Elgon

Steph Post's Latest

Revisado: 06-28-19

These days there are many books that bend genres, making them next to impossible to classify. It’s to the point that lately, I’m not sure that any book deserves its pigeon hole. But people like making comparisons to whatever they know, and so, that’s why genres are assigned. I’m not sure they are as relevant as they once were, though. When a reader has fallen in love with a given author’s work the importance of artificial categorizations diminishes. You read a book expecting the author to deliver and you follow no matter where his or her imagination takes you.

Steph Post writes Southern Noir, what a lot of people refer to as Grit Lit. Her novels are about rural Southerners who often get sucked into get rich quick schemes that are often illegal. But people who live on the fringe of society face hardship daily and often must make desperate choices that run afoul of authority.

Post’s previous works are A Tree Born Crooked, Lightwood, and Walk in the Fire, and if you have already read those you respect Steph Post’s writing chops. You know her characters are lifelike down to the grit under their fingernails and the grease that doesn’t wash off their calloused hands. Her gut-wrenching scenarios are authentic dilemmas. Her settings are based on her experiences growing up in a Florida far removed from the resorts and amusement parks. In Post’s books, the American South feels genuine down to cypress knees jutting up from the oozing mud. There are snakes hiding in the tall grasses and gators lurking in foul-smelling, murky waters. If you’ve read her stories you have probably been waiting eagerly for the release of Miraculum, which entered our edge of the universe on 1/22/2019.

From the first page of Miraculum, Post grabs hold of your faculties and doesn’t let go for the duration of the strange ride that often dips into the darkness that underlies the superficial world that others, those who are invested in the systems and institutions of decent society, believe is real. Ostensibly, the story is about a carnival/circus experiencing an identity crisis as it struggles to accommodate the changes of the early 1920’s, as America emerges as a major industrial power that survived intact while Europe was devastated by The Great War. To compete with other forms of entertainment for the nickels and dimes of the audience it draws, the circus must exhibit what people can’t find anywhere else, or at least convince them that its assortment of geeks, freaks and exotic enhancements is unique.

In the circus, Ruby is the snake charmer. Most of her body is decorated with multiple tattoos - not particularly well-done tats at that. She’s a survivor, and as the story unfolds, we are privy to some of her secrets, her origins, her past relationships, and her few aspirations. We understand how much the world around her limits her life.

Daniel, a stranger who is a study in contradiction, joins the circus as a geek and yet he always wears an immaculate and obviously expensive suit that never seems to soil. And never does he appear to sweat, despite the blistering, muggy heat of summer. He seems urbane, well-educated and well-traveled, leading most everyone to wonder whatever he is doing in there. Of course, Daniel is attracted to Ruby but not for any obvious reason. Where he can control others, she is exempt. He finds it both frustrating and fascinating.

As always, Post breathes life into her characters with a careful eye for detail and a well-tuned ear for dialogue. Her research into the period and the nuances of backstory are evident as the past collides with what cannot possibly be. Just as in the real world, the haves shun the have nots. Shady people pop out of dark corners, trying to make a fast buck, even if it’s not completely legal. Rejected people, those who are discarded through no fault of their own, congregate in the only place that will allow them to make a living. as freaks in the circus sideshows.

All the elements that have made Post’s past novels visceral and gripping anchor what becomes a bizarrely compelling novel that dabbles in beliefs apart from the mainstream. Miraculum deals a weird, creepy, supernatural vibe beginning on page one. Along the way that same feeling simmers just beneath the surface while the story gains its legs. And then, it bubbles up violently toward a tumultuous and inevitable climax.

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Memorable Characters Brought to Life

Revisado: 06-28-19

Whatever I say about Looking Into The Sun, Todd Tavolazzi’s debut novel will fall well short of the impact it has had on me as a person since. It’s a compelling story told through the eyes of a journalist whose hard heart melts when he witnesses the pain and suffering of the civilians (especially the children) who, through no fault of their own, are caught in the crosshairs of the weapons of a senseless war. The story depicts the tragedy in a way that lingers with you well beyond reading it.

And now you have an option of hearing the story performed by Mike Eberhardt who brings its characters to life. His voice is perfectly suited to this gritty tale of humanity held int he crosshairs of a senseless war.

I've heard that Todd is working on a second book and that this one is in the process of being made into a film. Based on what I have read and now heard, I'm looking forward to more from both the author and narrator and will definitely see the movie.

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What do you call it? Alien Noir?

Revisado: 01-22-19

After aliens destroy seize control and demolish human institutions, replacing whatever is necessary with puppet functionaries, an alien overlord is murdered. The aliens don't have experience in investigating murders becasue they don't kill one another. So the task falls to a former police detective who has no love for the aliens but a compelling need to find answers. The result, a compelling story you'll not want to walk away from until it's finished.

Plenty of unpredictable twists and turns and a small window of opportunity left for a sequel, which I hope happens. THe story is fast paced and told extremely well with a particular eye for subtle details (and clues). What a great story! The writing as well as the narration is first rate. It's easy to get drawn in to the post apocalyptic world. .

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