing title and cover art, this book basically sold itself anyway.
I am not always fond of the short story format, because it often fees rushed and compressed, but these are perfectly developed, balanced and satisfying. Now "short stories" is not quite right, as Langan stretches those over sometimes more than fifty pages: he takes his time, fleshes out all the details and concludes them with a masterful flourish. I don't use the word "masterful" very often, but this guy knows how to write one Hell of an effective story: I would often come to the end of a chapter slightly stunned by how carefully constructed what I had just read was, and how I had fallen for the juicy bait Langan had laid out for me without realizing what he was doing, up until the last line. I actually googled Prosper Vauglais only to find myself saying "Well played, Mr. Langan, very well played".
So just for the fact that this man weaves a mesmerizing web for a reader to get stuck in, this book is well worth the detour. But his choice of subject matters, and the way he deconstructs them and puts them in unusual settings (vampires vs. vets with PTSD or community theater about zombie invasions) gives old horror staples a really fresh twist that pays homage to the original material, while making it new and exciting again. I'd pick a few stand out stories, but honestly, all of them have a little something that makes them memorable, so my advice is to just read the whole collection.
I devoured this book while I should have been working and doing other productive things: when I stumble upon elegant writing and technically brilliant story telling, the rest of the world has a tendency to become less important... I will be looking to get my hands on more books by this man, as this was quite an excellent collection of weird and creepy stuff! 4 and a half stars, rounded up.
This collection of short stories was brought to my attention by a fellow Laird Barron fan: I can’t get enough of that dark, existential, creeping dread, so I am always happy to discover new authors who have some cosmic horror stories to tell me. And with its amazing title and cover art, this book basically sold itself anyway.
I am not always fond of the short story format, because it often fees rushed and compressed, but these are perfectly developed, balanced and satisfying. Now "short stories" is not quite right, as Langan stretches those over sometimes more than fifty pages: he takes his time, fleshes out all the details and concludes them with a masterful flourish. I don't use the word "masterful" very often, but this guy knows how to write one Hell of an effective story: I would often come to the end of a chapter slightly stunned by how carefully constructed what I had just read was, and how I had fallen for the juicy bait Langan had laid out for me without realizing what he was doing, up until the last line. I actually googled Prosper Vauglais only to find myself saying "Well played, Mr. Langan, very well played".
So just for the fact that this man weaves a mesmerizing web for a reader to get stuck in, this book is well worth the detour. But his choice of subject matters, and the way he deconstructs them and puts them in unusual settings (vampires vs. vets with PTSD or community theater about zombie invasions) gives old horror staples a really fresh twist that pays homage to the original material, while making it new and exciting again. I'd pick a few stand out stories, but honestly, all of them have a little something that makes them memorable, so my advice is to just read the whole collection.
I devoured this book while I should have been working and doing other productive things: when I stumble upon elegant writing and technically brilliant story telling, the rest of the world has a tendency to become less important... I will be looking to get my hands on more books by this man, as this was quite an excellent collection of weird and creepy stuff! 4 and a half stars, rounded up.
May 6, 2013
John Langan's name has been in numerous "year's best" horror anthologies, and for good reason. The man can write, and the more he writes the better he gets. Langan's previous collection, Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters, was an astounding set of stories. I've yet to read his novel, House of Windows, although I've heard nothing but good things about it.
The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies has much to offer horror fans of all kinds. Langan enjoys playing with familiar horror tropes, but in a totally unfamiliar way. He is a stylist, and his stories are all fresh and unique.
The collections open with a vignette, Kids, a story from the collection Jack Haringa Must Die! For unfamiliar readers, Jack Haringa is a member of the Board of Advisers for the Shirley Jackson Awards. The collection featured almost thirty short pieces of flash fiction in which Jack Haringa met his untimely doom. Langan's contribution is a short take featuring child zombies. It's really short, and fun, but the weakest of all the stories.
How the Day Runs Down serves as a prime example of Langan's stylistic storytelling. This zombie tale reads like a play, and features a stage manager in a mysterious theater talking about the zombie outbreak. The manager's monologues are broken by appearances of other characters, who tell their own personal stories. This story has a good amount of humor, although at times it tugs at the emotions.
I first read Technicolor in one of Ellen Datlow's Best Horror of the Year anthologies, although it first appeared in her Poe anthology. This story is a brilliant look at one of Poe's famous tales, The Masque of the Red Death. The narrative once again stands out, as the entire story is told in the voice of a professor as he examines Poe's story and the meaning behind it.
The title story, The Wide, Carnivorous Sky, is one of the best vampire tales I've ever read and serves as a perfect example of the way Langan plays with familiar horror tropes. Vampires are typically nocturnal creatures, who spend the daytime sleeping in underground coffins. But Langan's "vampire" instead spends it's days hunting for prey and it's nights resting in a floating "coffin". In the story notes Langan said that as opposed to having his horror in a smaller, claustrophobic setting he wanted to instead embrace the open, and it doing so creates a true "bird (bat) of prey". Add to the mix some army veterans dealing with PTSD and the result is a truly brilliant story.
City of the Dog is another story I first read in one of Datlow's best-of anthologies, and another favorite of mine. Drawing from his own personal experiences, Langan takes readers to an early 90's Albany. The narrator is stuck in a most awkward living situation, with a relationship that is falling apart. Things only get worse when the things living under the city get involved. A great story, fans of Lovecraft's ghouls will have a good time with this one.
The Shallows first appeared in the anthology Cthulhu's Reign. This book's concept was that all the stories would take place AFTER the stars were right and Cthulhu and the old ones rise. Lovecraftians will know what I'm talking about. The Shallows is a stand out story in that anthology. Langan's approach wasn't as grandiose as some of the others in the book, as he decided to take a look at a rather mundane day in the life of a simple, middle-aged man. The man goes about his daily activities, talking to a crab creature that follows him around like a pet. The bizarre has become commonplace for this fellow, although it's creepy enough for readers. The story's true strength lies in the relationship of the father and his son, and is just as much about what it's like for a father when his son becomes independent. Another excellent story.
Langan's approach to the werewolf in The Revel also succeeds as an attempt to break down horror film. Another stylistic approach, the story reads as meta-fiction, and even breaks the fourth wall. One would think it would be difficult to write a piece of fiction that manages to foster terror in the reader while reading like a detached film study, but Langan more than succeeds. Another story I have to mark as a favorite.
June, 1987. Hitchhiking. Mr. Norris. is a short story much in the same spirit as the earlier kids. This time the target is horror author Laird Barron, who was subject to a literary "roast" when several authors of the weird posted stories from "The Secret Life of Laird Barron" to their blogs. While several of the stories were strictly humorous, Langan's manages to be quite dark as well. The story's plot deals with the danger of hitchhiking, while evoking darker, more ancient horrors.
The collection ends with an original story, which is also my overall favorite, the novella Mother of Stone. The story is penned in the risky second-person, a style of narrative which is hard to make work. This time, however, it does work, creating a slight distance that correlates with the protagonists general detachment. The story itself is a series of interviews conducted with several people in a small town pertaining to a mysterious statue unearthed and put on a display at a local Inn, and the bizarre and fatal incidents that followed. The story has some frightening imagery, and so perfectly evokes dread in the reader. I found myself thoroughly creeped out and disturbed, and I mean that as a compliment.
Langan's second collection is, as a whole, astounding. The variety of subject matter paired with his varied stylistic approaches makes for a horror collection that satisfies on many levels. An excellent collection, I highly recommend it to any fan of horror.
Originally appeared on my blog, The Arkham Digest.
The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies has much to offer horror fans of all kinds. Langan enjoys playing with familiar horror tropes, but in a totally unfamiliar way. He is a stylist, and his stories are all fresh and unique.
The collections open with a vignette, Kids, a story from the collection Jack Haringa Must Die! For unfamiliar readers, Jack Haringa is a member of the Board of Advisers for the Shirley Jackson Awards. The collection featured almost thirty short pieces of flash fiction in which Jack Haringa met his untimely doom. Langan's contribution is a short take featuring child zombies. It's really short, and fun, but the weakest of all the stories.
How the Day Runs Down serves as a prime example of Langan's stylistic storytelling. This zombie tale reads like a play, and features a stage manager in a mysterious theater talking about the zombie outbreak. The manager's monologues are broken by appearances of other characters, who tell their own personal stories. This story has a good amount of humor, although at times it tugs at the emotions.
I first read Technicolor in one of Ellen Datlow's Best Horror of the Year anthologies, although it first appeared in her Poe anthology. This story is a brilliant look at one of Poe's famous tales, The Masque of the Red Death. The narrative once again stands out, as the entire story is told in the voice of a professor as he examines Poe's story and the meaning behind it.
The title story, The Wide, Carnivorous Sky, is one of the best vampire tales I've ever read and serves as a perfect example of the way Langan plays with familiar horror tropes. Vampires are typically nocturnal creatures, who spend the daytime sleeping in underground coffins. But Langan's "vampire" instead spends it's days hunting for prey and it's nights resting in a floating "coffin". In the story notes Langan said that as opposed to having his horror in a smaller, claustrophobic setting he wanted to instead embrace the open, and it doing so creates a true "bird (bat) of prey". Add to the mix some army veterans dealing with PTSD and the result is a truly brilliant story.
City of the Dog is another story I first read in one of Datlow's best-of anthologies, and another favorite of mine. Drawing from his own personal experiences, Langan takes readers to an early 90's Albany. The narrator is stuck in a most awkward living situation, with a relationship that is falling apart. Things only get worse when the things living under the city get involved. A great story, fans of Lovecraft's ghouls will have a good time with this one.
The Shallows first appeared in the anthology Cthulhu's Reign. This book's concept was that all the stories would take place AFTER the stars were right and Cthulhu and the old ones rise. Lovecraftians will know what I'm talking about. The Shallows is a stand out story in that anthology. Langan's approach wasn't as grandiose as some of the others in the book, as he decided to take a look at a rather mundane day in the life of a simple, middle-aged man. The man goes about his daily activities, talking to a crab creature that follows him around like a pet. The bizarre has become commonplace for this fellow, although it's creepy enough for readers. The story's true strength lies in the relationship of the father and his son, and is just as much about what it's like for a father when his son becomes independent. Another excellent story.
Langan's approach to the werewolf in The Revel also succeeds as an attempt to break down horror film. Another stylistic approach, the story reads as meta-fiction, and even breaks the fourth wall. One would think it would be difficult to write a piece of fiction that manages to foster terror in the reader while reading like a detached film study, but Langan more than succeeds. Another story I have to mark as a favorite.
June, 1987. Hitchhiking. Mr. Norris. is a short story much in the same spirit as the earlier kids. This time the target is horror author Laird Barron, who was subject to a literary "roast" when several authors of the weird posted stories from "The Secret Life of Laird Barron" to their blogs. While several of the stories were strictly humorous, Langan's manages to be quite dark as well. The story's plot deals with the danger of hitchhiking, while evoking darker, more ancient horrors.
The collection ends with an original story, which is also my overall favorite, the novella Mother of Stone. The story is penned in the risky second-person, a style of narrative which is hard to make work. This time, however, it does work, creating a slight distance that correlates with the protagonists general detachment. The story itself is a series of interviews conducted with several people in a small town pertaining to a mysterious statue unearthed and put on a display at a local Inn, and the bizarre and fatal incidents that followed. The story has some frightening imagery, and so perfectly evokes dread in the reader. I found myself thoroughly creeped out and disturbed, and I mean that as a compliment.
