The Ammonite Violin & Other

by Caitlín R. Kiernan

extremely rare,very good condition

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fantasy, Fiction, Dark Fantasy, Collections, Weird Fiction

235 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Caitlín Rebekah Kiernan is an Irish-born American published paleontologist and author of science fiction and dark fantasy works, including ten novels, series of comic books, and more than two hundred and fifty published short stories, novellas, and vignettes.

Reviews

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

And then I find my way inside, and you're so wet I can't help but think about drowning again. Past the hungry red-eyed guardians tattooed on either side of your sex, which you keep shaved or waxed or plucked or, I suspect, whatever hurts the most. Whatever keeps it smooth and bare and keeps those guardian beasts watchful.

Do not read this book for anything else other than being the witness of an exercise in the power of language on the field of nightmares. As short stories go, Kiernan's are truly a pleasure for the reader who's into their darkness. These are images of murders, of loss, of sex, of mythological creatures bound into human bodies, of the universe gathered in a hand of mud, and so much more. They are truly, truly delectable for someone who has the guts to let themselves go and finds the joy in a simple act of witnessing a master of English play with words.

[Orrin Grey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've said before that Caitlin R. Kiernan is a writer whose work I sometimes respect more than enjoy, and that's once again the case with her most recent collection here.

The Ammonite Violin reprints stories from her sort of personal fiction newsletter(?) Sirenia Digest, and, as such, the stories are often a little more raw than you might find in other collections. In his introduction, Jeff VanderMeer says that reading The Ammonite Violin gives the sense of reading something new, even for those familiar with Kiernan's work, and I think that's also true. The stories of The Ammonite Violin, moreso than any of her other work that I've read, excepting maybe The Red Tree, seems to get at the heart of what Kiernan is trying to do with her writing.

This means, as VanderMeer points out, that there's "little action in the conventional sense." The stories are mostly what could be described as vignettes or character studies, but they use mythology and suggestion and poetic language to give the sense of unexplored vistas surrounding whatever non-action is occurring.

I had a few problems with The Ammonite Violin. I found it a little repetetive, too many stories that were too similar, featuring similar motifs and situations and relationships and descriptions. There are stories I like more than others. I really enjoyed the title story, "For One Who has Lost Herself," "In the Dreamtime of Lady Resurrection," and a few others. I think my very favorite was "The Lovesong of Lady Ratteanrufer," with its fairy tale-like structure and its incredible mythology of rat gods and fire-breathing snakes.

Like everything I've ever read by Kiernan, this was occasionally problematic for me, but always intriguing and inspiring.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't read a lot of horror, but I really liked the Lovecraftian story, "The Red Tree," by Caitlin Kiernan. So I thought I'd read a collection of her short stories. I started this book last year (2019) and finished it today, in February of 2020. So I took my time, reading just one or two stories at a time. Which was good, as most of the stories seem very similar and can easily blur together. What they all share in common is that they are all dark fantasy-- and I can't think how they could get any darker! Kiernan writes beautifully and I found myself captivated by her writing. What she writes about tends to the horrible, the grotesque, even the disgusting (but I have to add, also erotic and sublime!). She leads us into nightmare worlds, worlds from which there's often no escape. She is certainly not everyone's cup of tea, not even for horror fans.
The standout story is the title story, "The Ammonite Violin." A killer fashions the most exquisite musical instrument from the remains of his victims. He's also a collector of ammonites. I enjoy Kiernan's references to prehistoric animals. No surprise there as she is a paleontologist. But I think my particular favorite story is "For One Who Has Lost Herself." It's about a selkie who has lost her sealskin and her search for it takes her to a pawnshop in Manhattan. Another story that stood out for me is "The Hole with a Girl in its Heart." The hole is nothing less than a Black Hole.
Caitlin Kiernan has a most distinctive vision. I did not mind spending my time exploring some of her worlds--at least little-by-little, over some time!

