Literary Horror discussion

Looking forward to the discussion. This book is one of the first that I found through Goodreads, after I started to search for good horror stories systematically.

I've grown increasingly suspicious of these overhyped weird fiction collections that are so common nowadays, but here's hoping that this one will actually live up to it. I've listened to this interview with Wehunt
http://nachonomics.com/hnh/2016/6/15/...
which is kinda interesting, in that it reveals how he was for the longest time pretty much cut off from the contemporary weird/horror fiction.

Caleb.Lives wrote: "I've grown increasingly suspicious of these overhyped weird fiction collections that are so common nowadays, ..."
I'm sorry, but that's why I have friends on goodreads. I trust their taste, not the (over)hype.

So which overhyped collections have you been suspicious of?

So far:
Opening story did absolutely nothing for me, sorry. Next one, "Onanon", is more like it. Certainly memorable, it think that it calls for a re-read and a bit of mulling over. Rather difficult to summarize, all dreamlike and hallucinatory. Initially, it seems to be playing with the currently much used theme of infected/corrupted text, tho wouldn't say that is the core of it. It actually reminded me of something else that I've read recently, that is Scott Nicolay's stories with their dreamlike structure, sexual charge and their recurring theme of male sacrifice. Tho, unlike most of them, this one is actually good.
Third one, "Greener Pastures", is my favourite so far. Unpretentious, traditionally told weird tale, it reads like something that could've been written by Charles Beaumont.

I liked the language and flow of "Onanon", though I would have removed a few paragraphs that explained the underlying concept. Not so enthusiastic about the first story.

"Greener Pastures" certainly has that "Southern California Sorcerers" feel to it. It would make for a memorable Twilight Zone episode.

I liked a lot of the ideas in "October Film Haunt", and the general approach. I don't think Wehunt quite pulls it off though...

"Deducted from Your Share in Paradise": great title! Excellent opening event. While the writing is not unflawed, it's a relatively restrained treatment of the goings-on. Jonathan Carroll or Jeffrey Ford would have been tirelessly flogging/over-explaining the angel angle.

(Ok, should I slow down and wait for everyone?)

Will be joining in as soon as my copy arrives at library (ILLs take time). Am looking forward to this one.

I started reading this last night and got through the first three stories.

I think Wehunt and Nathan Ballingrud are friends and the title story really reminded me of Ballingrud (in a good way, although I don't think the Wehunt tale is as powerful). Randolph mentioned Laird Barron as another marker; I also get a bit of Steven Rasnic Tem. I'll have more to say as I go on and as others move further into the book. I do think this was a good choice and I am enjoying it.

Randolph wrote: "It reminded me somewhat of Dale Bailey. "
I like Wehunt's prose way better than Bailey's.

"A couple of the stories, Dancers and A Thousand Hundred Years tried to cram in too many things."
I agree that "Dancers" tried to do too much.

Received my copy yesterday, and have read all but the last two stories. My thoughts thus far:
"Behind Me Singing..." worked well for me. It was an interesting variation on vampirism that came from a nice weird place. Also a great mood-setter for the collection;
"Onanon" flat did not work for me. I, too, got a Laird Barron vibe from it, but not in a good way;
"Greener Pastures" is one of my favorites thus far. Creepy and low-key;
"A Discreet Music" was a decent piece of magical realism, but it felt out of place here, and it did not feel in the least Aickman-esque;
"The Devil Under..." is my other favorite. Horror stories about music have always been my bag, and this is a good one;
"October Film Haunt..." had a fantastic premise and approach, but couldn't quite stick the landing;
"Deducted From Your Share..." had another great premise (and title), but couldn't quite connect as a story. Also, the quasi-religious angles felt shallow;
"The Inconsolable" again shows a misunderstanding of Christianity in its use of imagery. As someone raised Catholic, this amused me, but the semi-blasphemy of the ending offended me a little. Decent story, though;
"Dancers" was a good story, but I, having never been in a committed relationship, had a little trouble connecting. That's my fault, though, not the author's.
So far, a four-star read. Hopefully the last two stories stack up.

I finished this last night and my impressions are very similar to those of James above, although my overall score is lower (I'm wavering between 3 and 3.5 stars).

***minor spoilers and vague, somewhat incoherent impressions ahead***

I think Wehunt has real talent and for a debut collection this is quite strong. The best stories are ones I've mostly read before (that's to be expected as magazines and anthologies cherry pick the good stuff) and these tended to be weighted towards the middle, leaving the beginning and the end of this collection outclassed and unbalanced. Despite this, I felt that a couple of the later stories were interesting if not perfect. "October Film Haunt" didn't pan out (the story painfully loses its way halfway through and flounders to a limp ending that seems tacked on from some other tale*) but the first part is so good, so genuinely creepy, that I wish Wehunt would go back to it and give it the telling it deserves. "Dancers" over sold the cosmic horror thing a bit (I laughed at parts I suspect weren't supposed to be funny) but the parts detailing a long-term relationship and aging felt pretty real to me (someone both growing older and in a relationship that now almost takes up the greater part of my lived existence). Sadly, the final two stories didn't work for me at all.

