Book Review: Black Helicopters - Caitlin R. Kiernan (October Horror Fest 21/31)


Well, what we have here it's the second novel in the Tinfoil series.

I've read the first a couple of months ago and I didn't enjoy it. But I know Caitlin is well received as a Lovecraftian horror master but alas, I just couldn't get into it. The book is 200 pages long and it's boring and pointless. First of all, I may be at fault here. Maybe I am not erudite to fully understand the novel but I couldn't. Of course I understood the plot - overall it follows the first but I guess you can read it without having read the first - although it makes zero sense to start at book 2 of a series.

So what is the story and why I didn't enjoy it. - first of all the constant changing of timelines every chapter. This confuse me. Then you've got the plot itself and I couldn't understand anything. You've got spies in Dublin, you've got ships, you've got the black and white queen stuff, you've got the future where the writing was even more incomprehensible  (probably just saying that writing from the 1800 it's different from nowadays so probably the future will sound/read differently.

Bear in mind that by the descriptions I hope something more akin Lovecraftian but what I got was some weird stuff- probably Weird Fiction is all about? I didn't felt any kind of horror or fear - nada that I could say it's Lovecraftian. To mention Shoggoths and labelling as Lovecraftian it's like saying that anything has four tires it's a care. It doesn't work like that. It could be a wagon or anything in-between. The only connection is that a car and a wagon has four tires...

Then why the chapter with people speak in French? Damn... Those non-translated sentences... I thought okay they are talking in French and in-between someone will explain what it means... Well, nope.
Sucks to be you - who don't know French haha... 

Overall I will read the third one but coming from the 1 and 2 maybe i will be disappointed... I hope not.

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