Back
in January 2011, I first told you just how good INHUMAN CONDITION by Kate Thornton was and that you should read
it. I am telling you again today. Make sure you also check out the full list of
reading suggestions over at Todd Mason's blog. It is Friday, but you have work to do.
Sometimes the blurb on the book
encapsulates the book in an excellent way. From the back cover of the recently
released collection, INHUMAN CONDITION written by Kate Thornton,
comes this explanation:
“Human beings tend to fear the things
they don’t know, and that is often sensible, given the lurking dangers that
confronted our distant ancestors. But sometimes we need to examine carefully
the things we think we know: the pet shop owner in town, the teenage girl who
lives next door, or the nice man who walks his dog each evening in our
neighborhood. The stories in this collection will drive that point home, and
perhaps give you reason to re-define the word “'inhuman.'”
As well as define “human.” With a
subtitle of Tales of Mystery and Imagination these twenty-one
tales set on earth and in space, frequently push at boundaries defining what it
means to be human. Frequently the tales are a bit disturbing, not in terms of
graphic depictions, but in the meaning of what has happened or will happen
thanks to the final twist at the end illuminating the dark working of a
character's twisted mind. In nature, the concept of “camouflage” keeps both the
hunted and hunter alive in the constant struggle to eat or not to be eaten.
That same concept, passed down in the hardwired code of humanity from our
distant ancestors is alive and well in these times. Make no mistake—this book
is about the hunters hiding in plain sight among us and the prey they seek for
a variety of purposes.
The anchor story in the collection is
the very good tale, “Nightwatch: Cardenio” (pages 83-154). Using characters and
other story elements originally created by Jeff Williams and with his
permission as noted, the tale takes the Nightwatch team deep into the Amazon. A
research site does not just vanish off the face of the earth in Brazil. But, it
has happened and the research site is gone without a trace. It is now to the
team to figure out what happened and why in this adventure tale.
Author Kate Thornton creates a sort of whiplash effect for the reader several times in this collection and this is a case in point. After the above noted adventure tale deep in the Amazonian jungle, she follows it with “Cell Phone Call” starting on page 155. In five short pages, the author makes parental nightmares all too real and leaves readers, at least those of us with kids, thinking twice about using our cell phones in public.
That story is followed by “Vinnie's
Cargo” and readers are back to adventure and suspense. In this one, there are
shuttle runs between the Moon and Mars in the unspecified future. Despite the
rules and regulations, where there are humans involved there will always be
some who attempt to move contraband and make some ill-gotten gains. Usually,
nothing good can come of some attempts and that may, or may not, be the case
here.
And so it goes through the entire book
that contains both previously published and credited work and new. Author Kate
Thornton consistently delivers through the entire book as each and every single
story is a good one. That rarely happens. Whether it is late in the
collection with the very disturbing mystery “The Eyes Never Change” or the strangely
amusing science fiction tale “One of the Family” or any other, the read is
constantly good and full of rich details in settings, characters, and
storyline.
Not only is Kate Thornton to be
congratulated, so too is the publisher. Denouement Press is an imprint of
Wolfmont LLC owned and operated by Tony Burton. Known as a publisher of
anthologies and cozy style mysteries, this is a new venture for the publisher
and reflects the kind of book that might not have been published by Wolfmont
before.
One hopes this is not the last
collection released by Kate Thornton. Simply put, INHUMAN CONDITION:
Tales of Mystery and Imagination is a very good book and one well worth your time and money.
INHUMAN CONDITION: Tales of Mystery and
Suspense
Kate Thornton
Denouement Press (Wolfmont LLC)
September 2010
ISBN# 978-1-60364-033-6
Paperback
310 Pages
$14.00
Paperback copy provided by the author
in exchange for my objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2011, 2016
Posts
3 comments:
Reminds me of C. Dennis Moore (cdm72 on epinions) who has kept writing collections of horror stories plus novels. Sounds like a compelling read!
Am unfamiliar with her, Kevin, but you've made this book sound like a must read.
I'm a big fan of Kate Thornton, Kevin, so I second your recommendation to read INHUMAN CONDITION.
Post a Comment