THE RED CARNIVAL

by Susan Casper

Fantastic Books
(www.FantasticBooks.biz)
2018, 246 pages, $14.99

ISBN 978-1-5154-1033-1

Click Here to Purchase

The “carny,” as timeless as the characters in Ray Bradbury’s SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES, and intrigue about them has been the focus of much horror writing.

The cast of characters in this carny horror horror novel, THE RED CARNIVAL, is as extensive as Tolstoy’s WAR AND PEACE.

But that can be part of what concerns me about CARNIVAL: So many characters that are part of the show that they become sword-bearers. I was sometimes confused about perspective and motivation.

I’ve wanted to review this book since Fantastic Books sent me a galley six years ago. I finally had a chance to do so, having caught up, briefly, with my ever-present pile of books. I was looking forward to reviewing this.

I love Casper’s style. It is truly gritty, edgy, compelling, dark and emotional. In this case, there is a stark and sinister force at this carny in the town of Somerset that makes all the festival lights turn red. There is a ride that appears out of nowhere, not attested to by the carny operators, called “Golgotha, Place of Skulls,” and there comes a frenzy of violence by the carnygo’ers and carny staff. There is an impulsivity to this narrative that is disturbing, yet almost amusing.

Too bad that Casper was not able to develop more of her talent, since she died in 2017. What could she have wrought if she were still with us?