OLD GHOSTS by Nik Korpon

I feel like you can always depend on Nik Korpon for a solid tale of modern noir with dark and evocative language, and Old Ghosts doesn't disappoint. Not totally. This early novella follows Cole, a man trying to make ends meet with his wife Amy, while trying to make a baby with her as well. But things get complicated when old friends come back into his life and bring the old ghosts with them.

I liked the book fine superficially and the writing made it compulsively readable, but I wish that more time was spent on detailing the complicated past relationship that Cole had with Delilah and Chance. It seems like something was compelling him to work with them again even though he knew it would lead to tragedy, but I never fully understood what that something was, so I couldn't get fully invested in his decisions. He seems like he hates them and wants to stab them both in the face all the time, so why does he feel like he has to help them? I'm sure it's something along the lines of feeling some sort of familial loyalty that is hard to break, which I understand on a surface level, but not on an emotional one. We really need to get a sense of their past relationship more. An example of where this is done well in the novella format are in several of Tom Piccirilli's novellas, which deal with similar themes. This one was alright but for a stunning look at what Korpon can do, read By The Nails of the Warpriest.

Also, the editing in this edition left much to be desired too as there were many typos that were pretty dam distracting.

GRADE: B-

BAR SCARS by Nik Korpon

My life is a crooked deck of cards: all varying slightly, but basically the same and repeated endlessly.

Nik Korpon's short story collection exists in its very own Baltimore, a tough and uncompromising place that always seems to be shrouded in the dark of night and filled with sadness and ruin. And Korpon is the perfect person to give you the tour. He has this very singular, bluesy, atmospheric prose style that sets the mood and really finds the beauty in emotional wreckage. It's sharp, to the point, and uncompromising, while still being stylish.

I loved the way Korpon constantly peeled back different layers and pieces of information as each story moved forward, setting up expectations on what you think the story might be about at first, but subverting them at every turn, keeping you guessing about the characters and their motivations, whether they be a bootleg backroom surgical assistant in "His Footsteps are Made of Soot," a bagman on his way to propose to his girl in "Intersections," or a man in love with an underage girl in "A Sparrow with White Scars." Great little collection of contemporary noir. I love the way Korpon writes.

Pulling her close, we started dancing. Her breasts pressing on my chest, curves filling in the shape of my body, her fingers kneading mine, I took a chorus-length inhale, took in all her begonia and saltwater, her soft skin and our 2 AM laughs, our rough sex and quiet nights and everything we'd ever talked about and planned for, I took it in and held my breath.

GRADE: A-

BY THE NAILS OF THE WARPRIEST by Nik Korpon

I’m finding myself in the gutter more often than I’d like.

In this brooding mash-up of noir and science fiction (I guess sorta like Blade Runner in that sense), a nameless former hero of a failed revolution known as The Struggle is now trying to keep food on the table by working as a memory thief, stealing memories of the time before the Struggle, and selling them to memory junkies that want a little inkling of happiness. But then the thief finds something in those memories that might be the key to discovering the truth behind his dead wife and son. 

This is an atmospheric, moody novella that is richly written, with author Nik Korpon constantly conjuring great imagery (The sky is a dome of pitted steel). I found myself re-reading passages constantly, just to soak it all up. This is the way dystopia should be written. It's depth of emotion, it's gloom, it's creativity, and it's portrait of a tortured soul resonated with me more than many books that are quadruple it's 60-page length. A must read for noir lovers, sci-fi readers, and dark fiction lovers in general.

We tell ourselves things can change, we can change. A long time ago, someone said that in order to change the future, you have to look at the past. I’ve held hundreds of pasts in my hands, and I don’t see a fucking thing.

GRADE: A-