My regular readers (all two of you) would have seen that I've been interested in horror books and book cover art. I'd say my horror knowledge is above average, but I think I'm woefully ignorant about modern horror literature*.
For that reason, I decided to try to get more involved in the horror writing community. I joined Facebook groups, including ones asking for people to review indie horror books. That's how I found myself doing a "sensitivity check" for a short story called The Little Goddess of Horror by Rami Ungar.
The Little Goddess of Horror will be released on 1 May in a short story collection by Rami called Symphony for Walpurgis. Because of my involvement, Rami was kind enough to invite me to review an Advance Reader Copy (ARC).
Read my review below, and at the end of this blog I've also shared my (completely unrelated) Faebruary drawings.
*My knowledge is probably still above average but not good enough, in my opinion. I've read a lot of the classics!
Book Review: Symphony for Walpurgis
"What’s the difference between humans and monsters? Is there a fine line, or is it more gray and blurred? Rami Ungar, author of Rose and Hannah and Other Stories, explores this question in his latest collection, Symphony for Walpurgis. From legendary cryptids to malevolent spirits and from Ohio in the 1950s to modern-day California, readers will be treated to nine terrifying stories of the weird and macabre. So settle down and be prepared, for you have bought your ticket to Symphony for Walpurgis."
I'm going to tell you up front my recommendation: Yes, thumbs up, buy this book. I really liked it.
I do have some critiques though.
Criticism
I'm an artist and this is my website so I feel like I have to talk about the cover. I'm sorry, I don't like it! I get the impression that it was homemade by someone who is not a designer/artist. I've since looked at Rami's website and got a similar impression again.
Other things were a few typos, a few sentences that I think could have been polished, and some dialogue I thought was unnatural.
Both of these things don't impact the quality of the narratives, so I think they are minor. However, I do encourage anyone who is writing (or putting any type of art out there) to put that extra effort into editing, testing, proof-reading, etc. I do try and keep an open-mind about things like this because there are barriers, whether they're financial or disability etc, and I try to push aside the thoughts of unprofessionalism - but they're still distracting. You don't want to distract from the great story writing.
I feel like a hypocrite even saying that as I don't think I've nailed "looking professional" for my own art. But that was my experience when reading.
Praise
I was immediately drawn in and intrigued. There are some interesting perspectives on classic genres, and I love that Rami is able to go in so many different directions without feeling like he's all over the place. They all feel like they are from the same world and have a consistency in style.
There are a lot of creatures (demonic bats, aggressive mermaids, The Thing-like monsters, and more). I usually don't gravitate towards the more cryptid-style of creatures; I often find them a bit cheesy. But I like the twists Rami puts on his creatures, and the story of the people around them.
I don't want to give too much away, but I'd written down some movies I was reminded of when reading: The Black Phone, Promising Young Woman, The VVitch, and Cabin in the Woods.
I think this collection is well worth reading, so pre-order now and get it for 1 May. It's only around $4NZD, so why not support an independent horror writer?
Faebruary
Continuing my daily drawing challenges I started in January, here are my February drawings!
Faebruary is fairy-themed. I won't add a lot of commentary but you can see the drawings below. You can also check out January's Creatuanuary here.
As always, comment below any thoughts or suggestions!
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