Langan's second collection is, as a whole, astounding. The variety of subject matter paired with his varied stylistic approaches makes for a horror collection that satisfies on many levels. An excellent collection, I highly recommend it to any fan of horror.
Originally appeared on my blog, The Arkham Digest.
May 9, 2023
If you're looking for a collection of stories to keep you up at night, then look no further than The Wide Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies.
'There’s something to the old saw about horror and humor being flip sides of the same coin. An idiot takes his arm off with his chainsaw trying to play hero—I grant you it’s pretty grim fodder for laughs, but you make do with what’s to hand—so to speak.'
This book was an absolute feast of horror, blending Langan's immense literary skill with imaginative twists on classic tropes. Langan takes you from the battlefields of Iraq to the haunted woods of New England, from the cosmic horrors of Lovecraft to the personal terrors of Poe. His stories are rich in character, atmosphere and suspense, leaving you breathless and disturbed. Whether it's vampires, werewolves, zombies or something more sinister, this collection of short stories should have something for everyone.
Some of the stand-out stories for me were as follows, the opening story titled 'Kids' which was a very short but bloody and humourous take on zombie fiction, 'The Wide, Carnivorous Sky' a terrifying and thrilling tale of a group of veterans who encounter a monstrous creature that hunts them from the sky. And lastly 'Mother of Stone'. This chilling tale follows a teacher who is researching electronic legends for his book. He stumbles upon a terrifying mystery that will haunt him forever. This story was praised by Paul Tremblay in the notes of 'A Headful of Ghosts', and for me, this story was the highlight of this collection.
'Every detail of the nest, he was aware, owed itself to some physiological necessity, evolutionary advantage, but he’d found it difficult to shake the impression that he was observing the result of an alien intelligence, an alien aesthetics, at work.'
The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies is a must-read for horror and dark fiction fans. It's one of the best collections I've read of late.
'There’s something to the old saw about horror and humor being flip sides of the same coin. An idiot takes his arm off with his chainsaw trying to play hero—I grant you it’s pretty grim fodder for laughs, but you make do with what’s to hand—so to speak.'
This book was an absolute feast of horror, blending Langan's immense literary skill with imaginative twists on classic tropes. Langan takes you from the battlefields of Iraq to the haunted woods of New England, from the cosmic horrors of Lovecraft to the personal terrors of Poe. His stories are rich in character, atmosphere and suspense, leaving you breathless and disturbed. Whether it's vampires, werewolves, zombies or something more sinister, this collection of short stories should have something for everyone.
Some of the stand-out stories for me were as follows, the opening story titled 'Kids' which was a very short but bloody and humourous take on zombie fiction, 'The Wide, Carnivorous Sky' a terrifying and thrilling tale of a group of veterans who encounter a monstrous creature that hunts them from the sky. And lastly 'Mother of Stone'. This chilling tale follows a teacher who is researching electronic legends for his book. He stumbles upon a terrifying mystery that will haunt him forever. This story was praised by Paul Tremblay in the notes of 'A Headful of Ghosts', and for me, this story was the highlight of this collection.
'Every detail of the nest, he was aware, owed itself to some physiological necessity, evolutionary advantage, but he’d found it difficult to shake the impression that he was observing the result of an alien intelligence, an alien aesthetics, at work.'
The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies is a must-read for horror and dark fiction fans. It's one of the best collections I've read of late.
September 26, 2022
Wonderfully clever and chilling collection that deconstructs familiar genre tropes, with many of the diverse stories presenting unique stylistic and narrative approaches, often as a type of meta fiction and/or breaking of the fourth wall. Langan consistently pulls these off as great, memorable tales that take unexpected shapes, never getting too clever or dry.
April 26, 2023
Excellent collection, only one story of the whole thing didn't vibe. Some great talent here and as the intro points out, his short stories are rarely what we think of as short. Vignettes maybe would be a better term.
That said Langan's ability to suck you in the first few paragraphs means a lot of these short stories are actually a perfect length. Besides the one I didn't gel with, all of them were superb length. EG if sometimes you feel short horror stories could've been longer to flesh out, definitely give this collection a try.
That said Langan's ability to suck you in the first few paragraphs means a lot of these short stories are actually a perfect length. Besides the one I didn't gel with, all of them were superb length. EG if sometimes you feel short horror stories could've been longer to flesh out, definitely give this collection a try.
November 18, 2013
I spent two weeks reading John Langan's two short story collections - MR GAUNT AND OTHER UNEASY ENCOUNTERS & THE WIDE CARNIVOROUS SKY AND OTHER MONSTROUS GEOGRAPHIES - and they made the last hour of the day something to really look forward to. Always inventive and intelligent and both collections were a constant reminder of what can be done with a horror story. 'Technicolour', 'The Wide Carnivorous Sky' and 'June, 1987. Hitchhiking. Mr Norris' were my personal faves amongst the shorts, but my wonder and awe reached their peaks while reading the longer stories, or even novellas, that close each collection: on 'Laocöon, or the Singularity' for its cosmic horror, and the mighty 'Mother of Stone' which I'd say is one of my favourite horror stories of the last few years (it gave me Nigel Kneale style shivers). The cover price for the second collection (WCS) is a steal for that novella alone. I'd be surprised if we don't see 'Mother of Stone' again, reprinted in collections for years to come. Because we should do. Outstanding.
May 26, 2013
Some books get booted to the front of the to-read list as soon as I get my hands on them. This was such a book. John Langan is one of my favorite living writers. There are people whose writing I love, and people who write about things that I love, in ways that I love. Then there are people who combine all of that. John's one of that latter group.
His first collection and his novel were both pretty great, but it's in the stories that comprise The Wide Carnivorous Sky & Other Monsterous Geographies (look at that subtitle, how could I not love this book?) that his full promise begins to really deliver. I'd read about half this book's contents before, in various places, but I gladly read those stories again, and devoured the new ones, and then as soon as I was finished went to reach immediately for his next collection, only to realize with grim sadness that it's probably a year or two away, still.
My favorite of these stories is probably still "Technicolor," which I've loved since I first read it in Ellen Datlow's Poe, but it's got some serious competition from Langan's masterful deconstruction of the werewolf story "The Revel" and the original novella that closes the book, "Mother of Stone," a second-person exorcism tale that kept me up past my bedtime.
The book is rounded out by what is essentially a bonus new story by Laird Barron, and some extensive author notes from John. As a devotee of author notes myself, I can say that John's are always worth the price of admission, and are some of the only ones around that are ever anywhere near as extensive as I would always like them to be.
Now that I'm done reading, I've got to go and hide this book from myself so that it doesn't upset my to-read list once more so I can read it again.
His first collection and his novel were both pretty great, but it's in the stories that comprise The Wide Carnivorous Sky & Other Monsterous Geographies (look at that subtitle, how could I not love this book?) that his full promise begins to really deliver. I'd read about half this book's contents before, in various places, but I gladly read those stories again, and devoured the new ones, and then as soon as I was finished went to reach immediately for his next collection, only to realize with grim sadness that it's probably a year or two away, still.
My favorite of these stories is probably still "Technicolor," which I've loved since I first read it in Ellen Datlow's Poe, but it's got some serious competition from Langan's masterful deconstruction of the werewolf story "The Revel" and the original novella that closes the book, "Mother of Stone," a second-person exorcism tale that kept me up past my bedtime.
The book is rounded out by what is essentially a bonus new story by Laird Barron, and some extensive author notes from John. As a devotee of author notes myself, I can say that John's are always worth the price of admission, and are some of the only ones around that are ever anywhere near as extensive as I would always like them to be.
Now that I'm done reading, I've got to go and hide this book from myself so that it doesn't upset my to-read list once more so I can read it again.
December 5, 2014
John Langan is an amazing writer. Ever since reading the story "Technicolor" a few years ago, I've been excited whenever I see his name in the table of contents of an anthology. I was overjoyed to get the chance to read the story again in this collection. It still had the same mesmerizing effect on me, very fitting considering the subject matter of the story. I'm always worried about re-reading a piece of literature I remember adoring, thinking that maybe I'll be disappointed the second time around, whether because I have changed in some way, or my mood isn't right, or the story really isn't as good as I thought it was. Luckily, that was not the case with "Technicolor". It was still just as brilliant as I remembered it. As was "City of the Dog". What I love about John Langan is that he makes the irreal REAL and believable. When I read his work, it's too easy to suspend my disbelief, and expect that around every corner something dark and dangerous lies, waiting to get me. It's too easy to get into his character's heads and believe that you are experiencing just what they are. And what they are experiencing is usually nothing short of terrifying, and often completely awe inspiring. He takes familiar horror tropes, and makes them his own as well as universal. Paradoxical? Perhaps, but nothing gives me as much of a pleasurable frisson as a little bit of paradox in what I am reading.
As compelling as I found "Technicolor" and "City of the Dog", not to mention "The Revel", the real standout story in this collection for me was "Mother of Stone". My goodness, that story will haunt me forever, I think! I read and watch an abundance of horror, so I've gotten pretty de-sensitized over the years. It takes a lot to scare me. But "Mother of Stone" downright terrified me. It was jawdroppingly good. I was lying in bed, trying to finish it last night, and I had to put it aside because I kept thinking I saw a headless figure in white from the corner of my eye. On my way to work this morning, as I was continuing to read it on the bus, I had to actually stop and compose myself, as certain scenes made me weak and nauseous. I finally managed to finish the story, and was completely blown away by it's ingenious mixture of urban legend, academia, mythology, religion, and it's fascinating take on the exorcism. Again, I felt that the events in this story could have actually taken place, as outlandish as they were. And I loved his story notes! I wish more writers would include story notes in their collections. I really get so much out of knowing the background of a story, and the circumstances in which it was written. And Mr. Langan structured his notes so that enough information was given without taking away any of the mystery. Just perfect.
So why, after all this raving about how good these stories were, and how brilliant John Langan is as a writer, did I only rate this collection a four? The answer is quite simple. No matter how well written, I just can't stand zombie stories, and this collection included two. I read them, saw their relative merits, can concede that they were well written, and in the case of "How the Day Runs Down" were even quite original as far as zombie stories go, but I still couldn't get it out of my head just how tired I am of zombies. Hence the four. But of course, this unfortunate dalliance with zombies will in no way deter me from eagerly continuing to seek out the writings of the superb John Langan.
As compelling as I found "Technicolor" and "City of the Dog", not to mention "The Revel", the real standout story in this collection for me was "Mother of Stone". My goodness, that story will haunt me forever, I think! I read and watch an abundance of horror, so I've gotten pretty de-sensitized over the years. It takes a lot to scare me. But "Mother of Stone" downright terrified me. It was jawdroppingly good. I was lying in bed, trying to finish it last night, and I had to put it aside because I kept thinking I saw a headless figure in white from the corner of my eye. On my way to work this morning, as I was continuing to read it on the bus, I had to actually stop and compose myself, as certain scenes made me weak and nauseous. I finally managed to finish the story, and was completely blown away by it's ingenious mixture of urban legend, academia, mythology, religion, and it's fascinating take on the exorcism. Again, I felt that the events in this story could have actually taken place, as outlandish as they were. And I loved his story notes! I wish more writers would include story notes in their collections. I really get so much out of knowing the background of a story, and the circumstances in which it was written. And Mr. Langan structured his notes so that enough information was given without taking away any of the mystery. Just perfect.
