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Hellhounds
In this sequel to the novelette Mingus Fingers, authors David Sandner and Jacob Weisman follow Kenny, a talented musician who learned from jazz great Charles Mingus how to "play in the soul." Kenny has always had an affinity for rabbits and butterflies, believing that butterflies are broken souls waiting to return.
When Kenny goes missing, his brother searches for him at a crossroad and an old speakeasy, where the cold, dark shadows of spirit and music lead him to a musician who may know if Kenny is alive . . . or dead. Kenny's brother must put his trust in his belief that the music of the living may be the only way to transform and bring back a spirit of the dead.
When Kenny goes missing, his brother searches for him at a crossroad and an old speakeasy, where the cold, dark shadows of spirit and music lead him to a musician who may know if Kenny is alive . . . or dead. Kenny's brother must put his trust in his belief that the music of the living may be the only way to transform and bring back a spirit of the dead.
72 pages, Paperback
Published November 22, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 23, 2024
A good little ghost story with a blues theme. About brothers, being lost, found, found wanting, and getting a second chance all in 70 pages. Worth a look, especially of a damp night with rain pattering on the roof and windows.
October 27, 2024
Like I said in my review of "Mingus Fingers" (the other Fairwood Press-published Sandner/Weisman short story published in this little sequence leading to the release of their novel *Egyptian Motherlode* in November of 2024), I thought these stories would arrive through the mail with a bit more meat on their bones; instead, "Hellhounds" takes up a mere 58-ish pages. It's a decent reading, but nothing to write home about. So... I suppose I'll proceed to write home about it.
"Hellhounds" is a vague sequel to "Mingus Fingers" due to the reuse of Kenny, a boy who loves music and whom butterflies love. Him and his older brother - the first-person narrator of "Hellhounds" - are currently living with their aunt since their father turned out to be a bad apple. They're both black, so when a couple of white men trucking around recording equipment asking for directions to a see a great blues guitarist who's been put into the contemporary equivalent of a nursing home, they find the request strange. Still, Kenny leaps at the chance to reunite with a fellow musician, and he and his brother tag along to pick up Ernest Walker's guitars. The men are looking to record Walker's fantastic playing, but during the session Kenny picks up a guitar and ...
"Hellhounds" is a more straightforward tale - even if it is a bluesy ghost story - than "Mingus Fingers." This has its pros and cons; on one hand, there aren't nearly as many themes to have mixed feelings about here as there were in its predecessor. On the other, there is less charm here. The attraction of music is never really explored like before; instead, it's a ghastly conduit to stoke familial fears. I guess that shift in focus and purpose is more severe than I thought at first, but it's not really a bad thing. "Hellhounds" does do a good job at setting up future stories - at least, I'm assuming so - by talking about Kenny's life as "The Prophet" who speaks of divine encounters (things hinted at in the blurb for *Egyptian Motherlode*), but if you can't tell, I'm having a hard time coming up with critical things to say that aren't about the other parts of the cycle. That doesn't speak too well of the story, but I think that's because it's pretty lean. If you're a brother you might find this enduring, as well as fans of unusual hauntings, but... I think we should just get this over for both of us.
"Hellhounds" is worth a solid 7/10. The writing is more pleasant than a lot of its contemporaries, and it fills a good role even if it's not too dynamic. I'll reserve judgement on the authors' abilities and their worldbuilding skills until the novel comes out, but that'll have to wait a couple months. Thanks for reading a little short fiction review, and here's hoping I can find some more small press works to read in the future...
"Hellhounds" is a vague sequel to "Mingus Fingers" due to the reuse of Kenny, a boy who loves music and whom butterflies love. Him and his older brother - the first-person narrator of "Hellhounds" - are currently living with their aunt since their father turned out to be a bad apple. They're both black, so when a couple of white men trucking around recording equipment asking for directions to a see a great blues guitarist who's been put into the contemporary equivalent of a nursing home, they find the request strange. Still, Kenny leaps at the chance to reunite with a fellow musician, and he and his brother tag along to pick up Ernest Walker's guitars. The men are looking to record Walker's fantastic playing, but during the session Kenny picks up a guitar and ...
"Hellhounds" is a more straightforward tale - even if it is a bluesy ghost story - than "Mingus Fingers." This has its pros and cons; on one hand, there aren't nearly as many themes to have mixed feelings about here as there were in its predecessor. On the other, there is less charm here. The attraction of music is never really explored like before; instead, it's a ghastly conduit to stoke familial fears. I guess that shift in focus and purpose is more severe than I thought at first, but it's not really a bad thing. "Hellhounds" does do a good job at setting up future stories - at least, I'm assuming so - by talking about Kenny's life as "The Prophet" who speaks of divine encounters (things hinted at in the blurb for *Egyptian Motherlode*), but if you can't tell, I'm having a hard time coming up with critical things to say that aren't about the other parts of the cycle. That doesn't speak too well of the story, but I think that's because it's pretty lean. If you're a brother you might find this enduring, as well as fans of unusual hauntings, but... I think we should just get this over for both of us.
"Hellhounds" is worth a solid 7/10. The writing is more pleasant than a lot of its contemporaries, and it fills a good role even if it's not too dynamic. I'll reserve judgement on the authors' abilities and their worldbuilding skills until the novel comes out, but that'll have to wait a couple months. Thanks for reading a little short fiction review, and here's hoping I can find some more small press works to read in the future...
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews