Full Review by Jeff Richie Forsaken Blossoms Length 132 pages Genre: Sociopath Country : Australia graphic by Skin by Dragonfly |
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“That technique like you coat hanger the guy, you hammer them!” - Ian
A fifteen year old Ian has fallen under the spell of Alpha, a self important guru at Ian's school who thinks he has all the answers, and who runs a gang of worshippers. Ian needs something as his mother is domineering and seeks to control every aspect of his life. Alpha espouses theories about manliness and getting away from the material mundane nature of society, something most fifteen year olds can associate with, well unless it impacts their latest Apple gizmo purchase.
Gary enters Ian's life and offers maybe a chance to focus on something more constructive than Alpha's nihilism. Gary has just returned from Japan where he learnt the spiritual and technical aspects of a martial art, but was also exposed to the cynicism of a Sensai going through the motions simply to make a living. Initially Ian, and later his crew, are entranced by Gary's apparent devotion to bushido, but quickly Alpha deduces that Gary isn't the spiritual warrior they supposed him to be. Alpha and by extension his believers think Gary must pay for his crimes, and they set about planning retribution for a perceived wrong.
Here I am reviewing for a simple site that only seeks to document the depth and breadth of the dark genre downunder and someone tosses me a book to review that demands I look deeper into what it is trying to say, rather than simply reporting on the rampage going down between the covers. While Forsaken Blossoms builds throughout towards an expected shattering climax, what we get amply nails the subtext by the way, the novel demands closer scrutiny to the actual themes than a mere review of the plot or writing style would allow. On any other day I would have hidden this one under the review pile and gone on with something slightly less demanding intellectually. Of course than it would eventually re-emerge like a 1980s slasher antagonist to bite me on the arse, so guess it's best I put a stake through the novel's heart here and now.
Central to the novel is the young Ian, a high school student who lacks a male role model on the home front. While Ian is demonstratively intelligent he is also fertile ground for anyone who can adopt a leadership role. Beatrice, Ian's mother, is overly clingy and you have to say has a few Roos loose in the top paddock. She refers to Ian, even in social settings, as “Bub” in a clear attempt to have Ian somehow morph into a Peter Pan like person. Ian naturally gravitates toward Alpha, a self proclaimed guru who hates the commercial hypocrisy of the adult world, and well everything else really in a nihilistic pseudo philosophy that resonants with a sort of perverted version of Nietzsche's superman. Gary, supposedly steeped in Oriental martial spiritualism, offers Ian a way out of his enclosed and dominated world. After all with Alpha Ian is simply replacing one source of tyrannical rule with another, and in both cases his opinion is of very little importance, Beatrice and Alpha have their own ways of subduing any independent streak Ian might display. Gary on the other hand offers Ian a way toward self awareness, even though that might be slightly flawed as well.
Turning our attention to Alpha briefly, how many of us have ran across a character like this at our own high school. Anti social, sure of their own views, and looking down their noses at those of us just trying to survive the maelstrom that is secondary education. Normally they ended up being victimised, so my belief here, Glenn Cannon doesn't say, is Alpha keeps well under the radar of the jocks and other belligerent elements in the school yard. Considering his gang of anti social warriors isn't the most intelligent of candidates for chaos, you have to say that Alpha is a bit of a dick. The actual conclusion of the novel bares fruit on this, as the best laid plans look to be far beyond Alpha's abilities. Ian needed an elder brother to pull him aside and ask why he was hanging with Alpha's crew of losers, but since he doesn't have one there's no one to drag him back from the looming abyss.
Finally Gary is the embodiment of everything Alpha is banging on about, the spiritual warrior that has reclaimed his masculinity and who shuns the materialistic hypocrisy around him. Except Gary isn't, while he clearly is influenced by his time in Japan and the spiritual nature of things, he is more in tune with the martial arts as being a philosophy rather than a means to an end. Probably doesn't help that Gary is unsure where he is going back in the Western world, or the exposure he had to Japanese masters who were more cynical about their world than television likes to portray. Gary is the thinking man that Ian needs to develop his own independence, but since Ian has never had a chance to be a free thinker he doesn't realise the opportunities before him. Like most high school students, things like clearing a swimming pool have more immediate importance than philosophy.
Strangely it's through the character of Sally that things take a dark turn down the local martial arts training center. At least in Alpha and hence Ian's minds. While you could make a biblical connection here, Eve and original sin, I think Author Cannon is just pointing out that in the warped philosophy of Alpha there is no room for the feminine, and perhaps Cannon is also pointing to the need Gary has to re-attach to his Western roots.
