What I'm Reading: Ward and Tuttle Get Stars in Booklist

 The July issue of Booklist went live yesterday and I have 2 reviews in it. Both received STARS!

STAR
Looking Glass Sound
by Catriona Ward
Aug. 2023. 352p. Tor Nightfire, $27.99 (9781250860026); e-book (9781250860033). 
First published July 2023 (Booklist).

Ward’s latest may be her scariest yet. It’s 1989 and Wilder, an awkward boy, spends the summer in Maine, at his late uncle’s oceanside cabin, quickly befriending Harper and Nat, who teach him about island life and the lore of The Dagger Man, who takes polaroids of sleeping children with a knife to their throat. Returning the next summer, Wilder cannot wait to see his friends before heading to college, until their lives are upended forever by their part in the discovery of the horrific truth behind The Dagger Man. However these revelations are just the start, as different versions of what happened are presented, one after the other, each slightly different than the last. The result is a physically unsettling reading experience both because of the uncomfortable stylistic choices and how the story itself cannot be trusted until the very last page. A tale dripping with existential dread, one that asks readers to contemplate how they tell their own stories, but beware, it all takes a very menacing turn. For fans of Psychological Horror that incorporates the act of storytelling in its terrifying narrative such as The Remaking by Chapman, The Pallbearers Club by Tremblay, or Plain Bad Heroines by Danforth. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: On the heels of the success of Little Eve (2022) (not to mention a large print run), expect patrons to turn to Ward for late-summer chills.

YA Statement: With much of the story focused on the characters when they were in high school and college and its strong coming of age and dark academia themes, older teens will get swept up in the fear and drama of this satisfyingly twisted tale.

Further Appeal: I cannot stress enough, this is a book you need to experience. Do not try to "figure it out" or overthink it. This is Horror which prioritizes how it makes you feel, and since Horror is an emotion as well as a genre, this is fantastic. 

Here are some of my reading notes:

• While this may sound like a creepy coming of age story a la King’s Stand by Me, IT IS NOT
• What is real, what is embellished, what is altered, and what is just plain fiction, with full knowledge that the entire package is a novel itself. At its heart this is a tale about how we tell our stories.
• Reader beware, this book is way more scary than you think. It is being sold as a dark academia or thriller, but there is real menace here, there is witchcraft, ghosts, and real supernatural danger. Physically unsettling, both because of the style in which it is written and how you cannot trust the book from chapter to chapter until the very very very last page.
• Intricately plotted is an understatement.
• Character names change, what is real and what is fiction merge–  until you realize when you are all done– all of it is fiction by Ward.What are the correct names, what is the real story of the Dagger Man, who are the parties actually? It doesn’t matter at all, and yet it matters more than anything. This is the feel of the book in a sentence. 
• Readers need to trust Ward to take them to the finish line
• Time Frame– 1989 to Present

Three Words That Describe This Book: metafiction, intricate plotted, physically unsettlingly 

Readalikes: Besides the three above, other Dark Academia for sure like Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas (a 2023 Summer Scares Adult pick) and of course, the Secret History by Donna Tartt.

I also noted, Atonement by McEwan. Trust by Diaz, the most menacing Jennifer McMahon, and Red X by Demchuk.

As you can see from this varied list of readalikes, this book has a WIDE range of readers who would enjoy it.

STAR
Riding the Nightmare
by Lisa Tuttle
Aug. 2023. 234p. Valancourt, paper, $18.99  (9781954321892). 
First published July 2023 (Booklist).

Tuttle’s [The Dead Hours of Night] latest collection containing 12 stories, published over the last 30 years, is a disturbing delight. An introduction by Neil Gaiman will pique interest, but her strong world building, complicated and intriguing characters, and masterful ability to palpably invoke and sustain discomfort will turn them into Tuttle fans fairly quickly. Strong, imperfect women drive these stories and are unequivocally responsible for the horrors resulting from their actions. Shirley Jackson’s inspiration is evident on every page, but especially in Tuttle’s memorable closing sentences, which shift each tale from dark to sinister with breathtaking ease. The eponymous opening story perfectly sets the sinister tone to follow but it is standouts like the thought provoking and terrifying body horror of “Bits and Pieces'' and “The Last Dare,” an old fashioned ghost story with a new twist, that will have readers gasping before turning the page for more. The near future dystopia of “Wounds,” written in 1987, is remarkable and chilling in its ability to comment upon the plight of LGBTQ Americans today, and should not be missed. Suggest to fans of today’s practitioners of confidently crafted, unapologetically feminist, uncanny tales like Karen Russell, Carmen Maria Machado, and Samanta Schweblin.

Further Appeal: When I have to write a review of a collection or anthology that I loved, the hardest thing is not being able to write about every story. But when I know that review is going in Booklist, at least I know I can spend a little extra time here on the blog. So, here are the notes I made for some of the stories, and I also made sure to include their years first published because many of these were WAY ahead of their time:

• Riding the Nightmare [1986]: starts violently and then lulls you into thinking it will be a happy tale and then….nope! But also a thought provoking and nuanced look at the conflict between romantic love, career, and parenthood

• Bits and Pieces [1990]: Amazingly uncomfortable opening. Body horror that is also sensual. Thought provoking about relationships as well. It grapples with the complexity of women’s power in sex and relationships as well

• “The Messotint” [2003] is a retelling of an M.R. James classic.

• After the End [2013] looks at Poe’s famous detective and his last case.

• The Third Person [2012] is a very dark and twisted story (twisted literally and figuratively) about affairs.

• The Woud [1987]. I  cannot say enough about how important this story is. It is from 1987 but is so vital to today’s conflicts around LGBTQ and gender. I cannot say more or I would give it away, but it is evergreen and just perfectly said. I wish I could force everyone in America to read this story.

• The Man in the Ditch [2011] has that fear and unease that stays with you, clings to your skin

• The Last Dare [2017]. I like how it is a type of story you’ve heard before but it is the grandmas narrating, which both reminds you that these ghost stories are repeated over generations but also that the fear still rings true

• The Dragon’s Bride [1986 and 2023]. This novella anchors the volume. It was originally published in an anthology edited by Geirge R R Martin and has become a cult favorite. But it has been long out of print. Tuttle updated and added to it for this volume. It is a dark fantasy. It has dragons. That is all I am going to say.

Three Words That Describe This Book: sinister, character centered, imperfect women

Readalikes: I listed 3 women who excel at unsettling short stories above. These stories are unapologetically woman driven. Anyone who enjoys dark, speculative tales will love this collection.