[Kendare Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

As expected, a stellar collection. All of the "Murder Ballads" in particular are wonderful. Read it with care, however. Passages in "Voyeur in the House of Glass" made me set aside my sandwich.

These stories are quietly strange. There is often beauty in things that should not be beautiful.

They say the short story is dying. Read this collection and don't contribute to the exaggeration.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I may not have liked every story in this collection equally, but I did like the vast majority of them. Good stuff, for the most part. I guess I'll continue continuing to check out her works.

[Henrik]

JUNE 3, 2011:

"ODE TO EDVARD MUNCH": Low-key erotic vampire story. Very good, although for a minute I believed the narrator to be a woman. (LATER CORRECTION: This was because I was tired when I started reading it. It is clearly stated on early the first page that it's a man. Thanks to Caitlín R. Kiernan for correcting me.)

JUNE 15, 2011:

"METAMORPHOSIS A": I was very touched by this story about staying with a person who is very sick with a disease. There was love and tenderness.

JUNE 19, 2011:

"SKIN GAME": A different approach to the classical werewolf theme, with a poetic vein running through it all. Well done.

JULY 27, 2011:

"BRIDLE": A nightmare with eroticism and folklore at its heart. Very atmospheric and poetic.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

...The type of work Kiernan writes is not material I read a lot. Although I try to read a decent amount of short fiction, most of it is science fiction and however you choose to label Kiernan's work, science fiction most likely isn't it. I had absolutely no idea what to expect of this collection, I guess you could say it was a bit of a gamble. One that paid off handsomely. I very much enjoyed reading The Ammonite Violin and Others. I may have to check out one of Kiernan novel length works. I would be interesting to see how Kiernan's approach would work for a longer piece. I can feel that to read stack growing again.

Full Random Comments review

[Marie-Therese · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but not great. The language here is always beautiful but too many of these stories are thematically similar and some feel half-baked, like sketches of a potentially more accomplished tale rather than fully-fledged works of their own. A nice collection for Kiernan fans but not something essential.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Ammonite Violin & Others is comprised of stories first published in the subscription only Sirenia Digest, run by Caitlin for her most devoted readers."

...

+Introduction by Jeff VanderMeer

Madonna Littoralis ⭐⭐⭐
Orpheus at Mount Pangeum ⭐⭐⭐
Bridle ⭐⭐⭐⭐
For One Who Has Lost Herself
Ode to Edvard Munch ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Cryomancer’s Daughter (Murder Ballad No. 3) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Child’s Guide to the Hollow Hills ⭐⭐⭐
The Ammonite Violin (Murder Ballad No. 4) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Lovesong of Lady Ratteanrufer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Metamorphosis A ⭐⭐⭐
The Sphinx’s Kiss ⭐⭐⭐
The Voyeur in the House of Glass ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Metamorphosis B ⭐⭐⭐
Skin Game ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Hole With a Girl In Its Heart ⭐⭐
Outside the Gates of Eden ⭐⭐⭐
In the Dreamtime of Lady Resurrection ⭐⭐⭐
Anamnesis, or the Sleepless Nights of Léon Spilliaert ⭐⭐⭐
Scene in the Museum (1896) ⭐⭐⭐
The Madam of the Narrow Houses ⭐⭐⭐

[Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Lovecraft had been an angsty Lestat fan, he'd have written similar stuff to this collection. Good stories that prioritize prose over plot, which leads to a unique reading experience but also a sense of repetitiveness at times. I'll always read more Kiernan collections!

[Juushika · Rating 4 out of 5]

In twenty short stories, Kiernan takes her reader from stranded selkies to serial killers, through metamorphoses to an imprecise, overwhelming brush against the paranormal. The Ammonite Violin & Others is a collection damned by its narrow theme, but ultimately none the worse for it. A certain amount of repetition is unavoidable in single-author collections, but these stories share more than that: in theme, context, sometimes even in detail (such as delivery tropes and physical descriptions), each story resembles the others. This is partially the fault of arrangement, which places stories so that each echos or draws on an aspect of the one that proceeds it no matter how different they may ultimately be. As a result, the collection flows to excess and the stories blur together—especially in the first half, which makes for a weak start. In large part, however, it's that this is a carefully selected group of similar stories from a single author, and their shared focus can't help but grow redundant.