Big gasp here after all that, Cannon writes with an eye toward his resolution and I must admit I was expecting something shattering. That nothing goes quite how you expect it to, is one of the strengths of the novel in my opinion, and a worthy conclusion to the narrative. Cannon offers no answers for the malaise his characters find themselves in, he simply presents a dysfunctional view of comfortable Australian society.
I'm not entirely sure if Forsaken Blossoms is a book that you can say you enjoyed, it's not even a safe read in horror terms, but it's certainly well written and has something to say. I was happy that I got a chance to be exposed to the ideas and writing style, and would recommend this one to those wanting something slightly deeper on their reading lists. Give it a go, every now and then it's good to step beyond the simply dark and into more murky waters. I would certainly be up for reading some more from Glenn Cannon.
Forsaken Blossoms is available in a volume that also includes Cannon's excellent haunted house tale Hicky Knocky, all for the excellent price of $20 AUD. You can pick up the book online right here.
© ScaryMinds.com - All Rights Reserved - page last updated April 25, 2011.
ScaryMinds Rates this read as ...
Simply an excellent exploration of the social mix
Full Review by Jeff Richie
Hicky Knocky
Genre: Possession
length: 160 pages
Country: Australia
Blurb: Mother Nature now yearns for a great chunk of humanity to be annihilated
Graphic by Skin by Dragonfly
Hicky Knocky
Genre: Possession
length: 160 pages
Country: Australia
Blurb: Mother Nature now yearns for a great chunk of humanity to be annihilated
Graphic by Skin by Dragonfly
“Oh … you can call me Hicky. Your little Hicky.” - Hicky Knocky
University drop-out Lee moves into a squalid Victorian flat his drinking buddy Pearce rules with an iron eco-warrior hand. There's rules against about any modern convenience as Pearce has fixed ideas on how the flat should have zero environmental impact. Also sharing the dubious accommodation are Allan, a would be artist, and Natalie, a nymphomaniac who believes they live in some sort of reality television show. Only after moving in does Lee discover the person who used to rent his room committed suicide by diving head first off the bedroom balcony.
Lee quickly starts to notice something isn't right in the flat. His flatmates have a few Roos loose in the top paddock and an ethereal entity seems to have taken up residence. With his own sanity at risk Lee and his flatmates have to fight back against a barely understood evil that seeks their deaths. And while battling the forces of cosmic evil Lee also has to come to terms with the mysterious Gent, who isn't what he claims to be. What interest does the Australia Federal Police have in a doss?
After reading a whole bunch of Young Adult novels, admittedly some of which were excellent, it was nice to sink my teeth into a book written for Adults that wasn't taking any prisoners if you failed to groove to the Author's vibe. Glenn Cannon is not writing for the faint of heart here, or those after a quick summer read, Hicky Knocky is an intense book that strives to raise itself out of the swamp of indifferent dark genre titles.
While the novel is told in the first person, Lee is our point of reference as things become remarkably unhinged in the house that dripped madness, you are at stages wondering who is telling the story as Cannon does a remarkably job of summoning madness in his prose. Lee and his erstwhile flatmates change personalities in the flat and the Author nails this development with his writing style. You can readily believe the characters have lost all touch with reality and are living out their personality types on steroids. Cannon does a remarkable job with the dialogue in particular, madness is in the house and the Author conjures that aspect out of thin air. This becomes even more important when the entity, named “Hicky Knocky” by Lee, follows the narrator out of the flat and tries to influence his actions in a number of other locations. Cannon via dialogue makes the discerning reader well aware of what's happening. This isn't possession in terms of say William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist, where a tween Regan changes personality type completely, this is more subtle with the possessed person's own personality being take to extremes. It's a solid approach that in it's subtlety is perhaps more chilling than Blatty's out and out assault on the Reader.
Glenn Cannon also dials in the concept of the haunted house in the first block of his novel. Things are strange in the flat and Lee is sensing a presence, randomly seen, which pervades the atmosphere. The Author with this aspect conjures up the best of the sub-genre, I would suggest not reading this alone at night with a storm brewing outside. The gradual movement away from a playful spirit to something more sinister is handled with great detail, leading to the final act of the novel where the evil is finally given a corporal form as the flatmates face their own inner demons. It's a strong progression that has the Reader hooked from the first page right through to the final paragraph. Perhaps the scenes with the Federal Police could have been pruned from the novel as I wasn't sure if this was helping the book or not. Individual readers may have their own thoughts there, but I kind of thought this aspect of the novel was its weakest link.