So why, after all this raving about how good these stories were, and how brilliant John Langan is as a writer, did I only rate this collection a four? The answer is quite simple. No matter how well written, I just can't stand zombie stories, and this collection included two. I read them, saw their relative merits, can concede that they were well written, and in the case of "How the Day Runs Down" were even quite original as far as zombie stories go, but I still couldn't get it out of my head just how tired I am of zombies. Hence the four. But of course, this unfortunate dalliance with zombies will in no way deter me from eagerly continuing to seek out the writings of the superb John Langan.
October 17, 2019
I found this collection of stories, both short and average length, very different and interesting; the reason being that the author chose to deliver traditional horror tropes in a very original, multimedia kind of way. Some of them felt like reading a script for an old pulp movie, some like a first-person interactive novel, some like a fantasy or a dream. Techniques like the use of the second person or certain stylistic choices, made to involve the reader on a deeper level, worked very well for me in some of these tales, but not for all of them.
As a matter of a fact, I found the continuous use of these literary devices a little repetitive, the result being that what appeared new and original at first was kind of trite by the end of the book, and I really felt like not all the subjects of the stories benefited from it. So, ironically, my favourite stories were the more "traditional" ones, and I especially liked City of the Dog and Mother of Stone. Also, I always appreciate a good Poe or Lovecraft reference in a horror tale. I mean, who doesn't, right? :)
Read
August 10, 2024I don’t write reviews.
And I did not finish this book, however, GR gives the option to mark it “read” or “want to read.” Since I obviously don’t wish to continue reading and I have read almost half of the tome, “read” is the only option available to me. I will not be giving this a star rating.
I was expecting… something. What did I receive? Next to nothing. Here were many opportunities for chaos, eldritch horrors, twisted histories, exciting landscapes, nightmare voyages. Yet, all we got was a lot of exposition; tell with no show. The old guard are dying off and if this is the quality of the replacements, I mourn all the more.
And I did not finish this book, however, GR gives the option to mark it “read” or “want to read.” Since I obviously don’t wish to continue reading and I have read almost half of the tome, “read” is the only option available to me. I will not be giving this a star rating.
I was expecting… something. What did I receive? Next to nothing. Here were many opportunities for chaos, eldritch horrors, twisted histories, exciting landscapes, nightmare voyages. Yet, all we got was a lot of exposition; tell with no show. The old guard are dying off and if this is the quality of the replacements, I mourn all the more.
November 7, 2016
really just loved this book so much. sank into it like a million dollar couch. great voice, just so masterful and certain, so sure. will read everything this guy writes forever.
September 21, 2025
Not As Expected!
I enjoyed reading this book. It is not as l expected it to be, but it is a good one. I found three different stories that stood out.
One is City of Dogs. Chapters I-V: The narrator is our protagonist. He is a young man who is a mess. He and his girlfriend are going to meet a friend at a club. While on their way there, they come across a large dog.
The dog looks malnourished, like it hasn’t eaten a good meal in months. The narrator leaves his girlfriend and crosses the street over towards the dog. The dog attacks him and he leaves it alone. When he returns to his girlfriend she is gone.
The next book is: June, 1987. Hitchhiking. Mr. Norris. A seventeen year old boy, although told by his father to never hitchhike, hitchhikes a ride with Mr. Norris. The man who is the driver has things go as expected.
The last book is: Mother of Stone Chapters I-IIIIX. An old hotel has a statue digged up by a groundskeeper. The statue is missing its head and is maybe cursed. It bleeds profusely, from its neck. And it is seen around the village at inopportune times and in increasingly inappropriate places.
I enjoyed reading this book. It is not as l expected it to be, but it is a good one. I found three different stories that stood out.
One is City of Dogs. Chapters I-V: The narrator is our protagonist. He is a young man who is a mess. He and his girlfriend are going to meet a friend at a club. While on their way there, they come across a large dog.
The dog looks malnourished, like it hasn’t eaten a good meal in months. The narrator leaves his girlfriend and crosses the street over towards the dog. The dog attacks him and he leaves it alone. When he returns to his girlfriend she is gone.
The next book is: June, 1987. Hitchhiking. Mr. Norris. A seventeen year old boy, although told by his father to never hitchhike, hitchhikes a ride with Mr. Norris. The man who is the driver has things go as expected.
The last book is: Mother of Stone Chapters I-IIIIX. An old hotel has a statue digged up by a groundskeeper. The statue is missing its head and is maybe cursed. It bleeds profusely, from its neck. And it is seen around the village at inopportune times and in increasingly inappropriate places.
July 27, 2015
This book opens with one of the coolest stories I've read in awhile: the short, brutal, and kind of hilarious "Kids." Within just a few paragraphs, Langan had me both howling with uneasy laughter and wondering if he was plundering my mind for its deepest fears, and that's very much the way to my heart. (Other than through my chest, natch.)
The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies has been on my TBR list ever since it came out last spring. I can only say I wish I'd gotten to it sooner, because this collection is as close to perfect as it gets. There are no bad stories here, not even any "meh" ones. Just a series of really inventive tales, well told.
Of course I had favorites. But I had several. Besides "Kids," which I won't spoil by even hinting at its contents, there was also "Technicolor," a wild (and darkly genius) take on "The Masque of the Red Death," which may have inspired me to re-evaluate Poe. (I secretly find him awfully florid.) There are two new-Lovecraftian tales: "The Shallows," a slice-of-life story about a man and his mutant crab, going about their business in a world where the Old Ones now control reality; and the truly disturbing "City of the Dog," which takes as its inspiration HPL's underused ghouls (think "Pickman's Model"), and turns Albany into a carnivorously haunted blot on the landscape. Finally, the closing, and longest, tale in the collection is "Mother of Stone," in which a bloody pre-historic rite is accidentally resurrected at an otherwise homey Hudson Valley inn. Also, do not miss Langan's story notes (which illuminate several of the stories in unexpected ways), and Laird Barron's hilarious afterword.
Bottom line: The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies is an excellent collection, and is going on my best-of-2013 list . . . just a little late. If you like weird fiction with just a twist of dark humor, do not miss it.
The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies has been on my TBR list ever since it came out last spring. I can only say I wish I'd gotten to it sooner, because this collection is as close to perfect as it gets. There are no bad stories here, not even any "meh" ones. Just a series of really inventive tales, well told.
Of course I had favorites. But I had several. Besides "Kids," which I won't spoil by even hinting at its contents, there was also "Technicolor," a wild (and darkly genius) take on "The Masque of the Red Death," which may have inspired me to re-evaluate Poe. (I secretly find him awfully florid.) There are two new-Lovecraftian tales: "The Shallows," a slice-of-life story about a man and his mutant crab, going about their business in a world where the Old Ones now control reality; and the truly disturbing "City of the Dog," which takes as its inspiration HPL's underused ghouls (think "Pickman's Model"), and turns Albany into a carnivorously haunted blot on the landscape. Finally, the closing, and longest, tale in the collection is "Mother of Stone," in which a bloody pre-historic rite is accidentally resurrected at an otherwise homey Hudson Valley inn. Also, do not miss Langan's story notes (which illuminate several of the stories in unexpected ways), and Laird Barron's hilarious afterword.
Bottom line: The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies is an excellent collection, and is going on my best-of-2013 list . . . just a little late. If you like weird fiction with just a twist of dark humor, do not miss it.
May 22, 2014
I loved this book. Lots of lengthy, meaty stories with exquisite sentences and paragraphs that stopped me in my tracks.
I had only read one story before ("The Shallows" in Ross Lockhart's BOOK OF CTHULHU) and while happy to read it again, it was a couple of other stories that really knocked my on my ass. "Technicolor" is an ingenious riff on/response to Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death," and originally appeared in Ellen Datlow's anthology of Poe-inspired stories. The final story is original to this collection, and "Mother of Stone" is worth the price of the book by itself.
The two short pieces, "Kids" and "June 1987. Hitchhiking. Mr. Norris" seemed a little incongruous with the rest of the book, but after reading the story notes, they make more stylistic sense. And yes, there are detailed story notes at the end of the book, something I always enjoy reading.
There are four other stories in here, and all of them are well worth reading, slowly. Many of these tales were selected for year's-best anthologies, and that seems right.
Jeffrey Ford provides a short but informative introduction, Laird Barron contributes a fictional (?) afterward, and the remarkable Santiago Caruso created the beautifully macabre cover art. There is pretty much nothing not to like about this book. Highly recommended for enthusiasts of smart, literary horror.
I had only read one story before ("The Shallows" in Ross Lockhart's BOOK OF CTHULHU) and while happy to read it again, it was a couple of other stories that really knocked my on my ass. "Technicolor" is an ingenious riff on/response to Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death," and originally appeared in Ellen Datlow's anthology of Poe-inspired stories. The final story is original to this collection, and "Mother of Stone" is worth the price of the book by itself.
The two short pieces, "Kids" and "June 1987. Hitchhiking. Mr. Norris" seemed a little incongruous with the rest of the book, but after reading the story notes, they make more stylistic sense. And yes, there are detailed story notes at the end of the book, something I always enjoy reading.
There are four other stories in here, and all of them are well worth reading, slowly. Many of these tales were selected for year's-best anthologies, and that seems right.
Jeffrey Ford provides a short but informative introduction, Laird Barron contributes a fictional (?) afterward, and the remarkable Santiago Caruso created the beautifully macabre cover art. There is pretty much nothing not to like about this book. Highly recommended for enthusiasts of smart, literary horror.
February 15, 2015
I often liked these stories, not always for the horror because the storytelling alone is very impressive. Langan was at his best when he was building characters, which isn't always my favorite part of writing, but I love it here. In stories like "The Shallows" and "City of the Dog" I liked the characterization most, but in a story like "Technicolor" he hits exactly the right balance between characterization and creating horror that's quite original.
I do have to say this collection is a bit uneven in a few places. I read this alongside Simon Strantzas "Burnt Black Suns" and can't help comparing the two. There really wasn't a disappointment in Strantzas collection, it was very consistent, but here a couple stories didn't really hit the mark for me. I could appreciate what he was trying to do, and this collection still gets four stars because the great stories were really great. Also the stories were told from interesting perspectives, one in the form of a professor's lecture, another in the form of a play. The final novella is effective because it leaves us wondering -- but not too much. It's not like some weird fiction (i.e. Laird Barron's "Jaws of Saturn" comes to mind) where at the end I put my palms up and ask, "WTF?!" Also where Strantzas stayed in more traditional weird fiction territory, playing on themes of Lovecraft, Ligotti and Chambers, Langan has stories about more traditional horror themes, like werewolves, vampires, although he makes them his own.
Kids - A very brief story, well-told for what it is. A teacher is surprised when a dirty group of children enter his classroom -- and even more so when they start to bite.
How the Day Runs Down - This is a really cool zombie story told in the form of a play, very effective. Zombies aren't my thing at all, but this is about as good a zombie story as I've ever read. In a theater a man tells us how various people of a small town have dealt with their world being overrun by zombies.
Technicolor - Wonderful story, very philosophical, science-fiction feel to it, but most of all it's very creative historical horror fiction. It takes a lot of rather strange tangents to get where it's going, but draws them all together even though it can get a bit "outre" at times. A professor talking about the "The Masque of the Red Death" believes that Poe took his inspiration for the story from a man who transcended death and came up with a way to summon things from beyond using a series of colored images.
