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All tagged nostalgia
I Was a Teenage Slasher – Stephen Graham Jones
Ultimately, “Slasher” is an intriguing experiment into metahorror and a homage to 80s slashers (mostly Jason Voorhees) that narrowly misses its mark. If you’re looking for something punchy, gory and unapologetic, I’d suggest Chuck Tingle’s “Bury Your Gays” instead.
Four Squares – Bobby Finger
Bobby Finger did the near impossible. He somehow merged contemporary and historical fiction, paired it with a dash of literary depth, and wrapped it in a cozy sheen perfect for a lazy day on the beach. Yes, dear readers, he somehow made reading about sustained, collective trauma heart-warming. Color me surprised!
Murder Road – Simone St. James
Expectation: Another twisty supernatural thriller from a rather reliable author.
Reality: St. James delivered a lazy, convoluted plot that asked more from the reader than should’ve been allowed.
I Have Some Questions for You – Rebecca Makkai
Expectation: A straight-forward mystery thriller framed around 90s nostalgia.
Reality: More literary fiction than traditional suspense, Makkai’s use of hindsight evaluation to move the plot forward had me hooked.
It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror – Joe Vallese
Various queer writers dissect and debate the overt and obvious subtexts of both mainstream and art house fare with a mixture of analysis and theory. Many of the essays veer into the personal, showing how important the horror genre is to out and proud queers of a certain age.
Like a Love Story – Abdi Nazemian
Expectation: A sweet but slight coming of age tale set amidst the backdrop of the HIV/AIDS crisis in New York City in the late-1980s.
Reality: While there’s a lot of melodrama and the plot is stale, it’s a great introduction to this era in queer history, and the importance of having a gay Iranian lead character cannot be understated.
The Shards – Bret Easton Ellis
Expectation: A based on true events murder mystery set in the privileged world of 1980s Los Angeles teens.
Reality: A hedonistic cat and mouse story that will have you second guessing everything the narrator (a fictionalized version of the author) has told you.
Night Shift – Stephen King
Reading this collection was a damn delight and a nostalgic serotonin boost that transported me back to high school when I devoured my first classic King novels in mass market paperbacks. As my mini-reviews show, this was a mostly solid top-to-bottom collection that got better as the stories progressed. It showcased King at the top of his game - observant, reflective, emotional and downright scary.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow – Gabrielle Zevin
Expectation: A romance novel rooted in the world of tech and gaming.
Reality: Nuanced and gorgeous writing, paired with a genre-melding plot made this one of the most immersive and surprising stories I’ve read all year.
Fraternity: Stories – Benjamin Nugent
Expectation: An “Animal House”-esque exploration of modern fraternity/college life.
Reality: A deft exploration of the dichotomies that exist within one of America’s oldest higher education social clubs.
Best. Movie. Year. Ever.: How 1999 Blew up the Big Screen – Brian Raftery
“Best” is the kind of book that exists for a very specific type of person. You know, the person that has decades worth of inconsequential pop culture details stored away for no other reason than to be a ringer in bar trivia.
Apartment – Teddy Wayne
Expectation: An LGBTQIA+ story about unrequited love and finding yourself.
Reality: An engrossing character study that gives you a front row seat to how easily it is destroy yourself in the name of saving others.
Ready Player Two – Ernest Cline
Expectation: Another trip down memory lane with hefty doses of geek culture.
Reality: Enjoyable and more accessible – from a pop culture perspective – but missing the energy that propelled the first novel.
The Saturday Night Ghost Club – Craig Davidson
Expectation: A story of outcast teens saving Niagara Falls from what lurks in the shadows – basically a Canadian "Stranger Things."
Reality: The only ghosts present are the ones that haunt us, but the story hits enough of the right notes to keep you interested.
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires - Grady Hendrix
An over-done nostalgia trip with weak character development and more internal than vampiric strife.