dark fantasy

Gods and goddesses and demons, oh wow! Arachnids and familiars and oracles, oh dear! Earthquakes and famine and war, oh shit! Shiny men – skinless women – revived dead, say what?

And ghosts. So many ghosts. Hanging out on the roads, in the alleys, in your darkest dreams. Oh, and they hang out in houses too. This last point provides me with the necessary loop hole to include Joe Pawlowski’s novel Dark House of Dreams in my reviews of haunted house literature. But for the most part, it belongs in an entirely different genre.

The genre of the novel as per Amazon.com is dark fantasy. Scrolling through best sellers that fall into this category, I came across title words such as “summoner,” “underworld,” “dragon,” and “retribution.” Hopefully these words conjure the kinds of themes this genre deals with. I am largely unfamiliar with this genre. I do not normally review books that fall into this category since my genre consists of stories pertaining to ghosts and haunted houses. A reader that is solely attracted to Gothic literature might not be interested in a book of this sort. Likewise, a reader exclusively dedicated to modern haunted house fiction might not be smitten with the stuff of this novel either. Fans looking for similarities to The Haunting of Hill House, The Shining or The Amityville Horror will find nothing of the sort in Dark House of Dreams.

The plot is rather complex and difficult to describe. Dark House of Dreams is one book in a series; the Ring Gargery Series. Much of the book devotes itself to fleshing out a story arc that will reach its curve in future novels. However, this isn’t the first of the series. The Watchful Dead: A Tale of Old Hastur (A Ring Gargery Thriller) predates this novel and is described as “a nightmare blend of gothic traditionalism, magical realism and dark fantasy.” Perhaps this novel might align more closely to haunted house fiction theme? I should have read this first. Oh well.

Ring Gargery is the protagonist, but he’s by no means the only character to lend readers a perspective. Having spent his childhood isolated within the walls of his house, he comes of age outside the walls, in a world of slaves and nobles where travel is done by boat or horseback, villages are many miles apart and great turmoil is afoot.

An earthquake caused by a demon has ravaged a neighboring community. A giant spider, a god, is burrowing under the town and rising every so often to claim a victim. All this while Ring ekes out a living as a stableman. His pastimes include drinking bowls of wine with friends at pubs and engaging in romantic rendezvous with women. He is also searching for his mother, who mysteriously “went lost”. Meanwhile, he has these prophetic dreams that place him in a dark house where he is tasked with exploring different “rooms” each time he drifts off to sleep. When crossing the threshold, he enters not a room but a landscape of some sort.

What is my favorite slice of turmoil in this story? Why that would be the ghosts, of course! A sorceress has broken down the gates of the underworld and the ghosts have been freed to walk the ….earth? (I’m not even sure this story takes place on earth). The community is forced to live side-by-side with these phantoms. They are mostly a nuisance, but sometimes they can be dangerous enough to be maddening or even deadly. For mysterious reasons, Ring’s childhood house is overrun with ghosts. They are drawn to it the way flying insects are attracted to light.

Then there is more. There’s politics; councilmen argue and point fingers and do underhanded things. There are murders and kidnappings. There is death by public execution. And then there is more. I can go on and on.

How did I stumble upon this book and why am I reviewing it? I found an advertisement for this book in one of the many Facebook groups I belong to that encourage authors to promote their books. The title caught my eye. When a haunted house guy such as myself sees the words “dark house”, he reads on. When he sees the word “ghosts” in the synopsis, he considers it for purchase. If the price is right (it was), he goes in for the buy. And that’s what I did. Though there are only a few instances of ghostly goings-on’s that frighten the occupants of a house or castle, dog gone it, I just wanted to say something about Dark House of Dreams. It took work to finish this book. So many unusual character names, so many unique names for various families, tribes or religious sects (thank you Joe Pawlowski for the list of characters with descriptions at the book’s end!). I wanted there to be something to show for my efforts. Hence this article; it’s my participation trophy.

Did I like it? In a nutshell, yes. I wouldn’t have finished it if I didn’t. I have no criticisms. I can’t say that I’m in love with it though. It’s just a matter of taste. It is remarkably well written. And to think of the work involved in creating the world of this novel, set in a mysterious place. Every word spoken, every object used, every place the reader is taken to props up this world and fits neatly together to forge this fantastic setting. Yes, it took work to comprehend this setting, but much less I am sure than it took to create it. So no, it’s not really a haunted house tale. And it probably does not belong within my catalog of reviews. But here it is anyway. Sue me if you must.

Fame! Fortune! Power! Pleasure! – these things are the gods of this world, so sayeth a religion teacher I knew many moons ago. These are the lower-case gods; false gods, gods that are appetizing to the flesh but poisonous to the soul. I’ll add a few more – Beauty! Youth! In sum, these gods represent an overwhelming lust for “the good life.”

