A bibliography with cover art of the author's stories and books.
4.5 out of 5
http://picasaweb.google.com/aussievamp2/LairdBarron
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
The Carrion Gods In Their Heaven - Laird Barron
"Just finished a 7500 word novelette in a white heat. It's called "The Carrion Gods in their Heaven" and is about a couple of good girls gone bad, a lonely hunting cabin in the mountains of the Pac NW, and a cursed coyote pelt. After all that, I need to get my mitts on a bottle of Old Crow and sit quietly for a little while and think about what I've done."
Hallucigenia - Laird Barron
Novella
Number of words : 25000
Percent of complex words : 10.0
Average syllables per word : 1.5
Average words per sentence : 10.7
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 8.3
Flesch : 68.3
Flesch-Kincaid : 6.4
CHARACTERS
Wallace Smith
Trust fund no-longer baby, son of a senator. A bit of an adventurer. Runs into serious injury and madness.
Delaney
Chauffeur and bodyguard and muscle for Wallace.
Helen Paxton
Smith's young wife, a photographer.
Mr Woo
Best drycleaner this side of Tacoma.
George Paxton
Helen's ancestor of WWII vintage.
Dalton Smith
Wallace's ancestor of WWII vintage. An ex-senator.
Harold Carter
Bloke Wallace punched.
Gracie
Wallace's ex-wife.
Beth
Ex-wife 2.
Doctor Green
Wallace's medical man for his injury recovery.
Skip Arden
Wallace's friend.
Cecil
Helen's aide.
Kate
Her other aide.
Earl Hutchison
Wallace's dog trainer from Yelm.
Skip Freeman
Friend of Wallace's. An attorney.
Randy Freeman
Friend of Wallace's. A radical biologist.
Janice Freeman
Randy's wife.
Barret and Macy Langan
Friends of Wallace's.
Manfred and Elizabeth Steiner
Friends of Wallace's.
Jerry Premus
An attorney.
Detective Adams
Local law enforcement.
Morgan Choate
Owns the Black Hills property.
Anton LaVey
Famous Satanist.
Barb and Michael Cotter
Dinner guests of Wallace's.
Mel Redfield
Former California poet laureate.
Old man Bloom
Former city councilman
Regis
Tobacco lobbyist. Bloom's nephew.
Jacob Wilson
Heir to the Wilson fortune
Frank
Jacob's bodyguard.
Tommy Tune
Famous theatre guy.
Lonnie Chavez
One of Delaney's old gang.
Ruby Pharaoh
One of Delaney's old gang.
Billy Savage
Security expert of Savage and Sons, puts in a system for Wallace.
Lance Pride
Private investigator Wallace hires to dig into the Choates.
Hesse
Wallace's physical therapist.
Kurt Bruenig
Witness to the unsavory Choates. From Otter Creek.
Josh Choate
Morgan's son. Ex All-America offensive tackle. Degree in physics at Northwestern, advanced degrees in theoretical physics from Caltech and MIT.
Tyler Choate
His other son. Ex-cop in Thurston County and now convict in Walla Walla. Likely devil worshipper, part of a ring. Moved to Station 3, where appears to be quite insane in a Call of Cthulhu manner.
Hank Choate
Morgan's dead son.
Carlotta Choate
Morgan's dead daughter.
Kaleb Choate
Family patriarch. New Tesla.
Paul Choate
A physicist at Evergreen State College.
Nikola Tesla
Famous inventor. The coil guy.
Teagues
Swears Choate was a black magician. From Waddel Creek.
Bakers
From Knob Hill. Thought likewise.
Wooly Clark
Boy who claimed Josh Choate could levitate.
Carl Sagan
Famous astronomer and xenobiologist.
Miranda Carson
Local artist and sculptor.
Lyle Ferguson
A developer, going to work on the barn of problems.
Tom
Wallace's graveyard shift security guard. Ex bus driver.
Elijah Salter
Ex-army sergeant, bronze star, sold the Choates some supplies. Calaban employee.
Warden Loveless
Runs Station 3.
Charlie
Wallace's last security guard.
CONCEPTS
Belphegor
A demon. Also Chemosh and Baal-Peeor.
Mima Mounds
A term used for low, flattened, circular to oval, domelike, natural mounds found in the northwestern United States
WEAPONS
Browning .45 automatic
Handgun.
Model 76 African .416
Big game rifle.
Holland & Holland .500
Bigger game rifle.
.357 magnum
Handgun.
ANIMALS
Bruno
One of Wallace's mastiffs.
Thor
His other mastiff.
ORGANISATIONS
VFW
Veterans of Foreign Wars support.
Elks Lodge
A fraternal society.
BLM
Bureau of Land Management.
Savage and Sons
Private security firm.
Calaban Industries
"This plant makes all kinds of interesting stuff, mostly for aerospace companies and a certain east coast college that was rigging a twenty-mile-long atom-smasher—more on that later."
PLACES
Old Choate place
In Black Hills, old farm Strange rundown place where Wallace and his wife are kicked by an horse.
Olympia
Capital of Washington State.
