Robin Marx's Writing Repository

Fantasy, horror, and science fiction reviews

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on September 23, 2021.

Survivor Song

By Paul Tremblay – William Morrow – July 7, 2020

Review by Robin Marx

A virus sweeps America. Quarantines are in place. Hospitals are overrun, and the staff are concerned about insufficient Personal Protective Equipment. Vaccines are starting to be distributed, but far right elements of the population hinder efforts, fearing the “deep state” and/or foreign nations.

This is the setting of Survivor Song, a world that’s...pretty close to our current one. Instead of a novel coronavirus, the virus in the novel is a “super rabies” capable of spreading from animals to humans, turning them into berserk and belligerent infection vectors akin to the rage zombies from the movie 28 Days Later.

While this book was written before the COVID-19 outbreak, it turned out to be rather prescient. In interviews, Tremblay has acknowledged that, if anything, he underplayed how the pandemic would be exacerbated by the more ignorant right-wing portion of the population. Reading this book more than 18 months into the pandemic, I tend to agree.

Survivor Song focuses on Natalie, a heavily pregnant woman. When her husband is killed by a rabid intruder and she’s bitten on the arm during the struggle, she meets up with her pediatrician friend Ramola and the two of them embark on a dangerous quest for medical treatment.

This book was a fast-paced, gripping read. It was tense throughout. I also enjoyed the small scale of the story. It didn’t deal with the pandemic as a whole, it focused on this one pregnant woman and her friend. “Immediacy” is the one word that most sums up this novel for me.

However, despite the high personal stakes of the premise, the emotional dimension of the story mostly fell flat for me. Throughout the book, Natalie records voice messages for a baby she becomes increasingly convinced she won’t survive to raise. While normally this would be tear-jerking stuff, even as a parent I wasn’t affected in the way the author intended. This side of the story felt too obvious and familiar, perhaps. Instead, the conclusion of the plot thread involving Josh and Luis, two teenage boys that apparently appeared in a Tremblay book I have not yet read, left me more moved than anything involving the main characters. Tremblay’s A Head Full of Ghosts did a better job of reaching me emotionally, I think.

While my heart strings were left more or less un-tugged, this book was a propulsive and exciting read. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone struggling during the coronavirus pandemic, however, as under the current circumstances this book lacks much in the way of escapism.

★★★☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Horror #SurvivorSong #PaulTremblay

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on January 15, 2013.

Yoshitoshi's Women: The Woodblock-Print Series Fuzoku Sanjuniso

By John Stevenson – University of Washington Press – 1995

Review by Robin Marx

This handsome volume offers an in-depth look at one of Yoshitoshi Tsukioka's most remarkable series of woodblock prints. The book opens with an excellent summary of Yoshitoshi's life as well as the ukiyo-e creative process, making it appropriate for both newcomers to Japanese art and the already initiated.

Each print in the series is given a full two page spread, with one page devoted to the artwork and the other providing in-depth commentary. The descriptions are fascinating and extremely illuminating, cluing the modern viewer in on allusions, metaphors, and other pieces of cultural context that the contemporary Japanese audience would've naturally understood.

From literature to fashion and material culture, the multidisciplinary depth of John Stevenson's research is truly impressive, and the presentation is clear and engaging. I've been a fan of Yoshitoshi's artwork for years, but this book helped me gain an even deeper appreciation of his work. Highly recommended.

★★★★☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Nonfiction #Art #ArtHistory #History #Japan #YoshitoshisWomen #JohnStevenson

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on October 23, 2021.

Horrorstör

By Grady Hendrix – Quirk Books – September 23, 2014

Review by Robin Marx

Silent Hill IKEA.

Instead of a haunted house, this fast-paced horror novel centers on a haunted housewares store. After a number of vandalism incidents and strange happenings at an Orsk, an acknowledged IKEA rip-off, the manager Basil chooses a pair of employees to stay with him overnight to get to the bottom of the mystery. Inevitably, these hapless retail workers find out they’ve gotten much more than they bargained for.

The first half of this book feels like a Scooby Doo cartoon, with a light tone and broadly drawn characters. Things take a decidedly darker turn in the second half, when the true nature of the haunting is revealed. Each character reveals more depth and surprising resourcefulness as their situation grows more grim. There’s also some social commentary dealing with consumerism and the plight of retail workers, and the whole story ends on a particularly satisfying note. Highly recommended for horror fans.

★★★★☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Horror #Horrorstör #GradyHendrix

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on October 21, 2021.

The Corpse-Rat King

By Lee Battersby – Angry Robot – August 28, 2012

Review by Robin Marx

Marius dos Hellespont is a con man and a “corpse-rat,” a scoundrel who makes a living looting the dead bodies on a battlefield. A twist of fate leads him to be mistaken for a fallen king by the restless dead, who drag him to their subterranean realm to rule over them. When he reveals himself as both 1.) still living, and 2.) not a king, they return him to the surface charged with finding a replacement king. Or else.

While probably most aptly categorized in the “grimdark” subgenre of fantasy, this is a very humorous picaresque romp, with the cynicism of Jack Vance if not the verbosity. Clever cons and reversals of fortune abound. Some reviewers found this book lacking in substance, but I found the fast pace and breeziness a welcome change of pace.

