Jeremy C. Shipp
Author of The Atrocities
About the Author
Image credit: Photo by Jeremy C. Shipp
Series
Works by Jeremy C. Shipp
Always Remember to Tip Your Ninja: And Other Maxims for the Clinically Absurd (2011) 36 copies, 1 review
Attic Clowns: Volume Three 4 copies
Boy In The Cabinet 2 copies
Those Below 2 copies
Nightmare Man 1 copy
Monkey Boy 1 copy
Attic Clowns: Volume Four 1 copy
Goat Boy 1 copy
Camp 1 copy
Associated Works
In Heaven, Everything Is Fine: Fiction Inspired by David Lynch (2013) — Contributor — 56 copies, 1 review
Wilde Stories 2011: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction (2011) — Contributor — 29 copies, 1 review
Bizarro Bazar — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Shipp, Jeremy C.
- Gender
- male
- Short biography
- Jeremy C. Shipp is an author whose written creations inhabit various magazines, anthologies, and drawers. These include over 30 publications, the likes of ChiZine, Flesh & Blood, Hub, Darkness Rising, Bare Bone, The Harrow, and Until Someone Loses an Eye. While preparing for the forthcoming collapse of civilization, Jeremy enjoys living in Southern California in a moderately haunted Victorian farmhouse. He's currently working on many stories and novels and is losing his hair, though not because of the ghosts. Vacation, his first published novel, debuted this year from Raw Dog Screaming Press.
Members
Reviews
The Merry Dredgers by Jeremy C. Shipp was a great read! It ambled along delightfully before blowing up into a heart pounding climax that took me by surprise.
We are introduced to Seraphina, a snarky actress compelled by poverty to play the part of a Princess at children's parties. Her voice as the narrator, utterly sarcastic and somewhat despairing, is captivating. Despite the dire situation she is in, she is still a blast to read about.
She receives word that her sister is in some sort of show more lovefest hippie cult and is alarmed. Soon after, she hears that her sister's in a coma after falling at the cult's retreat center. Seraphina is sure that the cultists had something to do with it so decides to investigate the retreat center. However, she is NOT a competent investigator and instead finds herself enjoying her time as a cult member and even falling in love.
The setting, an abandoned amusement park in the woods called Goblintopia, is creepy AND silly. There are many great descriptions of all the weirdness which I loved. It was surreal and atmospheric. Most of the cultists are goofy and aptly named Merry Dredgers. Except for that one.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book! Definitely for readers who enjoy silliness with their magic realism. show less
We are introduced to Seraphina, a snarky actress compelled by poverty to play the part of a Princess at children's parties. Her voice as the narrator, utterly sarcastic and somewhat despairing, is captivating. Despite the dire situation she is in, she is still a blast to read about.
She receives word that her sister is in some sort of show more lovefest hippie cult and is alarmed. Soon after, she hears that her sister's in a coma after falling at the cult's retreat center. Seraphina is sure that the cultists had something to do with it so decides to investigate the retreat center. However, she is NOT a competent investigator and instead finds herself enjoying her time as a cult member and even falling in love.
The setting, an abandoned amusement park in the woods called Goblintopia, is creepy AND silly. There are many great descriptions of all the weirdness which I loved. It was surreal and atmospheric. Most of the cultists are goofy and aptly named Merry Dredgers. Except for that one.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book! Definitely for readers who enjoy silliness with their magic realism. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.The Merry Dredgers is a mystery-horroresque novel about a woman searching for answers to what happened to her sister that landed her unconscious in a hospital.
Seraphina infiltrates the cult her sister was involved with before she was injured. We get to meet some quirky characters and learn much more about the wacky, once-abandoned amusement park the cult uses as their compound. The world-building here was fantastic, with detailed descriptions of the remodeling of the goblin-themed park and show more how the cult functions inside it. I may be a little biased here since I worked at an amusement park for several years and have always been fascinated with creepy and odd theme parks.
The ending did feel a little rushed, or maybe it felt like it was tied up a little too neatly for my liking. But the writing, like the banter between Seraphina and the other characters, especially Nichelle, along with the world-building, kept me entertained and interested up until the very end. show less
Seraphina infiltrates the cult her sister was involved with before she was injured. We get to meet some quirky characters and learn much more about the wacky, once-abandoned amusement park the cult uses as their compound. The world-building here was fantastic, with detailed descriptions of the remodeling of the goblin-themed park and show more how the cult functions inside it. I may be a little biased here since I worked at an amusement park for several years and have always been fascinated with creepy and odd theme parks.
