NOTABLE WORKS
Daniel Kraus’ novel, WHALEFALL, was reviewed by the HWA’s Mental Health Initiative Notable Works readers.
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Notable Works Reviews
NOTABLE WORKS REVIEW: “Moira” by Jamie Flanagan
While mental illness is conventionally seen as emanating from the mind—the brain malfunctioning— and expressed through the body—physical responses such as insomnia or nausea, Jaimie Flanagan’s short story “Moira” identifies the true locus of mental illness—the soul—and names this state “soul-sick,” emphasizing how mental illness affects the very core of our being, our identity and sense of self. Review written by E.S. Magill.
REVIEW: The Children of Red Peak by Craig Dilouie
Novel Review by Sheri White
Plot Summary:
David, Deacon, and Beth were friends as children, all three living on a compound. Although run by a man of strong faith and a belief in God, the kids lead a relatively normal life. Then the leader, Jeremiah Peele, goes to check out the scene of a miracle he heard about. He takes the miracle as a sign the apocalypse is imminent. The commune moves to the mountain, now becoming an apocalypse cult. The children’s lives change drastically for the worse. They live in shacks, half starving, no school, no playing. Just praying and working. The three friends survive a horrific night similar to Jonestown, but have not shaken the PTSD of that event — even they don’t remember the specifics.
REVIEW: Riptide by Dan Rabarts
RIPTIDE by DAN RABARTS
Short story review by Lee Murray
A multiple winner of the Australian Shadows and Sir Julius Vogel Awards, Kiwi Dan Rabarts (Ngāti Porou) is well known in Antipodean horror circles, his body of work comprising novels, novellas, short fiction, screenplays, and poetry. Of these, his short story, “Riptide”, which appears in Simon Dewar’s anthology Suspended in Dusk II (2018, Grey Matter Press), is arguably his most powerful work and my personal favourite. Perhaps the story appeals to me because it is set on a nameless beach in Aotearoa, somewhere that I might have walked myself, or because Rabart’s prose is gritty, poignant, and resoundingly beautiful. Or possibly, the tale speaks to me because, as a sufferer of depression and anxiety, I recognise in it a monster that I have battled often over the years, even before I could give it a name.
REVIEW: Serpent’s Wake by L.E. Daniels
SERPENT’S WAKE by L.E. DANIELS
Novel review by Dave Jeffery
After twelve years trapped in the throat of a serpent, a girl escapes. She returns to her village naked with a monstrous snakeskin trailing behind her. One decision at a time, she reclaims her life. Each character she encounters by land and sea—brute, healer, orphan, mystic, lover—reflects an unhealed aspect of herself and plots her recovery through symbolic milestones. Serpent’s Wake is intended for adults and young adults exploring how, once fractured, we may mend.