Silk

Rating:
Summary: Filled with silly subculture, but writing is superb.
Review: If you're into the "goth" subculture, then you should enjoy the setting these characters are set in. I personally am not into all that, so I found it a tad annoying. Fortunately, her writing is wonderful, filled with beautiful and unique descriptions that I love. It's worth reading just for her style.

Rating:
Summary: Original and Engrossing Tale of a War in Heaven and on Earth
Review: Rev'd by Paul J. Legerski

After reading a bunch of Caitlin's short fiction, it was with great anticipation upon opening her first published novel, SILK. I was not disappointed. SILK centers around a charismatic female leader named Spyder. Her fledglings worship the ground she walks on because she has told them stories...stories about why they are all meant to be together. It has to do with a war in heaven and the angels that were kicked out. Spyder is then turned on by her friends and befriends another group of musicians and hangers-on. The most stunning of these people, is Nikki Ky. She is on a trip running away from her past and parents, not to mention a lovers suicide. One of the most symbolic scenes is Nikki taking out her left nipple ring and wading into the ocean to "cleanse" her soul. She almost drowns and is saved by a mysterious woman. Theirs also a rock band named Stiff Kitten that plays a large part in this book. I must say that the first 200 or so pages may be the best I've read in 5 years. The prose is crisp, the plots have an underbelly of the grotesque and the characters are so fleshed out that I felt the stinging of the saltwater ocean burning Nikki's piercing. Not to mention that Caitlin can write so well that she makes coffee making interesting. The only problem I had with the novel was the ending. The whole fabric of the plot is weaved into this story about the war in heaven but we never get to see or hear the entire story and its ramifications. And what happens to Spyder didn't hold true for me. Sorry if I'm not giving any detail, but to tell more will spoil the book. For those that need comparisons, mix Poppy Z. Brite's characters with an equal dose of Kathe Koja prose(without the punctuations). But that does not do Caitlin's novel justice. Highly original and just touching what she can do in a novel-length work. More is highly anticipated. Highest recommendation.

Rating:
Summary: MOODY, DARK NOVEL WITH THE FINAL HOPE OF REDEMPTION
Review: A winner. I hate to make comparisons, but it's on par with Poppy Brite's best (another one of my fave writers). Surreal yet strong plot line, characters so real they hurt... check this novel out (and check out Caitlin's THE DREAMING Vertigo comics, and her short stories, too)!

Rating:
Summary: Ewwwwwwwwwww.............................
Review: Granted, I've only read the first chapter, but if the first chapter (prologue actually) is at all indicative of the book, as it should be, I'd rather undergo testicular surgery by a drunk orthodontist "flying" through his first acid trip in a white-washed prison cell with not-so-sterile equipment than read the rest of this book.
As I was reading it I thought, "Gosh, did Poppy get a labotomy? and take up an interest in lesbian porn? suit her better."
And wasn't the war in Heaven bit done a few years ago in the Prophecy movies and in Anne Rice's Memnoch the Devil, and wasn't it done better? Ah, well, at least she picked a good writer to rip off.

Rating:
Summary: A multi-dimensional story that goes beyond horror --
Review: Although the strongest aspects of Kiernan's writing are her descriptions and characters, I was impressed by her ability to pace this story. There are a multitude of subplots, yet the central storyline remains clearly defined. Sometimes, Kiernan seems to lose herself in layers of description and nuance, and like eating a sticky-sweet dessert, the words can occasionally become cloying. But far more often, the richness of her style is like a good brandy and ripe figs -- sensual, multidimensional, an experience to prolong and savor. SILK is the extraordinary beginning of an incredible journey, for both Kiernan and her lucky readers. **excerpted from Constance Lynne's review in The Alabama Forum.

Rating:
Summary: Just awful!
Review: Every cliche possible is dusted off for this lame story. Based on the reviews I was expecting something really intriguing, but this was just silly, trite, and tedious.

Rating:
Summary: Don't try this at home
Review: I bought this book because I had read a good review of the follow-up "Murder of Angels" and thought this would be a better starting point. I am a voracious reader, and I can honestly say I rarely use the word "hate" when describing a book. I won't use it this time either, but I will say that I can never get back the time I spent (wasted?) reading this book. To be fair, maybe it just wasn't for me. If you are really into super-confusing, creepy books with self-pitying, annoying, wear-it-on-their sleeve outcast characters-- this might be just the tale for you.

Rating:
Summary: Everyday Horror
Review: Kiernan does an incredible job of pulling common experiences any of her readers might have encountered and combining them with fantastic horrors that, while unbelievable and unreal, allow us to suspend our disbelief and wonder "what if?" What if the psychological horrors of our past manifest themselves as physical horrors? Extremely well-written, and a fresh thrill without any sort of reliance on some hackneyed formula gleaned from a horror "great". She definitely has her own voice and it's extremely refreshing to read something that isn't someone trying to be King or Koontz. If you like female characters this is an added bonus, as her female characters are complex and well drawn. Over all, an excellent book.

Rating:
Summary: Very disturbing, odd book
Review: I'm not really sure what to say about Silk. I've never read Poppy Z. Brite, so I can't compare this to her books, but Silk (in the spider passages) is similar in gory tone to American Psycho and in creepy crawly goosebumps atmosphere to early Peter Straub. It took me about a chapter to get used to the fragmented sentence structure, but eventually I didn't notice it and it didn't detract from the story.

I wasn't sure if I felt sorry for Spyder or if she was a monster; at the end, I still have no idea what the connection was between Spyder, her father and the black widows, nor could I figure out if the spiders obeyed her or were fighting her. There was quite a bit of muddiness at the end, where the sentence structure practically dissolved; I'm sure the author was using the frantic pace to add to the feeling of the story, but it got a little hard to follow. The author went from following one character mostly (Daria) to following another (Niki) a little more abruptly than I thought the story called for.

There are some gory scenes (I really didn't need all the pus references) but the best parts of the book are the details of the goth/drug/rave scenes (music, hair and clothing especially) and the dialogue. Kiernan writes very vividly in a sort of oblique style and while the book in particular wasn't something I'd read all the time, it was definitely interesting in a disturbing, memorable way.

Rating:
Summary: Caitlin Kiernan should be a name heard in Hollywood
Review: Atfer having gone through Anne Rice books, Tolkien books, Bram Stoker's Dracula, and so on, all these books have a very definite style of writing. Kiernan clearly intends on creating a style for herself as well. As a Gen-Xer myself, I have been intrigued by the gothic scene, and this book transcends the niche very acurately. Other reviews usually state that Kiernan uses metaphors that are detached from reality in some way, and they do not necessarily follow through, sort of like a ramble. I must say that the rambles, to me, add much more texture and character to the story. The reading process is very similar to a human thought pattern, detached, rapid, the mind has trouble focusing on one particular word or vehicle for the emotion. This is a key that Caitlin Kiernan has forged for herself, and with it she could very well open the Gates of her mind and unleash Hell upon us (hopefully she will!)