Book Review: Dark Is Light Enough For Me by John Claude Smith

I am, apart from several other roles, a speculative fiction writer. And 'horror' is an equally important element of the super-category for me. I like to call my horror pieces 'dark fantasy' – as I like the subtle, and I don't necessarily want to go heavy on gore, nor do I like to dabble in standard motifs, like zombies and vampires. And yet I will dabble in the more extreme on occasion. The term 'dark fantasy' is not a clearly defined concept, but one that I'm more comfortable with than most. John Claude Smith's Dark is Light Enough For Me is an anthology of dark fantasy, interspersed with horror, but none of the stories consist of recurring popular motifs – internally or within the genre. Each story is original, and in most cases, very dark indeed – coal black.

Smith's anthology isn't for the sensitive or the faint-hearted. Many of the stories are edgy, working on concepts and thoughts that all us adults are familiar with, but rarely talk about. Smith isn't being quirky, or finding satisfaction in the gory, sexually perverse or the profane. No, he is writing this stuff because it unbalances the reader. Disturbs. Sometimes frightens – the essence of what quality horror/dark fantasy is all about. And he does it admirably, especially for a debut title.

You will find stories of high craftsmanship, but not all of his pieces are equal. I have found a few that could have been tighter, better polished, but never lacking in originality and perceptiveness. There are places in some stories that could have been better edited and proofed as well – but these are few and far between, and do not materially affect the overall quality of the piece. (I'm also an editor, and stuff like that rarely avoids my notice).

The remainder of this review is a blow-by-blow review of Smith's stories in the anthology.

** Black Wings

A very good story of guilt – and with a most interesting set of occurrences that lie at the root of the protagonist's guilt, as well as the way it manifested at the end of the piece.

The protagonist is, right from the beginning, a ruined man, and he is visited by crows, and in particular a big one. Smith skillfully reveals their meaning, as well as the protagonist's past. The flashback is finally revealed and it was surprising, and horrific.

The ending is appropriate and quite surreal.

** The Dark Is Light Enough For Me

This is a particularly good short story. We have the protagonist, James, with a disturbing life history (a pattern in many of Smith's stories), being drawn into a writer's group, discovering not only that the entire group have written the same complex work, but that there is a strange story associated with why he uniquely joined the group. This short is extremely well written – with a highly mature, insightful narrative, and without resorting to the more blatant tropes of horror, is in fact very horrifying. A dark piece worthy of wide readership.

** I Wish I Was A Pretty Little Girl

A powerful piece. It's hard to be original as a writer, writing from the POV of a serial killer. Smith succeeded. Again, the protagonist had a horrendous, nightmarish life leading to the current events. An explanation as to why this particular person became a monster – and convincingly. This story set me in uneasiness from the first few sentences. A child being led somewhere by a clearly disturbed adult – one of the hardest things to read about if Smith chose to follow the path of describing murder in gory detail. And yet he didn't. This story isn't about love of violence, rape, sex, or some bizarre blood letting. This is about the man who wants to be something else. The uneasiness generated from the start was a masterful stroke, allowing the reader to be unbalanced from the beginning, and then throughout the story. The ending was apt and horrifying, and almost makes one feel sorry for the killer.

** Gladiatrix

Again, a powerful piece, delving deep into the psyche of an exploited woman, and how she was turned into, a gladiatrix of sorts. The descriptions and language are superb, but I do have a slight reservation – it almost seems that the long (and quality) descriptions of the woman and her background in the first half of the story, seem too disjointed from the narrative revelations later. They seem more disconnected than what I would have appreciated.

Nevertheless, well worth the read.

** I Want To Take You Higher

A very good pastiche of drug and sex underlife, mixed with obscene, edgy satanic-like religion. With all the hard core imagery and descriptions, Smith was able to find moments for flippancy and humor. This is a well constructed story, sending up many elements of our society. A nice twist is constructed at the end.

** Not Breathing

A very powerful story about the degredation of a man's soul, woven into a most interesting plot. The use of second person is very efective here. Don't want to reveal much, but this is one of my favorites.

** Make Pretty

This is different from the past stories thus far, because it is more like a traditional horror piece – and yet masterfully crafted. Without giving too much away, the story is about vanity, and how it can bite you back if you choose to dabble in the spurious. Smith proves he is as much a traditional horror writer, as an innovator.

** Strange Trees

Another piece that has a traditional structure, but with unique undercurrents. The concept that malevolent trees awaken by the onset of menstruation with one of the protagonists, is effective. I also found the language and the POV more tradional than any other of Smith's stories in the anthology, almost (in a modern sense) like H.P. Lovecraft – clinical language – longer sentences, with
evocative descriptions.

** The Perceptive One

I like the premise of the story – the egotistical, shallow sociopath, teams up with an almost seer-like young girl, and their lives are inextricably crossed with an old tramp who has something dark, powerful, to impart. The egotist, Travis, becomes ruined, when in fact he was already broken, and the story ends with promise of a continuation of the cycle. Destiny is a strong theme in the story.

