Halloween is a perfect time to cuddle up with a good book on a stormy October night. The wind howling, the rain beating on the window, all perfect elements for a night in for a scary adventure. In keeping with the spirit of Halloween, I will be posting book reviews of books that I would go to for such a night/.
First up is Kevin Strange’s LAST GIG ON PLANET EARTH, where his dark words and emotions takes to places of psychological torment and dysphoria on the grandest of scales. A very Lovecraftian ride and who doesn’t love a good Lovecraft story? So here it is!
The Last Gig on Planet Earth…is beautiful, insightful, dark, poignant, a one tear, heart breaking, thought provoking, journey into a much darker slower pace Kevin Strange. Every story in this book has a very dark, lonely yet hopeful tone to it. Some are short and beautiful others longer and much more disturbing. I’ve described Kevin’s writing as disturbing before but this is different. Reading this book is more like reading not necessarily a psychological thriller, but the stories really play on in your head, and you are not soon to forget the characters and sadness Kevin Strange projects.
What is more than amazing about these stories is that they are not all told from the perspective of Strange’s whacked out adult characters and the craziness that he puts them in. There is a story told from the perspective of a child (Mikey), an old man (The Old Man and The Black Water), pot smoking teens (The Hairy Chicken), and the list goes on to more familiar perspectives like those in The Last Gig on Planet Earth. Every voice and narrative sounds and feels just like said child or said old man; like they are truly saying the words and conveying the emotions that Kevin has given them.
This is another book Strangehouse has put out where the collection could easily be mistaken for an anthology given the fact that each story is written so differently and in such a different tone than the rest you would never guess one author wrote them all. I love this book, and as much as I love Mr. Strange’s bizarro fiction, I look forward to more of his serious writings. They are truly something amazing.
WELCOME TO HOPPS HOLLOWS: A DEPRESSING PLACE TO LIVE BUT YOU WON’T WANT TO STAY AWAY
I had read The Last Gig on Planet Earth as a chapbook when it was put out under as The Planet Backwards Plays One Last Gig. I loved that story then, loved it when I reread it, and love it even more the third time around in this book. Another well written lovecraftian feel of a story, Mr. Strange delves into the drug induced, sex driven, occult following band of Planet Backwards. Introducing Francis the lead singer, Charles the bassist, and Michol the guitarist; one bad ass trio of cocaine,pill poppin, alcoholic fucks that soon realize that one among them is the key to bringing fourth the Old One’s and destruction of the human race.
What surprised me about this story is the tone and pace. Unlike Mr. Strange’s McHumans, this story is told over the span of months leading to the last performance planet Earth or the band members of Planet Backwards will ever experience.
GOD’S ACT: The ending to this is beautiful. There is a sadness to this incredibly short story that weighs heavy once it is over. Had a very A Stranger in a Strange Land demise that the main character in that story comes to.
A GLORIOUS DEATH: THIS….THIS STORY! I have never been more blown away from a short story. Reminded me of an episode of Tales from the Crypt and the amazing way Mr. Strange writes these characters is just perfection. The main character is a 12 year old boy named Rance and no 12 year old boy character of Kevin Strange is complete without an alcoholic abusive father and an absent mother. Rance is a boy who loses himself in his imagination to escape his abusive home life. His one best friend; his dog Crixus. Together they are a team and together their love is unconditional and exactly what Rance needs to keep his sanity but when the rival neighbor’s take that from him along with a cruel joke to further rub salt into the wounds, Rance snaps. The end result was hard to choke back tears from…pretty share I let them flow on this one.
THE OLD MAN AND THE BLACK WATER: My first experience with this story was via an audio reading done by Danny Hicks (Jake of Evil Dead II). It didn’t even honestly register to me that what I was hearing was a Kevin Strange tale. Unlike anything ever written by Mr. Strange, this story is again another much slower paced lovecraftianesque tale about an Old Man’s desire to keep what’s his even if it costs him his life. Call it stubborn, heroic, or just simple old age…read and judge for yourself.
A KILLER’S ROAD: A rather dark odd tale. The ending has one of those cliff hangers where you can pretty much see where the story is gonna go if continued but you still want to KNOW. Part of this stories charm is being able to make your own assumption of what will happen. It’s like watching the season finale of Angel. More violence and anger in this particular story. Dark and Violent…that’s this one.
THE HAIRY CHICKEN: I had read this short story in a Peppermint Rooster compilation. I like it much better the second time around actually. What would you do if you found a a creature so beyond anything you have ever seen before? Report it, maybe take it home? Piece of advice…some animals need to be finished off…
MIKEY: A single tear ran down my cheek on the last line of this story. Fire Starter meets Carrie meets….sadness.
TWO HANDS: Very much like a Goosebumps book if H.P. Lovecraft and R.L. Stein collaborated together, wonderful little twist at the end!
Kevin Strange is no stranger to horror and if you want more of his books and more on him visit:
https://www.strangehousebooks.com
