Runester

I finished the Caitlin R. Kiernan book, Daughter of Hounds, a few days ago.

Of all of her books, this one had the most ‘concrete’ feel to it. Instead of the endless ambiguity in her descriptions of monsters and magic, this book actually came out and described everone and (nearly) everything in it, in fairly unambiguous terms. Good! Also, the final denoument actually felt like a denoument instead of the point where the author just got tired of writing and decided to stop.

This is now my favorite Caitlin R. Kiernan novel, with “Alabaster” being my favorite book (it’s a collection of short works about one of my all time favorite characters, Dancy Flamarion).

Does my review sound a little harsh? Would it surprise you to know that I am actually an avid reader / collector of Kiernan’s works? The aspects that drew me to her writing still recommend her work to others. Namely, her amazing characterization of young people on the fringe of society and the dark (Lovecraftian) fantasy they interact with. The sense of place and gritty realism is expertly counterpointed to the fantastical elements, and each character feels amazingly real and yet so far outside the norm, that you can’t help but be pulled in. And Boy! Can this lady write! The use
of language is extraordinary; with the overly wrought flourishes of her early work tamed as she matured in her craft.

The negatives, are her use of ambiguity to communicate the sense of Lovecraftian horror. I feel for her predicament: if she were to clearly describe what the creatures were and what rules have to be followed in order to survive or defeat them … then the sense of wonder and dread would evaporite right off the page and this would read like a turn-of-the-century zoology paper. But, with very little concrete description it’s hard to figure out exactly what’s happening. Not only is the ‘what’ mysterious, but then the ‘why’ is as well. So the whole time you’re reading you’re thinking, “who is that? why did they just do that? what does that paragraph mean?” and then when you get to the end of the book, it tends to just stop. No real wrap-up or finale or conclusion. It. Just. Ends.

The most disappointing example of this is her sci-fi book, “The Dry Salvages.” If any book ever gives the impression that the author got bored with the topic and just tacked on a bullet-point list of what would have happened if she’d felt like finishing it - then this book would be it! The whole intro was fascinating, the characters intriguing, and the situation very original. Then you get to the last few chapters and wish you hadn’t. In fact, without those chapters tacked on, I would be free to fantasize about the ‘unfinished manuscript’ and what could have happened had the author ever completed it.

In summary: Caitlin R. Kiernan, an absolutely fantastic author who can accomplish the near impossible. The ‘real thing’ in a genre replete with pretenders and poseurs. Someone more then worth reading, if you can overlook or at least tolerate her few, minor foibles. If you “absolutely have to know!” then she definitely is not for you. If you can immerse yourself in a world full of vibrant characters and decaying settings, and tolerate never really knowing the full story or the real ending, then this definitely is for you!