I held off on reviewing this for one simple reason: I really loved it and I wanted to get this right. When you come across something as powerful as this, that resonates as it has within you after you've read it, and the voices are still there months later you tend to want to slow down a bit. It's important.
I've loved Damien's work for years. And when she announced almost two years ago this was going to be coming out I squeed like any grown man would. Her voice is something that sticks with you and every short story written by her that I have read has reminded me of M.R. James with feminine attention and texture.
So yeah, I got this at Midnight on the day it was released. Dove right into it, too. I didn't care if I had to be at work the next day--I had plans. This shit's important and we do it right around here.
But there was something different about this collection. This wasn't the tapestries of horror told in fantastic worlds I had expected. Sing Me Your Scars is on a higher plane. This is the fine wine those snooty people on television are always tasting and sniffing. It's something to be savored and pondered. There is much more going on here than just stories, my friends.
The best way I can describe it is each and every short story is the searing pain that courses through a human soul. But instead of being screamed out in dramatic quotes, each story is a portrait delicately put on canvas with oils by the masters from the Dutch Golden Age, with blood mixed into the pigments to get that proper oxidation.
This ain't your high school English teacher's required reading, Bubba. These stories look like a bloody feather but hit like a sledge hammer finely tooled by Elves and swung by a juiced-up Sammy Sosa. There is power here. Real power, too.
Sing Me Your Scars is what wordsmithing is supposed to look like.
In the vast spectrum of human existence we endure all that is unleashed upon our souls by the cruelty and depravity of our enemies, the ones we love, and even ourselves. What Damien has done in each of these stories has woven a tapestry out of words and spice that illustrate the depth of those painful moments but also the strength of our species.
These stories will stick with you. They have staying power long after you've put the book down and you'll remember them for a while, or maybe always.
Buy this book. Go out, or click the link, and get it.
I've loved Damien's work for years. And when she announced almost two years ago this was going to be coming out I squeed like any grown man would. Her voice is something that sticks with you and every short story written by her that I have read has reminded me of M.R. James with feminine attention and texture.
So yeah, I got this at Midnight on the day it was released. Dove right into it, too. I didn't care if I had to be at work the next day--I had plans. This shit's important and we do it right around here.
But there was something different about this collection. This wasn't the tapestries of horror told in fantastic worlds I had expected. Sing Me Your Scars is on a higher plane. This is the fine wine those snooty people on television are always tasting and sniffing. It's something to be savored and pondered. There is much more going on here than just stories, my friends.
The best way I can describe it is each and every short story is the searing pain that courses through a human soul. But instead of being screamed out in dramatic quotes, each story is a portrait delicately put on canvas with oils by the masters from the Dutch Golden Age, with blood mixed into the pigments to get that proper oxidation.
This ain't your high school English teacher's required reading, Bubba. These stories look like a bloody feather but hit like a sledge hammer finely tooled by Elves and swung by a juiced-up Sammy Sosa. There is power here. Real power, too.
Sing Me Your Scars is what wordsmithing is supposed to look like.
In the vast spectrum of human existence we endure all that is unleashed upon our souls by the cruelty and depravity of our enemies, the ones we love, and even ourselves. What Damien has done in each of these stories has woven a tapestry out of words and spice that illustrate the depth of those painful moments but also the strength of our species.
These stories will stick with you. They have staying power long after you've put the book down and you'll remember them for a while, or maybe always.
Buy this book. Go out, or click the link, and get it.
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