Hey! I hope your summer is going well.
My own summer (inadvertent Deftones reference) has been flying past—it was May just yesterday! The campground has been busy and I’ve been hard at work on revisions for my upcoming novel, The Orchid Room, which is slated to be released early in 2024. More info and an actual publication date for that one are on their way. Because I’m some sort of masochist, I also did the first read-through of another novel that I’m hoping to release in 2024, maybe by summer. But I’ve eaten my share of crow in the past.
So for this entry, I present you with four titles subject to my musings, two of which I listened to the audiobook for. Read ‘em and weep.
The Keep by F. Paul Wilson
This book has been on my list for a long time (nine years, according to Goodreads, though I’m pretty sure that’s when I created my account). I became a fan of F. Paul Wilson’s work a decade ago or more, when I started reading his Repairman Jack series. If you haven’t read any of the RJ books, I highly recommend it. I’ll be revisiting them all again soon.
The Keep is the first of seven books in Wilson’s “Adversary Cycle”, which basically tells of the war for our world between two cosmic forces. The books include standalone novels, as well as books in the Repairman Jack series. Trying to understand the timeline and order of these books can be a confusing affair, so from here on out, I’ll try to focus on The Keep.
The book takes place in Romania during the nazi occupation and is set almost entirely in, you guessed it, a keep. The titular structure rests in a nearly sunless valley in a small Romanian village, and is made the operating base for a squad of nazi soldiers. Shortly after the nazis take over the keep, a dark presence begins to hunt them. Searching for answers, the nazis send for history professor Theodore Cuza and his daughter, Magda. Almost immediately, Cuza and his daughter are swept up in the mystery of the dark presence preying on those within the keep.
This entire book was fantastic, old-school horror from start-to-finish. I had some idea of the direction things would go, since the Repairman Jack books take place in more modern times and are tied to the Adversary Cycle, but I found myself wrapped up in the story and wondering how exactly this book would kick off a universe full of some of my most beloved novels.
Even as a standalone book, The Keep is worth checking out, especially for fans of older (80s) horror novels.
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
You’ve more than likely heard of this one.
The Devil in the White City was described to me as a narrative telling of the crimes of the notorious serial killer H.H. Holmes. As a fan of horror and as someone who is fascinated by tales of true crime, I was immediately sold on it.
Unfortunately for me, that is not what the book is. The Devil in the White City would probably have interested me more if I was an architect, a gardener, or a city planner. The book primarily tells the story of Daniel Hudson Burnham, director of Chicago’s World’s Fair, with interludes to speculate on the machinations of Dr. Holmes’ mind and movements during his time in Chicago.
As an historical account of one of the biggest / most attended events in US history, this book is fantastic. As the tale of a twisted serial killer, it falls a bit short. The two stories don’t really go together. On one page, Larson lists each item on the menu at a particular event (this happens several times in the book), and on the next, he is musing on the thoughts and intentions of Holmes.
Apparently very little is actually known about the murders committed by H.H. Holmes, though his macabre hotel is fascinating.
It was neat to read about the World’s Fair and I’m glad I learned what I did about it, but the book was a bit of a slog for me overall. That said, it’s very popular and if American history, architecture, or landscaping is your thing, I recommend checking it out.
Head Like a Hole by Andrew Van Wey
This book had been popping up on my feeds for some time now, always with comments about the satisfying 90s nostalgia throughout. Let me tell you, while the 90s vibe is enjoyable, there is so much more to this book.
Head Like a Hole is the tale of Megan Monroe and her group of friends, who are each haunted by a young woman from their shared past. As Megan and friends hunt for answers, it becomes clear that they are targets of a violent, terrifying life form.
This book checked all the right boxes for me: strange creatures, 90s setting, a group of friends solving a mystery that threatens their existence, and so much more. At times, this felt like an X-Files episode, while at others, it resembled something directed by John Carpenter.
If you like horror, add this one to your to-be-read pile.
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor (The Carls #2) by Hank Green
In June I stumbled across the audiobook for Hank Green’s sci-fi mystery / adventure, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, and loved it. Not only was the story original, entertaining, and well-written, the performance by Kristen Sieh was fantastic.
When the sequel popped up as a suggestion in my Libby app, I immediately downloaded it. The audiobook is very well performed, though Ms. Sieh does not do the majority of narrating—she shares the task with over half-a-dozen other performers.
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor takes place something like six months after the events of the first book. It continues the story of April May, her friends, and the Carls.
This novel does a good job of explaining everything that happened in the first book and brings the short saga to a satisfying conclusion. It leans heavily on some pretty extraordinary scientific premises that feel all-too plausible.
While I didn’t love this book as much as the first, it was an entertaining and well-told adventure.
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And that’s a wrap. What’d you think? Have you read any of these? Any suggestions for what I should read next? Drop me a line or leave a comment!
And have a good day.
-Chris