'Suburban Gothic' – Brian Keene & Bryan Smith (Deadite Press)

It hasn't been a bad week but it has been a week where a little break in my routine has led to a lot of self doubt kicking in and my brain asking those questions of me at all the wrong times (and drawing conclusions that feed into a vicious circle of shit quite frankly). Am I good enough? Do I deserve to be in a decent job? Am I doing everything I can for my children? Don't worry, you don't have to answer all that by the way ;o) I'm just venting a little.

By the time yesterday came round then, I needed to stop and distract myself with some reading that I knew I'd enjoy and my TBR pile had just the book for me.

I've been looking forward to Brian Keene and Bryan Smith's 'Suburban Gothic' for a while now, long enough for me to re-read 'Urban Gothic' and read 'The Freakshow' for the first time. Both are excellent horror novels (you've already read them, I reckon, but I'm going to recommend them anyway) that not only tell a couple of pretty fucked up tales but raise all the right questions to make reading 'Suburban Gothic' an absolute necessity. So that's exactly what I did last night and damn... I know I'm preaching to the choir but if you haven't already gone and bought 'Suburban Gothic' then go and do something about that right now.

The Westgate Galleria Mall was once a sprawling, shining monument to American consumerism and suburban growth. Now, it is a crumbling reminder of how both have fallen-an architectural ghost, haunting the outskirts of society. That makes it the perfect filming location for a YouTube channel devoted to the exploration of abandoned places. But the mall isn't as empty as it seems and the residents have sinister obscene plans for them. Now, with the daylight still hours away, both the hunters and the hunted will fight to stay alive...and desperately try to make it home.

So much happens in the Westgate Galleria Mall in the course of one night (and a large chunk of it crosses the line into Edward Lee territory...) that it's difficult to know where to start talking about this book. Lets just say that while I was reading, I wasn't thinking about anything else other than who would make it out and what state they would be in if they did. I also said 'fuck, no...' on more than one occasion and crossed my legs and winced at a certain scene (I challenge anyone to read that particular passage and not do the same). Not only was it just what I needed, it was also clear evidence of two horror writers on top of their game already but inspiring each other to go one step further and see what happened. 'What happened' is that we get 'Suburban Gothic' and we should all be very grateful, it's brilliant.

The plot looks simple from the outside, and to an extent it is, but that approach is very effective as it not only gives Keene and Smith many opportunities to get creative in the gaps but also to answer the questions raised in their previous books. What did Scug and the Family do next? And what happened to the Freaks that were left behind? 'Suburban Gothic' not only answers these questions but does it in such a way that you won't just be rooting for the 'normal' folk that find themselves in the Mall. This was totally unexpected and I loved it. It really makes you think about the characters in question and how evil can still be a victim in the face of circumstance (and an even greater evil). Which reminds me... I'm going to go out on a limb and say that while you'll only benefit from reading 'Urban Gothic' and 'The Freakshow' first, there is enough cleverly placed backstory here that it won't matter too much if you haven't; 'Suburban Gothic' stands well enough on it's own.

So 'Suburban Gothic' is this bulging sack of nauseating horror, told at breakneck pace and with enough surprises along the way to maintain that pace effortlessly. Seriously, it's not just the inhabitants of the Mall who are nasty bastards that can't be trusted; Keene and Smith prove very adept at using the 'people not working together' trope to really stand the plot on its head, just when you think that it might just all turn out ok.

It's not just all of that which makes 'Suburban Gothic' such an engaging read though. 'Suburban Gothic' is also a bit of a love letter to the genre and you can't help but engage when the writers are not only so enthusiastic but also more than happy to acknowledge not only their inspiration but also what they love about the genre. I'm not hugely knowledgeable about the genre (I'm more of a 'I just know what I like' kind of guy) but I caught references to Edward Lee, J.F. Gonzalez and 'Hellraiser'. I'm also pretty sure that I know Annie from somewhere, just can't place it... 'Suburban Gothic' is an awesome bit of storytelling but it wants to teach you a little as well. Well played 'Suburban Gothic', well played.

'Suburban Gothic' was just the read I needed and I can't recommend it highly enough. Do yourself a huge favour and read it if you haven't already. I may never be able to look at fireworks in the same way but that's a small price to pay. I've got my fingers crossed for 'Rural Gothic' to be a thing ;o)