A review by mackle13
Alabaster: Pale Horse by Daniel Chabon, Caitlín R. Kiernan
3.0
When I read [b:Threshold|81062|Threshold|Caitlín R. Kiernan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385276307s/81062.jpg|929484] back in 2008, I only gave it 2 stars. The story and the main characters never quite came together for me, but I did want to read more of Kiernan's work because I kinda dig the way she writes (sometimes).
The one character from Threshold which stood out, though, was Dancy, so when I was browsing for books to read, and I saw that Kiernan had a whole collection of Dancy stories, I decided to give it a go.
And I'm glad I did.
Kiernan's language, the way she writes, wraps around your brain and sort of pulls you into the ambiance and atmosphere. Unfortunately, though, it's a double-edged sword, because there are times when sparser language would be better, and while she sometimes balances the two well, there are other times where deciphering the words becomes more of a hindrance than a help. Only times, though.
Also, there are a few illustrations from Ted Naifeh, and his usual style captures the oddity of the world Dancy finds herself in. They really helped me visualize some of the creatures, like the angel, and were a nice addition to the stories.
This is a short story collection, and like all such some stories are better than others. Also, they're printed in publication order, not linear order, so a lot of the stories offhandedly reference events that you haven't read yet. Someday I might go back and read the stories in chronological order, to try and get the timeline straight in my head.
Anyway -
Overall, a decent story, and I like the character of Dancy. My only "let down", really, was that I was expecting more a horror story and this felt more like a dark urban fantasy.
I definitely plan on checking out the Alabaster graphic novels at some point, though.
The one character from Threshold which stood out, though, was Dancy, so when I was browsing for books to read, and I saw that Kiernan had a whole collection of Dancy stories, I decided to give it a go.
And I'm glad I did.
Kiernan's language, the way she writes, wraps around your brain and sort of pulls you into the ambiance and atmosphere. Unfortunately, though, it's a double-edged sword, because there are times when sparser language would be better, and while she sometimes balances the two well, there are other times where deciphering the words becomes more of a hindrance than a help. Only times, though.
Also, there are a few illustrations from Ted Naifeh, and his usual style captures the oddity of the world Dancy finds herself in. They really helped me visualize some of the creatures, like the angel, and were a nice addition to the stories.
This is a short story collection, and like all such some stories are better than others. Also, they're printed in publication order, not linear order, so a lot of the stories offhandedly reference events that you haven't read yet. Someday I might go back and read the stories in chronological order, to try and get the timeline straight in my head.
Anyway -
Overall, a decent story, and I like the character of Dancy. My only "let down", really, was that I was expecting more a horror story and this felt more like a dark urban fantasy.
I definitely plan on checking out the Alabaster graphic novels at some point, though.