'Unsafe Spaces' – Brian Keene

I just had to go back and count, just to be sure, but 'Unsafe Spaces' is (definitely) the eleventh instalment in Brian Keene's 'Reader Recession Relief' deal where every week, a different title of his is discounted to within an inch of its life so that we can have some good reading and afford to pay the bills at the same time. I can get behind that and in fact, that's what I've been doing for the last few weeks, reading along with each deal to fill in some gaps as well as revisit some old favourites. And there are more gaps than I thought but, I'll get there ;o)

With the new deal kicking in tomorrow, I've cut it a bit fine to be talking all things 'Unsafe Spaces' but work, being a Dad, and my kid's new pets all ganged up to give my reading time a right kicking over the last week. And you know what? I'm more than cool with that (well, apart from the work bit). It's going to be more of the same today, swap 'work' for 'parents in law' though, so this will be a short post. Lets go...

In World Horror Grandmaster Award-winner Brian Keene’s latest non-fiction collection, nothing is sacred…or safe. Be it thoughtful examinations of the works of writers like Jack Ketchum and Mary SanGiovanni, loving tributes to authors J.F. Gonzalez and Tom Piccirilli, ruminations on middle-age, a rueful look at how publishing and writing have changed, sarcastic barbs at pop culture’s obsession with superhero movies, or a hard look at both sides of the social justice war, Brian Keene once again offers an honest, no-holds-barred critique our lives, our culture, and our world, and proves that we are all inhabiting …UNSAFE SPACES.

The other reason that this is going to be a shorter post is, well... 'Unsafe Spaces' is another collection of essays, blog posts, articles for magazines etc and it's written along exactly the same lines as 'Trigger Warnings' (which I've already spoken about, over Here). 'Unsafe Spaces' is just as worthwhile a read as 'Trigger Warnings' and for exactly the same reasons. I don't want to repeat myself though, not too much anyway, so have a click on that link and... you'll get the idea ;o)

All I'll say (again) is that Keene clearly puts a lot of thought into a subject before having his say. You may not agree with him but he'll make you think damn hard about it first.

I've said before that Keene doesn't shy away from the tough stuff, especially if it's something that he has to face in himself. This collection covers a period when three particularly close friends died and Keene faces up to that in the only way that it seems he can, head-on and letting us know exactly what it meant for him. I've deleted half a dozen paragraphs trying to capture what it meant, as the reader, having these deeply personal moments shared with me. I guess all I can say is, thank you.

'Unsafe Spaces' is more of what made 'Trigger Warnings' such a good read and I'm glad I managed to chisel a little bit of time, out of the week, to finally read it. While there are certainly unsafe spaces, the payoff is potentially so much higher if you're willing to go looking in them. Lets see what tomorrow brings...