The ending did feel a little rushed, or maybe it felt like it was tied up a little too neatly for my liking. But the writing, like the banter between Seraphina and the other characters, especially Nichelle, along with the world-building, kept me entertained and interested up until the very end. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
I’ve read one of Shipp’s other books, The Atrocities, and my review of that started with: Not really sure what I just read. The ending had me like ??? But this was super atmospheric and fairly creepy and much like reading a nightmare, but not so confusing that I was pissed.
That’s pretty much how I feel here. I love the concept of a strange man appearing and then doing something to the family’s memories to make himself part of their lives. At first he’s a stranger they met at a show more restaurant, then he’s a friend of their father’s from work, then he’s a best friend so close to the family that they refer to him as uncle. That’s creepy as shit.
Buuuut…
Overall, I wasn’t creeped out or scared like I’d hoped to be. Shipp’s work seems to have a dreamlike quality that doesn’t work for me. There were scenes where the Lunds would be doing something in real life and suddenly having some sort of vision or memory that was bizarre of violent, but they all kind of accepted these due to the stranger’s magic and so the scary bits felt…muted? The stranger was also constantly sick and generally disgusting (I’m not really clear on why), but those scenes were just kinda gross.
I wanted to be creeped out and unsettled. I wanted to worry about having nightmares. I at least wanted a satisfying conclusion to this strange tale. Sadly, I didn’t get any of those. I think Shipp’s writing just isn’t for me. show less
That’s pretty much how I feel here. I love the concept of a strange man appearing and then doing something to the family’s memories to make himself part of their lives. At first he’s a stranger they met at a show more restaurant, then he’s a friend of their father’s from work, then he’s a best friend so close to the family that they refer to him as uncle. That’s creepy as shit.
Buuuut…
Overall, I wasn’t creeped out or scared like I’d hoped to be. Shipp’s work seems to have a dreamlike quality that doesn’t work for me. There were scenes where the Lunds would be doing something in real life and suddenly having some sort of vision or memory that was bizarre of violent, but they all kind of accepted these due to the stranger’s magic and so the scary bits felt…muted? The stranger was also constantly sick and generally disgusting (I’m not really clear on why), but those scenes were just kinda gross.
I wanted to be creeped out and unsettled. I wanted to worry about having nightmares. I at least wanted a satisfying conclusion to this strange tale. Sadly, I didn’t get any of those. I think Shipp’s writing just isn’t for me. show less
Throughout the story the main character uses lists to weigh options or outcomes. This is a technique many of us use to maintain, organize or prioritize the things in our lives. But, what happens if the list is irrational, impractical or even unimaginable? So, what happens if the characters are unreliable, or are they? Cursed is humorous while at the same time deeply philosophical. The reader has to decide if they believe the characters or determine another plausible explanation as to what is show more driving these people to act or think like they do. In other words, is any of it real? It's a psychological and some might argue sci-fi mystery. Each character is defined by their flaws. Their personalities evolve through habits, neurosis and personal relationships. By doing so, each takes on a unique, tangible form which lends to the imagination visualizing, relating, sympathizing and even becoming attached to the cursive people interacting in the story. The perspective through which it's told, present tense, also enhances the immediacy of the story. I felt as if I was a voyeur following the characters around. It was an interesting sensation to be part of it, or rather feel as if I was part of it. The escapism is unique and fascinating. Similar to Purple Jesus, Shipp takes seemingly unrelated or random objects and gives them extraordinary meaning. Or in some cases, literal meaning. For example, there is a woman who carries around a tennis ball and literally duct tapes it to her hand. She believes if she 'drops the ball' the world will end. This is humorous, but how many people carry with them imaginary 'balls' they are afraid to drop?
Readers who enjoy cult-fiction authors similar (style) to Chuck Palahniuk and Ron Cooper, will love Shipp's writing. It's outside the box, modern and pushes the traditional limits of story structure, but by doing so opens the world that keeps reading and writing interesting. Shipp has a modern, contemporary voice and style that is humorous, quirky while at the same time possesses a conscious and deliberate timing. He is in control of the chaos he creates and because of this, it works in a number of ways. The comedic relief is impeccable and never reduces the seriousness of the plot or cheapens the characters. show less
Readers who enjoy cult-fiction authors similar (style) to Chuck Palahniuk and Ron Cooper, will love Shipp's writing. It's outside the box, modern and pushes the traditional limits of story structure, but by doing so opens the world that keeps reading and writing interesting. Shipp has a modern, contemporary voice and style that is humorous, quirky while at the same time possesses a conscious and deliberate timing. He is in control of the chaos he creates and because of this, it works in a number of ways. The comedic relief is impeccable and never reduces the seriousness of the plot or cheapens the characters. show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 32
- Also by
- 12
- Members
- 748
- Popularity
- #33,982
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 65
- ISBNs
- 18
- Languages
- 1
- Favorited
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