kailina's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
howlinglibraries's review
I don't usually like to DNF novellas since they're such quick reads, but I'm really not a fan of this writing or these characters, so I'm gonna go ahead and say this one isn't for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Murder
Minor: Sexual violence and Gun violence
kittykult's review against another edition
5.0
Aetherchrist reminded me of a combination of my all-time favorite Stephen King story (“The Road Virus Heads North”) and The Music Scene by Anthony F. Schepperd.
Knife salesman Rey travels the country as part of his substance abuse treatment, a dull (ha) and pointless (haha) job now that you can buy anything on the internet these days.
When he stops in a small, backwoods town, he begins to see himself on television - at first doing normal things like walking around and sitting at a bar, and then seeing himself murdering people and ending up dead. Terrified, Rey tries to rationalize and avoid the transmissions, until he learns that some people have strong signals which can cast their thoughts and lives on screen - and some of them are dangerous.
The story is like a rocketship that propels you endlessly forward, taking no prisoners.
The ending, while powerful, was abrupt for me, but it didn’t dull my liking of this book. Definitely picking up some more Kirk Jones.
Note: I received a free copy of this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.
Knife salesman Rey travels the country as part of his substance abuse treatment, a dull (ha) and pointless (haha) job now that you can buy anything on the internet these days.
When he stops in a small, backwoods town, he begins to see himself on television - at first doing normal things like walking around and sitting at a bar, and then seeing himself murdering people and ending up dead. Terrified, Rey tries to rationalize and avoid the transmissions, until he learns that some people have strong signals which can cast their thoughts and lives on screen - and some of them are dangerous.
The story is like a rocketship that propels you endlessly forward, taking no prisoners.
The ending, while powerful, was abrupt for me, but it didn’t dull my liking of this book. Definitely picking up some more Kirk Jones.
Note: I received a free copy of this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.
rebecas16's review
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
laughterhp's review against another edition
1.0
I have no idea what happened in this book. TG it was only 129 pages long. It was painful.
alexanderp's review
3.0
Review orginally posted here.
AETHERCHRIST begins in the desolate and impoverished back country of rural Vermont. We follow Reymond (also called Rey) as he attempts to sell cutlery in a one stoplight town. When broadcasts begin to forecast deaths of their residents, Rey is suddenly in the center of each homicide. Are there cameras? Are the locals trying to set him up? When more insanity, driven by analog begins to pick up, Rey starts to realize that maybe there is something out there in the aether that has it out for him.
Jones takes you for a dark and twisted ride as he explores not only the terrain of radio waves, but the interplay of paranoia. Rey’s gut reactions are fueled by it and it only becomes worse as things go on, especially when he realizes he can do certain “things” with broadcasts. And just when readers may have figured out where the story is going, it blasts downward to a new horrific level.
Both parts dark sci fi and straight up horror, Jones cannot resist, but throw in some truly bizzaro moments that will either make the reader take a step back, only dive back in with reckless abandon. Rey is a fun character to root for, even when he seems to be a slave to his impulses and drives, yet this begs the question, aren’t we all?
The setting of this story follows a theme, of desolate, forgotten places, much like analog itself. Its a relic and the homes Rey visits reflects this, but with almost eldritch tendencies, the aether reaches in and corrupts.
This novella is not a “feel good” story by any stretch and it remains with you even after finishing. It is as if the cloud of paranoia refuses to dissipate. This is not a story for the faint at heart nor is it for the squeamish, but if you are willing to read a genre-blended story that takes risks, this is the exact ticket.
AETHERCHRIST begins in the desolate and impoverished back country of rural Vermont. We follow Reymond (also called Rey) as he attempts to sell cutlery in a one stoplight town. When broadcasts begin to forecast deaths of their residents, Rey is suddenly in the center of each homicide. Are there cameras? Are the locals trying to set him up? When more insanity, driven by analog begins to pick up, Rey starts to realize that maybe there is something out there in the aether that has it out for him.
Jones takes you for a dark and twisted ride as he explores not only the terrain of radio waves, but the interplay of paranoia. Rey’s gut reactions are fueled by it and it only becomes worse as things go on, especially when he realizes he can do certain “things” with broadcasts. And just when readers may have figured out where the story is going, it blasts downward to a new horrific level.
Both parts dark sci fi and straight up horror, Jones cannot resist, but throw in some truly bizzaro moments that will either make the reader take a step back, only dive back in with reckless abandon. Rey is a fun character to root for, even when he seems to be a slave to his impulses and drives, yet this begs the question, aren’t we all?
The setting of this story follows a theme, of desolate, forgotten places, much like analog itself. Its a relic and the homes Rey visits reflects this, but with almost eldritch tendencies, the aether reaches in and corrupts.
