Number 83- Ghostwritten- Ronald Malfi

 

My second Ronald Malfi book is this collection of 4 vaguely linked novellas, each on the theme of dangerous books, and set in the same universe, with cameos from recurring supporting characters.

Each one is a standalone story though 

The Skin of Her Teeth

The opening tale is a cursed novel that drives people insane if they try to adapt it in any way. 

There's a pretty major plot hole in the centre of this story that I can't mention because of spoilers.

It didn't detract from the story though which is a good fun variation on the old haunted object theme.

The characters are all relatable and the world we're in is set up nicely. 

The Dark Brothers' Last Ride

I can't choose between this one or the next as my favourite in the collection.

A pair of small time criminals, Danny and his volatile brother Tommy. are hired to transport a book to a mysterious customer.  There are very strict rules about this including "Don't open the briefcase" and certainly "Don't touch the book".

Of course, Tommy touches it. He quickly regrets it. They're traveling along a route specified by the customer which takes them into a strange liminal world. And all the time, things are getting worse for Tommy. This is actually genuinely emotional at the end of the story.

This Book Belongs to Olo

This is my other favourite in the collection.  Olo is a ten year old boy (nearly 11) who has made the most amazing pop up book of his house. When he moves parts of the pop up house, it changes the real one.  For his birthday he invites all the children from the local park to his birthday party. he needs new friends to join the old friends trapped in the fictional parts of his house.

There's a tonal shift in the writing for this story that makes it seriously off kilter and weird long before any supernatural elements are revealed. Olo is one of the most sympathetic villains you're likely to read about.

The Story

We close the collection with an online "find your own adventure" book that seems to have more impact on the real world than it should. Our unlucky hero stumbles into it and... well... he's not in for a good time afterwards.

This one takes its time to get running with the story, but ties everything together in quite a genius final act.

This is an excellent set of stories and has persuaded me the Black Mouth wasn't a fluke.  Malfi needs to be better known on this side of the pond. He really is the natural successor to King.  I get the same vibes from the two books I've read so far as I do with the best of King. I normally don't compare horror books with King because it feels too lazy a comparison, but in this case, I can't not compare. 

I have two more of his books in my TBR and am looking forward to them even more now.