'Love Letters From A Nihilist: The Complete Short Fiction of Brian Keene, Volume 3

So that book I was telling you about yesterday, the one that I hadn't meant to pick up but did and ended up reading it in a couple of sittings? This was the book I was talking about, of course it was. The plan was to get through to the end of the week and have this waiting for me as a bit of a 'reading treat' for the weekend. Well, that was the plan but then I read the introduction, thought to myself, 'a couple of stories won't hurt' and the next thing I knew it was a couple of days later and now I'm looking for something else to read this weekend. Whatever my 'weekend read' ends up being, it's going to have a hard job nudging 'Love Letters From A Nihilist' out of my head but not for the reasons you might think.

LOVE LETTERS FROM A NIHILIST is the third book in a series collecting all of Brian Keene's short fiction. The stories in this volume span over two decades of publication, and include critically-acclaimed works like "The King, in: YELLOW", "Intersectionality", "The Ties That Bind", and many more, including several new tales set in the world of The Rising, and others featuring fan-favorite characters Levi Stoltzfus and The Exit. Bleak, relentless, compulsive page-turners, these love letters from the horror genre's ultimate nihilist will lead you right over the cliff, screaming all the way down.

As I've mentioned, 'Love Letters From A Nihilist' is incredibly easy to get into and just keep reading until you're done. I've been a fan of Keene's work for a long time now, so I would say that, but I also think that it would be true for any horror fan who picks this collection up. Keene has that winning combination of startling ideas and a way with words that captivates you and makes you want to press on with the story at hand. Yep, even the ones that Keene himself really doesn't like but feels that he should include otherwise, as he says, it wouldn't be the 'Complete Work of Brian Keene'.

And that honesty is what really struck me while I was reading, more than the stories themselves although I thought they were great (more on that in a bit). I don't think I've ever read a book where the author is so honest and straight up about where the ideas come from and the little bits of their own life experience that creep into the background of the narrative. Not only that but the honesty that Keene's characters have and how that can turn a story on it's head in a second (in the best way I must add, Keene is good at that). You'd expect a writer to try and have a little air of mystery about them, and their work, but Keene totally goes in the opposite direction and his tales are all the better for it. There's no spoon feeding here, these tales want you to actually engage with them on their terms but those terms offer so much in terms of background, and that interconnecting Mythos, for you to just dive right into. That honesty is what will stay with me and be my abiding memory of this book.

The stories will come a pretty close second though, they were awesome (I would say that... but they are though). If you're like me, and have been catching up on Keene's work via Kindle, then a few of these tales will be familiar but if you're going to call it 'The Complete Short Fiction' then you have to expect a few duplicates popping up. I certainly didn't mind, it meant I got to read stories like 'The King, in: YELLOW' all over again and that's never a bad thing.

It's been years since I've reviewed a collection story by story and I'll be honest, I'm not going to start here as I'm tired and I've got homeschooling duties in the morning. What I will say is that if you're a fan of any specific part of the Labyrinth Mythos then you will more likely than not find mention of it here. I always feel like I never see enough of the Exit so getting an insight into his character in 'Exit Strategies' and 'A Delayed Exit' was a real bonus. 'Down Under' was the surprise story of the bunch, really atmospheric and delivering little nips to the jugular just after you thought it was done. If Keene ever gets round to writing a vampire novel then I'll be reading it and hoping that it's like 'Down Under'. 'Friday Night In Damascus'... Now there's a story where the explanation behind its creation is more chilling than the tale itself. These are the tales that really stood out for me but there are loads more that almost made the list and I'm sure any horror fan would get a kick out of. The only one that I didn't 'get' was the Rogan/Levi Stoltzfus crossover and that's on me for not getting the connection between the two tales (I like to think that Rogan saw Levi's tale play out through the black globe but I could be wrong).

All good stories then and a collection that any fan of Keene's work should be looking for, especially as it includes rarer pieces that you'd be lucky to find a copy of these days. What ties them all together for me is (and I'm paraphrasing Mary Sangiovanni's introduction here a little bit) that the nihilism is there but it is tempered by a little voice saying, 'life may be ultimately meaningless but you can still go down fighting'. Keene's heroes (and luckless bystanders) are faced with the end of everything but they still fight to make it better for those who may be left standing. We could all do with a bit of that these days, especially these days, and that's what makes 'Love Letters From A Nihilist' an important read. Give it a read.