KN Magazine: Reviews
The Beauty by Aliya Whiteley / Review by Bree Goodchild
BOOK OF THE DAY
"Today the world moves on, and I must find new ways to turn the truth into stories. The graveyard bears more mushrooms, clustering in soft wet shapes, yellow folds and rivulets, in the outlines of the women beneath the soil."
Whiteley's The Beautyis a powerful punch of 112 pages. It has been described as "weird," "speculative," and "disturbing." Recommended for lovers of Margaret Atwood and the late Ursula Le Guin this compelling novella tackles themes like feminism, gender relations, and age-related power struggles. Once you fall into the rabbit hole of The Beauty you will not come back the same.
Whiteley’s world is told through the voice of a young storyteller within the Group in the Valley of the Rocks. Nathan is the reader's eyes and ears among the men in the Group. Nate composes poetic tales of how men and women from all places came looking for sanctuary from a chaotic, technology-driven world. How all the women were now gone, eaten alive slowly by an incurable disease.
Nate also knows the forest holds a terrible secret. Within the shadows of the trees, beneath the soil in which the mushrooms grow, there lives an "other," a new Group that will rattle the lives of the men in the Valley. Is this alien "other" the missing piece to a crippled humanity, or a sinister being with its own agenda?
"Terror, hatred, panic and those stranger, softer feelings: they are there, but they do not crowd me or make me their puppet."
Weaving a story of science fiction, mystery, and post-apocalyptic thrills writer Aliya Whiteley challenges her readers to think beyond traditional storytelling, and to open their minds to the great "what if..." A myth in its own weight, The Beauty is a short story which keeps its readers up at night. You’ll be far too captivated by the strangeness to put it down for even a moment. Embrace the weird, surrender to the beauty.
Bree Goodchild is a recent graduate of Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville with a BA in English and Theatre Arts. She currently lives in Washington state with her beagle mix, Molly. A fan of a wide genre of books and authors, most recently Temple Grandin, Ira Glass, Terry Moore, Sebastian Barry, and Zora Neale Hurston.
The Devil Has A Black Dog by Jonathan Thurston / Review by Liz Gatterer
From the very first page, I felt sure that this was going to be an intriguing read. There are several letters that have been stylized with a dramatic font. It doesn’t take long to figure out that if you connect the letters, they spell out the message – “We need the key”. And just like that, I was hooked. The temptation to scroll through the pages and find all of the letters was almost overpowering – but I resisted. The special effects on the pages continued. Some pages were different shades, some had text arranged in different ways but it was never distracting, it helped to draw me into the story and in some cases, made the link between the what was written and what was being said much clearer. I believe when an author manipulates the text that way, it technically changes it from prose to poetry. I couldn’t agree more.
The main character in this novella is Titus Anderson. Titus has had a bad day. He lost his boyfriend, his job, his dealer want to kill him, the landlady will most likely evict him, the townspeople see him as a pariah, oh… and he drives a Prius. You would have to be a pretty cold-hearted person to not feel for Titus. He is cast as the anti-hero that would really have liked to be the hero but thinks he can’t be. I think this is a trap many people fall into and can’t see a way out of on their own. It’s an example of the “whether you think you can or think you can’t – you’re right” type of situation.
The people of Hollow Rapids, Massachusetts are split into two groups “Church Folk” and “Night Folk”. The former being those that conform to conventional standards of “good” but aren’t necessarily good people, and the later are those that won’t or can’t fit in that box. Titus is “Night Folk”. He recalls how when he was young, the world was full of color. But, as an adult – the world shifted to just black and white and he fell into the black category. More than once, he wishes he could be clean again. The hopelessness and isolation he feels are reflected in the background as the pages begin to darken from pure white to black. It is heartbreaking. Titus is tempted to just drive his car off the road and end it all. That is when he runs over the dog. But this is no ordinary dog. It is a demon. It is a demon sent to Earth by God to stop other demons. But should one trust a demon?
The Devil Has a Black dog is a fantastic read. For those of us that like stories that require a bit of thought and reflection to really appreciate, it is a rare treat. Fans of Neil Gaiman, Stephen King and maybe A.N. Roquelaure should really enjoy this updated parable about perils of vice and vengeance and the cost of sacrifice and virtue.
"Death Nell" by Mary Grace Murphy / Reviewed by Clay Stafford
Can food bring two people together? Sure, over a dish of cold murder. Making your heart glow, this is maturity at its finest. Loved this first book from indie author Mary Grace Murphy. Like her character Sam, I don’t think she knows I’m writing about her. Hopefully, she’ll take it well.
Until next time, read like someone is burning the books!
Clay Stafford
– Clay Stafford is an author / filmmaker (www.ClayStafford.com) and founder of Killer Nashville (www.KillerNashville.com). As a writer himself, he has over 1.5 million copies of his own books in print in over 14 languages. Stafford’s latest projects are the feature documentary “One of the Miracles” (www.OneOfTheMiracles.com) and the music CD “XO” (www.JefferyDeaverXOMusic.com). A champion of writers, Publishers Weekly has identified Stafford as playing “an essential role in defining which books become bestsellers” throughout “the nation’s book culture.” (PW 6/10/13)
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