Broken Nightlights

(Originally published at Red Adept Reviews.)

Overall: 3 1/2 stars

After reading the first story, Firmament, (3 1/4 Stars) I had somewhat lowered expectations for how well this anthology would work for me. It dealt with a family, consisting of a mother and son, who'd just lost the man of the house. For largely subjective reasons, it didn't quite scratch my story itch. The main character and her son were in mourning, but I couldn't seem to care about her. Stories of grief often don't work for me because it seems to be that there are moments in mourning when we all do some pretty standard things, and those are touchstones in stories, but I think that if anything brings out the sense of individuality, the quirks in someone's nature, it's loss. Too often writers relate the universal stuff, hoping the reader will have experienced that same moment, when what rings truest for me are the unusual choices. This was why the mother didn't work for me. The character of the son was better drawn and his grief, alone in his understanding of what death means, was so much more effective. The general skill shown by the author and worthwhile ending didn't fully redeem the story for me.

However, every single issue I had with Firmament, every perceived weakness, was reversed later on in the anthology. I felt that, based on Firmament, Mr. Napier probably wasn't going to be able to present a portrait of loss that would move me, and then be proceeded to prove me wrong in multiple stories. I didn't think his words would sing for me, only to find that Mi Casa Es Su Casa (4 Stars) read like a poem and All The Little Secrets was a gem of a story (4 3/4 Stars). “Secrets” was a character piece that worked for me much like some of the better, more personal episodes of X-Files, such as Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose. (Yes, I just went full on geek.) Sci-Fi used as a mirror and as a character study. I'd actually love to read more stories related to this one.

Taking Quinn Home (3 3/4 Stars) was a classic horror tale. It was set in modern times, but we'll all recognize the timeless themes and source of the menace. The characters were almost all quite well done and most of them behaved completely logically and believably. There was genuine menace and a wonderfully slow build-up. Yes, I'd call most of the story masterful, particularly the events leading up to all hell breaking loose. It only failed for me based on a moment when I didn't buy a character's choice, another moment where a character does something convenient to prevent plot holes, and, some fridge logic. Fridge logic is when a while after the story, or during a break, you're going about your business and then a question or flaw pops into your head. (To use an example from a movie: How did Red know what Andy did on his last night in order to narrate it, when we only see them reuniting at the very end and his last line is about having hope for the reunion?) The story was well-written enough to work at the moment, but didn't hold up under too much scrutiny. Also, during THE most tense, intense, scary scene in the story, this line happens, “...I tilted the axe's handle upward it a harp jabbing motion.” Until then, I was holding my breath, y'all.

A Collection of True Evils (3 3/4 Stars) was the second story and the tale of two men who seek out a legendarily evil book. Some really classic stuff here and some good moments, but it sputtered for me a little at the end. The characters weren't deep, but I don't think they needed to be in this case. The build-up was better than the pay-off. There is some real creepiness here though. And tattoos from hell.

The Mannerisms of Runners (3 3/4 Stars) reminded me of Stephen King's pet theme about hell being repetition as a runner repeatedly, among other things, spits out something you really don't want to spit out. Another story where character took a backseat to mood and story, but it was appropriate.

The Tour Don't Roll Through Seattle (3 Stars) was interesting but I was haunted too much by the ghost of similar stories such as Robert Bloch's That Hell Bound Train, or, even more appropriately an excellent story called Beluthahatchie by Andy Duncan. There may or may not be a cameo in it by Kurt Cobain, or a grunge guy who'd probably be flattered to be mistaken for him. Deals with the devil rarely work out well.

Riding in Trucks with Ghosts (4 1/2 Stars) is a story about loss and covers a small sliver of similar terror with Firmament, but - for my money - much more evocatively and successfully. In Firmament, the weakness was the mother character and the strength was the young boy. In “Riding” we again meet a young boy, but he becomes the main character and that makes all the difference.

Butt of The Joke (2 1/2 Stars) is perhaps the weakest selection for me. It's the story of a comedian with woman problems. There was some nice use of language and the author worked the theme like crazy, but it fell flat for me. Yes, like a joke. The strengths of the story didn't make up for the predictability. For some reason, this reminded me a little of updated Poe.

Lunatic Mile (4 Stars) is for me, hands down, the gross out story of the volume. (This family here makes The Addams Family look all snuggly.) The fact that I can say this makes for an interesting point. A lot of the stories are more along the lines of psychological horror, some are sci-fi, and some like Farewell, From The Eleventh Hole (4 stars) has a supernatural event, but was really more a piece on the nature of life and loneliness. There are some really blood-spattered moments throughout 13 Broken Nightlights, but it's not the norm.

Grave Seasons (4 Stars) had a little something in common with Lunatic Mile and a tiny bit to do with Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, maybe a little bit of Stephen King's Children of The Corn. Rather than these similarities detracting from the story, I believe Grave Seasons fit well into those traditions.

Editing: 4 Stars

As mentioned, one error took me out of the story, and there were a few mistakes here and there, but really not too bad. I'm still mighty bummed about that one sentence breaking up the drama!

(Please note that the author has contacted me to say he's corrected errors and my review refers to the original version.)