A review by jgolomb
That Which Should Not Be, by Brett J. Talley
4.0
“One can never truly know when he steps outside his door whether today will be a day that passes without consequence, or if it will be one that changes everything."
- from Bretty Talley’s “That Which Should Not Be"
"That Which Should Not Be" is a dark and moody book, fit for a cold evening in front of the fire; or an autumnal read, for one wanting to build on the cyclical theme of the season. The writing style wreaks of HP Lovecraft, but also of Bram Stoker.
Talley has written four short stories that revolve around a central theme. A student from Lovecraft’s famed Miskatonic University is hunting for a lost book of ancient renown. It’s not the Necronomicon, but rather a companion piece to HP’s much discussed fictional tome. While seeking the book, Carter Weston stops at a pub to share a few drinks with locals to see what he can learn. Four locals then each dive into their own dark tale of the supernatural.
Talley channels Lovecraft well through plot development, theme and mood. As is characteristic with this genre, there are few decisive conclusions. The monster in the back of the cave is built upon a pedestal of of suggestion rather than true blood and gore. The horror resides in what’s unseen, or perhaps merely glimpsed.
Frequent and early Lovecraft references pave a very Lovecraftian road. “I must protect the Book. I will not surrender it, no matter what the cost. And if my life is to be forget, then I shall die as I have lived, standing against the black tide that would cover us all."
From the first tale, which contains more than a few shades of ’The Thing’, the storyteller relays ”Demon hunted the forest was that night, and in my dreams, I heard and felt the darkest and foulest beast that ever gibbered its wail from the depths of the pit."
In another story, Lovecraftian lore spews forth, “It was then that my eyes began to open to the dark forces that move in the uncultivated lands beyond the borders of the world we know.” I realize that “X-Files” can certainly be viewed through an Lovecraft-lens: The truth is out there…just beyond reach…just outside of the lighted pathways…just within the darkest recesses of city alleys, of partially opened bedroom doors.
You get a sense that the Wachowski brothers gave more than a little nod to HP as well in the cultish mythology built within their “Matrix” trilogy. From Talley’s book: “There is truth in myth my friend. Around you they walk even now, floating before your blind eyes. They are the flash in the corner of your vision, the shadow of moving where no now walks, the feeling of a presence, when you are completely alone, the whisper in the darkness. That which is, and was, and will be again.”
The following expresses the fulcrum upon which the story balances. Carter chats with the men in the pub between tales:
“Ah, the consummate skeptic,” the Captain said.
“And I would wear the name gladly,” I replied, “for it’s only the skeptic that gives value to the truth."
“Yes,” the Captain said nodding, “but only when he is open to the truth. The skeptic with a closed mind becomes the worst kind of believer."
Myths run deep and rampant within the story. And while the heft of the stories themselves focus on it, the characters themselves act as authorial mouthpiece for its’ analysis. The four individual stories, as well as the connective tissue of the arching narrative, address the threads of an uber-world religion…references to a common foe, to common legends, regionalized as each peoples evolved over time. “But as I said before, in all myth is truth. And do we not see, in the myths of all civilizations, this believe, this feeling, that the gods have lived amongst us? That they have walked on the Earth? That they have ruled it? And at some point were overthrown? From the ancient sands of Egypt to garden-girdled Babylon. From the schools of Greece to the most high and palmy state of Rome, all speak of the same legend, the same faith.”
The writing is a bit clunky in parts and the stories are derivative. Some questionable plot points drive the narrative here and there, but upon reflection, this is likely due to the nascent efforts of an author learning and perfecting his trade. Overall, the book is well-written, the arching plot is well connected and the individual stories, though predictable, are well thought out and do well to build upon the Lovecraftian foundation.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it’s launching pad for me into the discovery of more Lovecraftian lore as well as Talley’s second novel - “The Void”.
- from Bretty Talley’s “That Which Should Not Be"
"That Which Should Not Be" is a dark and moody book, fit for a cold evening in front of the fire; or an autumnal read, for one wanting to build on the cyclical theme of the season. The writing style wreaks of HP Lovecraft, but also of Bram Stoker.
Talley has written four short stories that revolve around a central theme. A student from Lovecraft’s famed Miskatonic University is hunting for a lost book of ancient renown. It’s not the Necronomicon, but rather a companion piece to HP’s much discussed fictional tome. While seeking the book, Carter Weston stops at a pub to share a few drinks with locals to see what he can learn. Four locals then each dive into their own dark tale of the supernatural.
Talley channels Lovecraft well through plot development, theme and mood. As is characteristic with this genre, there are few decisive conclusions. The monster in the back of the cave is built upon a pedestal of of suggestion rather than true blood and gore. The horror resides in what’s unseen, or perhaps merely glimpsed.
Frequent and early Lovecraft references pave a very Lovecraftian road. “I must protect the Book. I will not surrender it, no matter what the cost. And if my life is to be forget, then I shall die as I have lived, standing against the black tide that would cover us all."
From the first tale, which contains more than a few shades of ’The Thing’, the storyteller relays ”Demon hunted the forest was that night, and in my dreams, I heard and felt the darkest and foulest beast that ever gibbered its wail from the depths of the pit."
In another story, Lovecraftian lore spews forth, “It was then that my eyes began to open to the dark forces that move in the uncultivated lands beyond the borders of the world we know.” I realize that “X-Files” can certainly be viewed through an Lovecraft-lens: The truth is out there…just beyond reach…just outside of the lighted pathways…just within the darkest recesses of city alleys, of partially opened bedroom doors.
You get a sense that the Wachowski brothers gave more than a little nod to HP as well in the cultish mythology built within their “Matrix” trilogy. From Talley’s book: “There is truth in myth my friend. Around you they walk even now, floating before your blind eyes. They are the flash in the corner of your vision, the shadow of moving where no now walks, the feeling of a presence, when you are completely alone, the whisper in the darkness. That which is, and was, and will be again.”
The following expresses the fulcrum upon which the story balances. Carter chats with the men in the pub between tales:
“Ah, the consummate skeptic,” the Captain said.
“And I would wear the name gladly,” I replied, “for it’s only the skeptic that gives value to the truth."
“Yes,” the Captain said nodding, “but only when he is open to the truth. The skeptic with a closed mind becomes the worst kind of believer."
Myths run deep and rampant within the story. And while the heft of the stories themselves focus on it, the characters themselves act as authorial mouthpiece for its’ analysis. The four individual stories, as well as the connective tissue of the arching narrative, address the threads of an uber-world religion…references to a common foe, to common legends, regionalized as each peoples evolved over time. “But as I said before, in all myth is truth. And do we not see, in the myths of all civilizations, this believe, this feeling, that the gods have lived amongst us? That they have walked on the Earth? That they have ruled it? And at some point were overthrown? From the ancient sands of Egypt to garden-girdled Babylon. From the schools of Greece to the most high and palmy state of Rome, all speak of the same legend, the same faith.”
The writing is a bit clunky in parts and the stories are derivative. Some questionable plot points drive the narrative here and there, but upon reflection, this is likely due to the nascent efforts of an author learning and perfecting his trade. Overall, the book is well-written, the arching plot is well connected and the individual stories, though predictable, are well thought out and do well to build upon the Lovecraftian foundation.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it’s launching pad for me into the discovery of more Lovecraftian lore as well as Talley’s second novel - “The Void”.