Snoqualmie
Town in Washington State.
The Marlin
Restaurant near Wallace's. Over the Fourth Avenue Bridge.
Malloy's
Jewellery shop on State street.
Drover Clinic
Wallace's physical therapy centre.
Lucky Bucket
Takeaway joint.
Centralia
Washington State town.
Oddfellow Cemetery
Graverobbed by the Choates.
Lucky Badger
Site of a family brawl between Choates and Bruenigs.
Capitol Forest
Site of strange lights.
Oyster House
Restaurant with lobster night.
Lone Tree Motel
PI calls from here with info on Tyler Choates.
Station 3
Maximum security prison between Lind and Marengo on the Rattlesnake Flat. On the outskirts of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation
FOOD
Hennessy Private Reserve
An expensive cognac.
TECHNOLOGY
Brillo
Scourer for washing.
Pylons
Used for Choates' strange experiments.
SQUID
Superconducting quantum interference device.
MEDIA
Remembrance
Sculpture in wax of a dead woman owned by Wallace. By Carson.
PLOT
Wallace and his wife Helen, a photographer, take an excursion in aid of his work, with Delaney driving. A strange encounter leads his wife to being critically injured, thanks to a kick in the head by a horse, and Wallace lamed and in recovery - while his wife is not recovering. Delaney shot the horse, but it disappears, no-one can find it.
Wallace won't move on and move his wife elsewhere, and she begins to spout strange sayings. The local detective still thinks this is odd, so eventually Wallace begins to dig further, worrying Delaney. Wallace also hires a security firm.
He finds some people who fill him in on the Choates - who could be an evil team of super adventurers if put together in Innsmouth - lots of PhD physicist star athletes there, and a history of black magic and crime and maybe worse.
He then hires a tough PI he has used before to look into it further, and he does talk to the brothers - one in jail - and finds disturbing insanity, demonology, and super science runs in this family. As well as old mystic artifact research, etc.
Wallace is freaked out more - but he is only one injured older man, and there is a whole family of Choates. Delaney, the level-headed ex-hood decides to get the hell out of Dodge when he detects his boss has lost it and finds the house in disarray. A possible sequel hook here.
5 out of 5
Number of words : 25000
Percent of complex words : 10.0
Average syllables per word : 1.5
Average words per sentence : 10.7
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 8.3
Flesch : 68.3
Flesch-Kincaid : 6.4
CHARACTERS
Wallace Smith
Trust fund no-longer baby, son of a senator. A bit of an adventurer. Runs into serious injury and madness.
Delaney
Chauffeur and bodyguard and muscle for Wallace.
Helen Paxton
Smith's young wife, a photographer.
Mr Woo
Best drycleaner this side of Tacoma.
George Paxton
Helen's ancestor of WWII vintage.
Dalton Smith
Wallace's ancestor of WWII vintage. An ex-senator.
Harold Carter
Bloke Wallace punched.
Gracie
Wallace's ex-wife.
Beth
Ex-wife 2.
Doctor Green
Wallace's medical man for his injury recovery.
Skip Arden
Wallace's friend.
Cecil
Helen's aide.
Kate
Her other aide.
Earl Hutchison
Wallace's dog trainer from Yelm.
Skip Freeman
Friend of Wallace's. An attorney.
Randy Freeman
Friend of Wallace's. A radical biologist.
Janice Freeman
Randy's wife.
Barret and Macy Langan
Friends of Wallace's.
Manfred and Elizabeth Steiner
Friends of Wallace's.
Jerry Premus
An attorney.
Detective Adams
Local law enforcement.
Morgan Choate
Owns the Black Hills property.
Anton LaVey
Famous Satanist.
Barb and Michael Cotter
Dinner guests of Wallace's.
Mel Redfield
Former California poet laureate.
Old man Bloom
Former city councilman
Regis
Tobacco lobbyist. Bloom's nephew.
Jacob Wilson
Heir to the Wilson fortune
Frank
Jacob's bodyguard.
Tommy Tune
Famous theatre guy.
Lonnie Chavez
One of Delaney's old gang.
Ruby Pharaoh
One of Delaney's old gang.
Billy Savage
Security expert of Savage and Sons, puts in a system for Wallace.
Lance Pride
Private investigator Wallace hires to dig into the Choates.
Hesse
Wallace's physical therapist.
Kurt Bruenig
Witness to the unsavory Choates. From Otter Creek.
Josh Choate
Morgan's son. Ex All-America offensive tackle. Degree in physics at Northwestern, advanced degrees in theoretical physics from Caltech and MIT.
Tyler Choate
His other son. Ex-cop in Thurston County and now convict in Walla Walla. Likely devil worshipper, part of a ring. Moved to Station 3, where appears to be quite insane in a Call of Cthulhu manner.
Hank Choate
Morgan's dead son.
Carlotta Choate
Morgan's dead daughter.
Kaleb Choate
Family patriarch. New Tesla.
Paul Choate
A physicist at Evergreen State College.
Nikola Tesla
Famous inventor. The coil guy.
