03/27/2026 Guest Review: Craig Brownlie's Q1 Book Report: Reading Not Drowning-1
- Candace Nola
- 35 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Reviews and thoughts on writing with Craig Brownlie
That sounds a little desperate, but life is often a wee bit frantic.
From This Day Forward by John Brunner
The Doctor… is in: Three Twisted Tales Inspired by the Legendary Dr. Hunter S. Thompson Kevin Candela, Kent Hill, John Bruni
Getting to Know the General: The Story of an Involvement by Graham Greene
Hellboy Omnibus Volume 3: The Wild Hunt (Hellboy Omnibus: The Wild Hunt) by Mike Mignola, Duncan Fegredo et al.
There are going to be two parts to these reviews for the first quarter of 2026. As always, I read more stuff than what is covered here, but these works are what I feel like talking about.
During the 1970s, Gore Vidal sat down and read a batch of top bestsellers and surprised himself by finding some rather decent novels. Unusually, he wrote generously how even the less than stellar works did have a charm which explained their presence on so many nightstands.
I’d go a step further and say that the very definition of mainstream fiction forces writers into a style that becomes repetitive and potentially dreary. You can always tell when your favorite author feels it’s time to earn the next advance and hides their voice under an onslaught of familiar characters and a dearth of creative word choice. All the books under consideration here succeed because of their authorial voice.
Brunner (of Stand on Zanzibar fame) is an ideal starting point because his de facto voice is what I would describe as standard 70s-90s genre expression. Don’t put too much weight on my use of “standard” because we all love it. It knows something you don’t; has an opinion, enjoys a good turn of phrase; and it does not waste your time. From This Day Forward is a short story collection that gives a good sense of Brunner’s oeuvre. Dystopian (or near enough) themes reign, though Brunner does a good job of drilling down to eyeball level. Perhaps that’s the most enjoyable aspect of this version of the writer’s voice: characters shine, and when Brunner is on, it’s a very good ride.
Speaking of rides, Candela, Hill and Bruni resurrect Hunter S. Thompson in their trilogy of horror tales, The Doctor… is in, something of a travelogue of the drugs Thompson consumed, the people he knew, and the interior of his mind (which Thompson was a master of putting on paper). The job in this collection means reproducing another author’s voice. Along with Raymond Chandler and Ernest Hemingway, Thompson was one of the most parodied, adored, and complicated writers of 20th-century America.
All three contributions jump off from the multiple Fear and Loathing books, which tends to place these tales in full picaresque mode, as if Cervantes had found his inspiration for Don Quixote in the modern recreational pharmacopeia instead of old-fashioned PTSD. Each contributor locates a different path into Thompson, conjuring the mad doctor with a range of regrets, bravura, and motivations. Perhaps that is the most satisfying aspect of this collection because the stories could have settled on generalized parodies of Thompson, but fortunately we experience a wider range of this long-lived, versatile artist.
On top of capturing another well-known writer fictionally, Thompson is primarily remembered for his non-fiction. Let’s twist that and focus on an author known for his fiction and discuss a memoir by Graham Greene. In Getting to Know the General, we confront a real-life horror along with Greene. Omar Torrijos, ruler of Panama from 1968 to 81, befriended Greene in 1976 and they remained close until Torrijos assassination by… Let’s leave it at Torrijos, for his northern neighbors, was not a convenient manager of the canal nor a welcome voice in Latin America because of his left leanings. Do your own research- this book is a personal memoir, so it is appropriately one-sided.
Greene starts by receiving word of Torrijos' death. Then he flashes back to their meeting and the intervening years. This period overlaps with the treaty negotiations for the handover of the canal to Panama. Greene does his usual magnificent job of placing us in situ so that we share his aches, confusion, and pleasure. Then, civil wars in adjacent countries intrude. This book is less a political polemic and more a gut-level reaction to meeting so many people who are coping with the here-and-now and have little time for doctrine. The need for jobs gives way to the need for peace gives way to… It’s this ability to report with moral judgement, absent an agenda beyond acknowledging shared humanity, that is a missing voice in so much political writing.
