Astoria: Review

Astoria is the third book in S.P. Miskowski's Skillute Cycle. A novella that acts as a sequel to her powerful debut novel, Knock Knock. The story focuses on Ethel Sanders and her abrupt departure from Skillute, following the tragic events that took place in Knock Knock. Ethel was my favorite character in Knock Knock, so I particularly enjoyed this exploration of her character, further developing her and giving us a rather revealing look at her thoughts, her emotions, and what makes her tick. Ethel finds, however, that Skillute casts a large shadow, and no matter where she goes, she'll never truly be able to escape.

Ethel leaves Skillute with the hopes of starting over, giving herself a clean slate. She intends on changing every aspect of herself, attempting to completely erase her past in Skillute. This is both exciting and terrifying for her. Her whole life, all she knew was Skillute, and nothing else. Despite her hatred for Skillute, it was familiar to her, and actually acted as a safe haven. She felt the pull of Skillute, it was calling out to her to come back. If she didn't act fast, she would have turned around and drove back.

 Ethel thought of Long Beach, a place she often went to as a child, and could provide her with the safety she was needing, and, most important, it wasn't Skillute. The ocean tides of Long Beach conjure a lot of memories for Ethel, reminding her of times in Skillute and certain events she experienced during her childhood. When it comes to atmosphere, Miskowski truly shines. Her description of Long Beach creates an atmosphere that comes off, for Ethel, as haunting.

The pearl gray sand and the lilac haze from the sky merged here, throughout the summers of her childhood. A diffuse light had woven the colors of sky and beach. It made her heart ache to remember it. She would have loved to be here in July, with all the kites in the air. She wondered if she would ever see that sight again. As she strolled along the sidewalk in the brisk, cold breeze another memory came to her unbidden. 

It's this kind of masterful writing and detailed imagery that whisked me away from my sofa. I was there, with Ethel, at Long Beach, sharing in her memories. 

Ethel knew she couldn't stay at Long Beach. She needed to keep going, to escape even further. She decides she is going to completely change her identity, and be the opposite of everything she was while living in Skillute. Identity is an important theme in Astoria. Miskowski often writes of reflections and body doubles. Several times Ethel thought she saw someone who resembled her, and often saw her reflection in mirrors and windows. I feel these scenes serve to emphasize the important role of identity. The entire book is Ethel attempting to completely reshape who she is. She wants to be someone else. She changes her wardrobe, dyes her hair, and even gives herself a different name. All of this is to erase her old self, her old identity. 

Ethel decides to look at want ads, and finds something that catches her eye: a house sitting job in Astoria. She contacts James Bevin, the owner of the house, and sets up a meeting with him. She gives herself her makeover, and sets off for Astoria. When Ethel arrives in Astoria, things begin to take a turn for the truly strange. Astoria is a sad, haunting, and strange place. The street the house is located on is marked by old Victorian houses and overgrown vegetation and rusting lawn furniture, except for the house she was staying in. Among the historical Victorian houses, it was truly modern. Astoria as whole, though, was odd. Houses stood at odd angles, creating the image of a "play set," a "jumble of buildings arranged in no order, ruled by whimsy." To say anymore about the story would be to spoil it. All I can say is that, in Astoria, reality is truly subjective, and things only get stranger, culminating in Ethel's past finally catching up with her. Ethel's time in Astoria plays out like a David Lynch film. Again, Miskowski shows us why she is the queen of atmosphere. 

The mist in the atmosphere shifted and swayed. The damp, the mist, the very air made a sighing sound. As she walked, it rose until she felt it at her back, mocking her. When she reached the wooden arch, she bolted. She didn't stop to glance back and read the sign painted on the arch.