Teagues
Swears Choate was a black magician. From Waddel Creek.
Bakers
From Knob Hill. Thought likewise.
Wooly Clark
Boy who claimed Josh Choate could levitate.
Carl Sagan
Famous astronomer and xenobiologist.
Miranda Carson
Local artist and sculptor.
Lyle Ferguson
A developer, going to work on the barn of problems.
Tom
Wallace's graveyard shift security guard. Ex bus driver.
Elijah Salter
Ex-army sergeant, bronze star, sold the Choates some supplies. Calaban employee.
Warden Loveless
Runs Station 3.
Charlie
Wallace's last security guard.
CONCEPTS
Belphegor
A demon. Also Chemosh and Baal-Peeor.
Mima Mounds
A term used for low, flattened, circular to oval, domelike, natural mounds found in the northwestern United States
WEAPONS
Browning .45 automatic
Handgun.
Model 76 African .416
Big game rifle.
Holland & Holland .500
Bigger game rifle.
.357 magnum
Handgun.
ANIMALS
Bruno
One of Wallace's mastiffs.
Thor
His other mastiff.
ORGANISATIONS
VFW
Veterans of Foreign Wars support.
Elks Lodge
A fraternal society.
BLM
Bureau of Land Management.
Savage and Sons
Private security firm.
Calaban Industries
"This plant makes all kinds of interesting stuff, mostly for aerospace companies and a certain east coast college that was rigging a twenty-mile-long atom-smasher—more on that later."
PLACES
Old Choate place
In Black Hills, old farm Strange rundown place where Wallace and his wife are kicked by an horse.
Olympia
Capital of Washington State.
Snoqualmie
Town in Washington State.
The Marlin
Restaurant near Wallace's. Over the Fourth Avenue Bridge.
Malloy's
Jewellery shop on State street.
Drover Clinic
Wallace's physical therapy centre.
Lucky Bucket
Takeaway joint.
Centralia
Washington State town.
Oddfellow Cemetery
Graverobbed by the Choates.
Lucky Badger
Site of a family brawl between Choates and Bruenigs.
Capitol Forest
Site of strange lights.
Oyster House
Restaurant with lobster night.
Lone Tree Motel
PI calls from here with info on Tyler Choates.
Station 3
Maximum security prison between Lind and Marengo on the Rattlesnake Flat. On the outskirts of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation
FOOD
Hennessy Private Reserve
An expensive cognac.
TECHNOLOGY
Brillo
Scourer for washing.
Pylons
Used for Choates' strange experiments.
SQUID
Superconducting quantum interference device.
MEDIA
Remembrance
Sculpture in wax of a dead woman owned by Wallace. By Carson.
PLOT
Wallace and his wife Helen, a photographer, take an excursion in aid of his work, with Delaney driving. A strange encounter leads his wife to being critically injured, thanks to a kick in the head by a horse, and Wallace lamed and in recovery - while his wife is not recovering. Delaney shot the horse, but it disappears, no-one can find it.
Wallace won't move on and move his wife elsewhere, and she begins to spout strange sayings. The local detective still thinks this is odd, so eventually Wallace begins to dig further, worrying Delaney. Wallace also hires a security firm.
He finds some people who fill him in on the Choates - who could be an evil team of super adventurers if put together in Innsmouth - lots of PhD physicist star athletes there, and a history of black magic and crime and maybe worse.
He then hires a tough PI he has used before to look into it further, and he does talk to the brothers - one in jail - and finds disturbing insanity, demonology, and super science runs in this family. As well as old mystic artifact research, etc.
Wallace is freaked out more - but he is only one injured older man, and there is a whole family of Choates. Delaney, the level-headed ex-hood decides to get the hell out of Dodge when he detects his boss has lost it and finds the house in disarray. A possible sequel hook here.
5 out of 5
Remembrance : Hallucigenia - Laird Barron
Sculpture in wax of a dead woman owned by Wallace. By Carson.
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
Station 3 : Hallucigenia - Laird Barron
Maximum security prison between Lind and Marengo on the Rattlesnake Flat. On the outskirts of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
Lone Tree Motel : Hallucigenia - Laird Barron
PI calls from here with info on Tyler Choates.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
Lucky Badger : Hallucigenia - Laird Barron
Site of a family brawl between Choates and Bruenigs.
3 out of 5
3 out of 5
The Marlin : Hallucigenia - Laird Barron
Restaurant near Wallace's. Over the Fourth Avenue Bridge.
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
Old Choate place : Hallucigenia - Laird Barron
In Black Hills, old farm Strange rundown place where Wallace and his wife are kicked by an horse.
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
Calaban Industries : Hallucigenia - Laird Barron
"This plant makes all kinds of interesting stuff, mostly for aerospace companies and a certain east coast college that was rigging a twenty-mile-long atom-smasher—more on that later."
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
Mima Mounds : Hallucigenia - Laird Barron
A term used for low, flattened, circular to oval, domelike, natural mounds found in the northwestern United States
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
Elijah Salter : Hallucigenia - Laird Barron
Ex-army sergeant, bronze star, sold the Choates some supplies. Calaban employee.