This is good – but, I think Smith works too hard at it, and there are scenes that seem to me too filled with repetitive descriptive sentences, and probably are 3 to 4 times longer than they should be. The intention, perhaps planning, is good, but the execution is slightly flawed. I feel this is a less mature work of Smith's, and I saw evidence of lack of polish here and there (not to mention editing/proofing). This is, despite some good points, one of Smith's weaker pieces.

** Plastic

A very good story that is superficially a classic scifi trope, but excellently meshes with the hunger of a man who hasn't attained his soul's desire. While the ending is in purest form something that a reader can guess at, the details aren't. This was also one of my favorites.

** The Sunglasses Girl

Another powerful, edgy, and raw piece, juxtaposing the seedier aspects of a man's depravity, with the stuff that matters more – the ability to make decisions on a higher plane. And in failing, suffers the consequences of what emerges from the lower plane (so to speak). This is another example of Smith's prime motif throughout the anthology.

** Things That Crawl in Hollywood

The final story is a wonderful comedic horror piece, sending up Hollywood, the 'plastic celebrity' phenomenon, and the shlock of zombie flix. A funny, and yet thoughtful piece – fast paced. Amazingly clever.

All in all I give Smith's work 4 stars – I would give 4 and a half, but most systems don't cope with fractions. 5 is on or near perfection, and this anthology isn't quite there – but I bow and acclaim a wonderful work nevertheless, and stand in awe at this debut piece. As a writer, I have learned much from Smith, in terms of the power of descriptive narrative.
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Review: Brumbies by Paula Boer (& Illustrator, Rowena Evans)

Brumbies, a children's adventure set in the Australian Snowy Mountains, and the first of a five part series, is a wonderful read for the 8 to 12 year old set, but certainly enjoyable for all ages. This is IFWG Publishing's first venture in publishing a book written in Australian English, in part to retain the authenticity of the characters and setting, as well as recognizing that Australian children – especially those who love horses – will be the primary readers. But don't misunderstand me – this book is a classic horse adventure and could very well turn into a classic, much like "The Silver Brumby".

The story is about a horse-loving city girl moving into the country – the highlands of Australia where, surprisingly for those who aren't Australian, can get cold and even snow in winter. A hardy wild horse, the Brumbies, roam the diminishing countryside, and have, to some extent, become a 'pest' to local farmers and parks. There is an annual mustering of Brumbies for the purpose of putting them down, and this shocks Louise, one of our protagonists. She and Ben, a local boy she befriends, work hard to find a way to save some of these beautiful creatures. This is the basis of the story for the first book.

I love reading children's titles as they take me back to when I was a child and enjoyed reading. My taste was quite eclectic, but I certainly can remember reading every single one of WIllard Price's 'Adventure' series. Reading Paula Boer's Brumbies rekindled those enjoyable years, and I certainly can thank her (and illustrator Rowena Evans) for that. While not a horse story reader, I can only imagine how wonderful stories will be for those with an equine bent.

Five deserved stars.

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Market News: Raindrops In His Eyes

Very pleased to have an Evyntyde story, Raindrops In His Eyes, accepted in Static Movement's anthology, Dark Dispatches.

Also pleased because this is the second story accepted for the same anthology – also because this story is going to be quite a contrast in the anthology because it is fantasy, with a dark twist, while most stories (including my first acceptance, They Never Can Find Out), are horror war pieces.

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The Road To Heaven Is Paved With Crass Commercialism

I’ve raved before about my views on publishing, and particularly self-published work. The bottom line of my past ranting is that those who are good are being swamped and disadvantaged by the vocal majority—who are simply poor writers and poorly supported from a polished end product point of view. What’s more, there is no easily accessible way to reality check such unfortunate individuals.
 
What I want to focus on in this essay is the social network layer that is utilized (read: abused) by such individuals, as well as those who provide a ‘service’ to them.
 
Social Networks are SOCIAL
 
This seems self-evident, but a lot of people don’t get it. To pay for many of these social networks, there’s advertising, but in most cases the advertising is self-evident—every element has its place. Many writers, and those who want to make money ‘helping’ authors, hit the social network hustings in a big way. Why do they do it? Well, I can think of a few notable dynamics: firstly, because it is there; it is so tempting to say, ‘buy my book’, or ‘visit my interesting site because you know and I know I’m flogging my book, but you must appreciate my thin veneer of social networkese in this post/twitter’. Another reason people do this is because there is a very small fraction of people who have actually succeeded in getting some semblance of fame and/or income from using social networks to sell their products—of course, those who succeed, get more successful because they become celebrities for their archetypal standing, which feed more hopefuls who look to them, and the spiral continues to rise, but unfortunately still for those few.
 
I don’t, personally, disagree with advertising one’s book on Facebook, Twitter etc, and I have certainly done it as an author, as well as a publisher, but I draw a well-defined line. For me, it is more important to join a social network socially, and only announce the other stuff on a minority basis. I can guarantee you that you gain more respect from those who count more effectively, and quickly.
 
