Odder than Ever by Bruce Coville

Every once in a great while, I’ll read a book and just wonder, ‘where the fuck has this author been this whole time?’

Imagine my surprise when I searched for Bruce Coville and found hundreds of results.

Odder than Ever is one of the most pleasant surprises I’ve encountered in a long while.

I wasn’t expecting much because first, I bought this book because I liked the cover and when I do that I’m pretty much always disappointed.

Second, short story collections, even from the greatest authors, are usually hit and miss.

And lastly, it’s children’s fiction and while some of the greatest literature ever written falls under this category, there are at least a thousand shitty kids books for every one profound work of art.

Odder than Ever is one of those rare works. There are nine stories in this collection and not a single misfire.

Coville approaches the universe he has created as if the world were a carnival and each protagonist had his own little booth in a side freak show.

Some of the stories are truly unsettling, (There’s Nothing Under the Bed & The Japanese Mirror) while others are hysterical (The Giant’s Tooth & Am I Blue) while others are filled with simple wonder (The Metamorphosis of Justin Jones & I, Earthling)

As far as children’s literature goes, this belongs up there with the best works of Carroll and Dahl.

And it ranks up there with Vonnegut’s Welcome to the Monkeyhouse & Stephen King’s Nightmares and Dreamscapes when it comes to short fiction anthologies.

So run, run to Half Price Books and you might still find this on an endcap for only $6.

Go on.

Baltimore: or the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire

Based on Hans Christian Anderson's The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Baltimore: or the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire maintains the charm and wonder of Anderson at his best while giving us a very affecting thriller. One of the tests of any genre piece (although squeezing this book to make it fit into some niche would be a mistake) is whether or not the story could stand on its own even if you removed the elements from it puts it into a genre and guarantees some kind of audience. And while the content of this book is not really appropriate for anyone under a certain age, it reads like a children’s book. (And yes, that is a compliment.) It follows the logic of a fairy tale. (Also a compliment.)

We start out following Captain Henry Baltimore, leading an assault against the Hessians and losing every single man in his company. As he regains consciousness, he sees the bodies of his soldiers all around, over and under him and then, to his horror, bat like creatures swoop down and start to feast. He manages to wound one of the little monsters, inadvertently starting a war between vampire and man. Most of the characters in this story are fueled by loss and revenge. The wounded bat avenges himself against Baltimore and Baltimore in turn devotes his life to hunting down the monster that destroyed everything he loved. He hammers a nail into his wooded leg for every vampire killed until it is so heavy that he has to drag it along.

The bulk of the story centers around three men who knew Baltimore and obey his summons to meet in a small city, overrun by the Red Plague. The three of them sit and swap stories about Baltimore and other implausible experiences they’ve each had. Much of the book reads almost like a collection of shorts, but they are skillfully woven together into one story arc. After following each of these men, along with Baltimore back into their bizarre past encounters with profound evil, I felt the weight of the fear and imminent loss during the final climax when everything comes together.

The only complain I had with this book (and it’s a minor one) is that the anti-war message felt a little preachy at times. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t overbearing. Mignola and Golden don’t beat you over the head, but it is there. I didn’t really mind it too much since I’m very sanctimonious and further to the left than like anyone I know. The only reason I mention this is that it came right at the climax of the book and was just a bit distracting. The message could’ve been a bit more subtle. It moves it from a 9.9 out of 10 to a 9.85 out of 10. At any rate, this is a minor complaint. Fucking read this book.