As stated Hicky Knocky is not an easy read but it will pay you back if you stick with it as things gradually worsen for our protagonist. While on the face of things the demonic entity may appear to be some sort of earth based avenging angel, and there certain is a lot of propaganda involved, I believe this was more reflecting the desires of one occupant of the flat than the Author's intent. So don't worry you are not being feed a didactic treatise on the environment here, Cannon is delivering a horror novel in the Ramsay Campbell style.
It took me a few pages to get into the novel, and I should point out in my edition the print is pretty condensed, but once I got my read on I was rocking along with the narrative trying to work out where it might all be headed. I certainly enjoyed my time in country and have no hesitation in recommending this novel to Readers who want a serious horror novel and not a quick wham bam read.
Hicky Knocky arrived on my doorstep in en edition from McKenzie Publishing Ltd that also contains Glenn Cannon's earlier novel Forsaken Blossoms, I'll get around to reviewing the second book sometime in February due to Shadows commitments. I was unable to discover either a McKenzie or Cannon web presence, but the book can be purchased online right here for $20 AUD plus P&H.
ScaryMinds Rates this read as ...
Solid horror novel that delivers on its promise.
© ScaryMinds.com - All Rights Reserved - page last updated January 18, 2010.
© ScaryMinds.com - All Rights Reserved - page last updated January 18, 2010.
Full Review by Wendy O’Hanlon
Acres Australia
Hicky Knocky
This story is pure madness. Every tenant who lives in the old Victorian share house goes gradually mad – one even commits suicide. University student, Lee, thought the offer of a room was a God-send, but it was more the work of the devil.
As Lee gets increasingly paranoid about the visions he is seeing, and his flatmates are becoming more deranged, he burns down the house to rid it of the poltergeist.
But that doesn’t stop the entity, Hicky Knocky. Lee and his friends must find a way to rid the Earth of this creature before more people go mad.
This is a quick read, a quick ride through madness. The author, Glenn Cannon, takes you on a crazy and frightening journey where your adrenalin never stops. It is an unsettling story at times, but the events unfold so quickly that the reader is swept along in the paranormal hysteria.
Acres Australia
Hicky Knocky
This story is pure madness. Every tenant who lives in the old Victorian share house goes gradually mad – one even commits suicide. University student, Lee, thought the offer of a room was a God-send, but it was more the work of the devil.
As Lee gets increasingly paranoid about the visions he is seeing, and his flatmates are becoming more deranged, he burns down the house to rid it of the poltergeist.
But that doesn’t stop the entity, Hicky Knocky. Lee and his friends must find a way to rid the Earth of this creature before more people go mad.
This is a quick read, a quick ride through madness. The author, Glenn Cannon, takes you on a crazy and frightening journey where your adrenalin never stops. It is an unsettling story at times, but the events unfold so quickly that the reader is swept along in the paranormal hysteria.
Antipodean SF
Full Review by Jan Napier
Hicky Knocky
Glenn Cannon was born in Hong Kong. He later taught English in Japan for five years, and has since travelled extensively in South East Asia. The influence of his life experiences in the orient are used to good effect within both works.
Hicky Knocky, the poltergeist of the title, takes its name from the fact that it is, or was, a hikikomory. The Japanese have long recognised this phenomenon. These self-chosen hermits elect never leave to their bedrooms. They rely upon a relative, or housemate, for food and clean laundry etc. The author informs us that: "In some cases, you had people in their mid twenties who hadn't left their house for a decade."
The book itself is a fast paced, and at times surreal, tale of poltergeist possession. The protagonists' individual neuroses are emphasised by the spectre's misanthropy. It expresses its loathing for human kind by forcing its victims into behaviours foreign to their usual natures. The housemates become puppets mouthing Hickey Knocky's creed whilst in hallucinatory trance states. Bouts of self analyses by the protagonists abet our comprehension of motivation. Environmental issues are heavily emphasised.
This is an intense, dark, sometimes less than cohesive read. A violent, disturbing, adrenalin rush.
FORSAKEN BLOSSOMS
This social critique sees a hero fall from grace and become the focus for retribution. Four pubescent and disaffected schoolboys embrace a dogma of hatred for, and rejection of, the hypocritical social mores instilled by their parents' generation.
"Most planet killers think of themselves as decent and normal."
The boys' skewed perceptions give rise to psychotic episodes. They see themselves as protectors of a pure and idealistic world. Penalties for failing to meet their criteria are vicious and final.
