jdhacker's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
As all collections from Martian Migraine must, this one draws its theme from an included Lovecraft story, The Colour Out of Space. However, it takes that thematic inspiration in even less literal than usual direction by centering the theme on the idea of things which can only communicate with man via possession. An interesting take on 'Colour' which we don't often see in film or related literature. The creative latitude lent by this approach gives us pretty wide ranging entries in terms of content. There are a lot of names in the table of contents that are going to be familiars to devotees of modern weird fiction and bizarro influenced horror: Matthew Bartlett, Cody Goodfellow, Aaron Vlek, and Jonathan Raab. The last of which contributed one of my favorite pieces in the collection, 'Sonata', a beautiful and sad tale involving a numbers station. In my mind, it sits neck and neck with L. Chan's 'We Don't Talk About the Invasion Anymore' as stars of the collection.
As is normal for a Martian Migraine collection, Scott Jones has gone out of his way to include a wide variety of authors less familiar to genre fans, or even relatively new to publishing, so there should be plenty of surprises stylistically for readers.
The opening piece, Morgan Crook's 'Promontory' sets the stage by playing with multiple interpretations of 'possession', from what we might think of supernaturally to ideas of ownership and control. I similarly enjoyed Anton Rose', 'Mandible', which sits firmly in the Weird and brings to mind images from Sick Girl and Mimic. 'Intraocular' feels the closest to a direct sequel to/riff on Lovecraft's 'Colour', but has enough distance from it that it avoids the pitfalls the 'Colour of Time' fell into.
I'll admit I did not adore 'The Monsters are Due in Mayberry', at least in part *because* of the expectations set up by the Twilight Zone reference. I had a rough time with 'Skin Suits' as well. A little too much of Bizzaro, a little too reminiscent of my least favorite aspects of Steampunk, and in my opinion really unnatural dialogue (or inner monologue) all contributed to a few false starts on the story before I made it through. Schreiber's 'Viscera' I think touches on some of the same ideas in a more masterful way, and since this is a Lovecraft inspired anthology we're talking about, I'll say that while it certainly fits with the 'Possession' theme, it feels more like 'Silvery Key' or one of Lovecraft's other Dream cycle stories. It also fits in sequence very well with Maynard's 'Everything Wants to Live' in this collection.
Premee Mohamed's 'The Evaluator' makes a fantastic (literally, its very firmly grounding in fantasy/urban fantasy) latter half appearance, and I'd love to seem more stories involving the same protagonist or set in the same world. And while White's 'Open Fight Night at the Dirtbag Casino' is VERY different in tone and setting, it is identical in leaving me wanting more and getting me quickly invested in the protagonist and world.
If you love Bartlett's WXXT and Burgess Pontypool, you will find something to enjoy in 'Echoes, Hiding'.
Garrett Cook's 'Falseface' gives an almost painful to read tale very overtly concerning racism. I have mixed feelings here, admittedly in part because the author is not BIPOC, but also because I don't know how I feel about attaching some of the language of violent racism to supernatural motivations when the real human evil of it is horror worthy all on its.
All in all, a great collection and definitely worth the new or seasoned weird fiction fans time. Even if some flavor of modern fantasy or science fiction is more your speed, I think there's enough of that here to keep you entertained. Pick it up.
As is normal for a Martian Migraine collection, Scott Jones has gone out of his way to include a wide variety of authors less familiar to genre fans, or even relatively new to publishing, so there should be plenty of surprises stylistically for readers.
The opening piece, Morgan Crook's 'Promontory' sets the stage by playing with multiple interpretations of 'possession', from what we might think of supernaturally to ideas of ownership and control. I similarly enjoyed Anton Rose', 'Mandible', which sits firmly in the Weird and brings to mind images from Sick Girl and Mimic. 'Intraocular' feels the closest to a direct sequel to/riff on Lovecraft's 'Colour', but has enough distance from it that it avoids the pitfalls the 'Colour of Time' fell into.
I'll admit I did not adore 'The Monsters are Due in Mayberry', at least in part *because* of the expectations set up by the Twilight Zone reference. I had a rough time with 'Skin Suits' as well. A little too much of Bizzaro, a little too reminiscent of my least favorite aspects of Steampunk, and in my opinion really unnatural dialogue (or inner monologue) all contributed to a few false starts on the story before I made it through. Schreiber's 'Viscera' I think touches on some of the same ideas in a more masterful way, and since this is a Lovecraft inspired anthology we're talking about, I'll say that while it certainly fits with the 'Possession' theme, it feels more like 'Silvery Key' or one of Lovecraft's other Dream cycle stories. It also fits in sequence very well with Maynard's 'Everything Wants to Live' in this collection.
Premee Mohamed's 'The Evaluator' makes a fantastic (literally, its very firmly grounding in fantasy/urban fantasy) latter half appearance, and I'd love to seem more stories involving the same protagonist or set in the same world. And while White's 'Open Fight Night at the Dirtbag Casino' is VERY different in tone and setting, it is identical in leaving me wanting more and getting me quickly invested in the protagonist and world.
If you love Bartlett's WXXT and Burgess Pontypool, you will find something to enjoy in 'Echoes, Hiding'.
Garrett Cook's 'Falseface' gives an almost painful to read tale very overtly concerning racism. I have mixed feelings here, admittedly in part because the author is not BIPOC, but also because I don't know how I feel about attaching some of the language of violent racism to supernatural motivations when the real human evil of it is horror worthy all on its.
All in all, a great collection and definitely worth the new or seasoned weird fiction fans time. Even if some flavor of modern fantasy or science fiction is more your speed, I think there's enough of that here to keep you entertained. Pick it up.
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