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Stuff I have previously read: & #39;Gateways to Abomination& #39; by @MattMBartlett 1/8
I& #39;ve actually vaguely accidentally bought this book 3 times, and could not be happier. Kindle edition, physical copy (dirt cheap) and via @storybundle ages ago. https://www.matthewmbartlett.com/p/bizarre-radio-broadcasts-luring.html">https://www.matthewmbartlett.com/p/bizarre...
I& #39;ve actually vaguely accidentally bought this book 3 times, and could not be happier. Kindle edition, physical copy (dirt cheap) and via @storybundle ages ago. https://www.matthewmbartlett.com/p/bizarre-radio-broadcasts-luring.html">https://www.matthewmbartlett.com/p/bizarre...
2/8
(Parenthetical about @storybundle - amazing collections of indie fiction for cheap. Currently noteworthy for obvious reasons, as well as being chock full of amazing books, are the Latinx Dark Fiction {ending v soon!} and the African Spec Fic bundles.) https://storybundle.com/latinx ">https://storybundle.com/latinx&qu...
(Parenthetical about @storybundle - amazing collections of indie fiction for cheap. Currently noteworthy for obvious reasons, as well as being chock full of amazing books, are the Latinx Dark Fiction {ending v soon!} and the African Spec Fic bundles.) https://storybundle.com/latinx ">https://storybundle.com/latinx&qu...
3/8
& #39;Gateways to Abomination& #39; is a collection of stories, vignettes and virtual prose poems all connected to the radio station WXXT, operating out of Leeds, Massachusetts, and principal media outlet/propaganda tool of a centuries-old witch cult. Can you beat that concept??
& #39;Gateways to Abomination& #39; is a collection of stories, vignettes and virtual prose poems all connected to the radio station WXXT, operating out of Leeds, Massachusetts, and principal media outlet/propaganda tool of a centuries-old witch cult. Can you beat that concept??
4/8
The unstable, analogue nature of radio broadcasting is central to Bartlett& #39;s work (kudos to @NBallingrud for this crucial insight). Intrusions occur, voices overlap, boundaries are breached. Bartlett& #39;s stories phase into and out of each other, and create a suffocating whole.
The unstable, analogue nature of radio broadcasting is central to Bartlett& #39;s work (kudos to @NBallingrud for this crucial insight). Intrusions occur, voices overlap, boundaries are breached. Bartlett& #39;s stories phase into and out of each other, and create a suffocating whole.
5/8
& #39;Suffocating& #39; is perhaps the word I associate most with this book - Bartlett is exceptionally good at creating a horrific atmosphere in just a few sentences. See this, from & #39;The Arrival Part 1& #39; - the reincarnation of the warlock Ben Stockton in the form of a goat.
& #39;Suffocating& #39; is perhaps the word I associate most with this book - Bartlett is exceptionally good at creating a horrific atmosphere in just a few sentences. See this, from & #39;The Arrival Part 1& #39; - the reincarnation of the warlock Ben Stockton in the form of a goat.
6/8
This is visceral horror; materially upsetting in that Bartlett makes you FEEL and SEE the things he exposes you to. But it is not gorn or splatter for splatter& #39;s sake. There are transgressive images and concepts here, certainly, but still, but still...
This is visceral horror; materially upsetting in that Bartlett makes you FEEL and SEE the things he exposes you to. But it is not gorn or splatter for splatter& #39;s sake. There are transgressive images and concepts here, certainly, but still, but still...
7/8
Another great anatomist of small town America wrote & #39;The past is never dead. It is not even past.& #39; Bartlett& #39;s fiction literalises and weaponises that concept; revenants, literal avatars of the past& #39;s bullshit, return pathologically to Leeds to corrupt any attempt at progress.
Another great anatomist of small town America wrote & #39;The past is never dead. It is not even past.& #39; Bartlett& #39;s fiction literalises and weaponises that concept; revenants, literal avatars of the past& #39;s bullshit, return pathologically to Leeds to corrupt any attempt at progress.
8/8
Bartlett& #39;s world is claustrophobic and manifestly unfair; malignantly uncaring at best, deliberately cruel at worst. It is one of the most singular and consistent fictional locales currently not actually existing. I hope it stays that way.
Bartlett& #39;s world is claustrophobic and manifestly unfair; malignantly uncaring at best, deliberately cruel at worst. It is one of the most singular and consistent fictional locales currently not actually existing. I hope it stays that way.
