The focus of The R’lyeh Tribune is the horror, fantasy, and science fiction of the early twentieth century—“old school” weird or speculative fiction. However, from time to time, contemporary work in the field will also be discussed. It is a pleasure to become familiar with current or emerging authors in this still energetic and fascinating genre. What has been done lately with the ideas originally explored by H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith and their colleagues?
JournalStone
is a small press that features horror, fantasy and science fiction for both
adult and young adult markets. The
company recently encouraged subscribers to its newsletter to peruse a recently
published young adult novel, Joe McKinney’s Dog
Days (2013). McKinney is a winner of
the Bram Stoker Award for superior achievement in a young adult novel, and the
novel reviewed here is an example of his considerable skill as a writer. (JournalStone graciously supplied me with a
free copy of Mr. McKinney’s novel.)
In Dog Days, fourteen year old Mark Eckert
awakes to find his neighborhood under water after a devastating hurricane. Worse, three men have been discovered gruesomely
murdered just down the street from his house. It is his last summer before starting high
school, and his sheltered suburban world has been completely overturned. His parents are fighting, his best friend is
experimenting with drugs, neighborhood bullies lie in wait to attack him, and now
there are rumors that a notorious serial killer, long thought dead, has
resurfaced.
Despite
the aftermath of the storm and the terror of a murderer still at large, Mark
must still struggle with the typical anxieties of a young man transitioning to
adulthood. Should he follow his friends
into ever more perilous adventures, or abide by his parents’ protective
guidance? When will the adults in his
life take him seriously? And what do the
terrible events in his home town of Clear Lake teach him about the meaning of
life, death, and the nature of evil?
The
author displays a deep understanding of the vicissitudes of adolescence. Through his young narrator’s thoughts we
learn of Mark’s struggles to understand the chaos around him. McKinney has a good grasp of the heroism of
young people emerging from the protection and guidance of parents to take on
the challenges and terrors of the wider world.
The novel
is fast paced, with plenty of action filled episodes to keep the pages turning. There is some graphic but not gratuitous
violence—probably no more intense than in many video games. The author has reworked a very familiar type
of monster and made it fresh and frightening again.
I
enjoyed the numerous pop culture references, everything from Arthur Conan Doyle’s
The Hound of the Baskervilles to Pink
Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Though written for young adults, Dog Days is nostalgic fun for readers
who came of age in the early 1980s. Aspiring
writers for the young adult market may want to spend time with this novel to
see how characterization, mood, pacing and suspense are adeptly combined to
create an effective horror story.
There
is more that can be said about this impressive work of contemporary young adult
fiction. The author has covered quite a
bit of ground with respect to adolescent psychology, American culture circa
early 1980s, and the creative reworking of at least one very familiar subject
of “monsterology”. Joe McKinney’s Dog Days will be discussed in more depth
in a future post.
Additional
information about the author may be found at http://joemckinney.wordpress.com/
.
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