Every now and then one encounters an extraordinary author. A writer who’s a magician with his or her pen. Last year, I was very fortunate to find several such authors.
This year, with the fourth of the year over, I’ve discovered one: Brian Fatah Steele.
Thus far, I’ve read his short story collection Your Arms Around Entropy and others stories and his novel There is Darkness in Every Room. I’m currently reading his early novel In Bleed Country.
The first story I read by Steele was “Delicate Spaces”. The story that starts off Your Arms Around Entropy. I was immediately struck by his imagination. Building on the foundation of Lovecraftian cosmic horror, Steele bends the sub-genre into a shape that is uniquely his.
Sometime ago I was at an art fair in Elk River, Minnesota. I looked at what the artists were selling. There were glass artisans, potters, painters, woodworkers, the whole gamut. Out of all those artists, one jumped out at me: a potter.
His work captivated me. The miniatures were subtle in their coloration. The shapes were not exotic, but just a bit off the norm to make them unique. I bought several pieces.
It’s the same with Steele’s storytelling. It’s captivating.
Your Arms Around Entropy is a collection of a dozen stories, four appearing for the first time in the book.
A lot of people don’t like short stories. I happen to love them. The main criticism I see is that they are lacking. Lacking in story. Lacking in characterization. My response is, yes, the bad or mediocre ones are. The good ones are fabulous stories, with characters we love, or hate, or love and hate.
Steele draws superbly lifelike characters, who tell us, show us, their lives, and therein lies the tale.
Your Arms Around Entropy contains a little bit of everything. Some cosmic horror, a bit of the surreal, some straight up supernatural horror, a bit of humor. And plenty of trips to places perhaps even you can’t imagine.
My favorite story in the collection was “Bleak Mathematics”. It is a story I will probably re-read — and I don’t usually re-read books or stories. The tale is replete with interesting characters, suspenseful storytelling, Steele’s unique spin on cosmic horror, a touch of mystery, and an ending that takes a moment or two to sink in before it slaps you in the face with the horror of real reality.
I was so impressed by Your Arms Around Entropy — I bought all of Steele’s books. He really is that good.
You can read my Amazon review before you buy. Or you can just plunk down 99¢ and take twelve trips to where The Twilight Zone didn’t dare to go.
Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!
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