October 27, 2023

SHORT STORY REX Oct 2023

Fargo Tbakhi, Evan Forman, Ivy Grimes, Brian Evenson

1. “Twelve Worlds Interrupted by the Drone”, Fargo Tbakhi

Been thinking a lot about this story recently. Probably the greatest piece of short fiction published by any of the bigger name SFF venues in the last 5 years, if not longer.

There was and there was not a world in which we asked daily for forgiveness from the mountain, whose earthy silence pointed out in us a desperation too large to acknowledge. Each day the mountain opened up another hole in the ground and swallowed another of us. The holes came closer and closer to the edge of the city, and we were certain that we could not appease its anger for much longer. Then the Drone came, and there was fire, and there was no more mountain. The hole that opened in its wake spread larger than it had been, larger than the city, larger still than our imaginations, larger than any words to describe its edges. Now we ask forgiveness from nothing.

Boycott, Divest, Sanction. Uplift Palestinian voices. Free Palestine.

2 . “The Dream with No Dreamer”, Evan Forman

im not one to wantonly deploy a Jerry Maguire “you had me at”1 but this story definitely had me at “sclerotic chimerae”.

I read it as Cosmic Horror of a sort that wants to tell us about something that happens on a scale so cosmic as to be not even perceivable much less intelligible (i.e, the dark inevitable fate of all creation, the heat death of the universe).

But since our human minds are too puny for such stuff, instead it explains the scenario as some cryptic, metaphysical, hallucinatory pantomime, in hopes that some of the horror that it must convey will find purchase in our fallible brain meat. Suffice it to say it goes very hard!

3. “The Arcade”, Ivy Grimes

it’s been months since i sang the praises of Ivy Grimes, one of my favorite working authors, so here’s a recommendation of a story from her excellent chapbook published by Tales From Between Press entitled Grime Time

I discovered Grimes’ work earlier this year and have been captivated by it ever since. In this book I detect a bit of a Murakami vibe at times, partly something to do with the broken or unsatisfactory romantic relationships percolating in the background of uncanny goings-on but also

there’s a feeling in much of Grimes’ work that one finds in writing that has been translated from another language, a leanness and an off-kilterness that is instantly bewitching

In “The Arcade” its not romance in the background but rather family in the foreground, as the protagonist struggles to individuate from amid an absurdly large number of aunts cousins etc, and enlists two strangers with colorful hair to help in the nigh-impossible task of knowing one's own aura

Anyway get this book and leave a review somewhere, i bet ivy would appreciate that a whole bunch

4. “Sisters”, Brian Evenson

Along with the Ligotti collection I mentioned last month, I also brought home my first collection of stories by Brian Evenson, Song for the Unraveling of the World, all of which I highly recommend, but since it’s (just barely) still ‘spooky season’ I felt like I should talk specifically about “Sisters”, in which a family of ghosts learns about the human tradition of Halloween and decides to join in the “fun”.

Now, if that premise sounds potentially too cutesy or even (*gasp*) “cozy”2, never fear. I mean, yes, it does begin in an almost Dahl-esque vein of cruelty-tinged kid’s lit:

“And then there’s the one where we put on a face not our own and go from one door to the next and take things, and—”

But Mother reached out and grabbed her arm. “Where did you hear about this?”

“I,” said Millie. “ The immature specimens down the street, I was listening to them as they walked to the instructional center. They were talking about it.”

“Did they see you?”

“No, of course not,” said Millie. “I would never—”

“And what did they say this day was called?”

“Halloween,” said Millie.

“Hallows’ Eve?”

Millie considered, shrugged. “Maybe.”

Mother let go of her arm. “Now that,” said Mother, “is something we can celebrate. That’s not their holiday. It’s ours.”

But the story strays just enough from those safe confines and into creepier territory, just as our protagonist and her sister begin to insinuate themselves in the human festivities with suitably monstrous results.

The entire collection is quite fantastic, do check it out if you (like me, until recently) have only heard the name Evenson but not gotten to grips with his work, definitely worth it

Not-a-story rec: Scratch Acid

For whatever reason3 earlier this month, I found myself revisiting a band I got into and became kind of obsessed back when I picked up their omnibus compilation The Greatest Gift used on tape at The Record Exchange back in the year nineteen-*mumble mumble*

Of course I discovered them waaay after the fact, having arrived by way of previously becoming obsessed with The Jesus Lizard (also featuring the great David Wm. Sims on bass and the deranged vocal stylings of David Yow) after a friend in the 8th grade gave me a mixtape with “Mouthbreather” and “Monkey Trick”, and while pound for pound I’d say I prefer The Jesus Lizard, this stuff is fucking fun as hell. Spooky punk rock, very horror-coded, you like it very much.

(also earlier in October I was walking around with the chorus of this song4 stuck in my head for an entire week or two, which is an extremely normal thing to have stuck in your head)