The Wide, Carnivorous Sky - Grim, violent, bloody, gory, very effective in it's slow-burn build up. It's a sort of adventure story as much as it's horror -- here we find a horror of Lovecraftian proportions, yet the characters confront it. A group of four Iraq war vets are scarred by their experience, not with the war, but with a flying horror which landed in the midst of a battle and started ravenously eating soldiers. They use a psychic connection they have formed with it to try and destroy it.
City of the Dog - Really great story here, Langan's variation on the Pickman/ghoul story. What impressed me here was more Langan's great writing style, the characters are truly interesting, real, the horror was a bit of a secondary concern to me at least. A man inspects a strange dog which appears to be wounded, while his back is turned, his girlfriend disappears. When he tells his roommate about the dog, and the strange man he encountered in a nightclub afterward he fears she was taken away by an underground clan of ghouls.
The Shallows - I liked this one although it was certainly one of the more bizarre entries here. A few details here and there were pretty creepy, but it's the emotional and humorous moments that were most memorable. I could see where the overly weird nature of this story and how it's told could turn some off because it can come off as a lot of random horror tidbits thrown together. After the coming of Cthulhu a man talks to his pet crab about his family as he goes about his daily rituals and tends to his garden. Meanwhile the world has changed immensely with visions of horror which appear in the air, plants transformed into horrific things, but he takes strength from his memories of family life.
The Revel - This story honestly pissed me off, I didn't like the beginning, then I got into it, the middle was great, but the ending...geez. The final "images" Langan tried to use were just hopelessly convoluted in their description, and once I finally understood what Langan was trying to do, it just didn't jive with the story as a whole and was an ineffective way to finish it. The familiar tropes of the werewolf story are trotted out and explored in a self-aware fashion as a werewolf attacks the inhabitants of a small town.
June, 1987. Hitchhiking. Mr. Norris. - Good story, brief, some interesting ideas, but just not developed into anything bigger. A hitchhiker is knocked out by the man he gets a ride with, who plans to use use his blood in a ritual.
Mother of Stone - This is a novella one wonders if it could have been a novel. I love this type of story, it reminded me a little of Ramsey Campbell's novel "Ancient Images" where, almost like a detective story, a person is traveling the countryside and trying to uncover something supernatural, following leads, getting hints and whispers from here and there. There's some questions left unanswered, however this is done effectively -- the story still makes sense and we are left with just enough vagueness to make us wonder. A woman investigates an urban legend about a headless statue of a pregnant woman who was found buried in the yard of a New England Inn, and the series of deaths and tragedies connected with it.
I do have to say this collection is a bit uneven in a few places. I read this alongside Simon Strantzas "Burnt Black Suns" and can't help comparing the two. There really wasn't a disappointment in Strantzas collection, it was very consistent, but here a couple stories didn't really hit the mark for me. I could appreciate what he was trying to do, and this collection still gets four stars because the great stories were really great. Also the stories were told from interesting perspectives, one in the form of a professor's lecture, another in the form of a play. The final novella is effective because it leaves us wondering -- but not too much. It's not like some weird fiction (i.e. Laird Barron's "Jaws of Saturn" comes to mind) where at the end I put my palms up and ask, "WTF?!" Also where Strantzas stayed in more traditional weird fiction territory, playing on themes of Lovecraft, Ligotti and Chambers, Langan has stories about more traditional horror themes, like werewolves, vampires, although he makes them his own.
Kids - A very brief story, well-told for what it is. A teacher is surprised when a dirty group of children enter his classroom -- and even more so when they start to bite.
How the Day Runs Down - This is a really cool zombie story told in the form of a play, very effective. Zombies aren't my thing at all, but this is about as good a zombie story as I've ever read. In a theater a man tells us how various people of a small town have dealt with their world being overrun by zombies.
Technicolor - Wonderful story, very philosophical, science-fiction feel to it, but most of all it's very creative historical horror fiction. It takes a lot of rather strange tangents to get where it's going, but draws them all together even though it can get a bit "outre" at times. A professor talking about the "The Masque of the Red Death" believes that Poe took his inspiration for the story from a man who transcended death and came up with a way to summon things from beyond using a series of colored images.
The Wide, Carnivorous Sky - Grim, violent, bloody, gory, very effective in it's slow-burn build up. It's a sort of adventure story as much as it's horror -- here we find a horror of Lovecraftian proportions, yet the characters confront it. A group of four Iraq war vets are scarred by their experience, not with the war, but with a flying horror which landed in the midst of a battle and started ravenously eating soldiers. They use a psychic connection they have formed with it to try and destroy it.
City of the Dog - Really great story here, Langan's variation on the Pickman/ghoul story. What impressed me here was more Langan's great writing style, the characters are truly interesting, real, the horror was a bit of a secondary concern to me at least. A man inspects a strange dog which appears to be wounded, while his back is turned, his girlfriend disappears. When he tells his roommate about the dog, and the strange man he encountered in a nightclub afterward he fears she was taken away by an underground clan of ghouls.
The Shallows - I liked this one although it was certainly one of the more bizarre entries here. A few details here and there were pretty creepy, but it's the emotional and humorous moments that were most memorable. I could see where the overly weird nature of this story and how it's told could turn some off because it can come off as a lot of random horror tidbits thrown together. After the coming of Cthulhu a man talks to his pet crab about his family as he goes about his daily rituals and tends to his garden. Meanwhile the world has changed immensely with visions of horror which appear in the air, plants transformed into horrific things, but he takes strength from his memories of family life.
The Revel - This story honestly pissed me off, I didn't like the beginning, then I got into it, the middle was great, but the ending...geez. The final "images" Langan tried to use were just hopelessly convoluted in their description, and once I finally understood what Langan was trying to do, it just didn't jive with the story as a whole and was an ineffective way to finish it. The familiar tropes of the werewolf story are trotted out and explored in a self-aware fashion as a werewolf attacks the inhabitants of a small town.
June, 1987. Hitchhiking. Mr. Norris. - Good story, brief, some interesting ideas, but just not developed into anything bigger. A hitchhiker is knocked out by the man he gets a ride with, who plans to use use his blood in a ritual.
Mother of Stone - This is a novella one wonders if it could have been a novel. I love this type of story, it reminded me a little of Ramsey Campbell's novel "Ancient Images" where, almost like a detective story, a person is traveling the countryside and trying to uncover something supernatural, following leads, getting hints and whispers from here and there. There's some questions left unanswered, however this is done effectively -- the story still makes sense and we are left with just enough vagueness to make us wonder. A woman investigates an urban legend about a headless statue of a pregnant woman who was found buried in the yard of a New England Inn, and the series of deaths and tragedies connected with it.
January 31, 2017
Διάβασα αυτές τις μέρες το The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies (απαράδεκτα καλός τίτλος - ειδικά αυτό το Geographies στο τέλος γνέφει προς όχι-τελείως-λογοτεχνία) του John Langan, το οποίο μου προτάθηκε ως πολύ καλό δείγμα σύγχρονης λογοτεχνίας τρόμου με weird/uncanny χροιά. Ιδού δυο λόγια για κάθε διήγημα, συν βαθμολογίας:
Kids: Πρώτη και εξαιρετικά μικρή, το Kids είναι ένα ωμό σφηνάκι 4-5 σελίδων (το θέμα με τα epub είναι ότι δε μπορείς να ακροβολογίσεις παρά μόνο ποσοστιαία), άρτια παράδοξο, χωρίς εξηγήσεις και ιδιαίτερο context - αγνό horror με ανάποδες κλειδώσεις και δόντια. 4/5
How the Day Runs Down: Τα ζόμπι δε μου αρέσουν σε ταινίες, βιβλία ή παιχνίδια (κάτι που ισχύει και για τον ίδιο τον Langan από ότι διάβασα στον σχολιασμό του), και αυτό αναγκαστικά ρίχνει το διήγημα στην αισθητική μου. Έχει ανορθόδοξο στήσιμο και διήγηση, η οποία παλινδρομεί παράδοξα ανάμεσα σε οπτικές. Πλατιάζον ελαφρώς, και όχι κάποια τρομερή ιδέα στον πυρήνα του. 3/5
Technicolor: Η κορυφή του βιβλίου μέχρι στιγμής. Σίγουρα έχει να κάνει με το ότι η Μάσκα του Κόκκινου Θανάτου είναι από τις αγαπημένες μου ιστορίες έβερ. Το πλέξιμο της βιογραφίας του Πόε με μια οκάλτ εναλλακτική μικροϊστορία είναι εκπληκτικό, με σκηνές και χρωματισμούς βγαλμένα από ένα πολύ πολύ ιδιαίτερο πατάρι. Και ανεπανάληπτο φινάλε. 5/5
The Wide, Carnivorous Sky: Το ομώνυμο διήγημα φέρει εξαίσιο τίτλο. Δεν συμπάθησα ποτέ τη σύγχρονης στρατιωτικής υφής θεματολογία, ιδιαίτερα σε σέττινγκ μέσης ανατολής. Η κεντρική βαμπιρίζουσα ιδέα ενδιαφέρουσα αν και λίγο άγαρμπη, όπως και η υλοποίησή της, αλλά έχει κάποιες τρομερές, σχεδόν εμπύρετες εικόνες οι οποίες παραπέμπουν και στον τίτλο του. 3/5
City of the Dog: Τούτο εδώ, αν είχε τα 2/3 της έκτασης που έχει τώρα, θα ήταν πάρα πολύ καλό. Ως είναι, πλατιάζει στο πρώτο μισό του, στην ανάπτυξη των χαρακτήρων, με πολύ μη ουσιώδεις λεπτομέρειες που κάνουν το μάτι να κάνει πλάγιο gliding κάποιων παραγράφων. Από όταν παίρνει τελικά μπρος είναι πολύ καλό, αφήνοντας διαισθητικά μια ιδέα από Καμπάλ του Κλάιβ Μπάρκερ - τουτ'εστιν νεκρόπολη.3.5/5
The Shallows: Το πιο τυπικά λαβκραφτικό μέχρι στιγμής (εξωκοσμική εσάνς και πολύ έντομο και ζελέ) είναι χωρισμένο σε δυο παράλληλες χρονικές διηγήσεις. Ενώ όμως το βασικό χαρακτηριστικό του Λάβκραφτ είναι η αδιαφορία για την ανθρώπινη ανάπτυξη των χαρακτήρων του, η μια εκ των δυο διηγήσεων εδώ κάνει απλά αυτό: ασχολείται με την ζωή μιας οικογένειας, χωρίς υπόνοια υπερφυσικού. 3/5
The Revel: Λυκανθρωπική ιστορία, με άμεση απεύθυνση στον αναγνώστη, κάνει βουτιά στα γρανάζια και σπλάχνα της συγκεκριμένης υποκατηγορίας τρόμου, και σαφώς κατατάσσεται ως meta. Άψογο σε εφαρμογή, ασχέτως που η ιστορία είναι σχεδόν τελείως generic (μιας και αυτό ήθελε ούτως ή άλλως, ένα blueprint της λυκανθρωπικής λογοτεχνίας). 4/5
June, 1987. Hitchhiking. Mr. Norris: Πολύ μικρό διήγημα (λαμβάνεται και ως μικρή ανάσα πριν την κατάδυση στην τεράστια άβυσσο του επόμενου), ενός ωτοστόπ που αναμενόμενα πάει στραβά η εξιστόρηση, με δροσερή διήγηση, με μη ασπρόμαυρη θέαση του θύτη, με δυσοίωνο και ατμοσφαιρικό φινάλε. 4/5
Mother of Stone: Με το που τέλειωσα το Technicolor δεν πίστευα πως θα υπήρχε εντός του βιβλίου ιστορία που να το ξεπέρναγε. Είχα προειδοποιηθεί βέβαια για την αξία του Mother of Stone, αλλά όχι στο βαθμό που έπρεπε. Λοιπόν, εδώ έχουμε την κορυφή του βιβλίου, κι ένα από τα καλύτερα διηγήματα που έχω διαβάσει εδώ και πάρα μα πάρα πολύ καιρό. Με έκταση σαφώς μεγαλύτερη από τα υπόλοιπα (80 σελίδες ακριβώς στο τάμπλετ μου), το πρώτο πράγμα που μου ήρθε στο μυαλό με το που το τελείωσα ήταν πως μόλις βίωσα ένα πολύ καλό adventure game - της Gabriel Knight-ικής σχολής - με επικάλυψη από τα πιο αρχαΐζοντα διηγήματα του Μάχεν και του Χάουαρντ (αυτά που είναι γεμάτα με lore). Η δομή του καταπληκτική, ως αλληλουχία συνεντεύξεων. Η έμφαση στα γεγονότα και στο χτίσιμο του πανάρχαιου lore, έναντι της ανάπτυξης χαρακτήρων, μόνο θετικά μπορεί να ιδωθεί από εμένα. Και ο τρόμος να ρέει από το λαιμό της Πέτρινης Μητέρας. Μια σπουδή στο πως πρέπει να γράφεται το απλωτό διήγημα τρόμου. 5/5 (κρατιέμαι να μη βάλω 5.5)
Το βιβλίο λοιπόν, συνολικά ήταν καλό (ας πούμε ένα 4/5). Σχηματικά η ποιότητα είναι συσσωρευμένη στις άκρες του, κάνοντας (για μένα) κοιλιά στη μέση.
