A Götterdämmerung of Guts

Two events today (Christmas Eve) that shed light on each other and not in expected ways. More to be said I expect on this subject after Christmas…in the comments below?

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(A) http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2010/12/be-my-victim-laird-barron/

An interesting take at above link on anti-intellectualism in Horror Fiction. And on the presence of gratuitous violence or even pornography.

In my own small way, I’m trying to support literary horror with my real-time reviews. Including a recent one of a Laird Barron book, i.e. the author being interviewed at above link. In fact some horror – on the face of it – is not literary or is shallow … but if you dig deep into the text and themes, one sometimes finds things there that perhaps the author did not intend. Ranges of meaning through serendipity or through other forces of which we are unaware or cannot explain?

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(B) The Compartments of Hell by Paul Meloy & Sarah Pinborough

“…but then who knew when this shit had started hitting the fan?”

It’s Christmas Eve and if this is Santa Claus’ present to me – it’s certainly a present to the world from out of the blue – a post-apocalypse “it’s the thought that counts” – as those who have cracked and spiked enough are protected from the most gruesome, brain-ripping images I think I have ever read. By a long way! And I’d would have spliffed and spliced what I just said with not only a prayer of thank you but also a f**king prayer of thank you. And I don’t usually swear. This shit hit this fan, then, when these two authors came together – and produced this gotterdammerwrung (sp?) of guts. It’s spilled all over Christmas. No exaggeration.

Above is from the start today of my real-time review of Black Static #20