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Irrational Fears
The stories we tell are not limited to monsters and harsh otherworlds. Yet the fiction books in the Borealis imprint certainly belong to a world other than our own. This line encompasses our science fiction, fantasy and horror novels and anthologies.
233 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
2 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
About the author
William Browning Spencer
43 books70 followersWilliam Browning Spencer is an award-winning American novelist and short story writer living in Austin, Texas. His science fiction and horror stories are often darkly and surreally humorous. His novel Resume With Monsters conflates soul-destroying H. P. Lovecraftian horrors with soul-destroying lousy jobs.
His story "The Death of the Novel" was a 1995 Bram Stoker Award nominee for Best Short Story.
His story "The Death of the Novel" was a 1995 Bram Stoker Award nominee for Best Short Story.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 2, 2017
Former literature professor Jack Lowry is in alcohol detox in William Browning Spencers "Irrational Fears", and he has been in detox previously, twice. And Jack realizes that the power of positive thinking just isn't for everyone.
Now, after five months of sobriety, Jack is back for another dreary round of group therapy led by group counselor Wesley Parks, a man with the "emotional resources of a mollusk.". However on the brighter side Jack finds himself hopelessly attracted to a fellow patient Kerry Beckett in a oh so one-sided relationship he knows is doomed.
On top of that the threat to life and sanity is presented by a local cult "The Clear", whose leader claims that all drunks are "progeny of an ancient alien tribe and that they must prepare for cosmic battle during the upcoming Unraveling".
As people start disappearing. Hinkle, a fellow patient with Jack, manages to escape the cult's clutches, only to meet a nasty end when he is swallowed headfirst by a malevolent toilet.
Jack's world is upended as he must take a stand against the supernatural forces that stand against him.
Now, after five months of sobriety, Jack is back for another dreary round of group therapy led by group counselor Wesley Parks, a man with the "emotional resources of a mollusk.". However on the brighter side Jack finds himself hopelessly attracted to a fellow patient Kerry Beckett in a oh so one-sided relationship he knows is doomed.
On top of that the threat to life and sanity is presented by a local cult "The Clear", whose leader claims that all drunks are "progeny of an ancient alien tribe and that they must prepare for cosmic battle during the upcoming Unraveling".
As people start disappearing. Hinkle, a fellow patient with Jack, manages to escape the cult's clutches, only to meet a nasty end when he is swallowed headfirst by a malevolent toilet.
Jack's world is upended as he must take a stand against the supernatural forces that stand against him.
April 12, 2012
Alcoholics Anonymous meets Lovecraft seems like a bold combination, and while Browning creates some interesting scenes that mix the two elements in an absurdly humorous fashion, this novel somewhat fails as a complete novel. First, the scenes of the dreadful day-to-day of the reformed boozer play so well and earnest, and there's a rare, strange poignancy to many of those scenes - how a misanthrope copes with AA and all its pain and suffering, and general 'woe is me' clap trap (some of the meetings are downright hilarious). But it's the essence of evil that seems so stunted in this novel - how is this evil permeated into all the minds of all alcoholics, and why? And from this, the action sequences where a rag-tag group of AA members try to halt the evil (harbored in a mummified dwarf kept alive by a vengeful, bitter soul...?) seemz written on the cuff - a bit rushed, and basically dissolve the brilliance of what this novel really is, a strange take on breaking the chain and starting over. Lastly, there's such a mixed bag of metaphors here - Browning simply stuns with unique expressions on the suffering, and the bullshit that comes along with it - but other times, metaphors slam into the narrative, jarring any movement forward. 'Resume with Monsters' is a superior Cthulhu Comedy - but to see Browning at his best, start with 'The Return of Count Electric' - his collection of short fiction.
September 17, 2011
Since nobody else will, I have to talk about William Browning Spencer. This guy is so good. I found this book, Irrational Fears, at my local library. At the time I was drinking quite a lot, so imagine my surprise to find somebody who was writing my internal dialogue, alcoholism and an intense fascination with H.P. Lovecraft. This book, Irrational Fears, was an exploration of both of those aspects with wit and verve I could only hope to assimilate.
This guy was writing my brain, "killing me with his song."
I've read almost everything William Browning Spencer has done since then.
William Browning Spencer is a powerhouse who never got his due. I'm still paying attention, publish whatever you want.
This guy was writing my brain, "killing me with his song."
I've read almost everything William Browning Spencer has done since then.
William Browning Spencer is a powerhouse who never got his due. I'm still paying attention, publish whatever you want.
June 23, 2011
What is there to say? It's William Browning Spencer, who is pretty much universally great. A deft mixture of humor and pathos and occasional horror, with some really striking imagery, especially in the central "horror" of Ezra Coldwell's memories.
