Dark Fiction
David Kempf
Real Time Publishing, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-84961-062-9
Trade Paperback
356 pages
Gothic Horror
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Christopher Wisdom is a literary genius in his own mind, but college professor/horror writer David Wells is willing to support and build on that arrogant and egotistical opinion. The truth is Christopher is a narcissist who hates people. But in one thing, his blind admiration of David Wells, Christopher turns to another person. This makes him a perfect target for a group of immortal beings (the Jinn) who use people to help them understand and destroy the human race. These “Masters” never attack directly; they use Ghouls, humans they turn into immortal servants. And Wells is their current man on the ground, so to speak.
As part of Christopher’s seduction, Wells agrees to read the student’s short horror stories—at first in his office, but soon at Wells’ home, on an evening where anything can happen and does. Acting as a mentor, Wells asks (oh, how he loves to read them!) to go through Christopher’s remaining stories and discuss them. The young man is initially blind to what is happening, but as the evening wears on, Wells strips Christopher of his illusions, showing exactly what kind of a person he is and how well he will fit the roll Well’s wants him to accept.
The Masters require dark fiction stories to help them understand certain aspects of human emotion and behaviour. In return for Christopher’s agreement to continue to perfect his craft and share his dark stories, The Masters offer him immortality. And, of course, there is more to the agreement than meets the eye. These Masters require perfection in all assignments or they punish their ghouls in the most horrifying ways. What are those assignments? What will happen when Christopher finally comes face to face with himself and The Masters? Well, that’s the dénouement, isn’t it?
Dark Fiction is quite the concept. The story is interrupted on a regular basis by the short stories Wells is supposedly reading. And the seduction of Christopher Wisdom forces the reader to look at all sorts of human traits and shortcomings: fear of death and dying; our belief or rejection of God, the paranormal, even free will; and, ultimately, the right of humans to exist. Then, when all is said and done, we are treated to what I think is a perfect ending for this particular book. Dark Fiction is remarkably unique.
But there are some problems…
First of all, several reviewers rave about the horror represented by Christopher’s seduction, one even comparing David Kempf to King, Barker, Rice, Lovecraft and Poe. Not a chance. The short stories in the first half of the book are terrible. I believe the reader is meant to accept this as part of Christopher’s illusion of being a talented writer, but it’s not until we see that Wells is really after the young man’s hatred of his fellow man, that we can confirm this. Yes, the stories do get better. They also deal with the deep issues Wells needs in order to complete Christopher’s transformation from human to ghoul (Christopher’s fear of death, for example). Where, then, is the problem? If I had bought this book and was reading it simply for pleasure, it would have been thrown into a corner by the time I was a third of the way through. The author expects the reader to wade through far too many bad stories.
Second, the story dialogue is stilted and the shifting of scenes (story movement) are positively painful. Wells enters a room, and the first inkling we have of this is when he speaks; Christopher is in a nightmare one moment, and in the very next line he’s wide awake and speaking to someone. These unannounced transitions are irritating, sometimes confusing and, in my mind, quite strange. At the very least it’s a misuse of the 1st person viewpoint.
To summarize, David Kempf has written a fresh new horror novel that doesn’t rely on the violence and gore of most modern books of this ilk. The suspense and horror grow slow and steady, catching your throat in a grip that doesn’t release until the final sentence of the story. However, the flaws previously mentioned leave the reader with a book that is just okay when it could have been brilliant. I was disappointed.
Copyright © Clayton Clifford Bye