BRs: Widdershins, Hawk; Last House on Needless Street, Ward; Things Have Gotten Worse..., LaRocca

A series of misses in the horror genre. But what a good title on Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke.


Title: Widdershins (Whyborne & Griffin Book 1)
Author: Jordan L. Hawk
Published: Jordan L. Hawk, 2012
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 235
Total Page Count: 379,275
Text Number: 1411
Read Because: series mentioned in The Geological Gothic with Lindsay Williams, ebook free from the author at the start of COVID-19 quarantine I think???
Review: A reclusive museum philologist is drawn from his seclusion by a dashing private investigator working on an increasingly strange case. This is a m/m romance with a historical Lovecraftian setting, all of it played pretty straight (no pun intended) but to good effect: an unchallenging but likeable romance with predictable beats, tension born from the homophobia of the period setting, and a Lovecraftian murder-mystery plot that provides structure and an enthusiastic aesthetic counterpoint.

The downside is that it's pretty poorly written. The oblivious, self-hating protagonist makes for a frustrating PoV; the dialog is stiff, the sex scenes too, and the predictable beats are really predictable. That said, this was was Hawk's first? second? book and opens a long-running series; I imagine the writing improves and the relationship grows more distinctive. I'm unsure if I'll continue—maybe next time I need a popcorn read?


Title: The Last House on Needless Street
Author: Catriona Ward
Published: Nightfire, 2021
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 70 of 345
Total Page Count: 379,445
Text Number: 1415
Read Because: reviewed by tamaranth, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: I read the "do not read this, it's full of spoilers" afterword at 20%, when I started to suspect the spoilers; and glad I did, because mental illness as a big mystery/thriller reveal is a hard pass for me. Even when well-intended or -handled (and this is a thorny one to take on, with a long history of awful representation), I find it manipulative and infuriatingly untrue to my own experiences as a crazy person.

It has an interesting tone, gothic, grimy, unsettling; I find the voices obnoxious but the PoV switching, non-linear narrative, and strong mystery/horror vibes make for compulsive reading. But I know I won't like it, regardless of whether the text deserves it, so this is a DNF for me.


Title: Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke
Author: Eric LaRocca
Published: Weirdpunk Books, 2021
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 120
Total Page Count: 380,140
Text Number: 1428
Read Because: personal enjoyment, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: This is 100% my trash, I did read it in one big gulp, and yet it doesn't land. The length and epistolary format could be the problem, but they're also what make this such an addicting read, and while the build-up tends tedious and the twists tend sudden, I love the reveals for Zoe in particular and, yeah, I see myself/my internet culture reflected here.

But it subs out a lot of interpersonal elements for violence towards children/animals and, more damningly, for gross-out horror. They're effective setpieces, but setpieces only—the intimate energy that I want from the premise is missing.

Manga Reviews: Domu by Otomo; Ghost Hunt vol 1-3 by Inada & Ono

Title: Domu
Author: Katsuhiro Otomo
Translator: Dana Lewis, Toren Smith
Published: Dark Horse, 2001 (1982)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 240
Total Page Count: 377,125
Text Number: 1397
Read Because: reread, from my personal library
Review: In a giant apartment complex, the immemorable masses are caught in a battle between two psychics. The architecture is fantastic, and the contrast between that structured repetition and the improbable chaos of destruction is undeniably successful; the sheer scale of the climax and the small echoes of it in the resolution give this a successful structure. But it's not especially memorable—particularly the cast. Akira is better because it's an epic with more room for development, sure, but also because Otomo's style—his themes but also his art, especially his faces—are greatly enlivened by the addition of something sexy like, for example, body horror, motorcycles, or homoerotic subtext.


Title: Ghost Hunt vol 1-3
Author: Shiho Inada (based on the light novel series by Fuyumi Ono)
Published: Del Rey, 1998-1999 (2005-2006)
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 450 (224+208+20 of 195)
Total Page Count: 377,995
Text Number: 1402-4
Read Because: found on multiple horror manga lists, paperbacks borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: Review of the series "entire"; DNF during volume 3 of 12. Ghost Hunt's premise could describe any number of serial paranormal mysteries: a motley group investigates hauntings which aren't quite what they seem but nonetheless have a genuine paranormal element; the protagonist is an outsider, but her key role in solving cases indicates she may have latent paranormal abilities; oh, and she's in a developing relationship with the complicated team lead. So whether it's good comes down to: 1) What's the serial paranormal mystery element like? This one is cozy, not too scary, with a standard structure but an interesting Japanese framework. The overarching plot seems thin or absent. 2) How are the interpersonal elements? I enjoy the unlikely bedfellows vibe, lesser cousin of the found family; but the supporting characters are over the top and the central relationship fails to grab me. So this isn't for me, but I get how it could work—maybe a good bet for a cozy & comfortingly predictable paranormal mystery.