The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Honestly, I've been a fairly big fan of the Korean Revenge Fantasy thing for a while, starting with older movies, then more recently, with wicked reading. I kinda hoped this would meet my craving.

However, it didn't quite come across as good as I'd hoped. The nuance isn't really here. The hate for blue-eyed devils, whether justified or not, just came across as pure revenge fantasy with motives that are either (view spoiler)[explained away as a brain tumor (hide spoiler)] or (view spoiler)[a-ok because lecherous, misogynistic asian-fetishism should always be met with the gouging out of eyeballs and eating them (hide spoiler)].

If that's all we want out of a tale of (view spoiler)[revenge-porn cannibalism (hide spoiler)] then have at it! But after reading Vegetarian and a few other like-minded feminist Korean horrors, I can't say this reaches the top of scale. Perhaps it's because it's a one-way mirror, focused only on justifications for her increasingly erratic behavior.

Of course, as a horror, this is to be expected. But also, as a horror, I do expect somewhat more. If I ignore the part where the novel tired me out and drained me, I could say it's an average horror entry lacking in anything but fantasy-level motivations. If others want to subtext it, they're welcome to it. It is revenge porn--of a type. Feminist revenge porn can be very fun. This one, however? Mileage may vary.

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All's Well by Mona Awad
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is my second read of Awad after Bunny and I honestly had no idea what to expect except one thing: engaging writing, maybe a fever dream or two, and wonderfully clear voice.

I definitely got these. But more importantly, I was deeply impressed with the topic it tackled: chronic pain and medical gaslighting. To me, that was a lot more interesting than the whole stage adaptation kerfuffle between the Scottish Play and All's Well That Ends Well. Maybe these two plays worked really well as a tragicomedy in context with the core subject of pain and delusion and witchery and self-medication -- or maybe not.

Either way, it made the novel INTERESTING.

You know, more than anything, it reminded me of The Substance. (Or rather, the other way around, but not in my reading/viewing order.) They really belong in the same category, though, and more power to the readers who want either! :)

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Impact Winter by Travis Beacham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A light popcorn read with a full cast featuring a world of night after a comet hits, when all the vampires come out.

The melodrama, vampire hunting, everything, is obviously dialogue-heavy, thanks to the rather BBC radio-drama-type style.

I had a fun time with it, but with one caveat: I love my descriptions in my books, and this was all fit together as, simply, a radio drama. So, I ask myself, where are the vamp fights? Where's all the blood, not just the implications of blood?

Well, manage your expectations and enjoy the social aspects of vampirism. lol

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Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the most solid witchery books I've ever read, straddling that fence between realism and historical accuracy (until we get to a very satisfying break from it) and gloriously supernatural witchery.

Basically, it pulls off a great hat-trick. As a horror, it has great timing and build-up, giving us humor in all the right places, and an emotionally satisfying end. Read: bloody.

Of course, these old New England types REALLY had it coming to them. So let's rejoice and praise God! Gods. Whatever. This was some quality stuff, either way.

Happy Spooktober!

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文豪ストレイドッグス 4 [Bungō Stray Dogs 4] by Kafka Asagiri
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 rounded up. We get an intro to the Guild and deal with Montgomery's powers, but so far I'm not really feeling these new characters all that much. It almost feels like an entirely different series. I can't quite tell if it's supposed to be serious or goofy, but perhaps that's the trick.

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文豪ストレイドッグス 3 [Bungō Stray Dogs 3] by Kafka Asagiri
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

We finally get the first real fight of the series here. Or rather, the first real dichotomy. And a bit of reveal for the mafia AND the detective agency.

There's really one thing I DO love about this manga, however. The characters are all named for classic, well-known authors. Japanese ones take up half the list, but also Christie, Dostoevsky, and Faulkner. And that's just so far. Later on, we get many more. And best of all? They all get powers based on references to a specific title the real ones wrote. It's a nice twist on superhero stuff.

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Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 217, October 2024 by Neil Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Abby Nicole Yee ("A Space O/pera") -- (5*) Nicely fascinating, blending a post-fake society with a wedding, a space dog, and an emotional mystery. I really liked this one.


Nigel Brown ("The Buried People") -- (4*) Odd frontier SF, but it's the questions--to me--that drives this story.


Fiona Moore ("The Children of Flame") -- (2*) Nomads and subtle post-apoc communities are a special breed for me--either I love them, get eerie'd out, fascinated, or... I don't. This one didn't really catch me at all.


Arula Ratnakar ("Fractal Karma") -- (5*) This full novella takes its lovely time getting to some seriously hard core SFnal (wonderfully math heavy) ideas. Topography as applied to consciousness. Solid dark ending. This kind of story is one very dear to my heart. And so far, it's easily the best story of the month.


Louis Inglis Hall ("Fishing the Intergalactic Stream") -- (4*) This clipped, imaginative tour of alien fisheries was somewhat relaxing. Just sit back and fish. Of course, the twist was pretty obvious, but nice for all that.


Mike Robinson ("Midnight Patron") -- (4*) Anyone want an artistic crow's vision of our future? Ah, it's the implications that I liked best.


Damián Neri ("The Face of A Documentary") -- (5*) Brilliantly irreverent and I'm all about remembering James Morrow. This one is a very nice documentary-like nod, with some slight alterations. And now I kinda wish we had THIS story instead of the one we got in the movie Deep Impact. Alas.

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