This story works just fine as a stand-alone novel, but when I noticed a sequel was available I picked it up right away.

★★★★☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Grimdark #Fantasy #LeeBattersby #TheCorpseRatKing #MariusDosHellespont

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on January 15, 2013.

The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons: A Field Guide to Japanese Yokai

By Matthew Meyer – March 1, 2012

Review by Robin Marx

This illustrated volume is a fun, if not especially deep, look at monsters from Japanese folklore. The book is an adaptation of Matthew Meyer's A-Yokai-a-Day web project, where he uploaded an original painting of one of Japan's traditional monsters (Yokai) along with a brief explanatory article.

The book reads a bit like a Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual, with each creature's appearance, diet, habits, and encounter spots listed. The text is breezy and entertaining, but doesn't offer much in the way of analysis or detail. The artwork was excellent, presented in a style that mixes traditional Japanese stylings with a more Western aesthetic. Overall this book offers an appealing look at an interesting side of Japanese culture, but those hoping for detail, citations, or more ethnographical content are going to be left wanting more.

★★★☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Nonfiction #Japan #Folklore #TheNightParadeOfOneHundredDemons #MatthewMeyer

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on May 26, 2022.

The Kids in the Hall: One Dumb Guy

By Paul Myers – House of Anansi Press – October 23, 2018

Review by Robin Marx

This is a fun, breezy take on the story of the Kids in the Hall. While you can get the same story distilled into the recent—and excellent—two-part 80-minute Amazon Prime documentary Comedy Punks (the author of this book also served as an Executive Producer on the documentary), the book format naturally allows for greater detail. For casual fans, the documentary is probably sufficient, but if you own all the DVDs and have sketches committed to memory like me, you’ll appreciate the extra depth.

★★★★☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Nonfiction #Comedy #Autobiography #TheKidsInTheHallOneDumbGuy #TheKidsInTheHall #PaulMyers

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on May 28, 2019.

The White Darkness

By David Grann – Doubleday – October 30, 2018

Review by Robin Marx

A brief but exciting read about a modern adventurer walking in the footsteps of his hero, Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. In addition to a quick overview of the earliest polar expeditions, this book covers Henry Worsley's successful journey as well as the disastrous solo attempt that followed years later. The story touches on hero worship and the limits of human endurance as well as reminding the reader just how much untouched and inhospitable terrain remains on our planet.

As a two-part New Yorker essay, this was perfectly sized. However, had I paid for the published book edition (currently $12 on Amazon) I likely would have felt ripped-off. This book is more of a breezy sketch than an in-depth day-by-day portrayal.

★★★☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Nonfiction #Adventure #History #Autobiography #TheWhiteDarkness #DavidGrann

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on February 23, 2019.

Valen the Outcast Vol. 2: Death Eternal

By Michael Alan Nelson (Writer) & Matteo Scalera (Artist) – BOOM! Studios – December 11, 2012

Review by Robin Marx

I wasn’t expecting this series to end so quickly, but the end result was satisfying. The story had a fast pace throughout and plenty of action.

★★★★☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #ComicReview #Fantasy #DarkFantasy #Grimdark #SwordAndSorcery #ValenTheOutcast

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on February 23, 2019.

Valen the Outcast Vol. 1: Abomination

By Michael Alan Nelson (Writer) & Matteo Scalera (Artist) – BOOM! Studios – December 1, 2011

Review by Robin Marx

While marketed as sword & sorcery, so far this comic feels a bit closer to the grimdark sub-genre a la Joe Abercrombie (with a bit of early Berserk) rather than Robert E. Howard’s Conan.

Category quibbling aside, this series is off to a good start. The premise is simple but effective: an undead king named Valen shakes off a necromancer’s control and seeks revenge. He’s joined in this task by two slightly unreliable companions: a witch/swordswoman named Zjanna and drunkard rogue Cordovan.

The story moves at a brisk pace with no wasted verbiage or lengthy info dumps, and the world building is of the “show, don’t tell” variety. I look forward to reading future volumes and would recommend it to fans of dark fantasy.

★★★★☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #ComicReview #Fantasy #DarkFantasy #Grimdark #SwordAndSorcery #ValenTheOutcast

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on January 20, 2022.

John the Balladeer

By Manly Wade Wellman – Baen Books – July, 1988

Review by Robin Marx

John roams the mountains of Appalachia carrying little more than his silver-stringed guitar and a rucksack with some provisions. Motivated by curiosity, he seeks out folklore and new songs to add to his repertoire. Along the way he encounters simple folk in need, sinister magicians, and supernatural horrors. John lives by his wits, the magic-defeating silver of his guitar strings, and his knowledge of folklore and biblical lore.

There’s a wandering outsider hero, black magic, and otherworldly menaces. These stories aren’t precisely sword & sorcery, but if you like that sort of thing, you’ll like THIS sort of thing.

★★★★☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Horror #Fantasy #FolkHorror #SwordAndSorcery #ManlyWadeWellman #JohnTheBalladeer #SilverJohn