Megan's Lit of Horror, Fantasy, & Sci Fi

This book was outside of what I’d normally read, but I really enjoyed the experience. I say that as somebody whose favorite genre is urban fantasy. Although a lot of the coming-of-age elements were reminiscent of the classical hero’s journey, the rest of the novel was definitely coming from a lot of other genres. The tone, for instance, was very dark, much less in line with traditional fantasy and much more in line with horror, where a protagonist has to struggle against a very negative world to find a little goodness. Though it was supported by the basis of the story of the Pied Piper, China Miéville managed to build something very unique on top of that classical fairytale, really emphasizing the violence of that original story. Our monster is the Piper, and that monster isn’t so much defeated as he is sealed away along with his cave of children who have to suffer for all eternity. Saul’s story begins with the murder of his dad and ends with him deposing his genet...

This book was incredibly weird, but it’s easy to see how the important concepts within the novel are expressed using symbolically strange events or objects. The recurrence of an evil sheep seems to align closely with its goal of creating an organized empire over humanity. The way I interpreted this, I think Murakami has a very negative view of large businesses and the way these enormous monopolies seem to brainwash the populace. The term “sheeple” comes to mind. The protagonist often ruminates on the commercialized, industrialized landscape that is slowly replacing the one he used to know. He ends the novel on a positive note by supporting one of the small businesses he loved when he was younger, a jazz bar. It seems because of these elements that Murakami’s main message with the book is really a critique on commercialism. One of the things I didn’t really understand about this novel was the presence and subsequent disappearance of the girl with the special ears. S...

I enjoyed reading Interview with a Vampire. It seems to have all the elements of what we consider a modern vampire story, with humanized and expressive vampires, but it was told in a much more serious and dramatic manner than the average vampire tale. Just like in Frankenstein, we’re given a “found footage” sort of format with the audio interview. It also seems to share a lot of the gothic language; the vampires go around being very dramatic and emotional. However, any elements of romance are overshadowed by the supernatural and the horrific elements of their lives. Louis seems to be unable to truly find a vampire to connect with, and all the humans he meets ultimately become food for vampires or otherwise suffer and die. Because of this, between every moment of Louis’s story, we’re on the edge of our seat imagining what might transpire between the boy and Louis in contemporary time. The whole thing is left on two sort of cliffhangers – the end of Louis’s story, and the b...

It was interesting how this novel was laid out - at one point we have the monster's story as told by Frankenstein as told by the captain of the ship in his letters to his sister. This sort of framing device brings up some questions as to exactly how truthful the story is. Frankenstein may be an unreliable narrator, since he at least colors the description with his negative comments on the monster. I did like how we’re left at the end of the story to determine exactly who is most at fault – the monster himself, or the scientist who made him. It seems like every time the monster does something horrible, he has some valid reasons for being that way. Similarly, every time the novel begins to accuse Frankenstein of doing terrible things, the ship captain has some remarks on the beauty of Frankenstein’s character and soul. Over time we’ve sensationalized the horror of Frankenstein’s monster, turning him into a speechless, shambling ...