Wow. I picked up the new McSweeney’s Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories, mostly for the new stories by Stephen King, Peter Straub, and Poppy Z. Brite, but it turns out there are a whole bunch of other great authors with new shorts in it. The best one (so far) is "The Fabled Light-house of Viña del Mar," by Joyce Carol Oates. Oates is another of my favorite writers, though this is the first overt horror story I’ve read by her. (She has a collection of horror stories called Night-side, but I’ve never been able to find it, new or used.) I was also pleasantly surprised to find that "Light-house" wasn’t just horror but Lovecraftian horror.

Having been in the company of those who write such fiction (and for some of them, it’s the only thing they write), I can say that this story is one of the finest I’ve read in years. It stands on its own as a solid horror tale without having to support itself on the many Lovecraftian tropes which have become tired and cliché through overuse. My main problem with Lovecraft-lit has always been its lack of originality. Most of the stuff published under the auspice of "Lovecraftian fiction" is little more than the literary equivalent of TV fan-fiction, with amateurish writers spinning unoriginal tales that are quickly and happily devoured by other amateurish writers who in turn form communities on the web for the proliferation of … well, a lot of bad writing. (The picture that comes to mind is of a small biodome in the desert where the inhabitants subsist on the same bland, recycled air and food every day.) Those people should read Oates’s "Light-house" and see how a talented writer does it different and does it well.

Ian

Finished reading American Gods today. It was a pretty good read, though the book reeks of research. Every book requires a certain amount of research, especially a book like American Gods, but it should be kept in the background. Research is like set decoration; in American Gods it’s like gaudy jewelry on a woman who would look better without it. I say that because the story is fairly decent when you strip away the factoids. For example, the protagonist, Shadow, meets a leprechaun and wonders why he’s so tall; after all, aren’t leprechauns supposed to be small? Insert research. No, actually the idea of leprechaun’s being small is popular misconception. The book is full of such corrections, but thankfully Gaiman doesn’t write with too heavy a hand (if he did I probably would have put the book down after the first hundred pages).

Same goes for the word play and some of the unusual characteristics displayed by the gods. Everything they do goes back to some research Gaiman undoubtedly uncovered. Mr. Wednesday is actually Odin — Wednesday coming from Woden’s Day … Woden is the Old Saxon’s name for Odin. And Shadow’s old cellmate is a guy named Low Key Lyesmith … Loki Lie-Smith, get it?

This is where the author’s talent truly shines. In the hands of another writer, the use such obvious aliases would seem cliché and jejune. But because Gaiman doesn’t lower himself to saccharine prose or weak characterization, he gets away with it. It’s a close thing, though. The idea of having prominent figures show up in literature under fairly obvious monikers is a tired one, indeed. In my story, the protagnoist has a sibling, a big brother if you will, named Orwell who lives at 1984 Maple Lane? Get it? Get it? See the reference? See how clever I am?

Another thing about this kind of wordplay: the only people who probably caught them right from the gitgo are the same fantasy-minded geeks who are Gaiman’s primary demographic. So I’m not sure if many readers were surprised by the big reveal at the end of the book. (For the record, someone revealed the secret of these characters’ names before I read the book myself. And since I don’t count myself among the fantasy geeks – I’m a horror geek, born and bred – I probably wouldn’t have caught them … not right away, anyway.)

So did I like American Gods? Yes. I did. And while I would recommend it to friends, I don’t think I will be in any rush to read it again. That’s usually how I decide if I really like a book. So is American Gods worth reading? Definitely. It was worth the read and I’m glad I can finally say, Yeah, I did read American Gods. Next!

Speaking of next, I am two chapters into Elmore Leonard’s Rum Punch. Haven’t read Elmore in a little while, but got back into him recently when I picked up his new short story collection When the Women Come Out to Dance, which, along with American Gods, I recommend you pick up. Maybe you could ask someone to get it for you for Xmas. ‘Tis the season.

Ian

I couldn’t get into Neil Gaiman’s American Gods the first time I picked it up, but I seem to be having an easier time of it the second time around. I’m about halfway through it, and since the book clocks in at almost 600 pages, I guess that means I’ve finally gotten into the groove of Gaiman’s narrative voice.

One of the funnier parts of the book has the protagonist, Shadow, meeting one of Odin’s ravens in the woods.

"Say ‘Nevermore,’ " said Shadow.
"Fuck you," said the raven.

Ravens these days …

Ian

As I write this my cat, Thor, is asleep in his new favorite spot: behind my monitor, on a row of lights done up like autumn leaves. He found the spot last week while he was going after my TV dinner, and now I have company every time I write. I know I said I’d never post any cutesy cat pictures on this site, but maybe I’ll make an exception one day. He’s pretty damn cute.

In other news, my new short story continues to balloon in size. Better too much than too little, I guess, though it’ll make the editing process that much more difficult. I’ll know it’s ready to go once I get into the I hate this thing, why the hell did I even write it stage. I’ve also done a bit of work on "The Piggyback," which I will be submitting to one of the many new markets recently brought to my attention by fellow writer and friend, John Sunseri. John is one of the few people I don’t have to bribe to visit this site on a regular basis, for which I am very grateful. He was kind enough to hook me up with the info on these magazines, which you can find in the links section.

Thanks, John.

Ian