I will provide you with an example. There is an option in Facebook to seek ‘friendship’ with another member. What motivates you to ask a stranger to be a friend? Perhaps the litmus test is what you do once friendship is first obtained—do you say 'hi!' on their Wall or do you add a link to your book site? The latter is a classic example of sheer hypocrisy—there is no friendship, not even an attempt at it, only crass commercialism. I personally increase my friendships in FB quite actively and rapidly, and I never ask my new-found friends to see my commercial/marketing web pages or the like. They can choose to do so if they wish, but I’m not even going to give them a hint. Will I get sales from this type of activity? I suspect few, but hey, are other authors the best people to market to, even if I wanted to? No. That’s probably the most ironic aspect of commercialism in the literary field in social networks, because most authors are spending too much time in the wrong target areas.
 
I especially dislike those who have sites on how to make it in the publishing field, and how to produce the best erotic novel covers, etc etc. The majority of these people are failures themselves, or at best, are big fish in diminutive ponds. Of those who are successful to some degree or another, are simply adding social networks to their regime of blatant commercial marketing.
 
My advice is this, and it does in part stand on ethical high ground—as an author, use the social network if you can because it makes people aware that you exist. Don’t push your products to the max because you are in the wrong space—this is a social networking arena, not a friggin’ marketplace. Socialize, and do interesting things where no-one has to invest in them other than their time. If you have had literary successes, rave about them, along with your interesting pieces. If you have a new product for sale, or want people to know about what you have got on your shelf, do it—just don’t do it a lot. I look at some of the better companies that have presence on Facebook and Twitter, such as Simon and Schuster, and also my company, IFWG Publishing, and you will see that even they don’t hit you all the time with products. Not at all. They’re smart, and ethical.
 
I ask you authors out there to challenge yourself to be smart and ethical.
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Little One riding for the first time

Had to post this – Erin like most little girls, loves ponies. And she has been talking about wanting to ride. So…today we started this journey for her and boy did she light up! Sent tears to my eyes. I firmly believe now how therapeutic horses are for children with autism.

Forgot the camera (sheesh), but here are two Blackberry photos showing her in her first ride. This will be a regular event, I can assure you.

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Review: The Sixth Precept by Larry Ivkovitch

This is an amazing book. Larry Ivkovich describes The Sixth Precept as an urban fantasy – and it certainly is in the sense that it is a fantasy and quite a bit of the adventure is set in a modern day US city – but a lot of the adventure is also set in medieval Japan. And stuff happens there. Yes, it is an urban fantasy, but it doesn't deserve simple labeling. For example, it has a neat, convincing detective story feel about it as well.

I'm raving – and probably because this fantasy adventure has everything, all in the right proportions.

I wont give too much away of the plot, as it would be a spoiler indeed, but I can say that the key storyline is about a woman in
medieval Japan with an amazing psychic gift, who is playing a key part in a great cosmic 'game', who sends the young girl she is protecting, through a rift into the future. That's just the beginning, when it comes to time travel as well as strange and miraculous people and creatures. I simplify this, because the most powerful feature of Larry's writing is the smoothness of the plot and the sustaining of adventure and entertainment. It is complex, but not distracting.

I normally am not a fan of time travel stories (although I should point out that time travel is not necessarily the sole, core element of
this novel), as I often find authors handling paradox particularly badly. For me, the best time travel stories enable travel into the
future, but impossible to travel backwards. However, there are a select few authors for me who handle forward and backward time journeying with flair – beautifully enabling the reader to suspend disbelief. Larry is one such author.

Another feature of the book that I liked was the treatment of some of the antagonists. They are complex. They are not necessarily black and white in the depiction of evil (with one deserved exception). The bestial creature who is supposed to hunt down the protagonists in modern day is an example of such a complex figure – while hated and dreadful in many ways, there are moments of sympathy as well. It makes the book memorable.

Larry Ivkovich's debut novel is way more polished and mature than a typical first work. I would strongly advise any fantasy reader –
especially paranormal and urban fantasy readers – to buy and enjoy this 5 star piece.
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Market News: David Rorshach’s Dream Comes True

My scifi short story, David Rorshach's Dream Comes True, originally published in Silverthorn Press eZine, is now available in the For The Oceans anthology, by Sonar4. Very slightly toned down for general consumption.

This is also an anthology where proceeds go to an environmental group related to the health of the oceans.
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Review: Whirl Wind by Jennifer R. Resetar (illust. John Powers)

This is a special book for me. It is targeted for children in the 8 to 10 age group (I think) and it covers two topics extremely well – school bullying and children with disabilities.

Jennifer R. Resetar has clearly got an intimate understanding of the topics and uses the theme of superheroism as the springboard to cover them. She does it well and it makes for a good story and provides lessons without actually teaching, thrusting it in one's face.. This was important for me.

John Powers is a caricaturist and his excellent skills with illustration supports Resetar's story very well. He chose a cartoon-like, naive style that perfectly matches the age group and style of prose. The cover extends this effect.

I sincerely believe that there isn't enough children's literature out there to help address attitudes and responses to the two key topics in this book. This work is sorely needed, and really should be picked up by schools and parents.

Five deserving stars.
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