By Reason of Insanity - Stevens (Novel)

May I first off just say, "thank you" to everyone who reads this blog? Honestly, I have no idea who most of you are, but it makes me very happy to have readers who (based on the stats Blogger gives me) seem to be more-or-less consistent. As I have said, I started this blog as much for the love of writing as anything else. I typically write fiction, so I thought it would be a good idea to have a non-fiction outlet as well. I've always tried to have the attitude that I don't actually care if people read what I'm writing, because it really is an intellectual exercise for me to "stay sharp", but I'm not going to pretend it doesn't do my heart good to know that there are people out there that like what I write. Don't be afraid to comment, by the way, that lets me know you care. (Does that sound desperate?)

That being said, let us move on to today's review: By Reason of Insanity (1979). I wish I could claim to be cool enough to have known about Shane Stevens before reading about him in the back of Stephen King's odd novel The Dark Half. I guess I could claim that, but it would be a lie. Stevens' books enjoyed some popularity when they were written, then they were largely forgotten until King gave a shout-out to Stevens by naming a sort-of character in The Dark Half after someone in Dead City. After that, three of the titles (Dead City, By Reason of Insanity, and The Anvil Chorus) were reprinted for public consumption. I'm indebted to King for doing this, but it's sad that it needed to be done at all; Stevens is one of the finest novelists of which I am aware, and I feel he deserves much more recognition than he has.

His earlier books are harder to find. I've seen used paperback copies of Rat Pack selling on Amazon for upwards of $80. Recently I lucked out and acquired a copy of Go Down Dead for about $15, but mostly the books available to readers these days are those mentioned above as being reprinted. I know, I know, I haven't even touched on Insanity, but I'm getting there. I have one last item of interest before the novel itself: my perception of Stevens' career.

I have read four of his novels and have found the following to be true:

 If my arbitrary number system confuses you, let's say "200" would be considered "an uncommonly good book," while "500" would be somewhere in the neighborhood of "wow, this book seriously changed me." I can't stress enough how blown away I was by Insanity, nor can I express fully my disappointment and confusion in reading The Anvil Chorus. Chorus was Stevens last book. He's still alive, btw, but I don't know why he stopped writing. Perhaps he gave everything he had in Insanity, which would explain why The Anvil Chorus (while incredibly well written) is ultimately meaningless and nigh-unreadable. I may be exaggerating slightly by awarding it a "0", but I think you get the idea. Whatever the reason, let us consider Insanity to be his magnum opus, and effectively his spiritual last novel.

By Reason of Insanity is a crime novel, as all of Stevens' books are. It focuses on the life of a fictitious serial killer, Thomas Bishop. I emphasize "fictitious" because it can be easy to forget that this is a novel and not a fictionalization of a historic account. The book is so brutal, so utterly real, that it seems unlikely to the reader that it didn't actually happen. Stevens has created a challenge with this book to filmmakers, novelists, and artists of any kind: just try to do better. I believe that challenge, while implied, is also meant to be explicit. (Is that even possible?) Stevens had a goal: to make the reader understand as fully as possible why some people believe they were made only to murder other people, with the added horror of realizing there is nothing on earth that will change such a person's opinion on the matter.

When I say this book is brutal, I'm not foolin'. This is not a book for the over-queasy or delicate. Not to say there is anything wrong with being sensitive, mind you, I'm simply stating if you are such a person, you may not want to read this book. If, on the other hand, criminal psychology and the logistics of serial killings is of interest to you, this book is the best fiction resource you're likely to find.

Years of research went into this novel, and the power of that research is realized. Dozens of well-developed characters (from politicians, to reporters, to mob bosses) are utilized to tell the story from a hundred different angles. Nothing, positively nothing, is left to the imagination. This is something most writers (myself included) would shy away from, and with good reason. But Stevens breaks this rule intentionally, and has the raw writing power to do it. My biggest complaint with the book is that it doesn't really have gender sensibility in mind. I don't believe it is meant to be overtly sexist (as if that were common), but I don't care for the general intelligence level of the female characters, which are uniformly unintelligent. This is not only offensive, but pulls me out of the reality Stevens has crafted with such care. But, no book is perfect. Except maybe Midnight Sun. But we'll get to that another day.