Yet it's a theme worth collecting. It's about metamorphosis, as a loss of self via a transformation into another, as an unavoidable result of encountering the Other. It's about sexuality as a transformative force, about sexuality as a uniting force even when the individuals involved are transformed; about the enticement of danger, and the erotic aspect of darkness. It's about identity as defined by form, and changed by transformation, and transformed by the sexual relations that unite individuals. It's lush, dark, disgusting, erotic, violent, and lyrical. It digs claws into the edges of darkness, but sees through the haze of a dream. It's often a glimpse, a vignette; it often overlooks resolution to see instead the delicate, intense moments that come before. (Jeff VanderMeer's introduction is overblown and congradulatory, but nonetheless a powerful and apt investigation of the theme.) Story by story, The Ammonite Violin & Others is often strong and occasionally devastating; the titular story may be the best, but I was also fond of "The Voyeur in the House of Glass," "Skin Game," and "Anamnesis, or the Sleepless Nights of Léon Spilliaert." If there was ever a collection worth taking story by story, one a sitting and perhaps two a day, this is it. It's only as a collection that it suffers—and so it's worth owning, and I highly recommend it, but it's not without fault.

[Tim Pendry · Rating 4 out of 5]

[This a review only of the title story]

I am beginning to appreciate Caitlin Kiernan a great deal as a writer who can explore dark fantasy and horror in an elegiac, subtle and even leisurely way that never bores. This story ['The Ammonite Violin'] is no exception. The art is in the writing and not the incident.

A serial killing aesthete meets his two worlds of collecting - ancient ammonites and the body parts of suffocated young women - in an act of attempted 'perfection'.

The story is really that simple but Kiernan lulls you into the killer's world until a denouement that may or may not be obvious according to your own imagination. It doesn't matter. There is also a pale reflection of Lovecraftian horror in the references to the sea off New England. Fine stuff!

[Lord Humungus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well written, evocative prose. Kiernan's language allowed me to envision the powerful and disturbing sights and smells of her tales. I have really liked Kiernan's work up till this book. I can't fault the language or the imagery, and I'm a fan of the weird, but I felt the narrative was secondary and weak in nearly all the stories in this collection. With only a couple of exceptions, it felt like a series of vignettes, or perhaps captions to a series of twisted paintings or photos.

Though I wasn't particular fond of this collection, I will keep looking for more of her work, perhaps longer pieces with stronger narrative threads.

[Hesper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Submersion. That's the word for this collection, a delving down into strange depths, teeming with archetypes transfigured into personal myths. As such, it is thematically concise, elliptical, sometimes repetitive, and definitely prioritizing atmosphere over plot—not a bad thing, necessarily, at least not when spun out of the delirious, baroque strands of Kiernan's prose.

Caveat: some stories are little more than insubstantial vignettes, and some drip with casual orientalism. They're not easy to like, these stories, but they'd be bereft of their bizarre magic if they were.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second time reading this book, the first time since I started keeping track of my reading on Goodreads, but it was a good book to re-read. The stories in here are meant to be savored, held close to you and to delight in the exquisite language that Kiernan uses in her writing. I always find myself reading them late at night oddly enough, setting the mood for me, a time where the quiet after a noisy day allows me to enjoy the story.

It is not a collection I can easily speed through and I love it for that. I am glad that it was as good to read as it was five and a half years ago.

[Morwen Rowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quattro stelle, perché questi racconti di ispirazione lovecraftiana sono superbi, ma mi riservo di leggerli in lingua originale, perché la traduzione non mi ha convinto del tutto. Inoltre, ci sono diversi refusi.