3 out of 5
3 out of 5
Tom : Hallucigenia - Laird Barron
Wallace's graveyard shift security guard. Ex bus driver.
3 out of 5
3 out of 5
Lyle Ferguson : Hallucigenia - Laird Barron
A developer, going to work on the barn of problems.
3 out of 5
3 out of 5
Teagues : Hallucigenia - Laird Barron
Swears Choate was a black magician. From Waddel Creek.
3 out of 5
3 out of 5
Tyler Choate : Hallucigenia - Laird Barron
His other son. Ex-cop in Thurston County and now convict in Walla Walla. Likely devil worshipper, part of a ring. Moved to Station 3, where appears to be quite insane in a Call of Cthulhu manner.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
Monday, March 29, 2010
Josh Choate : Hallucigenia - Laird Barron
Morgan's son. Ex All-America offensive tackle. Degree in physics at Northwestern, advanced degrees in theoretical physics from Caltech and MIT.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
Kurt Bruenig : Hallucigenia - Laird Barron
Witness to the unsavory Choates. From Otter Creek.
3 out of 5
3 out of 5
Lance Pride : Hallucigenia - Laird Barron
Private investigator Wallace hires to dig into the Choates.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
Billy Savage : Hallucigenia - Laird Barron
Security expert of Savage and Sons, puts in a system for Wallace.
3 out of 5
3 out of 5
Dalton Smith : Hallucigenia - Laird Barron
Wallace's ancestor of WWII vintage. An ex-senator.
3 out of 5
3 out of 5
Wallace Smith : Hallucigenia - Laird Barron
Trust fund no-longer baby, son of a senator. A bit of an adventurer. Runs into serious injury and madness.
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
Bulldozer - Laird Barron
Novelette
Number of words : 10500
Percent of complex words : 10.5
Average syllables per word : 1.5
Average words per sentence : 9.2
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.9
Flesch : 66.8
Flesch-Kincaid : 6.2
CHARACTERS
Jonah Koenig
A Pinkerton man out to catch a thieving murdering cannibal occultist.
Rueben Hicks
Black magic killer and Koenig's quarry. Also known as Tom Mullen or Ezra Slade. Nickname Iron Man. Robbed P. T. Barnum and left with a scary tome. Says he is an Opener.
Violet
A prostitute who entertains Koenig and he becomes fond of.
Sheriff Murtaugh
Irishman, the law in Purdon.
P. T. Barnum
Entrepreneur and employer.
Doc Campion
Purdon's medical man.
Billy Cullins
Purdon's undertaker.
Trosper
A bartender, not a big fan of Koenig's.
Jake
Bar muscle and gunman.
Octavia Plantagenet
Madam at the Honeybee Ranch.
Taylor Hackett
Bar-H ranch owner.
Norton Smythe
Gold mining businessman.
Bob Tunny
Smythe & Ruth Mining Company owner.
Harry Edwards
Smythe & Ruth Mining Company owner.
Philmore Kavanaugh
A journalist.
Dalton Beaumont
Deputy and cousin of Sheriff Murtaugh.
John Brown
An alderman.
Michael Piers
A French poet.
Professor Langston Butler
An anthropologist originally from England. Had an affair with Hicks.
Levi
A deputy.
Tuttle
One of Barnum's lawyers.
Chung Han
Chinese supply man. Also has a brother.
Copernicus
Ancient astronomer.
Evelyn
A Honeybee girl.
Glynna
A Honeybee girl.
Reverend Fuller
Purdon priest.
CONCEPTS
Belphegor
A demon. Also Chemosh and Baal-Peeor.
Saint Vitus' dance
Chorea, a movement disorder that makes you jerk around.
ORGANISATIONS
Pinkertons
Employer of questionable ethicsh who uses private detective type agents.
Molly Maguires
A Gang Koenig broke.
Workers Benevolent Assocation
Union Koenig busted.
Ancient Order of Hibernia
Irish Catholic fraternal order.
WEAPONS
Colt
A type of revolver.
Winchester Model 1886
A type of rifle.
Jim Bowie
A type of knife.
PLACES
Purdon
A California mining town with wretched outskirts.
Riverfront Hotel
Koenig's chosen lodgings in Purdon.
Gold Digger saloon
Koenig gets some info here earlier in the case.
Cedar Grove
Where Hicks departs from. The Sanitarium, in particular.
Lubbock
Koenig finds a letter of Hicks' here.
Albuquerque
Koenig finds a worse letter of Hicks' here.
Bakersfield
Koenig finds dismemberment evidence.
Honeybee Ranch
A whorehouse. Also called the Bumblebee ranch.
Bar-H Ranch
Taylor Hackett's spread.
Forty-Mile Camp
Where Professor Butler lives.
Anderson Creek Canyon
On the way from Purdon to Forty-Mile Camp.
Barnum's House of Curiosities
A freak show.
MEDIA
Dictionnaire Infernal
A book on demons and devils by Collin de Plancy. Stolen by Hicks.
