Review – Lost in the Dark

The Fisherman made me a fan of John Langan. There is something in the combination he weaves of cosmic horror and emotional grounding, with a hefty dose of simple erudition, that hits with me.

When I learned he had a new collection coming out I was eager.

Lost in the Dark and Other Excursions is a collection of short stories and one… Essay-fiction? from the last few years. This is one of the rare collections that does not have any misses, in my opinion, but that may just be because I like Langan already.

The title story, “Lost in the Dark,” was perhaps the fiction highlight for me. It uses the sort of “found footage” style conceit, as a film professor interviews a former student about a horror film she made that might actually have been a documentary. The layered structure and truly creepy atmosphere of the student’s cave story—rather effectively hinted at in the cover art, honestly—work really well.

There are two fun interpretations/extrapolations of classic stories. “Haak” is the one that takes the biggest swing, and took the longest for me to “get” what was going on, while “Alice’s Rebellion” felt a bit too grounded in the state of the world today for comfort.

I also really enjoyed “Natalya, Queen of the Hungry Dogs,” a story about death and family and childish resentment. It felt closest to the writing and worldview of The Fisherman.

But I have to put the essay/fiction of “Snakebit, or Why I (Continue to) Love Horror” is a previously unpublished work that approaches the title idea, why Langan continues to love horror, by embedding a story that begins as a version of “literary fiction” that he then works into the horror mode, while explaining how different approaches translate into effects on the reader.

It’s not only a fascinating insight into horror writing, it’s a fun read. And, I would argue, it’s a crystallization of valuable writing advice for people wanting to play in the horror genre. Honestly, this is the one that has kept me thinking the longest after I finished the book.

I think the book is more than worth the price of entry for “Snakebit” alone, but taken as a whole the collection is just pure winner. And Word Horde sells books themselves, so no need for Amazon!