This is a tale of adolescent rebellion against society's double standards and materialistic values. It also touches upon the dangers of mass indoctrination, and is full of repressed violence. Insightful and intense ... It's urban savagery at its most horrific.
http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/10063/20110805-0001/www.antisf.com.au/reviews/book-reviews-going-critical/834-hicky-knocky-a-forsaken-blossoms.html
Full Review by Jan Napier
Hicky Knocky
Glenn Cannon was born in Hong Kong. He later taught English in Japan for five years, and has since travelled extensively in South East Asia. The influence of his life experiences in the orient are used to good effect within both works.
Hicky Knocky, the poltergeist of the title, takes its name from the fact that it is, or was, a hikikomory. The Japanese have long recognised this phenomenon. These self-chosen hermits elect never leave to their bedrooms. They rely upon a relative, or housemate, for food and clean laundry etc. The author informs us that: "In some cases, you had people in their mid twenties who hadn't left their house for a decade."
The book itself is a fast paced, and at times surreal, tale of poltergeist possession. The protagonists' individual neuroses are emphasised by the spectre's misanthropy. It expresses its loathing for human kind by forcing its victims into behaviours foreign to their usual natures. The housemates become puppets mouthing Hickey Knocky's creed whilst in hallucinatory trance states. Bouts of self analyses by the protagonists abet our comprehension of motivation. Environmental issues are heavily emphasised.
This is an intense, dark, sometimes less than cohesive read. A violent, disturbing, adrenalin rush.
FORSAKEN BLOSSOMS
This social critique sees a hero fall from grace and become the focus for retribution. Four pubescent and disaffected schoolboys embrace a dogma of hatred for, and rejection of, the hypocritical social mores instilled by their parents' generation.
"Most planet killers think of themselves as decent and normal."
The boys' skewed perceptions give rise to psychotic episodes. They see themselves as protectors of a pure and idealistic world. Penalties for failing to meet their criteria are vicious and final.
This is a tale of adolescent rebellion against society's double standards and materialistic values. It also touches upon the dangers of mass indoctrination, and is full of repressed violence. Insightful and intense ... It's urban savagery at its most horrific.
http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/10063/20110805-0001/www.antisf.com.au/reviews/book-reviews-going-critical/834-hicky-knocky-a-forsaken-blossoms.html
Farrago Newspaper
Arts and Culture
University of Melbourne Student Union
Forsaken Blossoms Monday, August 15 2011
Alice Macfarlan
Author: Glenn Cannon
Forsaken Blossoms, the second story in the book, is dramatically different from Hicky Knocky. It too examines a type of madness and rage against humanity’s obsession with capitalism—although this time the cause is no external demon but the effect of ideas, disillusionment, and group mentality. It is impossible to read this story and not draw parallels to Graham Greene’s short story The Destructors (aka “The Donnie Darko Story”). The teenage boys in Forsaken Blossoms are practically more violent, older versions of Greene’s gang of young vandals.
Yet while Greene focused upon destruction of the old to make room for the new, Cannon’s boys aim their violence towards the new. They hope to bring back a purer, warrior-centered version of the past that seems to exist primarily in their own heads ... the central characters are fascinating to read as they push their ideals to the limits.
https://web.archive.org/web/20120405092311/http://union.unimelb.edu.au/farrago2011/arts-and-culture/review-hicky-knocky-forsaken-blossoms-by-glenn-cannon
Arts and Culture
University of Melbourne Student Union
Forsaken Blossoms Monday, August 15 2011
Alice Macfarlan
Author: Glenn Cannon
Forsaken Blossoms, the second story in the book, is dramatically different from Hicky Knocky. It too examines a type of madness and rage against humanity’s obsession with capitalism—although this time the cause is no external demon but the effect of ideas, disillusionment, and group mentality. It is impossible to read this story and not draw parallels to Graham Greene’s short story The Destructors (aka “The Donnie Darko Story”). The teenage boys in Forsaken Blossoms are practically more violent, older versions of Greene’s gang of young vandals.
Yet while Greene focused upon destruction of the old to make room for the new, Cannon’s boys aim their violence towards the new. They hope to bring back a purer, warrior-centered version of the past that seems to exist primarily in their own heads ... the central characters are fascinating to read as they push their ideals to the limits.
https://web.archive.org/web/20120405092311/http://union.unimelb.edu.au/farrago2011/arts-and-culture/review-hicky-knocky-forsaken-blossoms-by-glenn-cannon
Hicky Knocky "intriguing...engrossing from start to finish" Elizabeth Howett-Jackman Top Cat Media