Ο Langan φαίνεται πως θέλει να πειραματίζεται, δοκιμάζοντας διάφορα στησίματα και διηγηματικές φόρμες εντός του. Σχεδόν το κάθε διήγημα εδώ μέσα θα μπορούσε να χαρακτηριστεί από τον τρόπο αφήγησης που χρησιμοποιεί - θεατρικό το How the Day Runs Down, μεταφίξιον το The Revel, κτλ. Πολύ καλό δείγμα αυτό, ακόμη κι όταν δεν του βγαίνει πλήρως.
Από εκεί και πέρα η λατρεία του για το horror genre είναι προφανής, και δε διστάζει να τη δείχνει άμεσα. Όπως και τη λατρεία του για την ενσωμάτωση στοιχείων του σύγχρονου κόσμου, κάτι που άλλωστε αναφέρει και ο ίδιος.
Το ότι έχει πολύ καλές ιδέες είναι προφανές, όπως και το ότι ξέρει να γράφει - το γράψιμό του έχει φρεσκάδα που είναι ευπρόσδεκτη στο είδος. Για μένα εκεί που μπορεί να βελτιωθεί είναι στη μείωση της ανάπτυξης του ανθρώπινου στοιχείου (δε χρειάζεται να μαθαίνουμε για τον παιδικό φίλο του τάδε ή την ανίατη αρρώστια της άλλης, κτλ, όταν ουσιαστικά δεν εξυπηρετούν την πλοκή) - το οποίο έχει να κάνει με το προσωπικό μου γούστο και θέαση επί του τρόμου, ο οποίος θέλω να έχει λίγα σημεία επαφής με τον σύγχρονο άνθρωπο ως μονάδα. Γενικά όμως τα πήγε πολύ καλά ο κύριος, και με τα Technicolor και Mother of Stone άφησε τρανό στίγμα στο παλίμψηστο της παραγωγής τρόμου.
Kids: Πρώτη και εξαιρετικά μικρή, το Kids είναι ένα ωμό σφηνάκι 4-5 σελίδων (το θέμα με τα epub είναι ότι δε μπορείς να ακροβολογίσεις παρά μόνο ποσοστιαία), άρτια παράδοξο, χωρίς εξηγήσεις και ιδιαίτερο context - αγνό horror με ανάποδες κλειδώσεις και δόντια. 4/5
How the Day Runs Down: Τα ζόμπι δε μου αρέσουν σε ταινίες, βιβλία ή παιχνίδια (κάτι που ισχύει και για τον ίδιο τον Langan από ότι διάβασα στον σχολιασμό του), και αυτό αναγκαστικά ρίχνει το διήγημα στην αισθητική μου. Έχει ανορθόδοξο στήσιμο και διήγηση, η οποία παλινδρομεί παράδοξα ανάμεσα σε οπτικές. Πλατιάζον ελαφρώς, και όχι κάποια τρομερή ιδέα στον πυρήνα του. 3/5
Technicolor: Η κορυφή του βιβλίου μέχρι στιγμής. Σίγουρα έχει να κάνει με το ότι η Μάσκα του Κόκκινου Θανάτου είναι από τις αγαπημένες μου ιστορίες έβερ. Το πλέξιμο της βιογραφίας του Πόε με μια οκάλτ εναλλακτική μικροϊστορία είναι εκπληκτικό, με σκηνές και χρωματισμούς βγαλμένα από ένα πολύ πολύ ιδιαίτερο πατάρι. Και ανεπανάληπτο φινάλε. 5/5
The Wide, Carnivorous Sky: Το ομώνυμο διήγημα φέρει εξαίσιο τίτλο. Δεν συμπάθησα ποτέ τη σύγχρονης στρατιωτικής υφής θεματολογία, ιδιαίτερα σε σέττινγκ μέσης ανατολής. Η κεντρική βαμπιρίζουσα ιδέα ενδιαφέρουσα αν και λίγο άγαρμπη, όπως και η υλοποίησή της, αλλά έχει κάποιες τρομερές, σχεδόν εμπύρετες εικόνες οι οποίες παραπέμπουν και στον τίτλο του. 3/5
City of the Dog: Τούτο εδώ, αν είχε τα 2/3 της έκτασης που έχει τώρα, θα ήταν πάρα πολύ καλό. Ως είναι, πλατιάζει στο πρώτο μισό του, στην ανάπτυξη των χαρακτήρων, με πολύ μη ουσιώδεις λεπτομέρειες που κάνουν το μάτι να κάνει πλάγιο gliding κάποιων παραγράφων. Από όταν παίρνει τελικά μπρος είναι πολύ καλό, αφήνοντας διαισθητικά μια ιδέα από Καμπάλ του Κλάιβ Μπάρκερ - τουτ'εστιν νεκρόπολη.3.5/5
The Shallows: Το πιο τυπικά λαβκραφτικό μέχρι στιγμής (εξωκοσμική εσάνς και πολύ έντομο και ζελέ) είναι χωρισμένο σε δυο παράλληλες χρονικές διηγήσεις. Ενώ όμως το βασικό χαρακτηριστικό του Λάβκραφτ είναι η αδιαφορία για την ανθρώπινη ανάπτυξη των χαρακτήρων του, η μια εκ των δυο διηγήσεων εδώ κάνει απλά αυτό: ασχολείται με την ζωή μιας οικογένειας, χωρίς υπόνοια υπερφυσικού. 3/5
The Revel: Λυκανθρωπική ιστορία, με άμεση απεύθυνση στον αναγνώστη, κάνει βουτιά στα γρανάζια και σπλάχνα της συγκεκριμένης υποκατηγορίας τρόμου, και σαφώς κατατάσσεται ως meta. Άψογο σε εφαρμογή, ασχέτως που η ιστορία είναι σχεδόν τελείως generic (μιας και αυτό ήθελε ούτως ή άλλως, ένα blueprint της λυκανθρωπικής λογοτεχνίας). 4/5
June, 1987. Hitchhiking. Mr. Norris: Πολύ μικρό διήγημα (λαμβάνεται και ως μικρή ανάσα πριν την κατάδυση στην τεράστια άβυσσο του επόμενου), ενός ωτοστόπ που αναμενόμενα πάει στραβά η εξιστόρηση, με δροσερή διήγηση, με μη ασπρόμαυρη θέαση του θύτη, με δυσοίωνο και ατμοσφαιρικό φινάλε. 4/5
Mother of Stone: Με το που τέλειωσα το Technicolor δεν πίστευα πως θα υπήρχε εντός του βιβλίου ιστορία που να το ξεπέρναγε. Είχα προειδοποιηθεί βέβαια για την αξία του Mother of Stone, αλλά όχι στο βαθμό που έπρεπε. Λοιπόν, εδώ έχουμε την κορυφή του βιβλίου, κι ένα από τα καλύτερα διηγήματα που έχω διαβάσει εδώ και πάρα μα πάρα πολύ καιρό. Με έκταση σαφώς μεγαλύτερη από τα υπόλοιπα (80 σελίδες ακριβώς στο τάμπλετ μου), το πρώτο πράγμα που μου ήρθε στο μυαλό με το που το τελείωσα ήταν πως μόλις βίωσα ένα πολύ καλό adventure game - της Gabriel Knight-ικής σχολής - με επικάλυψη από τα πιο αρχαΐζοντα διηγήματα του Μάχεν και του Χάουαρντ (αυτά που είναι γεμάτα με lore). Η δομή του καταπληκτική, ως αλληλουχία συνεντεύξεων. Η έμφαση στα γεγονότα και στο χτίσιμο του πανάρχαιου lore, έναντι της ανάπτυξης χαρακτήρων, μόνο θετικά μπορεί να ιδωθεί από εμένα. Και ο τρόμος να ρέει από το λαιμό της Πέτρινης Μητέρας. Μια σπουδή στο πως πρέπει να γράφεται το απλωτό διήγημα τρόμου. 5/5 (κρατιέμαι να μη βάλω 5.5)
Το βιβλίο λοιπόν, συνολικά ήταν καλό (ας πούμε ένα 4/5). Σχηματικά η ποιότητα είναι συσσωρευμένη στις άκρες του, κάνοντας (για μένα) κοιλιά στη μέση.
Ο Langan φαίνεται πως θέλει να πειραματίζεται, δοκιμάζοντας διάφορα στησίματα και διηγηματικές φόρμες εντός του. Σχεδόν το κάθε διήγημα εδώ μέσα θα μπορούσε να χαρακτηριστεί από τον τρόπο αφήγησης που χρησιμοποιεί - θεατρικό το How the Day Runs Down, μεταφίξιον το The Revel, κτλ. Πολύ καλό δείγμα αυτό, ακόμη κι όταν δεν του βγαίνει πλήρως.
Από εκεί και πέρα η λατρεία του για το horror genre είναι προφανής, και δε διστάζει να τη δείχνει άμεσα. Όπως και τη λατρεία του για την ενσωμάτωση στοιχείων του σύγχρονου κόσμου, κάτι που άλλωστε αναφέρει και ο ίδιος.
