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A review by thecrookedspine
North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud
5.0
I read and watch a lot of horror, and it never gets to me, but this got to me. It took me a while to figure out why, but it’s this - the author, aside from writing good stories and characters extremely well, includes beauty. It’s the beauty that makes the horror in this book so horrible, in exactly inverse proportions. He opens up that tender place in your heart, just so he can stab you in it, and it’s exquisite in its terrible sensation.
Reading this has completely changed my understanding of what good horror can (and maybe should) be, and permanently impacted my perspective on what I personally look for in horror. I was also extremely pleasantly surprised by how much surrealism featured in this book, some stories more than others, but always masterfully done.
I highly recommend this book - the author took real risks here and I left reading this with a legitimate respect for him. This was the first thing I’ve read by him, and I’ll be looking into what else he’s written. Also putting in a plug here for the audiobook version because bloody hell did the narrator do a fan-freaking-tastic job. There were multiple occasions his delivery had me literally laughing out loud or feeling weirdly moved or what-have-you. Just an awesome performance.
Fair warning, there are a couple stories with some brief and not very detailed scenes
of animal suffering which are very necessary to the plots (don’t worry though, this is NOT a Nick Cutter situation) - but I’m really sensitive to animal violence/suffering, and even I was able to tolerate this so it really can’t be too bad.
Reading this has completely changed my understanding of what good horror can (and maybe should) be, and permanently impacted my perspective on what I personally look for in horror. I was also extremely pleasantly surprised by how much surrealism featured in this book, some stories more than others, but always masterfully done.
I highly recommend this book - the author took real risks here and I left reading this with a legitimate respect for him. This was the first thing I’ve read by him, and I’ll be looking into what else he’s written. Also putting in a plug here for the audiobook version because bloody hell did the narrator do a fan-freaking-tastic job. There were multiple occasions his delivery had me literally laughing out loud or feeling weirdly moved or what-have-you. Just an awesome performance.
Fair warning, there are a couple stories with some brief and not very detailed scenes
of animal suffering which are very necessary to the plots (don’t worry though, this is NOT a Nick Cutter situation) - but I’m really sensitive to animal violence/suffering, and even I was able to tolerate this so it really can’t be too bad.