The Hidden Language of Demons | ||||||||
L.H. Maynard and M.P.N. Sims | ||||||||
Prime Books, 108 pages | ||||||||
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A review by Trent Walters
Regrettably, the reviewer is not overly familiar with earlier work of
Maynard and Sims to comment on "This is not the Maynard & Sims you may be
familiar with;" however Infinity Online has basic author information,
excerpts from the novella "Moths", and the complete
story of "An Office in the Gray's Inn Road"
-- the latter two are available in their second collection Echoes of Darkness. A more recent
story "Beware the Beckoning Stranger",
appeared in Feoamante.com taking third prize in their horror contest of
2000 -- a tale of an unusual vampirism a tale in the usual Maynard and Sims
manner where the conceit reigns supreme.
"Moths," written only four years ago, does intrigue and seems to share a
similar psychedelic imagery (and received an honorable mention in Datlow and
Windling's Year's Best Fantasy and Horror). The ghost story (novelette or nearly novelette
depending on your definition), "An Office in the Gray's Inn Road," focuses
far more on conjuring atmosphere and horror than developing character
although the characters are well characterized with occasional nice touches:
"This is a modern nightmare of riotous colour, and white-knuckle action"
conveys the vivid imagery and gripping action sequences. "This is Poe in
his Sgt Pepper period" may miss the mark on Poe in particular but for
horror, yes, it's psychedelic: "The ceiling cracked open and two hugely
bloated black lips protruded, swollen and ugly; a snack tongue flicked out
and he dived to the floor to avoid it." If "This is Picasso prose" refers
to his blue period, then the swimmingly blue demon eyes fit; if to his
cubist period, then their unusual approach to the omniscience narrator
certainly applies (more on this later). "This is a 33,000-word novella that
sucks you in from the word go and doesn't release you even after you've
hyperventilated and shouted for help" is obviously hyperbole, but, minus the
first scene, it does start with a bang. Unless someone out there speaks
Demonic and can attest otherwise, we'll just have to take their word for
"This is the language they speak just outside the parameters of normality"
and "These are the hidden messages from Hell;" that is, unless if you play
the novella backwards, you get a personal message from Satan; or if you add
up every sixth letter...
The U.S. government is at it again. This time, they've tapped into human
paranormal powers -- only they don't know what they've tapped into. A power
greater and darker than any paranormal has ever experienced has awakened in
the mind of Michael Moreland, the evil third of three paranormal brothers
who haven't spoken in years. As the paranormals and their loved ones fall
like flies to the insecticide mind of Michael, brothers Robert and Frank
Moreland have to grapple with this demonic presence and banish it before it
destroys them. Alone, the brothers could not face the strength of the demon
mind, so Frank sends out a distress call to paranormals everywhere to gather
at a little known government compound in the middle of the Nevada desert.
Anyone with a passing familiarity with Maynard and Sims must realize that
their promise is not intellectual fodder but a well-written entertainment,
satisfaction guaranteed. The "cubist" point of view mentioned above is
problematic. On the one hand, it takes a huge chance. Few attempt to write
in an omniscient narrator these days. Its presence is refreshing. It's
also nice and necessary to this story to represent every facet of the demon
mind's horror. The other hand offers a mind-boggling cast of characters.
The reader will have to trust his reading in the hands of two masters of the
horror trade. Since the story focuses on horror and not character
development, one cannot question whether the many different points of view
are necessary because, as a development of horror, they are.
What one can wish and hope for are sequels. The mystery and purpose of the
government's involvement remains just that. And the relationship of the
brothers, how Michael dipped into the demon arts, and the enigmatic
ending -- "He believed they were now completely alone" -- are yet to be revealed
as well. Now's the time to hyperventilate and shout to the authors for
help. Demand more.
Trent Walters' work has appeared or will appear in The Distillery, Fantastical Visions, Full Unit Hookup, Futures, Glyph, Harpweaver, Nebo, The Pittsburgh Quarterly, Speculon, Spires, Vacancy, The Zone and blah blah blah. He has interviewed for SFsite.com, Speculon and the Nebraska Center for Writers. More of his reviews can be found here. When he's not studying medicine, he can be seen coaching Notre Dame (formerly with the Minnesota Vikings as an assistant coach), or writing masterpieces of journalistic advertising, or making guest appearances in a novel by E. Lynn Harris. All other rumored Web appearances are lies. |
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