Secondly, that Manc feller Col Bury has grafted some more and swept up a pile of grit and put it to pages again with a new collection. You can grab it here.
Even though he's now got an iMac and keeps buggering it up, the words they keep on flowing. A new Joe Hunter short has battered its way to freedom, grab it here. And don't be forgetting the new novel Rules of Honor, grab it here. I'd suggest shoplifting it from Waterstones but they're a big bunch of cunts and don't stock it. It seems you've got to be dead for a ton score years, or write about Vampires who go out in daylight and sparkle to get some shufty room on their shelves.
Now for the review. It's about 6 months late, but we all know I'm one of the laziest people ever. I now have a little dedicated office that's all mine, should mean I'm more productive, nah bollocks, there's a tree in the garden and all I can think about is seventeen different ways to climb it, so I have thje blinds down.
Gathering Darkness by Chris Allinotte. The man is one of the nicest writers I've met, never seems to have a bad word for anyone. In that way he kind of reminds me of the intro to the late Richard Laymon's Fiends written by Dean Koontz where Mr. Koontz basically said you wouldn't expect words and sentences quite like it from the man himself. I think Chris is a bit like that, nice family guy, stand-up person in general, but leaves all that in a puddle at the door of his writing room/brain.
The review is gonna be done over two posts. You could just skip what I think and buy it here.
The collection starts off with a
previously unpublished tale called, 'Coming Home' and within a few
lines you know it's going to be a stonker. Chris has this ability to
take a seemingly normal thing like a tattoo and use it to help set
the level of emotion his wants from his readers, it's only a tattoo
yet it looks depressed which then makes you automatically think, 'If
the tattoo's a bit fucked up then how fucked up is the bearer of the
ink?'
And within a few more sentences you
forget you're even reading it and swept away with the pace. It's the
realism of the characters, Ty, his busted up life and junkie
girlfriend. He stays away from simple stereotypes, or preaching and
lets you see to the heart of the matter and their failings. That's
where the normality ends and the true fucked-up world of the
Allinotte comes stampeding out baying for blood.
Next is Sex and Beer, another little
treat for me as I never read this one when it premièred. Said I
missed it then but chuffed to have found it now. The good thing about
Chris as a writer is his skill to tell a tale with great pose but he
doesn't shy away from being vulgar, which is how I like my fiction,
the gent of this story after realising he didn't have a rubber, so
this was his reasoning – He'd pull it out and pop on that
perfect back of hers, or something. Pure
class.
Bones of Contention
- A quarter of a page in and a grin came to me dial. One of the many
things Chris does well is character interaction, believable character
interaction at that, especially when the characters in question
aren't exactly mature. A few more lines in and you just know the shit
has hit the fan. The ability to introduce a fucked up scenario and
make the reader think nothing of it is great. He doesn't feel the
need to give a shit-load of back story, just drops you in it. Now I'm
pausing and hoping to God above that this isn't a Bromance...or worse
50 Shades of Gay...Phew nope.
The Doll Maker and the Rat – If
there's one thing Allinotte isn't it's that he's not frightened to
experiment with his writing. This one is going to be either weird and
wonderful, or just weird and leave me wondering if I somehow missed
something along the way. it's good if not a little
fucked up, but hey, fucked up works.
Devil's Night – Two teens out for
some shenanigans. Bog-rolling houses and trashing peoples pumpkins,
all harmless fun...until they pick the wrong house to fuck with.
There's some great banter between the two main characters. I'm glad I
never went trick-or-treating to this blokes house.
Pick Your Own Pumpkin – Introducing
Detective Blackwood. Pumpkins holding the body parts of a farmer's
wife. This one was sharp as it was short.
Newpaper Hat – A dark and lyrical bit
of poetry.
Kittens for Sale – You kinda got the
feeling of what was going to happen, but the story flowed so well you
swam along with it. The ending leaving you with a very real sense of
sorrow. Definitely one of the more emotional pieces.
The Moustache – There's the ability
to come up with insane weirdness and then there's this. I can't even
begin to fathom how the hell he came up with this story. Definitely
one of my favourites in the collection.
The Sins of the Past – Noir'ish and
smooth with a subtle helping of the supernatural.
Part Two Soon'ish
Lee - thanks so much for taking the time with my book. As much of a fan of your own stuff (getting over to that new tale of yours short-ish)
ReplyDeleteI also appreciate your no-bullshit way of coming across with the goods - if you say Col's book's a ripper - I'm going to take that and go check it out! (You've also got a keen nose, because Bones of Contention almost went another way...)
Looking forward to part 2!