I think I have outdone myself in May and read way too many books even for my standards and too many books for all of them to fit into one "Soul of Wit". That's why I think it's best to break my recent reads into two categories this month: horror and dark versus light and fun reads, and this first part is about horror books.
Since my TBR pile still mainly consists of books I bought in the past and just set aside, there aren't any buzzing new releases here... Which is fine by me as long as they're good and they mostly are, so please enjoy!
The Rats by James Herbert
Publisher's blurb for The Rats: "For millions of years man and rats had been natural enemies. But now for the first time - suddenly, shockingly, horribly - the balance of power had shifted and the rats began to prey on the human population."
In this rodentous debut from 1974, Herbert presents his readers at regular intervals new characters, with back story and all, just to have them killed painfully by raging giant rats! Until a random, unexciting guy finds a solution to the rat problem... For how long, though?
“As they scattered, a larger rat stopped its gorging and turned a menacing eye towards her.”
“Another stopped before him, eyed him coolly for a fraction of a second, and then sped on its way.”
Not
only do these rats eat or infect humans with a disease that
will kill them within 24 hours, no! They also occasionally stop what they're
doing and casually but menacingly glare at people and give them the evil
eye, which makes the beasts sinister too for whatever reason. Great book for lovers of creature features!
Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky
Running from her abusive partner with her seven-year-old son Christopher, Kate Reese settles in Mill Grove, Pennsylvania and starts a new life. Being the new kid and having learning difficulties, Christopher has major problems with the situation, though - a situation that changes when he vanishes for six days and comes back changed and the voices in his head tell him he now has the mission of building a tree house...
I had already read and reviewed Imaginary Friend a couple of years ago for the Otherland newsletter, back then in German and as a physical book. What I remember was that this was such a toe crusher that my arm literally hurt while reading (not to mention that German translations generally contain about a quarter more pages than the original book) but that the story was actually quite good! That impression didn't change on my second read - although I'm still not mad about good vs. evil stories with a religious touch that might pass as children's stories, this one really got me somehow. I think mainly because the characters are so fleshed out, my god, I so rooted for all of the main characters it kind of hurts thinking about it. If you need a nice, long horror epic, reminiscent of King this is it!
Goblin by Josh Malerman
With its giant landmark topiaries, its creepy and creature-like police force, flesh eating giant owls, its history and the unusual way they bury their dead, Goblin is surely one of the most peculiar literary horror small towns. In six interconnected short stories writer Josh Malerman gives you an introduction and full-tour including creepy ending!
I personally wished the stories were a little harder, there was certainly potential for more horror in here but Malerman never quite goes there. Nevertheless I enjoyed them, especially the second story “Kamp” in which the titular historian Walter Kamp succumbs to a fear-induced insomnia fit and has an encounter with his neighbor who wants to save him from his own fears. This story would make a great theater play on its own and I love writing like that. The other stories were also consistently okay, though never really great.
The Outsider by Stephen King
The Outsider really was one race to the finish, wow! I
have a friend who told me that while reading it, she would be so scared
at night that she would take the book out of her bedroom before going to sleep, and I understand why. There were scenes
genuinely creepy and scary here and I think it might just be one of King's bests.
I
only got a little confused to see that there is a prequel and I
probably spoiled that read for myself, but so be it. It was a
ravishing read and now I think I want to read more of the series.
The Deep by Rivers Solomon
Yetu is one of the mer-people who are descendants of the enslaved pregnant African women thrown overboard by slave owners. Because their past is too painful to be remembered, it is simply forgotten but for one person; the historian Yetu who remembers instead of everyone.
These memories are gradually destroying her and she runs to the surface in order to discover the world outside the deep. What she encounters there will help her find out that things need to change and memories and identity need to be reclaimed.
The significance of The Deep is so evident that I feel like there isn't much I can say about it. The beautiful prose, the originality and imagination... This should really be required reading in schools everywhere.
Reprieve by James Han Mattson
Quigley House! A
full-contact haunted escape room... Four contestants fighting their way
out chamber by bloody chamber... And one brutal murder...
What
sounds like a mindless, violent read is in fact a book that holds great
weight! Written alternately in court transcripts, chamber scenes and each character's
back story, it explores in a backwards mosaic structure huge issues such
as racism in USA, fractured identity, homophobia, social injustice and
the fragility of the system in all their complexities and facets.
Honestly,
I had some problems getting into the story initially, but once I got in
it was a breathless read and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough
until the touching end. I loved reading this and would recommend it to
everyone who's looking for a good adult thriller heavy on the social
commentary. I actually enjoyed this so much that I'm planning my re-read already.
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