[Lucio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Il tema ricorrente del “Violino di Ammonite” è il sacrificio, che spesso assume la liturgia di un martirio, di un destino più che di una scelta, in bilico tra abnegazione e autodistruzione. Nei racconti si susseguono in parata suicidi di massa, omicidi seriali, creature subumane e miti greci, norreni e celtici, in un andirivieni continuo tra una realtà concreta, di sangue, cemento e ferro, e una dimensione trascendentale acquea e onirica, dove ogni cosa si confonde, si trasforma nell’aura confusa e distorta di se stessa. Là dove il conflitto si impernia su una scelta, questa è cieca e colma di hybris, l’olocausto di Ifigenia ripetuto ancora e ancora sugli altari imbecilli della ragione, della scienza, della perversione e della guerra.

L’ispirazione centrale dei racconti è l’immaginario lovecraftiano, ma a partire da esso Caitlin Kiernan compie un movimento inverso. Lovecraft proietta le domande del narratore e del lettore verso l’esterno, verso un cosmo troppo vasto e mostruoso per essere compreso dalla ragione, e le risposte prendono corpo in ombre ed entità indecifrabili, nella forma come nelle intenzioni. Al contrario Kiernan cerca il mistero verso l’interno, verso il labirinto di specchi deformanti della psiche e della memoria, alla ricerca del punto esatto in cui umano e mostruoso coincidono.

La domanda non è più rivolta all’innominabile che si nasconde dietro la porta, sotto la superficie del mare o al di là della volta celeste; ogni passione e immolazione raccontata in queste storie dona una rivelazione iniziatica e ambigua su ciò che si nasconde dentro di noi, nella nostra vita, nella nostra memoria, il dramma codificato e ricorsivo di un trauma dove possiamo indossare la maschera della vittima o quella del carnefice, affrontando una parte di noi stessi che non vogliamo e non possiamo accettare; e le creature e i mostri che popolano i racconti diventano la possibile risposta, allo stesso tempo meravigliosa e disturbante, alle domande inesprimibili sulla nostra natura.

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although, once I investigated, I discovered that Caitlin Kiernan has published quite a few books, her work was new to me upon entering this collection. Within the stories in The Ammonite Violin & Others, everything is mutable. Rarely does a tale pass without someone changing their form, their gender, their sexuality or their state of being. These stories embody the notion of polymorphous perversity at a level of profundity that goes well beyond the usual. Kiernan's imagination is deeply dark, steeped in the terrifying mystery of the ocean depths, the confrontational fact of the ancient, and the twin forces of eros and thanatos. She writes in a prose that has the feverish intensity of Lovecraft, but is gorgeously poetic and darkly beautiful, as she takes her characters and sews their bodies into shark carcasses, transforms them by the action of underground bacterial infestations, subjects them to horrific sexual rituals, and has them yearn for lost, doomed, or never found, loves. Here's a sample... "The freezing air pouring out through the opened door smelled worse than any low-tide miasma. It smelled like an entire continent submerged a hundred million years and by the force of some submarine convulsion thrust once again to the surface, all the wriggling, gasping, dying, dead things scattered across a thousand miles of drying muck and ooze turning hard to concrete. It reeked of burst swim bladders and blind eyes bulging from ruptured skulls. Exactly like the pages of your black leather book." This is not a book for the faint-hearted, but for those seeking the darkest of poetry and the outer limits of the imagination, this is delicious meat.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read most of the stories in this collection before it was due back at the library (no renewals because it's a new book). This was my first foray into Kiernan's writing so I found a lot of the stories rather disturbing in a quiet sort of way. The inclusion of so much mythology reeled me in from the beginning but after a few stories, some of the themes and relationships began to feel repetitive. Favorites include "For One Who Has Lost Herself," "The Ammonite Violin," and possibly "Ode to Edvard Munch." I will have to go back some day and read the last 3 stories. "Voyeur in the House of Glass" was definitely the grossest; don't eat while reading it. That probably goes for most of the stories but this one in particular.

