Book Review: Collage Macabre (2023)
(this review is spoiler-free.)
Collage Macabre is an elegant and incisive anthology that showcases some of the best young talent in speculative fiction today. Spanning eighteen stories and as many authors, the collection explores all manner of form and circumstance with the only truly unifying element being that each installment is the story of a creator. The flexibility and dynamism inherent to that word is on full display, as among the half-dozen painters, directors, and other visual artists are some distinctly less traditional creatives.
Beyond the creator at the center of each story, the collection shows a broad range of considerations as to where and how artistic space brushes up against the uncanny, and the resulting stories are feministic, emotionally-charged, and marked by an almost unwavering devolution where in something key–be it perspective, expectation, or the world itself–begins to unravel. Like expert flourishes in a painting or piece of prose, there’s a good mix of feminist and/or queer representations that don’t become representative of the collection as a whole or impede the narrative. As for narrative structure, Collage Macabre is happy to go outside the lines occasionally, and is willing to play with the broadest interpretations of the aforementioned themes when the time is right.
While the voices here are universally worthwhile and I look forward to tracking each of their creative careers, the collection really gains momentum midway through, seemingly seeking to build momentum and crescendo somewhere seventy or eighty percent of the way into its length. Editorially speaking, I found this refreshing, as so many anthologies frontload their talent as though they’re begging the reader to stay, and the works drag after the initial salvo. As I worked through Collage Macabre, I found myself increasingly curious to see what the next author would do, and before long I was counting the diminishing number of remaining stories with mild regret.
While I enjoyed the collection as a whole and wouldn’t count a single story as unworthy of inclusion, I think this will be an uneven experience for many readers. This is a gathering of peers, but their individual talents and tastes vary widely, and the result is an anthology that continually shows a new side for better or worse. We go from pulp to literary and back again several times, and while I personally loved it, it may throw some readers.
I enjoyed every story, but feel these were the standouts (spoiler-free):
The Red Lady by MOB - exceptional writing, with some of the sharpest prose in the collection. It reads like a modern, fine arts-themed retelling of Lovecraft’s Dreams in the Witch House.
Lady Widow by Julie Sevens - a reimagining of the Elizabeth Báthory legend where the infamous noblewoman is recast in a more sympathetic light. I’m a bit of a sucker for stories like this, and I think this one did some exceptionally smart things.
The Prepator by Joseph Andre Thomas - one of my favorites in the collection, an experimental, fictional drug enables the character to delve more deeply into his art history lesson on Rembrandt. Creepy and effective.
Darned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t by Nikki R. Leigh - A young woman with an established crochet side-hustle takes on an unusual and lucrative commission to create a life-size companion. Fresh off a deep-cutting split from her girlfriend, she lets the memories of her ex guide her design only to discover that the lines between art and life aren’t always clear.
Breath, Blow, Burn by Ai Jiang - I need to qualify this by highlighting that I’m already a huge fan of Ai Jiang’s work. Critically speaking, I was nearly prostrate with praise when I read her debut novella, Linghun, and I’m afraid I’m going to be the same here. There’s something about her writing, the charm, the wit, the striking originality of everything she builds that just works for me. She pitches a situation and, no matter how absurd our otherworldly it may be, gives the reader license to trust that something worth chasing is going on here. In this case, it’s a magical practitioner who utilizes sugar in her spellcraft, and, when taken by surprise, finds herself an inanimate onlooker to a domestic deterioration wherein she is a powerless oracle. Ai Jiang has this great talent for blending the uncanny and absurd with the heartfelt, and does so again here.
(Also, the couplet ‘I was the only human. And the only one made of sugar.’ made me laugh harder than anything I’ve read in quite some time.)
Callous by Christi Nogle - a painter embraces the ramshackle legacy of her dying mother in the deepest way possible. One of the greatest descents into brokenness that I’ve read in a short story.
Station 42 by Erik McHatton - Undeniably Kafka-esque in its development, this is the short story of a miserable old man who receives a mysterious television-headed guest in the middle of the night and subsequently embraces all of his worst instincts. This is a darker, nastier tale than most in the collection, and it served as a welcome shift of gears from the more whimsical stories that preceded it. I ultimately found the message and thrust of the story to be a bit simplistic, perhaps a bit unexplored, but the writing and development of the story was still strong enough to make it one of the more memorable tales in the collection. Mr. McHatton is very much on my radar from now on.
Twigs by Andrew F. Sullivan - A young girl finds old magic in a patch of forest near her house, and uses it to push back on the evils that beset her. In time, she marries this secret power with her natural artistic talents and ascends to fortune and fame. This story is told through the eyes of her estranged friend, who played with her in that fated forest clearing once upon a time.
This is an old tale, but one whose trick continually works: the idea of lost magic in an unexpected environment. Sullivan’s execution leaves most of the workings behind the veil–there are no talking spirits, devil’s bargains, or arcane histories–just a woman tapping into a force she can use as readily and instinctively as a hammer.
Collage Macabre is a must-read for anyone curious about the future of the genre, as the values and styles of the forthcoming generation of writers are on full display. You can pick up a copy on Amazon, or get the VIP Swag Bundle here.
Verdict: 8.1/10
Strengths:
showcases some top-tier young talent
every story is worthwhile, no chaff here
Unique concept, with a theme that supports without constricting
Weaknesses:
Wide array of styles and subjects likely means some readers won’t connect with portions of the collection