This novella is not a “feel good” story by any stretch and it remains with you even after finishing. It is as if the cloud of paranoia refuses to dissipate. This is not a story for the faint at heart nor is it for the squeamish, but if you are willing to read a genre-blended story that takes risks, this is the exact ticket.
lilyn_g's review
3.0
Well, this was different! I can’t say I entirely dug it, but it was a unique reading experience, and I appreciate it for that. I went in pretty much blind. I knew it was strange and that one of my team had appreciated it. (I also knew that she loved it so there was a decent chance I’d hate it because our tastes are so different! Sometimes we end up both loving the same thing, though, so it’s always a dice roll.)
Aetherchrist is a sci-fi weird fiction novella that has the potential to take readers on one hell of a mind-trip if you’re so inclined. The pacing is excellent. Kirk Jones does a good job keeping you wondering where things are going to head even as you’re not entirely sure what’s going on to begin with. Weird fiction, indeed.
Mikio Murikami did an amazing job with the cover for Aetherchrist. It’s bleak and depressing yet eye-catching and engaging all at once. It feels like something you’d see in a movie like The Ring.
“Imagine how much exist within the human mind that has yet to be discovered because the exceptions to the rule assume they are the rule.”
This quote snagged me more than anything else in the book. I love it when you’re just kind of lazily enjoying a weird story and the author comes out of nowhere with something that makes you stop, blink, and think.
I also love how writers can take a single “what if” and turn it into a whole twisted tale.
Overall, even though Aetherchrist didn’t work for me, I can see many people enjoying it. If you like weird fiction, it’s worth checking out.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review consideration.
Aetherchrist is a sci-fi weird fiction novella that has the potential to take readers on one hell of a mind-trip if you’re so inclined. The pacing is excellent. Kirk Jones does a good job keeping you wondering where things are going to head even as you’re not entirely sure what’s going on to begin with. Weird fiction, indeed.
Mikio Murikami did an amazing job with the cover for Aetherchrist. It’s bleak and depressing yet eye-catching and engaging all at once. It feels like something you’d see in a movie like The Ring.
“Imagine how much exist within the human mind that has yet to be discovered because the exceptions to the rule assume they are the rule.”
This quote snagged me more than anything else in the book. I love it when you’re just kind of lazily enjoying a weird story and the author comes out of nowhere with something that makes you stop, blink, and think.
I also love how writers can take a single “what if” and turn it into a whole twisted tale.
Overall, even though Aetherchrist didn’t work for me, I can see many people enjoying it. If you like weird fiction, it’s worth checking out.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review consideration.
aimiller's review
3.0
Right off the bat, I have to note that I received a copy of this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program, and I'm grateful to the publisher for the opportunity to read this.
More like 2.5, though that's more because it wasn't wholly my thing? The world building was pretty cool, but confusing (which was probably intentional!) and there was a lot of violence that was pretty graphic and fairly brutal, but the story MOVED along at a click, and was definitely engaging. The ending came kind of out of the blue and tbh I was expecting a longer build to the conclusion, but that's probably a personal taste thing.
If fast-paced action is your thing, this is definitely up your alley!
More like 2.5, though that's more because it wasn't wholly my thing? The world building was pretty cool, but confusing (which was probably intentional!) and there was a lot of violence that was pretty graphic and fairly brutal, but the story MOVED along at a click, and was definitely engaging. The ending came kind of out of the blue and tbh I was expecting a longer build to the conclusion, but that's probably a personal taste thing.
If fast-paced action is your thing, this is definitely up your alley!
tracyreads's review
5.0
"I watch the channel 12 reruns on my disassembled television....Through a cracked screen, I stare back at myself, wide-eyed, mouth agape."
I had zero expectations when I started this novella. There are just a few words on the back cover, I did not seek out the synopsis, and I read zero reviews. What did I find? An imaginative, inventive, unique sci-fi horror tale that absolutely delighted me. Side note: if you just saw "sci-fi" and went NOPE, trust me, I feel you. I don't normally like it, but I loved this.
Jones takes us on a journey with his main character, Rey. We follow him along, we experience things as he does, and when he is disoriented and confused, so are we. And it WORKS. I've read other things done in this manner, but it is often hard for me to truly follow along. I clicked with this one and it was wonderful.
As far as the content goes? I'll just say it has a bit to do with communications, conspiracy theory, paranoia, and how fragile our precepts of the world around us might be. The details? Those are for you to discover.
I had zero expectations when I started this novella. There are just a few words on the back cover, I did not seek out the synopsis, and I read zero reviews. What did I find? An imaginative, inventive, unique sci-fi horror tale that absolutely delighted me. Side note: if you just saw "sci-fi" and went NOPE, trust me, I feel you. I don't normally like it, but I loved this.
Jones takes us on a journey with his main character, Rey. We follow him along, we experience things as he does, and when he is disoriented and confused, so are we. And it WORKS. I've read other things done in this manner, but it is often hard for me to truly follow along. I clicked with this one and it was wonderful.
As far as the content goes? I'll just say it has a bit to do with communications, conspiracy theory, paranoia, and how fragile our precepts of the world around us might be. The details? Those are for you to discover.
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