Oddly enough, Greene, that magnificent storyteller, is the glue for all these authors under consideration. The magic isn’t simply writing three-dimensional characters. It’s letting us care for everyone and see all those sides. This is a hero and here is how they are damaged and causing harm. This is a villain, and these acts are unforgivable, though let us never forget they were committed by people with whom you could well hang out. Doing it all without backstory, these talented writers summon voices that speak directly to the reader.
Mike Mignola created Hellboy and has guided the character for decades. The universe is intricate. In this third omnibus volume, The Wild Hunt, Mignola ties together numerous long-lingering threads in the series and sprints toward resolutions. This is not to suggest that everything is tied up in a bow. There are years of stories since this volume appeared.
Rather, I want to take the opportunity to consider how collaborative episodic storytelling can still possess a powerful authorial voice. Bear in mind that reference to collaborative because many have contributed to the Hellboy-verse. While those other writers and artists have consistently shined, Mignola’s craftsmanship is in the contours within which they operate. Certain moments rise head and shoulders above anything offered in other comic book series because they mattered to Mignola and he let them percolate. Then, the art itself pauses regularly to highlight a split second otherwise at the edge of the reader’s vision. Ultimately, that’s where Mignola’s voice echoes because it makes us pause and reflect when the very nature of comic book storytelling impels us forward.
What’s driving Craig apeshit: I’ve set aside the whingeing about the current state of publishing for these two drop-in review weeks. I clearly like talking about books… And I’ve definitely blabbered on about favorite authors here on Uncomfortably Dark. So why stop now? Everyone should read Jo Walton! Start with Tooth and Claw and Farthing.
Back in late adolescence, I encountered various movies, books, and plays which hit me hard. I knew I enjoyed writing, but I simply did not have the experience (life or literary) to appreciate other people’s work sufficiently to be excited about it while also grasping some of their special sauce. Like me, Stephen King and Peter Straub probably hit you, if you’re a regular consumer of Uncomfortably Dark content. But also, I caught fire because of Anton Chekhov, Howard Waldrop, Odilon Redon and Terry Pratchett, among many others. (I discuss specific influences in my monthly newsletter.) Miraculously, life has continued sending new inspiration my way, with Jo Walton being a significant part of the parade.
It’s no secret that I have a fondness for 19th-century English literature, so her transformation of Anthony Trollope’s characters into dragons in T&C is perfection, exactly as brutal and humorous as it ought to be. Farthing is the first in Walton’s alternate history trilogy, which tackles the possibility of Oswald Mosley’s fascist movement actually taking Parliament at the onset of WWII. It’s horrifying and magnificent in its tackling of the times and the cruelty that people tolerate. If you’ve read my novella, Night’s Near With Much Undone, in Five Raging Hearts, then you can see my Splatterpunk response. Let me be blunt: you don’t need to be shy about your influences because art is all a continuum.
Lastly, Walton also writes wonderfully about great genre books with an understanding that helps you think just a bit harder about what makes a book… well, her essay collection is called What Makes This Book Great. Her essay was why I started reading S. P. Somtow, which is a topic for another day.
Treat yourself to a soft pillow under your bum because these are all bumpy rides
Bio: Craig recently edited the anthology Five Raging Hearts: Splatterpunk for the Soul. Look for Craig's recent work in Hotel of Haunts, Demons and Death Drops, Wands: Year of the Tarot, and Unspeakable Horrors 3. He has three books out in his Little Books of Pain series: Hammer, Nail, Foot; Thick as a Brick; and A Book of Practical Monsters. These are in addition to the re-release of his middle-grade novel Comic Book Summer. He also has a zombie novel which dropped early in 2026. It’s titled Post-Apocalyptic Policing with Frida Kahlo. Look for the audiobook later this year. Also, subscribe to his monthly newsletter on Substack.
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