Review:
The novel and two stories in Coffin County show what those media, at least, have been missing. Set in and near Cedar Hill, Ohio, a midwestern version of Arkham, the capital of H. P. Lovecraft’s personal Massachusetts, the novel is a pell-mell gore fest, whose supernatural perps leak from an alternate reality that interfaces with Cedar Hill. The hero is a cop still mourning his pregnant wife’s death three years ago, and the villain may be, ultimately, either Judas Iscariot or the narrator, who’s not naming names; we “may have figured it out” by the end, he says. Also set in Cedar Hill, one story presents a musical duel between fallen angels over the fate of humanity; the other, how deeply factory work can get into, if not a man’s blood, then his bloodline. Piquantly exuding rust-belt angst, this is tasty stuff for those who like blood and guts seasoned with smarts. --Ray Olson
Drama / Ficção / Terror