While I appreciated and respected the writing ability and imagination that went into crafting these vignettes, I would not envy this author her innermost thoughts.

[Rusty Lundgren · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars. Not my cup of tea. I got this from a Subpress grab bag, and tried it as a change of pace. I just couldn't get into the majority of the stories, although I really did like the title story. I rounded up the rating since I know this isn't for me, but I'm sure many other people love stories like these.

[Neil McCrea]

Caitlin always leaves me delightfully word drunk, I look forward to getting into this one.

[Ian Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Interesting collection of weird fiction. Caitlin Kiernan has a definite style. When it works, it imbues the stories with an other-worldliness that can be haunting and disturbing. She envelopes you in the worlds. The characters are largely loners seeking some sort of connection, which is typically supernatural, dark, and with a basis in folklore. The madness that can drive people to seek the arms darkness comes through clearly. In the best stories, you're enveloped in the worlds and characters. It's a toss-up if this loneliness leads to murderous insanity and, in a story or two, a strange sort of solace. Lovecraftian can be thrown around too much, but in the subject matter and style, many of these stories are Lovecraftian in the best sense of the word. However, when it doesn't work, the stories can be trite or just weird for the sake of being weird, especially with the explicit sex.

For me, the most successful stories were the longest. There was some room to breathe and develop. I felt like many of the stories could have benefitted from being longer. Finally, there were two that I couldn't quite stomach. Either too depressing or the horrors were too human.

5 star stories: These were the longer two. The character's insanity and the reader's empathy were allowed more space to develop.

"The Ammonite Violin (Murder Ballad No. 4)" and "The Lovesong of Lady Ratteanrufer".

4 star stories: These are the stories where style and subject matter worked well together. They were weird and often hit on some of folklore. Lovecraftian in the best since: they often hint at some underlying reality to our world that can be terrifying and drive you to madness. (That being said, Scene in the Museum and The Madam of the Narrow Houses are even a little heartwarming.)

"Madonna Littoralis", "Orpheus at Mount Pangeum", "Bridle", "In the Dreamtime of Lady Resurrection", "Scene in the Museum (1896)", "The Madam of the Narrow Houses".

3 star stories: Not quite as successful as the 4 stars, but still fun. I felt like "The Hole With a Girl In Its Heart" could have benefited from a longer format. It's weird and cool, but it could be fleshed out more.

"Ode to Edvard Munch", "The Cryomancer’s Daughter (Murder Ballad No. 3)", "Metamorphosis A", "The Hole With a Girl In Its Heart"

2 star stories: I could take or leave these. I found them boring for the most part, or in the case "Skin Game" a bit more interested in weird sex than story.

"For One Who Has Lost Herself", "Metamorphosis B", "Skin Game", "Anamnesis, or the Sleepless Nights of Léon Spilliaert"

1 star stories: These seem much more interested in trying to shock with weird sex than they are with making a compelling story.

"The Sphinx’s Kiss", "Outside the Gates of Eden"

??? stars: These last two are able to bring the reader into a new world as with the author's best stories. However, I have no interest in revisiting these worlds. For me, there is too much despair in "A Child’s Guide to the Hollow Hills", and too much real human horror in"The Voyeur in the House of Glass".

[Vultural · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kiernan, Caitlín - The Ammonite Violin And Others

Generous collection of stories that first appeared in Kiernan’s (still ongoing) Sirenia Digest. Most seem to have roots in fable, once upon a time, old wives tales. Deep roots, at that.

“Bridle” touches upon Irish myth. Not the Silkie, but the Kelpie. Harnessed to the obscure pond in the city park. Restraint leashes yearning. A trapped force, making promises and threats.

The Silkie takes stage in “For One Who Has Lost Herself.” She is downtown Manhattan, amidst chaos and rabble. She seeks, she has a claim, for a possession that has been stolen from her, something precious. This is a deeply satisfying work, encompassing quest and bitter life lessons.

