Kurt Hohmann reviewed Vandal by Kaaron Warren
Review of 'Vandal' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This volume (I read it as an ARC) contains three different tales written in different styles, but there are common threads throughout. They all delve into interpersonal relationships, and they're all creepy in the damage that's inflicted. In spite of - or perhaps because of - those wildly different styles of storytelling, I was engrossed through all three.
Kaaron Warren's The Deathplace Set follows the history of a family and the obsession that drives them. They travel from one damned place to another, driven by a disturbing pack of cards with far more power than anything ever imagined by Tarot. Warren does an excellent job of revealing how the inheritance of those cards consistently creeps deeper and deeper into the psyche of not only each family member, but the family unit as a whole. Each card reveals some horrific story from the past, and each one brings about some change …
This volume (I read it as an ARC) contains three different tales written in different styles, but there are common threads throughout. They all delve into interpersonal relationships, and they're all creepy in the damage that's inflicted. In spite of - or perhaps because of - those wildly different styles of storytelling, I was engrossed through all three.
Kaaron Warren's The Deathplace Set follows the history of a family and the obsession that drives them. They travel from one damned place to another, driven by a disturbing pack of cards with far more power than anything ever imagined by Tarot. Warren does an excellent job of revealing how the inheritance of those cards consistently creeps deeper and deeper into the psyche of not only each family member, but the family unit as a whole. Each card reveals some horrific story from the past, and each one brings about some change in the family - this is a skillful weaving of stories within stories.
Aaron Dries's We Called it Graffitiville took me in a different direction. A non-linear timeline worked beautifully here, revealing elements of the story at the right time to form a cohesive tale. Daniel's insights reveal a damaged man, one who struggles to grasp the basics of any relationship and especially the romantic one crumbling through his fingers. His past comes into full clarity as the multiple horrors of the present are unveiled, and I'm pulled along for a dread-filled ride.
J.S. Breukelaar's Quicksilver covers the widest timeframe of any of these stories, a multi-generational epic that presents the coin-flip of blessing or curse. Here are elements of folklore brought together much like intermingled families, with an added twist of inheritance from aunt to niece and not directly through the bloodline. Each generation deals with the curse in their own way, and the tension ratchets up across the story. What is the cost of creation? What value can we place on the beauty of art?
I'll certainly be picking up the rest of this series.