DRAMAS FROM THE DEPTHS Reggie Oliver’s Dramas from the Depths is the size of an old family bible.


And rightfully so. This omnibus (fully illustrated by the author) gathers to- gether Oliver’s four collections to date. That’s 47 stories, one novella, five essays and five short articles of macabre whimsy called “Oliver’s Cabinet of Curiosities.” Much of Oliver’s repertoire is stylistically reminiscent of the 19th-century


supernatural writers – reserved and leisurely paced. Aware of, but not gov- erned by that tradition, Oliver’s world is one of bleak boarding schools, over-


grown estates and decrepit theatres. His characters, too, are often like decaying Gothic mansions: shabby remnants of a genteel class desperately clinging to the illusion of former glories. Even stories set in the modern day are saturated with a sense of an encroaching and frequently obfuscated past. In fact, many of the tales read like confessions told in a bid to un- burden the soul. Oliver maintains a consistently high standard and some stories are genuinely startling: “The


Golden Basilica” is a tale of loss with an ending that is as darkly comic as it is sad, while “The Complete Symphonies of Adolf Hitler” features an alternate reality bleeding into our own. While Oliver has his own distinct voice, he is clearly an admirer of M.R. James. Not only does


Dramas include an essay on the ghost story master, but “The Sermons of Dr. Hodnet” professes to be a lost story by the author. Another, “A Warning to the Antiquary,” features James as a character – and a sinister one at that. Also in the collection is a posthumous collaboration with James: the completion of an unfinished story called “The Game of Bear.” Oliver is an established actor and playwright, which is why so many of his stories relate to


the theatre. Additionally, his tenure on the stage also seems to inform his knack for mimicry, whether in dialogue for an ailing Oscar Wilde in “Garden of Strangers” or in scenes from a 17th-century play in “The Constant Rake.” Dramas is an impressive body of work produced over a relatively short period of time (the


oldest story is from 2001). A master of his craft, Oliver already appears regularly in horror an- thologies – now, it won’t be long before he takes centre stage before a larger audience. BRIAN J. SHOWERS


DARK ECHO It’s a haunting on the high seas in Dark Echo, the second novel from F.G.


Cottam (originally published in the UK in 2008), which is now enjoying a North American release from St. Martin’s Press. This contemporary Gothic mystery is a carefully constructed tale, as much about a cursed boat as it is about its many fateful owners. While the reading is certainly not light, by employing heady, descriptive passages mixed with journal entries and shifting narrative voices, Cottam keeps a steady pace, building deep psy- chological tension and layers of mystery along the way. When wealthy businessman Magnus Stannard suddenly buys a vintage


vessel at auction and announces his plan to retire early and sail the Atlantic, even though he has no seafaring experience, his son Martin becomes seriously concerned – especially given that dear old dad intends to take him along on the trip. As it turns out, the craft originally be- longed to the late Harry Spalding – a soldier who boxed Ernest Hemingway (and won) and could drink T.S. Eliot under the table – who seems able to maintain some unearthly link to his old yacht. The subsequent owners of the craft have all since died in tragic, grotesque ways and a mass


of fog always seems to cling to the vessel. Despite its bloody history, Magnus begins preparing the boat for the trip but, almost imme-


diately, myriad disturbing and disfiguring accidents befall the restoration crew. Even when ev- idence ultimately reveals that Harry Spalding was a serial killer well-versed in satanic magic, Magnus still sets sail on what now looks to be a suicide mission. Martin reluctantly follows with the slim hope of bringing his father back from the grips of insanity. Dark Echo delivers deep psychological horror, driven by a mounting feeling of dread, which


is punctuated by tortuously descriptive scenes of abominable gore. These elements combined create a tremendously disturbing atmosphere that never ebbs, and only continues to gain mo- mentum until the truly shocking plot twist at the novel’s end.


JESSA SOBCZUK


ward to Banned Books Week and the release of the vari- ous library associations’ Most Challenged Titles lists, if only to see what literature has gotten everyday folks up in arms lately. But I can honestly say this year’s Canadian Library Association chart-topper has me genuinely flum- moxed. I mean, even if one does not subscribe to a particular


Y


belief system, one can usually understand why a title draws controversy. In the in- stance of the much-challenged Harry Potter series, it isn’t dif- ficult to see how fundamental- ist Christianity makes the leap from wizards and magic to devil worship. (We’ve seen the same hysteria about rock music and goth culture for decades, after all.) But this year’s most chal-


lenged title, or rather series, doesn’t offer up such common sense explanations. In fact, since it is very much for grown-ups, it lacks them entirely. You see, the books in question are Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire Myster- ies, the inspiration for HBO’s wildly popular series True Blood. A-ha!, you say, that show is full of explicit sex, vi- olence, bloodshed and queer relationships – of course the puritans are going to be upset! But this is where the ar- gument falls apart, because the books are, well, simply not. When I reviewed Harris’ latest novel in RM#101, I


pointed out that the series, despite its monsters, bore more in common with the urban fantasy and mystery genres than horror, regardless of the excesses of Alan Ball’s TV adaptation. In fact, nearly every horror novel out there has more graphic violence and gore (including those penned by Stephen King), and the majority of best- selling novels (of almost any genre) have a comparable amount of sex. In fact, if Harris’ series had a cinematic rating, it wouldn’t even come close to an R. This leads me to believe these complaints were most


likely filed by folks who haven’t actually read the novels, but rather, saw the TV show, noted it was inspired by a book series, then immediately jumped to some very silly conclusions. If the Sookie Stackhouse novels are worthy of being the most challenged titles of the year, then noth- ing is safe – not that Jack Ketchum novel you’re reading, nor the crime fiction that your parents love. Good thing our libraries aren’t so easily swayed, or else


their genre sections might dry up entirely. So what have we learned from all this, Dear Reader? That it seems pos- sible that the deeds of one medium, in this case TV, can unduly influence people’s opinion of another. In our multi- format world, a creator shouldn’t be judged on the output of an adaptor. That’d be a dangerous new precedent in- deed.


MONICA S. KUEBLER T H E N I N T H C I R C L E 57 RM CANADIANS CALL TO BAN BLOODSUCKERS?


OU CAN LEARN A LOT ABOUT A SOCIETY BASED ON WHAT IT SEEKS TO LIMIT – whether through prohibition or censorship. Hence, I always look for-


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