“The Ammonite Violin” is conte cruel. The obsessive collector, ever hunting, raking, seizing if necessary. Repulsive, yet he does pay so handsomely. He has a unique violin constructed, then hires the abandoned musician. As with many stories here, loss is spliced with tear-stained discovery.

We eavesdrop in “Scene In The Museum (1896)”. The uncomfortable exchange between an old woman, curator, now blind, and a wharf prostitute, who sees more than she reveals, yet still permits herself to be exploited. Listening, overhearing, often incurs the same cost as observing, witnessing. Ask Odysseus, ask Orpheus.

With each issue, Kiernan tightened her lens, selecting works that would best serve Sirenia. Stories grow in strength and clarity, making this a choice ADULT collection to track down.

[Chiara (booksandtravels_clem) · Rating 4 out of 5]

14 racconti perturbanti e ammalianti: questi sono gli aggettivi che prima mi vengono in mente se penso a Il Violino di Ammonite.

L'autrice, portata in Italia per la prima volta da Edizioni Hypnos proprio grazie a questo volume, esplora in senso lato tutti gli anfratti più profondi della narrativa orrorifica.

Le storie narrate sono un crescendo di stupore (quello stupore sia meravigliato che, in parte, incredulo), e mescolano elementi tipici del genere horror ad altri nettamente più psicologici. Infatti, pur restando sempre all'interno di storie orrorifiche e weird, spesso è proprio l'introspezione dei personaggi a far da padrone nella narrazione, alternandosi ad atmosfere inquietanti, che creano un "sano" disagio nel lettore.

La prosa dell'autrice è quasi lirica, i richiami all'orrore Lovecraftiano (con alcune citazioni dirette a diverse opere dell'autore) e a leggende legate al folclore (soprattutto a quello marino) sono una sorta di leit motiv che unisce la maggior parte dei racconti della raccolta.

Ammetto che, come sempre capita nelle raccolte di racconti, alcuni racconti mi sono piaciuti più di altri, ma ho trovato l'intera selezione validissima per scoprire un'autrice così importante nel panorama horror, fino ad ora purtroppo poco conosciuta in Italia.

Tra mostri marini e libri maledetti, collezionisti e serial killer, le storie narrate (anche e soprattutto grazie alla prosa dell'autrice) non possono far altro che ammaliare il lettore, trasportandolo in una dimensione "altra"e onirica, fatta di stupore e orrore.

Assolutamente consigliata!

[Regina Rossa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scrittura sontuosa, a volute larghe, educata senza risultare inquadrata, che presenta squarci suggestivi, lovecraftiani, suggerendo senza mostrare, con maestria, e senza perdersi nel labirinto dei barocchismi.
In questi racconti riprende vita Innsmouth, ritroviamo i gatti di Ulthar e avvertiamo, nel profondo dell’abisso, la presenza di Padre Dagon e Madre Hydra. L’abisso oceanico, non più matrice della vita conosciuta, ma velo che copre la vita oltre quella che conosciamo, soglia sulla quale danzano le ombre della follia e viene riscritto, tra gli altri, il mito di Andromeda.
La modernizzazione della mitologia lovecraftiana avviene con l’uso diffuso del presente, il quale trasla l’alterità dal piano oggettivato del “raccontato” a quello soggettivo del “percepito”, sempre in bilico tra realtà in potenza e follia (non a caso gli psichiatri sono figure ricorrenti in questi racconti, pur destinati a non comprendere). Questo comporta a volte una frammentazione della narrazione in spazi e tempi non euclidei, e richiede una lettura attenta e compartecipe. Per ricompensare infine in lettore con la schiusura della soglia. Che annuncia senz’altro pericolo ma altresì, un’appartenenza oltre le miserie di questo mondo.
Come risponde Willa a Frank che le suggerisce di cercareaiuto per affrancarsi dalle visioni.
“Ti stanno uccidendo.”
“No Frank, è l’unica cosa che mi tiene in vita.”
Capolavoro.

