Scott R Jones

This book stares into the face of cosmic horror. The cosmos blinks first.

(This is a repeat of my Amazon review!)

Reviewed in Canada on February 11, 2021

An investigative journalist who searches for what he thought was a scoop, and which quickly unfolds to become so much more than he bargained for.

When the journalist, Den, finds Gregor, the reclusive tech mogul everyone has been looking for, the book shifts gears and starts to really dig into the slow dread it's built up to this point The interaction between the two of them, as well as some other entities, is powerfully written and compelling.

I won't give too much away, but the progression of ideas Den and Gregor discuss, coupled with the unsettling implications of what those ideas could mean in reality... this is the kind of work that walks right up to what other cosmic horror stories might leave vague. And then it talks with what it finds on the other side. And builds things with them.

Jones deftly avoids being only an 'ideas' book, of characters just talking and philosophizing. He takes those conversations and extrapolates some truly terrifying realities. Often, this means that this book is excellent and compelling, but also difficult, as you let the ideas and implications roll around in your head. That said, the difficulty didn't reduce the momentum I brought to reading it, which only built up more to the intense conclusion of the story.

The book is also a challenge, because there were parts of me that wanted to join the chat with Den and Gregor, wanting to offer another idea or interpretation. I can't remember the last time I wanted to debate a book, or at least a book that I was also loving the whole way through.

Jones has written a novel that melds so many of it's inspirations into a wholly new thing. It is both a novel, literally, and it is a novel interpretation of the concepts. I'm glad I read it. You should read it too!… (mehr)

As much, if not more, inspired by "From Beyond" the much beloved cult horror film than by the Lovecraft story of the same name, "Resonator" is one of the overall most solid collections put together by Scott R. Jones and Martian Migraine Press I've yet read. There is not a shred of fat to be lost here.
Those familiar with Martian Migraine may know of the editor's fondness for playing with concepts and themes for their collections in ways other publisher might not, as well as for an openness to more sex and eros integrated into the stories than we might normally see in short literary horror. A collection based on the concepts and technology in the film "From Beyond" lend themselves perfectly to this mindset.
As is frequently the case with Martian Migraine, the collection opens with a reprinting of the Lovecraft story that inspired it all after a not to be skipped Introduction/analysis by Scott Jones. I won't do an exhaustive list/summary at this time, but let's hit a few high points. "The Wizard of OK" is not a only a standout in this collection, but ranks as one of my favorite pieces by genre favourite Scott Nicolay so far. "Machine Will Start When You Start" is a super fun piece by Matthew Bartlett, and is wildly divergent from his usual Leeds fair, something I think fans will really enjoy. "IPO", "Film Maudit", "Bug Zappers", and "Turbulence" all play in different ways with the idea of the Tillinghast technology getting out in a more widespread way into the world. As does Orrin Grey's, "Programmed To Receive", albeit in a more tragic and personal way. For lovers of cats and children, there's a particularly sad entry by the name of "Ninesight" not to be missed.… (mehr)