Having recently read both Gemma Files' Experimental Film and Nicholas Rombes' The Absolution of Roberto Acestes Laing, I found Wehunt's use (in "October Film Haunt" and "A Thousand Hundred Years") of experimental and documentary film footage as a medium to move a horror story along (providing a perspective well outside the narrator and insight into the otherwise unknowable) interesting and clearly timely but not all that convincing. With both Files and Wehunt, I felt there was inability to think things through, to confront the real horror and move to a logical but emotionally resonant ending. The film bits seemed like the easy way out-a method to get from A to C without having to spell out B or consider what D might really be like. Somehow Rombes didn't get caught in this trap-perhaps because his tale was literary rather than genre fiction and no reader expected a set ending anyway; or, more likely, he's just a more skillful writer.

Endings in general seemed to me Wehunt's weak point. He'd come so close to something really horrific, something his characters found clearly life-changing (if not life ending) and then he'd back off or drop it or fudge it in some way. Disappointing.

*The insect bit seems superfluous and kind of silly (the way bee populations are dwindling now this whole trope seems weak and almost tasteless-and I say this as someone who is irrationally terrified of flying insects, especially bees and wasps). Plus, the suffering of the dogs just seemed tacky and manipulative rather than relevant. Having recently read Steven Graham Jones' amazing "Father, Son, Holy Rabbit" where animal death is a real, profound thing, maybe this struck me more than usual (but, damn, don't do this if there's no pay off).

Marie-Therese wrote: "Having recently read Steven Graham Jones' amazing "Father, Son, Holy Rabbit" where animal death is a real, profound thing, maybe this struck me more than usual"
I'm a big fan of "Father, Son, Holy Rabbit"!

The last few stories in the Wehunt collection didn't work for me either.

As Marie-Therese knows, I loved the Rombes novel. I've skimmed Experimental Film several times, but was always deterred by the fragments I picked up (and my general ambivalence with Files' writing).

Have now read the last two stories. My thoughts are:
"Thousand Hundred..." had an interesting premise, but would need a little more room to do it justice;
"Bookends" was touching and thought-provoking.

Yeah, "Bookends" is my third fave, in that it was a solid portrait of grief, how it can break you, and how your shattered mind can still find its way back.
All in all, I would give this a 3.5 (rounded up because math). It had three stories I liked very much, only one I actively disliked, and no total bombs. The story notes were informative and insightful without containing spoilers, and the cover was both attractive and appropriate. No, this didn't rock my world, but it was solid and entertaining.

I finished this late. It's my second reading of the book, and I enjoyed it just as much this time as the first. I love Wehunt's imagery-- at times the stories read like prose poems, and the images they set in my mind are very vivid. I like every story, my favorites are Beside Me Singing in the Wilderness; Deducted from Your Share in Paradise; Dancers; Bookends, and A Thousand Hundred Years, which reminded me a lot of Murakami's 1Q84, even though the actual stories are really nothing alike. I think this is an excellent debut collection, and I'm looking forward to reading more of his work.

Randolph wrote: "Suki wrote: "I finished this late. It's my second reading of the book, and I enjoyed it just as much this time as the first. I love Wehunt's imagery-- at times the stories read like prose poems, an..."

Thanks Randolph! I'm my mom's full-time caregiver (she has Alzheimer's), so it can be impossible to stick to a reading schedule if she's going through a bad time.

Suki wrote:I'm my mom's full-time caregiver (she has Alzheimer's), so it can be impossible to stick to a reading schedule if she's going through a bad time.

I'm amazed at how much reading you get done in this situation, Suki. I've been there (with my grandmother), and it is so hard, both mentally and physically draining.

Thanks for contributing here despite all that.

Marie-Therese wrote: "Suki wrote:I'm my mom's full-time caregiver (she has Alzheimer's), so it can be impossible to stick to a reading schedule if she's going through a bad time.

I'm amazed at how much reading you get..."

Marie-Therese, thank you for the kind words. I love to read-- it is my lifeline to sanity. I love my GoodReads groups, I miss being able to take part in a "real-life" book club, and it is so nice to be able to talk about books with so many other great people. Unfortunately, life does get in the way at times and I can't always finish my book on schedule... ☺