I should probably re-read Jeff Vandermeer’s Acceptance because people seem to love it and I can hardly remember anything about it
I dunno if I was just distracted at the time, or whether I was looking for something out of the book that it wasn’t going to give me, or what
one thing i think vandermeer does rly well in these books is to hit that…sort of emotional/mental space of true awe, or awfulness
like i think a lot of “cosmic horror” type lit fails for me bc it leans waaay too hard on “UNSPEAKABLE NAMELESS DREAD” (so unspeakable and nameless, of course, that the author fails to describe it in any evocative way whatsoever) (or, much worse: “uh. well, like, if there were a really gross animal, no dude, i mean REALLY gross, and also, like, super giant??? or a creepy-acting human who turned out to, like, NOT REALLY be a human or something?? wouldnt that, like, totally melt ur brain and undermine ur sense of reality dude??? i am squicked out by sex and/or death and/or the existence of minority groups,,,”)
and then in a lot of other stuff you see depictions of awe/wonder/revelation but its kinda softcore, and presented as something thats always really joyful and does not hurt or cause massive damage to your self and reality as you knew them, which: okay, that exists too, ime, sure!
but theres also that v v hardcore awe where its like…this is painful? and/or on some level this is terrible and im traumatized by it. but also theres this MASSIVE sense of…understanding and apprehension, and amazement. its not like “im encountering or realizing something ‘bad’” so much as “holy shi—[SYSTEM ERROR]– oh my go— [4js03ujdg]”
and then later youre like wow there sure is a lot of stuff in the world isnt there
there sure are a lot of different ways to be conscious
its interesting that im not dead rn
i think maybe something beautiful just happened
S&S Brigade / SOS Brigade
Henry and Suzanne / Haruhi Suzumiya
I’m onto you, Vanderman
What is in them is: good
IMO the first one is the best one, so I’d recommend buying only the first one to begin with — if you don’t like it there’s no reason to bother with the others
(They were an influence on the story I’ve been writing on tumblr — steadily building creepiness mostly without outright horror, plus some other stuff — which might give you some sense of things, although I feel silly even pointing out the comparison since obviously Southern Reach is a lot … better than anything I’ve written)
S&S Brigade / SOS Brigade
Henry and Suzanne / Haruhi Suzumiya
I’m onto you, Vanderman