One of the things that makes me love Spencer so much is the amount of humanity he seems to treat his characters with, and that's seldom more apparent than in this book.
One of the things that makes me love Spencer so much is the amount of humanity he seems to treat his characters with, and that's seldom more apparent than in this book.
November 11, 2025
Devo essere assolutamente sincero con voi: vi giuro, di questo romanzo non ci ho capito nulla! Per disparati motivi. Il protagonista, alcolizzato, va in un centro per disintossicarsi e qui inizia il delirio: gente che viene rapita, sbuca una setta forse ispirata a Lovecraft, visioni mostruose, apocalissi imminenti, ecc. La trama forse è volutamente stramba e senza senso perché descrive gli stati d'animo che prova chi è alcolizzato, almeno credo io così (sono fieramente astemio quindi non ho mai provato "l'ebrezza" di ubriacarmi!). Mi sento in imbarazzo perché nonostante questo non capirci quasi nulla ho deciso ugualmente di terminare la lettura (forse ho fatto male, chi lo sa!) pensando che leggendolo tutto si sarebbe capita meglio la storia, ma nulla lo stesso.
Quasi quasi inizio a bere!
Quasi quasi inizio a bere!
January 5, 2022
First book for the year: rather mediocre, but not terrible. If I were judging the book on what it was supposed to be - alcoholism meets Lovecraft - it would be a 2 at most. However, what it actually is, is the day to day of the world of recovering alcoholics, with a VERY thin veneer of the supernatural and Lovecraft.
The book seems to almost draw from personal experience, and in that regard, it is well-written, believable and numbly uncomfortable. I could easily see it as source material for a mystery/horror B-movie (funny inception there, as it references one quite often), with well-defined, oddly compelling characters.
Still, the Lovecraft Mythos in it is nothing but a dash of paint and a lot of name-dropping, used exclusively as a metaphor. The idea that the villain uses "some sort of machinery" and a few instigating incidents to cause an all-out war in the recovering alcoholics community, for some very muddled reasons is, well... meh.
I have read somewhere that this may be intended as a sort of wry humor on the part of the writer, but it does not come across this way.
It's not a bad read, but nothing you would really need to hunt for. At any rate, it served as a reader's muscle flex to start reading the Eternal Warrior series from the long defunct Borealis line.
The book seems to almost draw from personal experience, and in that regard, it is well-written, believable and numbly uncomfortable. I could easily see it as source material for a mystery/horror B-movie (funny inception there, as it references one quite often), with well-defined, oddly compelling characters.
Still, the Lovecraft Mythos in it is nothing but a dash of paint and a lot of name-dropping, used exclusively as a metaphor. The idea that the villain uses "some sort of machinery" and a few instigating incidents to cause an all-out war in the recovering alcoholics community, for some very muddled reasons is, well... meh.
I have read somewhere that this may be intended as a sort of wry humor on the part of the writer, but it does not come across this way.
It's not a bad read, but nothing you would really need to hunt for. At any rate, it served as a reader's muscle flex to start reading the Eternal Warrior series from the long defunct Borealis line.
February 23, 2020
It was a little more uneven than some of his other books but still a delight. I love the ending of this one. So sweet :)
September 16, 2025
It has been so long since I read this, I had little to know recollection of it when I picked it up this month, which was nice. And it wasn't. One the one hand, I get to experience this book for the first time all over again, and William Browning Spencer is one of my favorite authors, and a very nice person, to boot. On the other hand, it makes me worry about my memory, because I would have never thought I'd be the kind to just up and forget an entire plot. No memory at all, not even of little things which pop up in the reading. I'm getting old. Sigh.
ANYWAY. I needed this perfectly executed mixture of whimsy and terror in my life right now. Less whimsy than other books, what with the AA setting and alcoholic main character digging to find bottom, but still, it's there in odd moments. I don't think Bill Spencer can help himself, and that's one of the things I find so endearing about his prose.
This book has lots of reviews which are insightful and well thought-out. Go read those, but just know I enjoyed the hell out of this and will be back to read Zod Wallop come the holidays.
ANYWAY. I needed this perfectly executed mixture of whimsy and terror in my life right now. Less whimsy than other books, what with the AA setting and alcoholic main character digging to find bottom, but still, it's there in odd moments. I don't think Bill Spencer can help himself, and that's one of the things I find so endearing about his prose.
This book has lots of reviews which are insightful and well thought-out. Go read those, but just know I enjoyed the hell out of this and will be back to read Zod Wallop come the holidays.
March 10, 2014
AA v Lovecraft! Laugh out loud funny. I read this on a camping and razor clamming trip. I must have read half of it out loud for the benefit of my travel buddy.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews