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A review by eddiegenerous
Shiloh by Philip Fracassi
5.0
Unnerving Magazine Review
To start, SHILOH paints a setting not often (not to my experience anyhow) featured in horror literature. The Civil War is not a big topic on my radar as a Canadian, but I understand the just of it and have seen enough movies and TV to imagine the scenes, though none of what I’ve seen on the tube reveals the layers offered by Fracassi in this novella. Accompanying horror with a historical event works to add depth and offers new space for originality. The vibe is heavy and thick. The notion of so many bodies, so much blood, and so little sustenance accompany the subtly off feeling on the battlefield, aiding the already uncomfortable realities and oddities.
Once the supernatural reveals itself, it grabs hold of the story and all action becomes an off-shoot of where the uncanny elements decide, no matter what the narrator or his brother might think. In that sense, the story is in a constant state of uncertainty. At no point did I assume the next step, also fairly rare.
SHILOH is chilling, atmospheric, and wonderfully written (smooth and leaning into literary).
Also included in this book is SODA JERK, I’m assuming as a bonus, since it doesn’t get the title treatment. That said, I think I liked this story even more than SHILOH.
This one uses a similar theme to SHILOH in that a perversion of nature has occurred and it’s hungry for pals, however, taking place in a small town in the fifties (sixties?), it’s of a wholly different world.
New in town, a girl is escorted by the school’s class president because her mother thinks it’s a good idea, right there I was hooked. The notion of meddlesome parents hits all kinds of buttons with me as I never understood why a kid would put up with it. This one pulls on more of a general thriller flavor of scare as all the way through, something is off, but it’s hard to finger (for the character, as a reader you get a good sense).
The unveiling hopelessness and clashing visuals (wholesome smiling faces are never truly what they seem) really kick this thing into something special. Definitely one of the best short stories I’d read all year.
To sum the pairing as a single book, this is the third (I think) must read I’ve tackled in 2018. Fantastic from beginning to end.
To start, SHILOH paints a setting not often (not to my experience anyhow) featured in horror literature. The Civil War is not a big topic on my radar as a Canadian, but I understand the just of it and have seen enough movies and TV to imagine the scenes, though none of what I’ve seen on the tube reveals the layers offered by Fracassi in this novella. Accompanying horror with a historical event works to add depth and offers new space for originality. The vibe is heavy and thick. The notion of so many bodies, so much blood, and so little sustenance accompany the subtly off feeling on the battlefield, aiding the already uncomfortable realities and oddities.
Once the supernatural reveals itself, it grabs hold of the story and all action becomes an off-shoot of where the uncanny elements decide, no matter what the narrator or his brother might think. In that sense, the story is in a constant state of uncertainty. At no point did I assume the next step, also fairly rare.
SHILOH is chilling, atmospheric, and wonderfully written (smooth and leaning into literary).
Also included in this book is SODA JERK, I’m assuming as a bonus, since it doesn’t get the title treatment. That said, I think I liked this story even more than SHILOH.
This one uses a similar theme to SHILOH in that a perversion of nature has occurred and it’s hungry for pals, however, taking place in a small town in the fifties (sixties?), it’s of a wholly different world.
New in town, a girl is escorted by the school’s class president because her mother thinks it’s a good idea, right there I was hooked. The notion of meddlesome parents hits all kinds of buttons with me as I never understood why a kid would put up with it. This one pulls on more of a general thriller flavor of scare as all the way through, something is off, but it’s hard to finger (for the character, as a reader you get a good sense).
The unveiling hopelessness and clashing visuals (wholesome smiling faces are never truly what they seem) really kick this thing into something special. Definitely one of the best short stories I’d read all year.
To sum the pairing as a single book, this is the third (I think) must read I’ve tackled in 2018. Fantastic from beginning to end.