One thing about Stevens I appreciate is his lack of interest in glorifying evil. In all of his novels he is an exposer of evil, an expounder or evil, but never is he a defendant of it. By Reason of Insanity is harrowing, but it is also instructive. I recommend it to a certain type of person, as King has said, "unreservedly." Whether or not that means you is your call.

-MA 4.22.13

Bag of Bones - King (Novel)

Those of you who know me may have wondered why Mr. King hasn't shown up on the blog yet. After all, I've read over twenty Steven King novels and enjoyed most of them immensely. I consider some of them to be among the best books I've ever read. What then, is the reason for my hesitation? There are actually several factors which have withheld me, and I think they are worth mentioning before continuing on.

King in 2012

The first is the challenge of selecting one. I could probably write a review that would excite and interest me (and hopefully others) about most of his works, but in the end the decision was maybe not as hard as I was making it; hint: I just chose my favorite.

The second roadblock to this review, or really anything by SK that isn't "The Eyes of the Dragon", is the level of vulgarity employed in the writing. I can understand the argument opposing mine, that it is not immoral to use vulgarity or profanity in the name of realism or even interest. I'm not going to try to dissuade anyone from that belief or put forward any guidelines for appropriateness; I'm a writer myself, and I know that some of what I write and consider within perfectly reasonable limits others might find disturbing or excessive or wrong in some way, so I will wisely leave those kinds of decisions up to the reader. However, I do want to offer a little food for thought: vulgarity is supposed to have an effect of some kind, am I right? There is supposed to be some purpose to it. Then what is the point of having virtually every protagonist, antagonist, and side character use profane and vulgar language as frequently as King does? It isn't realistic, for not every person uses strong language in their day-to-day life; it isn't effective, for the effect of the language is dulled and lost from overuse.

Okay, now that I've got that out of my system, I'd like to move on to the review itself without regard to what may or may not be considered appropriate in the book. Just be aware that there is a certain level of mature content in the book, which no one will stop you from blacking out if you so choose. Although some might make fun of you, and your local library might not appreciate it.

The superior cover of the book,
since later versions have pictures
from the TV adaptation. Ick!

As stated above, Bag of Bones is my favorite book by Stephen King. It is not, however, the one I found most frightening. Technically, it is a horror novel, and yes, it's scary, but King made a concerted effort with this book to do more*. I believe he has tried to do that throughout his career, with varying degrees of success, but with this novel he struck a beautiful balance between horror and heartfelt memoir. The book opens with a sterile, sad scene. We are quickly drawn into the sorrows and problems of protagonist Mike Noonan. Like many of King's leading men, Noonan is a writer of fiction. He has suffered a terrible blow in his life which summons him into a bizarre mystery. He finds himself shortly in his vacation home in a small town where the majority of the novel takes place. The story then begins to unfold in unexpected and terrifying ways. I won't go too deeply into plot-points, as discovering them yourself is much more rewarding, but it suffices me to say that the reader does not envy Mike, and it can be both instructive and chilling to put yourself in his position as you read. What might you do in his situation? How would you react to the ringing of Bunter's bell?

It is a complex tale, woven together with many different characters, beliefs, scenes, and dreams, but the complexity is kept in check with the simple first person narrative style. King has a penchant for large casts, some of his more epic novels have literally dozens of main characters, all of which get their own page time for primary POV, and that often works for him. Here, however, he sees the value in the personal. We stay with Mike throughout his story. There are other characters of interest, of course, but their desires are secondary to us. We like Mike. We watch Mike. We feel Mike.