Pseudomonarchia Daemonum
A book, in Latin.
PLOT
A Pinkerton man is hired by P. T. Barnum to hunt down a crazed ex-employee who robbed him. One one the things taken was an old demonology text. The trail leads through an ever more disturbing chain of disturbing writing through dismemberment. Koenig is a tough bastard, union buster, gang breaker, etc. and is more than happy to be violent, as long as he gets someone guilty, even if not the right person. He also has a Harvard education, so is not just some dumb guy, which helps to explain his successes.
When he tracks him down to your good old frontier Western type town everything seems normal enough. Bars, gunmen, whores, sheriffs, avaricious businessmen, etc.
That is, things do get a little odd, but more so after meeting Professor Butler, one of Hicks' ex-lovers: ""Rueben suffers from a unique breed of mycosis—you've perhaps seen the tumors on his arms and legs, and especially along his spinal column? It's consuming him as a fungus consumes a tree. Perversely, it's this very parasitic influence that imbues him with numerous dreadful abilities. Evolution via slow digestion."
and
"I established communion with a primordial intelligence, a cyclopean plexus rooted below these hills and valleys. An unclassified mycoflora that might or might not be of terrestrial origin. There are rites to effect this dialogue. A variety of osmosis ancient as the sediment men first crawled from. Older! Most awful, I assure you."
Koenig makes the rather valid assumption that stopping Hicks from living much longer would be a really good idea. Even with his education, dealing with this level of abnormal horror may be beyond him, especially after his own affliction with the condition Hicks is suffering from.
4 out of 5
http://web.archive.org/web/20040831023021/http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/originals/originals_archive/barron/barron1.html
Number of words : 10500
Percent of complex words : 10.5
Average syllables per word : 1.5
Average words per sentence : 9.2
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.9
Flesch : 66.8
Flesch-Kincaid : 6.2
CHARACTERS
Jonah Koenig
A Pinkerton man out to catch a thieving murdering cannibal occultist.
Rueben Hicks
Black magic killer and Koenig's quarry. Also known as Tom Mullen or Ezra Slade. Nickname Iron Man. Robbed P. T. Barnum and left with a scary tome. Says he is an Opener.
Violet
A prostitute who entertains Koenig and he becomes fond of.
Sheriff Murtaugh
Irishman, the law in Purdon.
P. T. Barnum
Entrepreneur and employer.
Doc Campion
Purdon's medical man.
Billy Cullins
Purdon's undertaker.
Trosper
A bartender, not a big fan of Koenig's.
Jake
Bar muscle and gunman.
Octavia Plantagenet
Madam at the Honeybee Ranch.
Taylor Hackett
Bar-H ranch owner.
Norton Smythe
Gold mining businessman.
Bob Tunny
Smythe & Ruth Mining Company owner.
Harry Edwards
Smythe & Ruth Mining Company owner.
Philmore Kavanaugh
A journalist.
Dalton Beaumont
Deputy and cousin of Sheriff Murtaugh.
John Brown
An alderman.
Michael Piers
A French poet.
Professor Langston Butler
An anthropologist originally from England. Had an affair with Hicks.
Levi
A deputy.
Tuttle
One of Barnum's lawyers.
Chung Han
Chinese supply man. Also has a brother.
Copernicus
Ancient astronomer.
Evelyn
A Honeybee girl.
Glynna
A Honeybee girl.
Reverend Fuller
Purdon priest.
CONCEPTS
Belphegor
A demon. Also Chemosh and Baal-Peeor.
Saint Vitus' dance
Chorea, a movement disorder that makes you jerk around.
ORGANISATIONS
Pinkertons
Employer of questionable ethicsh who uses private detective type agents.
Molly Maguires
A Gang Koenig broke.
Workers Benevolent Assocation
Union Koenig busted.
Ancient Order of Hibernia
Irish Catholic fraternal order.
WEAPONS
Colt
A type of revolver.
Winchester Model 1886
A type of rifle.
Jim Bowie
A type of knife.
PLACES
Purdon
A California mining town with wretched outskirts.
Riverfront Hotel
Koenig's chosen lodgings in Purdon.
Gold Digger saloon
Koenig gets some info here earlier in the case.
Cedar Grove
Where Hicks departs from. The Sanitarium, in particular.
Lubbock
Koenig finds a letter of Hicks' here.
Albuquerque
Koenig finds a worse letter of Hicks' here.
Bakersfield
Koenig finds dismemberment evidence.
Honeybee Ranch
A whorehouse. Also called the Bumblebee ranch.
Bar-H Ranch
Taylor Hackett's spread.
Forty-Mile Camp
Where Professor Butler lives.
Anderson Creek Canyon
On the way from Purdon to Forty-Mile Camp.
Barnum's House of Curiosities
A freak show.
MEDIA
Dictionnaire Infernal
A book on demons and devils by Collin de Plancy. Stolen by Hicks.
Pseudomonarchia Daemonum
A book, in Latin.
