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.

The cover of John Langan's Lost in the Dark and Other Excursions, from Word Horde press. It is illustrated with a drawing of a woman in a dark space, with shadowy spectral hands and a skull-like face. — Lost in the Dark and Other Excursions by John Langan. From Word Horde Press

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But I have to put the essay/fiction of “Snakebit, or Why I (Continue to) Love Horror” is a previously unpublished work that approaches the title idea, why Langan continues to love horror, by embedding a story that begins as a version of “literary fiction” that he then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!

Coming up for air

I did a foolish thing. I not only agreed to help plan IJET-33, an international translation conference (in a reduced role, but still) during a period when I was supposed to be finishing up the manuscript for my latest novel translation, I also volunteered to do a presentation at that same conference. All while still holding down the remaining tatters of my regular translation and checking work.

Folks, it took a lot out of me. The two weeks before that conference were… Well, they’re a blur. I do remember some numb-brain level exhaustion, and some tears, and some unkind thoughts about the whole world.

And unsurprisingly, I found almost no leeway in the past couple of months for words. It was a struggle to keep up with my obligations, much less work in voluntary stuff like this blog or even social media. Hell, I didn’t even get any good bird pictures taken!

But the presentation is past (it went really well, or so they tell me). The conference was a rousing success. The manuscript is in and edits will wait until June. I have dug up from all the various jobs that I had let pile up. I am, in other words, recovered enough to find words to spare. Hence, this.

I plan to post something about my presentation here soon, but for now, I just want to let the internet know I’m still here.

Oh! And Strange Houses comes out next month in the UK and US. Preorder, reserve at your library, go and read and enjoy!

Tsurezure #11 – Autumn Musings

I seem to be catching up on myself with these posts (and messing up the numbering) but here is another of my Japanese language columns for the Setouchi Times newspaper. It’s about autumn in Japan versus autumn in my home. It’s a bit of fluff, but sometimes that’s all right.

A bonfire of paper lanterns on a dark autumn night.

秋について

秋が大好きです。「春か秋か」どちらがが好きかと聞かれれば春が勝つかもしれませんが必ずしもそうとは言えません。日本の秋は「食欲の秋」として美味しい食材がいっぱいですし涼しい天気で外遊びも楽しいです。もちろん紅葉の景色は良いシャッターチャンスを与えてくれます。

アメリカに住んでいた時でも秋が大好きでしたが理由がちょっと違います。

アメリカ・カンザス州の秋は日本と同じように収穫の季節で紅葉もあって、暑い夏が終わり外の天気が涼やかになる季節です。収穫祭的なサンクスギビング（感謝の日）はアメリカ人にとってクリスマスの次に大切な祝日であり11月にあります。

でも日本と違って欧米の秋も恐怖の季節です。秋とは世の中のあらゆる物が死んでいく時期なのです。木の葉が枯れて散り、たくさんの鳥が渡っていなくなり、いろんな動物も冬眠等して見えなくなります。太陽の光も弱っていく感じで徐々に寒くなって日が短くなります。そしてもちろんハロウィーンがあります。

大昔、ハロウィーンは子供にお菓子を配る日ではなくスピリチュアル的な祭日でした。古代の信仰では11月1日は新年が始まる日で、その前の夜にはこの世と霊界の間の壁が開けて、亡くなった方の霊が自由に行き来が出来ました。その霊がいたずらのしないように各家庭では美味しいものを玄関前において満足に食べさせたという説もあります。

長い年月を経て欧米のハロウィーンが変化して今は二面があります。一つは単純に楽しい祭日的なことです。

その信仰深い祝日が近代のワイワイ的なハロウィーンに進化しました。怖いコスプレをしている子供たちがいたずらしないようにおいしお菓子を配って楽しいことばかりになりました。

でも、まだまだ霊的な実質的に怖い面も残っています。日本の夏みたいに怪談を語る会もあります。ホラー映画は10月中にテレビに放送され映画館でも上映されます。

僕は怖い事が大好きな少年でした。（今はちょっと弱虫になったけど、まだまだ気味が悪い話が好きとも言えます…）ホラー小説を毎日のように読んでいてホラー映画を一人でドキドキしながら見ていました。なので秋は本当に自分に合っていたといつも感じていました。

日本に住み始めたころ夏は怖い季節という事にちょっと違和感がありましたが年を取るとやはり日本の秋の雰囲気が好きだなと思うようになりました。

だって、焼きいもと栗ご飯がぶち美味いんです！！

Tsurezure #9 – Crested Kingfisher

The next in my newspaper column series is about my finally successful search for a crested kingfisher, or ヤマセミ in Japanese. It’s an elusive bird that seems to be only active in the early morning, so it took a while to get a picture. But I did, and I was glad to do it. They’re lovely birds, big and smooth.

Here are some pictures.