Every aspect of Astoria was almost palpable. I forgot where I was because I was deeply immersed in Miskowki's world. There is still one more book in the Skillute Cycle, but I think it's safe for me to say that Astoria is, without a doubt, my favorite book in the series. Starting with Knock Knock, you can clearly see the progression in Miskowski's writing; you can see that she is honing her craft as a weaver of haunting and poignant tales that will assuredly leave an indelible mark on you. Astoria is Miskowski showing us what she is capable of; why she is a powerhouse of Horror. It's a perfect blend of psychology and horror, both real and supernatural. All those elements come together so smoothly, it's hard to tell if many of things Ethel experiences are real, or something otherworldly. Miskowski knows every nook and cranny of human nature, and is not afraid to explore some of the more darker aspects of our nature; aspects we must acknowledge. 

Delphine Dodd: Review

Delphine Dodd is S.P. Miskowski's second book--and the first novella--in her Skillute Cycle. The book focuses on Delphine Dodd, a character who had a somewhat minor role in the first part of Miskowki's debut novel, Knock Knock. We are given a detailed look into Delphine's history, making the book serve as a prequel to Knock Knock. The book is broken up into two parts: Over the River and Through the Woods, and The Changeling.

Over the River and Through the Woods centers on Delphine's time as a child, before she moved to Skillute. It begins with Delphine, and her sister Olive, riding in a car with their mother and a man named John Dee. Both girls are drooped off at the house of Eve Alice, their grandmother. Their mother rides off with John Dee, and is never heard from again. Eve Alice, like Delphine in Knock Knock, is a sort of midwife, and thought of by many as a witch. She stocks up on oils, herbs, and other remedies that she gives to clients. They live in a place called Mount Coffin, also known as Mont des Morts, the Rock of the Dead. Aptly named because of the burial practices of the Chinook, Native Americans who settled the gargantuan rock long before the arrival of the Europeans. They covered Mount Coffin with canoes, housing the remains of loved ones, also gifts that were precious to them. This bit of history, along with winding streams, dense forests, myriad crows, and thick fog make Mount Coffin a liminal place, situated between the worlds of the living and the dead. Miskowski truly shines at creating a haunting and mystical atmosphere. Reading the first part is akin to experiencing a dream, you have a difficult time discerning what is real and what is not, giving the reader not so much a sense of terror, but unease. Add to the fact that Mount Coffin had not quite yet been touched by the cold hand of industrialization, and you have a place that is only read about in fairy tales, so it's only fitting that the first part has the title that it does. The dream-like quality of Mount Coffin, coupled with Miskowski's penchant for vivid details, sometimes made me forget that I was sitting on my sofa.

The second part of the book, The Changeling, takes us away from the haunted world of Mount Coffin, and brings us to Skillute, where Delphine has moved to, after receiving a letter from her mother. She essentially inherits her mother's house and all her belongings. Delphine sets up shop and continues the practices and traditions that were passed on to her by Eve Alice. While the first part was all about atmosphere and Delphine's childhood, the second part is much more impactful; it's chock-full of revelations, showing us just how important Delphine's role in the Skillute Cycle actually is. It was the second part that truly left me staggering. Miskowski, just like in Knock Knock, knows how to build something up, and once it culminates into the big reveal, you are left shocked and breathless.

Delphine Dodd can be read on its own; however, if you read Knock Knock first, the payoff is much bigger, and more rewarding. The books seamlessly tie into one another, creating a cohesive, organic world, and there are still two more books in the Skillute Cycle! Without having read the last two books, I can already say that Miskowski deserves a tribute in the form of an anthology. I would love to see a collection of stories that revolve around Skillute and its residents. Miskowski has created something special, a haunting, living, breathing world full of mystery, folklore, legends, horror--both real and otherwordly--atmosphere, and moments that will make your jaw drop; moments that will leave you terrified; but most of all, moments that leave you wanting more.

Knock Knock: Review

Skillute, Washington. A small, impoverished logging town, where the only forms of entertainment are bingo for the women, drinking for the men, and Sunday church services for weekly salvation. It's the kind of town you don't want to live in, because you'll never get out. Any resident of Skillute can tell you that having hopes and dreams is pointless, and if you are somehow fortunate to leave Skillute, it will only bring you back another day. Skillute decides your fate, and S.P. Miskowski is not afraid to show us the fates of some of its residents, and the darkest aspects of Skillute itself.