[Barrita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disfrute más la exploración de ideas y lenguaje que las historias propiamente, esa sensación de dejarte llevar por las palabras y caer en una atmósfera extraña donde todo es posible y los conceptos que normalmente se harían extraños, desagradables o incluso terroríficos se vuelven un ejercicio intelectual y un juego de palabras.

Es una sensación común para mí cuando se trata de literatura weird, o categorizada de formas similares. No son cosas que habitualmente me gustaría leer, al menos no si se discutieran de forma franca y en todas sus ramificaciones. Pero aquí solo son ideas, solo la superficie de un concepto, casi por estética aunque en el fondo dejan marca.

Creo que las historias funcionan mejor espaciadas, intercaladas con otras cosas o leídas en desorden y a ritmo propio. Son bastante similares entre sí, sin ser una colección realmente cohesiva. Tratar de leer en una sentada y encontrar algo muy pulido le restaría mérito, ya que parecen más bien exploraciones de temas que dejan una impresión sensorial el ideas vagas en la mente.

[Dolf Wagenaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 sterren. Voor de weird-fictiopodcast Elder Sign had ik al het titelverhaal gelezen, waar ik erg van onder de indruk was. Dat verhaal is typische new weird. Nu ik de hele bundel gelezen heb, vielen de meeste andere verhalen misschien wat tegen, al heeft dat volgens mij vooral te maken met de lastige leesbaarheid ervan. De verhalen zijn soms ronduit surrealistisch, en bijna allemaal bevatten ze een ritueel of symbolisch seksueel motief (wat ik op zich niet erg vindt, maar het leek zich wat te veel te herhalen). Overigens heb ik door het verhaal 'Anamnesis, or the Sleepless Nights of Léon Spilliaert' het (vroege) werk van genoemde schilder ontdekt, dat me deed denken aan de werken van Edvard Munch; het is alsof beider werk speciaal gemaakt is ter illustratie van new weird, wat niet erg gek is, als je bedenkt dat new weird naast met horror/weird en postmodernisme ook veel gemeen heeft met symbolisme.
De bundel is simpelweg te complex om één keer te lezen, dus ik ga het zeker nog eens lezen- en dan ben ik er wellicht beter op voorbereid.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

4+

Brutal, beautiful, brilliant. I did not always enjoy these stories, which fuse violence and (often queer) sexuality, but there is no denying the skill and imagination behind them. It's also always exciting to see a scholar expertly blend their area of specialty with their fiction, and Kiernan's background in paleontology shines throughout the collection.

I listened to the audiobook published by Blackstone, which I checked out through my library. It is very well done, with multiple narrators and an introduction by Jeff VanderMeer. However, it might have been better to read the stories on my own, particularly without any time constraint. As it was, I felt compelled to listen a bit every day, even when I wasn't in the right headspace for the intensity of this collection.

Recommended for those who enjoy weird fiction and/or body horror.

[Joel Werley · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a couple decades now I've declared Clive Barker as my favorite author. I've read all his work and have his creatures inked at various places on my body. But as he's faded from the publishing world (understandably so - he was in a coma and nearly died!) I feel it's time to annoint Caitlin Kiernan as the true queen. No one syncs up with my sensibilities, nor comes as close to the writing style I dream I have when I force out a sentence or two per year, or completely matches my interests (the deep dark seas of my frequent nightmares, and the legions of prehistoric creatures and their remains - why oh why didn't I become a paleontologist, it was my only dream?) This is as good as horror/dark fantasy/modern mythmaking gets.

[Des Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This seems to be a coda to this life-changing book, to its “improbable symphony.” In many ways, I keep my wig’s powder dry, but I will say I thank whatever forces allow such books to be written and that I read it before I passed on to that ‘covered bridge’. These stories first published in 2005-2007.

The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of its observations at the time of the review.