MACABRE MUSINGS: FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE ADVENTUROUS - BOOK REVIEWS OF MIRANDA BY JOHN R. LITTLE AND VAMPIRE APOCALYPSE: DESCENT INTO CHAOS BY DEREK GUNN

Roy Robbins and Bad Moon Books are set to release a unique and fantastic new novella by esteemed veteran author John R. Little titled Miranda. Basically this is the tale of one Michael Johnson, who literally lives his life backwards, in reverse, starting from the day he died back to the date of his birth.

As eminent author Gary A. Braunback notes in his wonderful Introduction, such stories of the sub-genre known as "slipstream fiction" are generally deemed to have begun with author Robert Nathan's 1940 novel, Portrait Of Jennie, and then famously continued by Kurt Vonnegut in his masterpiece, Slaughterhouse Five. Miranda is itself a very brilliant and original imaging of a "slipstream" story, but it is also a beautiful and moving love story and philosophical inquiry as to man, consciousness, and the need for companionship that is a bit reminiscent of Daniel Keyes' justly famous, Flowers For Algernon. Little's novella also has a number of similarities in both plot and tone to a 1926 short story written by famous American author F. Scott Fitzgerald titled The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button. As with Little's protagonist, Michael Johnson, Fitzgerald's protagonist, Benjamin Button, is born an old man and "grows/ages" in reverse back to babyhood. Both protagonists wrestle with their highly unconventional lives and have melancholy romantic interludes with lovers and a wife. Fitzgerald's short story is a now unfairly, virtually forgotten work that deserves far better, and can justifiably lay claim to being among the first true works of "slipstream fiction." The Fitzgerald story is actually available to read for free over the Internet, and those interested should "Google" the title to find out where it is available for reading and downloading.

As interesting as Fitzgerald's Benjamin Button story is, Little's Miranda is in a class all its own. The book is a literal tour de force of authorial brilliance, and should be high on everyone's "To Be Read" pile. The novella not only raises the long-standing philosophical and religious argument between predetermination versus free will in a form and manner that makes it understandable and fully relatable to everyone, but is deeply expressive of the unique loneliness that someone in Michael Johnson's predicament must experience. There is genuine pathos that permeates the novella which is vividly conveyed by Little. Miranda is also an intense, passionate, and bittersweet love story. Again, the author is able to vividly and convincingly convey these emotions to the reader. The end result is that Miranda is one of the most singularly intense and captivating novellas that a reader will ever experience. This is writing at its finest, and you will be doing yourselves a major favor by obtaining and reading this truly impressive work of literature.

As Monty Python would say, ... and now for something completely different. Irish author Derek Gunn has written a sequel to his last year's debut novel, Vampire Apocalypse: A World Torn Asunder. This sequel, the second novel in an ongoing series of books, is titled Vampire Apocalypse: Descent Into Chaos (" Descent"). The sequel picks up approximately two months after the events related within the first novel have occurred. While there are a number of flashbacks and reminders of the occurrences of the first novel to help assist those who might have read the initial book some time ago, it would be advisable for newcomers to the series to read the two novels in order. Gunn has boldly created an entire world and mythos wherein contemporary world-wide problems with energy, consumption, the environment, and other socio-political factors have led to the disruption of modern society, and the return to an almost feudal society of local warring territories fighting for scarce natural resources, food, and people. Just as we humans are doing our best to destroy ourselves the vampires, who are ancient and very real, emerge from hiding and are quickly able to conquer the weakened and dispirited remnants of mankind. Humans become both slaves and cattle - a food source - to the far more powerful vampires. Gunn spends a goodly amount of time in his first novel introducing this new world and its major players, and so it will prove a far richer and rewarding experience for readers to approach this series by reading the novels in order.

In Descent, those who survived the vicious battle against the Vampire Overlord, Nero, return, including the main protagonist, Peter Harris, and his girlfriend, Sandra Harrington. This intrepid small band of renegade free humans have no time to rest after their first major but costly victory. Gunn manages to quickly ratchet up the tension and the stakes. To say that this novel is action-packed is like saying that The Hulk knows how to throw a punch. The pacing of Descent is relentless enough to make a typical James Bond film seem sedate by comparison. Gunn's pacing and most of his plot twists are among his strong points, as is his presentation of vampires as extremely vicious and powerful preternatural creatures. There are no romantic gentlemen in flowing capes, nor morally conflicted near-humans capable of compassion and love to be found here.

Conversely, as with his first novel, Gunn is at least not as yet, a polished and refined literary author. Unlike, say as John R. Little in his novella Miranda, discussed immediately above. Gunn's prose in Descent is not of a kind or nature to truly move readers nor make them actually "feel" what the story's character's are experiencing, nor bring his characters to pseudo-life for the reader. This does not mean that Descent isn't a worthwhile or even an enjoyable read - I've found both of Gunn's novels to be very entertaining.

The only major criticism that I have of Descent involves a plot-point that Gunn makes very late within the novel. I will tread as lightly as I can so as to try and not spoil things for the hopefully many of you who will go on to read these novels, but also believe that it is a serious criticism that should be made. Gunn has gone through great lengths over the course of his two novels to make sure we understand that his vampires, especially the more ancient "master" vampires, are not in the least bit human, and are exceedingly vicious and cunning creatures that view all puny humans with utter contempt. That is one of Gunn's most important and vital "rules" he establishes for his world-verse with his readers. Once Gunn asks the readers to suspend their disbelief and go along with these superior, ferally intelligent, vicious beings, he really MUST remain true to these rules, or risk destroying his pact with his readers. Thus, while what he does late in the novel with the fate of one of his more interesting characters, Steele, makes for a nice piece of "theater" (or should that be cinema?). I think that it runs completely contrary to all that he has previously built as to the nature of the vampire enemy upon two different levels.

First, I found that what Von Richelieu, one of the most ancient, cunning, and powerful of all vampires decides to do with/to Steele is unrealistic. Based (as per Gunn's "rules") upon how the vampires in general, and Von Richelieu in particular, view humans, this brilliant Master Vampire suddenly does something so stupid and opposite to how we have been led to believe that a "master vampire" would/should act, that it pulled me completely out of the story. Then, Gunn compounds this error by having yet another vampire subsequently act in such a way, and perform a number of deeds that are antithetical to the very essence of what it means to be a vampire within Gunn's created universe. Again, this had the effect of pulling me completely out of the story, shaking my "willing suspension of disbelief" in the rest of Gunn's story and characters. I realize that there are plans afoot for a film version of the books, and that these particular "cheats" were done to further a particular few pivotal plot points that make for "cool" cinema as well as making for a very readable bit of high drama.

Still, at least to me, a "cheat" is a "cheat" - and these are, again at least in my mind, rather major violations by the author of his "contract" with his readers. Then again, others could well view these alleged violations as either entirely wrong, or at worst, exceedingly minor. In any case, I'd be the first to note that regardless of these possible faults, Vampire Apocalypse: Descent Into Chaos still stands as an eminently enjoyable fast-paced blood-bath of a romp through a bleak, but far from hopeless post-apocalyptic future. For those who like their vampires tough and truly terrifying, Descent, and Derek Gunn's entire Vampire Apocalypse series, make for exceedingly pleasurable and satisfying reading.