It's not all great. Like any work, it has its failings. Not the least of which being how some of the necessary connections feel unavailable and forced, as well as some scenes not really focusing where the reader's interests are, but we overlook them.

Adventure, romance, terror, and emotion are all on wide display, but through the believable, quickly familiar lens of Mike Noonan. Here, it is the balance of genre as much as the writing itself that impresses and enthralls the reader. Here is a melancholy and beautiful story, relatable and harrowing; here is a bag of bones.

MA 2.4.2013

* I think it's important here to note that I do not have anything against "pure" horror. In fact, I'm not a fan of down-looking at genre fiction in general. I do not think that labeling something as "horror", "fantasy", or even the dubious "romance" means that it will not be good fiction or even good literature, it just so happens that many genre fiction titles are basically trash. The good ones, however, are not guilty by association. Bag of Bones has taken another road--and good for it--but there are many acceptable roads.

Son of the Endless Night - John Farris (Novel)

Just in time for Halloween, here's a review of one of my favorite horror novels, Son of the Endless Night by John Farris (1984).  At it's heart Endless Night is a tale of demonic possession, which the Liberty Journal refers to as, "The first really worthy successor to Blatty's The Exorcist".  Having read and enjoyed both books, I can tell you which is more in-depth and truly haunting, and it's Endless Night.

Farris is unlike other horror novelists whose work I've read in that he begins by creating a world of deep basic humanity before getting down to the real horror.  His characters are not flat walls of opinions and identifiable quirks; they are complex and changeable.  They are not simply hand puppets used to present two sides of an argument; many of them seek to understand the world around them, and be just to others  These characters have motives and desires and interact fully with their counterparts.  Above all he creates characters we feel we understand; even when we don't agree with them, we sympathize with them.  We want them to succeed.  In other works, the ability to create such engaging characters is often used to cover inadequacies in plot, pacing, and structure, but not here.  This is a meticulously researched and carefully executed novel, always sensitive to the religious nature of exorcism even in its darkest and most disturbing moments.  I'm not saying it will effect you so dramatically, but while I was reading it late one night I woke my wife when I went to use the restroom, so I wouldn't be totally alone walking around the house.

An excerpt from the book with important character names removed.

The plot is unpredictable, but never random.  (With a few forgivable exceptions of fantastic indulgences in the name of excitement and interest.)  While the book starts as a terrifying horror story, it eventually culminates to including another genre entirely, although I won't spoil it by saying which.  This shift is unexpected and satisfying, very little is sacrificed artistically along the way.

The included excerpt is, admittedly, a little melodramatic, but it gives the distinct impression that Farris knows exactly what he's going for, knows how to make it happen, and isn't embarrassed about it.  These are qualities I find lacking in a lot of art, especially from the last fifteen years or so.  Of course artists should be able to view their artwork objectively, but I feel they are sometimes too self-aware, too afraid of scrutiny.

I would also like to mention that Farris has a strange ability I've never run across before, with any writer or genre: he tells or shows the reader something important, something vital to the story, then (and I have no idea how he can do this) he makes the reader forget what he just told them or showed them, only to have it resurface in their mind at the most intense possible moment.

He also takes the time and effort to make the ideas of possession and exorcism both credible and plausible, as if the people in the world who are really in-the-know all accept the reality of possession and the recognized modes of treatment.  He adds even more reality to the tale by showing that an exorcism is almost as bureaucratic as it is spiritual.

It's hard to tell here, but that demon has a very lumpy head.

The book is fun, but quite dark and often disturbing.  It's a long, but fairly easy read, carrying the reader from one tense and fascinating scene to another.  There are a lot of ideas in the book, but also a lot of action, perfect for a long plane ride.  It is also the kind of book that stays with the reader long after finishing it as it is interesting to rethink the events and their meaning.  It is an adult work, with adult language and situations, so keep that in mind if your interest is piqued.  Personally, I edited mine as I went, but I know a lot of people are against that.  Pshh.

-MA 10.22.2012