Official Review: Spook Lights: Southern Gothic Horror
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powderblue
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Official Review: Spook Lights: Southern Gothic Horror
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Spook Lights: Southern Gothic Horror" by Eden Royce.]
4 out of 4 stars
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Spook Lights: Southern Gothic Horror is a collection of short stories written by American writer Eden Royce.
According to her biography, Ms. Royce was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, and is descended from root and hoodoo practitioners, whom she grew up surrounded with. And there is a lot of magic, spells, monsters and the supernatural in general in these 12 stories. But there is much more to this book than simply a good few scares.
From the luscious, rich and beautifully described settings, to some quite unforgettable characters, this book brings us an unexpected and rather hypnotic experience. Most of the stories take place in Ms. Royce's hometown, and most of them happen in current time. But her skilful narration and descriptions make us feel as if we were in some enchanted place, with rich colors and pungent smells, where the buildings, the people and the atmosphere tell us that the magic exist, that there's beings out there, and all around us, and that for these people, that which we might deem strange or supernatural is every day business. In a way, it sometimes reminded me of Latin American magic realism, the works of authors like Gabriel García Márquez or Isabel Allende. Those strange and remote places in which the strange is part of their lives and is not questioned, not analyzed, not judged. Moreover, the supernatural entities aren't always evil or menacing: Sometimes they are, other times they're here to help, or they are a friend, or part of the family.
The stories are:
"The Watered Soul": After a long (really long) chase, a man finally catches up with the woman who put a curse on him. The settings and descriptions are brilliant and rich. Filled with southern rhythm, images, sounds and smells. I enjoyed reading it a lot, not so much its resolution. A good story in general.
"Doc Buzzard's Coffin": A family that does what they have to do when someone hurts their own. A masterful example of storytelling, with brilliantly drawn characters and a quite unique plot. One of my favorites.
"9 Mystery Rose": A story of a greedy man trying to contact his dead wife. There was more surprise in this one than I had expected. Good story
"Hand of Glory": An overzealous police officer who doesn't like to let the guilty criminals walk away. It felt a bit too short, too sudden. Not bad, but one of my least favorites.
"Hag Ride": A woman who's had enough of her husband's infidelities and might have gotten a bit more than she asked for when she seeks for help... or maybe not. Dark, disturbing, at the same time hard to read and hard to put down. Very good.
"Homegoing": A man in jail, a devout mother. A strange tale in which it's not easy to tell whether or not we are dealing with supernatural intervention. Very sad and very good.
"With the Turn of a Key": A broken marriage, and the longing for something else, and a strange path to relief. Probably the one I liked the least. There was too much unexplained, and not enough character development to make me care about them.
"Path of the War Chief": A strange story, in an almost mythical place in the distant past. A woman that needs to prove herself worthy of her people. Strange and wonderful story.
"Since Hatchet was a Hammer": A woman escaping the horrors of her domestic life is visiting her mother. There's real life horror here, and supernatural elements too. Most of what happens, happens in modern surrounding, in broad daylight. Still, the horror is unforgettable. It's a brilliant story, wonderfully paced, quaint at times and horrifying at others. Excellent.
"Rhythm": Another story of infidelity, this time a man who looks for help in Haiti after his girlfriend cheated on him. A strange tale. I personally found it a bit unsatisfying. But it was haunting and original.
"The Choking Kind" : A woman looking for her mother and trying to find answers about the things she misses in her life. A hypnotic tale that puts the supernatural world in a different perspective. The best tale in the book and one of the best tales I've ever read.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. If there was a 3.5, I would settle for that, mostly because of the occasional lack of character development and the one or two stories I found a bit less than satisfying. But the fact is that none of these stories is weak or poor. And the good ones are a pure joy to read. I could write pages of praise and there's so many layers in Ms. Royce narration that I would love to discuss. But, don't read me, read these stories. I highly recommend them to all readers who love stories of the supernatural and to those who may not be fans of the genre too: As long as you don't find supernatural elements too annoying, I'm sure you will also find plenty to enjoy here.