Το ότι έχει πολύ καλές ιδέες είναι προφανές, όπως και το ότι ξέρει να γράφει - το γράψιμό του έχει φρεσκάδα που είναι ευπρόσδεκτη στο είδος. Για μένα εκεί που μπορεί να βελτιωθεί είναι στη μείωση της ανάπτυξης του ανθρώπινου στοιχείου (δε χρειάζεται να μαθαίνουμε για τον παιδικό φίλο του τάδε ή την ανίατη αρρώστια της άλλης, κτλ, όταν ουσιαστικά δεν εξυπηρετούν την πλοκή) - το οποίο έχει να κάνει με το προσωπικό μου γούστο και θέαση επί του τρόμου, ο οποίος θέλω να έχει λίγα σημεία επαφής με τον σύγχρονο άνθρωπο ως μονάδα. Γενικά όμως τα πήγε πολύ καλά ο κύριος, και με τα Technicolor και Mother of Stone άφησε τρανό στίγμα στο παλίμψηστο της παραγωγής τρόμου.
January 7, 2014
I certainly knew Langan’s work before this, from many anthologies and “year’s best” lists, but this new collection demonstrates Langan deserves to be considered at the highest level of modern horror writers. “Technicolor” is the narrative of a teacher telling his class about Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death,” both clever and gripping. The collection ends with a new novella “Mother of Stone,” less experimental than some of Langan’s ‘other work here (though it’s told in second person perspective, which is rare). It’s one of the few truly outstanding works of fiction I read this year, worthy of its length, and truly dreadful and frightening. With such a dexterous and confident collection, Langan rises in my estimation to rank among the most compelling writers now working.
August 15, 2020
I have a real and insatiable need for literary horror fiction right now and am casting the net wide, which is the only reason I picked this up, and a perverse part of me seems to enjoy getting mad at what I'm reading, I guess, which is the only reason I finished it. A few of these stories weren't too bad - the zombie apocalypse screenplay, the post-deployment PTSD vampire, the possessed statue of a headless pregnant figure - but the execution invariably left me cold. These are essentially horror stories written by your long-winded and insufferably smug English professor who mistakes having a good vocabulary for knowing how to write. Clever, sort of, but not interesting.
September 8, 2017
Apparently John Langan is not an author for me. A few years back I read his novel House of Windows and was bored to tears, but when I came across the fabulous "Technicolor" in a Year's Best collection, I thought that maybe he was a better short story writer than novelist. (Many authors are.) I was wrong. Most of the stories here are in the same tiresome, rambling style that made his novel such a chore. They don't even have any payoff at the end that makes you feel that it was kind of worth persevering. Except for "Technicolor", which is a real gem. Written for a Poe-inspired anthology, it takes the form of a professor lecturing to a class of students about "The Masque of the Red Death." He ties Poe's story in with a historical figure in an engrossing narrative, while vaguely sinister things are occurring in the background... it all builds to a very satisfying conclusion. But if you want to read it, you're better off picking up The Best Horror of the Year Volume Two, which has some other very good stories in it, unlike this collection.
January 9, 2014
Originally published at Risingshadow.
Before I begin to analyze the contents of The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies, I'll mention that a lot has already been written about it and several critics and readers have praised it. That's why writing a review about this collection is a bit difficult, but I'll try to think of something new to say.
John Langan is an author who probably needs no introduction to horror readers. Just in case somebody doesn't know him, I can say that he's one of the best writers of horror and dark fantasy. He writes dark and original stories that both fascinate and shock the readers. His stories have appeared in several anthologies.
I personally became acquainted with John Langan's stories by reading Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters and House of Windows. I loved both of them and can highly recommend to everybody who likes good and well written horror fiction.
I confess that I'm a passionate fan of dark fantasy, horror and weird fiction, and I especially love literary stories. That's why it was a pleasure to read and review The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies. I can honestly say that it's one of the best horror collections that have been published during the last couple of years. This collection contains stylistic storytelling, weirdness, disturbing elements and excellent prose. It belogs to the same quality group of books as Laird Barron's The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All and Richard Gavin's At Fear's Altar.
This collection contains nine stories of varying length and themes. The stories are:
- Kids
- How the Day Runs Down
- Technicolor
- The Wide, Carnivorous Sky
- City of the Dog
- The Shallows
- The Revel
- June, 1987. Hitchhiking, Mr. Norris
- Mother of Stone
Here's a bit more information about the stories:
Kids:
- Kids is a good demonstration of the fact that quality comes in all shapes and sizes. Although this is the shortest story in this collection, it's an excellent story about zombie children.
How the Day Runs Down:
- Just like the previous story, this story is also a zombie story, but it's a totally different kind of a zombie story.
- This short story is almost like a play and reads like one. It's very rare that authors can write this kind of fiction and make it work, but John Langan has succeeded in it.
Technicolor:
- This story can be seen as an examination of Edgar Allan Poe's famous The Masque of Red Death, because the protagonist examines Poe's story.
- I liked the author's approach to Poe's story, because I've always considered it to be one of the best gothic horror stories ever written.
The Wide, Carnivorous Sky:
- In my honest opinion this story is one of the best vampire stories ever published (this story and Nathan Ballingrud's Sunbleached are my favourite modern vampire stories).
- It's great that the author writes about a vampire who hunts in the daylight instead of night.
- It's intriguing that the author has added army veterans into the storyline and tells about what men saw in combat etc.
City of the Dog:
- This is a brilliant story about a man who lives in Albany.
- The author writes excellently about the protagonist and his relationship with Kaitlyn.
- Reading about the Ghûls was very interesting.
The Shallows:
- I was already familiar with this story, when I began to read this collection, because it was originally published in the anthology Cthulhu's Reign (edited by Darrell Schweitzer), but it was a pleasure to read it again.
- This story is an amazingly original and well written Cthulhu mythos story that differs quite a lot from other Cthulhu stories.
- What makes this story especially interesting is that it's a story about a man who talks to a crab creature.
The Revel:
- This is a fresh approach to a werewolf story. I have to mention that John Langan's vision of a werewolf story reads almost like an analysis of a movie.
- In this story the author uses the second-person narrative mode surprisingly successfully as he addresses the reader every once in a while.
June, 1987. Hitchhiking, Mr. Norris:
- This is a fun and delightfully dark short story.
- This short story is part of an online anthology called "The Secret Life of Laird Barron" involving the horror and dark fantasy author Laird Barron.
Mother of Stone:
- I loved this novella, because it was a fascinatingly weird story about an excavated statue that had been put on display at local inn. The author wrote fantastically about what happened afterwards when it was put on display. (This novella alone makes this collection worth buying, owning and reading.)
- I'm not a big fan of stories written in the second-person narrative mode, because it seldom works well, but in this novella this narrative style works perfectly and creates a deeply unsettling and weird atmosphere.
There's wonderful versatility in this collection, because all the stories differ from each other. I think that with this collection John Langan has established himself as one of the best and most versatile writers of horror fiction. He already showed lots of promise with his debut collection ("Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters") a few years ago, but this collection is much better and more versatile.
Although I enjoyed reading all stories in this collection, my favourite stories were "The Shallows", "Mother of Stone", "City of the Dog" and "The Wide, Carnivorous Sky", because they're perfect examples of quality horror fiction. These four stories are so good that you can't help but admire the author's imagination and writing style.
I have to mention separately that "The Shallows" is an excellent example of how well a modern author can write an original Cthulhu mythos story. If you've read as many Cthulhu stories as I have and love Lovecraftian horror and dark fantasy, this story will be of interest to you, because it differs a lot from other similar stories.
I also have to mention that "Mother of Stone" is an perfect example of how well John Langan writes unsettling and memorable horror stories. This previously unpublished novella is among the best new horror stories I've read and it's clearly the best story in this collection.
I think it's possible that every reader experiences these stories in a different way depending on their taste in horror, dark fantasy and weird fiction, but I'm sure that everybody who reads this collection will be impressed by the author's way of combining classic and modern elements.
John Langan's stories are dark, macabre, elegant and hauntingly disturbing yet beautiful. He's one of the few modern horror authors who are capable of evoking real fear and feelings of dread in the reader. I respect him for writing stories that have a psychological effect on the reader. When I read these stories I found myself admiring how skillfully he built a chilling atmosphere and lured me into a slightly surreal, but believable world where supernatural elements are in perfect balance with realistic elements.
One of the reasons why John Langan is a good author is that his characterization is excellent. I've noticed that writing about characters and their lives is a bit difficult for many short story writers, but John Langan is an exception, because he manages to create characters that have depth in them. For example, if you take a closer look at "City of the Dog", you'll notice how deeply and well he writes about the protagonist.
Everybody who loves good and well written horror and dark fantasy should put this collection immediately to their reading list. If you've ever read anything by e.g. Laird Barron, Richard Gavin or Nathan Ballingrud, and liked what you read, you'll love John Langan's stories.
Highly recommended - outstanding horror fiction!
Before I begin to analyze the contents of The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies, I'll mention that a lot has already been written about it and several critics and readers have praised it. That's why writing a review about this collection is a bit difficult, but I'll try to think of something new to say.
John Langan is an author who probably needs no introduction to horror readers. Just in case somebody doesn't know him, I can say that he's one of the best writers of horror and dark fantasy. He writes dark and original stories that both fascinate and shock the readers. His stories have appeared in several anthologies.
I personally became acquainted with John Langan's stories by reading Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters and House of Windows. I loved both of them and can highly recommend to everybody who likes good and well written horror fiction.
I confess that I'm a passionate fan of dark fantasy, horror and weird fiction, and I especially love literary stories. That's why it was a pleasure to read and review The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies. I can honestly say that it's one of the best horror collections that have been published during the last couple of years. This collection contains stylistic storytelling, weirdness, disturbing elements and excellent prose. It belogs to the same quality group of books as Laird Barron's The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All and Richard Gavin's At Fear's Altar.
This collection contains nine stories of varying length and themes. The stories are:
- Kids
- How the Day Runs Down
- Technicolor
- The Wide, Carnivorous Sky
- City of the Dog
- The Shallows
- The Revel
- June, 1987. Hitchhiking, Mr. Norris
- Mother of Stone
Here's a bit more information about the stories:
Kids:
- Kids is a good demonstration of the fact that quality comes in all shapes and sizes. Although this is the shortest story in this collection, it's an excellent story about zombie children.
How the Day Runs Down:
- Just like the previous story, this story is also a zombie story, but it's a totally different kind of a zombie story.
- This short story is almost like a play and reads like one. It's very rare that authors can write this kind of fiction and make it work, but John Langan has succeeded in it.
Technicolor:
- This story can be seen as an examination of Edgar Allan Poe's famous The Masque of Red Death, because the protagonist examines Poe's story.
- I liked the author's approach to Poe's story, because I've always considered it to be one of the best gothic horror stories ever written.
The Wide, Carnivorous Sky:
- In my honest opinion this story is one of the best vampire stories ever published (this story and Nathan Ballingrud's Sunbleached are my favourite modern vampire stories).
- It's great that the author writes about a vampire who hunts in the daylight instead of night.
- It's intriguing that the author has added army veterans into the storyline and tells about what men saw in combat etc.
City of the Dog:
- This is a brilliant story about a man who lives in Albany.
- The author writes excellently about the protagonist and his relationship with Kaitlyn.
- Reading about the Ghûls was very interesting.
The Shallows:
- I was already familiar with this story, when I began to read this collection, because it was originally published in the anthology Cthulhu's Reign (edited by Darrell Schweitzer), but it was a pleasure to read it again.
- This story is an amazingly original and well written Cthulhu mythos story that differs quite a lot from other Cthulhu stories.
- What makes this story especially interesting is that it's a story about a man who talks to a crab creature.
The Revel:
- This is a fresh approach to a werewolf story. I have to mention that John Langan's vision of a werewolf story reads almost like an analysis of a movie.
