Overview:
Barry Lee Dejasu published his first weird stories only a few years ago, but he has already emerged as a strong and vital voice in contemporary horror fiction. Born in Providence, R.I., erstwhile home of H. P. Lovecraft, Dejasu transfers the terrors of Lovecraft’s day to the contemporary world of computers, smartphones, and the Internet.A Halloween party goes hideously awry in “Penumbra.” A hapless tenant in an apartment building discovers cosmic terrors in the laundry room in “What’s Below Beneath.” Sinister tales of a walking dead man wandering the highways are the focus of “He Walks This Road at Night.” An abandoned movie theater is the focus of strangeness in “Projector.”
In all his tales, Dejasu reveals an understanding of the psychology of fear, lending his narratives a distinctively disturbing quality. And his deft prose, his vibrant portrayal of character, and his skill in the gradual build-up of a horrific scenario go far in making Black City Skyline one of the most accomplished debut collections in recent years.
Re-Review:
When I first read Dark City Skyline and Darker Horizons, I did a review based on a defense of Barry Lee Dejasu's storytelling style. Much of yahoos on Amazon reviews just didn't get his stories and blamed their own ignorance on the book. I remember giving an in depth analysis of the Dejasu story structure, and deconstructed one of the stories as an example of his horror craft. Well, I am not going to try to rewrite that piece here. I no longer have the anger toward those ignoramuses; it has dissipated since then. Rather, I'd like to talk about why you should grab a copy of the book and read for yourself the unique horror that Barry Lee Dejasu has written.
DCS is a creepy world with a past, present and future. You, the reader, are presented with the "now", what is happening at present. In and of itself, the present is not creepy. What gives you the creeps is how we arrived to this "now", plus what awaits us after the "now".
I've since returned to look at the Amazon reviews and have found that a more appreciative review crowd has been enjoying Barry's style of storytelling. They even get that "big picture" image from that singular scene presented in each story. If you can't see that whole past/present/future of the story, you might be left wondering why the story may seem incomplete. Believe me, it is that completeness that makes DCS the great read it is. In this latest reviews of the book, I've noticed that fans have begun to use the big "Lovecraftian" word. And it fits.
So join the legend of readers who get Mr. Dejasu's horror style. There's a whole world of the creeps waiting for you.
