Dennis Etchison (1943–2019)

This started off well, but then it lost me for the most part. Lots of wordy digressions and changes of scene break the flow of the plot. Weird scenes are just... weird, with the atmospheric effect they should have being replaced with confusion. That said, it's an intriguing enough book that I finished it. The good parts are good. Overall it feels a bit dated, more in style than content, but I've certainly read worse books.

Oh, what a twisted and tormented web Mr. Etchison weaves! A master observer and perhaps closet psychologist, Dennis spins the very basic and most base instincts of the human animal to a “what-if” nth degree, carrying the reader on a fantastic dark ride to a surprising and usually shocking end, the only predictable element of these amazing, itchy suspenseful, precisely written, by turns creepy and horrifying short stories. From the ravaging descendant daughters of the Donner Party to an show more infamous homicidal dwarf mystery writer, the author conjures insanely credible life into the odd, the marginal, the most bestial of characters to bring a chill of uncomfortable recognition to the reader at the same time delivering the satisfaction of an almost hypnotic exploration of words married with an expertise in storytelling almost impossible to find in more contemporary works. What a truly terrifying treasure trove of tales, indeed! show less

The mind often plays tricks on the body – fertile imagination goading the eyes to surreal visions, shadows of the past lending credence to an otherwise unthinkably outrageous perception of the present. Dennis Etchison takes the reader on such an unsettling trip in California Gothic, where the initial mile of beaten path leads to the veritable slippery slope of morbidly suggestive imagery, self-conscious, guilt-ridden brow beating and second guessing in an insane reality where said behavior show more is not necessarily justified but IS oddly redundant. California Gothic is a dark time capsule of sorts, its apt description of the San Fernando Valley of the 1990s sprinkled with an almost absurd paranormal flavor setting the distinct tone and color of the novel.

Perhaps Mr. Etchison’s point is that you can truly never go home again, or home is where the heart is, or the heart is, indeed, a lonely hunter. Whatever the underlying message may be, it is impossible to pin the author’s intent down and each reader will draw her or her own conclusions from this troubling tale. Beautifully spun novel from a master of the short story - psychedelic, revelatory, foreboding and treacherous. Watch your step on this one; things are never quite what they appear to be. show less

Mr. Etchison, whose work I have only recently had the pleasure of perusing, takes the reader down, down, down the rabbit hole to a whole new level of psychological discomfort, torment and pain, in these stories of pitiful, depressed and lost souls in the sea of humanity. Though I would not necessarily recommend this as the first book a novice purveyor of his works should read, I will say that it appears to be the most personally revealing of the author’s philosophical bent that I have thus show more far read. These stories are fascinating studies of disconnection between body, mind and soul, so disconcerting at times that I could only digest one or two per day to keep my own balance - tough matter to chew on, but in the end a satisfying meal, as has been the case with every Etchison tome I have explored. show less