The language in this piece is really beautiful. I’ve thought of including some sort of magical fungus in the sequel to The Gold in the Dark, so I’m always psyched to see tangential ideas in fiction. “Spore” was a quick read, and I was interested in the premise of a purported fungal infection that is influencing its hosts in strange and unanticipated ways. This week I returned to Nightmare Magazine to read the short story “Spore,” which was published in a female Lovecraftian horror anthology. I’d say if you’re up for a short story that kind of feels like a hokey House of Leaves, then give this one a chance. Some extended anecdotes from the local townspeople weren’t very convincing in terms of realistic dialogue… but frankly speaking, extended dialogue for the purposes of storytelling is a difficult thing to pull off if your aim is realism in how people actually talk. Nevertheless, it’s a fun read, and I did enjoy the accounts from the townsfolk who entered the maze. No matter how many times they subsequently resupplied and reentered and tried to solve the maze, they failed.
Despite their best efforts at navigation, however, the maze led them in endless circles and forced them to backtrack to its entrances when they used up their supplies. They went in packing compasses and lights and maps and weapons-all the accoutrements of proper search and rescues. You might be thinking, “Why don’t you go searching for those kids? Why don’t you run into that maze in parties and pull them out?” In the past, adults tried this, or so we’re told. There are a lot of explanations like this to keep the story going. One example: drone technology to fly over the maze for observation doesn’t work, for reasons. You can feel the author trying to pull us along towards believing, throwing in lines here and there to quell questions and preserve the mystery. This is the kind of story where suspension of disbelief only gets you so far. As only suits a magical maze, this labyrinth has a mysterious pull on the townsfolk, tempting all resident teens to enter in what essentially becomes a local coming-of-age ritual. And of course, not all who enter the maze find an exit. The maze features bleeding walls and presents those who enter it with off-kilter characters and eerie tasks. The narrator never names themselves or gives personal details really they just detail a mysterious maze that resides in the middle of the narrator’s small town which grows by the year. True to its name, this story is written in an informal, guidebook style.
This week I returned to Nightmare Magazine to read the short story “The Bleeding Maze: A Visitor’s Guide.” You can read it for free here…
0 kommentar(er)
