Bastards of Alchemy
by Gerard Houarner, Tom Piccirilli

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Book Reviews of Bastards of Alchemy

Book Review: Bastard of Alchemy, by Piccirilli & Houarner
Summary: 5 Stars

Tom Piccirilli's "Alchemy" is, quite possible, the best short story I've ever read. A story about suppressed emotions and hidden rage, all finally coming to the surface in what can only be described as a horrible example of early-adult one-upmanship, this is what I hope to see horror fiction become very soon--literary horror. This isn't the spooky stories of your youth, nor one of the bloody, anger-fueled gore-fests of the late 80s and 90s. This is a piece of literary fiction--it just happens to be a horror story.

Brilliant. I've noticed a move lately in some horror fiction toward a more literary approach, horror as a serious method of communication. No longer do you need to read the "mainstream" novels or the serious poets to find the real voice of a generation, because a lot of horror writers seem to BE that voice, and Tom Piccirilli is definitely one of the ones at the forefront.

Gerard Houarner's "The Bastard" is a different breed altogether. While it could probably also be considered literary horror, Gerard Houarner has never written like everyone else. I don't know WHAT'S going on in his mind when he sits down, but it's certainly far removed from what most of us horror writers are thinking about. I knew that 3 years ago when I reviewed his "Road to Hell." And later when I read one of his stories in the first (and only) issue of "Midnight Hour" magazine. Whatever's going on in his head, it's nothing I'm familiar with.

Gerard Houarner is not writing easy fiction, this isn't stuff you sit down and pound out in an hour or so. It never has been, at least not from what I've read of him. All I can say for sure about Gerard Houarner's work is that secret organizations and magic seem to be important to him. Other than that, I'm lost as to how to figure out this man. But that's the way I like it, just so long as he keeps turning out work of this quality.

If Necro Publications keeps publishing work like this (along with the Ed Lee's Quest for Sex, Truth, and Reality chapbook), I'm going to begin thinking maybe Dave Barnett, Necro's owner and publisher, is growing up a little bit. I don't know if the world's ready for a mature Necro. But I hope we get to find out.

Summary of Bastards of Alchemy

Horror Books

• Subjects > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Horror
• Short Stories
• Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers