TITLE: Someone Else’s Story
AUTHOR: Laird Ryan States
128 pages, The Seventh Terrace, ISBN 9781990082245 (paperback, e-book)
MY RATING: 5 stars out of 5
REVIEW: Someone Else’s Story perfectly melds various types of horror (gothic, cosmic, body) with the classic stylings of the weird pulp genre in a sharp, fast-paced story that touches on the ways in which we lie to ourselves and others to protect ourselves from the pains of our past and sometimes our present.
Tom Bradstreet: investigative journalist with a death wish; occasional troubleshooter for a British spy agency that keeps tabs on the supernatural; unwilling immortal; and usually the supporting character in other people’s adventures. Having exiled himself to Edmonton, Canada to drink himself to oblivion, Tom thinks he’s out of the spy game, but they pull him back in to investigate a controversial artist named William S. Frankenstein, whose works are pure body horror and whose abilities may be supernatural.
Tom is, personality-wise, a contemporary of characters like John Constantine and Harry Dresden: world-weary, acerbic, keeping people who could love him at an emotional distance while at the same time feeling every emotional high and low relationships bring. His character comes through clearly in every line, a bit lovable despite his clear attempts to be otherwise.
The main antagonist is exactly who you think he is, but there are layers to his characterization that develop him beyond the way he’s usually presented in sequels to the work he originally appeared in. He is just as world-weary as Tom but is far angrier about it. I enjoyed the juxtaposition between the two in how they see the world, how they cope with their own personal histories, and how they deal with the world around them. Frankenstein’s wife is also an intriguing character and if I have any complaint about the book, it’s that we didn’t get a deeper look inside her thoughts and motivations. Then again, maybe that’s a good thing, because she was easily the scariest part of the book.
Forewarned being forearmed, readers should note that there is a lot of graphic gore and violence throughout the book, as indicated by the mention of body horror earlier. Fans of body horror especially will enjoy this book, but so will fans of occult detectives, cosmic horror, and classic horror. States brings it all together satisfactorily. This is the first Laird Ryan States book I’ve read, and now I plan to seek out his earlier work.
I received an advance reading copy of this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Someone Else’s Story published July 7, 2023.