News

Shaun Hamill’s ‘A Cosmology of Monsters’ is a Gripping, Terrifying Tale

Published

5 years ago

October 15, 2019

“I started collecting my older sister Eunice’s suicide notes when I was seven years old,” A Cosmology of Monsters, the debut novel of Shaun Hamill, begins, and believe me when I tell you that this is one of the most challenging, beautiful, and harrowing novels I’ve read in some time.

It’s the kind of narrative that gets under the reader’s skin, shining a spotlight on the dark recesses of our own minds and relationships and forces us to ask difficult questions of ourselves and those around us.

What is a monster, after all? What makes a monster become a monster? Am I a monster? Are there monsters in my family?

The novel tells the story of the Turner family who, for whatever reason, have touched a fantastic and dangerous world beyond on our own in an inscrutable way that they do not understand. It is a land filled with monsters, and this connection slowly tears them apart from the inside out breeding obsession, disease, and strife like weeds in a springtime flowerbed.

For all its dysfunction, you see, the Turner family wants nothing more than to be whole. It simply doesn’t know how, and the unfettered realness of that challenge sparks deep emotion in Hamill’s readers.

We root for this family and at the same time we are repulsed by them. We love them, but never want to see them again.

This works most especially well in Hamill’s narrative by putting us in the capable hands of the youngest member of the family. By the time Noah was born, their troubles had already begun to take root, and much like Noah, the reader doesn’t fully understand why.

A child becomes our guide, taking our hand and leading us through Hamill’s carefully constructed labyrinth. It is effective and terrifying especially as Noah becomes more and more involved in his family’s story.

We watch as Noah grows up making the mistakes of youth and adolescence, and are unable to keep him from taking “the wrong” path. Then we question which path was right or wrong to begin with.

In short, he has created what might be considered a horror Bildungsroman–a term used in literary criticism to describe a novel that focuses on the moral and psychological growth of its protagonist in which ways a character changes is most important.

Hamill took this form literally and figuratively in his novel, earning praise from Stephen King who compared the work to the novels of John Irving who demonstrated a subtle mastery of the form in his novel The Cider House Rules.

What is most impressive, however, is that this author in his first published work knows exactly how to manipulate the reader. He creates a puzzle that demands to be solved even when we are stricken with horror by the emerging image, and he does all of this while ultimately telling a story about the importance of family and identity.

He is undeniably an impressive talent and a new voice to watch within the genre.

And remember those questions I mentioned at the beginning of this review? If you’re lucky, you might be able to answer one or two of those by the end of the book. If not, you may be pondering them for days to come.

Either way, make no mistake, once you pick up A Cosmology of Monsters, you will not put it down until its ghastly, heartbreaking conclusion.

A Cosmology of Monsters is available in hardback and e-book editions. You can pick up a copy at Amazon!

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

You must be logged in to post a comment.

News

Netflix Releases First BTS ‘Fear Street: Prom Queen’ Footage

Published

2 hours ago

April 30, 2024

Timothy Rawles

It’s been three long years since Netflix unleashed the bloody, but enjoyable Fear Street on its platform. Released in a tryptic fashion, the streamer broke up the story into three episodes, each taking place in a different decade which by the finale were all tied together.

Now, the streamer is in production for its sequel Fear Street: Prom Queen which brings the story into the 80s. Netflix gives a synopsis of what to expect from Prom Queen on their blog site Tudum:

“Welcome back to Shadyside. In this next installment of the blood-soaked Fear Street franchise, prom season at Shadyside High is underway and the school’s wolfpack of It Girls is busy with its usual sweet and vicious campaigns for the crown. But when a gutsy outsider is unexpectedly nominated to the court, and the other girls start mysteriously disappearing, the class of ’88 is suddenly in for one hell of a prom night.”

Based on R.L. Stine’s massive series of Fear Street novels and spin-offs, this chapter is number 15 in the series and was published in 1992.

FEAR STREET: PROM QUEEN IS NOW IN PRODUCTION 🩸 Welcome to Shadyside High. We're gonna have a killer time. pic.twitter.com/jDl0zRa2CH
— Netflix (@netflix) April 30, 2024

Fear Street: Prom Queen features a killer ensemble cast, including India Fowler (The Nevers, Insomnia), Suzanna Son (Red Rocket, The Idol), Fina Strazza (Paper Girls, Above the Shadows), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty, Cinnamon), Ella Rubin (The Idea of You), Chris Klein (Sweet Magnolias, American Pie), Lili Taylor (Outer Range, Manhunt) and Katherine Waterston (The End We Start From, Perry Mason).

No word on when Netflix will drop the series into its catalog.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

News

Live Action Scooby-Doo Reboot Series In Works at Netflix

Published

3 hours ago

April 30, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The ghosthunting Great Dane with an anxiety problem, Scooby-Doo, is getting a reboot and Netflix is picking up the tab. Variety is reporting that the iconic show is becoming an hour-long series for the streamer although no details have been confirmed. In fact, Netflix execs declined to comment.

If the project is a go, this would be the first live-action movie based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon since 2018’s Daphne & Velma. Before that, there were two theatrical live-action movies, Scooby-Doo (2002) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), then two sequels that premiered on The Cartoon Network.

Currently, the adult-oriented Velma is streaming on Max.

Scooby-Doo originated in 1969 under the creative team Hanna-Barbera. The cartoon follows a group of teenagers who investigate supernatural happenings. Known as Mystery Inc., the crew consists of Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Shaggy Rogers, and his best friend, a talking dog named Scooby-Doo.

Normally the episodes revealed the hauntings they encountered were hoaxes developed by land-owners or other nefarious characters hoping to scare people away from their properties. The original TV series named Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! ran from 1969 to 1986. It was so successful that movie stars and pop culture icons would make guest appearances as themselves in the series.

Celebrities such as Sonny & Cher, KISS, Don Knotts, and The Harlem Globetrotters made cameos as did Vincent Price who portrayed Vincent Van Ghoul in a few episodes.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

News

BET Releasing New Original Thriller: The Deadly Getaway

Published

3 hours ago

April 30, 2024

Cameron McFarland

BET will soon be offering horror fans a rare treat. The studio has announced the official release date for their new original thriller, The Deadly Getaway. Directed by Charles Long (The Trophy Wife), this thriller sets up a heart racing game of cat and mouse for audiences to sink their teeth into.

Wanting to break up the monotony of their routine, Hope and Jacob set off to spend their vacation at a simple cabin in the woods. However, things go sideways when Hope’s ex-boyfriend shows up with a new girl at the same campsite. Things soon spiral out of control. Hope and Jacob must now work together to escape the woods with their lives.

The Deadly Getaway is written by Eric Dickens (Makeup X Breakup) and Chad Quinn (Reflections of US). The Film stars, Yandy Smith-Harris (Two Days in Harlem), Jason Weaver (The Jacksons: An American Dream), and Jeff Logan (My Valentine Wedding).

Showrunner Tressa Azarel Smallwood had the following to say about the project. “The Deadly Getaway is the perfect reintroduction to classic thrillers, which encompass dramatic twists, and spine-chilling moments. It showcases the range and diversity of emerging Black writers across genres of film and television.”

The Deadly Getaway will premiere on 5.9.2024, exclusively ion BET+.