Speculative Fiction Junkie

R.B. Russell

I can't think of a better way to usher in the Halloween month than with a review of the latest offering from R.B. Russell. Mr. Russell is not only an author of highly esteemed supernatural tales, he also runs Tartarus Press, one of the most highly respected publishers of weird and supernatural fiction operating today, the output of which a recent article said amounts to "a secret library, a catalogue of weird fiction from its roots in Victorian Britain through to the modern day." While it has been extremely difficult for me to acquire his work, I was recently able to procure a copy of his newest work, Bloody Baudelaire, and it was with much anticipation that I sat down to read it a bit ago.

The story opens with five people spending a weekend together in a dilapidated mansion known as Cliffe House. There is Lucian and Elizabeth, a young and seemingly rather new couple whose future is uncertain since they will soon be attending university in opposite corners of the country. Then there's Adrian, Lucian's friend from school. Finally, there's Adrian's beautiful sister Miranda and her unlikeable partner Gerald. After a day and night of drinking during which various relationship strains manifest themselves, Lucian finds himself playing cards with Gerald, who starts to lose and continues to do so until he's eventually lost a fair amount of money, his painting talent, and even Miranda. Later that evening a fight ensues between Miranda and Gerald and Gerald leaves. He is shortly followed by Elizabeth for similar reasons and by Adrian, leaving Lucian and Miranda alone in the house. As they get to know one another over the course of the next few days, someone continues to work on Gerald's latest painting.

Now, if that doesn't sound like the most interesting story in the world this is partially because I'm not very good at plot summarizing but mainly because the real worth of this novella lies in the atmosphere that Mr. Russell creates and the things he insinuates interstitially. The odd interactions between characters, the dilapidated house, and the bizarre card game slowly combine to create the most superb atmosphere of weirdness. When the tensions that characterize nearly every relationship that is on display in the novella are thrown in as well as the sexual tension between Miranda and Lucian, the result is something truly special. At its heart, in other words, Bloody Baudelaire is a first rate weird tale wrapped in multiple layers of tension that Mr. Russell expertly stokes and manipulates.

Bloody Baudelaire has left me hungry for more weird dark fiction in much the same way that Bill Hussey's Through A Glass, Darkly (review here) left me wanting more supernatural horror. I'll be sure never to miss another opportunity to read Mr. Russell's work. I don't even need to know what the book's about. If R.B. Russell writes it, I'm going to read it.

Rating: 9/10

The True First

Bloody Baudelaire was first published in June of 2009 by Ex Occidente Press. There were only 400 copies made.

[This review was not based on a review copy]