Strange Cargo

Rating:
Summary: Not strange, just a darn good read
Review: For lovers of Blaylock and Powers, and also Dickens, this is a charming, funny and very well written book. It's perfect for reading on holiday, as I did, when you want entertainment (not depressing literary twaddle), but not of the mindless variety.

Barlough has a GREAT imagination, and I believe he likes a good pint in a quaint pub -- which gives him a high rating in my book!

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous faux-victorian world-building
Review: I love Jeffrey Barlough's books. Most of all I appreciate the mannered but descriptive language, the whimsy, the gentle build-up of tension, sometimes to gothic horror, the world he's built, an alternate of ours that's been mysteriously 'sundered' and trapped in a Victorian mindset - athough the questing naturalists and scientists so reminiscent of the mid-1800s are alive and well in this world too.

As this is the third Barlough book I've read, I'm also getting a sense of what his own personal cosmology might be, as spirits and demons and gods sometimes try and unravel the fabric of the mundane human world. It's a bleak vision, but not without hope.

Enjoy!


Rating:
Summary: Generally strong novel; somewhat disappointing finish
Review: Since the internet is such a visual medium, I feel it is only fair to begin this review with the following statement: the cover art for "Strange Cargo" has no relation to the text, so save yourself the time of flipping back and forth. With that rather puzzling reminder that one shouldn't judge a book by its cover set aside, I can say that in this his third novel, Jeffrey Barlough continues to delight with his original fusion of genres. For those unfamiliar with his prior work, Barlough has imagined a world of that primarily combines alternate history and apocalyptic fiction, the first element being the survival of Ice Age mega-fauna, and the latter being the destruction of the majority of civilization in an enigmatic, but massive, disaster some two hundred years before the period of his novels. On top of this fusion, Barlough then piles on a host of other genres and styles to create genuinely unique novels.

In particular, Barlough has drawn heavily in style from Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle, with a vast panoply of characters, all with wonderful names like Thistlewood and Matchless, and all using a delightfully Victorian mode of speech. In addition, Barlough has always, and has so particularly in "Strange Cargo", drawn on the "weird fiction" tradition of H. P. Lovecraft. Hence, not only is this an apocalyptic alternate history, but is one that is populated by mysterious, and entirely capricious creatures far beyond human comprehension.

As one might imagine, there is a lot going on in "Strange Cargo", and it is in fact far more ambitious in its scope than "Dark Sleeper" or "The House in the High Woods". This is due to primarily to the two distinct plot lines, as compared to the more narrow focus of the prior two novels. To attempt to explain the plot in any detail would risk major spoilers, but in a general sense, the novel revolves around a mystery dating back to Ancient Greece, and touches upon questions of theology and free will. At the same time, the second, parallel story is a more straightforward detective/ghost story.

For the most part, Barlough handles his different characters and plots quite deftly. His skill as a writer has improved significantly, and when combined with his gift for dialogue and characterization, the reader is treated to a novel that is both lush and brisk at the same time. In particular, his examination of the dynamics of human relationships is very nicely handled and is the heart which supports the weighty body of his creation.

Unfortunately, I cannot offer an entirely unreserved endorsement, as the conclusion is somewhat lacking. Without giving anything away, the main plot line ends in a manner that is rushed, generally unsatisfying, and far too convenient within the context of the novel. At the same time, the second plot line ends in rather a more satisfying a fashion, except that it never ties back to the main plot. One could completely excise this second element from the novel without any impact on the primary story, and one is thus left wondering what the point of it was. Finally, the apocalyptic element of Barlough's novels has always been highly enigmatic; no one quite new what had happened. In "Strange Cargo", Barlough more or less reveals the cause of "The Sundering" and as such, I feel that much of the mystery has been drained from his books. Again, if one cut out the explanation, the story would carry on just as well, and with more room for the reader's imagination to come into play.

That said, "Strange Cargo" is still well worth reading if for no other reason than Barlough represents one of the most original voices in fiction today. While perhaps not of the caliber of a Mieville or a Vandermeer, he has nonetheless used a fascinating blend of genres and an original voice to write a novel that is both familiar and fresh at the same time. I would rate "Dark Sleeper" and "The House in the High Woods" ahead of "Strange Cargo", but they are two of my favorite novels of the last five years, and as such, placing third is hardly a bad thing.

Jake Mohlman