PLOT
A Pinkerton man is hired by P. T. Barnum to hunt down a crazed ex-employee who robbed him. One one the things taken was an old demonology text. The trail leads through an ever more disturbing chain of disturbing writing through dismemberment. Koenig is a tough bastard, union buster, gang breaker, etc. and is more than happy to be violent, as long as he gets someone guilty, even if not the right person. He also has a Harvard education, so is not just some dumb guy, which helps to explain his successes.
When he tracks him down to your good old frontier Western type town everything seems normal enough. Bars, gunmen, whores, sheriffs, avaricious businessmen, etc.
That is, things do get a little odd, but more so after meeting Professor Butler, one of Hicks' ex-lovers: ""Rueben suffers from a unique breed of mycosis—you've perhaps seen the tumors on his arms and legs, and especially along his spinal column? It's consuming him as a fungus consumes a tree. Perversely, it's this very parasitic influence that imbues him with numerous dreadful abilities. Evolution via slow digestion."
and
"I established communion with a primordial intelligence, a cyclopean plexus rooted below these hills and valleys. An unclassified mycoflora that might or might not be of terrestrial origin. There are rites to effect this dialogue. A variety of osmosis ancient as the sediment men first crawled from. Older! Most awful, I assure you."
Koenig makes the rather valid assumption that stopping Hicks from living much longer would be a really good idea. Even with his education, dealing with this level of abnormal horror may be beyond him, especially after his own affliction with the condition Hicks is suffering from.
4 out of 5
http://web.archive.org/web/20040831023021/http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/originals/originals_archive/barron/barron1.html
Bulldozer by Laird Barron: An Appreciation - John Langan
"If I say I could go on and on discussing "Bulldozer," this look at its opening lines offers some explanation why. Of course, my first encounter with the story, I didn't engage in any of this analysis, (not consciously, anyway). I was too caught up in the relentless forward drive of its narrative, in the complexities of its narrator, (Jonah Koenig, just for the record), and in the monstrousness of the man he has pursued to a California mining town that might have been imagined by Gustave Dore. I was busy following the story's leaps back and forth in Koenig's personal history, in the connections it was drawing among a multitude of late-nineteenth century figures and events. I was caught in the way the plot unfolded, to quote the story's end, like "a terrible flower." I won't say I had no appreciation of its accomplishments before I re-read it; it was more a case of my re-reading expanding that appreciation in ways I wouldn't have guessed."
4.5 out of 5
http://edsfproject.blogspot.com/2006/01/bulldozer-by-laird-barron-appreciation.html
4.5 out of 5
http://edsfproject.blogspot.com/2006/01/bulldozer-by-laird-barron-appreciation.html
Dictionnaire Infernal : Bulldozer - Laird Barron
A book on demons and devils by Collin de Plancy. Stolen by Hicks.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
Anderson Creek Canyon : Bulldozer - Laird Barron
On the way from Purdon to Forty-Mile Camp.
3 out of 5
3 out of 5
Cedar Grove : Bulldozer - Laird Barron
Where Hicks departs from. The Sanitarium, in particular.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
Gold Digger saloon : Bulldozer - Laird Barron
Koenig gets some info here earlier in the case.
3 out of 5
3 out of 5
Pinkertons : Bulldozer - Laird Barron
Employer of questionable ethics who uses private detective type agents.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
Saint Vitus' dance : Bulldozer - Laird Barron
Chorea, a movement disorder that makes you jerk around.
3 out of 5
3 out of 5
Professor Langston Butler : Bulldozer - Laird Barron
An anthropologist originally from England. Had an affair with Hicks.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
Violet : Bulldozer - Laird Barron
A prostitute who entertains Koenig and he becomes fond of.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
Rueben Hicks : Bulldozer - Laird Barron
Black magic killer and Koenig's quarry. Also known as Tom Mullen or Ezra Slade. Nickname Iron Man. Robbed P. T. Barnum and left with a scary tome. Says he is an Opener. Also has a strange affliction.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
Jonah Koenig : Bulldozer - Laird Barron
A Pinkerton man out to catch a thieving murdering cannibal occultist.
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Hour of the Cyclops - Laird Barron
Short Story
Number of words : 4400
Percent of complex words : 11.4
Average syllables per word : 1.6
Average words per sentence : 11.4
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 9.1
Flesch : 63.6
Flesch-Kincaid : 7.2
CHARACTERS
Mr Rembrandt
The antihero of the mission, agent of Central. In a new enhanced body for this adventure of despicable aims.
The Ancient Apothecary
Magical opponent and sacrificer of virgins whom you should shoot first ahead of his henchmen.
Dr Chimera
Doctor and test scientist in Rembrandt's organisation.
Dr Sprague
Doctor and test scientist in Rembrandt's organisation.
Mr Spot
The Ancient Apothecary's torturer.
Ms Smyth
The virgin sacrifice. Just a genius Olympic martial artist with a Nobel prize. Also a cellist.
TECHNOLOGY
Yellow Ichor No. Five
A blood replacement used on Mr. Rembrandt by Chimera and Sprague.