- In this story the author uses the second-person narrative mode surprisingly successfully as he addresses the reader every once in a while.
June, 1987. Hitchhiking, Mr. Norris:
- This is a fun and delightfully dark short story.
- This short story is part of an online anthology called "The Secret Life of Laird Barron" involving the horror and dark fantasy author Laird Barron.
Mother of Stone:
- I loved this novella, because it was a fascinatingly weird story about an excavated statue that had been put on display at local inn. The author wrote fantastically about what happened afterwards when it was put on display. (This novella alone makes this collection worth buying, owning and reading.)
- I'm not a big fan of stories written in the second-person narrative mode, because it seldom works well, but in this novella this narrative style works perfectly and creates a deeply unsettling and weird atmosphere.
There's wonderful versatility in this collection, because all the stories differ from each other. I think that with this collection John Langan has established himself as one of the best and most versatile writers of horror fiction. He already showed lots of promise with his debut collection ("Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters") a few years ago, but this collection is much better and more versatile.
Although I enjoyed reading all stories in this collection, my favourite stories were "The Shallows", "Mother of Stone", "City of the Dog" and "The Wide, Carnivorous Sky", because they're perfect examples of quality horror fiction. These four stories are so good that you can't help but admire the author's imagination and writing style.
I have to mention separately that "The Shallows" is an excellent example of how well a modern author can write an original Cthulhu mythos story. If you've read as many Cthulhu stories as I have and love Lovecraftian horror and dark fantasy, this story will be of interest to you, because it differs a lot from other similar stories.
I also have to mention that "Mother of Stone" is an perfect example of how well John Langan writes unsettling and memorable horror stories. This previously unpublished novella is among the best new horror stories I've read and it's clearly the best story in this collection.
I think it's possible that every reader experiences these stories in a different way depending on their taste in horror, dark fantasy and weird fiction, but I'm sure that everybody who reads this collection will be impressed by the author's way of combining classic and modern elements.
John Langan's stories are dark, macabre, elegant and hauntingly disturbing yet beautiful. He's one of the few modern horror authors who are capable of evoking real fear and feelings of dread in the reader. I respect him for writing stories that have a psychological effect on the reader. When I read these stories I found myself admiring how skillfully he built a chilling atmosphere and lured me into a slightly surreal, but believable world where supernatural elements are in perfect balance with realistic elements.
One of the reasons why John Langan is a good author is that his characterization is excellent. I've noticed that writing about characters and their lives is a bit difficult for many short story writers, but John Langan is an exception, because he manages to create characters that have depth in them. For example, if you take a closer look at "City of the Dog", you'll notice how deeply and well he writes about the protagonist.
Everybody who loves good and well written horror and dark fantasy should put this collection immediately to their reading list. If you've ever read anything by e.g. Laird Barron, Richard Gavin or Nathan Ballingrud, and liked what you read, you'll love John Langan's stories.
Highly recommended - outstanding horror fiction!
December 12, 2020
The seed may have been planted in my head reading Adam Nevill's review, but this collection really gave me something to look forward to each evening. Most of the stories are the perfect length to read in a sitting and they are all excellent. The more Langan I read the more I like him and I certainly have a soft spot for the Hudson Valley setting. I'm even picking up on some of the connections between stories.
August 16, 2015
I recommend starting Langan’s collection on page fifty-five. “Kids”, the opening story, is Langan’s amuse bouche: freshly zombified preteens eat their teacher in four pages. When a character bold-faced as STAGE MANAGER opens “How the Day Runs Down,” we are clearly in the world of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, only Grover’s Corners, and the rest of the world, has been taken over by zombies. Langan can excel with this sort of literary allusion and game-playing, but the long scenes that follow have none of the impressionistic grace of Wilder’s tale of small town life. Langan writes long stories, but this is the only one I have ever bailed on.
But on page fifty-five, things pick up, and Langan’s talent for horrific invention never flags again. He touches on most major horror tropes and plays them out with wit, strong characters, and a genuine relish for the scary bits. Some highlights:
In “Technicolor” an eager undergraduates in an American Lit class receive their professor’s close reading of Edgar Alan Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death.” It’s a lecture, with multi-media, that they will never forget and probably not survive.
The title story involves four veterans of the Iraq war who regroup to destroy the vampiric creature they encountered at Fullujah. Yes, it sounds like a movie on the Chiller Channel, but this is Langan showing that when called upon he can turn out a old-fashioned supernatural adventure story. (Scratch “supernatural,” but it’s too complicated to go into.)
Langan opens “Revel” with a chase through the woods because that’s the way these new-fangled werewolf movies start. Characters are introduced as just that, characters you would find in a werewolf movie. It’s all good, bloody fun until it gets weird.
I have never sought out books that extend the Lovecraftian mythos, but the one thing I have always wondered is just what is really supposed to happen once Chthulu and his unspeakably horrible buddies return. I know it’s bad news for humans, but what are the details? “The Shallows” takes place during this prolonged transformation from our world to theirs. We follow a man named Ransom, the last human in his neighborhood, as he goes about his daily routine. His only friend is crab he calls Gus.
I said I was going to mention the highlights, but I see I’ve written about almost every story in the book. Like I said, these tend to be long stories. Langan ranks high among the new horror writers I’ve read. His storytelling is excellent, his prose is literate, and his acknowledgement of the horror tradition is sophisticated and inventive. More like him, please.
But on page fifty-five, things pick up, and Langan’s talent for horrific invention never flags again. He touches on most major horror tropes and plays them out with wit, strong characters, and a genuine relish for the scary bits. Some highlights:
In “Technicolor” an eager undergraduates in an American Lit class receive their professor’s close reading of Edgar Alan Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death.” It’s a lecture, with multi-media, that they will never forget and probably not survive.
The title story involves four veterans of the Iraq war who regroup to destroy the vampiric creature they encountered at Fullujah. Yes, it sounds like a movie on the Chiller Channel, but this is Langan showing that when called upon he can turn out a old-fashioned supernatural adventure story. (Scratch “supernatural,” but it’s too complicated to go into.)
Langan opens “Revel” with a chase through the woods because that’s the way these new-fangled werewolf movies start. Characters are introduced as just that, characters you would find in a werewolf movie. It’s all good, bloody fun until it gets weird.
I have never sought out books that extend the Lovecraftian mythos, but the one thing I have always wondered is just what is really supposed to happen once Chthulu and his unspeakably horrible buddies return. I know it’s bad news for humans, but what are the details? “The Shallows” takes place during this prolonged transformation from our world to theirs. We follow a man named Ransom, the last human in his neighborhood, as he goes about his daily routine. His only friend is crab he calls Gus.
I said I was going to mention the highlights, but I see I’ve written about almost every story in the book. Like I said, these tend to be long stories. Langan ranks high among the new horror writers I’ve read. His storytelling is excellent, his prose is literate, and his acknowledgement of the horror tradition is sophisticated and inventive. More like him, please.
June 24, 2015
This collection started slowly for me, the first story did nothing and the second was a zombie tale which isn't on my personal favorite list. Langan did make it interesting by using the voice of the Stage Manager from Our Town. Then we start to pick up speed.
The title story is a very cool take on the vampire legend where the beast makes his presence known to soldiers in the middle of battle on the streets of Fallujah.
City of the Dog is a very good lycan story There was something about the way it walked, its hips high, its shoulders low, as if it were unused to this pose, that made the image of it standing oddly plausible.
June, 1987. Hitchiking. Mr. Norris A great story about an unusual way to use a car, I hope he expands on this story at some time in the future.
Mother of Stone A very creepy story about the unearthing of a statue of a headless, pregnant woman.He was obsessed, he said, with what lay before the beginning, the figures, the stories, the traditions that preceded the earliest records. You could catch glimpses of their contours, hints of their history, in the texts, the art, the customs that had come after.
Some great story notes from the author at the end and if you are a Laird Barron fan, there's a great afterword called Note Found in a Glenfiddich Bottle
Highly recommended for any weird fiction fan.
The title story is a very cool take on the vampire legend where the beast makes his presence known to soldiers in the middle of battle on the streets of Fallujah.
City of the Dog is a very good lycan story There was something about the way it walked, its hips high, its shoulders low, as if it were unused to this pose, that made the image of it standing oddly plausible.
June, 1987. Hitchiking. Mr. Norris A great story about an unusual way to use a car, I hope he expands on this story at some time in the future.
Mother of Stone A very creepy story about the unearthing of a statue of a headless, pregnant woman.He was obsessed, he said, with what lay before the beginning, the figures, the stories, the traditions that preceded the earliest records. You could catch glimpses of their contours, hints of their history, in the texts, the art, the customs that had come after.
Some great story notes from the author at the end and if you are a Laird Barron fan, there's a great afterword called Note Found in a Glenfiddich Bottle
Highly recommended for any weird fiction fan.
May 26, 2023
John Langan can write, but the types of stories he writes don't particularly appeal to me and most of them would be better served as novels. I don't think Langan understands the concept of short story. Some of the story concepts were interesting or had interesting twists, but the long-winded, rambling style did not appeal to me.
November 4, 2023
Štai mano kol kas didžiausia rekomendacija rudens skaitymams – labai literatūriniai siaubo apsakymai!
Naudodamas įvairias literatūrines technikas (kartais iki pretenzingumo, bet man kažkaip patiko) autorius interpretuoja klasikinius siaubo siužetus: zombiai, vilkolakiai, vampyrai... Išvengdamas kičo ir pakylėdamas juos į Lovecraftiškos mitologijos lygmenį, kur mūsų pasaulis – tik uždanga tam tikrajam, siaubingam, nesuvokiamam ir alkanam.
Literatūros profesorius – instancija, slypinti už visų šių apsakymų, tai jei nemėgstate "atjungimo" procedūrų, gali ir nervinti. Viena istorija pasakojama per "siaubo filmo kameros" požiūrio tašką, kita – antruoju asmeniu. Naratyvai šokinėja tarp praeities ir dabarties, svarbiausius elementus sudedant į perpasakotus gandus. Pasakotojo distanciją atsveria itin stiprus realizmas ir kasdienių detalių gausa, kur, atrodo, jauti tą stalo šiurkštumą, ar prisimeni kažkada paauglystėje patirtą jausmą.
Kaip gana reprezentatyvų (ir man labiausiai patikusį) siūlau paskaityti "Technicolor" apsakymą, o jei patiks – ir visą rinktinę!
Naudodamas įvairias literatūrines technikas (kartais iki pretenzingumo, bet man kažkaip patiko) autorius interpretuoja klasikinius siaubo siužetus: zombiai, vilkolakiai, vampyrai... Išvengdamas kičo ir pakylėdamas juos į Lovecraftiškos mitologijos lygmenį, kur mūsų pasaulis – tik uždanga tam tikrajam, siaubingam, nesuvokiamam ir alkanam.
Literatūros profesorius – instancija, slypinti už visų šių apsakymų, tai jei nemėgstate "atjungimo" procedūrų, gali ir nervinti. Viena istorija pasakojama per "siaubo filmo kameros" požiūrio tašką, kita – antruoju asmeniu. Naratyvai šokinėja tarp praeities ir dabarties, svarbiausius elementus sudedant į perpasakotus gandus. Pasakotojo distanciją atsveria itin stiprus realizmas ir kasdienių detalių gausa, kur, atrodo, jauti tą stalo šiurkštumą, ar prisimeni kažkada paauglystėje patirtą jausmą.