In her debut novel, Knock Knock, Miskowski takes you into the bleak lives of a handful of Skillute's residents, primarily centering on three women: Marietta, Ethel, and Beverly. The book begins when the girls are young, and proceeds to cover a span of over fifty years, and how their lives are shaped and altered in terrifying and tragic ways. 

Miskowski sets the stage with Beverly, Ethel, and Marietta in a classroom, watching a film on hygiene. The three girls are in the very back of the classroom, where it's dark and no one can see them talking with another classmate, who is telling them the "mortifying details" of her mother's pregnancy, how it's changing her, body and mind. The mother thinks of the pregnancy as a "curse," and can't walk around her house due to swollen ankles. Not wanting to hear any more, Beverly, Ethel, and Marietta decide to make sure that their fates are not the same as the other girl's mother. At eleven, and eleven-and-a-half-years old, they already know all too well what happens to the women in Skillute. Out of desperation, and even a sense of adventure, the girls trek to the woods--a place they are told never to go--to perform a blood ritual that they believe will prevent them from getting pregnant. What they failed to realize, however, was that something ancient, dark, and evil was in those woods, and their actions awakened it, creating a domino effect that would span decades. 

The novel proceeds to follow the three girls over the course of their lives. Each chapter focuses on a point of view from one of the three, showing us the trials and tribulations they experience as they grow old and, despite the ritual they performed all those years ago, get married and become pregnant, falling into the endless cycles of their respective families. 

While the three women experience the horrors of the real world, underneath the surface lurks an ancient, lingering, palpable, unseen terror; it can be felt throughout the whole of the book, holding you down and not letting you up. Whatever the girls unleashed, it's there, with them, and all of Skillute. It's not until Ethel gives birth to her daughter, Connie Sara, that you truly begin to realize the terror that pervades the book, as it is clear that something is wrong with Connie Sara. 

In Knock Knock, Miskowski demonstrates her masterful ability at portraying sad, inescapable family cycles. Beverly, Ethel, and Marietta are fated to stay in Skillute, and end up like their parents, or, at the very least, live somewhat similar lives as their parents did. Miskowski doesn't just show us those inescapable cycles, but how we TRY to escape them. In Marietta's case, she did everything she could to erase her family past; to abrogate everything her Aunt Delphine did, her practice, traditions, everything. Marietta even got married as an attempt to live what she hoped would be a normal life, but she found that she could not escape the cycle. Ethel wasn't sure if she married her husband Burt out of love or convenience. And while Beverly loved her husband Rex, he was a means to survive a life in Skillute. Miskowski beautifully highlights all of the issues that come with a life in a town like Skillute.  Miskowski's ability to paint a vivid picture of an impoverished town ravaged by logging companies is incomparable. She shows how these dying towns have a trickle down effect that affects the residents. Skillute was plucked clean by these companies, leading to a poor town economy and lack of jobs, resulting in unemployment, poverty, and other real world horrors. 

Light and dark play a vital role in Knock Knock. In Skillute, darkness and decay are the true state of things. Grey clouds, rain, pollution, etc. are the norm. Light, on the other hand, is an illusion, a trap that brings one into a false sense of security. Just ask Greg what the light brought him. A particular scene that drives home the use of light and dark is when Greg horrifyingly discovers that all was not what he thought it was. The light and order he thought he was experiencing was merely an illusion, and the true state of things was actually that of darkness and decay. The atmosphere of Skillute is one of oppression and confinement. The humidity and thick air is enough to make one feel heavy, unable to move and do anything, creating a sense of confinement and helplessness. Miskowski does this so well, that it transfers from the book to the reader with great fluidity. There were times where I could feel the heaviness, the hopelessness, and even the helplessness. And Miskowki's ability to have all that oppression and dread culminate into something truly terrifying was enough to leave me sweating, and my heart beating rapidly. Several times I had to put the book down because I was so scared. Knock Knock is a fine and powerful debut by S.P. Miskowski, and she has quickly solidified her status in the literary world of Horror and the Weird.