Weird Fiction discussion

Many of us have completed this month's read already. There was a lot of white space between them there chapters of To the Dust Returned.

In thirteen days we begin June's read. But that's thirteen days away. There's a new novella out by my favorite, living, producing, Australian horror writer, Kaaron Warren. She's not widely recognized as such, but there is a strong undercurrent of fantasy and serious endeavor in her writing that I think brings her into the modern Weird camp. Maybe you will agree.

She recently finished a 90-page novella I thought would make a perfect buddy read for the thirteen days of May 19 - May 31. It's titled Into Bones like Oil and costs only $1.99 for an electronic copy. I must warn you, she's a somewhat polarizing writer: you either hate her work or love it; there's no in-between. She writes well, has wonderful imagination, but sometimes it's hard to figure out what she's getting at. Like many writers of modern Weird.

If you're interested in getting in on this buddy read, please join us and see if Kaaron Warren's fiction is for you. It just costs $1.99 and a 90-page reading investment to find out. Here's the author's website if you're curious: https://kaaronwarren.wordpress.com/

Cheers!

I might give this a shot. I had mixed feelings about the collection I read recently, but I have loved her novels in the past.

40% through this and really enjoying it so far.

I'm 40% of the way and don't know what's going on. Guess I better reread. It's funny; my Kindle says the average reader needs less than two hours to read this. I'll probably take at least three times that, if I'm lucky.

Yes, I read it in two sessions. I re-read the ending in case I'd missed something, since other reviews had praised the ending. For me, it was the weakest part.

Warren's story is okay, but I hoped for more. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I agree with you about the end, Dan. As I said, I read the ending twice in case I missed something, but no. however, I loved the whole atmosphere. Perhaps I've stayed in too many weird B&B's in the past and could connect.

Hi Catherine. I liked the description of the hotel too, the strange room that was converted from an entrance somehow, the shared bathrooms, communal lifestyle. It reminded me somewhat of places I stayed in continental Europe when journeying through in my twenties on a tight budget when I cared less about amenities.

I think if I were Kaaron Warren's editor and this manuscript landed on my desk, I would write her: "What a wonderful start. Now how are you planning to bring it to a conclusion?" She might write back, "You read it, didn't you? That's my ending." To which I'd reply, "Hmm, other readers than me might not find that quite satisfying either. To bring this to a proper conclusion, we would like to know primarily (view spoiler)[more about the children, for example. What exactly happened to them? Who killed them and why? What did Dora do to try to save them? Is she at fault in some way? How does coming to terms with this ultimately affect Dora? Would you like to consider explaining or showing more clearly how insomnia and curing it fits into stays at this hotel, what committing suicide from here actually means, or tie up the subplots started with any of the other characters? Why do some people, like Dora, and not others come to this hotel?" (hide spoiler)]

It seems you were left with more questions than answers, then. And yes, none of those were answered. I don't mind not having everything revealed. I quite like having to use my own imagination at times, but you are right, it did leave too many unanswered questions.