Many religions have a geographical center. There is Israel, Mecca, Babylon, and The Vatican. Where might the practitioners of “the good life” congregate? Which city values youth and beauty? Where do these youthful and beautiful creatures go to seek out fame, fortune, power and pleasure? The answer – Hollywood! Become a movie star! Be the face that everyone in world loves! Earn your millions. Party on down! Work the scene for a while and become a producer. Make and break careers! Oh what fun!

There is a microcosm of such vanity and decadence in Hollywood’s own backyard. It’s called Coldheart Canyon. Over the years, the biggest names in the film business gathered in a hideaway house in the heart of this canyon. While concealed from the spotlight of the motion picture’s capital, they kept its values alive with decadent parties, mass intoxication, and bizarre orgies. This was true in life…and in death. Magic within the house helped some to achieve eternal youth. For others, it provided a desire for pleasure eternal; for fame that never ceases. Even after death, the spirits of celebrities return to this canyon to dwell in its foliage, hoping against hope that they should be permitted inside the house once again and “relive” the glory. These spirits – they materialize in solid form! Remember – I said that the gods of fame, fortune, power and pleasures appeal to fleshy beings – beings that still want to feel the erotic pleasures that only their sexual organs can muster. Out in the canyon these “spirits” wait and yearn. While passing the years, they mate with the creatures of the canyon; coyotes, birds, rodents, anything that moves and breathes. The offspring of such couplings are quite an abomination; their body parts are half human and half animal. All this on account of that room inside the house; a room with walls of supernatural tiles that pull its occupants into a magical forest where time stands still, where the strange and erotic come to life, where youth and beauty can be restored. Alas, the house and room are guarded by Katya Lupi, the owner and mistress of the house. Once a beauty from the silent era of film, she lives on in pristine form in the year 2001. She is the queen of this kingdom and she deprives her former peers of the silver screen of this restorative power. For she is cold. She is heartless. Hence the term Coldheart Canyon.

If you haven’t already guessed, I have been describing the meat and guts of Clive Barker’s novel – Coldheart Canyon – A Hollywood Ghost Story. So please don’t go looking for Coldheart Canyon, you will not find it. It exists only in the imagination of Barker. But he has generously shared the contents of his mind with us so that we may also get a glimpse of this macabre world. Now there are some (and you may be one of them) that do not want any part of Clive Barker’s imagination. This is understandable, for there are sensitive folks out there. Barker graphically describes the human anatomy and the situations that arise when one piece of anatomy meets another. He also describes the anatomy of things that are not human. For instance, there is this goat boy (who happens to be the son of Satan) that is quite often visibly aroused. I’ll leave it at that.

One of the most common complaints in the one-star reviews (but there are plenty more 5 star ratings) is that this book is nothing more than a glorification of porn. Folks, it is a lot more than that. Yes it’s explicit at times. But to condemn this piece solely on account of its X-rated themes is to miss out on its profound exploration of human nature. From the no-holds-barred examination of Hollywood culture to the rich descriptions of the characters, Coldheart Canyon – A Hollywood Ghost Story is certainly a unique and compelling piece of work.

I must admit – I did not always feel this way. I first read this book shortly after it hit the bookstores. Initially I was not overly impressed. At the time I purchased this novel, I was in the mood to read a kind of ghost story like the ones I had grown up with and was anxious to vicariously explore a haunted house in the tradition of Amityville.. I did not find the kind of familiar tale I sought out. In the beginning and with interest, I followed the plight of the main character Todd Picket- a movie star that was just beginning to show signs of aging. When his face-lift operation went wrong, he was forced to hide from the public eye in an isolated house in a canyon until he recovered. I was anxious to read about the ghostly footsteps he might hear, or the trespassing of specters across his halls, or the moans and groans of midnight ghosts. Instead I got a tale that was part fantasy, part macabre, part erotic. I was disappointed and I’m not sure I even finished the book.

Ironically, I came to like The Coldheart Canyon – A Hollywood Ghost Story after I became dedicated to haunted house lore. This second time around, I accepted the tale for what it was and not for what I had once demanded it to be. It is not your average haunted house tale. Most of the ghostly activity takes place in canyon outside of the premises. The fantasy and adventure occurs within one room of the house. Although this is not my favorite haunted house novel, it certainly belongs within the genre. Some of it I found a little hokey. Nevertheless, it’s entertaining and intriguing. The story is unique; it’s not enslaved to formula – it is not a follower. But does it lead? I don’t know about that. Some would say it does. For me, it just “is.” As such it just persists, like many of its ghosts that are damned to its canyon. Try the book. You might like it.