What better time to post a short review about Lawrence Block newest anthology At Home in the Dark, then with the latest news about Joe’s story Faun being bought by Netflix, Sugar23!
I have had the chance to start this bundle a few weeks ago already and I enjoyed it very much. You notice that Lawrence Block has chosen these stories very carefully for this collection, although they are very diverse they are all situated in a gray/dark area, you could even call them a bit noir. You can stay in the Wild West for a moment to withness revenge and then play a game of cards during WW II and take a gamble. Another one is in a school bus full of female testosterone, ready to (literally) tear up every opponent, and at last enter a fairytale world to ‘bag’ a magical creature!
But they do have something in common! And that is the darkness that awaits us and is around us. Every story is dark and grim without being horror or creepy, although some of them really are. They are stories that you should not just read in the dark at home!
Not every story is just as good in my opinion, but most are, and that makes this bundle worth 5 stars!
Faun sketch by Juhoham
Faun by Joe Hill, isn’t just a dark or noir story, this one really is horror at its finest because when the conclusion hits you, it will throw you off the track. It begins in Africa on a hunting trip and ends behind a small door where a magical world is located. And the owner of that little door doesn’t look for the magical adventure there! No, he has created its own exclusive hunting reserve for the rich to come and hunt and get the ultimate hunting price!
What if, as a hunter, you have already shot all the big trophies on your list, and one day you get an offer to hunt for something worth a quarter of a million, would you take a look behind the Little Door? How much patience must a hunter have to shoot his prey and achieve his ultimate goal?
A limited edition signed by lawrence Block can still be bought at Subterranean Press.
And you can read an excerpt there too of Faun!
—Ben, februari 2019