ORGANISATIONS
Central
Mr. Rembrandt's employer. Also servants of the Slitherer From the Stars.
PLACES
White Mountain
Site of the Ancient Apothecary's lair, a tiny town with an abandoned radar site.
Nome
Town 80 miles northwest of White Mountain, in Alaska, not far from the Bering Sea.
Aldebaran
A star.
CONCEPTS
The Slitherer From the Stars
An Elder God-like being.
The Ancient Apothecary has kidnapped Ms Smyth and wants to use her in a ritual, being an extremely accomplished virgin. Mr Rembrandt's employer control wants the same thing, for different reasons. He is sent to retrieve her, in a scientifically and arcanely enhanced and tooled up body-that of her Hammer Throwing ex-boyfriend. He manages to get past the guards, and get the girl. When she realises he isn't the boyfriend George, and has rather nastier motives than just rescue you can add quick draw and good shot to her list of talents.
Yellow Ichor No. Five leaks out just like blood does.
4 out of 5
http://www.3lobedmag.com/issue6/3lbe6_story3.html
Number of words : 4400
Percent of complex words : 11.4
Average syllables per word : 1.6
Average words per sentence : 11.4
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 9.1
Flesch : 63.6
Flesch-Kincaid : 7.2
CHARACTERS
Mr Rembrandt
The antihero of the mission, agent of Central. In a new enhanced body for this adventure of despicable aims.
The Ancient Apothecary
Magical opponent and sacrificer of virgins whom you should shoot first ahead of his henchmen.
Dr Chimera
Doctor and test scientist in Rembrandt's organisation.
Dr Sprague
Doctor and test scientist in Rembrandt's organisation.
Mr Spot
The Ancient Apothecary's torturer.
Ms Smyth
The virgin sacrifice. Just a genius Olympic martial artist with a Nobel prize. Also a cellist.
TECHNOLOGY
Yellow Ichor No. Five
A blood replacement used on Mr. Rembrandt by Chimera and Sprague.
ORGANISATIONS
Central
Mr. Rembrandt's employer. Also servants of the Slitherer From the Stars.
PLACES
White Mountain
Site of the Ancient Apothecary's lair, a tiny town with an abandoned radar site.
Nome
Town 80 miles northwest of White Mountain, in Alaska, not far from the Bering Sea.
Aldebaran
A star.
CONCEPTS
The Slitherer From the Stars
An Elder God-like being.
The Ancient Apothecary has kidnapped Ms Smyth and wants to use her in a ritual, being an extremely accomplished virgin. Mr Rembrandt's employer control wants the same thing, for different reasons. He is sent to retrieve her, in a scientifically and arcanely enhanced and tooled up body-that of her Hammer Throwing ex-boyfriend. He manages to get past the guards, and get the girl. When she realises he isn't the boyfriend George, and has rather nastier motives than just rescue you can add quick draw and good shot to her list of talents.
Yellow Ichor No. Five leaks out just like blood does.
4 out of 5
http://www.3lobedmag.com/issue6/3lbe6_story3.html
The Slitherer From the Stars : Hour of the Cyclops - Laird Barron
An Elder God-like being.
3 out of 5
3 out of 5
Nome : Hour of the Cyclops - Laird Barron
Town 80 miles northwest of White Mountain, in Alaska, not far from the Bering Sea.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
White Mountain : Hour of the Cyclops - Laird Barron
Site of the Ancient Apothecary's lair, a tiny town with an abandoned radar site.
3 out of 5
3 out of 5
Central : Hour of the Cyclops - Laird Barron
Mr. Rembrandt's employer. Also servants of the Slitherer From the Stars.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
Yellow Ichor No. Five : Hour of the Cyclops - Laird Barron
A blood replacement used on Mr. Rembrandt by Chimera and Sprague.
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
Ms Smyth : Hour of the Cyclops - Laird Barron
The virgin sacrifice. Just a genius Olympic martial artist with a Nobel prize. Also a cellist.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
Dr Sprague : Hour of the Cyclops - Laird Barron
Doctor and test scientist in Rembrandt's organisation.
3 out of 5
3 out of 5
Dr Chimera : Hour of the Cyclops - Laird Barron
Doctor and test scientist in Rembrandt's organisation.
3 out of 5
3 out of 5
The Ancient Apothecary : Hour of the Cyclops - Laird Barron
Magical opponent and sacrificer of virgins whom you should shoot first ahead of his henchmen.
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
Mr Rembrandt : Hour of the Cyclops - Laird Barron
The antihero of the mission, agent of Central. In a new enhanced body for this adventure of despicable aims.
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Occultation Introduction - Michael Shea
"Laird Barron's carnivorous cosmos... Or perhaps it's more a conspiracy his cosmos draws you into than a digesting maw.
And rather than being absorbed as a nutrient, you may be absorbed into an older and more potent Form-your limbs and neck may grow rubbery and rather more elongate, and your new tree-toad fingers might enable you to crawl across ceilings, thence to peer down on old, still-mortal friends and acquaintances, studying them from many angles with your new stalked eyes.