Kaip gana reprezentatyvų (ir man labiausiai patikusį) siūlau paskaityti "Technicolor" apsakymą, o jei patiks – ir visą rinktinę!
October 20, 2014
I've been reading Langan in anthologies for some time now and have always counted seeing his name in the table of contents as a positive sign, so I was thrilled when my sister gave me this collection for All Hallow's Read. Taken together, the stories in The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies are unsurprisingly terrific, with muscular prose, high literary brio, stylistic experimentation, and strong evocation of dread. Langan likes to pick--or sometimes borrow--old monsters and concerns and reinvigorate them, which isn't unusual in horror, but the turn of his narrative playfulness (the deconstructed film of "The Revel," the play in "How the Day Runs Down," and the lecture in "Technicolor, in particular) is, and he's also excellent at playing it straight and evoking his sense of horror from old-fashioned good craftsmanship. He's at some suitably uncanny and amazing intersection with Stephen King, Laird Barron, and Mark Z. Danielewski.
"How the Day Runs Down" is that one of the rare zombie stories to achieve both evocative grue and pathos, and even a sense of quiet finality far beyond most apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction. Even if you're not the kind of person who would read something instantly at finding out that it's Our Town with zombies (and I am, obviously), you'll like this, because like I said above, Langan isn't just great at putting stories at interesting postmodern angles, he's also great at creating characters you care about and putting them in situations going horribly but interestingly wrong. It strikes me as thematically linked to the later "The Shallows," which is also about grief in the face of a slow apocalypse, and which is telling a personal story of loss which is inseparable from its Lovecraftian background.
"Technicolor" is told entirely as an increasingly strange lecture on Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death," and it's impossible to discuss properly without spoilers, except to note that it plays fair all the way through and that the slowly dawning sense of horror is amazingly well-done. Its companion is "The Revel," a werewolf story told as the dissection of a film about a werewolf, which is appropriately head-trippy and astonishing.
"The Wide, Carnivorous Sky" is a revitalized vampire story. You have to note that Langan is confident enough to present a zombie story and a vampire story in the same book, since both are generally considered so well-worn they're threadbare. And he should be confident: "Sky" is possibly even stronger than "How the Day Runs Down." It puts its twist on vampires not from its style but from its freshness--not just the vampire's new hunting ground of wide open spaces, but its science fictional cosmic power, the struggle of dealing with it on logical terms, and its link to carnage and death across the globe. And there are more great characters. Langan has a gift for writing stories with all the depth and impact of novels in a condensed, streamlined form, and this is maybe the best example of that.
The last set of twinned stories for me are "Kids" and "June, 1987. Hitchhiking. Mr. Norris," which were written as tribute to Jack Haringa and Laird Barron, respectively. My only note of non-praise for the collection is that "Kids," out of its original context, lacks Langan's strengths, and while it could be an interesting turn elsewhere in the collection, it's not a good way to open it, and I'd encourage people reading Langan for the first time with this book to skip it at least until they'd read "How the Day Runs Down." "Hitchhiking" is better, a great tribute to Barron, both tongue-in-cheek and genuinely unsettling. (Although Langan's best tribute to Barron can be found in The Children of Old Leech: A Tribute to the Carnivorous Cosmos of Laird Barron.)
Finally, "Mother of Stone," original to this collection, blew me away. I have a soft spot for academic horror, so this story of a struggling and detached professor researching a set of urban legends about the exorcism of a strange statue was intriguing to me from the start, but it kept getting better throughout. More great, subtle characterization here, and a deft evocation of cosmic forces. (And Langan's notes about it only make it more haunting.)
A necessary collection for horror short fiction readers, a great way to bridge any perceived gap between storytelling and postmodernism, and, for writers, an excellent reminder of the extent to which the forms and rules of fiction are up for grabs. I'm glad I've got Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters on the shelf as well.
"How the Day Runs Down" is that one of the rare zombie stories to achieve both evocative grue and pathos, and even a sense of quiet finality far beyond most apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction. Even if you're not the kind of person who would read something instantly at finding out that it's Our Town with zombies (and I am, obviously), you'll like this, because like I said above, Langan isn't just great at putting stories at interesting postmodern angles, he's also great at creating characters you care about and putting them in situations going horribly but interestingly wrong. It strikes me as thematically linked to the later "The Shallows," which is also about grief in the face of a slow apocalypse, and which is telling a personal story of loss which is inseparable from its Lovecraftian background.
"Technicolor" is told entirely as an increasingly strange lecture on Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death," and it's impossible to discuss properly without spoilers, except to note that it plays fair all the way through and that the slowly dawning sense of horror is amazingly well-done. Its companion is "The Revel," a werewolf story told as the dissection of a film about a werewolf, which is appropriately head-trippy and astonishing.
"The Wide, Carnivorous Sky" is a revitalized vampire story. You have to note that Langan is confident enough to present a zombie story and a vampire story in the same book, since both are generally considered so well-worn they're threadbare. And he should be confident: "Sky" is possibly even stronger than "How the Day Runs Down." It puts its twist on vampires not from its style but from its freshness--not just the vampire's new hunting ground of wide open spaces, but its science fictional cosmic power, the struggle of dealing with it on logical terms, and its link to carnage and death across the globe. And there are more great characters. Langan has a gift for writing stories with all the depth and impact of novels in a condensed, streamlined form, and this is maybe the best example of that.
The last set of twinned stories for me are "Kids" and "June, 1987. Hitchhiking. Mr. Norris," which were written as tribute to Jack Haringa and Laird Barron, respectively. My only note of non-praise for the collection is that "Kids," out of its original context, lacks Langan's strengths, and while it could be an interesting turn elsewhere in the collection, it's not a good way to open it, and I'd encourage people reading Langan for the first time with this book to skip it at least until they'd read "How the Day Runs Down." "Hitchhiking" is better, a great tribute to Barron, both tongue-in-cheek and genuinely unsettling. (Although Langan's best tribute to Barron can be found in The Children of Old Leech: A Tribute to the Carnivorous Cosmos of Laird Barron.)
Finally, "Mother of Stone," original to this collection, blew me away. I have a soft spot for academic horror, so this story of a struggling and detached professor researching a set of urban legends about the exorcism of a strange statue was intriguing to me from the start, but it kept getting better throughout. More great, subtle characterization here, and a deft evocation of cosmic forces. (And Langan's notes about it only make it more haunting.)
A necessary collection for horror short fiction readers, a great way to bridge any perceived gap between storytelling and postmodernism, and, for writers, an excellent reminder of the extent to which the forms and rules of fiction are up for grabs. I'm glad I've got Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters on the shelf as well.
December 1, 2013
John Langan’s collection, The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies, is a broader abyss than Ogawa’s Revenge (as the title suggest). Langan’s prose shifts and deliberately incorporates modernist twists and variations that do not allow one kind of voice to sink in. Langan does have a formula: take on a literary trope, be it some modernist style meta-fictive, overlaying of different genres, etc., and then add in a genre limitation such as the vampire story or the werewolf story or the Lovecraft mythos tale. At first this sounds like a trite approach or an attempt at pastiche, but a considerate reading of his work reveals that it is not. Meta-fictive elements are used throughout the story although they are more in line with Langan’s set of limitations.
The first story, however, seems weak, and slightly knocked me back. It seems to be a more typical tonal horror piece involving at professor. Langan is a professor, and such a figure sits in more than one story. This, however, is a false lull. The next novella is “How the Day Runs Down” which is a zombie apocalypse story narrated as if it were Our Town. The existential dread of Thornton Wilder is often lost in the million trite performances, but it is encapsulated and expanded upon in a way that would be impulse in an episode of The Walking Dead. The core issue is even Our Town’s bleak afterlife is affected by the apocalypse so not even true death comes as an escape.
The next story “Technicolor” builds on the Masque of the Red Death, with a professor playing the role of main character. Indeed, the story starts as a lecture on the symbolism of Poe but takes a far grimmer turn. The intersection of real history, Poe’s biography, and fictive occultism is breath-taking. The laying of the history and myths of Prosper Vauglais, Poe’s Prince Prospero, the myth of Proserpina, and Poe’s wife alone is impressive. There are two stories inspired by Lovecraft, but one particularly sticks with me: “The Swallows.” This story pits the truly other-worldly with a narration of the end of a domestic disturbance. The linking between the completely human and the utterly alien leaving one with chills.
The meta-fictive, “The Revel,” and last novella, “Mother of Stone” both involve successful uses of the second person narration. “The Revel” being the more avant garde of the two, and depending on the formatting and ellipses created from screen writing conventions, but also being one of the only werewolf stories that ever chilled me: the overlaying of commentary on werewolf filmic genre as well as the psychology of the bestial. “Mother of Stone” picks up on the otherwise problematic theories of Marija Gimbutas, but develops through a female folklore professor’s exploration of something truly horrifying. There are also a few filmic cliches employed by Langan here, but they are used to undermine themselves and leave the reader lost.
The title story, found in the center of the book, is written in a style that reads a by like almost journalistic realism about war, and an vampire that inverts almost every stereotype or rule of the genre. It is the least meta-fictive of the story and is ridden in a more hardbitten style. Its straightforward narrative breaks the mold of the better stories in the collection, but the helplessness and humanness contrasted with the utterly outside and alien keeps the more developed theme of the book together.
The first story, however, seems weak, and slightly knocked me back. It seems to be a more typical tonal horror piece involving at professor. Langan is a professor, and such a figure sits in more than one story. This, however, is a false lull. The next novella is “How the Day Runs Down” which is a zombie apocalypse story narrated as if it were Our Town. The existential dread of Thornton Wilder is often lost in the million trite performances, but it is encapsulated and expanded upon in a way that would be impulse in an episode of The Walking Dead. The core issue is even Our Town’s bleak afterlife is affected by the apocalypse so not even true death comes as an escape.
The next story “Technicolor” builds on the Masque of the Red Death, with a professor playing the role of main character. Indeed, the story starts as a lecture on the symbolism of Poe but takes a far grimmer turn. The intersection of real history, Poe’s biography, and fictive occultism is breath-taking. The laying of the history and myths of Prosper Vauglais, Poe’s Prince Prospero, the myth of Proserpina, and Poe’s wife alone is impressive. There are two stories inspired by Lovecraft, but one particularly sticks with me: “The Swallows.” This story pits the truly other-worldly with a narration of the end of a domestic disturbance. The linking between the completely human and the utterly alien leaving one with chills.
The meta-fictive, “The Revel,” and last novella, “Mother of Stone” both involve successful uses of the second person narration. “The Revel” being the more avant garde of the two, and depending on the formatting and ellipses created from screen writing conventions, but also being one of the only werewolf stories that ever chilled me: the overlaying of commentary on werewolf filmic genre as well as the psychology of the bestial. “Mother of Stone” picks up on the otherwise problematic theories of Marija Gimbutas, but develops through a female folklore professor’s exploration of something truly horrifying. There are also a few filmic cliches employed by Langan here, but they are used to undermine themselves and leave the reader lost.
The title story, found in the center of the book, is written in a style that reads a by like almost journalistic realism about war, and an vampire that inverts almost every stereotype or rule of the genre. It is the least meta-fictive of the story and is ridden in a more hardbitten style. Its straightforward narrative breaks the mold of the better stories in the collection, but the helplessness and humanness contrasted with the utterly outside and alien keeps the more developed theme of the book together.
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