******
Spook Lights: Southern Gothic Horror
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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4 out of 4 stars
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Spook Lights: Southern Gothic Horror is a collection of short stories written by American writer Eden Royce.
According to her biography, Ms. Royce was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, and is descended from root and hoodoo practitioners, whom she grew up surrounded with. And there is a lot of magic, spells, monsters and the supernatural in general in these 12 stories. But there is much more to this book than simply a good few scares.
From the luscious, rich and beautifully described settings, to some quite unforgettable characters, this book brings us an unexpected and rather hypnotic experience. Most of the stories take place in Ms. Royce's hometown, and most of them happen in current time. But her skilful narration and descriptions make us feel as if we were in some enchanted place, with rich colors and pungent smells, where the buildings, the people and the atmosphere tell us that the magic exist, that there's beings out there, and all around us, and that for these people, that which we might deem strange or supernatural is every day business. In a way, it sometimes reminded me of Latin American magic realism, the works of authors like Gabriel García Márquez or Isabel Allende. Those strange and remote places in which the strange is part of their lives and is not questioned, not analyzed, not judged. Moreover, the supernatural entities aren't always evil or menacing: Sometimes they are, other times they're here to help, or they are a friend, or part of the family.
The stories are:
"The Watered Soul": After a long (really long) chase, a man finally catches up with the woman who put a curse on him. The settings and descriptions are brilliant and rich. Filled with southern rhythm, images, sounds and smells. I enjoyed reading it a lot, not so much its resolution. A good story in general.
"Doc Buzzard's Coffin": A family that does what they have to do when someone hurts their own. A masterful example of storytelling, with brilliantly drawn characters and a quite unique plot. One of my favorites.
"9 Mystery Rose": A story of a greedy man trying to contact his dead wife. There was more surprise in this one than I had expected. Good story
"Hand of Glory": An overzealous police officer who doesn't like to let the guilty criminals walk away. It felt a bit too short, too sudden. Not bad, but one of my least favorites.
"Hag Ride": A woman who's had enough of her husband's infidelities and might have gotten a bit more than she asked for when she seeks for help... or maybe not. Dark, disturbing, at the same time hard to read and hard to put down. Very good.
"Homegoing": A man in jail, a devout mother. A strange tale in which it's not easy to tell whether or not we are dealing with supernatural intervention. Very sad and very good.
"With the Turn of a Key": A broken marriage, and the longing for something else, and a strange path to relief. Probably the one I liked the least. There was too much unexplained, and not enough character development to make me care about them.
"Path of the War Chief": A strange story, in an almost mythical place in the distant past. A woman that needs to prove herself worthy of her people. Strange and wonderful story.
"Since Hatchet was a Hammer": A woman escaping the horrors of her domestic life is visiting her mother. There's real life horror here, and supernatural elements too. Most of what happens, happens in modern surrounding, in broad daylight. Still, the horror is unforgettable. It's a brilliant story, wonderfully paced, quaint at times and horrifying at others. Excellent.
"Rhythm": Another story of infidelity, this time a man who looks for help in Haiti after his girlfriend cheated on him. A strange tale. I personally found it a bit unsatisfying. But it was haunting and original.
"The Choking Kind" : A woman looking for her mother and trying to find answers about the things she misses in her life. A hypnotic tale that puts the supernatural world in a different perspective. The best tale in the book and one of the best tales I've ever read.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. If there was a 3.5, I would settle for that, mostly because of the occasional lack of character development and the one or two stories I found a bit less than satisfying. But the fact is that none of these stories is weak or poor. And the good ones are a pure joy to read. I could write pages of praise and there's so many layers in Ms. Royce narration that I would love to discuss. But, don't read me, read these stories. I highly recommend them to all readers who love stories of the supernatural and to those who may not be fans of the genre too: As long as you don't find supernatural elements too annoying, I'm sure you will also find plenty to enjoy here.
******
Spook Lights: Southern Gothic Horror
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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