Barron's cosmos is an omni-morph that can dragoon you whenever/ wherever it wants into its swarming, pullulating fabric. This, of course, is a simple Axiom of the reality we all share, every second of our lives, with our Universe: in that great Starry Engine, we all end as mulch, and then, as Other Things...."
4.5 out of 5
And rather than being absorbed as a nutrient, you may be absorbed into an older and more potent Form-your limbs and neck may grow rubbery and rather more elongate, and your new tree-toad fingers might enable you to crawl across ceilings, thence to peer down on old, still-mortal friends and acquaintances, studying them from many angles with your new stalked eyes.
Barron's cosmos is an omni-morph that can dragoon you whenever/ wherever it wants into its swarming, pullulating fabric. This, of course, is a simple Axiom of the reality we all share, every second of our lives, with our Universe: in that great Starry Engine, we all end as mulch, and then, as Other Things...."
4.5 out of 5
Clownette by Terry Dowling: An Appreciation - Laird Barro
"Terry Dowling knows the heart of fear hasn't strayed far from the caves and he understands the raw, ineluctable fascination of a campfire tale. He is conversant with its rules and rituals-—Did you hear the one about the guy, this salesman, who couldn't get a room at his regular hotel? So the clerk says, "Hey, you could stay in this one room we got in back. We'll give you our special rate . . .""
4.5 out of 5
http://edsfproject.blogspot.com/2006_02_20_archive.html
4.5 out of 5
http://edsfproject.blogspot.com/2006_02_20_archive.html
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Group Photo - Laird Barron and John Langan
And two presumably unscarable associates in Paul Tremblay and Hannah Wolf Bowen.
4 out 5
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2313/1898375924_d67cea3344.jpg
4 out 5
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2313/1898375924_d67cea3344.jpg
Friday, March 19, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Occultation - Matthew Jaffe
Cover art for the collection :-
3.5 out of 5
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs436.snc3/25083_1333631855813_1081556704_31030137_760037_n.jpg
3.5 out of 5
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs436.snc3/25083_1333631855813_1081556704_31030137_760037_n.jpg
Monday, March 15, 2010
The British Fantasy Society Forum - Laird Barron
He has a section along with many others.
3.5 out of 5
http://www.britishfantasysociety.org/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=8500d1c28ced08177614c809b58adef6&topic=2422.0
3.5 out of 5
http://www.britishfantasysociety.org/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=8500d1c28ced08177614c809b58adef6&topic=2422.0
Friday, March 12, 2010
Books are my only friends More questions with - Laird Barron
"I conducted a significant amount of research regarding the physical and historical geography of Hong Kong and the Eighteen Hells, or Diyu. Getting these aspects right presented the greatest challenge other than formulating the novella itself. Procession of the Black Sloth is an homage to horror in general, but most especially to Asian horror cinema, and as such, I've found the great body of world literature and film has prepared Western audiences to receive the material. Koji Suzuki's Ringu cycle and films such as Uzimaki, A Tale of Two Sisters, and Ju-on are examples of work that has penetrated Western consciousness and reshaped the imaginative calculus. And of course, anime and manga are powerful and prevalent forces here in the U.S.. In any event, Sloth deals with the reciprocal nature of the universe, a concept that transcends East-West artistic traditions and gets to the root of human fascination and dread, the heart of spirituality we all share in one guise or another."
4 out of 5
http://booksaremyonlyfriends.blogspot.com/2010/01/more-questions-with-laird-barron.html
4 out of 5
http://booksaremyonlyfriends.blogspot.com/2010/01/more-questions-with-laird-barron.html
From The Terrifying Wastes Of The Cosmos Come Scary Old People - Grey Area
"Many of the stories take place in the present day in the American Northwest particularly around Olympia and Eastern Washington state. There are some notable exceptions. The previously unpublished "Procession of the Black Sloth" is a bleak disorienting descent into Hell set in Hong Kong. A grizzled Pinkerton agent tracks down a vicious killer to a Gold Rush town in "Bulldozer", it could be described as Cthulu in Deadwood. "Hallucigenia"is about a wealthy man trying to come to grips with a bizarre and horrible incident that has left his life shattered. It made me think of the best of Clive Barker, only better. The title story deserves to hang in the same nightmarish gallery as "The Picture of Dorian Grey" and "Pickman's Model". "The Imago Sequence" is a notorious trio of photographs sought after by rich and eccentric collectors. One of these sends his agent, an ex-wrestler turned kneecap-busting debt collector, to hunt down the mysterious third image. His investigation uncovers a labyrinth of conspiracy, crime, and macabre cults, or something even worse."
3.5 out of 5
http://io9.com/5266163/from-the-terrifying-wastes-of-the-cosmos-come-scary-old-people
3.5 out of 5
http://io9.com/5266163/from-the-terrifying-wastes-of-the-cosmos-come-scary-old-people
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Lairdbarron.net - Laird Barron
Author's new wordpress site in progress. Complete with comic version of the authro.
4 out of 5
http://www.lairdbarron.net/
4 out of 5
http://www.lairdbarron.net/
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