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colinmeldrum's review against another edition
4.0
A journey through this collection feels like an afternoon peering over the dustiest shelves of a museum of curiosities. Reading it, I felt studious, peculiar, and intrigued. Full review here: http://www.acappellazoo.com/thisnewandpoisonousair-adammcomber
senqin's review against another edition
3.0
★★★
A fantasy-horror anthology often with a historical backdrop. Each story mainly read like an exercise in establishing atmosphere and all felt a bit underdeveloped as a result. However, the writing is exquisite.
A fantasy-horror anthology often with a historical backdrop. Each story mainly read like an exercise in establishing atmosphere and all felt a bit underdeveloped as a result. However, the writing is exquisite.
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
4.0
Adam McOmber's This New & Poisonous Air is my first installment in the R.I.P. Reading "Challenge" and he starts me out with a strong four-star outing. McOmber's stories are not strictly scary, but they do have a very unsettling, Gothic feel. The atmosphere ranges from the dark and unusual to the enigmatic and uncomfortable. McOmber takes us from the beginnings of Madame Toussauds wax museum to the days of the Black Plague. He also uses everyday settings--from a movie theater to the threshing floor of an old barn--to give us a case of shivers. The variety of these stories is delightful--and it is easy to see influences by Poe, Shirley Jackson, and Isak Dinesen in many of the tales.This is a thoroughly enjoyable collection--more atmospheric and psychological than down-right scary--and even the weakest stories are quite, quite good. My favorites are "The Automatic Garden," "Fall Orpheum," and "Beneath Us."
"The Automatic Garden" is about a man who creates a mechanical garden full of "automatic" animals, plants, and even people. Ostensibly, it has been designed to delight the public--but there behind this creation there is the love story between Francini, the creator, and a dancer named Cornazzano. The love affair is long over, but Francini invites his old love to see the tribute he has created--with unexpected results.
In "Fall Orpheum" we have a normal small town--normal except for the occasional missing person. When David and Kitty (brother & sister) visit the Orpheum movie theater, Kitty disappears through a door in the theater and David realizes that the Orpheum has been the source of all the disappearances.
"Beneath Us" follows the researches of a British woman who has been employed to map the forgotten graveyards of Britain--graveyards that have through fires or other means become disconnected from their sponsoring churches. The effect these researches have on her is quite....disturbing.
This was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
"The Automatic Garden" is about a man who creates a mechanical garden full of "automatic" animals, plants, and even people. Ostensibly, it has been designed to delight the public--but there behind this creation there is the love story between Francini, the creator, and a dancer named Cornazzano. The love affair is long over, but Francini invites his old love to see the tribute he has created--with unexpected results.
In "Fall Orpheum" we have a normal small town--normal except for the occasional missing person. When David and Kitty (brother & sister) visit the Orpheum movie theater, Kitty disappears through a door in the theater and David realizes that the Orpheum has been the source of all the disappearances.
"Beneath Us" follows the researches of a British woman who has been employed to map the forgotten graveyards of Britain--graveyards that have through fires or other means become disconnected from their sponsoring churches. The effect these researches have on her is quite....disturbing.
This was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
michaelavk's review
5.0
I picked this up a while back at Open Books Chicago. A combination of following Adam on Twitter and learning of his work. Not sure what took me so long to dive in! Loved this collection thoroughly, beautiful tales "new" and "old". A lovely spin on fairytale. Favorites include "A Memory of His Rising" and "Gardens of the Moon."
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