Few things have the power of horror tropes. Specters. Demonic possession. Zombies. Haunted houses. Vampires. Wolves. Witches. The masked slashers of human and supernatural varieties. Aliens. Tructed monsters. Strange sounds in the middle of the night. Non-fiction narrative on the current state of the world.
The list is getting longer and again, and lovers of horror fiction continue to return to these tropes, to this food of the literary soul, because it satisfies a particular hunger. Ah, but this power of stay comes at a price: insufficient life to these tropes with a unique voice or throw yourself into the heap of the simple imitators, the writers who, instead of the soul, offer the same insipid old old soup. But how can we make a shot new, unique and exciting?
Nat Cassidy When the wolf comes home is both an extremely entertaining novel and a superb answer to this question. In a word, Cassidy wrote a large werewolf-or a “wolf-bar”-a novel by not writing a wolf novel.
Jess is a cliché; An actress in difficulty with large dreams from Los Angeles working as a waitress and cleaning the bathrooms to get out of it. After a horrible incident in which she stabs with a dirty needle while cleaning a waste in the bathroom, Jess comes home and instead of rest finds a 5 -year -old runnway that slips into the bushes outside of her apartment. A few minutes later, many people died and Jess finds himself fleeing a monster with the child in a trailer.
This synopsis covers the configuration of the novel and stops at the right time. When you read this, it looks like a wolf novel. And that’s what Cassidy wants. You know wolf novels. You know their smell and painful transformations and hunger, always hunger. But there is no ordinary werewolf here. No howl to the full moon or heroes who put money in their weapons. No, Cassidy made a wolf a different creature – mainly a broken and desperate father. He also made the little boy a very special child with an incredibly dangerous gift. Oh, and Jess is a very complex and very human character who must keep herself and the boy safely while learning as he goes – and simultaneously crying the death of his distant father.
Each character is much more than the archetype they would play if it was a prosaic wolf novel: monster, gifted kid, finish. Cassidy understands that horror only works when there is empathy, and it spends a lot of time ensuring that we know these characters, that we care about them and understand why they hurt. This dose of humanity – emotion, hope – is strong enough to make you forget the jaws of semi -annual and Slobber for the pages at the same time.
While a great characterization and writing which contains an emotional punch are great elements to have in any novel, which really When the wolf comes home To stand out is Cassidy’s voice and the way he constantly balances the story. The writing is fast and catchy with gusts of violence and blood which are always countered by thumbnails of deep emotion or introspection. And then there is pleasure. Lots of wild and bloody pleasure. Instead of a constant fear, Cassidy likes to sprinkle with humor. Yes, horrible death is a possibility, but how fun is it to imagine a child whose fears can kill people who fall on a Halloween screen in a store? Yes, horror can be very fun, and that’s what makes When the wolf comes home special. This novel takes elements of contemporary horror – a fresh voice, a new angle, a diversity – and mixes them with a bizarre approach to reality – there are no rules, reality is flexible, caricatures can come to life and the laws of physics are not really important as long as history is great.
When an author is relatively new, he can take some time to identify some of their features, things that may or may not give their work a feeling of cohesion. After a new version of the ghosts Marriedhis first novel, a twist on vampires NicheAnd now an in-form wolf novel which is much more than it promises, it is clear that Cassidy wants to show that nothing is old if you do it new, and that no trope is too tired in the hands of a good storyteller.
Gabino Iglesias is the author, book critic and living teacher in Austin, Texas.
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