Book Review: Tinfoil Dossier Trilogy - Caitlin R Kiernan

Author: Caitlin R Kiernan
Book: Agents of Dreamland; Black Helicopters; The Tindalos Asset
Year: 2015/2017/2020
Pages: 125 / 202 / 176 
Part of Series: Tinfoil Dossier Trilogy
Reading Time: 7 days (5 & 6 September 2021; 16 to 18 October 2021 and 14 to 15 January 2022)
Rating: 4 & 2 & 1 stars  

Agents of Dreamland

I may say that up front I didn't enjoy it. To weird for me. Discovery we follow the guy was trying to find something, discover, uncover something. Next chapter it's just other person and it's very confusing at times to understand what's happening or who's talking and so on. To be quite honest it didn't felt that felt like a complete novel which it isn't since there are two sequels. Maybe I am at fault but it seem two different writers.. some interesting thoughts on the fungus and the zombie ants and a different type of Cthulhu stories.. I will read the 2 and 3 without a doubt .

Black Helicopters

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

The Tindalos Asset

Here it is the third instalment on the series.

How is this horror, lovecraftian horor for that matter?

It took Caitlin a couple of years to release this novel and it shows... it's convoluted, confusing timelines and very strange characters. I didn't enjoy at all, even comparing with the previous 2 (and bear in mind all are bad..)

I would love to say something good but I cannot.