I wasn’t particularly sure about reviewing this one. After
all, it’s a short, cheap oneshot to draw in an audience for the followup novel
(The Red Eye) and I already reviewed
that one. But, due to the huge difference in tone, structure and effect between
the two, I decided that it warranted me chiming in on.
Sam Brody is a bit of an ass. He also likes to harangue people
via his nightly radio show, The Red Eye, while debunking claims of supernatural
phenomenon. Now, he has been sent out to look into the story of a famous haunted
house, the source of at least one major movie. It is the type of story that
could make his career, if he can get it to break.
Ostensibly, the above is the plot of The House on Concordia
Drive, but that isn’t really what it is about. At least, that isn’t what I was
taking away from it. It is, instead, a story about an asshole who is being
forced to deal with the repercussions of his own selfish and self-centered
behavior. From the asshole’s point of view. The mystery is there, the
investigation is there, but those felt more like ciphers to me. This element is
also where the book really shines.
K.W. Taylor works with a terrific sense of brevity and subtlety
here. She doesn’t bother to break from Brody’s interior at any point, so we are
never told directly how to feel about him. He seems to think he’s pretty
awesome and that comes through. However, she lets his actions speak for
themselves, while using the background of the haunting to reflect his own
personality and shortcomings. Admittedly, the imagery at the end, with the
birds and the references to The Odyssey and the phone screen, is a tad heavier
handed than I would have preferred but she still shows a remarkable level of
trust in the audience.
It’s a relatively complex piece, for its length, and goes
against the expected direction for this type of story. There is some damn
impressive talent on display here.
Cover art: I really like the somewhat German-expressionist
skewed angularity and stark lack of color. Despite the simplicity of the image,
it is evocative enough to grab attention from across a room.
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