やっと、ヤマセミ

以前、瀬戸内タイムスさんの記事で触れましたが僕は野鳥観察・撮影が好きです。日常な生活のついでに見たり撮ったりがほとんどです。鳥を探すためにわざわざ旅に出たりすることは滅多にないことですがヤマセミはちょっと違います。

以前、周防の森ロッジさんで野鳥観察イベントに参加しました。その周辺には「ヤマセミ」と言う珍しい鳥がいると聞いて興味が沸きました。

僕はよく島田川の河口辺りで散歩をします。その時一番楽しいのはカワセミがいる事です。カワセミが小さくあまり珍しくない鳥ですが非常に綺麗で面白いんです。色が鮮やかな青緑色と赤色で動きも早く、小さな魚を捕るときの目つきがかわいいです。すっかり「カワセミファン」になったのでヤマセミがカワセミの仲間なら是非見たいと思いました。

ですが見つけるのは思った以上に大変でした。周防の森ロッジさんの近く旭橋近くに１・２羽がいると聞きましたが、この近年では工事の為にずっと隠れているらしいです。それで出てくる時間帯が限られているし警戒心が強いので、すぐ逃げるらしいです。

それでも、ちょっと時間が出来た時に行ってみました。６か月の間に５回程いって朝・昼・夕方もチャレンジしました。そうすると朝方はよくほかの鳥ファンもいて「鳥情報」を聞くこともできてそれはそれで楽しかったです。でもなかなか目的は得られなかったです。

ところがつい先日、できました。見ました。１週間前は昼頃いってみたら近くの草刈り作業している地元の方がとても優しく話してくれました。「作業で撮影の邪魔をしてごめんね」と言って下さり（笑）「ヤマセミなら朝６時半頃じゃないとダメだよ」と教えてくれました。実はご本人がその日も見たそうです。

そこで確信しました。週末なら５時半に起きて、できるだけ早く旭橋で待機しようと。

金曜日の夜はカメラを準備して土曜日の朝、妻を起こさないようにそっとそっと起き上がりました。簡単な支度をして出発。６時過ぎに到着して椅子とカメラをセット。そして、待つ。早朝の澄んだ空気がおいしかったです。いろんな鳥の声を聴きながら、涼しい朝を満喫しました。

でも、待つ。

１時間も待ったところで「ま、今日もだめかな．．．」と思った時に何かがきた。

白っぽい、まあまあ大き目と体の鳥が水面近くに飛んできました。動きがカワセミに似たように見えましたが、もっと大きかったです。

いまだ！とおもって連写でカメラを向けました。

確かにヤマセミでした。下流方面からきて一瞬旭橋の上にとまって、それでまた下流方面に去っていきました。竹林で止まったら特徴の冠羽を見せました。

遠くて比較的に小さい鳥なので持っているレンズがちょっと足りませんでしたが８０連写の中で２・３枚も綺麗に撮れました。

本当に良かったです。オマケに帰りでいつもの島田川の河口周辺に寄り、カワセミのいい写真も撮れました。

やっと、ヤマセミを見られて本当に良かったです。野鳥観察って楽しいよ！

2024 – Stuff I loved

It’s inevitable, I guess, to get retrospective at this time of year. I’ve more or less stopped keeping careful track of things like media consumption—no Goodreads lists for me, thank you—but it’s still sometimes interesting to review. And so, here is a non-comprehensive list of things that I remember enjoying very much in 2024. Travel, books, TV, whatever, I’m not going to be strict. These are all things that made my 2024 a better year than it would otherwise have been.

First up, I visited Inbe in Bizen, Okayama several times this year. It was wonderful. I met potters, enjoyed the scenery, and learned about its history and culture in a way that was vibrant and exciting.

A concrete torii gate stands across a bricked path. To each side are reddish brown ceramic koma-inu dog statues.

A small ceramic flask with a rounded shape and a sharp indentation along one side.

A rounded lump of clay kneaded into a folded, almost floral pattern

Another thing that made my 2024 better was engaging more actively and thoughtfully in photography. I’ve written about it before, but even apart from whatever high-minded ideas about “art” or “creativity” people want to layer onto it, the very fact of engaging in a new expressive medium has been great. I have been a “word guy” all my life. Trying to be an “image guy” now is really something special for me.

A smiling older man with a mustache. He is wearing a towel on his head, a large watch, and a black tanktop and is flexing his muscular arms. — Macho man

In the world of books, there have been a few standouts. The one that stands largest in my memory is The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera, which I reviewed on this blog. There’s not much else to say about it, except that its weight in my memory has only grown with time. Read it.

I also read and loved Premee Mohamed‘s The Siege of Burning Grass. It is a fantasy story set in a world at war, but the central protagonist is a true pacifist despite the brutal social pressures on being a good, patriotic subject of empire. It is a story about the irrationality of war and the true courage that is pacifism, and the pain that occurs when those are placed in irredeemable conflict. I should have reviewed it more thoroughly. It deserves much thought and rereading.

Another standout is the Japanese-language only (so far) horror book Kinkichiho no aru basho ni tsuite (About a certain place in the Kinki region) by Sesuji. It’s a “mocumentary” horror book that presents itself as a collection of research materials for a magazine, but ends up telling a story of generational evil, the terrors of the Japanese countryside, and creepy stuff in general. I loved it. I think the translation rights have been sold, but that is so far unconfirmed.

In related media, I still think about Fake Documentary Q a lot. I wish the book had been better.

Apart from all the old music I mostly listen to (shout out to Eric Satie’s Gymnopédies), the new album I listened to most is Daudi Matsiko’s The King of Misery. It seems perhaps inappropriate to talk about “enjoyment” regarding such an emotionally shredding/shredded work of art, but it is beautiful and alive and well worth listening to.

And, lest anyone get the idea that I went all high-brow and Big-C Cultural in 2024, I also watched the hell out of the Reacher series on Amazon Prime because there’s something unironically appealing about watching a very big man murder the fuck out of the Bad Guys.

What were some things that made your 2024 less terrible?