Black Static #66, November/December 2018
“China” by Ralph Robert Moore
Reviewed by Kevin P Hallett
This 66th issue of Black Static contains five original stories, including two novelettes.
“China” by Ralph Robert Moore
In this horror novelette, when Tim is frustrated he digs holes. It becomes a form of therapy for him, and sometimes a way to bury his problems. As a boy he is strange, and as an adult he struggles to fit into society, plagued as he is by his sinister past.
Then he meets a girl who likes him for what he is, and his restless wandering has a chance to end. But true life has many warts, and any one of them can trip a poorly adjusted Tim.
This was a slow story that at times tugged at the heart. It offered just a slim slice of a speculative element.
“Cora” by Steven Sheil
This horror short introduces us to Diana, an elderly busy-body who has just acquired new neighbors in the attached house next door. Diana uses a crack in their common wall to check out the new family that has twin boys and a mysterious black-haired girl, named Cora.
Over time, Diana becomes increasingly concerned and disgusted by the actions of Cora, who exerts a bizarre influence over her siblings and parents. Diana wants to escape, but she too becomes entranced by Cora.
This story took a while to develop with its ponderous writing style.
“The House of Y” by Joanna Parypinski
Looking for a place where she can belong, a girl joins a sorority in this short horror story. Her parents have shunned her, and her sense of rebellion hasn’t produced much happiness; this sorority for misfits seems perfect for her.
During the pledge ceremony, she starts to feel an unease that she cannot shake. Unwilling to back out she soon finds herself confronted by the mother of all personal invasions.
The story had a dark mystery to it, but it was one-dimensional with an end that lacked imagination.
“Everyone Knows That Place” by Giselle Leeb
In a blend of horror and SF, we follow the story of a cyborg visiting an abandoned campground. In this future, real humans have gone the way of the Neanderthals.
The cyborg tries to experience what it was like when real humans camped out. But he is afraid, pitching his tent in a secluded place to avoid detection by any vandals. In the middle of the night the strange sounds begin, and he wonders about those vandals.
The story was slow throughout, leaving the reader to wonder what it was about, and the twist at the end wasn’t worth the wait.
“The Fifth Horseman” by Nicholas Kaufmann
Dunbar, the professor of literature, lost his girlfriend, Yvonne, to another faculty member in this character-driven horror novelette. Yvonne and three other professors are so close, Dunbar thinks of them as the four horsemen. But something dark and mysterious is afoot within the group.
When the leader of the horsemen brings back an artifact from South America, the group become allusive, as if they have resolved a great mystery. If someone can ask the deepest questions facing mankind and get a truthful answer, what should they ask? And more importantly, how will the answer affect them?
This was a deep and thoughtful horror story; here there is no right and wrong, just humanity’s fortes and foibles. A hard-to-put-down read.